tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32936897682295028232024-03-14T18:56:00.432+11:00AI CARAMBA South America 2011An epic voyage of discovery to Antarctica and all of South America covering 80,950 kms in 4.5 months and visiting 68 cities/towns and 46 regions/parks/sites in 9 countries.Zorbahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10118806867477722349noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3293689768229502823.post-6313672840932509192011-09-18T12:04:00.000+10:002011-09-18T12:04:33.188+10:00"Ai Caramba 2011 - The Movie" now showing at www.vimeo.com/28567407<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>The time has come! It is finally here!</b></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b></b></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Just click on the title above to launch "The Movie" in Vimeo in High Defintion playback!!!</b></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bDxArGJyx_E/Tmc8pu8lJVI/AAAAAAAAAt4/LvNSfn7N3xg/s1600/Screen+Shot+The+Movie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bDxArGJyx_E/Tmc8pu8lJVI/AAAAAAAAAt4/LvNSfn7N3xg/s320/Screen+Shot+The+Movie.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Golfco Pictures is proud to present this 66 minute motion picture masterpiece starring John "Attenboroughopoulos" Golfin aka Johnny Cloudrunner in his spectacular 4.5mth, 80,950km epic adventure through Antarctica and all of South America.</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Travel 80,950km through 2 continents, 9 countries, 68 cities and 46 places in only 66 minutes to the disco beat of latino music in the comfort of your own home!!!</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">You can download the movie by becoming a "free" member of vimeo.</span></span><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">OFFICIAL RELEASE SCHEDULE FOR "THE MOVIE":</span></span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> 1) In Sydney: 7pm Thu 29 September 2011 at Dicks Hotel Balmain, 89 Beattie Street Balmain.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2) In Melbourne: 6pm Fri 7 October 2011 at Level 10 Function Room, 1 Freshwater Place Southbank. Ring me on 0408164000 and I will come and get you or ask concierge to give you access to level 10 in the lift – mention my name.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">3) In Queensland: Saturday 12 November 2011 at Maureen Lubinsky's. By private invitation only.</span></span><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">PRODUCTION STATISTICS FOR "AI CARAMBA 2011 - THE MOVIE":</span></span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1) Filmed in High Definition 1080p 24fps with a Canon PowerShot S95 using the "vivid" setting.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2) Edited using iMovie 11 on a MacBook Pro (3.06GHz, 8GB RAM, 250GB SSD, OS X 10.6.8). iMovie 11 has an internal memory addressing bug limiting it to 3.5GB (32bit) of workspace when exporting to a HD 1080p file - approx limit is 40-45min of video.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">3) Total runtime of 66min comprises 1,016 individual video clips selected from a total of 1,493 original clips totalling 4hrs 33min.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">4) 46 chapters.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">5) 18 songs selected from 32 searched and downloaded from iTunes over 4 whole days.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">6) 612 captions or sub-titles.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">7) Total production effort from initial SD cards download to DVD burn was approx 300 hours over 4 elasped months.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span></div>Zorbahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10118806867477722349noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3293689768229502823.post-53026133048230002042011-08-01T20:07:00.000+10:002011-08-01T20:07:13.722+10:00"Ai Caramba 2011 - The Trailer" now showing at YouTube for viewing on Mobile Phone at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JtPih3MBg4<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Due to popular demand, "Ai Caramba 2011 - The Trailer" is now available on YouTube for viewing on your mobile phone. This is because The Trailer cannot be played from vimeo on a mobile phone. </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Just click on the title above to launch The Trailer in YouTube!</b></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CORYzFosadE/TjZ6mvitxaI/AAAAAAAAAt0/6caiRAjlc8M/s1600/YouTube+Screenshot+Ai+Caramba+The+Trailer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="204" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CORYzFosadE/TjZ6mvitxaI/AAAAAAAAAt0/6caiRAjlc8M/s320/YouTube+Screenshot+Ai+Caramba+The+Trailer.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span>Golfco Pictures is proud to present this 1 minute sneak preview of its forthcoming motion picture masterpiece starring John "Attenboroughopoulos" Golfin aka Johnny Cloudrunner in his spectacular 4.5mth, 80,950km epic adventure through Antarctica and all of South America.</span></span></div>Zorbahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10118806867477722349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3293689768229502823.post-34723090131800832652011-07-19T22:07:00.000+10:002011-07-19T22:07:13.069+10:00"Ai Caramba 2011 - The Trailer" now showing at www.vimeo.com/26612185<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nEvSWlD1RKE/TiU1swK6uQI/AAAAAAAAAtw/LKdulacsD2w/s1600/Screenshot+Vimeo+Ai+Caramba+2011+-+The+Trailer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="215" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nEvSWlD1RKE/TiU1swK6uQI/AAAAAAAAAtw/LKdulacsD2w/s320/Screenshot+Vimeo+Ai+Caramba+2011+-+The+Trailer.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Golfco Pictures is proud to present this 1 minute sneak preview of its forthcoming motion picture masterpiece starring John "Attenboroughopoulos" Golfin aka Johnny Cloudrunner in his spectacular 4.5mth, 80,950km epic adventure through Antarctica and all of South America.<br />
<br />
COMING TO THE INTERNET AND A MAIL BOX NEAR YOU IN SEPTEMBER 2011 !!!</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Simply click on the title of this post above to see it at http://vimeo.com/26612185</span></b></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">At the time of this post, all the video (clip sequencing) for The Movie is complete. A total of 2,037 individual clips were chosen and sequenced lasting 66min out of a possible 4 hours and 23 minutes of raw footage. This means you will only see the best footage. Work has just begun on audio. Captions are next. The Excitement is building !!!</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span> </div>Zorbahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10118806867477722349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3293689768229502823.post-90889348616449282382011-05-16T11:06:00.004+10:002011-07-19T17:50:26.867+10:00"Ai Caramba 2011 - The Show" now showing at www.vimeo.com/23427731<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-j4fheOq_oAM/TiUzajL9SVI/AAAAAAAAAts/od1V7BtNx5E/s1600/Screenshot+Vimeo+Ai+Caramba+2011+-+The+Show.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-j4fheOq_oAM/TiUzajL9SVI/AAAAAAAAAts/od1V7BtNx5E/s320/Screenshot+Vimeo+Ai+Caramba+2011+-+The+Show.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;">Golfco Pictures presents John "Attenboroughopoulos" Golfin aka Johnny Cloudrunner in a 30min musical slideshow covering his spectacular 4.5mth, 80,950km epic adventure through Antarctica and all of South America. </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">Simply click on the title of this post to see it at www.vimeo.com/23427731</span></b></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">This "Show" features the best photos from the journey not seen in the blog, complete with modern, disco-style, finger-snapping South American music and captions so you know where you are! Unfortunately you cannot download this show as a file so if you would like a copy of the original MP4 file then email your postal address to john.golfin@ebt.com.au and I will post a copy to you on DVD.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Work has now commenced on "Ai Caramba 2011 - The Movie" which will feature the best video taken on the journey, including interesting and funny interviews with local people and more finger-snapping music, captions and special effects. I will post a separate blog when it is ready. I expect it will take around 2 months to produce and be no longer than 60min.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Many of you have asked for the make and model of the camera that I used to take all the blog photos. I also used this camera to take photos in "The Show" above and HD quality video that you will see in the "The Movie". The camera I used is the <b>"Canon PowerShot S95"</b> and I used the "Vivid" setting on both photos and film. </span></div>Zorbahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10118806867477722349noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3293689768229502823.post-41944885229125089092011-04-16T16:16:00.000+10:002011-04-16T16:16:37.316+10:00FINAL POST: THE "BEST AND WORSE" OF AI CARAMBA 2011 (13-15 April 2011, Days 125-127 of 127).<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0v1If-NrpQ0/Takl7Ejnm0I/AAAAAAAAArA/eAhtTTtMAFs/s1600/08+Meko+Golfin+Togs.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0v1If-NrpQ0/Takl7Ejnm0I/AAAAAAAAArA/eAhtTTtMAFs/s320/08+Meko+Golfin+Togs.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Fyon461YUOM/TakmDjP04HI/AAAAAAAAArE/5Fgeo5aVqEY/s1600/23+Planet+Antarctica+Bottom.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Fyon461YUOM/TakmDjP04HI/AAAAAAAAArE/5Fgeo5aVqEY/s320/23+Planet+Antarctica+Bottom.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A triumphal welcome to the last post of Ai Caramba 2011!!!</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>I made it.</b> John "Attenboroughopoulos" Golfin, aka Johnny Cloudrunner has conquered Antarctica and all of South America visiting 9 countries, 68 cities/towns, 46 regions/parks/sites over a grand total 80,950km in 127 days.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This epic was captured in 2,211 photos (average 2.5MB) and 200min of HD film totalling 41.2GB.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">My last journey was from Hotel Chez Joseph in Hanga Roa, Easter Island to Roscoe Street in Bondi Beach. Door to door, a mere 32hrs, 21 of those flying. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I awoke to my last day on Easter Island and South America at 7:30am on Wed 13APR to a partly-cloudy but sunny day and went for my last and 83rd South American run! </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">After packing and a final walk downtown I left the hotel at 11am for the airport. I was surprised that little old Easter Island had the computing power to check me in all the way to Sydney!</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SnghR1i0K0M/TakoO01tVgI/AAAAAAAAArU/KBWdCpnCNvU/s1600/John+with+Towers.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SnghR1i0K0M/TakoO01tVgI/AAAAAAAAArU/KBWdCpnCNvU/s320/John+with+Towers.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The flight from Easter Island to Santiago took 4.5hrs and my layover in Santiago was only 3hrs. In that time I posted the Easter Island blog in an airport restaurant with Wi-Fi whilst demolishing a bottle of Chilean 2009 Sav Blanc and a vego salad and wrap. It was down to the wire and my most exciting blog ever! I pressed the "post" button at 10:45pm, went through customs at 11pm, boarded the flight for Sydney on-time at 11.15pm and we took off on-time at 11.50pm.</span></span><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gB86NwMnqb0/TakoX-kHe_I/AAAAAAAAArY/3rYj7LZkNuQ/s1600/John+with+Peaks.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gB86NwMnqb0/TakoX-kHe_I/AAAAAAAAArY/3rYj7LZkNuQ/s320/John+with+Peaks.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I watched a movie then slept 10hrs all the way to Auckland. The trip to Sydney was very smooth and I was elated to embrace my parents and brother at the airport, 18 weeks after I had left them there. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Sydney seemed like just another country to visit but it is so clean and tidy!!! The more I travel, the more I am convinced that Australia is the best country to live in, in the world!</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LqFgzmlArIY/TakohanL55I/AAAAAAAAArc/ZonfBYZGnb4/s1600/Perito+Lick.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LqFgzmlArIY/TakohanL55I/AAAAAAAAArc/ZonfBYZGnb4/s320/Perito+Lick.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The rest of this post summarises the "best" and "worse" of my grand adventure including a summary of the names of all places visited and a breakdown of distances travelled.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The pictures in this post are the "best of the best" of all other posts and the final nominations for the grand prize of "Best Signature Shot". </span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j9T0PGlRpfA/TaknBwZVD4I/AAAAAAAAArI/kSHFFFXQhJE/s1600/IMG_2682.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j9T0PGlRpfA/TaknBwZVD4I/AAAAAAAAArI/kSHFFFXQhJE/s320/IMG_2682.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The winner will be selected by a vote of attendees at the premier screening of the film "Ai Caramba 2011" at the White House in Bondi Beach, Sydney, Australia, approximately 4-8 weeks from the date of this post. The winner will be sent a bottle of Moet & Chandon Champagne!</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">For those of you who cannot make it to Bondi Beach or do not live in Sydney, there will be a special post containing a u-tube link to the film. </span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EelT2i_8lT8/TaknOf2AoUI/AAAAAAAAArM/5jr_4ozmB_c/s1600/IMG_2769.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EelT2i_8lT8/TaknOf2AoUI/AAAAAAAAArM/5jr_4ozmB_c/s320/IMG_2769.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The special post will also contain instructions on how you can download the film to your PC and/or iPhone to watch over-and-over again without re-downloading.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Suffice to say, this grand adventure has been life-changing and Antarctica and South America are the most geographically extreme, untouched places I have ever seen. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-poejPVDQQic/TaknnibJClI/AAAAAAAAArQ/J1kjSVhMNZ0/s1600/IMG_3292.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-poejPVDQQic/TaknnibJClI/AAAAAAAAArQ/J1kjSVhMNZ0/s640/IMG_3292.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kVbHbRgFgfo/TakqL2WRkZI/AAAAAAAAArg/WK3h6wgstK4/s1600/IMG_4996.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kVbHbRgFgfo/TakqL2WRkZI/AAAAAAAAArg/WK3h6wgstK4/s320/IMG_4996.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></span><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kVbHbRgFgfo/TakqL2WRkZI/AAAAAAAAArg/WK3h6wgstK4/s1600/IMG_4996.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The other attraction of these continents is the rich, varying and interesting people and cultures that you can experience up-close and personal since, overall, tourism is still developing and is nowhere near saturated or overrun.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">My one word to describe the positive of South America would be "Superlatives" because it's geography is so extreme it lays claim to 14 of the world's biggest titles (refer below). </span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iY441LeBknM/Takqb_nDcxI/AAAAAAAAArk/gKDyETeIs5M/s1600/IMG_5846.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iY441LeBknM/Takqb_nDcxI/AAAAAAAAArk/gKDyETeIs5M/s320/IMG_5846.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RYftPgiCSjs/TakqlbjDYvI/AAAAAAAAAro/ffDEVr-s8WQ/s1600/IMG_5935.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RYftPgiCSjs/TakqlbjDYvI/AAAAAAAAAro/ffDEVr-s8WQ/s320/IMG_5935.JPG" width="213" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">My one word to describe the negative of South America would be "Unfinished" since so many buildings stand incomplete, consistently, in all countries due to lack of funds and taxes on completions.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><u><b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I recommend Antarctica and South America whole-heartedly!!!</span></b></u><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qvg63hjfTME/Takq0GqyYDI/AAAAAAAAArs/m4r7bbMRK4g/s1600/IMG_6343.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qvg63hjfTME/Takq0GqyYDI/AAAAAAAAArs/m4r7bbMRK4g/s320/IMG_6343.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I hope you have enjoyed the blog and the film promises to take the experience even further!</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">For those of you who wish to travel there, I have additional softcopy details that I can send you such as itineraries, costings etc. Just create a comment against this post with your email address and I would be happy to send this info to you.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EqQkzng8JIo/TakrFeXDKcI/AAAAAAAAArw/v5SdmEjyJ1g/s1600/IMG_7410.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EqQkzng8JIo/TakrFeXDKcI/AAAAAAAAArw/v5SdmEjyJ1g/s320/IMG_7410.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As I sign-off from this trip, I have visited 6 of 7 continents (Africa is the last to go), run in all 6 continents, visited 54 of 195 countries in the world and run in 48 of these. I have now visited every continent except Africa (I do not count one day in Tangers, Morocco) - this will be my next big adventure in 4 or 5 years.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">What a planet!</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Travel-well and travel-safely.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This is John "Attenboroughopoulos" Golfin, aka Johnny Cloudrunner, signing-off, Houston!!!</span></b></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IcXvAB59kHE/TakrSzah_iI/AAAAAAAAAr0/qaGJ6lgE1c8/s1600/IMG_7446.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IcXvAB59kHE/TakrSzah_iI/AAAAAAAAAr0/qaGJ6lgE1c8/s640/IMG_7446.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-size: small;"><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><u><b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">THE BEST AND WORSE OF AI CARAMBA 2011:</span></b></u><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b> </b></span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iMuNXE6Ls7g/Takru4elCBI/AAAAAAAAAr4/O527iwk9ilk/s1600/IMG_7424.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iMuNXE6Ls7g/Takru4elCBI/AAAAAAAAAr4/O527iwk9ilk/s320/IMG_7424.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Best Accommodation:</b> Hosteria Lupama, El Calafate, Argentina.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b> </b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Worst Accommodation:</b> Refugio Paine Grande Camping Facilities, Torres Del Paine, Chile. (Worst Hostel was Hostal Los Andes in Alota, Bolivia)</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b> </b></span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-V5fsg0s9d_s/TaksQI-WBZI/AAAAAAAAAr8/MCEys6Vr0EM/s1600/IMG_8071.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-V5fsg0s9d_s/TaksQI-WBZI/AAAAAAAAAr8/MCEys6Vr0EM/s320/IMG_8071.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Best Meal:</b> New Year's Eve traditional Brazilian Feast, Rio Mutum Ecolodge, Pantanal, Brazil. (Honourary mention: Home cooked whole salmon with vegies, Ancud Hostal, Chile - 12AUD per person).</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b> </b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Worst Meal:</b> Refugio Paine Grande Camping, Torres Del Paine, Chile.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b> </b></span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-n9tmtSKrHYs/TaksfIDkKMI/AAAAAAAAAsA/GFZCgwSwM5w/s1600/IMG_8486.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-n9tmtSKrHYs/TaksfIDkKMI/AAAAAAAAAsA/GFZCgwSwM5w/s320/IMG_8486.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Best Experience (Highlight):</b> Completing my 30min jog of the Antarctic continent at Neko Bay.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b> </b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Worst Experience (Lowlight):</b> Baggage not arriving in Buenos Aires on my way to Ushuaia (for Antarctica).</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b> </b></span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pl6biHurjW8/TaksxoAEeUI/AAAAAAAAAsE/h_Seaq3T3sk/s1600/IMG_8692.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pl6biHurjW8/TaksxoAEeUI/AAAAAAAAAsE/h_Seaq3T3sk/s320/IMG_8692.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Best City/Town:</b> Buenos Aires, Argentina. (Honourary mention: Copacabana, Bolivia and Paraty, Brazil).</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Worst City/Town:</b> Cuiaba, Brazil.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><b><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /></b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Best Region/Park/Site:</b> Siloli Desert, Bolivia (Honourary mention: Machu Picchu, Peru and Uyuni Salt Flats, Bolivia)</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b> </b></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b> </b></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Worst Region/Park/Site:</b> Balesteros Islands, Peru.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"></span><br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Jdwe0ZRgB9o/Taks5o35b3I/AAAAAAAAAsI/ZYUZUQJZAD0/s1600/IMG_8891.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Jdwe0ZRgB9o/Taks5o35b3I/AAAAAAAAAsI/ZYUZUQJZAD0/s320/IMG_8891.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Best Country:</b> Argentina.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b></b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Worst Country:</b> Paraguay.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><b><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /></b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Most Expensive Country:</b> Brazil (overall, still cheaper than Oz).</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Cheapest Country:</b> Bolivia.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Best People:</b> Bolivians.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Worst People:</b> Gringos in my photos!</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b> </b></span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Vdl2qNT06BI/Taktc8lZLKI/AAAAAAAAAsM/RcrnAGVcAv4/s1600/IMG_8900.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Vdl2qNT06BI/Taktc8lZLKI/AAAAAAAAAsM/RcrnAGVcAv4/s320/IMG_8900.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xNzddj7rkMQ/TaktsQOUC2I/AAAAAAAAAsQ/ivwlyBEXPu0/s1600/IMG_9025.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xNzddj7rkMQ/TaktsQOUC2I/AAAAAAAAAsQ/ivwlyBEXPu0/s320/IMG_9025.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Best Airport:</b> Santiago, Chile.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Worst Airport:</b> Caracas, Venezuela.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Safest Place:</b> Easter Island, Chile.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Riskiest Place:</b> Caracas, Venezuela.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Best Airline:</b> Santa Barbara Airlines (SBA, Venezuela) from Caracas Venezuela to Quito Equador: contrary to my brother's warnings that they sounded like the most likely airline to force his kids to my inheritance but that was not to be: they gave me 2 meals and 5 glasses of fabulous Spanish Trepanillio on a 2.5hr flight! It put Qantas to shame who count drinks in economy!</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b> </b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Worst Airline:</b> Transmandu (Venezuela) from Canaima to Puerto Ordaz (1hr) who gave: Naaaaa.....thing!!!</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b> </b></span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-41ioXq5erI8/Takt_vkGGkI/AAAAAAAAAsU/cwSKtAIIv1w/s1600/IMG_9209.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-41ioXq5erI8/Takt_vkGGkI/AAAAAAAAAsU/cwSKtAIIv1w/s320/IMG_9209.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Highest Run:</b> 4,090m, Potosi, Bolivia.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Highest Trek:</b> 5,482m, Mount Chacaltaya, Bolivia.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Highest Biking:</b> 4,700m, La Cumbre, Bolivia.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Highest Sleep:</b> 4,278m, Laguna Colorada, Bolivia.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><b><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /></b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Continents Visited = 2:</b> 1) Antarctica (9days), 2) South America (118days).</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><b><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /></b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b> </b></span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-M8sNx0pI_BA/TakubNMFATI/AAAAAAAAAsY/VXDTZ2BPYZw/s1600/IMG_9672.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-M8sNx0pI_BA/TakubNMFATI/AAAAAAAAAsY/VXDTZ2BPYZw/s320/IMG_9672.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Countries Visited = 9:</b> 1) Argentina AR (24days), 2) Chile CH (18days), 3) Brazil BR (16days), 4) Venezuela VZ (4days), 5) Equador EQ (15days), 6) Peru PE (23days), 7) Bolivia BO (12days), 8) Uruguay UR (6days), 9) Paraguay PA (10min).</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><b><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /></b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Cities/Towns Visited = 68:</b> 1) Buenos Aires AR, 2) Ushuaia AR, 3) El Calafate AR, 4) Cuiaba BR, 5) Playa Estondida VZ, 6) Canaima VZ, 7) Caracas Costa Real VZ, </span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-E-DPtSLTewQ/TakupfK3Y2I/AAAAAAAAAsc/bBuGgy7DljU/s1600/IMG_9792.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-E-DPtSLTewQ/TakupfK3Y2I/AAAAAAAAAsc/bBuGgy7DljU/s320/IMG_9792.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">8) Quito EQ, 9) Baltra EQ, 10) Puerto Ayora EQ, 11) Otavalo EQ, 12) Tena EQ, 13) Banos EQ, 14) Riobamba EQ, 15) Cuenca EQ, 16) Mancora PE, 17) Quanchaco PE, 18) Trujillo PE, 19) Lima PE, 20) Pisco (PE), 21) Palacas (PE), 22) Nazca (PE), 23) Arequipa (PE), 24) Canahaus (PE), 25) Chivay (PE), 26) Maca (PE), 27) Cuzco (PE), 28) Chinchero (PE), 29) Urubamba (PE), 30) Ollantaytambo (PE), 31) Lares (PE), 32) Huacahuasi (PE), 33) Yanahuara (PE), 34) Aguas Calientes, </span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iMJbIwNyyGY/Taku9D9W7fI/AAAAAAAAAsg/vbnPFwq31z4/s1600/IMG_0905.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iMJbIwNyyGY/Taku9D9W7fI/AAAAAAAAAsg/vbnPFwq31z4/s320/IMG_0905.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">35) Puno (PE), 36) Uros Islands (PE), 37) Amantani Island (PE), 38) Taquile Island (PE), 39) Copacabana (BO), 40) La Paz (BO), 41) Sucre (BO), 42) Potosi (BO), 43) Uyuni (BO), 44) Alota (BO), 45) Salta (AR), 46) Cafayate (AR), 47) Mendoza (AR), 48) Maipu (AR), 49) Santiago (CH), 50) Valparaiso (CH), 51) Pucon (CH), 52) Ancud Chiloe (CH), 53) Castro Chiloe (CH), 54) Dalcahue Chiloe (CH), 55) Achao Quinchao (CH), 56) Curaco De Velez Quinchao (CH), 57) Bariloche (AR), 58) Buenos Aires (AR), 59) Colonia Del Sacramento (UR), 60) Montevideo (UR), 61) Salto (UR), 62) Concordia (AR), 63) Foz Do Iguacu (BR), 64) Cuidad De Este (PA), 65) Paraty (BR), 66) Vila Do Abraao, Ilia Grande (BR), 67) Rio De Janeiro (BR), 68) Hanga Roa, Easter Island (CH).</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b> </b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b> </b></span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EybwXLtvw0k/TakvM4MGCYI/AAAAAAAAAsk/BcjCtK4uuIQ/s1600/IMG_0963.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EybwXLtvw0k/TakvM4MGCYI/AAAAAAAAAsk/BcjCtK4uuIQ/s320/IMG_0963.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Regions/Parks/Sites Visited = 46:</b> 1) Tierra Del Fuego National Park AR, 2) Martial Glacier AR, 3) Three of the South Shetland Islands UK, 4) Four of the Antarctic Archipaelago Islands AR, 5) Neko Bay Antarctic Peninsula AR, 6) Torres Del Paine National Park (Grey Glacier & 3 Towers) CH, 7) Rio Mutum, Pantanal BR, 8) Angel Falls, Canaima National Park VZ, 9) Six of the Galapagos Islands National Park EQ (Baltra, Santa Cruz, Plazas, Santa Fe, Espanola, Floreana), </span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gV7vc6g2ShA/TakvkIy36BI/AAAAAAAAAso/gpnYiInmNz4/s1600/IMG_1041.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gV7vc6g2ShA/TakvkIy36BI/AAAAAAAAAso/gpnYiInmNz4/s320/IMG_1041.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">10) Mitel Del Mundo EQ, 11) Rio Napo, Amazon Basin EQ, 12) Ingapinca Inca Ruins EQ, 13) Huaca Del La Luna and Huaca Del Sol PE, 14) Chan Chan PE, 15) Huaca Pucllana Miraflores Lima PE, 16) Ballestas Islands (PE), 17) Nazca Lines (PE), 18) Chauchilla Nazca Burial Grounds (PE), 19) Patapampa Highest Pass, 20) Colca Valley and Condor Cross Colca Canyon (PE), 21) Lares Trek, Abra Aruraycocha Pass, </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NYHJP1gnne8/TakvtW46PTI/AAAAAAAAAss/aGkQyOsKqm4/s1600/IMG_1211.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NYHJP1gnne8/TakvtW46PTI/AAAAAAAAAss/aGkQyOsKqm4/s320/IMG_1211.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">22) Machu Picchu including climb of Wayna Picchu, 23) Lake Titicaca (PE) (BO), 24) Chacaltaya Peak Elev 5,482m (BO), 25) Moon Valley (BO), 26) The World's Most Dangerous Road (La Cumbre to Yolosa) (BO), 27) Cretaceous Park, Sucre (BO), 28) Cerra Rico Mines Potosi (BO), 29) Salar De Uyuni, Uyuni Salt Flat (BO), 30) Siloli Desert, 3 rock formations, 4 lakes, geysers and hot spring, 30) Cafayate Wineries (AR), 31) Waipu Wineries (AR), </span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Cl8OUjxNXfY/Takv5WFgwMI/AAAAAAAAAsw/1H9yoW9RDy4/s1600/IMG_0470.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Cl8OUjxNXfY/Takv5WFgwMI/AAAAAAAAAsw/1H9yoW9RDy4/s320/IMG_0470.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">32) Casablanca Wineries (CH), 33) Hike to 2,250m up Villarrica Volcano near Pucon (CH), 34) Estancia Panagea, 40km from Tacuarembo (UR), 35) Salto Thermal Springs (UR), 36) Iguacu National Park and Falls (BR), 37) Iguazu National Park and Falls (AR), 38) IIha Comprida, Paraty (BR), 39) Praia Da Conceicao, Paraty (BR), 40) IIha Da Pescaria, Paraty (BR), 41) Praia Da Jurumirim, Paraty (BR), 42) Lopes Mendes, Ilha Grande (BR), 43) Lago Azul, Ilha Grande, </span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5RXAGLCc4-Q/TakwHFTGBEI/AAAAAAAAAs0/3PTAzqnpTVA/s1600/IMG_1780.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5RXAGLCc4-Q/TakwHFTGBEI/AAAAAAAAAs0/3PTAzqnpTVA/s320/IMG_1780.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">44) Freguesia De Santana, Ilha Grande (BR), 45) Japariz, Ilha Grande (BR), 46) Parque Nacional De La Isla De Pascua, 12 sites, Easter Island.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Superlatives Visited = 14:</b> 1) Most southern city in the world = Ushuaia (AR), 2) Largest wetlands in the world = Pantanal (BR), 3) Highest waterfall in the world = Angel Falls (VE), 4) Highest lake in the world = Lake Titicaca (PE) (BO), </span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sc2WyKkrsoM/TakwPEqtc5I/AAAAAAAAAs4/kUBlhkfygXM/s1600/IMG_2357.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sc2WyKkrsoM/TakwPEqtc5I/AAAAAAAAAs4/kUBlhkfygXM/s320/IMG_2357.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">5) Highest ski slope in the world = Mount Chacaltaya (BO), 6) Most dangerous road in the world = Chuspiata to Yolosa (BO), 7) Highest city in the world = Potosi (BO), 8) Highest & Largest salt flat/lake in the world = Salar De yuni (BO), 9) Highest geyser basin in the world = Sol De Manana (BO), 10) Widest Boulevard in the world = Avenida 9 De Julio, Buenos Aires (AR), 11) Largest waterfall in the world in terms of number of falls = Iguasu Falls (AR & BR), 12) Biggest actual annual producer of electricity in the world = Itaipu Binacional (BR & PA), 13) Largest Art Deco Statue in the world = Christ The Redeemer, Rio De Janeiro (BR), 14) The most isolated place inhabited by humans in the world = Easter Island (CH).</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b> </b></span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VJRh70Ixt5Y/Takwb9HxJjI/AAAAAAAAAs8/w9LD3diDcwQ/s1600/IMG_2459.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VJRh70Ixt5Y/Takwb9HxJjI/AAAAAAAAAs8/w9LD3diDcwQ/s320/IMG_2459.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Airlines/Aircraft Flown:</b> LAN Chile CH (A340-400, A320-200, 767-300ER), GOL BR (737-700/800), Varig VZ (737-800), Aeropostal VZ (DC9-50), Transmandu VZ (BAE Jetstream 32), Independent VZ (Cessna Skymaster), Santa Barbara Airlines SBA VZ (767-300), TAME EQ (A320-200).</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Total Flying = 24</b> flights totalling 71.5 hrs in the air!</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b> </b></span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dJX5rkP3HHE/Takwq-l2wgI/AAAAAAAAAtA/cEpjaRVBmaY/s1600/IMG_0040.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dJX5rkP3HHE/Takwq-l2wgI/AAAAAAAAAtA/cEpjaRVBmaY/s320/IMG_0040.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Total Sleeps = 126</b>: Hotels = 49 different hotels totalling 112 nights, Overnight Buses = 6 nights, Tents = 4 nights, Overnight Planes = 2 nights, Overnight Trains = 1 night, Hammock = 1 night.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><b><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /></b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Total Distance Travelled was 80,950km </b>= 59,846km aircraft + 14,994km bus/van/taxi + 4,087km boat + 830km jogging + 702km walking/trekking + 393km train + 80km cycling + 18km swimming. That is: 59,846km air, 16,999km land and 4,105km sea. Total flights within South America was 36,220km. Total travel with Intrepid was 15,839km. It is 48,000km around the Earth's equator!</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></b></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">NEXT BLOG: Special post containing link to film on u-tube due 4-8 weeks from date of this post. Please register as a "Follower" at this blog so you can get an automatic email when I post the u-tube link.</span></b></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hu4862EIj5U/Takw2UF_yzI/AAAAAAAAAtE/DzsduEqIRzQ/s1600/IMG_3180.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hu4862EIj5U/Takw2UF_yzI/AAAAAAAAAtE/DzsduEqIRzQ/s400/IMG_3180.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Zorbahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10118806867477722349noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3293689768229502823.post-33726151744103248032011-04-14T11:44:00.000+10:002011-04-14T11:44:09.118+10:00The Navel of the World (9-12 April 2011, Days 121-124 of 127)<span style="font-size: x-small;"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PTBnb6CeO5A/TaY_gTNGRbI/AAAAAAAAAok/B40GCp59I7Y/s1600/IMG_2357.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PTBnb6CeO5A/TaY_gTNGRbI/AAAAAAAAAok/B40GCp59I7Y/s640/IMG_2357.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Te Pito O Tehenua. Rapa Nui. Isla De Pascua. Easter Island. Four names. One place. The most isolated place on Planet Earth! Why? Because the people living on this island, past and present, are further away from any other human being living in a town or city or village in any other place in the world. Chile is the closest at 3,700km and Tahiti is 4,000km away. This is the 14th and last "Superlative" that I visited in South America. My last official site before flying home to Sydney.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">This place is also special because of the giant stone "Moai" statues and the captivating story of who built them and why. Here is a summary for those of you who have no time but want to know the truth!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Unfortunately it was not aliens! I came here just to make sure.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-C85k_qyx7Lw/TaZAxqQDjbI/AAAAAAAAAo4/HtrKB8S0Bhc/s1600/IMG_2761.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-C85k_qyx7Lw/TaZAxqQDjbI/AAAAAAAAAo4/HtrKB8S0Bhc/s320/IMG_2761.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Easter Island was first inhabited in 400AD by the "Handu Eepe (Long Ear)" peoples travelling here on raft-like boats mae of tree trunks from the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">They originally called the island "Te Pito O Tehenua" meaning "The Navel of the World" to suggest its isolation and its "umbilical" link to Mother Nature's source of natural healing energy or "Mana". Believe me - I did not make this up. It is not my style. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-URIqEO9lnao/TaZEc4waPCI/AAAAAAAAApI/6v_HZ9pWZtk/s1600/IMG_2250.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-URIqEO9lnao/TaZEc4waPCI/AAAAAAAAApI/6v_HZ9pWZtk/s320/IMG_2250.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Apparently there are 3 other such energy sources on Earth and one of them is Delphi in Greece! </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">In 600AD a second wave of immigrants called the "Hanau Momoko (Short Ears)" arrived from the Mangareva Islands in French Polynesia. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The Long Ear peoples decided to let them stay but only if they "worked for them", a euphemism for slavery! </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jI7pe7R-034/TaY-j3HwXmI/AAAAAAAAAoE/5HjCmTDBiRM/s1600/IMG_2254.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jI7pe7R-034/TaY-j3HwXmI/AAAAAAAAAoE/5HjCmTDBiRM/s320/IMG_2254.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The Long Ear people lived in distinct "tribes" all over the island, each with a male "chief" who's primary job was to protect the village. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">When they died, their eldest son took over - a type of royal succession, if you will. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The chief was buried under a flat, rectangular shaped platform of volcanic rocks called an "Ahu". There are 250 of these on the island. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nHAPXfKAgbI/TaY-ptAju2I/AAAAAAAAAoI/kh4wsvmz2lM/s1600/IMG_2264.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nHAPXfKAgbI/TaY-ptAju2I/AAAAAAAAAoI/kh4wsvmz2lM/s320/IMG_2264.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Now here is the moment of truth! </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">In order for the village to continue to be "protected" until the son chief came up to speed and to endow him with the protective talents of the father chief, a "Moai" was erected on top of the "Ahu" to protect the village. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">This is a direct carry-over from what the Long Ear people used to do in French Polynesia using "Tikis" which were smaller ("Tikis" were also used as good luck charms by the Maori's and native Hawaiians). </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><strong>So essentially, the Moai are giant stone Tikis or protectors with long ears!!! Not Gods. Not epitaphs of dead people. They are not meant to look like the chief or anyone else. They are not meant to be unique in features.</strong> </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Nqd4F3STDCs/TaY_AiSql8I/AAAAAAAAAoY/nH0B0DczKiw/s1600/IMG_2308.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Nqd4F3STDCs/TaY_AiSql8I/AAAAAAAAAoY/nH0B0DczKiw/s320/IMG_2308.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Each time a generational chief died, he was buried on the same "Ahu" but in another layer on top of the old one and another Moai was erected to continue his protective power over the tribe. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The Moai typically faced the rising sun but some faced specific constellations or the village they protected. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The Maoi had "eyes" made of coral painted with red lichen. This channelled the protective "Mana" energy to the tribe for protection. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The Moai also had "topnotch hair" which looks like a big red hat. This is called a "Pukao" and 700 of these were made. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The only problem here was that the Long Ears got the Short Ears to build and erect all the Moais. The Short Ears did this from 800AD to 1600AD which was the "golden years" of prosperity for the Long Ears on the island. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QeRiBSd9lEQ/TaY-42JonCI/AAAAAAAAAoU/BfQSK5h56YY/s1600/IMG_2298.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QeRiBSd9lEQ/TaY-42JonCI/AAAAAAAAAoU/BfQSK5h56YY/s320/IMG_2298.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">But at 1-2 years for each Moai, this eventually drove the Short Ears to revolution from 1600-1800AD and they ended up tearing down every one of the 400 Moai they had erected on every Ahus. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The Moais were brought down face-down so that the eyes could roll out and be collected and destroyed by the Short Ears to eliminate the protective energy. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YkrD7-J2SNI/TaY-zWc91xI/AAAAAAAAAoQ/hSRQn0vtE58/s1600/IMG_2295.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YkrD7-J2SNI/TaY-zWc91xI/AAAAAAAAAoQ/hSRQn0vtE58/s320/IMG_2295.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Out of 800 eyes only 3 remain. Two are in a musuem on the island (I saw one) and the other in Norway (stolen by a visitor!). </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">A total of 900 Moais were carved. 