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18 abril Nearly done!Canopy was cool! You wear a harness,clip on the wires and go across different obstacles! We were really lucky as we were the only ones on the course with the 2 instructors and had a wicked time! Zip wires were fun, over the river twice!
Rafting was even better!Never done it before so we only did a grade 2/3! Had 2 stupid doofuses in the front who thought they were so cool,but were actually rubbish!!! The guide was really funny and the rapids were good! Cant wait to try grade 4/5 next time,to really scare me!!!! YEAH!
So we bus in all the way past Santiago and up to Ovalle where theres this 'eco phenomenon', a rainforest in a desert,were you need water proof and warm clothing! We take a trip out and it was just a bunch of green trees in a huddle,with a wooden walk way through it which took 1 hour to get to the site and 5 minutes to walk through it!!!! Not exactly what it described in the book!!!! Err Lonely Planet and Footprints.... your sacked!!
So we head back down to the coast on an evening bus and today we find ourselves in Viña Del Mar! the beach all the famous people go to! We have a nice little hostel, all to ourselves! The cheapest was a double bed room, so its a good job me and suzie are used to sharing things!!
For the next 3 days we will be tanning on the beach so we can return looking all golden brown and make you all jealous!!! (Insert evil laugh here)
So beach calls!
Love, Naomi xxxx 14 abril Planes, buses, zips and rafts!Made it to Pucon, Chile! Taken us 4 days to cover a whole lot of kms! Plane to Comodora, read my 'space' for the goings-on there! Night bus to Bariloche, 14 hours. Had to wait for 6 hours for the next night bus, so grabbed food and internet. Left Bariloche early eve and got to San Martin by late evening. Crashed out in a hostel for 5 hours then back to the bus station for 6 in the morning! Then 7 more hours on a bus over the border to here!!!! Feel a bit better that we are close to Santiago. Easter has slowed us down as it has been really busy and its probably going to slow us down even more this weekend! But we stopped over night in Pucon. Ended up at this house which is separate from the owners who are next door. The 4 bedrooms are quite big and have been made into dorms, 2 or 3 beds in each. Then is has to kitchen and living room and bathroom shared. We get here and there is no one! Its like we have a house!! So we stock the fridge, 3 bottles of red to keep us going in the night, then 2 guys turn up, 1 from England, 1 from Australia, and we ate, drank, played cards and talked for the night! However, they are now probably half way up a volcano by now, they had to start at 3! Ha! They're going to be soooo rough!!! But we have to go on a Canopy trail today, in 2 hours and rafting this afternoon! At least we got a lie in! And we get an hour extra as i forgot to turn my clock back since we got back into Chile!!!
So after rafting and canopy, we jump on a night bus, through santiago and back to Ovalle, as we missed the rain forest in the desert thing that suze really wanted to see.
All this rushing of course is to get a few days at the beach as our tans have begun to fade! So we calculate that if all goes well we have 3 wholes days of lying on a towel, turning every 30 minutes and reading, before heading back to cold, wet, dark england, and the real world!
Take it Easy! Naomi xx 11 abril More delights of ComodoraToday just makes staying in this place soooo much better!!!
We get woken up by the lady of the hostel telling us to get out! Ok, so we slept in, but we were trying to waste as much of the day as possible until our 22.30 bus!
We go to the bus station, (3rd time) in the hope of leaving our bags there as we dont really want to hike the city with them! With that done we head for food, then decide to get a bus or taxi to the petroleum museum. Trying to get a taxi turned out to be a lot harder than we though, after 10 mins trying to hail one, we decide to give up and get the bus, just as the bus we need speeds past!! So we head to the stop down the road and wait, and wait, and wait! 30 mins at the bus stop, every other bus goes passed except a number 7 or 8! As we walk the block back to where we could possible get a taxi the number 8 goes passed!! Typical!!!
So another time waiting for taxis, 2 go passed with no passenger but wont stop!!! So we think, head back to the bus station (just to tell you this is only buses for national trips), got to be taxis there!! How wrong were we! Waited for a while, still no taxis! Then to our delight a nubmer 8 bus rounds the corner and stops across the road. So we run over get on bus and to our relief are on our way to the petroleum museum, only took us 1and a half hours to get some form of transport! This town sucks!
So we get to the museum at 1.30pm, a sigh of relief to find it opens 9-5, no siesta here! Once in the main gate we get escorted by a guy to the museum entrance and he unlocks the main door for us!!! Obviously a well visited place then!! The first line of the tour guide was (in echoey deep voice) 'you are entering the time tunnel'. The first bit was about the world and how it started and fossils and stuff. Which of course me and suze found geekily interesting. But the 40 minutes was spent reading about oil drilling and that was enough!
As we sit on the bench outside discussing next plan we look through the tourist leaflet we got at the station. It tells us about the petroleum museum and a city walk, (which we feel like we've done looking for a taxi or bus). Then the other 3 things are as follows: Visit towns of Camarones with fish port, 560km, Visit Puerto Deseado and see a variety of birds and sea fauna, and ship wrecks 560km or Sarimento and see petrified forest, caves and go fishing 380 km. Our conclusion: the best things to do around this town is to go more than 300 kms from it!!!
So we made for the exit and some how managed to get a bus straight away back into town! However not quite sure where to get off as this town has so many one way streets and keeps zig zagging back and forth, we end up at the end of the line and the bus depot, out on the other side of town, with the bus driver just looking at us and telling us hes finished his shift!!!! But hes happy enough to put us on the next bus leaving the depot, and guess where we end up, yep, you guessed it, back at the bus station, 4th time in 24 hours!!!! It almost feels like home!!!
So we still have 6 hours to kill, coffee took up 1, internet, should be able to stretch for 2 hours, then we found an irish pub round the corner should sort out the rest, then we can get out this place!!!
If Easter doesnt slow us down even more we hope to be in Bariloche by tomorrow afternoon, and Chile by then following day! At least in the same country as our flight our in 10 days!
