Thursday 31 December 2009
Happy New Year from Buenos Aires
We just wanted to wish everyone a happy new year from Buenos Aires. We are attending a party in the hostel tonight with free drink and food until Midnight, then a DJ and bar, and then we will take the rest of the night as it comes.
Last night we did some tango and Glenn was actually persuaded to take a class - but more on that in the next post.
In the meantime we wish all our friends and family a Happy New Year!
Saturday 26 December 2009
Photos from Iguazu.... no 1.
Again, so not sure how these will come out but the comments should be self-explanatory;
1) Gargantan del diablo with a rainbow which looked spectacular on the day.
2) Nina by the Diablo very very wet from the spray and the noise was incredible.
3) Glenn on one of the walkways which showed part of the immense size of the falls - they are about 4km across in total.
4) Nina and Glenn in front of the falls.
5) Picture of the falls
1) Gargantan del diablo with a rainbow which looked spectacular on the day.
2) Nina by the Diablo very very wet from the spray and the noise was incredible.
3) Glenn on one of the walkways which showed part of the immense size of the falls - they are about 4km across in total.
4) Nina and Glenn in front of the falls.
5) Picture of the falls
Happy Christmas 2009 from Villa Gesell, Argentina
Happy Christmas 2009 to everyone back in the UK (and Australia...).
So we are spending Christmas in a lovely beach resort called Villa Gesell but before we go on about the beach, we will update you on the Iguazu falls.
First a little rant about the bus company that took us from Mendoza to Buenos aires and then onto Iguazu and then back to BA. Andesmar seemed OK but we had a number of problems - really late buses with no explanation, bags getting wet (along with all the clothes inside), bags getting baked, no veggie food despite repeated confirmations it would be OK, repeated showings of the same crappy DVD on the bus as they had only bought one with them (believe me '2 fast 2 furious' does not get better on the 2nd or 3rd viewing), stops for 5 minutes which were actually for an hour etc etc. Rant over.
BUT it was all worth it to see the Iguazu falls - to quote ourselves in a much repeated word - AMAZING. We got there at about 9am and spent the day in the national park. There were lots of walks which gave you different views of the falls but the best ones were probably the close ups of the gargantan del diablo which seems from the walkway as though there is a hole in the world and everything is collapsing into it. We spent a good part of the day just looking and being overcome with awe. Oh, and we got pretty we as well as you can see from the pictures we will put up. Its difficult to convey it in words or pictures (although we can try) but here is a you tube clip from the Planet Earth DVD we have been wearing out for the last 6 months (skip to 6 minutes 19 seconds which shows the Iguazu falls). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dRFDwqYeqs&feature=PlayList&p=A92D9B0A76531EBA&index=8
The next day we went back for the morning which is the first time we have gone back to see anything twice. From the falls we could see Paraguay and Brazil across the borders and could probably have gone to the Brazilian side of the falls but it would have been a bit tight for time and we were very happy with the Argentine side! The climate was very tropical so we had to apply lots of sun cream and deet (anti insect spray) but despite this got burnt a little bit and bitten a lot...
After coming back from Iguazu we spent 2 days in Buenos aires at a really nice hostel called Portal del sur. The best part was the rooftop bar which also had a ping pong table where Nina got some practice in for Laura and Rich's garage in Melbourne. We spent one evening in a BA institution called Guerrin which is a famous pizza place. There were lots of signed pictures of Maradonna wearing Guerrnin T-shirts so he is obviously a fan. For anyone who has been to Katz Deli in New York this is the Argentine equivalent.
But on the 23rd we came down to Villa Gesell, a mere 5 hours compared to our previous 18 hour trips to Iguazu. We travelled with company Grupo Plaza who turned up on time and delivered what they promised and all in all a comfortable ride. When we arrived we were greeted with two smiling faces - our host Martha and her little girl who spoke better English than we do Spanish. We had one of those conversations where Nina is speaking broken Spanish to an 11 year old girl who is speaking very good English and Glenn is looking at his feet in shame saying Gracias and Por Favor.
Since we arrived we have spent the day either on the balcony of our lovely room, by the pool, on the beach (20 metres from the hotel) or in the small town. Glenn wants us to mention that we spent part of christmas eve going round the shops buying a new top for Nina - or what he calls ''being dragged round for hours". Note from Nina: first shopping we have done, and replacing a top that has disintegrated and it was only about an hour...
We are enjoying going for runs and walks along the beach and the atlantic surf whilst trying to avoid the worst of the sun (and not always succeeding). Whils there is a nice amount of people in the resort, it is far from heaving, which apparently happens in January and February so we came at the right time. It is almost all Argentine tourists and everyone we speak to seems quite chuffed that we are visiting Villa Gesell, rather than Mar del Plata down the coast which we think is borderline Benidorm.
Christmas day was really nice as we managed to speak to a lot of people back home, although the phone line wasn't perfect. Our lovely hosts laid on a nice breakfast including a christmas loaf to which we helped ourselves unashamedly. We wish to document that we went for a 20 minute slow jog along the beach to offset the enormous of food we ate that day. After time by the pool and the beach, where we had our special Mendoza wine, we went to a really nice restaurant called Casa de Antonia for lots of lovely food and (more) wine.
We are spending another couple of days here before we return to BA for new year. Happy Christmas and New Year to everyone!
Nina and Glenn xx
So we are spending Christmas in a lovely beach resort called Villa Gesell but before we go on about the beach, we will update you on the Iguazu falls.
First a little rant about the bus company that took us from Mendoza to Buenos aires and then onto Iguazu and then back to BA. Andesmar seemed OK but we had a number of problems - really late buses with no explanation, bags getting wet (along with all the clothes inside), bags getting baked, no veggie food despite repeated confirmations it would be OK, repeated showings of the same crappy DVD on the bus as they had only bought one with them (believe me '2 fast 2 furious' does not get better on the 2nd or 3rd viewing), stops for 5 minutes which were actually for an hour etc etc. Rant over.