400 were erected and 500 remain in the quarry of their construction (Volcan Rano Raraku - featured below). </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">On Easter Sunday in 1722 the Danish Admiral Roddeveen was the first white-man to set foot on the island and called it "Easter Island" to commemorate the landing date. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-x0jM-C1J904/TaY_H0rP7bI/AAAAAAAAAoc/-kifADNdWJU/s1600/IMG_2329.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-x0jM-C1J904/TaY_H0rP7bI/AAAAAAAAAoc/-kifADNdWJU/s320/IMG_2329.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The Danes did not bother claiming the island because it was too small, too remote and had no gold or oil. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Even Captain Cook visited the island in 1774 and sailed on for similar reasons. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The French then arrived in the early 1800s and renamed the island "Rapa Nui" meaning "Big Land" after hearing the locals tell their tale of how they sailed from a "small" French Polynesian island to a "bigger" version. This name stuck. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Believe it or not, a French businessman bought the entire island in the mid-1800's and rented it out to a huge Scotish agricutural company to farm sheep and cattle. He finally sold to the island to the Chileans in 1888. In 1955 the Chilean government, realising the enormous value of the Moai started re-erecting them and now approx 50 of 400 stand tall again!</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1T_MjUvt-h4/TaZC-4zc5EI/AAAAAAAAAo8/I4aL_TSudpU/s1600/IMG_2763.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1T_MjUvt-h4/TaZC-4zc5EI/AAAAAAAAAo8/I4aL_TSudpU/s320/IMG_2763.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">What a history - and you can see all of the above including ruins of Ahu and Moai everywhere on the island. UNESCO was so impressed that it issued protection in 1995 and now most of the island is one big National Park (Parque Nacional Rapa Nui). </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">At the moment, approx 70,000 visitors visit the island each year. For more details on the geography and peoples of Easter Island refer to "RAPA NUI FACTS" below.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zVWEG2IO3NU/TaZDrCZBrNI/AAAAAAAAApE/4IJWv9Ch6NA/s1600/IMG_2617.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zVWEG2IO3NU/TaZDrCZBrNI/AAAAAAAAApE/4IJWv9Ch6NA/s320/IMG_2617.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">My journey from the hotel in Rio De Janeiro to the hotel in "Hanga Roa" the only town on Easter Island, took a total of 26.5hrs, 10hrs of those in the air. I had to stay overnight in downtown Santiago because of connections. I left Rio De Janeiro at 11am (Sat 9APR) after my 4th and last morning run on Copacabana Beach and flew to Santiago via Sao Paulo (4.5hrs flying). My flight from Santiago to Easter Island left at 9:30am the following morning (Sun 10APR) and took 5.5hrs. I watched 3 movies including "Vantage Point" with Dennis Quaid which had more twists and turns in it than a lock of Shirley Temple's hair - what a story and brilliantly executed. Everything about the flight went smoothly and on-time. A first for me in South America. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CeLa5pCDZ_Y/TaY96EEK5TI/AAAAAAAAAnw/u0N7kZiVG3U/s1600/IMG_2139.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CeLa5pCDZ_Y/TaY96EEK5TI/AAAAAAAAAnw/u0N7kZiVG3U/s320/IMG_2139.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Easter island airport runway is actually the longest in South America since NASA extended it to 4km to enable the Space Shuttle to land in case of emergency - it is the only one in the Pacific.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Easter Island is shaped like a triangle, 24km along the base with sides of 17km and 16km to measure 173 sq km (One-third the size of metropolitan Sydney). It has a sub-tropical climate and is like Fiji or Hawaii but without the Palm Trees or lush green vegetation. Even in April (late Autumn) it was warm (20-27C) and the water a great 22-24C and greeny blue at shore. Only LAN Chile flies here twice a week using a big Boeing 767-330ER (250 people).</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XU49ipta1UU/TaY-XFvXoiI/AAAAAAAAAn8/mS766v6vugs/s1600/IMG_2231.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XU49ipta1UU/TaY-XFvXoiI/AAAAAAAAAn8/mS766v6vugs/s320/IMG_2231.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">My first impressions of Easter Island were how colourful it was. I was expecting a cool to cold, Lord Howe style windswept island but instead I got a warm, sunny place with very few trees but green grass and greeny blue water with deep blue further out. It is sub-tropical, similar to the southern Queensland coast. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The local "Rapanui" have the look of Pacific islanders rather than Chileans and remind you of the Maoris or even the Tahitians. After dumping my gear in my room at 1:30pm (Sun 10APR) I grabbed my camera to photograph the only town and orient myself.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bLK62c4ItWE/TaY-AyLoMAI/AAAAAAAAAn0/6Mo7kEE4nig/s1600/IMG_2183.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bLK62c4ItWE/TaY-AyLoMAI/AAAAAAAAAn0/6Mo7kEE4nig/s320/IMG_2183.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Hanga Roa (Pop 4,400) is the only town and powered by several huge diesel generators next to the airport. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">There are houses in other parts of the island bringing the population up to 5,000 but these have no power or running water or sewerage. Approx 3,000 are descended from the Long and Short Ears and the rest are mixed with some pure Chileans who have moved here because of tourism. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LIVM7mVLDZ8/TaY-S87UknI/AAAAAAAAAn4/feb583a3WdQ/s1600/IMG_2209.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LIVM7mVLDZ8/TaY-S87UknI/AAAAAAAAAn4/feb583a3WdQ/s320/IMG_2209.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The town itself is very spartan and looks like a town in Papua New Guinea! The harbour is nice with boats and seafood restaurants. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">There is a Port that receives containers every 3 months (11 days sailing from Chile) but most perishables come in by aircraft. The coastline around Hanga Roa is just awesome. Huge deep blue waves crashing on black volcanic rock!</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-y8LhAm-QC_c/TaY-s26B8jI/AAAAAAAAAoM/G4Q_7EQfJgc/s1600/IMG_2269.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-y8LhAm-QC_c/TaY-s26B8jI/AAAAAAAAAoM/G4Q_7EQfJgc/s320/IMG_2269.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">This was a tease - it took me minutes to start running in this place. After my first run, I walked 20min at 7pm to my first Moai at "Ahu Tahai" just outside town. By 8pm the sun was down and I was in a spell. Moai and Sunset - what a combo - see for yourself in this post. I had dinner in the main street with a bottle of Argentinian 2007 Reserva Tempranillo and listened to native Rapa Nui music which is very similar to Maori music of New Zealand. Lots of male-female harmony to guitar and light percussion. I went down like a stone Moai in my room that night!</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4AX7-c6cxwE/TaZFqrLj5NI/AAAAAAAAApM/u6pPwW9yh80/s1600/IMG_2670.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4AX7-c6cxwE/TaZFqrLj5NI/AAAAAAAAApM/u6pPwW9yh80/s320/IMG_2670.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Bloody hell! The sun in this place comes up at 8:30am in April! I woke at 7am thinking I was sweet for a run and all I could see was the Milky Way! Same again at 7:30am but I got up nevertheless, betting that I could see where I was going by 8am. It worked. First light at 8am and I was running past the airport and into the middle of the island past fields of Kumura (sweet potato). Sky was cloudless and temp was 20C - it was magic. Here I was running alone on the loneliest place on Earth! This is what travel is all about.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QfMRO0DQYro/TaZF_C8UjjI/AAAAAAAAApQ/Ryk0o5ngRq4/s1600/IMG_2692.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QfMRO0DQYro/TaZF_C8UjjI/AAAAAAAAApQ/Ryk0o5ngRq4/s320/IMG_2692.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">At 10am (Mon 11APR) a van with 15 other gringos pulled up to the hotel to take us on a full-day tour to the "serious" Moai and Ahus on the other end of the island. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Being such a small island we arrived at our first stop at "Ahu Akahanga" within 20min and inspected the Ahu with the most number of burial layers (hence buried chiefs). </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">This place is very important since it contains the remains of the first chief, "Hotu Matua" who led the first landing in 400AD and is considered the "father" of the Rapanui peoples. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bV_6Ine7yT0/TaY_65uoJkI/AAAAAAAAAos/T7NE_chzRpQ/s1600/IMG_2405.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bV_6Ine7yT0/TaY_65uoJkI/AAAAAAAAAos/T7NE_chzRpQ/s320/IMG_2405.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The only i-ss-i-u (issue) with this Ahu was that all the corresponding Moai were collapsed. These were not raised here in recognition of the "revolution" of the Short Ears which apparently began here! This place also contains many "Umu Pao" or "earth ovens" similar to the ones used by Maoris to cook the Hungi.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Next stop was "Volcan Rano Raraku" which is an ancient lake-filled volcanic caldera featuring the "Volcanic Tuff" rock quarries from which 90% of the island's Moais were literally carved from the sides of the volcano in one piece and transported to the Ahus all over the island. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IRXaenJv_xc/TaY_SG5aq2I/AAAAAAAAAog/yxA90J6cxso/s1600/IMG_2334.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IRXaenJv_xc/TaY_SG5aq2I/AAAAAAAAAog/yxA90J6cxso/s320/IMG_2334.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The most popular theory of transportation was face-down using two criss-crossing layers of tree trunks. The top row at right-angles to the Moai to support him face-down and prevent his "big shnoz" from damage, whilst the bottom row at right angles again to serve as "train tracks" to roll the top-half along. This theory is supported by approx 60 Moai which can be seen lying face down in a trail from the volcano to the coast. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-x0jM-C1J904/TaY_H0rP7bI/AAAAAAAAAoc/-kifADNdWJU/s1600/IMG_2329.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-x0jM-C1J904/TaY_H0rP7bI/AAAAAAAAAoc/-kifADNdWJU/s320/IMG_2329.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Upon arrival at the Ahu, ropes of reed (from volcano caldera lake) were used to hoist up the Moai and pile rocks underneath until upright. Easy. Rubbish. There must have been aliens involved!!! </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The use of tree trunks to transport 400 Moai over some 1,000 years took its toll on the trees of Easter Island and that's why Europeans found it bare! </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We saw large sections of the volcano still containing half carved-out Moai. The Rapanui used the harder basalt rock to carve the figures literally out of the mountain side in one piece. The biggest Moai on the island is one of the unfinished carvings estimated at 180 tons! We then trekked to the inside of the caldera of Rano Raraku. It was filled with water and contained growing reeds used to hoist the Moais. There were also many (approx 15) Moais still standing, spread out on one side of the crater.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tIyfmt8kZzg/TaZHMrT7LJI/AAAAAAAAApU/8wTb4QwyeFQ/s1600/IMG_2459.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" r6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tIyfmt8kZzg/TaZHMrT7LJI/AAAAAAAAApU/8wTb4QwyeFQ/s640/IMG_2459.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2vqA2s6tHus/TaZH79nR-RI/AAAAAAAAApc/lKNXEZjoIbE/s1600/IMG_2445.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" r6="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2vqA2s6tHus/TaZH79nR-RI/AAAAAAAAApc/lKNXEZjoIbE/s320/IMG_2445.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">A simple lunch was served in a foil "tray" at the bottom of the volcano and then it was off to nearby "Ahu Tonganiki" to see 15 Moais standing next to each other! It was clearly the best example of Ahu and Moai we have seen and these are very famous. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">This Ahu has several generations of chiefs buried in it (hence the 15 Moai) because it belonged to the biggest and most prosperous tribe, located between Volcan Rano Raraku and the ocean - this tribe controlled the quarry. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lCeqO1C6F7A/TaZAQ0DOP6I/AAAAAAAAAo0/Ny_YLmG0wJg/s1600/IMG_2422.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lCeqO1C6F7A/TaZAQ0DOP6I/AAAAAAAAAo0/Ny_YLmG0wJg/s320/IMG_2422.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">In 1960, the world's strongest earthquake (Richter 9.5) hit Chile and caused a huge tsunami which hit Easter Island and collapsed and moved the 15 Moai more than 300m. Thanks to a Japanese heavy engineering company, they were re-erected between 1992-1996. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Stop number 4 was "Ahu Te Pito Kura" by the ocean on the other side of the island. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yP8wD1OrdlI/TaZIvTgykGI/AAAAAAAAApg/667zoSYfhmo/s1600/IMG_2468.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" r6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yP8wD1OrdlI/TaZIvTgykGI/AAAAAAAAApg/667zoSYfhmo/s320/IMG_2468.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">This Ahu had the tallest, heaviest Moai to be transported and erected - 10m tall and 80 tons in weight (plus 12 tons of stone "hair" or Pukao). It was also the last Moai to be toppled in the revolution in 1838. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">This is also the sight were the French explorer "La Perouse" landed in early 1800 and YES, it is the same guy that sailed into Port Botany, Sydney! </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9gtQUj4xIVM/TaZJLGKCg2I/AAAAAAAAApk/cZKKwmwkqpk/s1600/IMG_2488.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9gtQUj4xIVM/TaZJLGKCg2I/AAAAAAAAApk/cZKKwmwkqpk/s320/IMG_2488.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Next to the big fallen Moai is a circular stone fence with a naturally formed smooth rock in the middle that looks like a polished giant egg surrouded by 4 smaller eggs that look like seats. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">This is the "Navel of the Earth" and the alleged source of "Mana" energy according to the Rapanui people.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--q7eeakMdj0/TaZJhNx5WQI/AAAAAAAAApo/wsJc-YEI18E/s1600/IMG_2508.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--q7eeakMdj0/TaZJhNx5WQI/AAAAAAAAApo/wsJc-YEI18E/s320/IMG_2508.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Our final stop was much welcomed - "Anakena Beach" - a postcard perfect aqua-green, waveless bay with white sand, palms and even 5 Moai of its own! </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">This is the beach where the Long Ear peoples first landed in 400AD. This place was also my first 1.5k swim off the island and I loved it. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vovyzUstc9Y/TaZKLm5XBuI/AAAAAAAAApw/xjyaeWYRsnU/s1600/IMG_2497.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vovyzUstc9Y/TaZKLm5XBuI/AAAAAAAAApw/xjyaeWYRsnU/s320/IMG_2497.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">From here it was 16km back to town (total touring today of 45km and 8hrs) and a bottle of Botalcura Estate Gran Reserva Carmenere 2007 from the Valle De Chile - very peppery with loads of fruit and oak well integrated together - Chile does the Camenere grape very well. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I enjoyed this wine as I blogged and when 7:30pm came around I was off to another Moai sunset, still close to town, along the west coast beyond the cemetery but a bit further up from yesterday - "Ahu Vai Uri" which has 4 Moai. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_FpiurfU8Ko/TaZKvIb-7bI/AAAAAAAAAp0/dP_ZoaR7s-0/s1600/IMG_2574.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_FpiurfU8Ko/TaZKvIb-7bI/AAAAAAAAAp0/dP_ZoaR7s-0/s320/IMG_2574.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I sipped on my Camenere as I waited for a completely cloudless sunset - quite different from yesterday. I dined at the same place as yesterday since they let me drink the rest of my wine for free - I guess I started BYO on Easter Island.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">It had rained a little overnight when I awoke at 7:30am on Tue 12APR for my run. I even got a little spray on my way back but was still enjoying the calm, still day-break with great big columns of cloud all around me offsetting a very green set of hills. We were off in our tour van again at 9:45am with the same group of people for two separate tours, AM and PM.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The first AM stop was "Ana Kai Tangata" which is a sea-side cave containing paintings of "Manutara" or Sooty Tern birds that were part of a special "contest" to select the King of the island way back from the 1500s to 1867 (more on this later). The cave was also used by the locals to hide from invaders.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RcWXoGWeuVw/TaZLGbMSuKI/AAAAAAAAAp4/3ymEShy10ZI/s1600/IMG_2580.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RcWXoGWeuVw/TaZLGbMSuKI/AAAAAAAAAp4/3ymEShy10ZI/s320/IMG_2580.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Second stop was the ancient ruins of the "Orongo" village set atop the rim of the caldera of "Volcan Rano Kau" some 300m above sea level. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">What a site. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The Rano Kau volcano erupted some 3 million years ago and left a massive 1.6km diameter caldera, complete with lake to 30m depth. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Y-f-cB2YTZE/TaZLkVKUhVI/AAAAAAAAAp8/UN_ZeGuHpuI/s1600/IMG_2585.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Y-f-cB2YTZE/TaZLkVKUhVI/AAAAAAAAAp8/UN_ZeGuHpuI/s320/IMG_2585.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">There is a swamp in this lake with many species of water plants and a variety of tropical vegies grown by the locals along the shore like avocados and mangoes. Together this mini ecosystem has its own micro-climate and shows up colours and textures that are a photographers dream. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Very dramatic. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The ancient settlement of Orongo consisted of 54 houses built with shale, close to the ground to counter the constant high winds of this area. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xty0od73Bys/TaZL7rL9qlI/AAAAAAAAAqA/mLhq9A9Dv7M/s1600/IMG_2609.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xty0od73Bys/TaZL7rL9qlI/AAAAAAAAAqA/mLhq9A9Dv7M/s320/IMG_2609.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Many of these have been restored and the view out to the Pacific is breathtaking. It is the one place where you are physically reminded of Easter Islands isolation. Deep blue Pacific everywhere with fluffy clouds touching the horizon. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Orongo village was ceremonial, used only once a year in the beginning of Spring to host the annual "Tangata Manu" or "Bird Man" contest to select the King of the island from amongst all the tribal chiefs. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YJ96sDhE8Ok/TaZMdSdKDMI/AAAAAAAAAqE/M4yuKI72wkw/s1600/IMG_2475.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YJ96sDhE8Ok/TaZMdSdKDMI/AAAAAAAAAqE/M4yuKI72wkw/s320/IMG_2475.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">To become King, the competitors had to swim 1.5km offshore to a rocky outcrop (visible from the village) and be the first to find and bring back the egg of a "Manutara" or Sooty Tern. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Many died doing this (some by shark attack) but the winner lived in extra luxury for a year. This contest was also linked to the "Bird Man Cult", a type of religion practiced by the Rapanui, involving mutliple gods with "Make Make" the god of creation, as the Zeus!</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-s2tUpuVF96M/TaZM2sDEbCI/AAAAAAAAAqI/qNdmk5xlvYo/s1600/IMG_2481.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-s2tUpuVF96M/TaZM2sDEbCI/AAAAAAAAAqI/qNdmk5xlvYo/s320/IMG_2481.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">After some fine shots of the main town of Hanga Roa we dscended to our third stop at "Ahu Vinapu". This site comprises two platforms right next to the start of the island's runaway. The first is the most architectually precise of any on the island - it has huge stones that fit together perfectly and all pre-Inca! The second contained Moais wearing the red "Topnotch" or hair. All Moais are collapsed in the two Ahus. These two also have the preserved "crematoria" since tribal commoners were cremated. This is another reason Easter Island ran out of trees under the Rapanuis.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-K52oto30QOk/TaZNKhCwzNI/AAAAAAAAAqM/46xuKzjWrvY/s1600/IMG_2652.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-K52oto30QOk/TaZNKhCwzNI/AAAAAAAAAqM/46xuKzjWrvY/s320/IMG_2652.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">By 1pm I was back at the hotel and went for my second 1.5km swim at Hanga Roa's Port since it was clear and calm. After a brief rest it was back in the van at 3pm for our final afternoon tour.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">First stop was "Puna Pau", a big hill and </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">quarrry composed of "Hani-Hani" or Red Scoria, a bright red stone that was used by the early Rapanuians to make the "Pakao" ot Topnotch hair of the Moai. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XRRqaEhjdP0/TaZNhMLDUhI/AAAAAAAAAqQ/Z7wKEJtECt0/s1600/IMG_2648.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XRRqaEhjdP0/TaZNhMLDUhI/AAAAAAAAAqQ/Z7wKEJtECt0/s320/IMG_2648.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">You can see many semi-carved and abandoned samples here - think of it as a huge Moain barber shop! Bah ah! The view of the main town of Hanga Roa is also great from here.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">"Ahu Akivi" was next with its proud 7 standing Moai all looking out towards the western coastline and facing exactly in line with the setting sun during both equinoxes. These 7 Moai represent the 7 young sailors that Hotu Matua (Rapanui patriarch) commanded to explore the island after the first landing in 400AD.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_KIupMtFL8c/TaZOTjHy7EI/AAAAAAAAAqU/_ZVpzfklg4s/s1600/IMG_2700.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" r6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_KIupMtFL8c/TaZOTjHy7EI/AAAAAAAAAqU/_ZVpzfklg4s/s320/IMG_2700.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Third and final was "Caverna Ana Te Pahu" which is the largest system of underground caves on the island formed by a lava flow plug during the first eruptions. The system is so well protected that it has its own micro-climate so the first Rapanuian chiefs grew Banana Trees here to sustain their flock when they hid from invaders. For this reason it is also known as the "Banana Caves" by today's locals. The banana trees are still growing here and the walls of the cave contain many multicoloured mosses and lichens which only a camera can see.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--3q_WHrwajw/TaZOmK_qZUI/AAAAAAAAAqY/IjdX4oVpZ2M/s1600/IMG_2726.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--3q_WHrwajw/TaZOmK_qZUI/AAAAAAAAAqY/IjdX4oVpZ2M/s320/IMG_2726.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">What a day. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I have seen 37 of the 50 Moai and been fascinated by its history and peoples. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">By 6pm I was back in my room sipping La Joya Reserve Syrah 2009 from the Colchagua Valley in Chile whilst writing this last active post! </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MHEEXi7Z4Ik/TaZO5aBN3NI/AAAAAAAAAqc/BhHSSDDZYyQ/s1600/IMG_2541.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MHEEXi7Z4Ik/TaZO5aBN3NI/AAAAAAAAAqc/BhHSSDDZYyQ/s320/IMG_2541.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">At 7:30pm it was off to dinner. My last meal and night of Ai Caramba 2011! I chose a little restaurant overrlooking the sunset next tot he town cemetery and what a show. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Probably the most spectacular sunset to date given the recent rain and myriads of clouds hugging the horizon and causing splashes of pink and purple to light up the sky! </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-U71j5ICWgdc/TaZPVCIF58I/AAAAAAAAAqg/5IlXk9STAWA/s1600/IMG_2757.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-U71j5ICWgdc/TaZPVCIF58I/AAAAAAAAAqg/5IlXk9STAWA/s320/IMG_2757.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">To top it off, the restaurant even played a Greek track! </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">My walk back to the hotel was very contemplative as I raced through the myriad of experiences, landscapes, peoples, meals and wines that I had consumed over the last 125 days. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I could not believe it was over. No regrets. To plan. The best. All I could do as I lay down to sleep was think of home.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NR24NHR6Xxo/TaZPr765r8I/AAAAAAAAAqk/gl7UMirncLE/s1600/IMG_2737.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NR24NHR6Xxo/TaZPr765r8I/AAAAAAAAAqk/gl7UMirncLE/s320/IMG_2737.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Easter Island. Magic. One big outdoor archaelogical island musuem telling its story through the Ahu and Moai. The Navel of the World!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><strong>NEXT BLOG: is the last one, to be called "Best and Worse" covering the journey home and summarising the best and worse of the entire journey including key overall ACTUAL statistics. It is due for posting from Bondi Beach, Sydney on Friday 15 or 16 April 2011.</strong></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tFKwxV41eT0/TaZQEGLlQrI/AAAAAAAAAqo/lTjMuWbMQuc/s1600/IMG_2741.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tFKwxV41eT0/TaZQEGLlQrI/AAAAAAAAAqo/lTjMuWbMQuc/s320/IMG_2741.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: 1) My sincere thanks to Melissa from Brisbane for her patience and great results in taking the "Maoi Shots" and "Moai Ozzie Dag Dances". 2) Many thanks to the manager of Chez Joseph, Manuel Alexandro Tarias Mardones, who provided me with tons of info, native Rapanui music for the film and my two boarding passes to take me to Bondi! Look him up at <a href="http://www.hotelrapanui.cl/">http://www.hotelrapanui.cl/</a></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S8bauDBhDm8/TaZQ180hsFI/AAAAAAAAAqs/5fRYc5Q34lY/s1600/IMG_2515.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" r6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S8bauDBhDm8/TaZQ180hsFI/AAAAAAAAAqs/5fRYc5Q34lY/s320/IMG_2515.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">RAPA NUI FACTS: 1) Island formed via a series of underwater volcanic eruptions some 3 million years ago. 2) Island now rises 3km from the bottom of the sea. It is like a huge iceberg - most of it is underwater. Funny thing is that there is no "archaepelago" which is typical of underwater volcanic eruptions - theory is that this one was so massive that one single plate just rose above water without splintering. 3) Easter Island is home to the following species: 160 fish, only 5 birds (used to be 25) and 1,300 plants. 4) Languages are Spanish and Rapanui (Yiorana=Hello/Goodbye, Maururu=Thank You, Pehe Keo=How are you). 5) Tallest Peak is "Maunga Terevaka" at 550m. 6) The Island has a Mayor appointed by vote of Rapanui only. 7) Only Rapanui can own land - not even Chileans from the mainland can own land.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8UQqH-ICygA/TaZRQRlFYtI/AAAAAAAAAqw/bXcjO6OHl-I/s1600/IMG_2520.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8UQqH-ICygA/TaZRQRlFYtI/AAAAAAAAAqw/bXcjO6OHl-I/s320/IMG_2520.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">HINTS & TIPS: 1) Under any circumstances, DO NOT use an agency to book any aspect of your visit to Easter Island. It is a big rip-off. You can book accom online and island tours of the Moai when you get here and save 200%, especially in off-season (NOV-FEB is HIGH). Be warned that it cost 60USD just to enter the National Park and even my agency (Chimu Adeventures) forgot to include it or even mention it. South America is easy. No agents necessary is the bottom line!</span></span>Zorbahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10118806867477722349noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3293689768229502823.post-90669249297368894392011-04-09T07:19:00.000+10:002011-04-09T07:19:47.534+10:00Sun Sand Samba (5-8 April 2011, Days 117-120 of 127)<span style="font-size: x-small;"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">They say Rio De Janeiro (Pop 6.1m. Est 1502) is the worst city situated in the best location.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LiXW_IvU53A/TZ9t-xkVxuI/AAAAAAAAAmc/IwWy5jGGYy0/s1600/IMG_1780.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" r6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LiXW_IvU53A/TZ9t-xkVxuI/AAAAAAAAAmc/IwWy5jGGYy0/s640/IMG_1780.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eqbiDQPPrBA/TZ9uKuKU67I/AAAAAAAAAmk/Cd-3YGMXUiw/s1600/IMG_1819.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eqbiDQPPrBA/TZ9uKuKU67I/AAAAAAAAAmk/Cd-3YGMXUiw/s320/IMG_1819.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">There is no denying the location. It is the most scenic of any I visited in the world. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">A city amongst huge clean sandy beaches with clear green-blue surf surrounded by granite cone mountains popping out all over the place with lush green hills in between. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Unfortunately, downtown is grubby, a wild mish-mash of architectures, smelly and at night and on weekends, downright dangerous. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">There is also the massive, almost contradictory separation between rich and poor. The mercedes and manicures of Ipanema contrasting sharply with the "Favelas (Shanty Towns)" a few kilometers away. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Despite all of this, Rio is a party town and has a permanent holiday town feel about it. It is also the only other city I know apart from Sydney that has beautiful, swimmable surf beaches within 8km of the CBD.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pskoxCLQaC8/TZ9t6LTx_DI/AAAAAAAAAmY/Ovm9UoOwvfc/s1600/IMG_1777.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pskoxCLQaC8/TZ9t6LTx_DI/AAAAAAAAAmY/Ovm9UoOwvfc/s320/IMG_1777.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I arrived at my last Interpid hotel in Rio De Janeiro called "Hotel Toledo" at 12:30pm on Tue 5APR after 4.5hrs of travel from the hotel in Abraao on Ilha Grande (1hr on a boat to Concencao Jacarei and 3.5hrs in a private van from there to Rio). </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Toledo is in the middle of Copacabana Beach and only one block back from the beach. Copacabana has a population of 750,000 in an area the size of Bondi - 50% are over 60 and most retired.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Zf8iCLI7Vdw/TZ9tz4ADxQI/AAAAAAAAAmU/ZDFXsbsBEnA/s1600/IMG_1752.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Zf8iCLI7Vdw/TZ9tz4ADxQI/AAAAAAAAAmU/ZDFXsbsBEnA/s320/IMG_1752.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Rio De Janeiro was discovered in January of 1502 by the Portuguese who thought it was on a river (versus a harbour) so they called it "River January" or "Rio De Janeiro". It was colonised by the French in 1555 during the time they tried to claim Antarctica but the Portguese kicked the French out in 1567 bringing almost 3 million black African slaves with them over the next 2 centuries to work their sugar cane and coffee plantations. Once the gold boom hit in the 1700's Rio became the port of choice to ship Gold back to Portugal and it boomed and became established. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s4_sz_OlEjk/TZ9uGZu2DRI/AAAAAAAAAmg/IukU9eSLVKk/s1600/IMG_1800.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s4_sz_OlEjk/TZ9uGZu2DRI/AAAAAAAAAmg/IukU9eSLVKk/s320/IMG_1800.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Rio De Janeiro is pronounced "He-o Je-nero" by the locals or "Cariocas" since, like Queenslanders, they like to abbreviate everything and have an accent that sets them apart from the rest of Brazil. Cariocas are also very laid back and celebrate constantly - so they should - they get 65 public holidays per year!!! Yes you read right - this is not including weekends or the 20 days of annual leave. 6 of the 65 public holidays are bank holidays and the rest mostly religious. Rio also has no ethnic neighbourhoods (like Little Italy etc) - it is very uniform and most have a mixed black African / Portuguese background. Unfortunately it is still dangerous at night and there is a lot of theft from the beaches - you take nothing!</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NKCdhy4hPZQ/TZ9twBSfhJI/AAAAAAAAAmQ/-7idG_sMDDk/s1600/IMG_1728.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NKCdhy4hPZQ/TZ9twBSfhJI/AAAAAAAAAmQ/-7idG_sMDDk/s320/IMG_1728.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Unfortunatley when we arrived it was cloudy and hazzy and about to rain. Most people had no choice but to take the City Tour including Sugarloaf and Christ The Redeemer since they were leaving the next day but I decided to take the Favela Tour since I still had 4 more days and the weather forecast was for sun. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">At 1:30pm Daniella from "Be A Local Tours" came by and picked me up in her van. We picked up another 8 people from two other hotels and headed to the "Rocinha" Favela or shanty town. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PJbi0CR9SVA/TZ9trasdQSI/AAAAAAAAAmM/fg1EtMPjx3w/s1600/IMG_1712.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PJbi0CR9SVA/TZ9trasdQSI/AAAAAAAAAmM/fg1EtMPjx3w/s320/IMG_1712.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">This is the biggest one in Rio and Brazil with approx 300,000 people literally living on top of one another in between two granite mountains called "the Brothers" only 5km from Ipanema Beach, the ritziest beach of them all. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">A Favela is like a gated community run by drug lords but with a puppet community leader and group who make applications to the government for funding or ammenity improvements. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CIOViZV-6pY/TZ9tnqFvz5I/AAAAAAAAAmI/jedYKsmm2D0/s1600/IMG_1709.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CIOViZV-6pY/TZ9tnqFvz5I/AAAAAAAAAmI/jedYKsmm2D0/s320/IMG_1709.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The Favelas are not as violent as they used to be with many residents setting up small grocery shops, bakeries, hardware stores, DVD hire etc in the many narrow alleys that weave their way up and down the mountain. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The houses are mainly brick with one person "buying" the roof slab of their neighbour to build on top. This is because rent is too expensive having almost reached the average monthly wage of 380AUD. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Most residents work for the rich of Rio, cleaning, gardening, driving or working in the construction and hotel industry. Most families have an average of 5 kids but this is decreasing. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">There are 1,200 Favelas in Rio State and 850+ of these are in Rio. One in three people live in a Favella in Rio. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4-jlYczj6mc/TZ9tjehLNvI/AAAAAAAAAmE/YPgssu9iwrg/s1600/IMG_1700.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4-jlYczj6mc/TZ9tjehLNvI/AAAAAAAAAmE/YPgssu9iwrg/s320/IMG_1700.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Favelas are very narrow, poorly ventilated, subject to mud slides that bring dwellings down, are beset by tangled uncovered live overhead wiring and full of garbage. On the upside, people are running their own business building better houses and opening up day care centres from the proceeds of Tours such as ours so that single parents can work. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">When we arrived at the bottom of the Rocinha Favela, each of us hitched a ride on a motor bike with a local adolescent male resident, who took us to the top of the Favela through the much wider commercial streets. What a ride. Weaving in and out of traffic, sights of people pendling their wares and an incredible view unfolding, of thousands of homes stacked up, one on top of the other, against a huge granite cone. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Once at the top we began walking back down again through many narrow hillside streets full of houses. Our first stop was an Art School were local kids who normally grafitte downtown, learn to paint. They even had a gallery where they sold their wares. Second stop was a pastry shop were most of us enjoyed a typical Brazilian pastry. Finally we visited a day-care centre for kids up to 6yrs old. This was one of 60 sponsored by "Be A Local". We even got a street-side drum concert by a bunch of 13 year olds - it will be in the movie version of "Ai Caramaba 2011"! In many ways this was an elightening tour since it gave us an insight into life inside a Favela without dwelling on the downside.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uu6Nu8DPZGg/TZ9vzsWlAlI/AAAAAAAAAnc/tNV9To_JpZo/s1600/IMG_2081.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uu6Nu8DPZGg/TZ9vzsWlAlI/AAAAAAAAAnc/tNV9To_JpZo/s320/IMG_2081.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I got back at 5:30pm and couldn't wait to hit the beachfront for a run. It had rained during the afternoon and by now it had stopped. Copacabana (4.5km long), Ipanema and Leblon beaches (5km combined) are a runners paradise. Dedicated running tracks, no cars to swipe you and plenty to look at!!! At around 6:30pm the huge roadside flood lights come on and you can continue perving! I have never seen such a variety of people running and out on the beach. People of all ages and all colours. Everyone tanned. And the view. Wow! Giant granite cones in the distance, huge apartments, roaring surf, tiled pavements, palm trees, sidewalk bars and cafes and the clean beige sand, slightly darker than Sydney Beaches.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--D9E9SyMqYo/TZ9wGV90hnI/AAAAAAAAAno/qLH3grmJcwU/s1600/IMG_2111.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--D9E9SyMqYo/TZ9wGV90hnI/AAAAAAAAAno/qLH3grmJcwU/s320/IMG_2111.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Once I got back it was time for pre-dinner drinks before our farewell Intrepid dinner at 8pm. We enjoyed some chilled 2007 Tannat from Brazil with some sardines in a tomato salsa on crackers. Lovely. Our farewell Churascarria (Bar & Grill) was quite up-market. Older male waiters in balck and white fussing around us, serving up succulent skewered meats - all you can eat for only 25AUD. The buffet even featured sushi and tabuli. We had countless wines and all recounted our favourite experiences of the last 5 weeks for most of us. It was Alberto's brithday so he taught me "Happy Birthday" in Portuguese. I then enjoyed delivering it much to the pleasure of the whole restaurant! It was a great last night.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TnXDBrTeqU8/TZ9wABoeo-I/AAAAAAAAAnk/IR9geHhIIL0/s1600/IMG_2103.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TnXDBrTeqU8/TZ9wABoeo-I/AAAAAAAAAnk/IR9geHhIIL0/s320/IMG_2103.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I was excited. I rose at 7am on Wed 6APR with nothing but sun outside. My run was slow but fantastic. So many people out there. So much traffic. The water simply shimmered in the sun. It was already 28C and muggy. Rio is just above the Tropic of Capricorn and is unbareably hot in DEC/JAN. I ran all of Copa and all of Ipanema and loved it. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">By 10am I checked out of Toledo and caught a cab to my new hotel "Apa" one block back and 3 blocks to the left. I farewelled my fellow Intrepid travellers and lead but would meet Maurren that evening. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Zf8iCLI7Vdw/TZ9tz4ADxQI/AAAAAAAAAmU/ZDFXsbsBEnA/s1600/IMG_1752.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Zf8iCLI7Vdw/TZ9tz4ADxQI/AAAAAAAAAmU/ZDFXsbsBEnA/s320/IMG_1752.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">At 11am I was on a bus to "Pao De Acucar (Sugarloaf Mountain)". I caught the 511 bus going to "Urca" and caught two sets of cable cars. The first goes to "Morro Da Urca", the first of the twin granite peaks at 215m. After several photos here over blue skies and waters it was one more cable car to Sugarloaf itself at 396m. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">What a view. No wonder Rio is such an icon. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">You could see all the beaches and Christ The Redeemer in the distance, on the other side of the city. I spent almost 2 hours here just soaking up the view and the cool breezes. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2pVHdhxtZVg/TZ9uPtuxvVI/AAAAAAAAAmo/H7U10Gs8km8/s1600/IMG_1827.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2pVHdhxtZVg/TZ9uPtuxvVI/AAAAAAAAAmo/H7U10Gs8km8/s200/IMG_1827.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">After my descent I caught a bus to "Centro" or downtown. What a mess. Tons of traffic and lots of people. Neoclassical buildings stuck between daggy metal and glass 1970's skyscrapers. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-midGd1TnOKw/TZ9uT_DHzJI/AAAAAAAAAms/P_WIMshAmmA/s1600/IMG_1836.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" r6="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-midGd1TnOKw/TZ9uT_DHzJI/AAAAAAAAAms/P_WIMshAmmA/s200/IMG_1836.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The Parliament and Opera House buildings were very classic. There were also many pedestrian only streets that were fall of vendors and bad smells. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Most plazas were very old and run down but had palm trees in them - the "Rio" look! </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yvhSJQK1jQI/TZ9uac-lqLI/AAAAAAAAAmw/dM6Olh_-cUs/s1600/IMG_1840.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" r6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yvhSJQK1jQI/TZ9uac-lqLI/AAAAAAAAAmw/dM6Olh_-cUs/s320/IMG_1840.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Oddly enough the city's main Cathedral was a modern cone shape, 106 in diameter, 96m high and holding up to 20,000 people. It is located in the commerical district opposite the head office of Petrobas which is itself designed to remind you of an oil platform. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Nearby was a modern expression of Europe's ancient Italian aqueducts, white in colour and with a small light train on the top that takes tourists to Santa Teresa which is the arty part of town. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qMtauDVorPg/TZ9ufGM_85I/AAAAAAAAAm0/1L2PDYNraSQ/s1600/IMG_1846.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" r6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qMtauDVorPg/TZ9ufGM_85I/AAAAAAAAAm0/1L2PDYNraSQ/s200/IMG_1846.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I walked from the Cathedral to the Aqueduct and then to the famous "Escadaria De Selarion" which is a set of 215 street steps that have been decorated by an eccentric Chilean artist with over 2000 coloured mosaic tiles from over 20 countries since 1990. Looks a treat. It is in a suburb called "Lapa" which is home to Samba - I would be coming here with Maureen later tonight. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MBiBrbkBje8/TZ9umOpimkI/AAAAAAAAAm4/xXY4SN64v-4/s1600/IMG_1855.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MBiBrbkBje8/TZ9umOpimkI/AAAAAAAAAm4/xXY4SN64v-4/s320/IMG_1855.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">From Lapa I then ascended a long winding road up to a musuem in Santa Teresa overlooking parts of the city. It was very breezy up here but the view was not as good as I expected. Hot and tired, I then caught a cab back to my new hotel. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I met Maureen at Toledo at 6pm for our last pre-dinner drinks after approx 60 of them - so sad. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">It was then off to a busy local corner pub-restaurant in Copa for our final dinner. It was great. A big Dorado (Sweet Snapper) and prawn "Moqueca" (Brazilian Paella) washed down by the local malty, honey-sweet, dark "Malzbier" with hardly any after taste. Maureen and I recalled 83 days of adventure, sites, experiences, drinks and gossip! Hard to believe it was all over. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fuZuTRshitE/TZ9usUNvQBI/AAAAAAAAAm8/6gpa9lkQp6s/s1600/IMG_1871.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fuZuTRshitE/TZ9usUNvQBI/AAAAAAAAAm8/6gpa9lkQp6s/s320/IMG_1871.JPG" width="213" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We then caught a cab to a club called "Rio Scenarium" in Lapa. This is a bit of a Samba institut</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">ion in Rio and one of the oldest. It is a huge neoclassic 4-storey building full of brick-a-brack and antiques with a big stage and dance floor and lots of intimate two person chairs and tables. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Maureen and I were seated right next to the Musos table next to the stage and the view was great. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Samba is very relaxing and almost remiscent of Jazz. We sat through two sets whilst sipping on ice-cold Malzbier. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The first set was instrumental only, featuring 4 musicians playing Sax, Clarinet, Guitar, Drums and Triangles. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The second set changed to 7 new musicians playing guitar, sax, flute, bongoes, elec violin and a singer. It was much faster and richer in sound and also featured several Bossa Nova treats and some Merengue. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ikFOoj3Ivzo/TZ9uyvhmjOI/AAAAAAAAAnA/IfixxeWOYAk/s1600/IMG_1893.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ikFOoj3Ivzo/TZ9uyvhmjOI/AAAAAAAAAnA/IfixxeWOYAk/s320/IMG_1893.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">There were mainly locals in the place and dancing with an older couple really ripping up the floor. Samba is great to watch - it is more precise with less of the sexiness that you see in Tango. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We enjoyed ourselves very much and it was a great way to finish 83 days of South American adventure! Back at Toledo it was only a temporary good-bye! </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Even tough Maureen is a retired "permanent traveller" she will be taking a break back at her home in Hope Island Gold Coast in SEP11 and no doubt I will visit her to personally deliver "Ai Caramba 2011 - The Movie"!</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eJMb5XTUUvQ/TZ9u3Rq0cFI/AAAAAAAAAnE/BQCUzLSsqp0/s1600/IMG_1902.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eJMb5XTUUvQ/TZ9u3Rq0cFI/AAAAAAAAAnE/BQCUzLSsqp0/s320/IMG_1902.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">It was 7APR and I was on my own again! No more Intrepid. I would re-live the 5 weeks that I was alone before Intrepid. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">By 8am I was on the 583 bus to "Cosme Velho" where there was a Gog-Train to take me 3,824m up to the top of the 710m peak of "Corcovado", upon which stood the iconic "Cristo Redentos (Christ The Redeemer)" with outstretched hands over the city of Rio De Janeiro. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">This is the largest Art Deco Sculpture in the world standing 40m tall on top of a 10m pedestal with arms spanning 30m. It was designed by Carlos Oswald and sculpted by Paul Landowski. It was opened on 12 October 1931. It is made of 635 tons of reinforced concrete and has no accessible interior - there is however a small chapel inside the marble base upon which Christ stands. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I was amongst the small group of people to go up first that bright sunny day so the photos were free of gringos.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">What a view!!!!!!!!!!!!</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5hq9UM2oZ8A/TZ9vlrl13BI/AAAAAAAAAnU/Zf7ROT6y_0c/s1600/IMG_1992.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5hq9UM2oZ8A/TZ9vlrl13BI/AAAAAAAAAnU/Zf7ROT6y_0c/s640/IMG_1992.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_AKGrfqItUU/TZ9vNE0ReHI/AAAAAAAAAnM/AjUumPArP-M/s1600/IMG_1945.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_AKGrfqItUU/TZ9vNE0ReHI/AAAAAAAAAnM/AjUumPArP-M/s320/IMG_1945.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">This has got to be one of the world's most outstanding views on the planet. So breathtaking, so surreal, so much to look at and observe. You can see the entire city. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I decided to stay until noon so I could get another set of photos with the sun overhead. They turned out better than the morning set except for the Christ, who was better in the morning with few people around. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-y1ooI3Jm1D4/TZ9vXW90BZI/AAAAAAAAAnQ/kI4FM35LKAM/s1600/IMG_1978.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-y1ooI3Jm1D4/TZ9vXW90BZI/AAAAAAAAAnQ/kI4FM35LKAM/s320/IMG_1978.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">In the 4hrs I was there a bazillian people must have visited - and this was in low season! I cannot imagine what it would be like in DEC/JAN. Having had my fill of photos and film (unfortunately no cozzie shots since the place is considered a church!!!) </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I descended and caught the 583 bus to Leblon beach. I then walked the length of Leblon, Ipanema and Copacabana beaches photographing sand sun and water! I reached the hotel at 4pm and was buggered after 8hrs in the sun! I cleaned up and blogged over several glasses of 2008 Chilean Rose. It was then time for in-room vego dinner, a movie and more Chardonnay to celebrate my conquest of Rio in sunny conditions!</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-K2FVGeADfAM/TZ9vtPOuqXI/AAAAAAAAAnY/VOKFQPRoLRQ/s1600/IMG_2068.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-K2FVGeADfAM/TZ9vtPOuqXI/AAAAAAAAAnY/VOKFQPRoLRQ/s320/IMG_2068.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The next day was my rest day - no more touring - just running and swimming on Copa! </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I completed my 10km run by 9:30am before it got too hot and then prepared this post until 2pm at which time it was off for a swim. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The western end of Copa was the most calm so I walked 2.5km and swam 4 laps totaling 1.5km. The water was a beautiful 24C but there were a few passing waves and leaves. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oF5QPhKutUo/TZ9v5aCYcpI/AAAAAAAAAng/2Od4aVoeX9M/s1600/IMG_2085.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oF5QPhKutUo/TZ9v5aCYcpI/AAAAAAAAAng/2Od4aVoeX9M/s320/IMG_2085.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Totally refreshed I headed off to the hotel, showered, shopped and sat down to another vego meal to a movie in my room. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The Copa back streets are nicely paved and clean. Shops could be a bot better looking but those of Ipanema are very ritzy - like Double Bay or Toorak. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I planned another run and swim at Copa tomorrow (Sat 9APR) before catching a cab at 11am to head to the airport for Santiago De Chile, arriving at 9pm to overnight for my 10am flight to adventure island!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">It was hard to believe - my next run would be on the most isolated place in the world - Easter Island!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><strong>NEXT BLOG: covers Easter Island and the Moai due 13APR.</strong></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-63GqUdO2ZSI/TZ9u_zmajoI/AAAAAAAAAnI/KwZL3ctbPQ8/s1600/IMG_1910.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-63GqUdO2ZSI/TZ9u_zmajoI/AAAAAAAAAnI/KwZL3ctbPQ8/s320/IMG_1910.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: 1) Thanks to Intrepid, overall for a good trip. It went without incident, lateness, cancellations or extra cost due to poor planning. There are a number of "optional" tours that should be added to the overall pricing and I will spell these out in an overall feedback summary that Maureen and I have prepared. I will put the finishing touches to this at Easter Island or on my way home.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">HINTS & TIPS: 1) If you are in Rio for more than 2 days and it is cloudy when you arrive, do not bother taking the tours. Go to Sugarloaf and Christ yourself. Public buses go there regularly and you can pick exactly when to go depending on weather. The best time to see both is when they open at 8:30am to avoid the crowds and get decent shots. 2) Do not worry about bringing antibiotics or antihystamines with you. All South American countries sell these over the counter and the generic brands are cheap! It is ironic but headache tablets with paracetamol need a prescription so bring plenty of those. Brazil seems to have the most number of chemists - at least one on every block and big too - some are mini supermarkets - must be for all that good living they do!!!</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-c90LzOSyKmo/TZ9wOKjLtTI/AAAAAAAAAns/mtjbLzgAbe4/s1600/IMG_2121.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-c90LzOSyKmo/TZ9wOKjLtTI/AAAAAAAAAns/mtjbLzgAbe4/s320/IMG_2121.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">INTREPID: 1) One night in Rio borders on the ridiculous for such a famous city with heaps to do. This is why I stayed on my own for another 3 nights. Intrepid must extend to 3 nights and include the City Tour in the pricing (not optional). 2) There are a number of other "optional" tours which must be made mandatory with pricing adjusted. These will be spelt out in a separate overall feedback summary that Maureen and I have prepared. Main example is Machu Picchu bus and entry.</span></span>Zorbahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10118806867477722349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3293689768229502823.post-26012556696486017442011-04-08T08:21:00.000+10:002011-04-08T08:21:40.533+10:00Beach Me Brazil (31 March - 4 April 2011, Days 112-116 of 127)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gnw8MQ88sg8/TZ4qhdOfqYI/AAAAAAAAAko/UYLsincxM1A/s1600/IMG_1408.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gnw8MQ88sg8/TZ4qhdOfqYI/AAAAAAAAAko/UYLsincxM1A/s320/IMG_1408.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">On the morning of Thu 31MAR we woke up to scattered cloud and some sun. We all decided to go for a 5hr cruise ASAP just in case the weather got worse. We would take whatever sun we had.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Paraty (Pop 32,900. Est 1650) is a quaint, cobblestoned town full of multi-coloured colonial Portuguese houses and rickety churches. The cobblestone are more like "bolderstones" - they are big and full of cavities and give your feet a hiding! </span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-y3jJrvtr1FE/TZ4qNIUawJI/AAAAAAAAAkY/WFiNcKu6gdc/s1600/IMG_1349.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-y3jJrvtr1FE/TZ4qNIUawJI/AAAAAAAAAkY/WFiNcKu6gdc/s320/IMG_1349.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The main attraction however is its port and harbour and the many islands and isolated beaches up and down the protected bay it is snuggled in. The town is surrounded by a wild coastline with pointy topped, jungle covered mountains - it looks very Rio-ish and reminds you of Fiji's Coral Coast or Bora Bora in Tahiti. Very tropical looking.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">By 10am we were down at the wharf and by 11pm we set sail on our 28 foot, 55 ton "Schooner" called "Soberano Da Costa" and powered by diesel. We were lucky that it was low season and there were 10 of us and 6 others in a vessel that was licensed for 68. </span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VLKtXlsqmhE/TZ4qXaQLm2I/AAAAAAAAAkg/aEa0Z8XGk68/s1600/IMG_1371.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VLKtXlsqmhE/TZ4qXaQLm2I/AAAAAAAAAkg/aEa0Z8XGk68/s320/IMG_1371.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The boat has a huge forward deck with a big, soft communal settee covered in pillows and a tarp overhead. We just stretched out and enjoyed the cool breeze and nice harbour and island views. "Baia De Paraty (Paraty Bay)" is very natural dotted with islands of all sizes covred in lush vegetation and many are privately owned with terrific homes. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Even under cloud the water was a milky green colour and the vegetation very green and varied. </span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qrkejsCezvo/TZ4qTezPnMI/AAAAAAAAAkc/uOUKgdaJSAI/s1600/IMG_1356.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qrkejsCezvo/TZ4qTezPnMI/AAAAAAAAAkc/uOUKgdaJSAI/s320/IMG_1356.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Our first stop was an island called "IIha Comprida". We spent 40min snorkelling here. Approx 4 varieties of coloured fish and various lichens growing on the underwater rocks. Nowhere near Barrier Reef or Galapagos. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Second stop was a bay with beach called "Praia Da Conceicao". It is here that I went on my 1.5km swim whilst the others had lunch. It was a great swim - a stuck to the coastline and could see fish and lichen below and the water was a fabulous 25C. </span></span><br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YxxqSXJO0Wk/TZ4qpyjP0zI/AAAAAAAAAkw/amFx0DMDnHA/s1600/IMG_1411.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YxxqSXJO0Wk/TZ4qpyjP0zI/AAAAAAAAAkw/amFx0DMDnHA/s320/IMG_1411.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">By this time it had clouded over and a light sprinkle broke out just as we approached our third stop, an island called "IIha Da Pescaria". This was a privately owned island, probably around 5 acres and it had a great little harbour/bay. Only I went for a "luxury" swim here, since I had only one "Caipirinha" kiwi, mango and sugar-cane spirit and crushed limes cocktail along the way whereas the others were down 3 or 4. </span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zJuhUfnhvmM/TZ4qlTXuQgI/AAAAAAAAAks/WKWnFBJWTNc/s1600/IMG_1409.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zJuhUfnhvmM/TZ4qlTXuQgI/AAAAAAAAAks/WKWnFBJWTNc/s320/IMG_1409.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Our final stop was a bay and beach called "Jurumirim". This was the best one of all since it was very protected, serene and the beach covered in foliage. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">This beach also had a private house belonging to a famous Brazilian explorer. We spent 30min here walking the beach and swam approx 200m to and from the boat. </span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">On the way back it sprinkled again but the views were still good. On a sunny day the views and colours would be stunning - we found this out on our second day here... The total cruise was 5hrs and only cost 17AUD. </span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rcxSHhAK-6M/TZ4q4p1D_QI/AAAAAAAAAk8/dk-CQPxYfcM/s1600/IMG_1435.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rcxSHhAK-6M/TZ4q4p1D_QI/AAAAAAAAAk8/dk-CQPxYfcM/s320/IMG_1435.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">After our usual pre-dinner drinks it started to pour but that did stop us from pursuing some seafood fare. To our surpise none of the cruise crew could recommed a restaurant offering whole fish so we reluctantly took our leader's advice. Why did we do this? The restaurant we went to was way overpriced and the two whole snappers that we shared amongst the four of us took 30min to cook, came butterflied and fried, were too bony and lacked enough meat to fill us up. They set us back 20AUD each plus 9AUD for a bowl of rice - too much for what we got! No more leader recommendations. Guess who sulked all the way home and to bed!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">When I saw the clear blue skies the next morning (Fri 1APR) I quickly forgot about the fish! I was out at 7:30am visiting the most photogenic town to date - Paraty. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The sun brought out colour and detail that made by camera spin! No words here - just look at the photos in this post!</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The best thing about photographing early, apart from the position of the sun, is no gringos! Nice clean photos! </span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rtdPxgQx9qc/TZ4qbd_tRuI/AAAAAAAAAkk/J2EpQpZ_Z2Y/s1600/IMG_1392.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rtdPxgQx9qc/TZ4qbd_tRuI/AAAAAAAAAkk/J2EpQpZ_Z2Y/s640/IMG_1392.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pSxpUTw3Rtk/TZ4rJU8CREI/AAAAAAAAAlI/mkB-p9b6VpY/s1600/IMG_1448.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pSxpUTw3Rtk/TZ4rJU8CREI/AAAAAAAAAlI/mkB-p9b6VpY/s320/IMG_1448.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">At 9:15am, Maureen, Sue and I set off by rickety public bus on a 16km, 40min ride to "Paraty Mirim", a secluded calm beach complete with tree covered "Baracca" (Bar & Fish Grill)! The last 8km of dirt road was appalling - rocks, holes and pools of water everywhere. It is amazing that the bus did not fall apart from all the creeking, rattling and shaking. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The beach was just what we wanted. Calm waters, nice breeze, lush vegetation everywhere and no gringos! We had the place to ourselves. It reminded me of the beaches of the Daintree in Queensland. Maureen and Sue settled down on the beach for some dips and tanning and I was off on my run before it got too hot. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Too late. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">It was steaming but I pressed on. I must have sweated 2L as when I returned I almost drank 1.5L of water. </span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qHsKndzA5mw/TZ4qv_ltIbI/AAAAAAAAAk0/1AtUFHhYMmc/s1600/IMG_1425.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qHsKndzA5mw/TZ4qv_ltIbI/AAAAAAAAAk0/1AtUFHhYMmc/s320/IMG_1425.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Then it was off on my 1.5km swim along the coastline. It was better than yesterday since there was more to look at - a string of private homes, probably holiday houses of rich Sao Paulans or Rio De Janeirans since they were large, had jetties and boats and lovely gardens with outdoor settings. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">When I got back we lunched by the beach under the shade of 5 huge rubber trees on cajun-style fish and Brazilian bean stew washed down with 450mL cans of cold Brazilian beer! </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">What a treat. What a scene. </span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-W7xmdNeAIM4/TZ4q8EGdTEI/AAAAAAAAAlA/F9-9fBpirGQ/s1600/IMG_1439.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-W7xmdNeAIM4/TZ4q8EGdTEI/AAAAAAAAAlA/F9-9fBpirGQ/s320/IMG_1439.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">It was definately the highlight of our Paraty stay. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">For the first time I had a kip when I got back - the heat of my run and the rickety ride dit it! </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">When I woke I had found the energy I needed to blog Iguassu and when it started raining, I decided to have an in-room dinner with my 2008 Special Reserve La Mision Chardonnay from Chile's Maipu Valley - it was terrific - not a lot of wood but good fruit for a full body back palate bite! </span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_4OwRAGoq64/TZ4q0aZwiQI/AAAAAAAAAk4/GB8VPDHyrLQ/s1600/IMG_1428.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_4OwRAGoq64/TZ4q0aZwiQI/AAAAAAAAAk4/GB8VPDHyrLQ/s320/IMG_1428.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">My only entertainment was a boatload of funny emails from Maureen since my TV only had 6 channels, all in Portuguese and 3 of them were evangelical!!!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">How lucky. The sun and blue sky greeted us again on the morning of Sat 2APR. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I also woke to find my forearm had puffed up from the wasp bite during lunch at Paraty Mirim. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">This time to accompany us on our trip to the village of "Vila Do Abraao" on "Illia Grande", half-way bewteen Paraty and Rio, some 121km away. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Door-to-door the total journey took 5.5hrs (2hrs on the bus from Paraty to Angra Dos Reis and 1.5hrs on the boat from there). </span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HOUqtzyGROU/TZ4rNYm2j9I/AAAAAAAAAlM/YmCJ9ahiA7I/s1600/IMG_1495.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HOUqtzyGROU/TZ4rNYm2j9I/AAAAAAAAAlM/YmCJ9ahiA7I/s320/IMG_1495.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The scenery on the bus was something else. Pointy, jungle covered mountains on one side and Pacific style tropical beaches, waterways and islands on the other side. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We even passed a nuclear electric plant on the way. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The bus was travelling way too fast for its age and ability and threw us all over the place but the view and sunshine made it fun. </span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mqn1-qzv62Y/TZ4rXlRu9HI/AAAAAAAAAlU/XCQBPEUe9P0/s1600/IMG_1542.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mqn1-qzv62Y/TZ4rXlRu9HI/AAAAAAAAAlU/XCQBPEUe9P0/s320/IMG_1542.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Angra Dos Reis is a busy port with colourful houses rising up very green slopes. The boat that took us over was more like a covered barge with a single room seating up to 500 people. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Vila Do Abraao is the only village on the island containing the bulk of the islands 3,600 inhabitants. Ilha Grande is Brazil's third largest island at 193 sq km with over 100 beaches and 356 smaller islands around it. It has no roads or cars. </span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-A6XjXHOMhcU/TZ4rdV3Dx1I/AAAAAAAAAlY/fYDZGiUCDTY/s1600/IMG_1545.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-A6XjXHOMhcU/TZ4rdV3Dx1I/AAAAAAAAAlY/fYDZGiUCDTY/s320/IMG_1545.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">It was first inhabited by the Tupinamba Indians who were known to be canabals. The Portuguese colonised the place in the 1700's with sugar cane and coffee as the main trade using black African as slaves. After slavery was abolished the Chinese established a thriving sardine industry in the 1900s which has since persihed. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Tourism is now the only industry. </span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2XnsE1tays0/TZ4sW9FSPmI/AAAAAAAAAmA/UJJFm0nyfYc/s1600/IMG_1673.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2XnsE1tays0/TZ4sW9FSPmI/AAAAAAAAAmA/UJJFm0nyfYc/s320/IMG_1673.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">As we disembarked the hot sun hit us immediately - it is definately hotter and more humid than Paraty. This area is also the playground of the rich and famous, attracting massive yachts from all over the world including Greg Norman. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Vila Do Abraao is quite exotic, suurrounded by lush jungle, pointy peaks, nice bays and lots of yachts. It was straight to the beach after checking in. Lovely calm green waters with one small beach after another, each with a bar on the sand. </span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wMCTHjkziAQ/TZ4sAFOAVHI/AAAAAAAAAlw/anbnYITkawg/s1600/IMG_1664.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" r6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wMCTHjkziAQ/TZ4sAFOAVHI/AAAAAAAAAlw/anbnYITkawg/s320/IMG_1664.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The main beach (2min from our hotel) has restaurants on the sand - much like Phuket but without the crowds - this was off-season. I swam around the bay, passing 2 more smaller beaches next to ours. The water was a pleasant 24C. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">At around 6:30pm we had pre-dinner drinks in my room and polished off my "Japanese Peanuts" which is actually Brazilian peanuts coated in a crispy corn shell and fried! Just the thing with beer! Dinner was also treat despite walking there in pouring rain - Maureen and I started with the classic "Caipirinha" cockail and then feasted on "Moqueca" which is the Brazilian version of Paella - this one had "Pescado" or fresh fish with rice and a special tomato and mashed potato sauce called "Pieca". It was delicious.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NS6cqnqAEU8/TZ4rSro1JfI/AAAAAAAAAlQ/tyherm4oyl0/s1600/IMG_1517.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NS6cqnqAEU8/TZ4rSro1JfI/AAAAAAAAAlQ/tyherm4oyl0/s320/IMG_1517.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The next morning (Sun 3APR), I woke up with the forearm of Bubbles De Vere! Yes - my wasp-bitten forearm had swollen up so I visited the local doctor with Alberto, our tour lead. This doctor was a real character making jokes all the time and injected me with an anti-inflamitory and anti-allergen in either butt-cheek! That was no joke! It bloody hurt! He also prescribed some antibiotics. The injections felt like someone had kicked me in the bum and they made me very drowsy. I fought hard not to sleep when I returned to the hotel because today I wanted to trek to the island's most scenic beach - Lopes Mendes. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I set off at 11am and initially went the wrong way landing at a beach called "Abraaoville". I then back-tracked and headed for the first beach called "Enseada Das Palmas". It was a steep climb through very thick jungle and because it had rained overnight was very muddy and slippery. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NdQGG53hVL8/TZ4rirss5GI/AAAAAAAAAlc/sANddFR4zd8/s1600/IMG_1564.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NdQGG53hVL8/TZ4rirss5GI/AAAAAAAAAlc/sANddFR4zd8/s320/IMG_1564.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">On arrival at the beach after 50min I had to jump a stream and made it (I had my hiking boots on and did not wnat to take them off - takes ages to put them back on again). The beach was idyllic, serene with deep green water and calm. Of course there was a bar on the sand! </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">It was another 30min to get to the second beach called "Mangues Pouso". This time I did not make the jump over the stream - one leg went in and got soaked. Damn! THe beach however was even smaller and more calm and scenic. It had a bar and even a wharf from which you could take a boat back - this was my plan as the injections had taken their toll and I was tired and still drowsy. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--dGa8RM-_h4/TZ4rn8NPOSI/AAAAAAAAAlg/2TZKtkVbymw/s1600/IMG_1570.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--dGa8RM-_h4/TZ4rn8NPOSI/AAAAAAAAAlg/2TZKtkVbymw/s320/IMG_1570.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Lopes Mendes was only 15min from here and it was altogether different. A very expansive surf beach with creamy sand and tourquiose waves perfect for body surfing - off I went for a few rounds. Water was a nice 23C and there was a light sprinkle. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">At 2pm I decided to return to the second beach to catch the ferry home and made it. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">To my surprise the boat was called "Golfo" (around 15m long with room for 100 souls) and in 30min I was back at Abraao. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WIcAy2hbfoE/TZ4rs0KrlNI/AAAAAAAAAlk/IrMxbzuSJG8/s1600/IMG_1579.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WIcAy2hbfoE/TZ4rs0KrlNI/AAAAAAAAAlk/IrMxbzuSJG8/s320/IMG_1579.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I was too drowsy to run or swim but not to join Maureen and Sue for some pre-dinner drinks. We even enjoyed some sardines and crackers with our chilled Chilean 2009 Chardonnay. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Things got even better - after our 7pm briefing Alberto showed us how to make the classic Brazilian "Caipirihna" cocktail using crushed limes, sugar and the sugar-cane spirit "Cachaca". We all then took turns making our own and that put us in the right frame of mind for a fun night! </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">That night Ben and Sarah joined us for a typical all-you-can eat Brazilian "Churassco" or BBQ featuring every type of skewered meat over coals with an unlimited salad and pasta bar. It was very tasty and satisfying. The beef was especially good - moist and as rare as you liked - they cook one side well and the other side not! We slept like babies!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Today (Tue 4APR) I was keen to go on a cruise. I woke at 7:30am to prepare for the longer cruise but the sky was thick with cloud so I opted to go back to sleep and wake up at 8:30am to catch the half-day version. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VkRZs2UUVXo/TZ4r0EslFDI/AAAAAAAAAlo/LwK_UbFe7oY/s1600/IMG_1620.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VkRZs2UUVXo/TZ4r0EslFDI/AAAAAAAAAlo/LwK_UbFe7oY/s320/IMG_1620.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">After some shopping I was at the wharf just in time for the 10:30am departure with snorkelling gear in-hand. The 32 metre "Anna Maria III" pulled out at 11am and we sailed straight for "Lago Azul (Blue Lagoon)" which is the main attraction.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> After 40min we were there - what a place - a calm lagoon of deep green water surrounded by lush jungle. I started out on my 1.5km swim around the lagoon with only face mask, observing the vast array of colourful fish amongst decent coloured lichens, sea plants and even some coral. This was much better than Paraty and a lot calmer. I felt so good and enjoyed the view so much that I extended my swim to 2km. I loved it - the best so far. I still had time for some snorkelling before we pulled up anchor and sailed back towards Abraao stopping at a beach called "Freguesia De Santana" after 20min. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5ai0yCeiYrE/TZ4r5plTyRI/AAAAAAAAAls/m0b0mBZmPsc/s1600/IMG_1638.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5ai0yCeiYrE/TZ4r5plTyRI/AAAAAAAAAls/m0b0mBZmPsc/s320/IMG_1638.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">A very calm place with greenish-yellow water! Unusual! We swam to shore to see an old church built in 1843 with just one solitary grave next to it. There were a few houses around belonging to retired locals and a fisherman. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">From here it was another 15min to our lunch stop at a beach called "Japariz". This place was a little bigger and busier with 4 restaurants and a pier, obviously purpose built for the cruise operators. I enjoyed a little kip whilst the others ate and then it back to Abraao. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5W_lS7Dlh2k/TZ4qJtfdPZI/AAAAAAAAAkU/i9NDyQk_U0I/s1600/IMG_0470.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5W_lS7Dlh2k/TZ4qJtfdPZI/AAAAAAAAAkU/i9NDyQk_U0I/s320/IMG_0470.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">During the cruise I reclined on a mat near the front of on a raised platform in the centre and with the ship's Brazilian music in the background and a view of green water, lush jungle and distant peaks with whisps of cloud around them, I really felt I was in another world very far away from my own - exotic and relaxing. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I also had the pleasure of meeting a group of visitors from Barcelona, the main man, Carlos was extremely friendly and animated. Then the impossible happened. Just as the conversation was warming up the ship ran out of beers! Carlos certainly gave that one mileage calling the crew all sorts of names! I was sad to leave such company when we got back at 4pm but I felt very re-freshed so decided to go for a run around town since there are no roads going out. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RIO79LZZijI/TZ4rAxwM5ZI/AAAAAAAAAlE/KAMQEA8iwB0/s1600/IMG_1446.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RIO79LZZijI/TZ4rAxwM5ZI/AAAAAAAAAlE/KAMQEA8iwB0/s320/IMG_1446.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I ran between our hotel at one end of the town and the fortress ruins at the other end (2.5km) - four times to complete the usual 10km. It was great since the day was still cloudy and the temperature had dropped with lower humidity. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">By 6pm I was nibbling on sardines in tomato salsa and sipping cold Chardonnay with Maureen. We even tried a chilled Tannat (heavy red like Durif) which was like drinking ink - big on tannins and like drinking cold plumbs laced with tobacco. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We then had the most enjoyable dinner to date. Picture this. A table on the sand, just 10m from the calm water, fall of boats bobbing up and down. In the distance the glow of Rio and just a solitary candle to see what we were eating. To eat, a large cast iron kettle full of sizzling seafood broth containing fresh chunks of fish, calamari, mussels and prawns. This is a typical Brazilian dish called "Caldeirava". It is accompanied by a smaller pot of sauce containing fish stock, mashed pumkin, tomato and spices - this is called "Pirao" and you put it on the fresh fluffy Brazilian rice accompanying this seafood feast. Add some cold beer, more cold Tannat (Argnetian Red Grape like Durif) and some gossip and you have a magical last night on Ilha Grande! </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-S2L_78Rb8FQ/TZ4sFTOAWfI/AAAAAAAAAl0/ZlKIOuVtWi8/s1600/IMG_1665.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-S2L_78Rb8FQ/TZ4sFTOAWfI/AAAAAAAAAl0/ZlKIOuVtWi8/s320/IMG_1665.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">To top it off, Carlos and his date for the evening suddenly appear out of nowhere and shout us a beer. We then shouted back with Tannat and the rest is history. The rest of the Intrepid group also ate here and we completed the evening at a self-serve Gelato Bar and a desert from a push-cart containing Brazilian sweets that does the rounds of the island! We had all the energy we could muster for the greatest party town of them all - Rio!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><strong></strong></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><strong>NEXT BLOG: covers Rio De Janeiro due 10APR.</strong></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_VLVgtkQrwQ/TZ4sLbOkcCI/AAAAAAAAAl4/IiLSQmL3Fq4/s1600/IMG_1671.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_VLVgtkQrwQ/TZ4sLbOkcCI/AAAAAAAAAl4/IiLSQmL3Fq4/s320/IMG_1671.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: 1) My thanks to a lead, Alberto for taking me to the doctor and translating. 2) Thanks to Carlos for his company and shouting us beers at dinner - "Oh what a night!!!"</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">HINTS & TIPS: 1) Most restaurants in Brazil list menu items that are meant for two people - so halve the price for the per-person equivalent. The quantities are large so it suits most gringos to share. If however, you only want a single serving then you will pay 60% of the price-for-two in the menu. Brazil is determined to stuff your face!</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-h6UotbpIEi0/TZ4sQhFQSoI/AAAAAAAAAl8/ut2iN4FKwqU/s1600/IMG_1672.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" r6="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-h6UotbpIEi0/TZ4sQhFQSoI/AAAAAAAAAl8/ut2iN4FKwqU/s640/IMG_1672.JPG" width="640" /></a></div></span>Zorbahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10118806867477722349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3293689768229502823.post-33865571855865536902011-04-02T10:21:00.000+11:002011-04-02T10:21:09.911+11:00Counting Cataratas (28-30 March 2011, Days 109-111 of 127)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0mt9rFEnyqE/TZZPliFtKqI/AAAAAAAAAjA/lnasSq_yCSk/s1600/IMG_1092.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0mt9rFEnyqE/TZZPliFtKqI/AAAAAAAAAjA/lnasSq_yCSk/s320/IMG_1092.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Iguassu Falls (Elev 192m) is the world's largest in terms of number of "Cataratas (cataracts or waterfalls)", comprising 275 of them, so start counting! 75% of the cataratas are in Argentina and 25% in Brazil.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The falls border Argentina and Brazil where both countries meet Paraguay, by air: 1,350km from Buenos Aires, 1,573km from Brasilia and 348km from Asuncion (the capitals of each country). I call it "Jose's Corner", the South American version of Australia's "Cameron's Corner"! </span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Bn4zTte4FrM/TZZb49YpDgI/AAAAAAAAAkE/A6evJIBpco8/s1600/IMG_0967.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Bn4zTte4FrM/TZZb49YpDgI/AAAAAAAAAkE/A6evJIBpco8/s320/IMG_0967.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The falls themselves are part of two national parks: "Parque Nacional Iguazu" in Argentina and "Park Nacional Do Iguazu" in Brazil. Both are UNESCO protected. The falls span 2.7km and drop between 40 and 80m (Angel falls 996m). The main city servicing tourism for the falls in Argentina is Puerto Iguazu (Pop 34,000. Elev 192m) and Foz Do Iguacu (Pop 311,000. Elev 192m) in Brazil. Ciudad Del Este (Pop 356,000. Elev 192m) is the closest city in Paraguay and only 7km from the centre of Foz Do Iguazu. For more facts on the falls refer to "IGUASSU FALLS FACTS" below.</span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PPA0GADYvVk/TZZcC7huiAI/AAAAAAAAAkM/8mbpXfzfAVk/s1600/IMG_1465.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PPA0GADYvVk/TZZcC7huiAI/AAAAAAAAAkM/8mbpXfzfAVk/s320/IMG_1465.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Iguassu Falls can be spelt three ways: the Argentines use "Iguazu", the Brazilian's use "Iguacu" and both use the Anglecised version of "Iguassu". Given that I visited both sides I will opt for the Anglecised version in this blog.