10 abril The delights of Comodora RivadaviaSo! We can only get a flight to Comodora Rivadavia, it'll be easy to get a bus to the west coast?! How wrong were we!!! 3 hours in the bus station, told there are no spaces on buses until tomorrow night as everyone want to go away for Easter, then that the computer system is down so to come back tomorrow!
So we wander the streets of Comodora with our street map, getting soaked as it started to 'fine rain'... it soaks you through! Traipse round the hostels and find a not so expensive one with some old dear hobbling around!
So hungry for food we stock up on crisps and head back to the bus station to find the woman writing the tickets out to a long line of people, so like all brits we get in the queue and to our relief manage to get seats on the bus tomorrow night back to Bariloche!
So, as we leave the station another backpacker approaches us complaining about the fact that its easter and he cant get a bus either then gets us to wait for him while he finally gets a ticket and can show him to the hostel we found. By the time we leave 'fine rain' has turned to a constant shower!
The guy then decides not to stay at that one as its too expensive for him, keeps on asking us to wait 5 minutes so he can check the next one! So we finally ditch the guy as we are so hungry and i refused to wait another 'just 5 minutes' head out into the rain and find a pizza place. Sat down with our beer, just about to order and the power goes out!!! Thankfully, back on in time for us to eat our pizza, while watching out the window as a river of rain water is flowing rapidly along the gutter!! Heading then to the internet place we have to cross a 'river' and get completely soaked by a passing car just to write this email!
So, to recap, we are in a place we dont want to be, and not sure how we are going to get all the stuff we what to do in the time we have left, in a hostel which is a little expensive, its chucking it down with rain, there is flooding in the street. We talked to the lady at the tourist information and ask what there is to do in the town. So, tomorrow we go to the Petroleum museum, now dont be jealous! I will tell you all about it in my next blog!
Bye!
09 abril things to do at the end of the world!First job done in Ushuaia was easier than we thought! Managed to get a flight half way up the coast on monday so gave us a few days to chill out and have a good look round this city!
We've been to the 'end of the world' museum, lots of stuff on the idigenious people and how the europeans came and screwed it all up for them! And the prison museum where lots of scary people got sent and it had a reputation for being the worst place to go!
Went on a trip down the Beagle Channel. Got to see seals playing in the water and saw loads of seals and sea lions, im sure you will have seen enough too after you see the photos! Saw the famous light house and went to penguin island and saw lots of cute little penguins!! A couple in the hostel had seen orcas on their trip the day before so me and suze braved the elements but unfortunately didnt see any, and froze in the process!
Hiked up to Martial glacier today, after a hard cold slog, it really wasnt that impressive!! so have made it to the internet place to thaw out!
Fly out tomorrow then head over to the west coast and into Chile. Less than 2 weeks now! So much to do in so little time!!!!
Chau for now!
Naomi x
05 abril Its the end of the world as we know it!http://spaces.msn.com/naomitravels/ more photos!
Well! Its been a while and started to receive a few emails inquiring my whereabouts so here goes.......
Now i think i left my story in Bariloche! Me and suzie decided to do our 3rd bit of exercise this trip and go for a days kayaking on the lake. Had a great day out, beautiful weather, did our very best to get the kayak back in one piece, and managed not to get completely soaked!
The next day we packed up and decided to head across the other side of the country to Puerto Madryn. Our bus journey has to be one of the best. We were the only ones on this huge big bus, got to choose the movies, and the bus dude kept us supplied with drinks and food! No bingo though, we could come out quiet well!!
I wanted to do some diving and Puerto Madryn is supposed to be THE place. Had the opportunity to go dive with sea lions, very exciting, got up at 7 to make high tide, only to be told that it was really bad weather were we had to go, so couldnt. Did go out on a wreck dive though, not as good, but did see lots of stuff, fish, starfish, anemonomones etc
So after our little stop over, another night bus down to Rio Gallegos then straight on the bus next to the one we came in on and 21 hours, in total, later found ourselves in El Calafate. A nice little town, very touristy and expensive!! Staying in a nice hostel, on the hill, with heating floors!!
Had met a couple of girls, Helen and Angie, (later we found out there names were Nic and Maggie, but thats anther story!) on the bus who we had met in Bariloche, so we rented a car together to go to see the big glacier 80kms out of the town.
We had been told that if you get to the national park before 7.30 you can get by without payng coz theres noone on the gate! So we left town at 6.00, got in in plenty of time, watched the sunrise over the huge glacier. Now i know ive seen a whole lot of glacier last year but this was well good too. It was this large lagoon with a massive ice block stretching into it from the glacier, we could even watch as huge big chucks fell off into the water and we could hear the ice cracking all over it!!!
The ice was blue!! Now why is it blue? i hear you cry! Now heres the science bit.... If a glacier is white it means its quite young. As it gets older, it becomes denser as the air is squeezed out until there is no air left. An older glacier is blue as this is the only colour that isnt absorbed through the solid ice. So to conclude, (its like science lesson with Mr Walker) The glacier bit we saw was VERY old!
Anyway, after the glacier bit we headed back out of the park only to be got by the park rangers and made to pay! You didnt tell us that bit Aaron and Josh?!?!
So after our glacier seeing and car rental experience we head south from El Calafate. After a 5 hour bus trip, a night in Rio Gallegos, then 16 hours on the bus with 2 border crossings, and 4 badly done stamps later, and a crazy boat crossing, (we watched the boat having to come in at a 45 degree angle and 30 meters up from the dock, then swing its front end away from the wind, flip round and with full engine into the wind crash its front down just in time, very impressive) we are now in the most southerly city in THE WORLD!!!!!!!! And its really really cold!!!
Luckily we are in a really nice hostel that is very very warm and friendly!!! As we only got here about an hour ago we are going to head out into the city tomorrow as see what we can do, apparently theres a lot! Lots of stuff about Darwin, Fitzroy and the Beagle, so its back to history lessons for me!