BUT it was all worth it to see the Iguazu falls - to quote ourselves in a much repeated word - AMAZING. We got there at about 9am and spent the day in the national park. There were lots of walks which gave you different views of the falls but the best ones were probably the close ups of the gargantan del diablo which seems from the walkway as though there is a hole in the world and everything is collapsing into it. We spent a good part of the day just looking and being overcome with awe. Oh, and we got pretty we as well as you can see from the pictures we will put up. Its difficult to convey it in words or pictures (although we can try) but here is a you tube clip from the Planet Earth DVD we have been wearing out for the last 6 months (skip to 6 minutes 19 seconds which shows the Iguazu falls). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dRFDwqYeqs&feature=PlayList&p=A92D9B0A76531EBA&index=8
The next day we went back for the morning which is the first time we have gone back to see anything twice. From the falls we could see Paraguay and Brazil across the borders and could probably have gone to the Brazilian side of the falls but it would have been a bit tight for time and we were very happy with the Argentine side! The climate was very tropical so we had to apply lots of sun cream and deet (anti insect spray) but despite this got burnt a little bit and bitten a lot...
After coming back from Iguazu we spent 2 days in Buenos aires at a really nice hostel called Portal del sur. The best part was the rooftop bar which also had a ping pong table where Nina got some practice in for Laura and Rich's garage in Melbourne. We spent one evening in a BA institution called Guerrin which is a famous pizza place. There were lots of signed pictures of Maradonna wearing Guerrnin T-shirts so he is obviously a fan. For anyone who has been to Katz Deli in New York this is the Argentine equivalent.
But on the 23rd we came down to Villa Gesell, a mere 5 hours compared to our previous 18 hour trips to Iguazu. We travelled with company Grupo Plaza who turned up on time and delivered what they promised and all in all a comfortable ride. When we arrived we were greeted with two smiling faces - our host Martha and her little girl who spoke better English than we do Spanish. We had one of those conversations where Nina is speaking broken Spanish to an 11 year old girl who is speaking very good English and Glenn is looking at his feet in shame saying Gracias and Por Favor.
Since we arrived we have spent the day either on the balcony of our lovely room, by the pool, on the beach (20 metres from the hotel) or in the small town. Glenn wants us to mention that we spent part of christmas eve going round the shops buying a new top for Nina - or what he calls ''being dragged round for hours". Note from Nina: first shopping we have done, and replacing a top that has disintegrated and it was only about an hour...
We are enjoying going for runs and walks along the beach and the atlantic surf whilst trying to avoid the worst of the sun (and not always succeeding). Whils there is a nice amount of people in the resort, it is far from heaving, which apparently happens in January and February so we came at the right time. It is almost all Argentine tourists and everyone we speak to seems quite chuffed that we are visiting Villa Gesell, rather than Mar del Plata down the coast which we think is borderline Benidorm.
Christmas day was really nice as we managed to speak to a lot of people back home, although the phone line wasn't perfect. Our lovely hosts laid on a nice breakfast including a christmas loaf to which we helped ourselves unashamedly. We wish to document that we went for a 20 minute slow jog along the beach to offset the enormous of food we ate that day. After time by the pool and the beach, where we had our special Mendoza wine, we went to a really nice restaurant called Casa de Antonia for lots of lovely food and (more) wine.
We are spending another couple of days here before we return to BA for new year. Happy Christmas and New Year to everyone!
Nina and Glenn xx
Wednesday 16 December 2009
Horse riding, rafting and Wine tour
Hey everyone
So we are on our last evening in Mendoza and are gearing up for an overnight trip on the bus to Buenos aires and then another overnight trip to the Iguazu falls. These are massive water falls and on the border of Brazil and Argentina, we really want to make sure we see them hence we are travelling up there before christmas.
We have had a great time chilling out in Mendoza and have had some seriously good wine- both cheap and more expensive, in restaurants, cafes and from the bodegas themselves. We have bought a couple of the nicer Malbecs for Christmas day and New Year to spoil ourselves with.
One of the best days we had in Mendoza was rafting during the day on the Rio Mendoza - which is basically a river which looks like a nesquik advert - but we were assured that was just sediment and not pollution! We have a good DVD of pictures taken by the company and will try and put photos up. It was really good fun, not least due to the humiliation of being made to wear wetsuits. On the same day we did a ´sunset horse ride´where some real gaucho cowboys took us out on some very docile horses across the Andes. There were lots of ýee ha´ from the group as we trotted and felt we were going really fast.... Next day there was lots of sore areas including heads from the wine and BBQ we had after the ride. We do have pictures of Glenn on the horse but it will take some more persuasion before publishing...
Anyway, off to the bus station for our marathon journey across Argentina. We are well armed with pringles, bananas and cheese rolls.
Love to everyone
Nina and Glenn xxx
So we are on our last evening in Mendoza and are gearing up for an overnight trip on the bus to Buenos aires and then another overnight trip to the Iguazu falls. These are massive water falls and on the border of Brazil and Argentina, we really want to make sure we see them hence we are travelling up there before christmas.
We have had a great time chilling out in Mendoza and have had some seriously good wine- both cheap and more expensive, in restaurants, cafes and from the bodegas themselves. We have bought a couple of the nicer Malbecs for Christmas day and New Year to spoil ourselves with.
One of the best days we had in Mendoza was rafting during the day on the Rio Mendoza - which is basically a river which looks like a nesquik advert - but we were assured that was just sediment and not pollution! We have a good DVD of pictures taken by the company and will try and put photos up. It was really good fun, not least due to the humiliation of being made to wear wetsuits. On the same day we did a ´sunset horse ride´where some real gaucho cowboys took us out on some very docile horses across the Andes. There were lots of ýee ha´ from the group as we trotted and felt we were going really fast.... Next day there was lots of sore areas including heads from the wine and BBQ we had after the ride. We do have pictures of Glenn on the horse but it will take some more persuasion before publishing...
Anyway, off to the bus station for our marathon journey across Argentina. We are well armed with pringles, bananas and cheese rolls.