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We arrived at our hotel in Foz Do Iguacu at 10:30am on Mon 28MAR after a 13hr overnight bus ride from Salto in Uruguay. The total trip hotel-to-hotel took 26.5hrs since we had to cross two borders: Uruguay to Argentina to Brasil. </span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-W5vqOZuMw2A/TZZcGNlmF1I/AAAAAAAAAkQ/jqYtqaL0c1E/s1600/IMG_1467.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-W5vqOZuMw2A/TZZcGNlmF1I/AAAAAAAAAkQ/jqYtqaL0c1E/s320/IMG_1467.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Foz Do Iguazu has no attractions itself and is not very good looking for a city that hosts a world-class tourist attraction. There is no central plaza, no main boulevard and the ground is uneven. The climate is very tropical with high humidity. In JAN/FEB, temperatures are often in the low 40s and with humidity averaging 87% all year round it is very oppressive. Annual rainfall is 1,800mm, falling mainly in JUN/JUL and the place looks like a jungle. </span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">At noon we boarded our private van to visit the Brazilian side of the falls, 18km away. Unfortunately there was cloud and a light sprinkle but the falls were still spectacular. The Brazilian side is the best place to get an overall panorama of the falls to give you an idea of span and majesty but the Argentinian side gets closer, to many of the falls to give you an idea of size and power. </span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DLaH3GaiwqY/TZZP9m8DBzI/AAAAAAAAAjE/QBCgoHtfB3A/s1600/IMG_0963.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" r6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DLaH3GaiwqY/TZZP9m8DBzI/AAAAAAAAAjE/QBCgoHtfB3A/s640/IMG_0963.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The view is eye-filling - waterfalls everywhere with lush jungle foliage in between. We spent 4hrs on the Brazilian side with he highlight being the 1.2km elevated walk ("The Path of the Falls") above the waters to the largest, noisiest and most powerful of the falls being "Garganta Del Diabolo (The Devil's Throat"). </span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WC_NQB_102A/TZZQAI6Q33I/AAAAAAAAAjI/UdeD8bT3-g8/s1600/IMG_0975.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WC_NQB_102A/TZZQAI6Q33I/AAAAAAAAAjI/UdeD8bT3-g8/s320/IMG_0975.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The spray is amazing and is like a torrent of water - this is here no matter if it is raining or sunny. The rumble is also grand - you can feel your chest vibrating! Only Niagra has a bigger volume of water and louder sound. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Four of us then decided to see the falls by boat and get soaking wet - the rest went back to the hotel. We spent 30min getting to the boat through thick forest via electric buggy and on foot. The actual boat trip was 30min and then 30min to get back to the main entrance of the National Park where Edwardo was waiting to take us back to the hotel. </span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CBwCdaqeaGM/TZZQCcF-exI/AAAAAAAAAjM/ya--XLgUMUg/s1600/IMG_1014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CBwCdaqeaGM/TZZQCcF-exI/AAAAAAAAAjM/ya--XLgUMUg/s320/IMG_1014.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The boat ride was exhilarating and a lot of fun. There were 12 people in this 20-person boat with two 75 horsepower outboards. This boat just flew, reaching speeds of up to 80km/h. We travelled 5km upstream to two photo points before immersing ourselves under two waterfalls and these were little ones. Once in the waterfall, the force and spray was so great that you could not open your eyes and look at it directly. The water was warm - I'd say 24C. We immersed ourselves 2 times in 2 falls. On our way back we did 180 degree spins in the water and ran into our own wake, causing the waves to spill over into the boat and soak us all over again. I was wearing my cozzies and nylon singlet whilst 8 of the Japanese with us wore regular clothes with a plastic poncho - it did not work! </span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Back at the hotel, a hot shower never felt so good. At 7:30pm we all went out to dinner to try some typical Brazilian fare - lots of beef with fried cubed potato and a chicken pie with molten cheese. There was no chilled white so we opted for beer.</span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BsgZVtjD_B8/TZZQEnkrl6I/AAAAAAAAAjQ/lrbkdxgqiXI/s1600/IMG_1041.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BsgZVtjD_B8/TZZQEnkrl6I/AAAAAAAAAjQ/lrbkdxgqiXI/s320/IMG_1041.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">At 8am on Tue 29MAR we were off to the Argentinian side of the falls approx 20km from the hotel. </span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">By 9am we were inside the park and boarded a little diesel train to take us to the "Gargantia Del Diabolo (Devil's Throat)" walk which ends up above the waterfall of the same name that we saw on the brazilian side only now we were right above it instead of below it. The walk consists of metal grated panels sitting 1m above the rushing water on concrete pillars. It took approx 10min to get out there and the view is something else. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Absolutely roaring water gushing down over three balconies or steps eroded in the volcanic basalt rock. The whole of Iguassu is a series of steps formed by a molten magma flow which cooled faster than normal then got progressively eroded by the gushing river. The falls are fed by "Rio Iguacu". </span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PA42tOb7UMk/TZZQRc_S51I/AAAAAAAAAjg/Xq9uQCycDp0/s1600/IMG_1165.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PA42tOb7UMk/TZZQRc_S51I/AAAAAAAAAjg/Xq9uQCycDp0/s320/IMG_1165.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We then boarded the little train back to "Estacion Cataratas" from which we walked the "Circuito Inferior (Lower Trail)" that takes you upstream and very close to bottom of five main waterfalls at the other end of Devil Throat, 2.7km away. The day was a little better than yesterday with no rain and more scattered cloud but no direct sun - photos were better but not as good as sun. </span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DFths5oOMLY/TZZQN7aOxhI/AAAAAAAAAjc/MEg-M9Q2p-E/s1600/IMG_1145.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DFths5oOMLY/TZZQN7aOxhI/AAAAAAAAAjc/MEg-M9Q2p-E/s320/IMG_1145.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">After the lower trail we stopped off for lunch were we saw Capuchin Monkeys and Racoons up close. In the afternoon we tackled the "Circuito Superior (Upper Trail)" which took us to the tops of the same waterfalls as the Lower Trail. The views hear were different. You appreciate the volume of water and get better backdrops whereas the Lower Trail is more about the thunder and spray of the water. By 3pm were on our way back after spending 6hrs on the Argentian side. </span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1OJuw6HpR8k/TZZQLlwSzrI/AAAAAAAAAjY/ZvmGY-P5llE/s1600/IMG_1116.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1OJuw6HpR8k/TZZQLlwSzrI/AAAAAAAAAjY/ZvmGY-P5llE/s320/IMG_1116.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Once at the hotel I decided to take on a new jogging challenge and run into Paraguay to complete 9 of 9 planned countries in South America (total of 13). Our tour guide made little effort to organise a van tour into Paraguay so I took matters into my own hands. My guidebook quoted 6km from the centre of Foz Do Iguacu to the border so I thought - stuff it - it is only 2km more than my regular run so off I went at 4pm with my passport in my waterproof money belt. </span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Fm3y8iRDpH8/TZZQI6gHVtI/AAAAAAAAAjU/aXRZteuGUaQ/s1600/IMG_1109.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Fm3y8iRDpH8/TZZQI6gHVtI/AAAAAAAAAjU/aXRZteuGUaQ/s320/IMG_1109.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The border is in the middle of the Parana River with the Brazilian control on one side of the elevated river bridge and the Paraguyan on the other side. Much to my surprise I ran through both border checks without being stopped! I arrived at the Paraguyan control after 35min of running (7km) and I felt great so I decided to run a further 1km into "Ciudad Del Este" to make it official. I did not stop to get my passport stamped since Ozzies need a VISA so technically I was an "illegal immigrant" in Paraguay for a sum total of 10min while I ran 1km into the city and 1km back out. Ciudad Del Este (City of the East) is very commercial, grubby and poor. There are cars and people everywhere. The main road I ran on has huge shopping centres on either side, one after the other, since prices in Paraguay are dirt-cheap and most Iguassu visitors come here in organised buses to shop without the need for VISAs. Even locals shop here. I did not stop for the entire 16km, 80min run! I was not as soar as I expected and I celebrated that night with an in-room supermarket picnic to rest my weary international body! It was the first time I had run over an international border and was elated with the experience.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JknsyOocABI/TZZRDs_csrI/AAAAAAAAAj4/pGSoT0qaGx0/s1600/IMG_1264.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JknsyOocABI/TZZRDs_csrI/AAAAAAAAAj4/pGSoT0qaGx0/s320/IMG_1264.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The following morning (Wed 30MAR) I took matters into my own hands again. Once again our leader did not put much effort into helping us organise optional tours for today so I visited the tourist office the evening before (after my run) and armed myself with bus and tour timetables so I could visit the gigantic hydro-electric plant "Itaipu Binacional" approx 20km from my hotel - it is one of the seven modern wonders of the world! </span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aRnIp1Gx_m0/TZZQvQoAJUI/AAAAAAAAAjk/fW4v82nAids/s1600/IMG_1211.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aRnIp1Gx_m0/TZZQvQoAJUI/AAAAAAAAAjk/fW4v82nAids/s320/IMG_1211.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I left at 7:30am to catch the public bus to Itaipu Binacional, arriving at 8am, just in time for the 2.5hr "Tour Especial". </span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Itaipu Dam is massive. It is 8km long, 196m high and contains 20 generators with a total capacity of 14,000 MW/H (Mega Watts per Hour). Each generator can power a city of 2.5 million people on its own. Only "Three Gorges" hydro-electric plant in China has a larger capacity at 22,000 MW/H. The snowy in Oz has a capacity of 3,756 MW/H. Even though Three Gorges has a much bigger capacity, Itaipu generates more actual electricty each year since it runs at close to capacity whilst Three Gorges is slowely ramping up as China grows (Taipu generated a world record 93.4 billion MWH in 2000). </span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-x4tjUnI76k0/TZZQ8AHs4dI/AAAAAAAAAjw/WK1HZvB4D5o/s1600/IMG_1243.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-x4tjUnI76k0/TZZQ8AHs4dI/AAAAAAAAAjw/WK1HZvB4D5o/s400/IMG_1243.JPG" width="266" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Taipu Binacional provides 20% of Brazil's total power needs and 90% of Paraguay. Taipu Binacional is 50-50 owned by the Brazilian and Paraguayan Governments via a special single joint-venture company established in 1974 under treaty. This set up is like the Vatican but without the soverign Pope - instead the Brazilian and Paraguayan Presidents are on the board of directors. It was built between 1975 and 1981, cost $USD12billion and will be paid off by 2023. The first electrcity was generated in 1984. The dam and plant is actually built on the border between Brazil and Paraguay with 10 generators on each side of the actual border! The master control room is in the middle of the 20 generators with the actual border passing through the middle of the room with control panels on each side (with 5 controllers each and a rotating supervisor with final decsion making powers, who's desk is in between and traversed by the border). What a bizzare but novel set up! For more facts on the plant refer "ITAIPU DAM FACTS" below. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"></span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hImau4Oj2-0/TZZRH6Dy2rI/AAAAAAAAAj8/oKqoY9K4Lrg/s1600/IMG_1273.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hImau4Oj2-0/TZZRH6Dy2rI/AAAAAAAAAj8/oKqoY9K4Lrg/s320/IMG_1273.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">There were only 6 others on my tour. After watching a 30min film on the making of the plant we boarded a special bus and viewed the entire exterior for the next hour. It was fabulous. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">First stop was a ground level, close, downstream view of the dam and spillway. We then drove along the top of the dam (Elev 225m) and stopped to peer down on both sides (lake and generator outlets). We then drove at the top of the spillway (14 gates letting out excess lake water up to 40 times the flow of Iguassu Falls!!!). At that time 4 of 16 gates were letting out water causing a huge water arch and plume of spray. Amazing site. </span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5BQBtVn5UTw/TZZQ49sNo8I/AAAAAAAAAjs/Q8nHg7RE5n8/s1600/IMG_1236.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5BQBtVn5UTw/TZZQ49sNo8I/AAAAAAAAAjs/Q8nHg7RE5n8/s320/IMG_1236.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We then drove to the bottom of the dam to touch one of the 20 massive pipes feeding water to the turbines. You could hear and feel the rumble of water!!! At this point we went inside for the last hour of the guided tour. We saw the inside of the concrete pillars stopping the lake, master control room, generator hall (1km long housing the 20 pairs of turbines and magnets) and finally a live view up close of the massive spinning rotor shaft of one of the generators. Amazing scale. Amazing engineering. Suffice to say, I walked out of the place at 10:30am to catch the bus back into town with my head spinning. I loved it.</span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wpB5mfMpZPY/TZZRNXAGJCI/AAAAAAAAAkA/CrPxUcyTKqY/s1600/IMG_1281.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wpB5mfMpZPY/TZZRNXAGJCI/AAAAAAAAAkA/CrPxUcyTKqY/s320/IMG_1281.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">At 12:30pm we left the hotel for the airport to fly to Sao Paulo. The flight was only 90min and the landing extremely fast (to counter cross-wind) with three hops before engine thrust reverse. It un-nerved a lot of people! A private van was waiting for us and it whisked us out of sprawling Sao Paulo towards beach-side Paraty some 350km and 5hrs away. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Sao Paulo (Pop 19m. Elev 760m. Est 1532) is the laregst city in the Southern Hemisphere and is a huge sprawling city and commercial hub, much like Los Angeles with 8 lane freeways which become parking lots at peak hour. We did not stay here because there are no sites or beaches. Along the way we stopped for what turned out to be a brilliant steak sandwich (and the rest of my Chilean Cab Sav Reserva Especial 2006) in a place that looked like a Texan Diner! We arrived at our hotel in Paraty at 10:30pm wrapping up 14hrs of travel from the hotel in Foz Do Iguacu. From now to the end of the Intrepid tour it was nothing but beaches and hopefully sun!</span><br />
<br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">NEXT BLOG: covers the Brazilian beaches of Paraty and Illia Grande due 5APR.</span></strong></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: 1) Many thanks to Ben for taking the speedo "Iguazu" photos and to Sarah for saving my clothes and passport from being nicked by the racoons!!! 2) Thanks to Sue for her daggy dance footage at Iguazu.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"></span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yLkdzE7gtxA/TZZb8tpTcBI/AAAAAAAAAkI/HmaxDwamZ1k/s1600/IMG_0976.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yLkdzE7gtxA/TZZb8tpTcBI/AAAAAAAAAkI/HmaxDwamZ1k/s320/IMG_0976.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">IGUASSU FALLS FACTS: 1) The total number of "Cataratas" (Cataracts or waterfalls) depends on the annual rainfall. The average of 275 can reach an actual of up to 350. 2) Cataratas fall between 40-80m height. 3) "Park Nacional Do Iguazu" (The Iguassu National Park of Brazil) was created by Decree in 1939 and UNESCO protected in 1986. It is 185,00 hectares in size. 4) "Parque Nacional Iguazu" (The Iguassu National Park of Argentina) was founded in 1934 and UNESCO protected in 1984. It is 67,000 hectares in size. 5) Av annual rainfall is 1,800 and av daily humidity is 87%. Climate is subtropical. 6) First white person to see the falls was the Spaniard, Alvar Nunez Cabeza De Vaca in 1542. 7) World's largest falls: Iguassu in terms of "number of falls", Angel in terms of "height", Victoria in terms of "span of falls" and Niagra in terms of "volume of water falling". Ironically the world's largest waterfall uin terms of volume of water used to be the "Guaira Falls" which were replaced by the Itaipu Dam!!!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-h17Y6vADdsM/TZZQ-wYt_sI/AAAAAAAAAj0/ju6gluwSfTE/s1600/IMG_1254.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-h17Y6vADdsM/TZZQ-wYt_sI/AAAAAAAAAj0/ju6gluwSfTE/s320/IMG_1254.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">ITAIPU DAM FACTS: 1) The dam consumed the following major material equivalents: excavation of 20 "Eurotunnels" (under English Channel), concrete of 210 Olympic Stadiums (seating 100,000) and steel of 380 Eiffel Towers. 2) From 1977 to 2010, 15.8million people from 188 countries have visited the dam. 3) Lago Taipu feeds the dam and Rio Parana is downstream. Lake Taipu is 1,350 sq km (Av 170km long, 7km wide and 180m deep) with 29 trillion liters of water. 4) 3,000 people work at the plant, exactly half from Brazil and half from Paraguay. 5) Max spillway capacity is 39 million L/sec which is 40 Iguassu Falls!!! On the day I visited only 6 of the 14 gates were partially open spilling 10,000 L/sec. 6</span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">) At the peak of construction, the equivalent concrete in a 22 storey office tower was poured every 55min night and day by 40,000 workers over a 2 year period. 7) The dam structure covers 92m to 225m above sea level. 8) Itaipu Binacional plany and company is run by SAP R/3. 9) Generators were built by Siemens. 10) Each generator weighs 1,760 tons and each turbine weighs 300 tons. 11) The turbine shaft which connects generator and turbine spins up to 92.3 RPM and is up to 10m in diameter. 12) The "Generator Hall" that houses the 20 generators is 996m long, 99m wide and 112m tall. 13) The dam wall comprises 18 double blocks of concrete shaped in a "V" to save on concrete. Each block is 196m high and 35m wide.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-R1TXIwvVPOc/TZZQ04lHwFI/AAAAAAAAAjo/pyvlIuISzAk/s1600/IMG_1219.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-R1TXIwvVPOc/TZZQ04lHwFI/AAAAAAAAAjo/pyvlIuISzAk/s320/IMG_1219.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">HINTS & TIPS: 1) Make sure you see the Itaipu Binacional Dam when in Iguazu. You can get there from Foz Do Iguacu in Brasil by their local bus. Catch a bus with "Juncul C" on the front screen from the central plaza to get there and any bus with "Centro" on it to get back. It is only 2.4R each way (1.50AUD). Take the "Tour Especiale" which is the complete tour with 30min film, 1hr external and 1hr internal guided tour. Cost is 51R. You can also do the 30min film + 1hr external "Tour Regular" which costs 22R. Bus takes 45min so if you have the time do not bother going to a tourist office.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"></span>Zorbahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10118806867477722349noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3293689768229502823.post-46783877831909592052011-03-29T13:08:00.000+11:002011-03-29T13:08:17.429+11:00"Gaucho" Marx (22-26 March 2011, Days 103-107 of 127)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-A21dsrSLb9w/TZEvLrTEBoI/AAAAAAAAAgM/MmksKbzKmi4/s1600/IMG_0905.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" r6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-A21dsrSLb9w/TZEvLrTEBoI/AAAAAAAAAgM/MmksKbzKmi4/s640/IMG_0905.JPG" width="425" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I am Johnny "Gaucho" Marx Golfinopoulos! A Uruguan cowboy!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Uruguay is the home of cowboys ("Gauchos"), cattle ranches ("Estancias") and horses ("Cabalos") in South America with the best reputation for steaks (beef) and barbeques ("Asados"). It is also known as the "Switzerland" of South America because of the Uruguains laid-back style, secret bank aacounts and "neutrality" in its military support of other countries. Refer "URUGUAY FACTS" below for more detail.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Our journey from our hotel in Buenos Aires to the one in Colonia Del Sacramento was mainly by ship (The "Eladia Isabel" owned by the company "Buquebus"), only 50km across the Rio Del La Plata, taking 3hrs in a total travel time of 5hrs. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The ship is big, carrying approx 500 passengers and trucks/cars. </span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yBsVH0mBgGU/TZEvWhfdC8I/AAAAAAAAAgY/xp29N1swII0/s1600/IMG_0579.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yBsVH0mBgGU/TZEvWhfdC8I/AAAAAAAAAgY/xp29N1swII0/s320/IMG_0579.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Mon 21MAR was the official start of our last fifth Intrepid segment with our total group rising by one to a total of 11 plus our new guide Alberto from Buenos Aires. We said goodbye to Poonam, Jess and Tamara and welcomed Sarah and Ben from Melbourne, Rebecca from Northern Ireland and Veronica from Stockholm. This segment will finish in Rio on 6APR.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Colonia Del Sacramento (Pop 22,700. Est 1680 by Portuguese Brazilians) is the only UNESCO protected site in Uruguay because of its unique cobbled stone streets, Portuguese inspired colonial stone houses and the original wall of the Bastion San Miguel. </span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-t6KIqNLEcn4/TZEvSyLXz-I/AAAAAAAAAgU/5RgxyPGm7ck/s1600/IMG_0559.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-t6KIqNLEcn4/TZEvSyLXz-I/AAAAAAAAAgU/5RgxyPGm7ck/s320/IMG_0559.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">This strait-side town is where Europeans (Portuguese) first settled Uruguay and was used to smuggle goods into Buenos Aires. It has many streets completely covered in trees and many plazas with colourful trees and restaurants. I set out at 1:30pm in a very muggy 32C heat. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">First stop was "Plaza De Armas" which contains "Inglesia Matriz" built in 1680 and the oldest church in Uruguay. I then visited the "Puerta De Campo" or stone gate at "Plaza 1811". The gate is part of the old wall of "Bastion De San Miguel" and almost reaches the water. </span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-apve-nqsVsg/TZEvbwAQnII/AAAAAAAAAgc/S0z0r06_psU/s1600/IMG_0603.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-apve-nqsVsg/TZEvbwAQnII/AAAAAAAAAgc/S0z0r06_psU/s320/IMG_0603.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">From here it is a nice stroll along "Calle De Los Suspiros" and "Calle Paseo De San Gabriel" which contains the oldest of the stone, tile and stucco colonial homes.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The views of the town and surrounding water from the "Faro" or lighthouse at "Plaza Mayor 25 De Mayo" are terrific - the old town is lterally built on a penisula that juts out into Rio De La Plata. Everywhere you look there a rustic bars and restaurants specialising in grilled seafood and meats. It is very cheap. Most meals range from 5-10AUD. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">From here I walked to the "Puerto Viejo" or Old Port via "Plazoleta San Martin". Very scenic since it is along the water and dotted with nice eating and drinking places. This town is very relaxed but also very touristy. I hate to think how hot it is in DEC/JAN. </span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_YndoA8JbAg/TZEvhI9d0mI/AAAAAAAAAgg/__krFaQ3w2Y/s1600/IMG_0614.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_YndoA8JbAg/TZEvhI9d0mI/AAAAAAAAAgg/__krFaQ3w2Y/s320/IMG_0614.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">From the Old Port it was back to my airconditioned room at around 3:30pm. I relaxed to some blogging and cable until it got cooler for my first run in Uruguay. The run was magic, along a coastline of beaches and pines to a bright orange setting sun. The water was like oil and there was a cooling breeze with pine aromas - it reminded me of the island of Poros in Greece. </span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">That night Maureen, Sue and I dined at a local Parillada and my "Chivito La Plata" (open steak sadnwich on a plate) was enormous and tasty - thin beef grilled over wood coals with cheese, bacon, egg, lettuce, tomato, chips and a Russian Salad (potato, peas, carrots, mayo). We also drank our first Uruguayan wines: a lovely orange coloured Rose with raisin nose but tasting dry and a 2008 Cab Sav Reserva back at the hotel. Colonia is a great place.</span><br />
</span><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Tt2V2I1yQLc/TZEv2T6EuBI/AAAAAAAAAgw/d_GXbhYmcKY/s1600/IMG_0792.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Tt2V2I1yQLc/TZEv2T6EuBI/AAAAAAAAAgw/d_GXbhYmcKY/s400/IMG_0792.JPG" width="266" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The next morning (Wed 23MAR) I could hardly wait to run along the beaches to sunrise - much to my surprise when I stepped outside at 6am in just running shorts (since I thought it would be warm like the sunset) there was a mini cyclone!!! Howlling wind, trees sideways, rain, very cool and still dark. It was no go. I went back to bed. Our journey from hotel to hotel (Colonia to Montevideo, the Capital) took 5hrs featuring a 2.5hr, 170km bus ride. It was raining lightly all the way but you could see the countryside was flat with green rolling hills and farms - much like anywhere in Australia or the world. After dumping our gear in our very centrally located hotel it was off to visit the city.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Montevideo (Pop 1.3m. Est 1726) is full of neoclassical buildings influenced by Portugal and Spain. It even has some art deco buildings. It is very unkept and most of the buidlings need to be cleaned or restored. It has nowhere near the grandueur or vibe or sophistication of Buenos Aires but it does feel old and full of history. It has much more of a naval feel to it with more seafood on the Parilla menus. </span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SFbb5I1ZEy0/TZEv-3o1JyI/AAAAAAAAAg0/gAH4xyR7LCA/s1600/IMG_0801.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SFbb5I1ZEy0/TZEv-3o1JyI/AAAAAAAAAg0/gAH4xyR7LCA/s320/IMG_0801.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The only downside was the rain and wind today. It did not let up and photos took ages as I tried to manouver my umbrella under the camera to prevent drops on the lense. The good news is that I went back out to certain sites the following day with clear blue skies... Montevideo actually means "a mountain with a view of east to west". </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The first stop was "Plaza Independencia" which features a huge statue of the country's hero, General Artigas with his ashes in an urn, guarded 24x7 by two armed guards, in an mausoleum below the statue. </span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-o-Frz4VWkTM/TZEwLJVpZII/AAAAAAAAAg8/tH3ydiqNxbc/s1600/IMG_0816.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-o-Frz4VWkTM/TZEwLJVpZII/AAAAAAAAAg8/tH3ydiqNxbc/s320/IMG_0816.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">This plaza also contains the 18th century "Palacio Estevez" (Presidential Palace) and the 26 storey "Palacio Salvo" which contains many Government Departments and looks like something out of Moscow. In the 70s it was the tallest building in South America. The "Teatro Splis" or Opera House is also here. The plaza is huge and also contains a mixture of skyscrapers from the 60s and 80s. It is a real mismatch of buildings but grand in its size. </span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cLhvKj7eb0U/TZEwRV3MDII/AAAAAAAAAhA/IOnMHKjuZgM/s1600/IMG_0825.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cLhvKj7eb0U/TZEwRV3MDII/AAAAAAAAAhA/IOnMHKjuZgM/s400/IMG_0825.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">From here I followed "Calle Sarandi" which is the main pedestrian drag leading to "Plaza Constitucion" which is much smaller, very leafy and surrounded by cafes. The "Inglesia Matriz" or Main Cathedral is here and although the outside is ordinary, the inside is very nice with a huge tomb of the first Archbishop of Uruguay. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">After a lovely cup of coffee, I stepped into side streets to view some the colonial buildings including two musuems on Missiones and the massive Greek inspired Bank of Uruguay. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">After passing "Plaza Zabala" I turned into "Calle Perez Castellano" which is in the middle of "Ciudad Vieja (Old City)", contains all of the oldest residences and leads down to the old port and "Mercado Del Puerto".</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oS62LZ4EsOQ/TZEwXu7FWWI/AAAAAAAAAhE/AEG_NOp8Gek/s1600/IMG_0843.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oS62LZ4EsOQ/TZEwXu7FWWI/AAAAAAAAAhE/AEG_NOp8Gek/s320/IMG_0843.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial;">This is a massive wrought iron structure containing many "Parillas" or Grill Restaurants inside. Each one tries to out-do the other with their big log fires sourrounded by mountains of BBQ meats including livers, kidneys and blood sausages. I have never seen more meat in my life. The BBQ aromas simply make you want to eat. This is a lunchtime place with a similar set up at the other end of town for dinner, but much much smaller.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EOruWRLX9mo/TZEvnWH9ZbI/AAAAAAAAAgk/3X4ss5eSzUU/s1600/IMG_0718.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EOruWRLX9mo/TZEvnWH9ZbI/AAAAAAAAAgk/3X4ss5eSzUU/s320/IMG_0718.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The old port area is charming, even in the rain and it is on a penisula sticking out into the Rio De La Plata which is the large strait that goes to Buenos Aires on one side and the Atlantic on the other.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">After returning to the hotel at around 3:30pm, I grabbed a </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">jacket and started another round of sites. "Plaza Del Entreveros" was next and it was boring. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The one after, "Plaza Cagancha" was terrific, surrounded by neoclassical buildings and covered in trees. By now the rain was getting heavy so I finished up and returned to the hotel for some rest. </span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AGEBKZuTG6o/TZEvsKeQYwI/AAAAAAAAAgo/wt0RMx8l1Dc/s1600/IMG_0774.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AGEBKZuTG6o/TZEvsKeQYwI/AAAAAAAAAgo/wt0RMx8l1Dc/s320/IMG_0774.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">At 6pm it was time for pre-dinner drinks in Sue and Maureen’s room then it was off to the Parilla (Steak House) after the team briefing at 7pm. My eye fillet steak was the best to date but still not as tasty as Meat & Wine. It was big at 400g, very tender and cost only 13AUD. We drank 1.5L of carafe Uruguyan Rose since it was the only cold wine on the menu but it was enjoyable. light, dry and refreshing. </span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a_6DWZSWrA0/TZEvwSPQONI/AAAAAAAAAgs/NDnfxZvEzAg/s1600/IMG_0778.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a_6DWZSWrA0/TZEvwSPQONI/AAAAAAAAAgs/NDnfxZvEzAg/s320/IMG_0778.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Once back at the hotel we had a final quiet red in the lobby with a small aria from me which the hotel staff enjoyed so much that they shouted us one final round. Another great finish to an otherwise great day,despite the rain, all of us made the most of it.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I was greatly relieved when I looked out of my window at 7:30am on Thu 24MAR and saw a blue sky. I wanted to run yesterday but the rain and wind would not let up. My reward this morning was a terrific coastal run passing 2 of Montevideo’s 8 beaches with fresh air and lots of sun. The beaches were small, tan sand and no waves. Not that great. The city coastline is open and vast with some units but not a lot of cafes or restaurants. Either it gets too windy here or the locals haven’t bothered developing it yet.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I set out at 9:45am to re-visit some of the city’s key sites so I could re-take pictures in the blue-sky sun to replace the drab and rainy photos of yesterday. It is amazing how your perspective of a place improves with great weather. Montevideo was like a different (and better) city. It was also very comfortable with low humidity and a cool 22C day. </span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hHR1OhubG18/TZEwwmGZPjI/AAAAAAAAAhU/wXxuwkg8oaE/s1600/IMG_0895.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hHR1OhubG18/TZEwwmGZPjI/AAAAAAAAAhU/wXxuwkg8oaE/s320/IMG_0895.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial;">I was sorry to leave at 11:45am but we were all excited since we were travelling to the centre of the country on a 5hr bus to stay at a huge working cattle station and sample the life of a "Gaucho" or Uruguayan Cowboy! The total trip took 8hrs with the bus terminating in Tacuarembo where Juan, the ranch owner drove us in his van another 1.5hrs to his "Estancia" or ranch called "Panagea" (The Greek word for the single global continent early in the Earth's history). The countryside from Montevideo to the centre was fairly flat with undulating green hills, occasional vineyards and lots of cows - could look like parts of NSW or VIC.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The ranch was literally in the middle of nowhere. What an incredible place. Very green hills, few trees and very reminiscent of the hills around Canberra - Marumbateman to be exact! There was cattle everywhere and the main house was quite large. There is a septic tank with diesel generated power only from 7pm to 9:30pm. After that it is torches and candles. The cooking is exclusively wood fired oven or BBQ. For more interesting facts about the ranch, refer "ESTANCIA PANAGEA FACTS" below.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_sR0x-eJTs8/TZEwl3RSkAI/AAAAAAAAAhM/8UtBmFGopYc/s1600/IMG_0886.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_sR0x-eJTs8/TZEwl3RSkAI/AAAAAAAAAhM/8UtBmFGopYc/s320/IMG_0886.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Maureen and I had no choice but to start cheese and wine in the van on our way to the ranch since it was already 5:30pm when we left the bus. We arrived at 7pm and met 17 other young Australians doing our Intrepid tour in reverse - Rio to Buenos. They were leaving in the morning so we all enjoyed Spaghetti Bolognese outside around a roaring camp fire using mince from</span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> the local cattle. It was rich and full of flavour. </span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The station owner, Juan introduced us to his wife Susanna (Swiss who he met in Tibet and 7mths pregnant with their second child) and gave us a run down of the ranch and what we would be doing over the next two days. We also met 2yr old Dharma who made me so homesick for my nieces. The sun had set, the stars were out and a cool breeze blew. This Juan was clever. Having realised the rising tourist industry he fitted out his large two-storey house full of bunk beds and bought a shipping container and coverted it into a mini-hostel for 8! He could sleep 30! Juan's command of English was excellent and he was very tuned in to everything Australian. I knew at that moment that we were going to have a geat time here. By the time 10pm rolled around we had drunk everything in site and discussed all topics. I was the only one out of 28 gringos to sleep by myself in the roof attic - it was terrific - quiet and breezy! My reputation had proceeded me... I felt like a celebrity - what am I talking about... I am a celebrity!</span></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LEpiA0CF68I/TZEwsIiQfII/AAAAAAAAAhQ/_RBjVCXa-mM/s1600/IMG_0891.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LEpiA0CF68I/TZEwsIiQfII/AAAAAAAAAhQ/_RBjVCXa-mM/s320/IMG_0891.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Fri 25MAR was a rainy day but light. After a hearty breakfast of cereal and eggs we saddled up to go mustering cattle on horse back. My horse was called "Relampago (Lightening)", grey in colour and very obedient. Juan gave us great lessons on handling the horse then briefed us on today's mission: to round up 50 head of cattle on a nearby hill and bring them back to the farm so a potential buyer could inspect them. We rode for a total of 90min through green rolling hills, creeks and scattered trees - there was plenty of grass and the cows were fat! </span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qo0T2HY1hGY/TZEwf0YUw6I/AAAAAAAAAhI/wbxACtInn6Q/s1600/IMG_0877.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qo0T2HY1hGY/TZEwf0YUw6I/AAAAAAAAAhI/wbxACtInn6Q/s320/IMG_0877.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Rounding them up was immense fun! I screamed and yelled and chased the odd stray. I even tried opera to direct them - it worked! Even the dogs helped out - four of them chasing strays. By the time we got back we were quite wet but very pleased with the experience. Our mission was accomplised with the 50 safely penned near the house. We then unsaddled our own horse, dried up and had coffee by the fire. It then started to pour so we all gathered together for a fireside chat - Megan (24yr old lawyer born and raised in Joannesburg) and Maureen (spent 17yrs in Johannesburg) gave us an insight into life in South Africa, especially apartheid and the current state of affairs. Eventually the rain stopped and I went on my first run in gum boots given the muddy gravel road. The views were terrific but my feet were quite sore. I spent the rest of the arvo blogging. After dinner we all watched "The King's Speech" on DVD - Colin Firth deserved his Oscar!</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-l_pFugvCbg0/TZEw3TRgJeI/AAAAAAAAAhY/I9237kq7AuU/s1600/IMG_0919.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-l_pFugvCbg0/TZEw3TRgJeI/AAAAAAAAAhY/I9237kq7AuU/s320/IMG_0919.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">What a relief. The cloud had scattered and the sun was making its way through on the morning of Sat 26MAR. Perfect for our morning horse ride. Today we all switched horses and I got "Neuve (Cloud)". He is a spritely chap and likes to be at the front of the pack so he would just speed up without my beckoning. I saddled him up mysefl including the placing of the metal "bit" in his mouth to which the reins are attached for control. All horses have a gap in the middle of their mouth where the bit sits and when you pull back on the rein this bit presses against the roof of the horse's palate causing some discomfort so the animal stops. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">This morning's mission was to ride out to a paddock approx 5km away and round up approx 500 sheep and bring them back to the pens next to the farm house for mulesing (cutting away the "dags" or poop) and treating any infections. The ride out was magnificent - the sun simply highlighted how lush and green this country was - no wonder the beef is so good. My horse was great - easy to control. The saddle was also very comfortable - we spent a total of 2.5hrs on horseback on this occassion. Mustering sheep is a lot easier than cattle since one follows the other. The four farm dogs did a great job. Each one would walk beside a horse until Juan or Malinga shouted a Spanish command and they would race off. We all surprised ourselves on how quickly we rounded up the sheep and brought them back. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ih2e1MplQZ0/TZEw_TPgDqI/AAAAAAAAAhc/qot-5QRU53Y/s1600/IMG_0929.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ih2e1MplQZ0/TZEw_TPgDqI/AAAAAAAAAhc/qot-5QRU53Y/s320/IMG_0929.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We then all participated in the sheep inspection process by opening and shutting gates so that the sheep could be inspected in groups of 10. Malinga would then point to a sheep that needed treatement and we would grab it. Only 10 sheep needed treatment for infected rear ends - a blue paste containing insectiside and antibiotics is applied and within 5 days the area is cured. These sheep were nice and fat and full of wool. Juan sells a lot of wool and the current price is very good. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The sun was now shining with scattered cloud and a cool breeze - perfect for my second run whilst the others lunched. It was great to run in joggers again and the road had dried up well. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FbMThXbgrtY/TZE7KeBqi2I/AAAAAAAAAhk/JFUYkXPLOQc/s1600/IMG_0913.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FbMThXbgrtY/TZE7KeBqi2I/AAAAAAAAAhk/JFUYkXPLOQc/s320/IMG_0913.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">After a brief rest at the ranch it was off on horseback again. Our mission was to return the 500 sheep to their paddock. There was only 4 of us riding with Juan and Malinga and we returned the sheep in just over an hour. Juan then took us scenic riding up to an elevated ridge full of dead trees overlooking the whole area and beyond. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The middle of Uruguay (and entire northern half) is very green with rolling hills, scattered trees and very rocky. For this reason not much cropping is done in the North - just cattle and sheep. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-R5rChX7wbuE/TZE7QjLESHI/AAAAAAAAAho/4E_CyDo5KSk/s1600/IMG_0921.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-R5rChX7wbuE/TZE7QjLESHI/AAAAAAAAAho/4E_CyDo5KSk/s320/IMG_0921.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Croping occurs in the southern half with mainly wheat and corn. WIne is also on the rise. There is no mining or oil in Uruguay. On our way back to the farm, Megan (who grew up on a farm in South Africa with horses) showed us how to "canter" (slow gallop) and even gallop and we did it. My gallop was only for 1min and was bloody scary. You did not have to encourage these horses. Once they saw the open grassy plains and Megan's horse starting to bolt they automatically followed. A gallop feels like you are floating through the air. I had to stand on my stirrups and lean forward like a jocky. It was exhilarating but scary. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ebXJLZfVlDE/TZE69wu3ZfI/AAAAAAAAAhg/cztp_NxuiWk/s1600/IMG_0906.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ebXJLZfVlDE/TZE69wu3ZfI/AAAAAAAAAhg/cztp_NxuiWk/s320/IMG_0906.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We celebrated our epic 3hr horse ride in the garden outside with chilled Uruguayan Sav Blanc and Sav Gris blend 2008, smoked salmon stuffed green olives and local cheese (like Jarlesberg). Civilised Gauchos indeed!!! This culinary delight was a great prelude to a tasty dinner of beef stew and stir-fried vegies. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">Once again we all sat down to another DVD movie - "Black Swan". Very impressive performance by Natalie Portman - again another deserved Oscar. Tonight we saw best acctress and last night we saw best actor - great combo!</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Sj_hrBCM4Bw/TZE9_ag6NmI/AAAAAAAAAh0/-WrWtSiBtPc/s1600/IMG_0739.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Sj_hrBCM4Bw/TZE9_ag6NmI/AAAAAAAAAh0/-WrWtSiBtPc/s320/IMG_0739.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Juan learnt his excellent English from watching English DVDs with Spanish subtitles - he has a library of over 300! After the movie it was time for a game of UNO in the kitchen with plenty of beer to lubricate the action. Then the coffee liqueur came out which fuelled some excellent discussuions on politics and life. What an evening. Fabulous comapany and discussion.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I woke up with a stiff back and quickly worked out why - galloping pains - from the many hours of horse riding in the last two days. By 9am we were on the road again with Juan driving us 210km to the Uruguyan border town of Salto. The day was great. Sunny with high shapely alto-cirrus clouds. The landscape completely flattened out with plains as far as the eye could see. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F1fzpcevuT4/TZE7ciOkysI/AAAAAAAAAhs/_XP4LanEoSM/s1600/IMG_1009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F1fzpcevuT4/TZE7ciOkysI/AAAAAAAAAhs/_XP4LanEoSM/s320/IMG_1009.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We arrived at the Salto Thermal Pools at 12:30pm.This place was great. A huge manicured park with palms, flowers and 8 different pools at different temperatures, heated by molten magma deep within the earth. I soaked in the big 28C pool for 1hr then lay on the wooden bench with four 32C jets massaging my back and finished with the 39C fountain pool. Perfect timing - as a rest day from running, I could not have timed it better - my feet were brand new again! I returned to the restaurant where our bags were at 3pm and surfed the net a while until we caught taxis to the Uruguyan-Argentinian border. We got tthrough in record time and arrived at the Argentinian border town of Concordia (Pop 177,000) to eat and catch the 12hr bus to Iguazu Falls. At 8pm we were on our way.</span><br />