First on the agenda tomorrow is to find out how we can get out of here! We hear that is can be tricky! which isnt good as we only have 2 and a half weeks left and are 2380km or 1479miles for the brits (thats air km/miles and we are doing most by bus!!!!!!!!) away from santiago! And in that we have to do a white water rafting trip, then head north of Santiago to a rainforest as we couldnt do it on the way down!!!!!!
Wish us luck!!! Bye!!!!
xx 27 marzo Day on the lakeJust had a wicked day kayaking! Was so funny!! The plan was to go along the length of the lake, about 14kms. The first part was really hard as we hadnt done it for a while, getting used to the double kayak and the wind was really stong. Our guide asked us to keep near the side so if there were any problems were would be near the shore. Had to go round a few bends with lots of rocks. Me and suze had a few close calls but being the experts we are and shouts of PADDLE RIGHT RIGHT RIGHT, then LEFT LEFT LEFT from the instructor..... didnt damage the kayak, so all good!
Stupid comment of the day from me as we were trying to move off was, 'we're not going anywhere!' only to hear suzie laughing and to find her paddling backwards!!! Oh, shes soooo funny!
Nearly tipped too as we and suzie were trying to see how much water we could get on one paddle but both doing it on the same side and near losing balance!
Lunch of empanadas (like pastys) and snacking on pastries, all in all in was a brilliant day out on the lake! 25 marzo They let us in to Argentina!So! Made it a cross the border, was a very boring border crossing. However, at one stage we did think we would have to unpack our bags, it would take suzie at least 30 mins to repack!! Thankfully they let us through! 5th country, 5th stamp, to my horror the peruvian imigration stamped upside down and the argentinian side smudged a rubbish stamp all crooked, Nicola, are you feeling my pain?!?!
Into Medoza, steak and wine country. So of course me and suzie went out for a big fat juicy steak and managed to polish off 3 bottles of red!!!! So good and so cheap!!!
We decide to try make it on a wine tour and after one day not finding the right street or bus we head home. Try and book on a wine tour through the hostel and they mess it up. So we decide to give it another shot!
We go to the street we were told to catch the Group 9, no. 162 bus. Look up and down this street,no buses passed in 10/15mins. So we spied the information place and headed in to ask them. We were on completely the wrong street!! Had to go 3 blocks down! So with our
trusty maps in hand, we headed for the right street and waited, and waited, and waited.... Every bus came along from group 1 to group 10,even group 9 buses but non were the 162 bus!! So, after half an hour we decide to hop on the next group 9 bus and ask the driver! On the 172(!) we go and, after 30 minutes he drops us off and kindly points out the winery just up the road. (walking toward it the 162 passes us!!!) Get to the wineries and surprise, surprise, its closed!!! Getting back into Mendoza it was like a ghost town, shops all closed, not many cars, all it lacked was the tumbleweed!
We found an argentinian newspaper in english yesterday so bought it. No wander the town was so quiet. 30 years ago there was dictatorship thing were lots of people were imprisoned and kids were taken away from there parents after they were born and lots of really nasty stuff done to others. It was 30 years yesterday so they have a national holiday. All makes sense now, the empty streets etc
Anyway, got on a bus at 8pm last night and made it to Bariloche at 3.30pm, 20.5 hours!!! and i dont think its going to be the longest either!!! Watched some ok films though me and suzie cried at My dog Skip!, how sad!! And got to play bingo!!!! Got very excited but didnt win!! But it will never beat the over 60s bingo at 3d!!
Bariloche is a gorgeous place. Its a nice little town, lots of wooden fronted shops, reminds me a bit like a ski resort, and it over looks a huge deep blue lake. We are looking at taking a days kayaking as the lake it surrounded by snow capped mountains, very scenic!!
Hope everyone is well, be seeing you soon!
Love, Naomi xx 23 marzo Missed out number 11...11 So much easier not travelling with Irish people.
Comment on that little badger if you dare! 20 marzo Top 10 on Chile!Well! Its been a while so heres my top 10 so far on Chile!!
Check out the moon photos at http://spaces.msn.com/naomitravels/
1 The banks look at you as if you given them monopoly money when you try and change your left over bolivanos!! Its the next country along for crying out loud! 2 Renting a bike is not the best thing to do if a) it has a racing saddle and b) you are going to cycle 40km in the baking sun UP a very bumpy dirty track road,to see a crappy sunset, they said it would be good!!! Then ride back in the dark with only a mag lite to hand!!
3 The buses are miles better than Bolivia! However, we think the stewards on the buses have taken classes in being very precise! They are very forceful about having the curtains closed in the evening, even if we are looking out of them. Then in the morning very forceful about have only certain curtains open because of the sun! Suzie did get dirty looks!
4 The bus steward guy thought he was being nice by putting on a movie in english with spanish subtitles! It was home alone 4!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was nearly as enjoyable as texas chainsaw massacre with a hangover!!!!
5 Many guys have declared their love for us. They shout it across the street! Is it because i is white?!
6 They have really cool observatories here. So being the geeks we are, we headed for Mama Lluca! Got to look through the telescopes. Saw Saturn and its rings, if anyone cares its just to the left of cancer! And we looked at lots of clusters and the guy told us lots of cool stuff!!
7 Sirius is not only Harry Potters -deceased- god father, it is also the brightest star in the sky! And Orions left shoulder is probably going to be the next supernova (next one to blow up) and it called Beetle Juice!!
8 Dont cough after taking a mouthful of water, as suzie gets wet! Ooops, sorry suze!!!
9 Shopping malls are dangerous things! I bought i new pair of jeans and dont know where to pack them!!!
10 Even thought there are great beaches here and my tan is coming along nicely (although i did burn my butt one day!) its not so cheap here so going to skip the border to Argentina instead!!
Ciao for now!!! Love, Naomi xxxx 13 marzo Salt Lakes tour into ChileWe took a 3 day tour from Uyuni, and headed over the Salt Lakes and terrain down in South East Bolivia, hopefully ending in Chile!
Day 1
Our battered old land cruiser turned up to pick us up at 10.30. Met our guide/driver/cook for the trip, Edgar and he introduced the 4x4 as 'The blue Tiger'!