Love to everyone
Nina and Glenn xxx
Monday 14 December 2009
Torres del paine photos... 2
Some photos again.. not sure of the order in which they will appear but some commentary.
1) Glenn and the glacier... this point took us about 7 or 8 hours of walking to get to and we were right on top of the glacier - amazing.
2) Glenn having a cup of coffee by the glacier.
3) Nina and Glenn near a lake just outside the hostel Paine Grande where we stayed the final night.
4)Nina and Glenn in the bar at hostel Paine grande - they had ´happy sour´where two pisco sours where the price of one...
5) Glenn on the snow.. you can just see the ´torres´of torres del paine in the background.
1) Glenn and the glacier... this point took us about 7 or 8 hours of walking to get to and we were right on top of the glacier - amazing.
2) Glenn having a cup of coffee by the glacier.
3) Nina and Glenn near a lake just outside the hostel Paine Grande where we stayed the final night.
4)Nina and Glenn in the bar at hostel Paine grande - they had ´happy sour´where two pisco sours where the price of one...
5) Glenn on the snow.. you can just see the ´torres´of torres del paine in the background.
Saturday 12 December 2009
Hello Argentina....
Hi everyone
So after a long break, we are just going to do a quick update to the blog as this is a slow computer in the hostel. We will try and find an internet cafe in the next few days to post photos etc.
So quick update of December so far!
After buying our compass in Puerta Natales, we went to the national Park Torres del Paine and spent 6 days hiking with huge backpacks on - often uphill on difficult trails - and it was absolutely amazing, the best thing by far. Hopefully the photos will do it some justice, but we saw impressive mountains, beautiful clear lakes, and glacial streams (and obviously glaciers).
We stayed in little refugios, which are basically hostels providing basic accomodation in 6 bed dormrooms - Glenn always had the top bunk as less likely to bump his head! We carried food for brekky and lunch, and some of our favourite memories are meals outdoors - such as pasta and soup in the sun, cup of tea by a glacier and noodles halfway up a valley. The 3 course dinners we had in the evening were brilliant robust food, which is what you need after 12 hours of hard trekking (well, other days, it was more like 4 hours!). The refugios had a ski-lodge type atmosphere in the evening which was cool - lots of people tired but happy after being outdoors all day wanting to have a drink or two... We generally went to bed early-ish before 10 as we were getting up for 6 am or so, but we still managed to have the odd glass of wine, beer or Glenn´s Glenfiddich (small hip flask for ´emergency purposes´).
One of the highlights was a day we covered a lot of distance with 12 hours trekking, the midpoint of which was a trek up the tip of the valley frances (middle of the W) which involved trekking up a snow covered piste to reach a mirador (viewpoint). It was slow going upwards - imagine walking in deep snow in trainers, without walking poles (which we noticed, everyone else had) but coming down was ace. We basically skied down but on our posteriors. We have a couple of wicked videos for when we get home. It was probably dangerous with submerged rocks and glacial streams but it was totally fun and so much easier than walking down, we don´t care. We couldn´t feel our freezing backsides for half an hour but, hey, it was cool.
Overall, we had great weather - sunny but often really windy - but it would have been a totally different experience in rainy, snowy, foggy weather.
So we finished the W circuit and then got up at 5.30am (driven out by the worst snorers we have ever heard) to do a 5 hour trek to get the bus back to civilisation. We then spent a few days travelling back up to Santiago via Puerta Natales and Punta Arenas and then a 7 hours bus ride across the Andes to Mendoza, Argentina.
We are staying here for a few days to have some fun - and have booked up for some rafting and horse riding (Glenn only convinced after 6 weeks of nagging) and will be doing a wine tour as well. This is serious wine country and we are looking forward to doing lots of tasting of top wines. The weather is beautiful and it is nice to walk around without packs on our backs (all our cold weather gear is being stuffed down the bottom of our luggage).
Love to everyone and hope the xmas parties are going well!
Nina and Glenn xxx
So after a long break, we are just going to do a quick update to the blog as this is a slow computer in the hostel. We will try and find an internet cafe in the next few days to post photos etc.
So quick update of December so far!
After buying our compass in Puerta Natales, we went to the national Park Torres del Paine and spent 6 days hiking with huge backpacks on - often uphill on difficult trails - and it was absolutely amazing, the best thing by far. Hopefully the photos will do it some justice, but we saw impressive mountains, beautiful clear lakes, and glacial streams (and obviously glaciers).
We stayed in little refugios, which are basically hostels providing basic accomodation in 6 bed dormrooms - Glenn always had the top bunk as less likely to bump his head! We carried food for brekky and lunch, and some of our favourite memories are meals outdoors - such as pasta and soup in the sun, cup of tea by a glacier and noodles halfway up a valley. The 3 course dinners we had in the evening were brilliant robust food, which is what you need after 12 hours of hard trekking (well, other days, it was more like 4 hours!). The refugios had a ski-lodge type atmosphere in the evening which was cool - lots of people tired but happy after being outdoors all day wanting to have a drink or two... We generally went to bed early-ish before 10 as we were getting up for 6 am or so, but we still managed to have the odd glass of wine, beer or Glenn´s Glenfiddich (small hip flask for ´emergency purposes´).
One of the highlights was a day we covered a lot of distance with 12 hours trekking, the midpoint of which was a trek up the tip of the valley frances (middle of the W) which involved trekking up a snow covered piste to reach a mirador (viewpoint). It was slow going upwards - imagine walking in deep snow in trainers, without walking poles (which we noticed, everyone else had) but coming down was ace. We basically skied down but on our posteriors. We have a couple of wicked videos for when we get home. It was probably dangerous with submerged rocks and glacial streams but it was totally fun and so much easier than walking down, we don´t care. We couldn´t feel our freezing backsides for half an hour but, hey, it was cool.
Overall, we had great weather - sunny but often really windy - but it would have been a totally different experience in rainy, snowy, foggy weather.