<br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">NEXT BLOG: covers Iguazu Falls due 31MAR.</span><br />
</strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: 1) Our new tour guide, Alberto, made a big first impression on 21MAR by replacing our 10hr overnight bus from Iguazu to Sao Paulo with a flight! 2) Untold thanks to the hosts with the most, Juan and his wife Susanna who made us feel like extended family on his cattle ranch in the middle of Uruguyan nowhere!!! Special thanks to Malinga who rode with us and always made us feel welcome.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-D5QqCPQLmC8/TZEvPjiJO0I/AAAAAAAAAgQ/UsU94ZcbTOk/s1600/IMG_0519.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-D5QqCPQLmC8/TZEvPjiJO0I/AAAAAAAAAgQ/UsU94ZcbTOk/s320/IMG_0519.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">URUGUAY FACTS: 1) Area is 187,000 sq km, (slightly bigger than VIC) with very few mountains (max elev is 500m). 2) Population is 3.42 million and like NZ has a growth rate so low that it if stays the same will never reach 4 million!!! 3) Has lowest Catholic pop at only 47% and highest atheist rate at 17%. Rest are mix of Evangelical Protestants and Jews. 8% are mixed indigenous and 4% black. Rest are white of Spanish and Protuguese descent. Biggest immigrant group is the Italians with Sao Paulo having the largest Italian population outside Italy. 4) Originally inhabited by the indigenous "Charrua" from unknown date. Portuguese Jesuits landed in 1624 (in Colonia Del Sacramento). 5) For the next 200yrs, the Spanish, Portuguese and British wrestled for control with Argentinian Spaniards dominating. 6) In 1828 came part independence with liberated Argentinia and Braazil fighting over Uruguay till 1850. 7) Until 1967 there were many coups and rebellions with firm dictatorship lasting from 1967 to 1971. 8) Military then took over until late 1980s when elections of sorts were held. 9) Economy started to falter in 1960 and crumbled by 2002 when foot and mouth hit most of the beef industry. In 2002 inflation hit 40% and the country was declared bankrupt. Loans from USA, IMF & WB brought economy back to life but drought since 2009 has unsettled it again (no 1 beef export has fallen 33%). 10) Soccer started in 1930 and Uruguay has won 2 world cups. 11) Tango is big and Sao Paulo's "Pizza Paulistana" is supposed to be the best in the world. 12) Has reputation for the best staek sandwiches ("Chivito") and deserts in South America (the most famous is the meringue and ice-cream "Chaja" and custard cream pastry with burnt sugar on top "Masini").</span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uThE1WEZNLI/TZE914AEzcI/AAAAAAAAAhw/0gzN-b-aHzo/s1600/IMG_0704.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" r6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uThE1WEZNLI/TZE914AEzcI/AAAAAAAAAhw/0gzN-b-aHzo/s320/IMG_0704.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">ESTANCIA PANAGEA FACTS: 1) Name of our ranch is "Panagea" and it has been in Juan's family since 1926. He was born and raised here. His home was built in 1926 2) Its size is 1,000 hectares. 3) Elevation is 196m 4) Location is 40km from Tacuarembo, 140km from the Brazilian border and 210km from the Argentinian border. 4) Annual rainfall is 1,600mm on average and it is sunny 80% of the time. 5) Panagea has 1,000 head of cattle, 2,000 sheep and 84 horses. 6) 800 gringos visit it every year on average. 7) There are approx 10,000 ranches like this one in all of Uruguay. 8) Beef is still the number one export in Uruguay and the price now is very good.</span></span>Zorbahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10118806867477722349noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3293689768229502823.post-80845414068642162102011-03-22T10:47:00.000+11:002011-03-22T10:47:53.500+11:00Tango Town (16-21 March 2011, Days 97-102 of 127)<span style="font-size: x-small;"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-8cpNNLZW4aY/TYfWsikhKNI/AAAAAAAAAec/uSTai_N3GLY/s1600/IMG_0035.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-8cpNNLZW4aY/TYfWsikhKNI/AAAAAAAAAec/uSTai_N3GLY/s320/IMG_0035.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">With 13.8 million people, Buenos Aires (Est 1536) is far from being a town but it is certainly the capital of Tango!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Buenos Aires is known as the "New York" of South America... a city that never sleeps! More on this grand city in a second. First it is off to the lakeside ski town of Bariloche at the top of Argentinian Patagonia!</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-nBkpwIRXzz4/TYfWv9quweI/AAAAAAAAAeg/Dv8zibzVZuE/s1600/IMG_0058.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-nBkpwIRXzz4/TYfWv9quweI/AAAAAAAAAeg/Dv8zibzVZuE/s320/IMG_0058.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Our journey from the Ancud hotel door in Chile to the one in Bariloche Argentina took 11.5hrs - 9hrs on the bus and the rest at the border. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We left Ancud on 16MAR at 10am in rain and arrived in Bariloche at 10pm to a freezing moonlit night. It rained most of the way but we could still make out the dramatic pine forest and glacier lake scenery along the way.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-TxK51tFHoDo/TYfW_VkRLVI/AAAAAAAAAeo/orJFuwB3Thw/s1600/IMG_0082.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-TxK51tFHoDo/TYfW_VkRLVI/AAAAAAAAAeo/orJFuwB3Thw/s320/IMG_0082.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Bariloche (Pop 100,000. Elev 894m) is very reminiscent of any ski town in Switzerland, especially Lausanne given its goegraphy and position on Lago Nahuel Huapi. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">All its buildings are built of stone and wood with steeply pitched roofs and every second shop sells chocolates or is a fondue restaurant - how more Swiss can you get? </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-ZWV6587kwGI/TYfW1hsbUJI/AAAAAAAAAek/zZUyJz9XlKo/s1600/IMG_0075.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-ZWV6587kwGI/TYfW1hsbUJI/AAAAAAAAAek/zZUyJz9XlKo/s320/IMG_0075.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The morning after our arrival I went on a lakeside jog - probably the coldest one after Antarctica - I had to wear a thermal top! The wind was howling and the lake dominated by white crested waves but the sun was out and clouds parting! I then walked to the central plaza and lakeside beach. The wind was still up but the photos magic. The tourist office gave me a map of the town and surrounds and told me that the cable car to the top of "Cerro Otto (1,600m)" was closed due to the high wind. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">There was not enough time for me to visit the more distant "Cerro Campanario" with weather-proof lift and make my 3:30pm flight to Buenos Aires. I discovered that a dirt road went up to Cerro Otto so I caught a taxi which took me up there with myriads of photos along the way and the top. The views were breathtaking and the sun stayed with me. Bariloche is one of many towns around an intricate lake system, fed by many mountain glaciers which are also covered in pines. It was good to see trees on mountains at last! </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-9i5flfq8c70/TYfXOJMfzhI/AAAAAAAAAe0/jHU5OZUEd9c/s1600/IMG_0164.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" r6="true" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-9i5flfq8c70/TYfXOJMfzhI/AAAAAAAAAe0/jHU5OZUEd9c/s400/IMG_0164.JPG" width="266" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Once back in town I relaxed with a cappacino before heading back to the hotel. At 1:30pm it was off to the airport with Maureen to fly to Buenos Aires in 2hrs versus 20hrs on the bus with our group the next day. I had to go one day earlier since I was told that my Brazilian VISA could take up to 3 working days and I wanted to leave Buenos Aires with my group. Maureen flew because she was over long bus trips and her legs swelled up! A total of six hours passed from the hotel door in Bariloche to the one in Buenos Aires.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">It was love at first sight! First impressions was that Buenos Aires is architectualy a "European Salad" with influences from Madrid, Paris, Barcelona and even Lisbon. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The city boulevards are huge with Paris style 8-storey apartments, side-by-side, fronted with big leafy green trees with cafes down below. The orange of the setting sun lit up the facades like faces in front of a fire place. The place was buzzing with people and cars. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-_obFYCdfWfo/TYfY6E9u3kI/AAAAAAAAAf8/-pRFI1PnS48/s1600/IMG_0460.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-_obFYCdfWfo/TYfY6E9u3kI/AAAAAAAAAf8/-pRFI1PnS48/s320/IMG_0460.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Our taxi took us through Recoleta, the ritzy part of town to our 4 star hotel. We were in paradise. The hotel in Recoleta had stuffed up our room booking so they cabbed us to another of their chain in San Telmo, the Steak and Tango part of town. That evening we had our first huge steak, a "butterlied" thick New York cut. It was around 400g and fabulous and only 15AUD but Meat & Wine Co in Melbourne still tastes better! We also enjoyed the best house cut chips to date and two terrific 16AUD bottles of 2007 Chardonnays from Mendoza. Heaven.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-_4ZVYTKMubk/TYfZBGR2cKI/AAAAAAAAAgA/2SbdRpLy7s8/s1600/IMG_0471.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-_4ZVYTKMubk/TYfZBGR2cKI/AAAAAAAAAgA/2SbdRpLy7s8/s320/IMG_0471.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Fri 18MAR was my big day. I was up at 6:45am and cabbed it to the Brazilian Consulate to meet Gary at 8:30am, the Intrepid manager for Buenos Aires. We the first in line when the consulate opened at 9am and I nearly fell over backwards when the tough old bird behind the counter told me to be back at noon on Mon 21MAR to collect my VISA. Incredible. Both Gary and I were expecting to be told Tue or even Wed. We both agree that the following made the difference: 1) I had a recently expried Brazilian VISA to show her, 2) we were the first in line (she had an appointment sheet which I could not access online but none of these people were there yet, so she HAD to see us!), 3) all my paperwork was completed and 4) Gary's excellent Spanish and the fact that he vouched for me as an Intrepid customer who had to leave town on Tue morning. Suffice to say I was immensely releaved and elated. I took Gary for a coffee and we talked about his background and Intrepid. I offered to give him some constructive feedback in return. Another potential drama resolved! </span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-rmvpvwxvfqs/TYfXDQouORI/AAAAAAAAAes/WNy49wE3Axk/s1600/IMG_0145.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-rmvpvwxvfqs/TYfXDQouORI/AAAAAAAAAes/WNy49wE3Axk/s320/IMG_0145.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I was then off to see the city with my new-found enthusiasm. I walked down the middle of "Avenida 9 De Julio", officially the widest boulevard in the world - it is made up of 4 parallel streets, next to each other, totalling 16 lanes with a strip garden in the centre. This grand boulevard is lined with huge units, commercial buildings and flashy billboards. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">After passing "Teatro Colon (Opera House)" I arrived at the landmark "Obelisco (Obelisk)" celebrating the 400th birthday of the city. </span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-doX-yUZPXBg/TYfXIEfMY1I/AAAAAAAAAew/M3DMYtrV3R8/s1600/IMG_0162.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-doX-yUZPXBg/TYfXIEfMY1I/AAAAAAAAAew/M3DMYtrV3R8/s320/IMG_0162.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">From here it was a short walk to the majestic "Avenida De Mayo" to "Plaza Del Congresso". Avenida De Mayo has the best looking buildings in the city. My neck was cramped from the constant "looking up" at the many styles of roof, balcony, window and decorations. I then decided to walk on the road to capture the full impact of these grand buildings. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Finally I arrived at the National Congress which is modelled on and looks like the one in Washington DC. It is fronted by a grand fountain and monument, whose steps symbolise the Andes. </span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-4gPFA5R1hqY/TYfXRtfgm4I/AAAAAAAAAe4/_I02JRfpXmI/s1600/IMG_0166.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" r6="true" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-4gPFA5R1hqY/TYfXRtfgm4I/AAAAAAAAAe4/_I02JRfpXmI/s640/IMG_0166.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-N0ZqzMVWVp8/TYfXZH4xdlI/AAAAAAAAAfA/HA20lxgBp_w/s1600/IMG_0210.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" r6="true" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-N0ZqzMVWVp8/TYfXZH4xdlI/AAAAAAAAAfA/HA20lxgBp_w/s400/IMG_0210.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">From here it was back to Av 9 De Julio via Rivadavia and I walked the other side of Av De Mayo all the way to the main Cathedral and "Casa Rosada (Pink Palace)" or Presidential Palace on "Plaza De Mayo". </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Palace is in fact pink and was made famous by the many speeches that Eva Peron made from its central balcony.</span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-ZJaf8d9lHGY/TYfXWutbwjI/AAAAAAAAAe8/7UPNu5F8LX0/s1600/IMG_0196.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" r6="true" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-ZJaf8d9lHGY/TYfXWutbwjI/AAAAAAAAAe8/7UPNu5F8LX0/s400/IMG_0196.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Cathedral facade looks like a brand new Acropolis and inside is the very impressive, Napoleanic style coffin and monument to General San Martin who was key in commanding the local troops that led to the demise of the Spanish and independence in all of South America. </span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-etnEaguwOus/TYfXe7BQ3qI/AAAAAAAAAfE/7xanQxYTEBM/s1600/IMG_0223.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" r6="true" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-etnEaguwOus/TYfXe7BQ3qI/AAAAAAAAAfE/7xanQxYTEBM/s200/IMG_0223.JPG" width="133" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I then walked past some of the oldest buildings in the city to arrive back at the hotel around 4pm. In fact, many of the old, large grand mansions in San Telmo are being restored and made into hotels or offices. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">My first run in Buenos Aires was along the wharf area past "Puerto Madero", the newest barrio and very much like the King Street wharf precinct in Sydney. The best restaurants in the city are along the docks, complete with valet service and for the first time I saw fine motor cars in South America. </span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-UyWgWnUTHy8/TYfXk4ZMuGI/AAAAAAAAAfI/Pe6uVIBZzu4/s1600/IMG_0244.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" r6="true" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-UyWgWnUTHy8/TYfXk4ZMuGI/AAAAAAAAAfI/Pe6uVIBZzu4/s200/IMG_0244.JPG" width="132" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">When I got back, Maureen and I enjoyed a few cold beers and some cheese before being picked up for our grand Tango dinner show in the San Telmo area. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The venue is much like the state theatre in Sydney, Very decorative, lots of velour and huge chandeliers. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">For 75AUD we got a three-course dinner (including thick steak), unlimited beer/wine, a spectacular 2hr Tango show and a 45min Tango lesson! The food was good and the show was dazzling. The music and movements were to die for, </span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-5c-6m2ZdD5E/TYfYhVM5u_I/AAAAAAAAAfw/vtwyCecRuYA/s1600/IMG_0396.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" r6="true" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-5c-6m2ZdD5E/TYfYhVM5u_I/AAAAAAAAAfw/vtwyCecRuYA/s200/IMG_0396.JPG" width="133" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">There were legs flying everywhere and the speed of the dancing was awesome. It was a fantastic night. So much so that I could not remember how I got home. According to Maureeen, I sang in the lobby with some of the dancers, bought a CD, tangoed from the bus to our room and ate half a Panatoni - none of which I could remember!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Sat 19MAR was a day full of surprises. The day started with Maureen and I moving to our Intrepid hotel. I then set out at 11:30am to discover the commercial and retail side of the city. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-F12qTma8hZI/TYfXqaPBV0I/AAAAAAAAAfM/H5gL3AUNpiQ/s1600/IMG_0290.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-F12qTma8hZI/TYfXqaPBV0I/AAAAAAAAAfM/H5gL3AUNpiQ/s320/IMG_0290.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">"Avenida Florida" is the main pedestrian and retail "Pitt St Mall" style street only 10 times longer! It is bustling with people, stalls and even buskers. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Another iconic street is "Roque Saenz Pena", a diagonal boulevarde of 6 lanes connecting the Obelisk with the Cathedral. Iconic because it is lined with massive grand old buildings that remind you of Madrid or even the Champs Elysee in Paris. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-amHLT4mQ6_4/TYfXx6rhszI/AAAAAAAAAfQ/BwbfJpJpZcc/s1600/IMG_0294.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-amHLT4mQ6_4/TYfXx6rhszI/AAAAAAAAAfQ/BwbfJpJpZcc/s320/IMG_0294.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The excitement then began when I passed a small Tourist Office on Avenida Corrientes (another important and main thoroughfare). </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I was not going to stop but I thought - what the heck - I may as well ask the question: "Where did Aristole Onassis live when he was in Buenos Aires". </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The lady behind the counter, Gabriella was interested! After googling in Spanish we discovered that Onassis had arrived in the city on 7 September 1923 and shared a one bedroom hostel room in a building on the corner of the Obelisk intersection on Corrientes. This tourist office was 10m from this corner. Gabriella pointed to the oldest of the four buildings with McDonalds at the bottom! </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Onassis had arrived in the city with only USD60 in his pocket. To make it last he slept in the bed during the day (since he first worked as a telephone operator at night) whilst his room mate slept in the same bed at night! You may laugh but this guy was worth USD6billion by 1955. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I then asked Gabriella if she knew anyone old that could tell us where Onassis lived most of his time. Gabriella then told me that she was part Greek and she called up her 80 yr old uncle, Metodio Spanos to see what he knew. Much to our surprise he called back 10min later to inform us that an old card playing mate of his had the address: Miller 2045 in Villa Urquiza (between Juramento and Echeverria Streets). This was approx 8km from the tourist office near the end of the Metro B Line. I left immediately. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-FFLjvBA5Yfc/TYfX4Vo-NhI/AAAAAAAAAfU/7alaRFZ2R_w/s1600/IMG_0298.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-FFLjvBA5Yfc/TYfX4Vo-NhI/AAAAAAAAAfU/7alaRFZ2R_w/s320/IMG_0298.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">After 20min on the metro I alighted at the last stop "Los Incas" and caught a cab to the fabled address. There was a new house there and the suburb was nice with tree lined streets. As I was taking photos a 50-55 yr old looking guy came out and spoke to me in Spanish. I then tried to explain that his house was the site of Onassis home and on hearing the name Onassis he declared that he was Greek! Can you believe it! What are the chances of this? We then broke out in Greek. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-SoWhvh-ExWE/TYfX-oKkRMI/AAAAAAAAAfY/GF7H5JzzcCY/s1600/IMG_0316.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" r6="true" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-SoWhvh-ExWE/TYfX-oKkRMI/AAAAAAAAAfY/GF7H5JzzcCY/s320/IMG_0316.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">His name was John Cassimatis, born in Argentina of Greek parents and he then called his mother Marina to the door. In typical Greek friendly style, I was instantly invited to lunch which I had to turn down since the taxi driver was waiting to take me back to the station. John and Marina could not validate the Onassis story but explained that John's grandfather had bought the block back before WWII. They then gave me the address of the Greek Orthodox Cathedrall close to the city. What a story - I never thought in my wildest dreams I would track down the Onassis address!!!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I then caught the metro back to the centre and continued my journey down Florida Avenue. After visiting the ritzy "Galeria Pacifico" shopping centre I arrived at "Plaza Libertador General San Martin", a huge park sourrounded by the 5 star hotel chains, complete with a huge statue of the General. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ZF4m22JKkXM/TYfYDpDxlQI/AAAAAAAAAfc/nIoaRWYlqnY/s1600/IMG_0337.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ZF4m22JKkXM/TYfYDpDxlQI/AAAAAAAAAfc/nIoaRWYlqnY/s320/IMG_0337.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">After a pleasant stroll through the park, I ended up at the main "Estacion Retiro" railway station. Much to my surprise I discovered a cafe restaurant inside the station that looked like it had been built in Paris in WWI. All wooden interior, huge ceilings with massive chandaliers and a wrap-around internal balcony. It was a gem. I even had time to meet the owner. I then took the metro back to the hotel. After my afternoon docklands run, Maureen and I then had our traditional pre-dinner drinks, cheese and olives, this time with a bottle of 2008 Cab Sav Reserva. Dinner was a 20min walk down the lovely Av De Mayo to a little neighbourhood famous for its Parillas (steak houses). This place was old with 60+ male waiters dressed in suits. Given this amazing Onassis day, I ordered the Argentinian equivalent of souvlaki and enjoyed some more 2007 Chardonnay from Mendoza.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Sunday 20MAR was another Greek day for me. Thanks to John and Marina, I knew the location of the Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Palermo, a park covered, yuppie barillo of all places. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-e62UeNuaBwQ/TYfYI_dUI0I/AAAAAAAAAfg/wcbLNbbXIn4/s1600/IMG_0338.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-e62UeNuaBwQ/TYfYI_dUI0I/AAAAAAAAAfg/wcbLNbbXIn4/s320/IMG_0338.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I made the start of Othros (Matins) at 9:30am with the Liturgy going from 10:30am-12:30pm. Services are late here because everyone goes out to very late on Sat nights. The Cathedral is located inside a small compound that features a hall and outdoor stage. The Cathedral is small and called the "Dormition of the Virgin Mary". I met Fr John Argiris and Chanter George on my arrival and both filled me in on Greeks and Orthodoxy in South America after the service - refer "GREEKS IN SOUTH AMERICA" below. The service was in Greek and Spanish. The order of service and melodies are the same as in Australia but it weird to hear the Spanish. Even the Gospel, Creed and Lord's Prayer were in Greek and Spanish. Both the priest and chanter knew some English but the parishiners in general spoke mainly Spanish.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-yqTrwFElI2Q/TYfYPL_nScI/AAAAAAAAAfk/odcNmzHUQe8/s1600/IMG_0359.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-yqTrwFElI2Q/TYfYPL_nScI/AAAAAAAAAfk/odcNmzHUQe8/s320/IMG_0359.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I then walked to "Plaza Palermo Vieja" which was lined with trendy cafes, hip restaurants and art stalls around the park. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">After a nice strong coffee I headed up through tree-lined streets full of posh apartments and corner cafes and ice cream shops till I arrived at "Jardin Botanica Carlos Thays". This was great - very thick with greenery, lots of varieties of trees, plants and flowers and wonderfully cool - the day was blue sky and close to 28C. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-737Pty6XfFo/TYfYUdPjmlI/AAAAAAAAAfo/P5h1JljfrKc/s1600/IMG_0364.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" r6="true" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-737Pty6XfFo/TYfYUdPjmlI/AAAAAAAAAfo/P5h1JljfrKc/s200/IMG_0364.JPG" width="133" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Next stop was the "Museo Evita" or the Eva Peron Musuem - a fascinating place chronicalling her complete life story in pictures and film - refer "EVA PERON STORY" below.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">It was then a short tree-lined walk to "Jardin Japones" which is a replica of the types of "tranquil" water-based gardens you would see in Japan. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-A8stfA3qMig/TYfYbeyddAI/AAAAAAAAAfs/NFpxe0UWa9o/s1600/IMG_0384.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-A8stfA3qMig/TYfYbeyddAI/AAAAAAAAAfs/NFpxe0UWa9o/s320/IMG_0384.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Across the road is the "Parcque De Febrero" featuring a lake with paddle boats and the "Rosedal" or massive Rose Garden. This place is like Cenntenial Park, full of people on a Sunday, walking, bike riding, picnicing, roller skating and jogging. They even had live bands going. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">From here I walked to the Palermo Metro and by 4:30pm I was back at the hotel. My legs were on fire. Equipped with beer and olives I spent the rest of the arvo writing this blog. Chandon Extra Brut Champagne (only 11AUD - normally 24AUD in Oz!), tuna and lentils with cable movies was just what I needed that night to celebrate what turned out to be a great day.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Kq7O26N64Hc/TYfYxdG9xhI/AAAAAAAAAf4/24Ml9QI8OEg/s1600/IMG_0452.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Kq7O26N64Hc/TYfYxdG9xhI/AAAAAAAAAf4/24Ml9QI8OEg/s320/IMG_0452.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">My last day (Mon 21MAR) in Buenos Aires was even greater. I got my passport back complete with second Brazilian VISA!!! The saga was over. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">This happened at noon but before then I went for run at 7:30am and left the hotel at 9:15am to visit Eva Peron (Evita) at the the famous Recoleta Cemetery. Recoleta is the posh suburb (like Double Bay in Sydney) and this cemetery is only for the rich and famous. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Finding Evita was easy, thanks to the directory at the gate. She is buried in vault number 57 with her parents and siblings hence the title "Familia Duarte" (maiden name) above the vault. Her husband is buried elsewhere at Museo Quinta in Buenos Aires. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-yrn_FxZ3V1s/TYfYre4QSBI/AAAAAAAAAf0/b-Nah7ycw8Y/s1600/IMG_0440.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-yrn_FxZ3V1s/TYfYre4QSBI/AAAAAAAAAf0/b-Nah7ycw8Y/s320/IMG_0440.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The steel and glass door to the vault has a small hole in one spot where you can insert your camera lense and take a photo of her casket inside - refer my photo in this blog. The vault next to hers is for sale if you are interested. I kid you not, but the owner can be contacted at dsabelli@hotmail.com. Talk about a mercinary! </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I then walked extensively around Recoleta, soaking in the boutique shops, professional dog walkers (some have up to 10 dogs!!!), hundreds of salons and little old women with boofon hair does. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I had a great cup of coffee next to the Bulgarian Embassy before picking up my passport from the Brazilian Consulate, just around the corner. I was so happy to have my passport and Brazil in my pocket, knowing that my trip would not be stuffed up! </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-uVILEhc73ZE/TYfZJalxfeI/AAAAAAAAAgE/so1HBygokxs/s1600/IMG_0491.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" r6="true" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-uVILEhc73ZE/TYfZJalxfeI/AAAAAAAAAgE/so1HBygokxs/s320/IMG_0491.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I then caught the metro down to San Telmo and walked to "Plaza Dorrego" which was my favourite. It is small, covered in trees and features tango dances. I saw one and filmed it in black and white - great look. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Next stop was "Parque Lezama" where on Sundays little old guys play chess. Being a Monday, no chess but lots of people lazing aorund. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-oeOFGRBxSLo/TYfZRbux9JI/AAAAAAAAAgI/B5YBdjaY2xU/s1600/IMG_0497.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-oeOFGRBxSLo/TYfZRbux9JI/AAAAAAAAAgI/B5YBdjaY2xU/s320/IMG_0497.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The walk from here to "Caminito" in La Boca barrio was long and hot. By this time it was 2:30pm, blue skies but close to 30C. La Boca was first settled by Italian immigrants from Genoa back in the 1950s. Today it is a dive. Even the pastel coloured houses of Caminito were very ordinary and the place is way too touristy. I stayed 15min and caught a cab back to the metro. I was glad to put my feet up to a cold beer and blog back at the hotel at 4pm.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">All in all, Buenos Aires turned out to be everything the guide book and our tour guides said it would be. It will be interesting to see if Sao Paulo or Rio can top it!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><strong>NEXT BLOG: covers Uruguay due 26MAR.</strong></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: 1) Incredible thanks to Gabriella and her uncle Metodio for helping me track down the first two abodes of the most famous Greek of Buenos Aires - Aristole Onassis. 2) Pleasure meeting John and Marina Cassimatis - current owners of Miller 2045! 3) Thanks to Fr John and Chanter George for the enlightening rundown of Greeks in South America.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-_4ZVYTKMubk/TYfZBGR2cKI/AAAAAAAAAgA/2SbdRpLy7s8/s1600/IMG_0471.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-_4ZVYTKMubk/TYfZBGR2cKI/AAAAAAAAAgA/2SbdRpLy7s8/s320/IMG_0471.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">GREEKS IN SOUTH AMERICA: 1) There are approx 100,000 Greeks in all of South America with 40,000 in Brazil and 30,000 in Argentina. 2) Most came after WWI since Argentina's economy was very bad post WWII, most immigrants chose USA, Australia and Canada instead. 3) There are approx 45 Greek Orthodox churches in South America with 25 in Brazil (mainly Sao Paulo) and 10 in Argentina (5 in Buenos Aires). 4) There are 23 Greek Orthodox priests in South America with 13 in Brazil and 7 in Argentina. 5) The "Coliva" or boiled wheat commemorating the dead even tasted the same as in Oz!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">EVA PERON STORY: 1) Born Maria Duarte in Los Toldos on 7 May 1919. One of five children. 2) Dad died 1926 and was Eva was raised by her very strict mum. 3) Shot to fame as an actress from 1934-1945. 4) Married General Juan Domingo Peron on 22 October 1945 who went on to become a three-term President of Argentina from 1946-1955. 5) Married name was Maria Eva Duarte De Peron. 6) As first lady, Eva Peron fought for womens rights followed by workers rights and became President of the Workers Union Party. 7) On 23 September 1947 a key act was passed recognising equal rights for women - this made her especially popular and she became an icon of women going by the name "Evita". 8) From 1948-1951 Evita made incredible reforms in childrens health and aged care, all by influence and never did she hold any official office in Government. In fact oone of her most famous speeches was in 1951 when she turned down the offer of the Vice Presidential ticket along side her husband. 9) She died of cancer at 8:25pm on 26 July 1952 at age 33. A 14-day wake followed with over 2 million people at her funeral - probably the longest wake and biggest funeral of any person in history. 10) Fearing a revolution, the military buried her body under a false name in Milan Italy. Her remains were given back to her sister in 1974 with subsequent burial in the Recoleta Cemetery in 1976.</span></span>Zorbahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10118806867477722349noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3293689768229502823.post-89821063242468070522011-03-18T13:28:00.000+11:002011-03-18T13:28:35.177+11:00Chilly Volcano (11-15 March 2011, Days 92-96 of 127)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-CMmYRMIFrW0/TYK7gJnBJ9I/AAAAAAAAAdQ/DS6U9Enj6Sk/s1600/IMG_0005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-CMmYRMIFrW0/TYK7gJnBJ9I/AAAAAAAAAdQ/DS6U9Enj6Sk/s320/IMG_0005.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The south of Chile is full of Lakes and Volcanoes and is known as the "Lakes District". It sits bewteen 700 and 1,500km south of Santiago. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is a brilliant landscape and home to the indigenous Mapuche people. In summer people climb, hike, bike, fish and in winter they ski. The Lakes District was originally colonised by the Germans in 1850 and some of their influence still abounds in the food and style of housing.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-lZxyqRNPTM4/TYK74FOcnqI/AAAAAAAAAdw/GSc0vJGbReQ/s1600/IMG_9880.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-lZxyqRNPTM4/TYK74FOcnqI/AAAAAAAAAdw/GSc0vJGbReQ/s320/IMG_9880.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At 10:30pm on Thu 10MAR we left our Santiago hostel to travel 785km in 13hrs door-to-door (10hrs on the bus) to our wooden cabins hostel at Pucon in the Lakes District. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pucon (Pop 16,900. Elev 260m) is a cosy ski village full of wooden buildings and a quaint flower-covered main road. Only 5km from town sits the active, smoking, snow covered "Villarrica" Volcano (2,847m) and Pucon itself is set against a huge lake of the same name. The area around the lake is very scenic and many Santiagoans have holiday houses here.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-q5586SWzfEo/TYK71cQPLQI/AAAAAAAAAds/2o7QKqFwX64/s1600/IMG_9860.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-q5586SWzfEo/TYK71cQPLQI/AAAAAAAAAds/2o7QKqFwX64/s320/IMG_9860.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When we arrived in Pucon at 11:30am it was pouring with rain and did stop for the rest of day. This has only happened on two other occassions. Given our hostal comprised wooden cabins with cosy fireplaces and TVs, I decided that the rest of the day would be spent blogging and watching cable movies. I armed myself with chilled Chilean Rose, Chardonnay and Riesling and a variety of cheeses and stuffed olives and had one of the most relaxing arvos in a long time. That evening, Maureen cooked up a fabulous Portuguese Chicken with roasted vegies and fresh blueberries and rasberries covered in vanilla ice cream. Our drinks included a St Emiliana 2009 Malbec Rose and 2010 Chardonnay. Superb finish to a rainy day.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-jDabi0nxSfw/TYK77TDqg7I/AAAAAAAAAd0/Xw-yfwz4bSs/s1600/IMG_9888.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-jDabi0nxSfw/TYK77TDqg7I/AAAAAAAAAd0/Xw-yfwz4bSs/s320/IMG_9888.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The next day was very exciting. We rose at 6:30am to attempt a hike up to the summit of the active Villarrica Volcano. The owner of our hostel also runs a tour company so he supplied us with serious mountain climbing gear including waterproof, windproof and snowproof clothing, huge waterproof hiking boots and ice pick. Five of us were driven to the volcanoes base, only 5km away and started our climb at 1,400m. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Kf0g0Lg8xlM/TYK7nwJ85_I/AAAAAAAAAdc/MF6kQkV8A9Q/s1600/IMG_9792.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Kf0g0Lg8xlM/TYK7nwJ85_I/AAAAAAAAAdc/MF6kQkV8A9Q/s320/IMG_9792.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The day was sunny, the volcano was smoking and some clouds were present lower down. The aim of the climb was to get to the caldera summit and try and look down the 80m throat to see the magna below causing the "steam" that comprises the smoking volcano. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The climb was steep and hard over black volcanic rock mixed with snow. It took its toll on two of the four girls who stopped when we got to the end of the ski lift shelter at 1,960m. The climb from there was stunning. By this time the sun was shining on us but cloud had closed in on Pucon and the lower mountains below. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-ehexVCk4GuU/TYK7uo6tw2I/AAAAAAAAAdk/rudfqxArbgw/s1600/IMG_9836.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-ehexVCk4GuU/TYK7uo6tw2I/AAAAAAAAAdk/rudfqxArbgw/s320/IMG_9836.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The steep black and white side of the volcano coming up from the clouds below and shimmering in the sun ahead with a freezing blistering wind starting to build up is what true mountain climbing looks like. The other reality is how quickly the weather can change. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By the time we got to the start of the glacier at 2,250m the temperature had dropped to 8C and the wind was now howling. Ahead you could see cloud starting to build up around the summit and snow was being raised skywards in several twister style mini-tornados. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-hVAgejgsLqI/TYK7qomMZNI/AAAAAAAAAdg/xuvpfWWFjlY/s1600/IMG_9806.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-hVAgejgsLqI/TYK7qomMZNI/AAAAAAAAAdg/xuvpfWWFjlY/s320/IMG_9806.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There were approx 30 other climbers stopped there as well. Something was wrong. Our guide told us to hanker down and wait. He and the other guides were going to climb ahead to gauge the weather conditions for the last 600m to the top. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was bad news. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After 20min they returned with the news that the summit was now hidden and the wind was gusting up to 70km/h resulting in a wind chill of -15C. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-4mG9R9f0kuA/TYK7yYOHv-I/AAAAAAAAAdo/TTxRB30ug2o/s1600/IMG_9851.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-4mG9R9f0kuA/TYK7yYOHv-I/AAAAAAAAAdo/TTxRB30ug2o/s320/IMG_9851.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These guys wear digital GPS watches with this info streaming live. Unfortunately our clothing is only rated to 0C and even if we made it to the summit we could see nothing. So all the guides decided to arrest the climb and turn back. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Even though we were disppointed we were also glad - by this time the temperature was close to freezing and so were we!!! We had climbed 850m in 3hrs from 1,400m to 2,250m on our way to a 2,879m summit. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-hVAgejgsLqI/TYK7qomMZNI/AAAAAAAAAdg/xuvpfWWFjlY/s1600/IMG_9806.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-hVAgejgsLqI/TYK7qomMZNI/AAAAAAAAAdg/xuvpfWWFjlY/s320/IMG_9806.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If weather permitted the whole climb would have taken 5-6hrs, up and back. Now I have a very slight appreciation of what the heavy-duty mountaineers must go through. This was a "walk in the park" compared to what they do.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Of the total of 120 volcanoes in Chile, Villarrica Volcano is one of three in South America that are listed in the world's top ten list of the most active volcanoes. Of the other two, one is in Equador (we were scheduled to visit it after Quito but it had a slight eruption and we had to cancel) and the other is only 300km from Villarrica in Chile. Villaricca itself last erupted in 1984 but it was small and Pucon was not evacuated.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-lZxyqRNPTM4/TYK74FOcnqI/AAAAAAAAAdw/GSc0vJGbReQ/s1600/IMG_9880.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-lZxyqRNPTM4/TYK74FOcnqI/AAAAAAAAAdw/GSc0vJGbReQ/s320/IMG_9880.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Back at the hostel, in a strange twist of fate, the weather was OK and I decided to go for a run. Fabulous views of the surrounding mountains and Villarrica Volcano (now covered in cloud!). After my run the sun came out so I decided to walk to the lake and centre of town for some photos. Lovely. The walk was very satisfying and relaxing. I picked up a few goodies at the supermarket (including my first coffee-flavoured ice cream) and headed to my wooden cabin for a feast. A great in-room dinner watching "American Wedding" (aka American Pie 4). Very funny and very Jewish!</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-1URHEiqYxAM/TYK7jDqyZRI/AAAAAAAAAdU/H7rwBbSxpnQ/s1600/IMG_0010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-1URHEiqYxAM/TYK7jDqyZRI/AAAAAAAAAdU/H7rwBbSxpnQ/s320/IMG_0010.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The morning of 13MAR was cold and crisp but spectacular. Villarrica Volcano was in full view, smoking and bathed in the 7am orange-pink light of the rising sun. I have never seen anything like it (refer photo in this blog). I have been travelling 95 days in this amazing continent and it just keeps getting better! I thought I would reach a point where "I have seen it all" but no such chance.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today we travelled all day. Pucon hostel to Ancud hostel on the island of Chiloe ("Isla Grande De Chiloe"), 440 km due south via mainland city Puerto Montt took a total of 9.5hrs including 7.5hrs on buses and 40min on the ferry to the island. Chiloe Island (Pop 155,000. Est 1567. 180km long by 50km wide) is Chile's largest island and UNESCO protected because of its Chonos and Huilliche indegenous roots and 400 wooden churches, some up to 200 years old. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-PElb4CDn3wk/TYK8KYqkIMI/AAAAAAAAAeA/k-gU5LUdd40/s1600/IMG_9948.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-PElb4CDn3wk/TYK8KYqkIMI/AAAAAAAAAeA/k-gU5LUdd40/s320/IMG_9948.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Chiloe is historically very important since it was the last place to be occupied by the Spanish and the first place to populated by European immigrants that were formerly invited in the mid 1800's to build up infrastructure just like the post WWII migration in Oz. The first to come were Germans and they are now up to 4 generations on the island. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Chiloe is full of wildlife and thick mud. The Chiloeans even invented a special sled called a "trineo" to travel over the mud! Most of its locals live off the land or fish. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-SfeWrlf-tl8/TYK84o-VoJI/AAAAAAAAAeU/03CGzk0YrsA/s1600/IMG_9989.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-SfeWrlf-tl8/TYK84o-VoJI/AAAAAAAAAeU/03CGzk0YrsA/s320/IMG_9989.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Chiloe is also home to the two largest colonies of Blue Whales off its shores. The salmon industry is big here (60% of Chile's production is from this island alone). The specialty of the house is "curanto", pork, Chunyo (local potato) and shell fish, vapor-smoked in giant leaves on coals in the ground - like Hungi in New Zealand. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The landscape from Pucon to Puerto Montt was full of lakes, volcanoes and green forest. We arrived at the lakeside city of Puerto Montt at 2pm and boarded another bus for Chiloe at 3pm which included the ferry crossing from the mainland to the island of Chiloe. The ferry took 40min. At 5:30pm we arrived at our hostel in Chiloe's largest city, Ancud (Pop 49,500). Maureen and I found a quaint little restaurant near the hostel, full of collectibles and antiques. We feasted on Salmon Ceviche and Curanto accompanied by Chilean St Emiliana Chardonnay 2009.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-rA6xKKFj8FY/TYK80d3xafI/AAAAAAAAAeQ/bY3W7b1fNX4/s1600/IMG_9986.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-rA6xKKFj8FY/TYK80d3xafI/AAAAAAAAAeQ/bY3W7b1fNX4/s320/IMG_9986.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That night it poured and the rain continued through all of Mon 14MAR. Chiloe Island is famous for rain given its location next to the Pacific and is hit by the "roaring forties" winds. It gets 2000mm a year over 9mths. Today was our fifth day of rain - not bad for Day 95 of my trip! The only dampener is that today we had booked a whole day tour around the island. Nevertheless we had a good time. Our first stop was Castro (Pop 41,000. Est 1567), the capital of Chiloe Island and 79km from Ancud. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This town has the most amount of wooden churches (like the ones in Norway) all different from each other in design and sizes. Castro houses are all wooden shigles, brightly painted and those near the water aare in stilts. The place looks like a Norwegian or Icelandic fishing village! Castro is also the centre of the salmon industry on the island. Our first stop was the central market where we viewed all the local produce including a huge array of seafood (oysters, giant mussels, Kingclip fish and salmon). </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-E0FYrXhcpl8/TYK8ED9tH4I/AAAAAAAAAd8/pwafnCR6gwk/s1600/IMG_9940.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-E0FYrXhcpl8/TYK8ED9tH4I/AAAAAAAAAd8/pwafnCR6gwk/s320/IMG_9940.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The other big export is seaweed to Japan. It is nothing like our smelly green seaweed and looks like long brown sausage shaped ballons tied up like at kids parties - refer photo. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In Castro we visited the wooden churches of San Francisco (Built 1902) and Our Lady of Pains (Built 1878) which was designed as an inverted ship, ie, the ark that sails to heaven! Both were made entirely of wood, including the alter. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-PFPTPRLXkx4/TYK8vUxxMoI/AAAAAAAAAeM/Prmt6j4SMog/s1600/IMG_9977.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-PFPTPRLXkx4/TYK8vUxxMoI/AAAAAAAAAeM/Prmt6j4SMog/s320/IMG_9977.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We then journeyed to Dalcahue (Pop 12,000) to catch a ferry to one of Chiloe's 40 islands, Quinchao. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Before catching the ferry we enjoyed a simple but superb seafood lunch. I had "Paila Marina" which is soup of shellfish and salmon. We also visited a nautical musuem and local artesan market before the ferry. </span><br />
<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Once on Quincha (32km long by 18km wide) we drove to the sea-side town of Achao (Pop 5,000) to visit our third wooden church, St Mary of Loreto of Achao. Curaco De Velez (Pop 6,000) was the last town we visited on Quincha before returning to Chiloe via ferry - it had a very long beach and good museum. Our drive back to Ancud took 2hrs and we covered a total of 221km that day. Dinner was at a nice restaurant overlooking Ancud harbour. </span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Inz89Wawf_U/TYK89jejloI/AAAAAAAAAeY/grjuywgtiPQ/s1600/IMG_9991.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Inz89Wawf_U/TYK89jejloI/AAAAAAAAAeY/grjuywgtiPQ/s320/IMG_9991.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This time it was two dozen oysters (6AUD) and grilled salmon with fresh peas and broad beans (6AUD). Fabulously fresh and cheap!!! Chile is much cheaper than I expected, probably no 3 after Bolivia and Peru.</span></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Naturally, the next day was completely fine and sunny with scattered cloud. Today was a rest day so I slept in til 9am and went for my first island run at 10am. It was unreal - I ran along the shoreline to the next beach and back. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-syHkpV8c-nw/TYK7lCwgBpI/AAAAAAAAAdY/vPigebvb8zQ/s1600/IMG_0011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-syHkpV8c-nw/TYK7lCwgBpI/AAAAAAAAAdY/vPigebvb8zQ/s320/IMG_0011.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I then went off to the markets to shop for tonight's salmon feast - Maureen and I decided to cook a huge 2.5kg salmon in foil in the hostel oven. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I bought the fish and all the vegies for unbelievable prices from individual local farmers selling their wares under tarps in the main square. The freshly caught 2.3kg salmon was only 12AUD and the fresh vegies (peas, broad beans, beetroots, zucchini, carrots, corieander, yellow garlic, onion, peppers, tomato) totalled another 12AUD. I was back at 1:30pm and decided to try and contact the Brazilian Consulate in Buenos Aires re my second VISA before Maureen and I started cooking at 4:30pm. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-6sw9ct7vahs/TYK8Vagy0mI/AAAAAAAAAeI/TSE2hiCw56o/s1600/IMG_9955.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-6sw9ct7vahs/TYK8Vagy0mI/AAAAAAAAAeI/TSE2hiCw56o/s320/IMG_9955.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Much to my horror, I read on the consulate website, that an interview needed to be booked. Neither the telephone number or online diary for interviews worked so I could not book anything. I sent the consulate an email requesting a time and also emailed Intrepid to assist. Our guide Carlos also undertook to contact the Intrepid office in Buenos Aires to haave someone meet me at the Brazilian Consulate at the opening time of 9am on Fri 18MAR. Fingers crossed. Stay tuned. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Maureen and I then cooked up a storm. Only downside is that the fish took 90min to cook because the oven was not hot enough. The result was hard to describe. We invited Carlos and Poonan to eat with us and it was possibly the best salmon I have ever had... and all for 6AUD per person (fish and vegies)! I then retired to my room for a movie as tomorrow we were leaving Chiloe and Chile, bound for Bariloche Argentina, on our way to Buenos Aires.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>NEXT BLOG: covers Bariloche and Buenos Aires due 21MAR.</strong></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/--CBwNKTZSfQ/TYK8AJHZwJI/AAAAAAAAAd4/L7B19m3cmyQ/s1600/IMG_9897.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/--CBwNKTZSfQ/TYK8AJHZwJI/AAAAAAAAAd4/L7B19m3cmyQ/s320/IMG_9897.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">NOTES TO SELF: 1) I have become known to all on the Interpid trip as "The Plastic Man"! This is because I carry around a big plastic bag with my snacks and wine inside ex-yogurt bottles. I also have many spares, so when someone needs a plastic bag they all say "go see John, the Plastic Man"! So I say to "bundy" that I have out-done him and to all of you out there: "Come to me all yee that are wet and heavy-laden and I will give thee Plastic"!!!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: 1) Thanks to our local guide, Jose, who drove us around Chiloe Island.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Zorbahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10118806867477722349noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3293689768229502823.post-16952467561485525222011-03-12T04:14:00.000+11:002011-03-12T04:14:48.093+11:00Chilean Grapes (7-10 March 2011, Days 88-91 of 127)<span style="font-size: x-small;"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-9zqin9AV06w/TXpOwip6yHI/AAAAAAAAAcE/h-_5BvxU67s/s1600/IMG_9405.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" q6="true" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-9zqin9AV06w/TXpOwip6yHI/AAAAAAAAAcE/h-_5BvxU67s/s320/IMG_9405.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Chilean wine is better than Argentinian wine and anything else I have tried in South America. So far, the Chileans are also the most organised and cosmopolitan as a country - I reckon this will change when we hit Buenos Aires.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The journey from our hotel in Mendoza Argentina to our hotel in Santiago Chile took 7.5 hrs, 6.5 of those in the bus and the rest passing through customs. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-S4fXCVkgZ6M/TXpOzFpAgZI/AAAAAAAAAcI/B4-jwPnVqlk/s1600/IMG_9458.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" q6="true" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-S4fXCVkgZ6M/TXpOzFpAgZI/AAAAAAAAAcI/B4-jwPnVqlk/s400/IMG_9458.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ypGL7z6MCOk/TXpO1Nj4S1I/AAAAAAAAAcM/DsGc79erYpc/s1600/IMG_9485.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" q6="true" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ypGL7z6MCOk/TXpO1Nj4S1I/AAAAAAAAAcM/DsGc79erYpc/s320/IMG_9485.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The trip itself was spectacular - one of the best, since you cross the Andes rising to 3,800m, pass Mt Aconcagua (Elev 6,972m) the highest mountain in Argentina and all of South America and second highest after Everest! </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The pass is called "Las Libertadores" and comprises several canyons and valleys surrounded by massive peaks.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Z-CzdoUMcvY/TXpO3i7SlUI/AAAAAAAAAcQ/wWIOxtkYjAQ/s1600/IMG_9531.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" q6="true" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Z-CzdoUMcvY/TXpO3i7SlUI/AAAAAAAAAcQ/wWIOxtkYjAQ/s320/IMG_9531.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The descent into Chile is actually 18km of hairpin winding road very similiar to the "Trollingen Way" in Norway. The day was incredibly clear and this part of Chile, from the Andes to the Pacific (average of 200km wide) is hot and dry. It is very much like Southern California.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Santiago (Pop 4,946,300 Elev 520m. Est 1541) is hot, busy and choked with traffic and full of hazzy smog. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">It has a compact centre and looks good. It is a sophisticated city with lots of suits, bars and outdoor restaurants. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">n parts, it reminds you of parts of downtown London and Paris mixed together. Colonial apartments with large frontages, Juliette balconies and mini-markets or cafes on most corners. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-HKYNg8btcXM/TXpPbBS6V0I/AAAAAAAAAc4/sjZFbZekxsg/s1600/IMG_9672.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" q6="true" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-HKYNg8btcXM/TXpPbBS6V0I/AAAAAAAAAc4/sjZFbZekxsg/s320/IMG_9672.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">One third of all Chileans live in Santiago, the largest city and capital. After we dropped our gear off at the hotel we went on an orientation walk of the city centre at around 2pm. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Santiago is also the capital of sandwiches and junk food. There are outlets everywhere and the people, well "they got arse!!!". All the western junk food chains are here as well as Chilean brands. You can get a Big Mac for $2AUD. Chileans also have the biggest empanadas! For some reason they are obsessed with huge sandwiches - they are everywhere, even in the fancier restaurants! Santiago is cleaner and better organised than what we saw in Argentina or any other country. People are better dressed and remind you of a more downmarket version of Spain.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-gN5BfHh0RDo/TXpO6F0YKPI/AAAAAAAAAcU/FGmKGO2PzD8/s1600/IMG_9545.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" q6="true" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-gN5BfHh0RDo/TXpO6F0YKPI/AAAAAAAAAcU/FGmKGO2PzD8/s320/IMG_9545.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">On our Santiago orientation, I visited the Brazilian Consulate since I have to apply for a second 90-day VISA for the last part of my trip. My original 90-day VISA expired and I could not get two in Australia - only one at a time. It takes 7 days to get a VISA in Chile but only 2-3 days in Argentina so I will apply in Buenos Aires. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We also found out that wine tours only visit 1-2 wineries with 3-4 wines tasted in each and cost a whopping $145AUD - no thanks. I decided I would go alone tomorrow to get more wineries and tastings in.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Tonight it was off to a nice outdoor restaurant in the "French Quarter" called "Barrio Ballavista". This is at the base of 520m and is full of local business people dining after work. We had a great time. Before dinner we tried the local wine with camembert and salmon stuffed green olives - very civilised!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Today (Tue 8MAR) was the "other big day" for me. A visit to the newer Chilean wine growing region of "Casablanca Valley", only 60km west of Santiago. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-OiJo7vcFwbw/TXpPChvlBGI/AAAAAAAAAcc/nsXs2Lo_-J8/s1600/IMG_9571.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" q6="true" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-OiJo7vcFwbw/TXpPChvlBGI/AAAAAAAAAcc/nsXs2Lo_-J8/s320/IMG_9571.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The other main wine regions associated with Santiago are "Colchagua Valley" (170km south) and "Maipo Valley" (25km east). I chose to go to Casablanca Valley because it is only 1hr away by bus and the wineries are close enough to walk between. Colchagua is 4hrs away bus and wineries are too spread out for walking. Maipo is the closest but again all the wineries are spread out so you need a car and driver. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The other disappointing aspect to these great wine regions is that there is no offical map of the wineries. Even the tourist office in the centre of Santiago had no maps - a suggestion I left with them! Even the internet was very basic.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-ffwgJONNgbA/TXpO_IV5fCI/AAAAAAAAAcY/aIleginjp-4/s1600/IMG_9561.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" q6="true" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-ffwgJONNgbA/TXpO_IV5fCI/AAAAAAAAAcY/aIleginjp-4/s320/IMG_9561.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">That did not stop me.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">After my run I was on my way at 10am and caught the metro from "Universita Catolica" (15min walk from our hostel) to Santiago's "Alameda" bus station where I boarded the "Tur Bus" to the sea-side city of Valparaiso. After an hour you emerge from the "Zapata" tunnel and there it is.... Casablanca Wine Valley in all its glory! I got dropped off at the toll gates outside "Vina Emiliana", my first Chilean winery! </span><br />
<a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-YtygEH8dt_M/TXpPF3GMVGI/AAAAAAAAAcg/Vf-qjSqeyJs/s1600/IMG_9574.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" q6="true" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-YtygEH8dt_M/TXpPF3GMVGI/AAAAAAAAAcg/Vf-qjSqeyJs/s320/IMG_9574.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">After walking 20min through a sea of Cabernet Savignon vines only two weeks from harvest I arrived at the rather fancy cellar door complete with roof top restaurant overlooking the vineyards. I met the marketing manager, Lorrenzo, who promptly printed me a simple google map of all the wineries in the area and answered all my questions about the region. It was then down to tasting 4 wines with Phillipe, the restaurant sommelier. Vina Emiliana is Swiss and German certified bio-dynamic and organic which uses a lunar based calendar of rainfall and temperature to regulate water, insects and cultivation on purley natural means. It is the only one of its kind in all of Chile.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-1DEusiDlIR0/TXpPMj14UxI/AAAAAAAAAco/RNHbwaOvaGo/s1600/IMG_9598.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" q6="true" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-1DEusiDlIR0/TXpPMj14UxI/AAAAAAAAAco/RNHbwaOvaGo/s320/IMG_9598.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Bottom line: Chilean wine is definately better than Argentinian and "up-there" with the best Australian wine. It exceeded my expectations. Casablanca Valley is actually a premium wine growing area with small yields, concentrated fruit and boutique wine making. The bulk makers are in the Colchagua Valley, the oldest and more established. The Chilean wine industry is so advanced that I saw screwtop bottles here. I tasted a total of 15 wines over 3 wineries. Casablanca has 16 wineries with a total of 4,500 hectares under vine. It is the newest region, established in only 1981. The key grapes are Chardonnay and Malbec. There are many other varieties grown here also. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Ho3gLVsK-tg/TXpPJHZGXOI/AAAAAAAAAck/b3RD01_saRc/s1600/IMG_9590.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" q6="true" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Ho3gLVsK-tg/TXpPJHZGXOI/AAAAAAAAAck/b3RD01_saRc/s320/IMG_9590.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Annual rainfall is 350mm so irrigation is required. Soil is sandy with good drainage. The characteristic of this region is a focus on fruit with very clever use of French and American oak to add complexity but with very soft tannins. Here are some gems. White gem: 2-20% of the Sav Blanc crush is fermented on 50-50 French-American oak to remove the citrusy/lime flavours normally associated with this wine and introduce more of the fruit. Red gem: this area does "blends" that are the opposite to ours. Instead of "tailings" (the worst, leftover bits in the barrel) they collect what I call "headings" (the best bits of each grape and same vintage) and blend them to produce some of their finest reds. Blends contain 4 to 7 grapes. I also tasted a new red grape - Carignan, originally called "Carignegna" from Spain. For more details of my tasings and stats refer "CASABLANCA WINE TASTING NOTES" below.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">At around 5pm I walked back to the toll gates in the middle of the freeway and stopped the next bus to Santiago. Tonight it was pizza night and we all sat in our nice open-air courtyard setting and drank some bottles I brought back along with others. What a fabulous day it was for me. I was especially pleased that I went to wineries alone, had all the tasting attention to myself and walked the wineries - it brought me so much closer to the area! Not to mention the many Chardonnay and Cab Sav grapes that I munched on along the way - simply Dewine!!!</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-6-oLPA_e5S4/TXpPTM5ChzI/AAAAAAAAAcw/iBO48M6-Xv8/s1600/IMG_9640.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" q6="true" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-6-oLPA_e5S4/TXpPTM5ChzI/AAAAAAAAAcw/iBO48M6-Xv8/s320/IMG_9640.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Wed 9MAR was Valparaiso day! Valparaiso (Pop 276,000. On the Pacific. Est 1883) is 110km and a 2hr bus ride from Santiago and is where all the city slickers go to swim and relax. Not that you would swim. The Pacific here is cold-as and never exceeds 17C. I went alone after my morning run catching the same "Tur-Bus" line that I used for the Casablanca Valley (it is on the way). Once there I walked the entire town. Valparaiso is the home of the Chilean Navy and is UNESCO protected since it played a key role as the main merchant port back in the Spanish days and the Californian Gold Rush before Panama. A huge earthquake in 1906 and the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914 ended the glory days of Valaparaiso and it took a back seat as the sea-side destination of Santiagoans, especially retirees who play cards or chess in the main square...</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-6svv4VUYwBM/TXpPPHPB-wI/AAAAAAAAAcs/RHPrJt9pulY/s1600/IMG_9609.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" q6="true" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-6svv4VUYwBM/TXpPPHPB-wI/AAAAAAAAAcs/RHPrJt9pulY/s320/IMG_9609.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">It is not a great looking city with messy overhead wires, old decrepid buildings and a harbourside that has not been developed - navy and freight ships everywhere. Valparaiso is very hilly and houses creep up the steep hills with the use of "granny style elevators" to get the public up the very steep hills! It is weird and characteristic feature of this place. After almost 3hrs here I boarded my Tur-Bus and headed back to Santiago.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">That night we had another classic Argentian BBQ cooked up by our hostel owner. It was simply delicious and very meaty - chorizo, chicken, beef sirloin, beef wagyu and YES all served with plenty of Malbec. Just before dinner we met our new fellow-travellers for tour No 4 from Santiago to Buenos Aires. We went from 10 to 10. My room mate Michael left ( I now have single rooms again!!!), Melaney from Sydney left and we welcomed two new people: Tamara from Perth and Sue from Stafordshire.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Our last day in Santiago (10MAR) began with my morning run followed by plenty of time on the internet and my laptop to get my second Brazilian VISA application and all supporting docs ready for printing at a nearby internet cafe. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I then left at 11:30am for my grand tour of the city of Santiago. Lucky for me I saw a photography place on my way to the centre so I obtained the passport photos for my VISA. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-8BCZQAtv5Kw/TXpPWMqFV_I/AAAAAAAAAc0/RoJGhoTkD_A/s1600/IMG_9658.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" q6="true" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-8BCZQAtv5Kw/TXpPWMqFV_I/AAAAAAAAAc0/RoJGhoTkD_A/s320/IMG_9658.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">My first stop was "Cerro Santa Lucia (Elev 629m, 109m above city)", a small hill in the middle of the city that contains the ruins of a small fortress at the top and affords great views of the city centre. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I then descended by lift to walk the entire length of the main pedestrian drag of "Paseo Huerfanos". This is a busy, modern city. Suits everywhere! The main drag (like Pitt St mall) was packed with people. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-3c4oNx770w8/TXpPfy34hLI/AAAAAAAAAc8/7_K8GyMcpX0/s1600/IMG_9711.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" q6="true" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-3c4oNx770w8/TXpPfy34hLI/AAAAAAAAAc8/7_K8GyMcpX0/s320/IMG_9711.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I then popped into LAN Chile to find out why my Bariloche to Buenos Aires ticket had not beed automatically emailed to me. I am flying with Maureen since I need the extra day in Buenos Aires to process my Brazilian VISA. Turns out that American Express put a security block on my card and my payment did not go through. I paid with my Mastercard instead and I was back on track to fly. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">My next stop was "Plaza Del La Libertad" to view the giant Chilean flag flying outside the Presidential Palace, formerly the "Palaceo Del La Moneda (Mint)". I then walked to the "Tribunales De Justica (The Supreme Court)" via "Plaza De La Constitucion". Huge colonial Spanish sandstone building with flare. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-_e7G1NKKC-k/TXpPyKBt6qI/AAAAAAAAAdE/fqIZtXnijxw/s1600/IMG_9721.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" q6="true" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-_e7G1NKKC-k/TXpPyKBt6qI/AAAAAAAAAdE/fqIZtXnijxw/s320/IMG_9721.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The "Ex-Congreso Nacional (Former Parliament House)" building, next door to the Supreme Court looks just like the back of the White House, only better. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Massive Georgian style entry with Doric columns and hanging lantern and even some wooden "liberty" bells outside. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Brilliant.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-LJmHahHYWZs/TXpP1lMJ21I/AAAAAAAAAdI/Pk5_Obsbc8A/s1600/IMG_9731.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" q6="true" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-LJmHahHYWZs/TXpP1lMJ21I/AAAAAAAAAdI/Pk5_Obsbc8A/s320/IMG_9731.JPG" width="213" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">From here it was a hop-skip-jump to the central "Plaza De Armes" for a look inside the "Catedral Metropolitana" with paintings adorning the ceilings. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The 869m "Cerro San Cristobal" was only a 20min walk from the centre, rising 349m above the city, almost 3 times higher than Cerro Santa Lucia! I caught the Funicular up there and down again. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Views were superlative with the massive Andes just visible through the hot afternoon haze. After a few photos it was back down and a 30min walk to the neighbourhood internet cafe where I printed out all of my Brazilian VISA paperwork. It was then back to the hostel via the supermarket for some hot gourmet pickings. Tonight we left the hostel at 10:30pm for our overnight pus to Pucon.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><strong>NEXT BLOG: covers the journey to the Chilean Fjords, due 16MAR.</strong></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: 1) Sincere thanks to Lorenzo, marketing manager of Emiliana wineries who printed me a map and inducted me into the next tasting in record time. 2) Thank you to Valesca of Veramonte who assisted me with the record 7 wine tasting.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-MDTCD3SbLGY/TXpRSk5hSNI/AAAAAAAAAdM/0nWr8dCm1Qg/s1600/IMG_9754.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" q6="true" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-MDTCD3SbLGY/TXpRSk5hSNI/AAAAAAAAAdM/0nWr8dCm1Qg/s320/IMG_9754.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">CASABLANCA WINE TASTING NOTES:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Winery 1 - Vina Emiliana: Certified organic and bio-dynamic by the Swiss and Germans in 2001, Est 1986, 323 hectares under vine, 2.7m L/yr. Vines 12-18yrs old, Free tasting due to my charm. www.emiliana.cl A) Adobe Sav Blanc Reserva 2010. No Oak. 13.6%. No malolactic fermentation. Pale yellow colour. Herbaceous nose. Palate was firm acid but with no citrus or lime, just a fruit. B) Novas Limited Selection Chardonnay 09. 14.5%. 60% on American Oak for 8mths. Rich yellow colour. Peach nutmeg nose. Lively fruit on back palate with creamy finish. Balance great. C) Novas Winemakers Selection Syrah (68%) Mouvedre 07. 14.5%. 1yr French oak. Ruby red colour. Low key berry nose. Very dry earthy palate. D) Coyam Blend 08 (Syrah 37%, Carmenere 25%, Cab Sav 24%, Merlot 9%, Malbec 2%, Mouvedre 2%, Petit Verdot 1%. 14.5%. 14mths French oak. Intense red colour. Lively plumb nose. Soft tannins. Delicious.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-ffwgJONNgbA/TXpO_IV5fCI/AAAAAAAAAcY/aIleginjp-4/s1600/IMG_9561.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" q6="true" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-ffwgJONNgbA/TXpO_IV5fCI/AAAAAAAAAcY/aIleginjp-4/s320/IMG_9561.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Winery 2 - Vina Morande: Est 1979, 130 hectares under vine, 10AUD for 4 tastings. A) Terrarum Reserva Sav Blanc 2010. 13.5%. 2% in French Oak for 3mths. Pale yellow colour. Solid acid with weak citrus notes. Softer finish. B) Edicion Limitada Sav Blanc 09. 12.5%. 6mths on French oak. Rich yellow colour.Homey orange blossom nose. Palate is lightly toasted with generous fruit. Nothing like our Sav Blancs. C) Edicion Limitada Carmenere 08. 14.8%. 16mths French oak. Intense red-violet colour. Blackberry nose. Palate of earthy choc. Smooth tannins. Body there but not overpowering. D) Red Blend 06 (Cab Sav 73%, Cab Franc 19%, Carignan 8%). 14.1%. 18mths French oak. Cherry red colour. Cloves cinnamon nose. Honey fresh fruit plate - liquorish.Complex, rich and delicious. The best one here. E) Edicion Limitada Carignan 07. 14.5%. New red grape for me. Cherry red colour. Rhubarb nose. Rich fresh cherry and choc palate. Light but very tasty.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Ho3gLVsK-tg/TXpPJHZGXOI/AAAAAAAAAck/b3RD01_saRc/s1600/IMG_9590.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" q6="true" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Ho3gLVsK-tg/TXpPJHZGXOI/AAAAAAAAAck/b3RD01_saRc/s320/IMG_9590.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Winery 3 - Vina Veramonte. Est 1990. 450 hectares under vine. 5m L/yr. Record 7 wines tasted here for only 5AUD. A) Reserva Sav Blanc 2010. 13.5%. No oak. Pale straw colour. Vegemite nose. Citrus lime palate. This one was the only one like ours or NZs. B) Reserva Chardonnay 09. 13.5%. 8mths 50-50 French American oak. Light yellow colour. Buttery apricot nose. Melon palate. No hint of wood. C) Syrah Rosada (Rose) 2010. 13.5%. Pale strawberry colour. Fruit salad nose. Strawberry with slight cigar palate. Very dry finish. D) Reserva Pinot Noir 09. 14%. 10mths French oak. Brown tinged red colour. Cobweb earthy nose. Tobacco cinammon palate. Great fruit. Complex. The only Pinot I tried in South America and very good indeed. E) Reserva Carmenere 09. 13.5%. 8mths 50-50 French American oak. Deep red colour. Guava nose. Toasty blueberry palate. F) Reserva Merlot 09. 13.5%. 50-50 French American oak for 8mths. Violet red colour. Wood fire nose. Choc liquorish palate. Soft tannins. G) Reserva Cab Sav 08. 13.5%. 50-50 French American oak for 8mths. Red-brown tinge. Choc cigar-box nose. Intense berry with toast palate. Soft tannins. Excellent length and finish.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Total cost of visiting Casablanca Valley on my own was only 26AUD.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-S4fXCVkgZ6M/TXpOzFpAgZI/AAAAAAAAAcI/B4-jwPnVqlk/s1600/IMG_9458.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" q6="true" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-S4fXCVkgZ6M/TXpOzFpAgZI/AAAAAAAAAcI/B4-jwPnVqlk/s320/IMG_9458.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">CHILE FACTS: 1) The longest coastline of any country in South America at 6,435km and at an average of 200km wide. Chile stretches North-South for HALF the entire South American continent. 2) 748,800 sq km. 3) Population is 16.8 million with 5 million in the capital Santiago. 85% of the pop lives in cities. Chile has the lowest proportion of Catholics at 71% with the rest new-wave Protestants and Indigenous. 4) The first inhabitants were here 12,500 yrs ago. The key indigenous were the "Mapuche" until the Spanish came and killed most of them off. Independence came in 1818, Easter Island was claimed in 1888 and a civil war broke out in 1890 with a death toll of 10,000. From 1930-1970 there were many reforms for farmers. Pinochet ruled from 1973 to 1989 and was almost convicted of crimes against humanity (Chilaeans) but died in 2006. 5) Even though the Chilean economy is now OK, most young people live at home till they get married (now 28-33). 6) Chile is also home to a large number of animals - Guanaco, Vicuna (Deer), llama, Alapca, Rhea (Ostrich), Chinchilla, Huemul (Andean Deer), Penguins (Humbolt & Magellanie), Sea Lions, Otters, Fur Seals and Whales (Minke).</span></span>Zorbahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10118806867477722349noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3293689768229502823.post-21926310061606771112011-03-07T08:36:00.000+11:002011-03-07T08:36:13.088+11:00Argentinian Grapes (28 February - 6 March 2011, Days 81-87 of 127)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-ojuhKsQtqIg/TXPxZabLwHI/AAAAAAAAAaE/nd6P_z0ZjvU/s1600/IMG_8960.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" l6="true" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-ojuhKsQtqIg/TXPxZabLwHI/AAAAAAAAAaE/nd6P_z0ZjvU/s320/IMG_8960.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The journey from our hotel in Uyuni, Bolivia to our hotel in Salta, Argentina took a total of 22hrs: 10hrs on the train to the Bolivian border town of Villazon, 30min at Bolivian customs, 90min at Argentinian customs, 5hrs in a private van from the Argentinian border town of La Quiaca to Salta and 3hrs of waiting around. We left our hotel in Uyuni at 1:30am on Mon 28FEB. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The train was surprisingly good, with large reclining seats and plenty of room. I slept for half the trip and even had time to watch the movie "Runaway Train" with Denzel Washington with English subtitiles. Usually movies are dubbed and subtitled in Spanish - go figure! As expected, there was only one official on duty at the Argentinian customs which is why it took so long. Also, it takes a long time to process Bolvians going into Argentina because of the high rate of illegal work.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-97Znjt5sQ58/TXPxiHBS5vI/AAAAAAAAAaQ/EEP6Qj4hW-M/s1600/IMG_9025.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" l6="true" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-97Znjt5sQ58/TXPxiHBS5vI/AAAAAAAAAaQ/EEP6Qj4hW-M/s320/IMG_9025.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We lost 1hr in La Quiaca because we had to change vans. The driver of the first van decided to go off and by a cover for the luggage without telling us and we just sat there. After seeing a second van come by we all decided to switch vans. Naturally just as we were loading our stuff into the second van the driver of the first came back but it was a case of "tough luck mate" - you shouldn't have left us. The first part of the drive was great - valleys of mountains with anticlines and eroded vertical pillars of red earth - looked great. We then passed the Tropic of Capricorn, marked by a white obelisk by the side of the road. It then got dark and rained the rest of the way - we are lucky - every time it rains was are on a bus/van travelling somewhere. We arrived at our hotel in Salta at midnight and hit the sack.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-94dlHrUE778/TXPxdF2d_vI/AAAAAAAAAaI/xQRvvbRfFlw/s1600/IMG_8966.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" l6="true" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-94dlHrUE778/TXPxdF2d_vI/AAAAAAAAAaI/xQRvvbRfFlw/s320/IMG_8966.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Our first day in Salta (Pop 551,300. Elev 1,178m. Est 1582) was a big one and very eventful. After a fabulous morning run up a hill that overlooks the city (running at a lower altitude after almost 3mths of running in the sky was unreal - so much easier!) we set out with our guide Carlos to the city to book our optional tours and to clean my laptop, USBs and SDs of viruses. Maureen and I booked a full day trip to the wineries of Cafayate, 186km away and the others booked horse riding and trekking. I was then introduced to Alfredo at Micronet to clean my PC gear. He was able to quickly clean my SDs and USBs with his NOD32 Antivirus sofwtare but needed to keep my laptop for the rest of the day to clean my data, back it up and then reinstall all software including windows. I was to come back at 6pm that day.