Headed straight for the outskirts of the salt lakes and to the town/market place were they use the salt for souvenirs and the like. Found a little salt museum in a salt bricked building. Had some sculptures of things made out of salt, very imressive. The museum was free to get in, but we find out you had to pay to get out!!!
Onto the Salt Lakes. They stretch 12000km squared, contains 10,000,000,000 tonnes of salt! and is at altitude 3660 metres! Nows thats cool enough!! But the sight was amazing! You can just see white for miles in front of you and it looks amazing as you cant see the horizon. Then mountains in the distance with snow on top.
As we got further onto the Lake, because it has been rainy season there was still water on the Lake which got deeper as we went. (Good job Edgar put fern in the engine to soak up the water!!!). This made really cool reflections of the mountains around and the sky. Some of the photos can be flipped and you cant tell which way it should be. Im just sorry you only have the photos to see and however many i took they just dont do it justice!
It took a good few hours crossing the Lake. We stopped at an island for lunch, steak(!), then headed south, off the Lakes and to our first nights stay.
Arrived in the dark to a village with dirty track roads, pulled up to a building with no lights on!! Good bed for the night though and they had a generator so we could at least have a shower in the morning!!
Day 2 We spent the 2nd day with lots of driving through mountain terrain. We had to cross a plain with the mountains surrounding us with snow on at least 10 miles between ranges. Spectacular views. Stopped with the view of one of the active volcanos, snow on top, so no eruption due! There were rock fields of lavatoo which looked cool!
As we drove we stopped off at several different lakes. Most with flamingos on! Never seen any wild before! Also stopped at funny looking rocks, one looking like a tree which is quite famous, apparently!!
Lots of scenery, far too many photos and covered a lot of ground to make it the the national park, Lake Colarado, and our next nights stop. As it was suzies birthday we had a cards and rum and coke night and got only a few hours sleep!
Day 3 Up at 4.30!!! Drove past some geysirs but was way to tired to appreciate, and ive seen enough in Iceland to last me a lifetime!!! For a bath we went to some hot springs, woke us up a bit and then had berakfast.
We then headed for Laguna blanca and verde. A small white lagoon next to a huge green laguna, coloured by the minerals, and watched the mist clear. More amazing views!!
Edgar drove us then to the Bolivian border and we caught a bus to San Pedro, our first stop in chile!!
Even though the name suggests in Chile is in no way cold! It is absolutely roasting!!! Straight into shorts and tshirt!
Plans are to head to the coast from here, get some sun and relax! then we have to work out how far we can get down Chile. Only 5 and a half weeks left so going to be busy!!!
Hope you are not too bored!! did try to keep it short!!
Love, Naomi xx 08 marzo Highest this, highest that!Hey! Just a little update as to my whereabouts as its been a while!!
Made it through the bolivian border with little hassle! so 3rd stamp, 3rd country later we head to copacabana, singing of course!
Copacabana is a really chilled out town so it was a great place for us to put our feet up and relax as we have been non stop for a while! An hours internet however does cost the same as a nights accommodation, (3 pound!), so it was mucho sleeping and wandering the streets instead. Did go see the church that is supposed to have put this place on the map though, so i feel that was culture enough!
After a few days of doing...err.. nothing.. we jumped on the bus and headed for la paz, the highest capital.. in the WORLD! Altitude is causing minor problems. Got a cough and cold at the moment so having breathing problems. Literally climb some stairs and your out of breath! And no, its not coz im getting unfit!!
La Paz is a BIG city, sits in a massive valley and so busy! Cant cope after the quiet little towns we`ve been in for the last few weeks! Visited the coca museum and learned all about the coca leaves, very interesting stuff! And sampled the saturday night life, which was still going majorly strong when we left at 5.30!
Also in La Paz we found somewhere that does tetley tea and the best steak i have had in a long time!!!! Definately enough to help me get better!!
On from the highest capital in the world, we headed to the highest city in the world, Potasi, over 4000m! To see the highest mine in the world etc etc. Lots of `highest´ gimicks going on!
Potasi used to be the richest city in the worl as it has a silver mine. Got to take a tour down the mine which is still working. Had a chat with the miners and went down about 4 levels, which was further enough for me. I started coughing and the guide told us to chew coca leaves. They are a bit bitter but if you put them in the side of your mouth it keeps your throat wet and stops you coughing, it worked! All the miners live on coca when in the mine as it keeps them going and is great for the environment they are in.
Tonight we are on our way to Uyuni where we are going to take a trip over the salt lakes which im so excited about! Then we are into Chile!
Ciao for now!!
Naomi x x x 28 febrero Condors, stupid tourists and floating islandsWell, just a brief catch up on whats been going on. Met up with Nicola, someone we had met in Banos, in Arequipa. Great to see her and catch up on the gossip! Me and suze booked on a 2 day trip to Colca Canyon. Within hours we were already cursing the tourists we were with! We had a dutch couple at the front, kissing all the time!! An annoying kid whinging in the back while his parents tried to tend to his every need! He got better when we made friends with him! A peruvian couple, guy massive, lady, really small, totting around in heels!!! This is not the place for heels!! And they always talked when the guide was doing her english bit, how ignorant! A couple from Lima, guy with a camcorder stuck to his hand and his wife, looking soooo pale the whole 2 days. She was really moody too and neaver got off the bus!! And an american woman was determined not to have anyone sitting with her by spreading herself across 2 seats!! Oh the fun we had! Stopping every 5 mins to take photos of llamas! Once you've seen one you've seen them all!!! The most entertainment was the bottles of water i picked up with the label 'so gay'! So we opted to sleep for the 5 hour trip up to the canyon! Things improved considerable unitl we got to the restaurant. We ordered our food. I wanted steak. The girl next to me wanted trout, they said they had no trout! By the time the others food came out, mine was not there, and the guy said he had no more steak. 'Chicken?' i asked, 'no senorita', 'Pork?', 'no senorita', 'pasta?', no senorita', 'well, wha do you have?', trout!' So i had trout! By the time it came everyone else had finished!! Canyon was amazing the next day! When we got there though, it was so foggy couldnt see a thing!!! But it cleared up and lots of condor were to be seen!!! It was brilliant!! Definately worth the farce of a tour for!!! Back to Arequipa and on the bus again to Puno. On Lake Titicaca, a giant lake across the peruvian and bolivian border, there are floating islands made of reeds. After our tourist nightmare the other day we decided to head down to the harbour ourselves and get on a boat of our choice! Met up with a peruvian family and in our best spanglish, fuond they wanted the same trip we did so clubbed together and got a private boat our with a couple of other guys, not a stroppy, ignorant tourist in sight! It was wicked!!! There are people living on the floating islands and their main trade is tourists and they have little stalls of hand made crafts. Lovely people, our guide was good. Got to take a ride on the reed boats they use for fishing. Off to Bolivia tomorrow and Copacabana. More Islands, then La paz for shopping!!!! Everything is so cheap there!! Half way through now! Cant believe it! Still having a blast!! Take care, Love, Naomi x x x 24 febrero Mother of all hangovers!Thought id share my day with you all so if you have a hangover from last night you can consider yourself lucky!!