So we finished the W circuit and then got up at 5.30am (driven out by the worst snorers we have ever heard) to do a 5 hour trek to get the bus back to civilisation. We then spent a few days travelling back up to Santiago via Puerta Natales and Punta Arenas and then a 7 hours bus ride across the Andes to Mendoza, Argentina.
We are staying here for a few days to have some fun - and have booked up for some rafting and horse riding (Glenn only convinced after 6 weeks of nagging) and will be doing a wine tour as well. This is serious wine country and we are looking forward to doing lots of tasting of top wines. The weather is beautiful and it is nice to walk around without packs on our backs (all our cold weather gear is being stuffed down the bottom of our luggage).
Love to everyone and hope the xmas parties are going well!
Nina and Glenn xxx
Tuesday 1 December 2009
It´s snowing.....
Hey everyone and HAPPY birthday to Granny Guy - 21 again today - lots of love and we hope you have a great day.
So, we have gone from balmy cafe culture in Santiago to freezing cold in currently snowing Puerta natales. Yesterday was fun - another 3am start to get our flight, uncomfortable plane, then bus for 3 hours with lots of snoozing on the way. We passed the ferry terminal in punta arenas where, if you want to, you can get the boat to Antarctica. We decided not to (no pubs or chip shops, we think).
So we are staying at a really nice hostel called Los carretas with a nice big warm room and private bathroom, with hot showers. Bit of hostal luxury before our next adventure. Tomorrow, we are setting off for the Torres del Paine national park for 6 nights. We are staying in little refugios (small basic huts with bunk beds and toilets) so we don´t carry tents but we do carry food, sleeping bags and clothes for 5 to 6 days of trekking. The wikipedia link below gives a sense of what we are doing (´w´ circuit).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torres_del_Paine#Hiking
Obviously, we won´t have internet access for a few days - in fact most areas of the park will just be connected by radio signal. So, we will update (probably with lots of pictures!) when we get back to civilisation, currently planned to be on Dec 8th. If it is any earlier it will be due to getting lost or picked up by the helicopter of shame courtesy of our insurance company. The route is supposed to be well marked and idiot proof, but still nina will not be directing this trek - glenn is in charge of getting the map the right way round. We are now off to buy a compass....
Love to everyone
Nina and Glenn xxx
So, we have gone from balmy cafe culture in Santiago to freezing cold in currently snowing Puerta natales. Yesterday was fun - another 3am start to get our flight, uncomfortable plane, then bus for 3 hours with lots of snoozing on the way. We passed the ferry terminal in punta arenas where, if you want to, you can get the boat to Antarctica. We decided not to (no pubs or chip shops, we think).
So we are staying at a really nice hostel called Los carretas with a nice big warm room and private bathroom, with hot showers. Bit of hostal luxury before our next adventure. Tomorrow, we are setting off for the Torres del Paine national park for 6 nights. We are staying in little refugios (small basic huts with bunk beds and toilets) so we don´t carry tents but we do carry food, sleeping bags and clothes for 5 to 6 days of trekking. The wikipedia link below gives a sense of what we are doing (´w´ circuit).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torres_del_Paine#Hiking
Obviously, we won´t have internet access for a few days - in fact most areas of the park will just be connected by radio signal. So, we will update (probably with lots of pictures!) when we get back to civilisation, currently planned to be on Dec 8th. If it is any earlier it will be due to getting lost or picked up by the helicopter of shame courtesy of our insurance company. The route is supposed to be well marked and idiot proof, but still nina will not be directing this trek - glenn is in charge of getting the map the right way round. We are now off to buy a compass....
Love to everyone
Nina and Glenn xxx
Sunday 29 November 2009
San Pedro to Santiago
Hi everyone
A quick upate following the posting of some pictures last night - and an explanation of the moon photo.
Quick response to Laura´s question. It is really hot most of the time in the day. Most people wear trousers as it is all they have or protection from the sun. (or they look lame in shorts...). But on the Uyuni photos we were up quite early (4.30am) and it was freezing (-5), so everyone is wearing about 20 layers under the trousers. Also, in the evening before sunset you get good photos, but it can be pretty cold!
So on our last night in San Pedro, we went star gazing (or astronomical observation) at a local observatory just outside of town. It is in the middle of the desert away from towns or villages to spoil the sky and we got picked up at 11pm. It is run by alain and his wife, both of whom are lovely and speak several languages. It is probably worth the money alone to see the sky so clearly with the naked eye and we had an hour long ´tour of the sky´so we can both identify orions belt, sirius, andean cross, pleiades and Jupiter (unfortunately the sky is different in the northern hemisphere, so we will have to practice there). They use a big laser wand (technical term) whch identifies the stars they are talking about as well. We also spent about an hour looking through their 10 or so large telescopes which they trained on Jupiter, the moon, far off galaxies, and nebulas. At the greenwich observatory the equivalent equipment would probably be behind closed doors or velvet ropes where untrained people couldnt touch it. Anyway, so Alain used our cameras to take a photo of the moon through the telescope, hence the good picture with my camera! He knew all about cameras too, so modified the exposures and stuff to make it a good picture (he discovered aspects to my camera I didn´t know about).
We finished with hot chocolate and got back about 3am. Cool night. It was like the Salare Uyuni- so big and natural, it makes you feel both special and insignificant as well.
Then a 23 hour bus ride to Santiago. Not much to say except low quality films (ghosts of girlfriends past and the proposal) and not much choice of food (glenn had empanadas/pasties, nina had crisps) but good seats and warm so not much complaining from us. It stopped at several towns along the western coast so we saw some of the nicer seaside resorts and the Pacific.
So we have spent the last few days in a hostel in Santiago called ´terra extremus´. It is pretty laid back, cheap and central so it works for us. Santiago is a great city and feels pretty European. There are a lot of students and it is just a normal city, which is nice after a week or so of being in the middle of nowhere. We have been on the metro, to the fish market (top lunch), up a massive hill for the views, round the main square etc. etc.