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-ULUE1ZE4cNM/TXPxsqxqlzI/AAAAAAAAAac/KwaX1blXe-I/s1600/IMG_9086.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" l6="true" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-ULUE1ZE4cNM/TXPxsqxqlzI/AAAAAAAAAac/KwaX1blXe-I/s320/IMG_9086.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I then started my assault of Salta starting with the central "Plaza 9 De Julio". The cathedral is laced in pink paint and looks rather gaudy. It was closed so I would return later that evening to look inside. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The famous "Museo De Arqueologia De Alta Montana" was next which is dedicated to the discovery of three mummified Inca children at the summit of the volcano Mt Llullailaco (6,739m) in March 1999. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-T6LwU81MZ1s/TXPxl68OHuI/AAAAAAAAAaU/6m6hf5koiek/s1600/IMG_9057.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" l6="true" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-T6LwU81MZ1s/TXPxl68OHuI/AAAAAAAAAaU/6m6hf5koiek/s320/IMG_9057.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">There is a whole sub-field of archeology called "High Altitude Archaelogy" dedicated to this type of work. The three children are on display at the musuem, one at a time, every 6mths to preserve them. It was both fascinating and macabre at the same time. Fascinating because I learned so much about Inca religious culture and macabre because I came face-to-face with a 6yr old girl, dead for 500 years and so well preserved that she looked asleep! The other two children were a boy of 7 and girl of 15, both kept on site in the musuems lab. All 3 kids are sealed in a vacuum tube which is kept at exactly the same conditions as the top of the volcano they were found in. The 3 kids were raised by royal lines in a priviledged lifestyle with the their heads deformed at birth to indicate their royal lineage and to "look like" the God of the mountain. When the high priest signals they are ready, they are taken to the summit of only the highest mountains in the Andes (six so far), given lots of Chicha beer, fall asleep and buried in a square hole in the summit with amulets, pottery and silver and covered up (logs and mud). The high priest and parents are convinced that the children are not dead but "wake-up" in the afterlife of the mountain God, who in return grants a good harvest to the Incas. Fascinating and macabre!</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-P-edHw6TrjE/TXPxfirBaMI/AAAAAAAAAaM/7KPAx_POCkA/s1600/IMG_8984.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" l6="true" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-P-edHw6TrjE/TXPxfirBaMI/AAAAAAAAAaM/7KPAx_POCkA/s320/IMG_8984.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I then walked to the Salta Teleferic to take me to the top of "Cerro San Bernardo" (1,454m) to get vies of the city. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Along the way I saw the very ornate "Inglesia San Francisco" church and the monastery of San Bernardo with its intricate carved carob-wooden door. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Salta is famous for its tobacco leaf production and wines. It has magnificent houses (like Paddo in Sydney) and many Buenos Aires people holiday here in summer because of the cooler conditions and wine. It is warm here but not as humid because of the elevation. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The view of the city from the top of Cerro San Bernardo is fabulous. I descended at around 4:30pm and decided to walk to the supermarket for supplies. I then returned to the hotel for a break before walking back into town to pick-up my laptop. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-1l0jjPxITOA/TXPxo_wxZPI/AAAAAAAAAaY/d8W7NF-RF1A/s1600/IMG_9081.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" l6="true" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-1l0jjPxITOA/TXPxo_wxZPI/AAAAAAAAAaY/d8W7NF-RF1A/s320/IMG_9081.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">When I got to Micronet at 6pm, Alfredo had successfully cleaned the laptop, backed up my data, reinstalled a light-weight version of Windows XP Professional, NOD32 Antivirus and Office. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">He needed more time to finish installing my drivers, Skype and Adobe so I went off for a beer at the town centre. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I returned at 7:30pm and began checking my data and skype. I was there to closing time (9pm) but I was very pleased with the result - my machine was clean, running much faster and equipped with an antivirus software that kills viruses on-site without taking my data with it! I decided I would celebrate my renewed laptop with a feast from the supermarket back at the hotel including wine and ice-cream. What a day!</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-S0mgXzl57yQ/TXPyJhVqCaI/AAAAAAAAAa4/zQrwCSSLWxE/s1600/IMG_9209.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" l6="true" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-S0mgXzl57yQ/TXPyJhVqCaI/AAAAAAAAAa4/zQrwCSSLWxE/s400/IMG_9209.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-8HxzHZMicgo/TXPx5N-1J_I/AAAAAAAAAao/EL6bapnFaGw/s1600/IMG_9149.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" l6="true" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-8HxzHZMicgo/TXPx5N-1J_I/AAAAAAAAAao/EL6bapnFaGw/s320/IMG_9149.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The day (2MAR) began with a 7am pickup from our hotel for the wine country of Cafayate near Salta. Maureen and I were joined by 15 other people, mostly from Buenos Aires but with 2 from Mexico, 1 from Spain and 1 Palestinian girl living in Haifa Israel. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The 186km drive to Cafayate was simply spectacular. Salta is in the Lerma valley and Cafayate is in the Calchaqui valley. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-XY53J7dw9Ok/TXPxxkYwmDI/AAAAAAAAAag/-74AmNBeiLA/s1600/IMG_9116.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" l6="true" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-XY53J7dw9Ok/TXPxxkYwmDI/AAAAAAAAAag/-74AmNBeiLA/s320/IMG_9116.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">"Las Cochas Gorge (The Conchas Gorge)" connects the two valleys and consists of massive mountains of orange sandstone, on both sides, with iron reds, copper greens, cobalt blues and salt whites clouring them. Add the raging Cochas River in the middle, which looks like a river of Cadburys milk chocolate and you have a magnificent view as atested by the photos in this post. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We stopped to take photos at 2 vantage points and then visited the "Cochas Anfiteatro" (Amphitheatre), a natural cavity hewn in the rock by a now extinct river, which is 90% accoustically accurate. After a little test piece from me, everyone was convinced of the accoustics and we climbed back in the van to get to the vineyards.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-8LMwzTahiME/TXPx9dIp5oI/AAAAAAAAAas/jgcpB07ogdQ/s1600/IMG_9156.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" l6="true" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-8LMwzTahiME/TXPx9dIp5oI/AAAAAAAAAas/jgcpB07ogdQ/s320/IMG_9156.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Cafayate (Pop 12,600. Elev 1,660m) is like most wine towns. It is quaint, has nice restaurants, gourmet food and a nice plaza. There are 16 wineries in this region with 2,000 acres under vine. The oldest winery dates from 1879 with most from the 50s and 60s so it is relatively new. The area as soil and weather more like Napa. Hot and dry with some rain. Greyish soil. Some irrigation. Biggest problem is local parrots, who eat the grapes. No philoxera.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-lzOHaqgQ238/TXPyBe7TylI/AAAAAAAAAaw/oJVx0oc7snk/s1600/IMG_9166.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" l6="true" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-lzOHaqgQ238/TXPyBe7TylI/AAAAAAAAAaw/oJVx0oc7snk/s320/IMG_9166.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Our first winery visit was "Bodega Domingo Hermanus", est 1960. "Bodega" is the same as "Domain" or "Estate". Unfortunately our guide had mis-managed our stops and time coming here so we only got 15min at this winery before it closed for siesta. All the wineries close by 1pm for siesta and re-open bewteen 2:30-4pm. Fortunately for me, I pushed my way to the tasting bench after our winery tour and got to taste 4 wines. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-ICgMn_6mntY/TXPyFvTMdKI/AAAAAAAAAa0/KZoM1DeT5sc/s1600/IMG_9169.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" l6="true" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-ICgMn_6mntY/TXPyFvTMdKI/AAAAAAAAAa0/KZoM1DeT5sc/s320/IMG_9169.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The specialty of the Cafayate area is the white "Torrontes" grape and "Tannat" red grape. Tannat was developed for export to Uruguay since they eat more meat than Argentina and love a strong red. Cab Sav is the next big thing. Refer "CAFAYATE WINE TASTING NOTES" below for more details of my tastings. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The wine is good quality and very cheap for this quality. Cellar door prices are cheaper than supemarket prices for the same wine. I reckon that a $AUD20-30 cellar door wine in Oz equates to $AUD10-15 here for comprable quality. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-gcc3SNIVJzY/TXPyOfGoKpI/AAAAAAAAAa8/mBedpReTP6U/s1600/IMG_9219.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" l6="true" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-gcc3SNIVJzY/TXPyOfGoKpI/AAAAAAAAAa8/mBedpReTP6U/s320/IMG_9219.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Much to my horror, the guide told us that we would not be visiting a second winery (we paid for two on this tour) since we had taken too long getting here and could not fit one in with lunch and our return. After serving him a few bombs, I took matters into my own hands and agreed a meeting place and time with him for the journey back so that I could skip lunch and get a second winery in. It was now 1pm and the next winery re-opened at 2:30pm, so I raced off to photograph the first winery (could not do this before) and the town.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">My second winery was "Bodega Manni" started in 1879 by the Italian immigrant "Manni" family. It was great. I was alone and English-speaking employee "Jessica" gave me a private tasting of 4 wines and all the info on local winemaking that I could stomach. We even had time for interviews. This experience made the day and countered the stuff-up of our guide. Refer "CAFAYATE WINE TASTING NOTES" below for more details of my tastings here. I was then picked up at 3:15pm from this winery for our journey home.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">On our way home we stopped at 2 more photo points and visited our second geographical feature called "Garganta Del Diabolo (The Devil's Throat)". This is a wind-eroded split and cavity in the side of a cliff, into which you walk and climb. It actually looks like the inside of a throat, almost like a ski-slope made out of rock.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-NOi3aIYEPwU/TXPybBjb2JI/AAAAAAAAAbE/nTmFUWhwOvk/s1600/IMG_9249.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" l6="true" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-NOi3aIYEPwU/TXPybBjb2JI/AAAAAAAAAbE/nTmFUWhwOvk/s320/IMG_9249.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">After arriving at the hotel at 7:30pm (one hour late), I had a quick shower and we all settled down in the back yard for a "Asado" which is a classic Argentian home-cooked BBQ of meat, meat and more meat. It was fantastic. "Umberto", the owner of the hotel cooked up a storm on the coals. We had beef sirloin, chicken, chorizo and even blood sausage (pork blood). The finale was the Argentian version of wagyu beef which is a lot thinner than in Oz. Final verdict? BBQ was probably better than most of us could manage but our wagyu is tons better. Maybe I have to wait to get it in an Argentinian "Parilla" of steakhouse! The wine and company and atmosphere were great. We drank the wine we bought from Cafayate today, as well as Reserve Malbecs and even a Rose. It was a warm night and we had heaps of fun. Could not even remember what time I went to bed. I do, however remember waking up 3 times before morning to go to the dunny - YES, it was diahorrea! </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-uCSN7AV2gfE/TXPy5CrRbvI/AAAAAAAAAbc/Gt1qEa1aY_Y/s1600/IMG_9383.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" l6="true" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-uCSN7AV2gfE/TXPy5CrRbvI/AAAAAAAAAbc/Gt1qEa1aY_Y/s320/IMG_9383.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I got up at 8:30am on 3MAR for my run but my joints and muscles were very soar. Maybe it was the bood sausage or the salad or the rare sirloins? Only one other person got it and I reckon I must have got it because of the large quantity of meat and salad that I had. I battled on and still went on my run but it was slower and more painful. I spent the rest of the morning and arvo resting and blogging before we all got together to go to the bus station at 3pm for our 18hr bus to Mendoza, the main centre of wine making in Argentina.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The total journey, door-to-door from the hotel in Salta to the one in Mendoza took 22hrs, 18 of these on one bus and the rest waiting or in taxis. The bus was great - huge seats that reclined right back and plenty of leg room. They even served a hot meal and coffee! This was indication that we were in a more sophisticated country! The scenery from Salta down to Mendoza (approx 900km south) is much flatter, greener and full of farmland. You can still see the Andes in the west.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-NnvAcpjEH84/TXPyUp-MtvI/AAAAAAAAAbA/kLgnUUNyyP8/s1600/IMG_9234.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" l6="true" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-NnvAcpjEH84/TXPyUp-MtvI/AAAAAAAAAbA/kLgnUUNyyP8/s320/IMG_9234.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">On arrival at our hotel in Mendoza at noon on Fri 4MAR, our guide Carlos rang the Brazilian Consulate to see if I could extend my existing 90-day VISA. Bad news. I can't. I have to re-apply for a new 90-day VISA. The Consulate in Mendoza was on holiday that Friday so I would have to try in Santiago. Another drama is born! At this point I went on a run to cool-off. I then left at 2pm for my assualt of the city.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Mendoza (Pop 1.1m. Elev 804m. Est 1561) is a flat city with very wide roads and deep gutters. Roads are wide because the city was totally destroyed by an earthquake in 1861 and if it happens again they want more room for the rubble on the wider streets! Apparently the death toll was high because of the rubble falling on people."Plaza Independencia" (built 1863) is huge but very unphotogenic - ugly fountain and monument and no flowers. From here it was down the main pedestrian mall "Av Sarmiento" which was much nicer with plenty of trees and outdoor cafes. "Plaza Espana" was the best with colourful porcelain tiles imported from Spain. I then picked up my winery map for tomorrow and headed to "Plaza San Martin" to see the Cathedral. Both were shit. Very ordinary and uninspiring. The best thing to come from this plaza was the coffee I had at Cafe Rixen which was the best I have had on this trip to date. Strong and full of flavour. Tonight at 10pm was the grape harvest parade through the city, so Maureen and I had dinner at a Parillaro on the route and close to the hotel. We enjoyed another potpourri of BBQed Argentinian meats with plenty of local red. The parade was late and boring - only 4 floats but thousands of people, mostly retirees from Buenos Aires!</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-DHvVYaazIMc/TXPyfs0zzsI/AAAAAAAAAbI/topLeCCTg2s/s1600/IMG_9291.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" l6="true" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-DHvVYaazIMc/TXPyfs0zzsI/AAAAAAAAAbI/topLeCCTg2s/s320/IMG_9291.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Today, Sat 5MAR, was the big day! The Mendoza Wineries! What better way to see them than on a bike! Four taxis picked us up from our hotel and carried us to the wine town of "Maipui", only 15km from Mendoza, which is like the Cessnock of the Hunter. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Here we all picked up a bike and at 10am I was off on my own since I had marked out the wineries I wanted to visit and did not want to be slowed down by the main group. Bike is the best way to see the wineries since they are close together, you "burn-off" the wine and you enjoy, up-close, the olive-tree and vine lined country roads. Some roads have trees covering them completely like tunnels. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">In summary, between 10am and 5pm, I rode a total of 25km and visited 7 wineries and tasted 20 different wines. It was a raging success and I was like a pig in shit. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-H2WCdWguYFE/TXPykqdhonI/AAAAAAAAAbM/otBgQ-TSMGI/s1600/IMG_9299.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" l6="true" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-H2WCdWguYFE/TXPykqdhonI/AAAAAAAAAbM/otBgQ-TSMGI/s320/IMG_9299.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">There are approx 200 wineries in the Waipu area, spread over 717 sq km at an elev of 804m. Approx 60% of this area is under vine and growing. Vines are aged between 20-40 yrs old and the area was founded in 1861. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Most founding vignerons were Italian immigrants. Area suited to white Torrontes and red Malbec grapes but they also do lots of Cab Sav and plenty of Chardonnay. Also do Italian "Bonarda" grape and small quantities of Gewurtz, Riesling, Semillon, Pinot Noir, Sangiovese and Tempranillo. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-d3PLUjWyfzs/TXPypOVWCoI/AAAAAAAAAbQ/40XyTUvnZs0/s1600/IMG_9314.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" l6="true" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-d3PLUjWyfzs/TXPypOVWCoI/AAAAAAAAAbQ/40XyTUvnZs0/s320/IMG_9314.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Annual rainfall is 200mm but the vines need 600mm so there is irrigation in place. Surprisingly most vines are organic using roses and other natural vegetation to attract insects (low numbers) and chook/cow manure to fertilise. There are no frosts and they never had philoxera. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Since I visited many wineries I was able to develop some sense of the varietal nature of Waipu. The specialty is definately Malbec which has a characteristic honeyed nose and is full of fruit that dances in the mouth. Malbec is usually not put on oak but when it is, the term "Roble" is added to the name to indicate French Oak for at least 6mths. The good news is that the balance of the wine on oak is very good and is not noticable. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">All the wineries I visited charge for tasting. Typically it is 25 pesos or 6AUD for 4 wines. I paid a total of 75 pesos or 19AUD for 20 wines over 7 wineries. For details of the wineries, wines and all the stats refer to "MENDOZA WINE TASTING NOTES" below. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-b5PJIVDuJA0/TXPyu2osXXI/AAAAAAAAAbU/n4gPf_F9Ok4/s1600/IMG_9348.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" l6="true" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-b5PJIVDuJA0/TXPyu2osXXI/AAAAAAAAAbU/n4gPf_F9Ok4/s320/IMG_9348.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The last two wineries I visited were in the town of Waipu itself, which is not that impressive. The whole area is still underdeveloped and there are no good cafes or restaurants or the concept of gourmet foods in the town. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The Waipu area does have many Rugby clubs however. The wineries themselves are ahead of the game and many offer gourmet meals, olives and other gourmet foods to go! </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-qBULXqvZogM/TXPyzxxdvpI/AAAAAAAAAbY/f4GIIl1qRsY/s1600/IMG_9368.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" l6="true" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-qBULXqvZogM/TXPyzxxdvpI/AAAAAAAAAbY/f4GIIl1qRsY/s320/IMG_9368.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Overall I think that Cafayate (in Salta) was a better wine town and area but the wines of Waipu Mendoza are definately better and of high quality. They are very cheap at cellar door across the board, from the entry level or Cave (AUD6-12) through Reserva (AUD13-25) to Premium (AUD35-60). Our wines would be 50-100% more in price for the same quality so watch out Australia - the Argentinians are coming. This area is exporting more and more and the USA is their No 1 customer!</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Ew2MajCDoY8/TXP6xjVffzI/AAAAAAAAAbk/bRXQ6FT701o/s1600/IMG_9163.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" l6="true" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Ew2MajCDoY8/TXP6xjVffzI/AAAAAAAAAbk/bRXQ6FT701o/s320/IMG_9163.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">After my last winery at 5pm, I had 2 empanadas and rode to our meeting place at the "Beer Garden". After no one turned up I rode back to the bike place at 6:30pm and had free wine there, courtesy of the always smiling and polite proprietor, Mr Hugo until 8pm when everyone else turned up. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">That night I celebrated my great conquest of tthe Maipu wine area with another supermarket feast and hotel movie!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-kQRMOK2IS2c/TXP62e01JOI/AAAAAAAAAbo/HNFobJrx0qU/s1600/IMG_9174.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" l6="true" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-kQRMOK2IS2c/TXP62e01JOI/AAAAAAAAAbo/HNFobJrx0qU/s320/IMG_9174.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Our last day in Mendoza was low-key. It was Sunday and very little was open, including the wineries. After a sleep-in and morning run, I walked to "Parque General San Martin" (like Centennial Park with lakes and zoo) and then cabbed it up to the top of Cerro De La Gloria, Elev 960m and took picies of Mendoza City. Then it was back to the hotel to produce this post for the rest of the arvo. In the evening we went to a particularly fancy Argentian Steak place so that I could compare a "good" steak to the famous Meat and Wine Company in Melbourne - verdict in my next post!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><strong>NEXT BLOG: covers the temporary exit from Argentina to Santiago, the capital of Chile, due 10MAR.</strong></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: 1) Job well done by Alfredo at Micronet in Salta for cleaning my PC gear and getting me back on-track. 2) Thanks to Jessica at Bodega Manni for her excellent knowledge and interview of the Manni wines and Cafayate region. 3) Thanks to Mr Hugo for the bike around the Maipu wineries, the free wine at the end and his great attitude. See him at <a href="http://www.mrhugobikes.com/">http://www.mrhugobikes.com/</a></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-gKGjPFA1WdU/TXP66hB8C3I/AAAAAAAAAbs/nROsA14w6DQ/s1600/IMG_9326.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" l6="true" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-gKGjPFA1WdU/TXP66hB8C3I/AAAAAAAAAbs/nROsA14w6DQ/s320/IMG_9326.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">CAFAYATE WINE TASTING NOTES:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Winery 1 - Bodega Domingo Hermanus, Est 1960. A) Torrontes Reserva 2010. Torrontes is an Argentinian white grape derived form Muscat of Alexandria. This one had a Gewurtz style floral nose, very spirity due to the 14% alcohol and finished dry. Hints of honey and peach but overpowered by the high alcohol. More like a strong Moscato. B) Domingo Molina Torrontes 2010. More complex since it is femrented in French Oak. Still lifted at 14%. C) Cab Sav 09. Soft tannins, classic vanilla and berry flavours since it is aged in French Oak for at least 1yr. Much like many of ours. 14.5%. D) Tannat 07. My favourite. Definately like a young Durif. Black-purple ink colour, lots of fruit, no oak. This is a red grape brought from France and very popular in Uruguay. 14.5%.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Winery 2 - Bodega Nanni. Est 1879. Most of their vines are 40yrs old with certified oraganic production. They do 300,000L/yr. A) Torrontes 2010. Lighter, more fruitier at 13.5%. B) Cab Sav 09. No oak. 14.7%. Big berry flavours. Too direct for me. C) Tannat 09. 15%. Full bodied. Lots of Tannins. My favourite. D) Torrontes Tardio 2010. Tardio means "late picked" so this a sweet one much like our late picked Rieslings only softer and like Moscato. Nanni also did the "Bonarda" grape from Italy which was not available for tasting.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-v8z2T4DJ2SU/TXPy9Ljt-fI/AAAAAAAAAbg/qocYMcMHukg/s1600/IMG_9399.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" l6="true" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-v8z2T4DJ2SU/TXPy9Ljt-fI/AAAAAAAAAbg/qocYMcMHukg/s320/IMG_9399.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">MENDOZA WINE TASTING NOTES:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Winery 1 - Bodega De La Rural, Est 1885, 12m L/yr, 400 hectares under vine. A) Museo Cab Sav 09. 13.5%. Too young and light for me. No body. This winery was also a museum for wine making in this area with displays of all the old presses and other gear. Free single tasting but all other tastings are AUD9 and higher since you have to buy a full glass. No thanks.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-vygMnEKDZjQ/TXP6-k1zEGI/AAAAAAAAAbw/NV5M4Kd_9b0/s1600/IMG_9356.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" l6="true" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-vygMnEKDZjQ/TXP6-k1zEGI/AAAAAAAAAbw/NV5M4Kd_9b0/s320/IMG_9356.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Winery 2 - Bodega Trapiche, Est 1881, 25m L/yr, 1,200 acres under vine, 55% export to 90 countries (USA is No 1). My favourite. Very well set up. Very commercial. Very visitor friendly and glossy. Paid 25 pesos for a 40min English tour and 4 tastings. A) Fond De Cave Reserva Sav Blanc 07. 13.5%. 9 months in French Oak. What a surprise. Looks like a Sav Blanc but does not taste like one. No shaved grass or lime. Has Gooseberry nose with Moscatel style lifted palate. Very spirity. b) Fond De Cave Reserva Cabernet Franc 08. 14%. My favourite of all wines. The best Cab Franc I have ever had. 15mths French Oak. Lively Ruby colour. Black liquorish nose. Palate is spicy, smokey and soft. No tannins. Great fruit. C) Iscay Merlot Malbec (60%) 07. 14%. 18mths French Oak. Intense red colour. Leathery nose. Palate is chocolate and soft cherry. Finishes dry. Never had this blend before.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-S5nZxvlOhoM/TXP9iMe6qaI/AAAAAAAAAb0/1DHMikfMmAU/s1600/IMG_9321.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" l6="true" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-S5nZxvlOhoM/TXP9iMe6qaI/AAAAAAAAAb0/1DHMikfMmAU/s320/IMG_9321.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Winery 3 - Bodega Di Tommaso, Est 1869, 50,000 L/yr, 50 acres under vine. Very boutigue with fabulous food (group told me). Paid 15 pesos for 4 wines. They also do there own XO Cognac using Malbec wine. A) Malbec 08. 13%. No oak. Ruby red. Earthy nose. Palate is plumby. B) Crianzaen Malbec Roble 07. 14%. 6mths French oak. Blood red colour. Spicy coffee nose. Palate is lifted berries with high spirit. High spirit finish. C) Cab Sav Roble 07. 13.5%. 1yr America oak. Inky red colour. Honeyed smokey nose. Palate is berry liquorish dancing in mouth. Finishes soft and scotchy. Very impressive. D) Albina Di Tommaso Amabile Late Picked Torrontes. A port made from Torrontes picked 15 days late with the ferment alcohol of Malbec added. 17%. Pale yellow colour. Nose and palate like a very light muscat.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-A92_R7FlLSk/TXP9lt4AjvI/AAAAAAAAAb4/HGKVkMEmDIU/s1600/IMG_9336.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" l6="true" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-A92_R7FlLSk/TXP9lt4AjvI/AAAAAAAAAb4/HGKVkMEmDIU/s320/IMG_9336.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Winery 4 - Bodega Carinae, Est 1911, 8,000 L/yr, 20 hectares. Paid 25 pesos for 5 wines. A) Rosado Malbec 09. 13.5%. Rose. Pale strawberry colour. Crabapple nose. Palate is under-ripe strawberries. B) Malbec 09. 14.5%. No oak. Lighter red colour. Honeyed nose. Palate is slighty under-ripe plumbs. C) Cuvee Brigitte Malbec Cab Sav (28%) 09. 14.5%. 8mths French Oak. Crimson red colour. Palate is cigarrette box with fruit. D) Malbec Reserva 09. 14.5%. 12mths French oak. Deep red colour. Leathery nose. Palate is rich berry with earthy undertones. E) Cab Sav Reserva 07. 14.5%. 12mth French oak. Brown red colour. Alcoholic aniseed nose. Rich berry palate with smooth finish.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Losr2T2gaGk/TXP9po4sSHI/AAAAAAAAAb8/G2PkkIuk7uU/s1600/IMG_9363.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" l6="true" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Losr2T2gaGk/TXP9po4sSHI/AAAAAAAAAb8/G2PkkIuk7uU/s320/IMG_9363.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Winery 5 - Bodega Cecchin, Est 1898, 400,000 L/yr, 78 hectares. Paid 15 pesos for 2 wines. A) Moscatel De Alexandria 2010. 12.8%. Late Picked. Pale yellow colour. Like an Aperitiff. Semi-sweet. B) Malbec 07. 13.4%. No oak. Ruby red colour. Honeyed nose. Palate is rich vibrant berries.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Winery 6 - Bodega Antonio Nerviani. This winery was closed for tasting but they let me film their bottling operation.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Winery 7 - Bodega Antiguia Giol, Est 1896, 190m L/yr, 4,700 hectares under vine. This was my last and favourite visit since I got along very well with "Emilio" the guy who served up the wine and because we exchanged so many wine details he offered my tastings for free. This is also the biggest producer in the area and has an excellent shop and restaurant and is very spacious. It is located in the town of Maipu itself. A) Chardonnay 2010. 12.9%. No oak. Pale yellow. Melon nose. Palate is very light. No bite. B) Canciller Malbec 2010. 13.2%. No oak. Deep red colour. Plumb nose. Palate is soft cherry with little body. C) Cab Sav 2010. 13%. No oak. Radish red colour. Radish nose. Palate is lifted berry fruit but still lacking body. D) Malbec 09. 13.9%. Ruby red. Scandalwood honeyed nose. Palate is berry with cigar box. Very characteristic of this area. E) Malbec Roble 09. 14%. 1yr French oak. Beetroot red colour. Earthy musky nose. Palate is complex with deep berry, cigar box and some honey. Great body. Easily the best taster here.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-I3nbaf0OLMM/TXPx1opQKiI/AAAAAAAAAak/CL7ptGLcwEU/s1600/IMG_9130.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" l6="true" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-I3nbaf0OLMM/TXPx1opQKiI/AAAAAAAAAak/CL7ptGLcwEU/s320/IMG_9130.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">HINTS & TIPS: 1) Do not take an organised tour of the Cafayate wineries. It is better to catch a public bus there and back and walk around yourself from winery to winery since tastings are all from cellar door locations in town and not out in the vineyards. Most of them are next to eachother and in easy walking distance so you can see as many as you want and if timed right you can be alone and not with a bus full of people jossling for a taste. 2) TO INTREPID: you need to put sick people in their own room. My room mate had a cough for 3 nights in a row with frequent trips to the dunny and it is impossible to stop or not to hear it. He is not to blame but should be quarantined so that I don't catch it and so I can get some sleep!!!</span>Zorbahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10118806867477722349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3293689768229502823.post-9976149017276274042011-03-04T02:38:00.000+11:002011-03-04T02:38:53.169+11:00Salty Sky (24-27 February 2011, Days 77-80 of 127)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-SsVWDslfNnM/TW-qOH7fVqI/AAAAAAAAAYM/niJqPKEfi_Y/s1600/IMG_8545.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" l6="true" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-SsVWDslfNnM/TW-qOH7fVqI/AAAAAAAAAYM/niJqPKEfi_Y/s320/IMG_8545.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">La Salar De Uyuni (The Salt Flat of Uyuni) is the world's largest AND highest salt lake at 12,106 sq km and 3,653m elevation. This is a geographical marvel in the catgeory of Antarctica, Patagonia and Machu Picchu. It was a pivotal highlight of my great South American adventure! A Landscape beyond imagination. The other spectacular surprise in the vein of Patagonia was the Siloli Desert which borders the Atacama Desert and is geographically the same. More on these below.</span> </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-MMT7IsR7U78/TW-p1oeOz1I/AAAAAAAAAYI/WndYW40Buoc/s1600/IMG_8398.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" l6="true" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-MMT7IsR7U78/TW-p1oeOz1I/AAAAAAAAAYI/WndYW40Buoc/s320/IMG_8398.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The journey from the tragedy of Potosi to the town of Uyuni took 6hrs on the bus just to travel approx 200km. This is because it took place over the mountains of the Andean Altiplano and over gravel road. The scenary was spectacular. Long wide treeless valleys with distant snow-capped volcanos and deep blue skies with whispy clouds. The bus got bogged about 2hrs out from Uyuni and we all had to get off. We left Potosi at midday and walked into the Mexican looking outpost town hotel in Uyuni shortly after 6pm. After a lengthy briefing of our 3-day, 4-wheel drive desert adventure starting tomorrow, I made out for the internet cafe in town for the post before this one. Then it was off to bed.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/--1u-TPi7M-4/TW-q8qIav_I/AAAAAAAAAYQ/C07dITF1NZg/s1600/IMG_8413.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" l6="true" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/--1u-TPi7M-4/TW-q8qIav_I/AAAAAAAAAYQ/C07dITF1NZg/s320/IMG_8413.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Uyuni (Pop 20,000. Elev 3,669m) is not much to sing about. From my run at the half-way 5km mark, it looks like Moonbase Alpha from Space 1999 and is isolated, muddy, unkept, sloppy and full of garbage. Uyuni means "Refuge for Lliamas" and believe me there are lots of them. After my morning run on 24FEB, we left Uyuni in a convoy of three Landcruisers together with some other Gringos, (18 in all) for what would turn out to be a spectacular 3-day excursion to the salt lake in the clouds and the amazing desert with coloured lagoons, thermal geysers and hot springs. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Our first stop was the "Locomotive Cemetery", 2km from Uyuni, which contains the rusting relics of 13 steam locomotives and some carriages that epitomised travel and salt freight in Bolivia in the 18th and 19th Centuries. The locals are quite proud of it since train travel is closely associated with Bolivian Heritage. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-x1bhOtprAjk/TW-rCli0RZI/AAAAAAAAAYY/GJGnlt1UsLA/s1600/IMG_8486.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" l6="true" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-x1bhOtprAjk/TW-rCli0RZI/AAAAAAAAAYY/GJGnlt1UsLA/s640/IMG_8486.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-i-d1qfK9Jxg/TW-q_kVAA5I/AAAAAAAAAYU/bNRX_aFCboE/s1600/IMG_8470.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" l6="true" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-i-d1qfK9Jxg/TW-q_kVAA5I/AAAAAAAAAYU/bNRX_aFCboE/s320/IMG_8470.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The world famous "Salar De Uyuni" (Uyuni Salt Flat) is located just 25km south-west of Uyuni. There is a small setttlement called Colchani at the edge of the flat where approx 1,500 locals live, who are involved in mining the salt from the flat. All they do is add 5% iodine to kill any germs and then pack it and sell it. The salt flat itself is located in the middle of the 7,000km plus Andean Mountain Chain and expanding at a rate of 0.5m per year. The salt flat comprises alternate layers of salt, water and salt again - the top layer averages 2m thickness and you can see holes in parts where it is thin with water below - just like an frozen water lake. It is the largest and highest salt flat (or lake) in the world. The look of the salt flat is remarkable. It reminded me of Antarctica. This is because the sun was out, the sky was deep blue and the salt flat shimmered in the sun like snow. The first thing that hits you is the lack of perspective. The sky and salt flat simply mingle together eliminating a horizon and the feeling of distance. It is like you are an aircraft flying between layers of cloud, one below you and the other above you. Our 4-wheel drives took us 4km into the flat and let us out to walk around and take photos. Being the wet season, it had rained and their was a 1 inch layer of water, so we walked barefoot or in thongs on the crystally salt. Some bits were soft, others a bit more pointier. The most common photos involve people taking toys or other props and pretending to hold them in their hands since there is no perspective. We took many group shots - frankly any photo on the flat looks great. We spent almost an hour out on the flat before having lunch in a cafe on the flat that is made entirely of salt bricks. Lunch involved grilled Llama - with Uyuni salt, of course!</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Hs8KmuLH-0Y/TW-rKVgtA8I/AAAAAAAAAYg/kQbNBkjpbFs/s1600/IMG_8596.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" l6="true" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Hs8KmuLH-0Y/TW-rKVgtA8I/AAAAAAAAAYg/kQbNBkjpbFs/s320/IMG_8596.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The drive from the Uyuni Salt Flat to our overnight hostel stay in Alota (Pop 1,500. Elev 3,900m) took 4 hours. Alota is named after Spanish Game, played by miners en route to the cities with their minerals - this place was used as a stopover. Bolivia has the largest known reserve of Lithium in the world and 63% of it comes from the Uyuni area. Alota is now a mining town and very rough and isolated. Our overnight accommodation here was the worst to-date: mud-brick dwelling, 4 to a room and one bathroom for 18 people! The bed sagged so much that I put the matress on the ground. We were determined not to let our spartan rooms get the better of us so that night we celebrated our fabulous Salar De Uyuni encounter with spaghetti, beer and of course, wine. We had driven approx 200km this day. The convoy includes a cook who carries gas and all food.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-cQScHoh7K6w/TW-rTZgfKmI/AAAAAAAAAYo/XqKWjXwx46s/s1600/IMG_8604.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" l6="true" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-cQScHoh7K6w/TW-rTZgfKmI/AAAAAAAAAYo/XqKWjXwx46s/s200/IMG_8604.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-RkBi5349b1A/TW-rOTzFuQI/AAAAAAAAAYk/wGLfPz-YZaQ/s1600/IMG_8601.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" l6="true" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-RkBi5349b1A/TW-rOTzFuQI/AAAAAAAAAYk/wGLfPz-YZaQ/s200/IMG_8601.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The next day (Sat 26FEB) was one of the best days of my journey. The weather was perfect and the scenery simply breathtaking. Even my morning run was admist volcanos and coloured algae and lichen at the crack of dawn and in mind-numbing silence - I have never felt so alive and at the same time completely alone! </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-JFI8GhqJxsg/TW-rhhOvv5I/AAAAAAAAAY0/bflxETX59Oo/s1600/IMG_8654.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" l6="true" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-JFI8GhqJxsg/TW-rhhOvv5I/AAAAAAAAAY0/bflxETX59Oo/s320/IMG_8654.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Today we entered the "Siloli Desert" in Bolivia which is next to the "Atacama Desert" in Chile and is even more spectacular. Siloli is full of huge, treeless, open valleys, bordered by snow-capped volcanoes with simply stunning lagoons. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Words are inadequate to descibe them so I defer to the photos in this post to do the talking! We visited a total of 4 lakes and 2 rock formations today.</span><br />
<br />