Last night in Cusco so we went all out and descended on the bar touts who were offering us all free drinks tickets!!!
After many rum and cokes and salsa dancing later (some guy flinging me between his legs!) we just about made it up the hill to bed by 3, unlucky for me and suze who were catching the 7am bus to Arequipa!! Good job i woke early as when i checked my clock id set the alarm for 6.30 and thats what time we were told to be at the bus station!!!
So collected suze from her bed and both of us staggered down the hill, i think we were still drunk! Suze had forgotten her phone, (again!) so had to run back up! Bundled our bags and ourselves in the first available taxi and made it to the bus station with enough time to stock up on a large supply of much needed water!!
Waiting to get on the bus we chat to some more backpackers, only go meet one from Anslow (10mins from home)!!! Pricey, ask claire if she knows Matthew Snaith, he said he knows her older sister!
Anyway, hangover beginning to set in and then the pain begins! The bus trip is 10 hours long. The first movie they put on was Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2! I couldnt watch it but couldnt block the noise of the chainsaw and screaming!!
Then for lunch these 2 woman get on the bus with a big bundle. Out of it they produce a giant sheep carcass! Then start hacking at it with a meat cleaver and serving it up for lunch with potatoes!!! Was nice meat but was there any real need to see the sheep being hacked up in front of us!!!!
Made it to Arequipa without seeing my sheep again and met up with Nicola, a friend from Ecuador. Booked on a tour tomorrow to see the canyon and hopefully condors!!
So before you complain about your hangovers, just think chain saws and sheep and 10 hour bus trips, then enjoy your lie in!!!
Love, Naomi x x x x
Machu Picchu!We have just had an amazing few days!
In Cuzco, home of the first Inca site! Not much of the site left as its been covered by the town. Cuzco is the 2nd largest city in Peru. Altitude 3500m so hard on the lungs but a beautiful city all the same! Lots of red roof tops and pretty buildings.
As the Inca trail is closed in February we chose to do a bus tour over 3 days visting other ruins aswell as Machu Picchu and as there were 6 in the group we had good bargaining power, always a bonus!!!
The first day we went to Pisaq which has a great market in the town then the ruins on the hill. As we walked up you can see the terraces stretching out over the mountains. These were used for farming and it was a great system to make use of the steep slopes.
Then we went on to Ollantaytambo. When the guide showed us ariel photos of the site its actually in the shape of a llama! And he explained that some sites were made out in the shape of significant creatures! We did lots of walking up and down lots of steps and learnt lots about the Incas.
After a 4 hour wait in Ollantaytambo town we caught the train up to Aguas Calientes, the town nearest to Machu Picchu, to stay the night. Up early in the morning and we made it up to Machu Picchu by 7am!
Machu Picchu is an amazing place. Standing at the top you get this really chilled, calm feeling and all you want to do is look at everything around it! We stood at the top of the path and can see that the city itself is built on a mountain which they pretty much cut the top off, then used the pieces to make the houses and temples. Its dead set in the middle of a a group of mountains all around its so hard to describe!!
We had a guide with us, Huan, who was fantastic he told us so much stuff about the area and the city itself. Its most famous because its the only Inca site that wasnt invaded by the Spanish. A was founded in 1811 by some american dude who turned up and found farmers still working the land and they told him the name of the place and made it famous!
We took some walks up to the Sun Gate which is were the sun first appears towards MP which was a hard slog! Then to the Inca bridge which was made of bamboo and could be removed when enemies came along!
We spent a good hours there and we were so luck we had a great day. The sun was out the whole time and because of a strike in Cuzco no buses or trains came up on the day so there was about 100 people at the site the whole day!
We decided to walk down the mountain which took aver an hour but me and suze used our camp fire song skills to keep us entertained, while just us two anyway!!!
Off to Arequipa tomorrow to see the canyon that is bigger than the grand canyon! then bolivia!!
Check out more photos! Use the drop arrow on the photos because ive put in 3 lots, Nazca lines, Cuzco and Machu Picchu. Apologies for lots of Machu Picchu, no time to sort them!!!
Hope all is well where you are. I hear there was snow in south england?!?!