Glenn keeps talking about the ´battle of santiago´which is not a historical battle, but part of football history apparently (!). According to glenn, it is the worst/best game in world cup history. It puts the thierry henry controversy into perspective. We can see the stadium around the city but they don´t let tourists in (Nina is very upset). We have put a you tube link below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOtL1m1o_ok
Tomorrow (30 Nov) we get on a flight for Punta Arenas for the next stage of our travels, which is a trek in Patagonia in Torres del Paine. It is really far south, so we are enjoying the last few hours of warmth. We past a google map which should show you where we are headed.
Torres del Paine, ChileEnlace: <http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=es&geocode=&q=torres+del+paine+chile&sll=53.800651,-4.064941&sspn=11.071054,28.168945&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Torres+del+Paine,+Chile&ll=-50.981577,-72.499074&spn=2.946821,7.042236&t=h&z=7>
Love to everyone
Nina and Glenn xxx
A quick upate following the posting of some pictures last night - and an explanation of the moon photo.
Quick response to Laura´s question. It is really hot most of the time in the day. Most people wear trousers as it is all they have or protection from the sun. (or they look lame in shorts...). But on the Uyuni photos we were up quite early (4.30am) and it was freezing (-5), so everyone is wearing about 20 layers under the trousers. Also, in the evening before sunset you get good photos, but it can be pretty cold!
So on our last night in San Pedro, we went star gazing (or astronomical observation) at a local observatory just outside of town. It is in the middle of the desert away from towns or villages to spoil the sky and we got picked up at 11pm. It is run by alain and his wife, both of whom are lovely and speak several languages. It is probably worth the money alone to see the sky so clearly with the naked eye and we had an hour long ´tour of the sky´so we can both identify orions belt, sirius, andean cross, pleiades and Jupiter (unfortunately the sky is different in the northern hemisphere, so we will have to practice there). They use a big laser wand (technical term) whch identifies the stars they are talking about as well. We also spent about an hour looking through their 10 or so large telescopes which they trained on Jupiter, the moon, far off galaxies, and nebulas. At the greenwich observatory the equivalent equipment would probably be behind closed doors or velvet ropes where untrained people couldnt touch it. Anyway, so Alain used our cameras to take a photo of the moon through the telescope, hence the good picture with my camera! He knew all about cameras too, so modified the exposures and stuff to make it a good picture (he discovered aspects to my camera I didn´t know about).
We finished with hot chocolate and got back about 3am. Cool night. It was like the Salare Uyuni- so big and natural, it makes you feel both special and insignificant as well.
Then a 23 hour bus ride to Santiago. Not much to say except low quality films (ghosts of girlfriends past and the proposal) and not much choice of food (glenn had empanadas/pasties, nina had crisps) but good seats and warm so not much complaining from us. It stopped at several towns along the western coast so we saw some of the nicer seaside resorts and the Pacific.
So we have spent the last few days in a hostel in Santiago called ´terra extremus´. It is pretty laid back, cheap and central so it works for us. Santiago is a great city and feels pretty European. There are a lot of students and it is just a normal city, which is nice after a week or so of being in the middle of nowhere. We have been on the metro, to the fish market (top lunch), up a massive hill for the views, round the main square etc. etc.
Glenn keeps talking about the ´battle of santiago´which is not a historical battle, but part of football history apparently (!). According to glenn, it is the worst/best game in world cup history. It puts the thierry henry controversy into perspective. We can see the stadium around the city but they don´t let tourists in (Nina is very upset). We have put a you tube link below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOtL1m1o_ok
Tomorrow (30 Nov) we get on a flight for Punta Arenas for the next stage of our travels, which is a trek in Patagonia in Torres del Paine. It is really far south, so we are enjoying the last few hours of warmth. We past a google map which should show you where we are headed.
Torres del Paine, ChileEnlace: <http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=es&geocode=&q=torres+del+paine+chile&sll=53.800651,-4.064941&sspn=11.071054,28.168945&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Torres+del+Paine,+Chile&ll=-50.981577,-72.499074&spn=2.946821,7.042236&t=h&z=7>
Love to everyone
Nina and Glenn xxx
Saturday 28 November 2009
Salar Uyini photos # 2 and San Pedro De Atacama
Salar Uyini photos # 1
Monday 23 November 2009
Hello Chile!
Hey everyone
So we have reached Chile (San Pedro de atacama) and are staying in a nice hostal (double bed, private bathroom) but we are practically in the desert so it is very hot. We are just staying here for a couple of days before we take the 23hr bus ride to Santiago which is leaving on the 24th. Below, we have pasted a link to google maps which should show where we are and where we came from (uyuni).
http://maps.google.cl/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=es&geocode=&q=san+pedro+de+atacama+chile&sll=-35.675147,-71.542969&sspn=66.902547,135.175781&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=San+Pedro+de+Atacama&ll=-22.919883,-68.209896&spn=9.785507,16.896973&z=6
We have spent the last few days on the Salar de uyuni which is basically a massive plain made of salt. It goes on for thousands of miles and the landscape is entirely flat which means the perspective is very odd. We basically had a tour for 3 days of the most interesting sights of the salar - such as the ´tree of rock´ ´fish island´and the salvador dali desert. It is really difficult to describe so we will put up some pictures when we get a chance. It was beautiful, weird and a highlight of the trip.
The accomodation on the trip was basic to say the least! So it is nice to have a comfortable place to sleep. What is cool, is that some people we met in La Paz on the biking trip took a different tour and are now in San Pedro, so we have met up with them for a drink. They are an Irish couple, so obviously we talked about the football match!
The tour we took had 6 people on it - us, a couple of australians, a korean guy and a dutch guy. The Korean guy taught us all the different ways to address each other in Korean, the dutch guy acted as translator for the driver/guide and the australian guy discussed sport with Glenn (for ages!). So it was a cool trip.
We will post again when we reach Santiago, so love to everyone.
Nina and Glenn xxx
So we have reached Chile (San Pedro de atacama) and are staying in a nice hostal (double bed, private bathroom) but we are practically in the desert so it is very hot. We are just staying here for a couple of days before we take the 23hr bus ride to Santiago which is leaving on the 24th. Below, we have pasted a link to google maps which should show where we are and where we came from (uyuni).
http://maps.google.cl/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=es&geocode=&q=san+pedro+de+atacama+chile&sll=-35.675147,-71.542969&sspn=66.902547,135.175781&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=San+Pedro+de+Atacama&ll=-22.919883,-68.209896&spn=9.785507,16.896973&z=6
We have spent the last few days on the Salar de uyuni which is basically a massive plain made of salt. It goes on for thousands of miles and the landscape is entirely flat which means the perspective is very odd. We basically had a tour for 3 days of the most interesting sights of the salar - such as the ´tree of rock´ ´fish island´and the salvador dali desert. It is really difficult to describe so we will put up some pictures when we get a chance. It was beautiful, weird and a highlight of the trip.
The accomodation on the trip was basic to say the least! So it is nice to have a comfortable place to sleep. What is cool, is that some people we met in La Paz on the biking trip took a different tour and are now in San Pedro, so we have met up with them for a drink. They are an Irish couple, so obviously we talked about the football match!
The tour we took had 6 people on it - us, a couple of australians, a korean guy and a dutch guy. The Korean guy taught us all the different ways to address each other in Korean, the dutch guy acted as translator for the driver/guide and the australian guy discussed sport with Glenn (for ages!). So it was a cool trip.
We will post again when we reach Santiago, so love to everyone.
Nina and Glenn xxx
Wednesday 18 November 2009
The worlds most dangerous bike ride...
Hey everyone
Well we both survived a bike ride down the ´worlds most dangerous road´. This is basically a road from La Cumbre (4,700ft) to Yolosa (3,600) just outside La Paz. It starts in the mountains and ends up in a jungle like region and is amazing, awesome and vvvv scary. We went with the best company around (gravity assisted mountain biking) and if you go on their website you can see more about the ride.
www.gravitybolivia.com
Lots and lots of other companies offer this route but Gravity is the original and has the best write-ups in the guidebooks. They are probably more expensive but bearing in mind the need for safety they were well worth it.
The bikes were top quality (worth easilyGBP1200) with professional disc brakes and suspension. We were told if we didn´t wear the helmet, gloves and visibility bib we would be put on the bus and off the bikes. Emphasis was on safety and security as well as having fun and they catered to those of us who were ´nervous beginners´(that´s nina and glenn to some extent) as well as those who had mountain biking experience.
It was a ride which took c 4-5 hours but was broken up into sections. The biking instructions were like skiing instructions (direct with your eyes, move your body weight to corner etc). However, even the easier parts were dangerous- just like when you let your skis run on an easy blue run then you can easily lose control and head over the edge of the mountain. Ditto on the bike. But we had to contend with rocky roads, and staying on the left hand side which happened to be closest to the 600m drops.
It was surprisingly hard work (for biking downhill) and we were both tired at the end. We both had tummy bugs (everyone has them in Bolivia) so couldn´t fully appreciate the food included, but it did look nice.
We ended the day with one person down - he came off the bike and cut his face and dislocated a finger so went to hospital. It was on the first section and he went 15m down the cliff face. After that we kept our brakes applied even more!
We had tea at the animal sanctuary where there were hot showers, swimming pool and dinner. We didn´t have long there unfortunately but would have liked to stay longer.
The 3 hour trip on the bus home was up the road we cycled down. On the bikes we had focussed on the road, not the views, so it was good to see the views (and vertical drops) on the way back. The guides had some beers and were telling lots of amusing and not-so amusing stories. They told us about some people who had died on the route which was v sad. We counted the crucifixes on the way back which marked the people who had recently died. Lots of people agreed on the bus that if they had experienced the ride up the mountain before getting on their bikes, they would possibly have not done it. Someone said ís it possible to retroactively #### yourself´?
So why did we do it? It was a great day and really good fun. The company were very professional and gave us the right instructions to have a safe day. In all honesty, Nina didn´t know how dangerous it was before we did it and just thought it was a tourist myth. But it was awesome and to be fair, you could go as slow (or quick) as you liked.
We got a dvd, t-shirt, postcard and free pen so it we have some souvenirs at last (we haven´t bought any yet)!
We are getting a bus tonight to Uyuni where we will try and book a 3-4 day tour across the salt plains. The tour should take us across the chilean border to San pedro de atacama. So we might not be posting for a while until we get to Chile.
Hope everyone is well. Good luck to england vs the all blacks at the weekend,they will need it.
Nina and Glenn xxxx
Well we both survived a bike ride down the ´worlds most dangerous road´. This is basically a road from La Cumbre (4,700ft) to Yolosa (3,600) just outside La Paz. It starts in the mountains and ends up in a jungle like region and is amazing, awesome and vvvv scary. We went with the best company around (gravity assisted mountain biking) and if you go on their website you can see more about the ride.
www.gravitybolivia.com
Lots and lots of other companies offer this route but Gravity is the original and has the best write-ups in the guidebooks. They are probably more expensive but bearing in mind the need for safety they were well worth it.
The bikes were top quality (worth easilyGBP1200) with professional disc brakes and suspension. We were told if we didn´t wear the helmet, gloves and visibility bib we would be put on the bus and off the bikes. Emphasis was on safety and security as well as having fun and they catered to those of us who were ´nervous beginners´(that´s nina and glenn to some extent) as well as those who had mountain biking experience.
It was a ride which took c 4-5 hours but was broken up into sections. The biking instructions were like skiing instructions (direct with your eyes, move your body weight to corner etc). However, even the easier parts were dangerous- just like when you let your skis run on an easy blue run then you can easily lose control and head over the edge of the mountain. Ditto on the bike. But we had to contend with rocky roads, and staying on the left hand side which happened to be closest to the 600m drops.