Love, Naomi xxx 18 febrero Planes and buses!Hey! Its been a very busy few days and we're gone far! In Nazca yesterday and went up in a little 6 seater plane to have a look at the Nazca Lines. There are lots of theories as to why they are there but the best so far is that when they were done, years ago, (cant remember off hand) the people of the land were suffering a drought and all the drawings are pointing towards hills even though they are done on flat land, to try and attract the gods to give them rain. The drawings are massive and are of hummingbirds, monkeys, spiders and other symbols a significance to the shamen who were the healers for the tribes. Very cool! Had booked all this on a package deal from the hostel, then they started to get us to pay more money at the airport when we landed and we threatening to call the tourist police. We stood our ground, said we'd pay the $2 airport taxi and that was all!!! The woman started getting really funny but with 5 of us together we threatening to diss the company, (which we have done!) and she disappeared!!! W got our trip though, and a good deal we had when we started talking to others who paid the same price we did but only got a flight, where we got accomodation as well! We couldnt get out of Nazca quick enough after dodging the scammers but the bus we needed didnt leave til 8 in the evening. So parked up in a cafe for the day, ate, drank and played pool. Booked ourselves on a luxury first class bus to Cuzco. The guide book said 20 hours, we were relieved to find out it was only 14.5! With 2 seats each to ourselves with padded out leather seats, reclining, and foot rest we were set for the journey! The only thing that kept waking us up was various people puking throughout the night as it was a really bumpy, windy road, up and down!! Glad i could sleep through it!! Glad it was night though as at one point we could just make out the sheer drop on either side of the bus, dont think i would have liked that during the day!!! Got to Cuzco and we all passed out asleep by 11am! Cuzco is 3500m and its really obvious. Even walking up the hill to the hostel we're all out of breath! Definately going to sleep well tonight. Its a lot colder here in the evenings so back to my pjs and blankets on the bed. Next few days we are planning out trip to Macchu Picchu which im well excited about!! Thats it for the moment! Take care, Naomi x x x 16 febrero Boobys and bird!Hi!! Its been awhile so im going to make you all jealous! Is it still raining there?!?!
After chilling for a few days in Lima we headed down to Pisco to make the Ballastas Islands tour. Has to be the most touristy this we've done so far! Was horrible!! The boat trip out was good though and the islands home to Boobys, a type of bird, (dont know what you were all thinking), humboldt penguins and big fat sea lions honking away as loud as they could!
As soon as we got back, we packed up and headed for Huacachina. A town in the middle of lots of sand dunes! The hostel is great, got its own pool and is cheap and has a bar next to the pool! Oh, the back packer life style hey?!?
First night and the eve of Louisas 25th birthday we had an all you could eat and drink BBQ for 3 pound 50!! Lots of pisco sour, a local spirit that does the job nicely! Then at about 11 we all thought it would be a great idea to climb the massive sand dune behind our hostel!! Took us an hour!! But happy to make it to the top with Louisa for midnight looking out over the towns around, the lights were amazing!! Then running or sliding down the dunes back to beer and bed!
Woke up the next day feeling hangover whatsoever, pisco sours i declare is now the way to go!!!
Out of the dune buggies we went. Have met up with the 2 Irish, Moya and Mick and off sand boarding down the dunes did we!! I have sand in places i dont even want to know. I have been in the hostel pool, taken 2 showers and still finding sand!!!!
Unfortunately sand boarding did have its injuries and suzie did manage to aggrevate an old 3d limbo'ing injury on her knee. I went to the first aid kit on the buggy and found it was empty!!! Risk assessment? what risk assessment?!?!?!
Anyways, we applied ice and a beer at the hostel and all is well now!!
Off the Nazca today, then up in a plane tomorrow to see mysterious lines in the sand!!
Ciao for now!!!
Naomi x x x 12 febrero Surfing, cheap booze and boring bus journeys!Hi!
Hope everyone is ok! Its been a while so i thought id fill you in on my goings on.
Left Chiclayo and heading down to Huanchaco, just north of Trujillo. Our first siting of the beach!!! Nice town, really chilled out, good beach and big waves!! When we got there it had been about 10ft in the morning, down to 7 ft in the arvo! I was up for surfing and met random guys who offered me a board and wet suit, it may be roasting here but the waters a lot like Weymouth,freezing!!
Got my board paddled pout and got trashed for an hour!! The waves were soooo strong, non stop and battered me endlessly!! It was fun though and i can now add Peru to surfing locations, alongside Bude!
Me and Suze spent the rest of the morning getting our own back on the Peruvian guys as they're always staring at us. On the beach there were so many fit bodies!!! We were sitting next to an impressive game of football-lots of eye candy!!
Spent a couple more days in Huanchaco coz we could! Last night, with a group of new arrivals we polished a couple of bottles of rum, 3 pounds a bottle!!!!!!
The next day I spent with a very hungover Suze on a 9 hour bus trip to Lima! The guide book said 6 hours, it lied!!! Thought they may at least be a view, but no, it was just sand, sand dunes, the sea, more sand dunes, etc!! And the highlight was a truck load of pasta over the road delaying us for a hour!
Arrived into Lima! Got a busy couple of weeks planned so chilled out in a hostel just south of Lima for the weekend, just round the corner from the beach!
Well, thats all for now! Got a busy few weeks ahead as we need to be in Bolivia by beginning of March. A 20 hour bus trip is also to be had in too!!! Pray for good movies, in English!!
Take care!
Love, Naomi x x
07 febrero Dirt tracks and pyramids!Hola!! Had a busy few days in Chiclayo. Staying at a peruvian ladies house that suzie had been in touch with on a back packers web site! Lovely lady named Clara. She does great food, exellant host and has helped us with our Spanish no end!! She introduced us to her daughters best friend, Oktavio. Hes been showing us the sites for the last few days which has been off the beated track to say the least!! Sites have included some pyramids in the desert that date back to 1500 bc! and also the night life including a classy Karaoke bar and Pizza Hut! We went out to a national park today for a walk but it was too far to some more pyramids there. However a truck pulled up and offered to take us there. So in the back of a pick up bumping around along a dirt track road! Turned out the guys were engineers working on building a road to the pyramids for tourists. The findings fro mthe pyramid are in a local museum and they are trying to get tourists out to the site. We were lucky to be the first along this new track, very bumpy it was!! They took it upon themselves to give us the full tour, including a trip climbing up the pyramid which they said noone else is allowed to do! On the way back we pass a house and this woman offers us fresh mangos so there we are boncing in this truck covered in mango juice and dirt! All made for a cool adventure!! Need to go have a shower now, see if its just dirt or theres a tan underneath, have been roasting all day!!! Off the Trujillo tomorrow for a bit of surfing and catch up with Louisa for a few hours. Got a pedicure in town too, 4 pounds!!! I love how its soooo cheap here!!!! More photos soon!! Take care, Love, Naomi x x 02 febrero Peruvian border crossing!Well our last night in Vilcabamba and Ecuador was full of little surprises!