It was surprisingly hard work (for biking downhill) and we were both tired at the end. We both had tummy bugs (everyone has them in Bolivia) so couldn´t fully appreciate the food included, but it did look nice.
We ended the day with one person down - he came off the bike and cut his face and dislocated a finger so went to hospital. It was on the first section and he went 15m down the cliff face. After that we kept our brakes applied even more!
We had tea at the animal sanctuary where there were hot showers, swimming pool and dinner. We didn´t have long there unfortunately but would have liked to stay longer.
The 3 hour trip on the bus home was up the road we cycled down. On the bikes we had focussed on the road, not the views, so it was good to see the views (and vertical drops) on the way back. The guides had some beers and were telling lots of amusing and not-so amusing stories. They told us about some people who had died on the route which was v sad. We counted the crucifixes on the way back which marked the people who had recently died. Lots of people agreed on the bus that if they had experienced the ride up the mountain before getting on their bikes, they would possibly have not done it. Someone said ís it possible to retroactively #### yourself´?
So why did we do it? It was a great day and really good fun. The company were very professional and gave us the right instructions to have a safe day. In all honesty, Nina didn´t know how dangerous it was before we did it and just thought it was a tourist myth. But it was awesome and to be fair, you could go as slow (or quick) as you liked.
We got a dvd, t-shirt, postcard and free pen so it we have some souvenirs at last (we haven´t bought any yet)!
We are getting a bus tonight to Uyuni where we will try and book a 3-4 day tour across the salt plains. The tour should take us across the chilean border to San pedro de atacama. So we might not be posting for a while until we get to Chile.
Hope everyone is well. Good luck to england vs the all blacks at the weekend,they will need it.
Nina and Glenn xxxx
The worlds most dangerous road pictures
Monday 16 November 2009
Second go at uploading pictures
OK so thought I would have another go at posting some pictures. I am not sure how the text comes out, so am just going to do the explanation all at once.
1) Nina at the top of a hill on the MP trail. I might be smiling but have just walked a helluva long way up!
2) Glenn and Nina at the top of dead woman´s pass on the MP trail. This is the highest point and takes ages to get up there. V pleased we made it.
3) Glenn near Lake Titicacaa on the Peruvian side in Puno. Its as cold as it looks..
4) Nina in a poncho - it seemed only fair as we put glenns up. Although it was wet and rainy that was a really good afternoon on the inca trail (lots of singing).
5) Nina in a street in la Paz. It is the best example of colonial architecture in the city - most of the rest of it is new. You can just see the surrounding hills in the background.
1) Nina at the top of a hill on the MP trail. I might be smiling but have just walked a helluva long way up!
2) Glenn and Nina at the top of dead woman´s pass on the MP trail. This is the highest point and takes ages to get up there. V pleased we made it.
3) Glenn near Lake Titicacaa on the Peruvian side in Puno. Its as cold as it looks..
4) Nina in a poncho - it seemed only fair as we put glenns up. Although it was wet and rainy that was a really good afternoon on the inca trail (lots of singing).
5) Nina in a street in la Paz. It is the best example of colonial architecture in the city - most of the rest of it is new. You can just see the surrounding hills in the background.
Bye bye Peru, hello Bolivia
Hi everyone
This post is just from Nina. I am sitting in our new hostel in La Paz, Bolivia (Arthy´s guesthouse) which is a nice quiet and basic hostal. We have a twin room and share showers, toilets etc. (all very clean) but there is a big communal room and it only costs us c $10 a night, so it is pretty good value. The only odd thing is that there is a midnight curfew...
So on Friday 13th (always good day for travel) we left Arequipa for a 5 hour bus ride to Puno, which is closer to the border with Bolivia and next to Lake Titicacaa. Bus ride was uneventful (we travelled with Flores) and we arrived at hostal Pukara. Really nice hostal - more like a hotel- which was lovely. I thought it was really good value at 35 soles (or about $10) with a double room and private bathroom. Realised our mistake when it cost $35 instead - still it was probably worth it.. The only downside of the place was that our room was on the 4th floor and no lift - still have to keep all those muscles discovered on the trek to MP in play.
We were only staying one night in Puno as we wanted to cross the border. So we quickly bought a ticket to La Paz, went for a quick look round Lake Titicacaa (massive!) and then got some food. Last night in Peru so we enjoyed one of their famous drinks (Pisco Sour) and it was lovely. We were going to spend some time in Puno but wanted to press onto Bolivia. The main tourist attraction is going to some islands in the middle of the Lake which we have been told is a bit like a ´human zoo´- so we skipped that.
OK - quick run down of the fun that was crossing the border day - Sat 14th. (Most over-used phrase of the day...íts all part of the travelling experience´).
1. Got to bus station at 7am for bus to desaguerdo (went with pan americano and they seemed fine).
2. 3hr ish bus ride. Fine.
3. Everyone gets off at desaguerdo, which is just a border town described as unscrupulous in the guide book. Join a line for peruvian border. With all our luggage as the bus isnt allowed across the border.
4. Stand in line for ages and ages. In the sun. With 2 chinese people singing the beegees behind us (great).
5. Get stamped at the peruvian embassy after c 1.5 hr wait. Cross border bridge and show passports to scary looking police on way over. We were braced to be asked to pay ´gringa tax´which is just people trying to take money off non-south american people, but were fine.
6. Join line on Bolivian side. Have immigration card all filled out as were given it on bus.
7. Get to front of queue. Have wrong immigration card, so ours were taken off us and we were given new ones to fill out. Exactly the same info, so don´t really understand. Happens to the group that were on the bus so pretty chaotic.
8. Get on bus with luggage. Eat skittles we saved for a treat once we had crossed border.
9. 10 mins down the road, everyone off bus, and scary looking police check everyones passport. Overkill methinks.