After the maggot(!) incident we decided to pick our own food and cook it ourselves. And a very nice avacado, tuna and cheese pasta we had! As we looked out into the trees we could see hundreds of fire flies, it was well cool!! Suzie decided she would use my torch to attract them until a huge bat flew at her head then she didnt think it was so cool, i thought it was hilarious, watching her scream like a girl!!!
Chatting to an older couple who had turned up the day before we only find out hes the brother of ex Man Utd manager and player, which was nice!
A few hundred mosquito bites later and we were up and off back north to Loja where we were told would be a 10am bus to Piura in Peru. How wrong were they! The bus wasnt until 1! We'd got up expecially early for this!!!
We decided not to hang around to we jumped a bus to Macara which is just on the border. We prefered to chill there than Loja. Got some lunch did some internet then nearly missed our bus to Piura! (sounds a little like you dec!?) Got our bus which stopped on the bridge bordering Ecuador and Peru.
First stop, Ecuadorian immigration. Exit stamp not the best but satisfactory! Then across the bridge we walk, taking photos like proper tourists! Then to Peruvian immigration, very nice lady, much better stamp!! (Its the stamp snob in me!) At least they were both neat and kept to the same page, i hate it when they choose a random page a stamp all wonky!
Then the funniest had to be the peruvian police so we could be entered into their book. We walk in, one is playing solitaire on the computer and the other is doodling! We have a nice chat in broken spanish, they laugh at us!! but were quite happy to humour us in a photo session!! Off we went happy and smiling to Peru! Cant believe they let us in!!
3 hours later we arrive in the dark in Piura. Only stopping a couple of nights to change money, chill and head to Chiclayo where we are hoping to stay with a peruvian family for a few nights. The men in peru dont make it too discreet in their staring! "hola chicas bonitas", "hello pretty girls" is the commonest form of phrase we hear walking down the street, well, we are the only blondes around here!
The change in Peruvian landscape and weather is immediately obvious. No hills, lots more town passed through rather than random houses dotted everywhere and best of all, no rainy season!!!! Its roasting here my tan will be well on its way. Heading to the beach tomorrow so going to make the most of the sea as well!!
Well, got to go do some site seeing adn enjoy the sun! I hear its cold at home, Nemind!
Love, Naomi 31 enero The road to Vilcabamba!Well, a brief fill in on my travels!
After a vodka and salsa filled night in Riobamba, drowning our sorrows and easing our pain(!) we headed to the bus station and made our way to Cuenca for a couple of days then Vilcabamba. A total of 12 hours on the bus! Bus journeys amuse me more and more. On one trip i saw a dead cow on the side of the road being skinned, which was nice! A lot of country life too. Loads of people doing washing in the river, no washing machines here! And even the farmers were ploughing their fields with cattle pulled plough. Make you think we are lucky, or lazy, huh?!
In Cuenca we when for a 3hours return bus journey to Ingapirca, an Inca ruin. One of the last apparently to be taken. In the centre is the Temple of the sun, very fitting as it just so happened to be raining!! It is rainy season but its fresh, warm rain so not like england, thank god!
Vilcabamba is the quietest town we have been in so far. One step above the tumbleweed scene but close enough! we are staying on national park ground in a little hut. Its got loads of nice walks so we tried this morning and got drenched half way up from a sudden rain shower!! Dried off and in town we decide to go for healthy vegetarian meal only to find maggots in the broccoli, great!
Head over into Peru tomorrow. Cant wait to get my stamp. I think im turning into a stamp snob as a friend of ours called me! I want a stamp from every country, none of this smudged melarky! Its got to be a proper stamp! I can see arguements arising at the borders!!
Take care!
Naomi x x
28 enero Train ride to see the devil!Well, We read up on Riobamba and the Devils Nose, sounds cool! Get to ride on the top of a train, even cooler. So we pay our $11, hire a cushion for $1, get up at 5 in the morning, on the train for 6, we expect great things!!
The scenery was amazing out in the country. The train travelled up and down through canyons and valleys, over hills and through the cacti trees, then *bang* oh yes, train derailed!!!
So in the 30 minutes it took for them to get the train back on the track we shifted our now severely aching bodies (thanks to yesterdays riding!) played go fish and chase the ace and listen to a bit of mp3.
So off we go again. Wind in our hair, more of the same scenery, just a bit more a ¨scary drop over the very edge¨ to look at! Then down we went winding away. After 7 hours of cushion on corrigated iron train roofing, the sun beating down and in much need of sleep, the guides point up to the rock that is the devils nose. Well, it didnt look all too devilish, and not even remotely like a nose!! If we didnt laugh we could have cried!!! That was good quality beer money fuelling this train!!
So we head back for the 1 hour journey to the station we could catch the bus back to Riobamba at. But oh yes, *bang* the train is derailed yet again! So in true Nem, Suzie and Louisa style we take up our bags, (quite slowly as in more achy pain!) We climb down the roof ladder and start to walk!!
In all today, 8 hours on an uncomfortable roof, a not so devil nose like rock and having to walk back to the station, (just making it when the train pulls in , id like to add!) We all agreed, along with ozzy guy called shane we met while walking along the track we are heading into Riobambas bars and clubs to sample the night life. Oh please, it better be worth it!!!
Classic inca ruins in a couple of days!
Until then, Adios amigos!!