10. Get to La Paz after another 3 hr bus ride and walk 15 mins uphill to hostal....Really tired!
La Paz is pretty different to the places we stayed in Peru - which were mainly small-ish towns and had quite a lot of tourists in. Don´t get me wrong, there are a stack of travellers here, but this is a capital city and really feels like it. It is sooo busy with everyone running around like London. Lots of cars beeping and absolutely loads of street stalls run by ´mature´women. They sell everything from wallets to nappies and the weird thing is they come in clumps. So you have 3 selling nappies and then 5 mins later 3 selling wallets... Also Peru was mainly sunny - it seems to rain a lot here. Really like it though as it has a good buzz. We went to an English pub last night and met a guy from Brum who works in the bar - we started talking about the Gun Barrels (a student pub in selly oak) which was the most random conversation ever.
We have mapped out our time in Bolivia and we don´t have very long as we need to be in Santiago (Chile) for 1 Dec as we have an internal flight to Patagonia. So we have already booked a bus to Uyuni on Wed 18th (overnight) where we will do our next tour and have spent today wandering round the city. There are some pretty aspects and some cool places, but we haven´t really got enough time to spend here. I am going to buy some alpaca wear though (very warm stuff) before we go. Bolivia is supposed to be a lot more ´basic´and slightly less travelled than Peru and Chile so it is a bit of an adjustment, but so far we are really enjoying it (once we were allowed into the country).
Tomorrow we are going on a bike ride on one of the most dramatic roads in the world. ...Will let you know how it goes in the next blog.
We will also keep trying on the pictures - as you can tell from our try yesterday we managed to upload them but it wasn´t very successful and it really took ages. We are both worried about losing all our photos so burned them onto a CD which we are going to send home. Might also try to upload photos to an album on flickr...
So its bye bye Peru and hello Bolivia!
This post is just from Nina. I am sitting in our new hostel in La Paz, Bolivia (Arthy´s guesthouse) which is a nice quiet and basic hostal. We have a twin room and share showers, toilets etc. (all very clean) but there is a big communal room and it only costs us c $10 a night, so it is pretty good value. The only odd thing is that there is a midnight curfew...
So on Friday 13th (always good day for travel) we left Arequipa for a 5 hour bus ride to Puno, which is closer to the border with Bolivia and next to Lake Titicacaa. Bus ride was uneventful (we travelled with Flores) and we arrived at hostal Pukara. Really nice hostal - more like a hotel- which was lovely. I thought it was really good value at 35 soles (or about $10) with a double room and private bathroom. Realised our mistake when it cost $35 instead - still it was probably worth it.. The only downside of the place was that our room was on the 4th floor and no lift - still have to keep all those muscles discovered on the trek to MP in play.
We were only staying one night in Puno as we wanted to cross the border. So we quickly bought a ticket to La Paz, went for a quick look round Lake Titicacaa (massive!) and then got some food. Last night in Peru so we enjoyed one of their famous drinks (Pisco Sour) and it was lovely. We were going to spend some time in Puno but wanted to press onto Bolivia. The main tourist attraction is going to some islands in the middle of the Lake which we have been told is a bit like a ´human zoo´- so we skipped that.
OK - quick run down of the fun that was crossing the border day - Sat 14th. (Most over-used phrase of the day...íts all part of the travelling experience´).
1. Got to bus station at 7am for bus to desaguerdo (went with pan americano and they seemed fine).
2. 3hr ish bus ride. Fine.
3. Everyone gets off at desaguerdo, which is just a border town described as unscrupulous in the guide book. Join a line for peruvian border. With all our luggage as the bus isnt allowed across the border.
4. Stand in line for ages and ages. In the sun. With 2 chinese people singing the beegees behind us (great).
5. Get stamped at the peruvian embassy after c 1.5 hr wait. Cross border bridge and show passports to scary looking police on way over. We were braced to be asked to pay ´gringa tax´which is just people trying to take money off non-south american people, but were fine.
6. Join line on Bolivian side. Have immigration card all filled out as were given it on bus.
7. Get to front of queue. Have wrong immigration card, so ours were taken off us and we were given new ones to fill out. Exactly the same info, so don´t really understand. Happens to the group that were on the bus so pretty chaotic.
8. Get on bus with luggage. Eat skittles we saved for a treat once we had crossed border.
9. 10 mins down the road, everyone off bus, and scary looking police check everyones passport. Overkill methinks.
10. Get to La Paz after another 3 hr bus ride and walk 15 mins uphill to hostal....Really tired!
La Paz is pretty different to the places we stayed in Peru - which were mainly small-ish towns and had quite a lot of tourists in. Don´t get me wrong, there are a stack of travellers here, but this is a capital city and really feels like it. It is sooo busy with everyone running around like London. Lots of cars beeping and absolutely loads of street stalls run by ´mature´women. They sell everything from wallets to nappies and the weird thing is they come in clumps. So you have 3 selling nappies and then 5 mins later 3 selling wallets... Also Peru was mainly sunny - it seems to rain a lot here. Really like it though as it has a good buzz. We went to an English pub last night and met a guy from Brum who works in the bar - we started talking about the Gun Barrels (a student pub in selly oak) which was the most random conversation ever.
We have mapped out our time in Bolivia and we don´t have very long as we need to be in Santiago (Chile) for 1 Dec as we have an internal flight to Patagonia. So we have already booked a bus to Uyuni on Wed 18th (overnight) where we will do our next tour and have spent today wandering round the city. There are some pretty aspects and some cool places, but we haven´t really got enough time to spend here. I am going to buy some alpaca wear though (very warm stuff) before we go. Bolivia is supposed to be a lot more ´basic´and slightly less travelled than Peru and Chile so it is a bit of an adjustment, but so far we are really enjoying it (once we were allowed into the country).
Tomorrow we are going on a bike ride on one of the most dramatic roads in the world. ...Will let you know how it goes in the next blog.
We will also keep trying on the pictures - as you can tell from our try yesterday we managed to upload them but it wasn´t very successful and it really took ages. We are both worried about losing all our photos so burned them onto a CD which we are going to send home. Might also try to upload photos to an album on flickr...
So its bye bye Peru and hello Bolivia!
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