Naomi x x
Ps if you had trouble looking at the photos try again, i think ive fixed the prob! 26 enero John Wayne, eat your heart out!We had the best day today!! We found an ad in the hostal in Baños from a scottish lady and ecuadorian guy offering a nights accommodation, food, drinks and a days horse riding for about 18 pounds! It would be rude not too! Suzie me and another brit Louisa arrived at the meeting place she screams at us that if we hurry we can just make the bus which was set to leave any minute. We all jumped into a taxi, racing down the streets to the bus station, very dramatic it was! We missed the bus but she paid the taxi driver to catch the bus so there were are, racing down this country roads that had just recently been opened coz of volcano damage. We couldnt stop laughing in the bag as we´re bouncing around! Didnt catch the bus but made it to the bridge in one piece, just! Had to walk with our backpacks for 15 mins across the bridge, up hill to the actual house! Great place, animals and dirty kids running everywhere and the horses in the field, very scenic! This morning we saddled up western style. As described by Claire, the scot, you dont ride like normal. You have one hands on the reins and the other holding and beer, cigarette of both!! off we went up this mountain! The view was amazing, i dont know how i could possibly describe it and i couldnt get a photo to do it justice. We were so high just looking down into the valley and the river below. Then Alex, Claires, partner turns his horse down the hill through the bushes, down a 60 degree slope!!!! Holding on and leaning back was the only option!! I did attempt some action shots for you though so wil post those soon! It was great to just gallop away, the horses were really responsive and i really liked mine as he liked to go fast!! Drama was to be had though when Alex tried to cross the river but it was too strong a current for us. So we walked back up the bank and went further down stream. However, we saw Alex, having ridden for well over 30 years fall in the river and have his horse get caught in the current and end up on the other side. So off goes rescue horse by me and Claire, going round either side of this island to try and get the horse. My horse got over the stream, but wouldnt go back so i had him flaring away, stomping his feet.Eventually after much drama kicking and stubbornness ( more from me) we got back up to the others and reunited a very wet horse with a very wet Alex, he did insist it was part of the tour!! After a fab 5 hour horse riding, in the best country side on brilliant horses we are now in Riobamba after hair raising bus journey over looking a 100 foot drop! We are aching so much, inner thighs took a lot today! We have to be sitting on the top of a train at 6 am tomorrow to go on the road trip to Alausi and Devils nose an impressive mountain and to see a volcano. Yes, we have reserved cushions!!! May be we should start taking Charmins toilet roll advice and love our bums!! Ouch! enjoy your nice comfy sofas, im going to sleep well tonight!!! Love, Naomi x Ps, i know why John Wayne walks the way he does now!! 23 enero Into the city!Spent one more day in Quito. We went walking round the town, bit dodgy and felt quite unsafe which i didnt like much. We were sitting on a bench waiting for the observatory to open and 2 guys came up and told us to keep our bags safe as their were pick pockets about, weird huh?! People do look after you but you never really know who is looking after you or who is look at your bags! There were riots going on in the city too, we could smell the pepper gas in the air and the big poilcia truckswith the water hoses were out in force, we made for the opposite direction! Met my family with suzie at a restaurant my aunties sister in law owns. Absolutely gorgeous food, tapas etc Then my cousins cousin Fernando and a friend took us out for a few drinks. We went to a scottish bar called the turtle head, we had to educated them in the alternative meaning, aswell as some good ol english phrases, like cheers me dears and down ya hatch!! then we ended up in the night club on top of a mountain and salsa´d the night away on vodka! 4 in the morning we´re in a pizza place and make it to bed at 5!! Had a wicked night, (thanks guys!!) And havent laughed so much in a long time! After 2 hours sleep we were up again and on the bus to a local market town of Otavalo. Bought our ponchos and a few other ecuadorian souvenirs for family! Bored of the city we decide to head south to Baños. Now saying ecuador has no safety concept in and understatement. Kids sit in the front seats with no seat belt, they drive crazy and jump onto moving buses. so you can imagine our surprise when we got on our first bus and a guy stood up and started talking in spanish. A safety talk we nodded to each other, must be! But then he produces out of a bag tooth brushes. This was our entertainment for the next 3 hours. People just keep on getting on and off the bus trying to sell everything from perfume to crisps. The crisps are so much beter than walkers! Made it to Baños and the difference is very noticeable. You dont get that unsafe feel about it. People smile at you, kids laugh at you and you just get that friendly vibe. Much more chilled. Had a great meal in a restaurant with some people we met at the hostel. Brits! Main course cost 1 pound 50! And it filled me up! Vodka orange for 50 p! Its so cheap. Our rooms cost us 4 pound a night, with en suite! Its great! Of to sample to local hot baths as this is where the town got its name. And just a general chill out day before we head to Riobamba tomorrow! Need to get the tan working too! Thanks for all your individual emails. An trying to reply to them all! Love, Naomi x x x Ecuador (Iamgine Sash song!)Well, me and Suzie made it, dont know how, but we did!
Up at 3 in the morning, 24 hours later we made it to Quito! We were an hour early, the first to check in! We had to suffer with delays in Madrid but we filled that with a very loud game of snap, (easily entertained!) on the lounge floor! suzie, of course, was louder!!
Into quito airport was a nightmare, every Ecuadorian family member was either on the flight or waiting at the arrivals lounge. Very happy to get our first stamp,met my uncle whos tall so spotted him straight away in the crowd!
Ive been staying with my family for 2 days. It was great to see my cousins again as its been way too long. Joanna, who is now 10 has been helping me with my spanish, the phrase to have is "en tu cara", in your face!! I will go far with that one!!
Back at the hostel now with Suzie, nice place, everyones really cool. Open terrace looking out over old and new town, at night it looks amazing with all the lights on all the mountains around. And the best bit is there are proper ponchos to wear if it gets cold!!
Went to Mitad del Mundo, middle of the world, yesterday. Got to try the water test, and yes, it does go the opposite way on each side of the ecuator. and on the line it just goes straight down, weird!!
Tonight me and Suzie have been invited to my aunties sister in laws restaurant. Cant wait as it will be proper ecuadorian/Spanish food. Ill also get a chance to see my cousins cousin who I met last time i was here. Hes hopefully taking us out on the town. We want salsa clubs!!
Off to a popular market tomorrow where the locals sell ponchos, hats and other ecuadorian handicraft. I have however had to draw the line as suzie did want to buy a llama.
Thats it for now, and yet again i managed to write an essay!! Off into town now to look around. Leave here on sunday.
Adios amigos!
Naomi xx
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