<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-BdMGEJMO-Dk/TW-rYgAJVZI/AAAAAAAAAYs/loPJyQp1rG0/s1600/IMG_8637.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" l6="true" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-BdMGEJMO-Dk/TW-rYgAJVZI/AAAAAAAAAYs/loPJyQp1rG0/s200/IMG_8637.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-N1nvBPalU34/TW-rcZEJAdI/AAAAAAAAAYw/fL7bCj3MqhI/s1600/IMG_8642.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" l6="true" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-N1nvBPalU34/TW-rcZEJAdI/AAAAAAAAAYw/fL7bCj3MqhI/s200/IMG_8642.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The first stop in Siloli was "Rock Valley" comprising huge orange basalt bolders, many in the shape of animals. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-wdzAQ-W6AX4/TW-rnZEcOtI/AAAAAAAAAY4/H1UvXQCjVgs/s1600/IMG_8669.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" l6="true" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-wdzAQ-W6AX4/TW-rnZEcOtI/AAAAAAAAAY4/H1UvXQCjVgs/s400/IMG_8669.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">From here we journeyed to our first lake: "Laguna Chuluncani (4,150m)" which contained a number of Pink Flamingos which can grow to a metre tall! In flight they look spectacular, brandishing their trademark hot pink and black stripped wings. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Fs86hw21j7U/TW-rrUq3ONI/AAAAAAAAAY8/jxjI-gv4_ms/s1600/IMG_8692.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" l6="true" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Fs86hw21j7U/TW-rrUq3ONI/AAAAAAAAAY8/jxjI-gv4_ms/s200/IMG_8692.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Lake number two was "Laguna Kachi (4,195m)" where we had a picnic lunch overlooking the lake in front of us with the stoney red Atacama like soil behind us. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-I31HWS8cdxg/TW-v9n8Xg2I/AAAAAAAAAZI/sBCloWl5t-M/s1600/IMG_8709.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" l6="true" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-I31HWS8cdxg/TW-v9n8Xg2I/AAAAAAAAAZI/sBCloWl5t-M/s400/IMG_8709.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-AUoYjGJQMm4/TW-v2pBWOmI/AAAAAAAAAZE/1ZwjkSG3i3w/s1600/IMG_8757.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" l6="true" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-AUoYjGJQMm4/TW-v2pBWOmI/AAAAAAAAAZE/1ZwjkSG3i3w/s200/IMG_8757.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-9T54mR53Upk/TW-vu7bGFXI/AAAAAAAAAZA/rlae8F50-PY/s1600/IMG_8702.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" l6="true" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-9T54mR53Upk/TW-vu7bGFXI/AAAAAAAAAZA/rlae8F50-PY/s200/IMG_8702.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Siloli contains the same stoney landscape of the Atacama, where NASA test all their terrain vehicles bound for Mars since the terrain there most resembles the Martian surface (the two rovers currently on Mars for the last 6yrs were tested in the Atacama).</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-er6clqwV6Fs/TW-wEteWyXI/AAAAAAAAAZM/HYDAOHyDquA/s1600/IMG_8748.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" l6="true" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-er6clqwV6Fs/TW-wEteWyXI/AAAAAAAAAZM/HYDAOHyDquA/s320/IMG_8748.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Lake number three was "Lago Kara (4,220m)" which contained calcium carbonate making it very tourquoise. Next stop was the "Arbol De Pedra (Stone Tree)" which is a rock formation weathered to look like an umbrella tree. It is surrounded by other strange, shapely rock formations, that look like aliens put them there for a reason. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-FoIeLL5G990/TW-waSmaKJI/AAAAAAAAAZc/vKQ67QIciuo/s1600/IMG_8796.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" l6="true" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-FoIeLL5G990/TW-waSmaKJI/AAAAAAAAAZc/vKQ67QIciuo/s200/IMG_8796.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Svn9_JQAgVs/TW-wSRofmEI/AAAAAAAAAZU/ncRnnsDhw8Y/s1600/IMG_8772.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" l6="true" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Svn9_JQAgVs/TW-wSRofmEI/AAAAAAAAAZU/ncRnnsDhw8Y/s200/IMG_8772.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Our fourth and last lake was "Laguna Colorada (4,278m)" which is the largest of all Siloli lakes at 7 sq km. It is red in colour from algae in it and also has islands of Borax mineral which look like icebergs. Laguna Colorada is ony 25km from the Chilean border and is also home to the largest flock of Pink Flamingos in Siloli. We got a chance to get up close and personal - pink birds in a red lake - what a site! </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Y3U6PyC7_Uc/TW-wWOLxaLI/AAAAAAAAAZY/zIPQk87QNXA/s1600/IMG_8782.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" l6="true" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Y3U6PyC7_Uc/TW-wWOLxaLI/AAAAAAAAAZY/zIPQk87QNXA/s320/IMG_8782.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Our overnight accommodation was only 5km away with distant views of the lake and was somewhat better than the night before - it was like a snow refuge with 4-wheel drives coming and going. Even though rooms were dorm-style with 10 to a room, the beds were comfortable and the recreation areas huge. We all enjoyed a great dinner of Bolivian soup and lasagne washed down with Chilean 2006 Cab Sav. A fitting end to a marvelous day, so full of different scenery that it made our heads spin! This day saw us drive approx 180km. Tonight was also our highest sleep to-date at 4,278m.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6YX-kxaUtG4/TW-wsHazZ5I/AAAAAAAAAZs/kc47SnHJKpw/s1600/IMG_8900.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" l6="true" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6YX-kxaUtG4/TW-wsHazZ5I/AAAAAAAAAZs/kc47SnHJKpw/s320/IMG_8900.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Our Sunday (27FEB) began at 4am since we had a sun-rise rendezvous with thermal geysers and a hot spring! It was still dark when we got to the "Sol De Manana" geyser basin, the highest geysers in the world. The silence of the 4,950m plataeu (the highest point in our 3-day expedition) was broken by the hissing and whooshing of the steam of the geysers. Only one was able to be touched, the others were boiling. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">30min further down was the hot spring, ready for bathing in the warm 30C water but there were too many other gringos so we decided to push ahead to Laguna Verde and come back later when it was empty. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-MFzPGqkh00g/TW-wfZWUUOI/AAAAAAAAAZg/GQLhXVmTOvQ/s1600/IMG_8874.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" l6="true" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-MFzPGqkh00g/TW-wfZWUUOI/AAAAAAAAAZg/GQLhXVmTOvQ/s640/IMG_8874.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-iioWbEBY7ck/TW-wn3SsXGI/AAAAAAAAAZo/oZ3XDj7pDUA/s1600/IMG_8891.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" l6="true" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-iioWbEBY7ck/TW-wn3SsXGI/AAAAAAAAAZo/oZ3XDj7pDUA/s320/IMG_8891.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We passed the huge "Laguna Blanca" on our way to the main event: "Laguna Verde (4,350m)". What a lake. It was the best of all. Full of minerals (mainly Calcium, Sulphur and Copper based elements) that give it a stunning texture and colour. But wait - there is more! Looming in the background is the massive "Volcano Licancabur (5,930m)", complete with summit-hugging cloud and reflection in the lake! Our driver was a champ and walked us out onto the lake to take the fabulous photo in this post.There are so many minerals that have precipitated in the lake that you can walk on them! Anything after this site would be hard to talk-up! </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-l9wgIjNCeN4/TW-wOMp85pI/AAAAAAAAAZQ/Bfj6N8Tunzc/s1600/IMG_8761.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" l6="true" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-l9wgIjNCeN4/TW-wOMp85pI/AAAAAAAAAZQ/Bfj6N8Tunzc/s320/IMG_8761.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">On our way back to the hot spring we stopped at the "Salvador Dali Rocks" - strangely shaped, huge boulders, that look like they have been strategically placed by aliens along a wide open valley. These rocks featured in many Dali paintings, hence the name. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Once back at the "Termas De Polques (4,200m)" hot spring we had a quick breakfast and jumped into the steaming pool to wake us up. The 30C water, full off minerals, did the trick. From here we departed 10am for our long drive back to Uyuni. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-AFkXRcw0etU/TW-wxTj2spI/AAAAAAAAAZw/WMILwb-EpKo/s1600/IMG_8904.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" l6="true" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-AFkXRcw0etU/TW-wxTj2spI/AAAAAAAAAZw/WMILwb-EpKo/s320/IMG_8904.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">On the way we made several stops. The first was Laguna Colorada (the last lake we visited yesterday) for another photo shoot with thousands of Pink Flamingos! It was the best one since the flamingos and mountains were reflected in the still waters. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">At 12:30pm we arrived in the small farming community of Billa Mar (Pop 100) where we had lunch at the only cafe. Outside potatoes and cechuan grew and Iliamas grazed. From here it was another 3-4hrs to get back to Uyuni. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-NQnc1mh_PRc/TW-xAO4jM9I/AAAAAAAAAZ4/E4ixrzJakFI/s1600/IMG_8937.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" l6="true" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-NQnc1mh_PRc/TW-xAO4jM9I/AAAAAAAAAZ4/E4ixrzJakFI/s320/IMG_8937.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Our final visit was the "Rocky Canyon (3,800m)", another enclave of massive orange basalt boulders, again some shaped like animals. After a brief stop in San Cristobal, we arrived at "Minuteman Pizzeria" in Uyuni at 6pm and farewelled our guide, Jamie and his great crew of 2 drivers and our cook. Our final day covered approx 470km. This pizzeria is famous as it is run by an American from Boston and the pizzas are the real deal, made in a wood-fired oven. It was a fitting end to a grand 4-wheel drive adventure. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-t6ccW_JbA5k/TW-w5wbXJyI/AAAAAAAAAZ0/mglYPXgPsxg/s1600/IMG_8930.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" l6="true" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-t6ccW_JbA5k/TW-w5wbXJyI/AAAAAAAAAZ0/mglYPXgPsxg/s320/IMG_8930.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">What an expedition! A total of 3 days covering 850km, on dirt roads a-la Ozzie outback-style, through mud, rivers and tree-log bridges but with scenery so fabulous, it makes Australia look very ordinary! </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Bolivia is literally "a country in the sky"' with a large chunk of the country above 3,000m (that's around 10,000ft - bloody Nora!). </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-xBlIdM9mu6c/TW-wj8A-GyI/AAAAAAAAAZk/UKbV8pE-evM/s1600/IMG_8881.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" l6="true" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-xBlIdM9mu6c/TW-wj8A-GyI/AAAAAAAAAZk/UKbV8pE-evM/s400/IMG_8881.JPG" width="266" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">In particular, Uyuni and Siloli are up there with Machu Picchu and an absolute "must-see" in South America! </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I reckon the Siloli Desert is a sleeping giant from a tourist point of view and will one day become more famous than Machu Picchu because of its sheer beauty and grandeur! </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Go Siloli! It is the surprise pick of my adventure to date.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><strong>NEXT BLOG: covers the exit from Bolivia and journey through Argentinian wine country (Salta and Mendoza) due 7MAR.</strong></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-ywY-FSh-VWE/TW-xPPdc81I/AAAAAAAAAZ8/vxj8Z64HiDA/s1600/IMG_8953.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" l6="true" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-ywY-FSh-VWE/TW-xPPdc81I/AAAAAAAAAZ8/vxj8Z64HiDA/s200/IMG_8953.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: 1) Again, well done Poonan! A fine job capturing the mad-cap, fluoro-blue, ozzie-Bondi-cozzie on the shores of what has to be one of the world's greatest geographical locations - the Salt Plain of Uyuni. 2) Thanks to Saul, our driver who made the fabulous "Double Volcano Photo" at Laguna Verde possible. 3) Thanks to Jamie for his info and accurate stats on all the sights in the Siloli Desert.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-9AcHaUmKMHU/TW-xTZ3vcvI/AAAAAAAAAaA/ZksiMKwFrgw/s1600/IMG_9030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" l6="true" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-9AcHaUmKMHU/TW-xTZ3vcvI/AAAAAAAAAaA/ZksiMKwFrgw/s320/IMG_9030.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">NOTES TO SELF: 1) I accidentally dropped my camera on the concrete floor of our dorm on the night of the 26FEB and discovered a black spec appearing in my finder (and photos) at certain zoom points when I started shooting the following morning. I died. I then proceeded to pray and tap the camera against my head just in case it was a loose fragment that I could dislodge - thank God it worked and the black spec disappeared shortly before I took the Laguna Verde photos - saved again! 2) Unfortunately my SD07, USB07, USB08, USB09 and my 4GB data stick all have a benign virus that appears as an "executable folder" and reproduces itself inside every other valid folder. When you reformat the USB it appears all over again. My laptop must have the original virus since when I stuck a brand new USB into it, the virus folder appeared on the new USB! The data on my laptop is clean but I cannot back it up or clean it with my AVAST virus software because AVAST quarantines the data as well as the virus file and I cannot get my data back. I will get someone to clean my laptop and USBs in the next big city. Fingers crossed. 3) Fresh milk is like gold in Bolivia. It simply is rare. I am sick of powered milk and the condensed crap! Cannot wait to get to Argentina. Vegies are also hard to get with potatoes and rice or cechuan (cereal) dominating every meal. Brown bread is also non-existant. 4) Bolivia is probably the best example of the Andes but it is a tough country to visit. They are early in the cycle of tourist friendly facilities. Public toilets are smelly, hostel and 2/3-start hotel accommodation is spartan and hot water is not always available. For the backpacker or adventure traveller it is tough. Upgrade if you can.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">STOP PRESS: A very "Happy Birthday" to you Johnny Ioannou for 25FEB - I had no access to internet or phone to call you!</span>Zorbahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10118806867477722349noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3293689768229502823.post-59255636417967315912011-02-25T11:39:00.000+11:002011-02-25T11:39:27.998+11:00Spanish Auschwitz in Bolivia! (20-23 February 2011, Days 72-75 of 127)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The cities of Potosi and Sucre in Bolivia are bitter-sweet! </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Potosi has a dark and inhuman past as the "Auschwitz" of Bolivia perpetrated by the Spanish conquerers but Sucre is the city where the local hero Simon Bolivar signed a petition liberating, was is today six South American countries, from Spanish rule. More on this later.</span><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Jy1PSdPh2vg/TWbycAfzAYI/AAAAAAAAAXU/AT4FOW5JMLY/s1600/IMG_8218.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" l6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Jy1PSdPh2vg/TWbycAfzAYI/AAAAAAAAAXU/AT4FOW5JMLY/s400/IMG_8218.JPG" width="266" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">It is official! The current Bolivian Consitution states "Sucre is the capital of Bolivia", even though the President and all government ministries are located in La Paz. If La Paz was the capital then it would have been the highest capital city in the world but sadly it is not. It is not even the highest city in the world as I advised previously owing to a technicality. La Paz is often called the highest city because it has a suburb that reaches 4,100m but its central plaza is at 3,660m making its average elevation at 3,800m. It is the "average" elevation that counts. Potosi (featured in this blog) is officially the highest city since its average elevation is 4,090m.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The journey from La Paz to Sucre took 12hrs on the bus and 14hrs hotel-to-hotel. Our Intrepid family also expanded from 4 to 10 with Michael from Melbourne (my new room mate for the next 17 nights to Santiago), Melaney/Joe/Clare from Sydney, Amanda from London and Megan from Joannesburg. My 83-day Intrepid journey from Quito (Dep 14JAN11) to Rio (9APR11) is actually five separate Intrepid tours strung back-to-back. Only Maureen and I are on all of them. In La Paz on 18FEB, we started tour number 3 of the 5 Intrepid tours - this is why we added another 5 people. Our guide also changed. We farewelled Ali-Jei and took on Carlos, born and bred in La Paz, Bolivia. Carlos is with us for tours number 3 and 4 through to Santiago then Buenos Aires.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KNmMiVcgOwA/TWby1cCG2ZI/AAAAAAAAAXY/dCA-tRrmWTo/s1600/IMG_8235.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" l6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KNmMiVcgOwA/TWby1cCG2ZI/AAAAAAAAAXY/dCA-tRrmWTo/s400/IMG_8235.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Once we dumped our stuff at 8:30am in our hotel in Sucre (Pop 215,800. Elev 2,750m. Est 1538), we all walked to the town central plaza and had breakfast. After this I was off on my own to discover the city. First stop the mandatory cathedral and central plaza. The cathedral interior is mainly granite and gives off a pale olive colour when photographed. The central "Plaza 25 De Mayo" is adourned with many gardens and two fountains and a statue of General Jose De Sucre, the guy who lead the 15yr revolution that led to independence in 1825. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mWKMfWutxpQ/TWbzlGt6sBI/AAAAAAAAAXg/O6W3cRW6hcg/s1600/IMG_8268.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" l6="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mWKMfWutxpQ/TWbzlGt6sBI/AAAAAAAAAXg/O6W3cRW6hcg/s320/IMG_8268.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">There is a musuem on the plaza that contains the location and document that Simon Bolivar signed with the Spanish, marking not only the independence of Bolivia, but also of Equador, Peru, Columbia and Venezuela - what a guy - no wonder his name is everywhere! Bolivar then ordered the city buildings to be "whitewashed" to symbolise the new republic and these remain to this day with Sucre known as the "White City". I then walked up a hill to Plaza Anzures overlooking the city and decided to go higher - up a mountain behind with a Madonna on the top. I stopped half-way up since the hill is covered in Eucalyptus trees which obscure the splendid view of the city. Next stop was the markets where I bought all my souvenirs for lower prices than in La Paz and all pure Alpaca - no nylon! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xAAu5Qu7CmI/TWbztWnxHSI/AAAAAAAAAXk/yW7mWE9GZp0/s1600/IMG_8271.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" l6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xAAu5Qu7CmI/TWbztWnxHSI/AAAAAAAAAXk/yW7mWE9GZp0/s320/IMG_8271.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I then returned to the hotel, had a shower and relaxed in the TV room assembling and posting the post before this one. Sucre has the cleanest shoes of all - there are shoe-shine people everywhere - as well as internet cafes. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">At 6pm, Michael and I decided to attend Catholic Mass at the central cathedral as a means of getting closer to the locals. Michael, a practicing Catholic, was also curious to see how the service compared to those in Oz. After our arrival at the church we discovered that there is no service at the central cathedral but there is one at San Francisco Church near the markest at 7pm. So we went off for a quiet glass of wine and chat in a cosy bar on the plaza. Turns out that Michael spent 20yrs organising Tennis sponsorships for Rado and then Rolex, part-time, as well as his full-time job in HR for the Vic Gov IT department. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-30kC2M-si0g/TWbzeg-T9fI/AAAAAAAAAXc/cBDFc1d_iSM/s1600/IMG_8255.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" l6="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-30kC2M-si0g/TWbzeg-T9fI/AAAAAAAAAXc/cBDFc1d_iSM/s400/IMG_8255.JPG" width="266" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The service at the Church of San Francisco was an incredible surprise for both of us. Instead of a choir was a teenage rock-band complete with lead and bass guitar, drums and singers. A huge sheet was suspended above the alter with the words of hymns projected on it. The priest looked late 20s, early 30s, clapping his hands and the congregation was mainly young people. What a surprise. According to Michael, the hymns and order of service are the same as in Oz but the melodies are different. After an extra long homily, Michael had communion (I already had mine at the hotel!!!) and we set off for Alexander Cafe, where our guide organised a special dinner. Intrepid sponsors projects all over South America to benefit locals. In this case, 11 teenage orphans were cooking and serving dinner. We had enchaladas and plenty of beer! Profits went to the orphanage. After dinner, I was too embarrased to declare my hunger to the kids so I raced off to the local supermarket for a top-up over a cable movie at the hotel. I didn't even remember falling asleep!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I awoke on the 21FEB in a trance but felt very rested. Enough to tackle a 10km run through the streets of the capital. This time the chasing dogs got a bit too close - I felt a lick and hot breath on my shin before the owner ran out and threw a pipe at the dog! All I could do was keep my track and pace, not make eye contact with the hound of hell and shout "Amigo"!!! </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FYyOEfRoEQM/TWbz1rlBc_I/AAAAAAAAAXo/gmKJbTb6szk/s1600/IMG_8309.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" l6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FYyOEfRoEQM/TWbz1rlBc_I/AAAAAAAAAXo/gmKJbTb6szk/s640/IMG_8309.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mTv5H02bDLY/TWb0BttsbVI/AAAAAAAAAXs/QuTF4jAu5xs/s1600/IMG_8319.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" l6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mTv5H02bDLY/TWb0BttsbVI/AAAAAAAAAXs/QuTF4jAu5xs/s400/IMG_8319.JPG" width="266" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">After a cool shower I was ready to tackle the dinosaur footprints, 10km from the city. It turns out that a concrete company found 5,000 footprints in 1985 when they mined an entire hill. The company stopped the mining at that hill and built the "Cretaceous Park" complex in 2007 on the opposite peak. A truck with wooden seats and a plastic rain cover took us out there from the Plaza at noon. On arrival, we were assigned a local English-speaking guide who took us through the complex. The prints were made by 4 groups of dinosaurs approx 60 million years ago. They estimate up to 400 different types of dinosaurs made these prints but it is hard to confirm since it is hard to differentiate tracks made within each of the four groups and no complete skeletons have been found. The complex also has life-size replicas of many dinosaurs suspected of making the tracks including a T-Rex, giant Brontosaurus and Tricerotops. You stand on a platform and view the tracks on the half-cut hill some 200m away and can pay more for the provided telescopes. You can see the tracks with the naked eye but it would have been better to walk to the base of the hill to get a closer view. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_ylHHHl7AUU/TWb0H_-8xxI/AAAAAAAAAXw/VzTiNHUquX4/s1600/IMG_8336.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" l6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_ylHHHl7AUU/TWb0H_-8xxI/AAAAAAAAAXw/VzTiNHUquX4/s400/IMG_8336.JPG" width="266" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">By 2:30pm I was back in the central plaza and hit the hotel to download a virus software for my laptop and start this post. Dinner tonight was at a local family run "hole in the wall", one of very many in Sucre and recommended by Carlos. Soups here were $AUD1.10 and mains only $AUD1.90. Ridiculous!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The 22FEB began with a second run in Sucre followed by a little more shopping including the replacement of USB07 which suffered a virus attack and would not store any MOV files. Finally I was able to load a light-weight virus software and get rid of the heavier software loaded in Puno by the guys who brought my little laptop back to life. Then it was off to Potosi by 4 taxis, leaving at 2pm. The total 162km trip took 3hrs.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Potosi (Pop 149,200. Elev 4,090m. Est 1545) is the highest city in the world and UNESCO protected because of its silver mining history and the attrocites that occurred here at the hands of the Spanish. Potosi also has the world's 7th highest airport. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lpzFj9ljEIU/TWb0O5yY-pI/AAAAAAAAAX0/EI3aoZZPRXw/s1600/IMG_8353.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" l6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lpzFj9ljEIU/TWb0O5yY-pI/AAAAAAAAAX0/EI3aoZZPRXw/s400/IMG_8353.JPG" width="266" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The Spanish forced millions of indigenous peoples and slaves from Africa to work in the mines of Cerro Rico (Mt Rico) which overlooks the city. These poor souls were forced to work in the mines for up to 6mths without coming out, living on just coca leaves, rice and water. The temperature in these mines varied from 35-45C with humidity, little air, noxious sulphur fumes and worse of all, silica dust causing most to die of silicosis at age 45. It is estimated that up to 8 million people died under these conditions over a 300 year period. Ironically during this period, Potosi became one of the wealthiest cities in the world with silver lined pavements and all silver going back to Spain to fund their wars and conquests over this 300 year period. Tragically the mines of Potosi in Cerro Rico still exist and the whole town engages in this single activity but the yield is very low with some silver but mainly tin and lead. Potosi is now one of the world's poorest cities and is likely to become a ghost town when the mine runs out. The indigenous work the mines because they have no other options and most die of silicosis by age 45. The next day, 23FEB, we experienced these working mines, first hand, by taking one of many tours to the mine. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-og8ZOQsm1dU/TWb0n1qT1OI/AAAAAAAAAX8/KZcwrHva1QA/s1600/IMG_8364.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" l6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-og8ZOQsm1dU/TWb0n1qT1OI/AAAAAAAAAX8/KZcwrHva1QA/s400/IMG_8364.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We left at 8:30am in a van and travelled close to the outskirts of Potosi where we changed into mining gear complete with hard hat and light. We then visited the local markets to buy the miners some presents such as drinks, smokes, coca leaves and even dynamite (for exploding inside the mine!). After we all got to hold the dynamite (but not light it) we travelled to the mine entrance itself, roughly one-third of the way up Mt Rico (at a height of approx 4,200m). </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1hop9ro3ixE/TWb0XP-Wz7I/AAAAAAAAAX4/_WuYIm3MF0Q/s1600/IMG_8360.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" l6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1hop9ro3ixE/TWb0XP-Wz7I/AAAAAAAAAX4/_WuYIm3MF0Q/s320/IMG_8360.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Nine of us then proceeded into the darkness of the mine with ex-miners at the front and rear. After two bouts of crawling and 30min of walking we came into the main section of level 1. We were coughing constantly because of the Sulphur and dust and we could barely breath the hot, humid air, what little there was of it. Seven of us, including me, decided to call it quits as our guides wanted to take us down to levels 2 and 3 to meet working miners. This was another 30min of crawling and whilst I was OK to do it, it was not enjoyable and I wanted to conserve my energy for my record breaking run in the world's highest city! Before we turned around, our miner guide explained the attrocities that had occurred in this very place we were sitting and the working conditions of miners today. He also explained the effigy of the Devil (Tio) in the chamber with us, adorned with offerings of coca leaves, beer and smokes so that he would not attack the miners and give them a good yield. We couldn't stand just 60min of being here.... imagine being down here for 6mths - it is simply incomprehensible and many respects, worse than the conditions even in Auschwitz! Refer POTOSI MINE FACTS below for more stats on this gruesome place. Indeed, the Spanish Auschwitz of Bolivia and in some respects even today.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-raapJdTW5d0/TWb06UVN1gI/AAAAAAAAAYA/IAmBYmWkUIM/s1600/IMG_8367.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" l6="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-raapJdTW5d0/TWb06UVN1gI/AAAAAAAAAYA/IAmBYmWkUIM/s320/IMG_8367.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">On our way back from the mines a bunch of youths attacked our van (banging their fists on the windows) as we were coming down a narrow street close to the hotel. The driver locked us inside and proceeded outside to find out what was going on. It turns out that he was not allowed to drive a tourist van down that street. We never found out who the youths were but after letting out the air from our tyres, our driver brought us safely to the hotel! Our first real drama!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Johnny Cloudrunner does it again! At exactly 2:35pm on Wednesday 23 February 2011 after my return from the mines, I successfully completed a 10km run of Potosi in 55min breaking all previous altitude records (the last being Titicaca at 3,809m) by running at 4,090m (13,426ft) which is only 547ft under the oxygen line!!! It was the hardest run to date since Potosi is a hilly place and I copped a 4km hill, 5min of hail and the rest in rain at 13C. I was soaked, cold and buggered when I got back but did not stop and managed a 5.5min/km pace. I was elated. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I then met Maureen and Michael to tour the famous "Casa Nacional De Moneta" or "Mint Musuem". Our 90min English tour started and 4:30pm and chronicalled the complete history of Silver and coin-making in Potosi, including real equipment used and many samples of coins and silver treasures. Coins were made in Potosi for both Bolivia, South America and Spain from 1575 to 1951. Bolivia's current coins are made in Chile.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Z7xXNpAe8tQ/TWb1BfnW1zI/AAAAAAAAAYE/NZDiTri8NCs/s1600/IMG_8379.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" l6="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Z7xXNpAe8tQ/TWb1BfnW1zI/AAAAAAAAAYE/NZDiTri8NCs/s320/IMG_8379.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">To celebrate my run, Maureen, Poonan and I cooked a big fat Vegetable Fettuccine with loads of garlic and chillie and tons of Bolivian white which we shared with 4 others! We all then watched a film called "The Miner's Devil" made in 2005 by a German director here in Potosi, telling the story of two 12 and 15 yr old brothers working in the mines. This film is acclaimed and won many European and American film awards (not an Oscar). The film was well shot and very confronting and the two boys it featured are now 19 and 21 and sadly still working in the mines! </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><strong>NEXT BLOG: to cover the Uyuni Salt Flats and the exit from Bolvia due 1MAR.</strong></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">POTOSI MINE FACTS: 1) 12,000 men and boys (youngest 13, eldest 65) currently work in the Potosi mine of Cerro Rico. 2) The miners are part of a co-operative and work for themselves. They can work as long or short as they want but must pay 15% of their income to the coop so that it can maintain the mine complex and provide compressed air for breathing and jack-hammers. 3) Collectively they mine 2,000 tons of raw material each month. From this a typical yield is just 500kg of silver worth 700-800B ($AUD100-120). Miners can get higher yields up to 3,000B ($AUD430) per month but the hours are long or they got lucky with purity. 4) Miners must pay private trucks to take their raw material to one of 37 privately owned processing plants in the area. Here, silver, lead or tin ore is extracted from the raw material and sold to other private companies in Chile and Argentina, who in turn sell the ore to Japan and China for smelting into the pure metal for use in manufacture. 5) Most of today's miners die of silicosis or cave-ins caused by bad dynamite detonations. There is no regulation or safety of mining activity here. In 2010, the death toll was 25 and in 2009 it was 40, considered low and normal, respectively. 6) Many children aged 13-17 continue to work in the mines. No women are allowed to work in the mines due to superstitious belief that they bring bad luck.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">MORE BOLIVIA FACTS: 1) Bolivia and Peru cities are full of mini-vans carrying between 10-20 people. This is because public buses are too infrequent and slow and for the average person, taxis are too expensive. These vans are everywhere, produce noxious diesel fumes (since noone bothers maintaining them) and they pull over all the time to pickup/setdown people. They are the number one obstacle for me when I run in these cities. Average fare on these is $AUD0.30 versus $AUD0.10 on the bus and $AUD1.00 in the taxi.</span>Zorbahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10118806867477722349noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3293689768229502823.post-49905396968414386972011-02-21T08:45:00.000+11:002011-02-21T08:45:32.042+11:00City in the Clouds (15-19 February 2011, Days 67-71 of 127)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ACSXXcX-E3I/TWF5GTrUgjI/AAAAAAAAAVY/jdsWl8A7iz8/s1600/IMG_7791.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" j6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ACSXXcX-E3I/TWF5GTrUgjI/AAAAAAAAAVY/jdsWl8A7iz8/s320/IMG_7791.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Our journey from Puno in Peru to Copacabana in Bolivia, both on Lake Titicaca, took a total of 5.5hrs, 3 of those on the bus and the rest at the border posts of the two countries. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The border posts were as inefficient as the ones I experienced in Peru, Chile and Agentina with only one person on duty!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Copacabana (Pop 54,300, Elev 3,809) is a very relaxing small town on the shores of Lake Titicaca. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">It is quite grubby with bad roads but its main plaza and size make it easy to walk. There are tourists everwhere since this is the base for visiting the Isla Del Sol (birthplace of the Incan Sun God) and Isla Del Luna, another key Inca site. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DWsdky70moo/TWF6EICCkUI/AAAAAAAAAVc/W9vzm55Wd7A/s1600/IMG_7843.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" j6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DWsdky70moo/TWF6EICCkUI/AAAAAAAAAVc/W9vzm55Wd7A/s320/IMG_7843.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">On arrival at 12:30pm, I went for another record breaking run (my third around Lake Titicaca at 3,809m) since the weather was gorgeous with full sun, deep blue skies and crystal clear waters. I then set off to discover this little town with the famous name. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">My first stop was to climb the hundreds of steps to the summit of Cerro Calvario (Calvary Mountain), Elev 3,966m which overlooks the city and bay with spectacular mouth-dropping views of Copacabana town and across Lake Titicaca to Isla Del Sol. </span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CQSdPYMdL5w/TWF6J0jFJtI/AAAAAAAAAVg/YwCPMDevR2Q/s1600/IMG_7867.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" j6="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CQSdPYMdL5w/TWF6J0jFJtI/AAAAAAAAAVg/YwCPMDevR2Q/s320/IMG_7867.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">It is so-called after the place where Christ was crucified and features 14 stations of the cross on the way up. The experience at the top was superb. A cool breeze with shimmering lake waters, warm sun and deep blue sky with wispy clouds. The birds were out in force and after snapping a few photos I just sat there and soaked in the atmosphere (at almost 4,000m)! It was one of the most relaxing and inspiring moments of my journey to date. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">After my descent I headed to the main plaza to see the Cathedral which is famous for its size and style and the icon of the "Black Virgin" which is supposed to be miraculous. This one of the most colourful churches I have seen - refer photo. It is huge and the style inside is like the Portuguese churches - deep blues and oranges on the arches with blue porcelain tiles. </span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yMuWHtU43lQ/TWF6OvFFuWI/AAAAAAAAAVk/sr0rgrdo2Tk/s1600/IMG_7891.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" j6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yMuWHtU43lQ/TWF6OvFFuWI/AAAAAAAAAVk/sr0rgrdo2Tk/s320/IMG_7891.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I then walked down the main street connecting the main plaza (and church) with the beach. This street has small grocery stores every 100m catering mostly to tourists. The beach itself is very nice but the road around it is gravel and unkept. There are many large hotels here but the best are the restaurant "stalls" serving up fresh Rainbow Trout and Kingfish caught daily in Lake Titicaca! This is exactly where we dined that evening, sitting only 50m from the water's edge, awash with little fishing boats. We watched the sun go down as we tucked into our $3.50AUD whole fresh Rainbow Trout with lots of tomato and chips. What a bargain. Easily the best fish and dining experience after my New Year's feast in Brazil. I also drank plenty of local Bolivian Dry White blend with my fish which was a blend with overtones of a young Gewurtz! I loved it and it was only $4AUD a bottle. This place definately reminds me of the Greek islands.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KxupHBaRMBY/TWF6UfShN0I/AAAAAAAAAVo/bK8I51Ukb5Y/s1600/IMG_7910.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" j6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KxupHBaRMBY/TWF6UfShN0I/AAAAAAAAAVo/bK8I51Ukb5Y/s320/IMG_7910.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">My first impressions of Bolivia is that it is definately much cheaper than Peru and poorer, more disorganised and less developed. The people are of similiar size and colour with the same jet black hair as Peru. Clothing is different. Women were uni-coloured skirts and tall thin bowler hats. Like Peru they still plait their hair. Prices are generally 30-50% cheaper than Peru for comparable items. Everything in Bolivia is fried instead of baked, especially the Emparadas (cheese triangles or "tiropites" for the Greeks out there).</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">16FEB began with a morning run around Lake Titicaca, my fourth and final one around this "lake in the clouds" at my personal record of 3,809m (12,497ft). The girls and I then hit the beach for another fresh Rainbow Trout for brunch given how good it was the night before. We literally "breathed" this lovely light fish down as we watched boats go back and forth in the deep blue of Lake Titicaca. Given how warm it was we went for a stroll and ice-block before heading back to the hotel to depart for La Paz.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ha6rZCzcxGg/TWF6aYfBp_I/AAAAAAAAAVs/MQqbFOsZgD4/s1600/IMG_7919.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" j6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ha6rZCzcxGg/TWF6aYfBp_I/AAAAAAAAAVs/MQqbFOsZgD4/s320/IMG_7919.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The journey from Copacabana to La Paz took a total of 5hrs with 3hrs on the bus because of the ferry crossing at San Pablo De Tiquina on Lake Titicaca. It is here that we farewelled the "Lake in the Clouds" to travel a further 112km inland to the "City in the Clouds", La Paz, officially the highest city in the world at 3,660m in the centre rising to 4,100m in the suburbs. La Paz is the largest city in Bolivia with 1.5m people and is the "Governement Capital" with Sucre as the official and "Judicial Capital". Go figure. Couldn't the Bolivians decide on one capital? Maybe the ozzies should have done the same with Sydney and Melbourne before Canberra came along! La Paz was founded by Alonso De Mendoza in 1548.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-o_DObrFHlGo/TWF6jY1DthI/AAAAAAAAAVw/8dl9kcVHhUk/s1600/IMG_7934.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" j6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-o_DObrFHlGo/TWF6jY1DthI/AAAAAAAAAVw/8dl9kcVHhUk/s320/IMG_7934.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Our introduction to La Paz was spectacular. The bus travels on the flat, wide, "Altiplano" valley at 4,100m and then all of sudden, there it is! An entire city built in a narrow canyon, roughly 30km length by 12km width at a average height of 3,660m. The reason everyone fits is because every dwelling is at least a 3-storey block of units, built everywhere, even up absolute cliff-side faces! It is amazing! It is a smaller, compact, crazier version of Quito, only higher! La Paz, for this reason, is "geograhically" spectacular but is too crowded, too many vehicles, people everwhere, cars and vans all-over-the-place and very run-down and grubby! La Paz is not for the faint-hearted or elderly, it is full of very steep hills, choked with traffic and toxic diesel fumes!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bxnQD7ccBRA/TWF6sNSWHqI/AAAAAAAAAV0/yFB3N3VqeLI/s1600/IMG_7937.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" j6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bxnQD7ccBRA/TWF6sNSWHqI/AAAAAAAAAV0/yFB3N3VqeLI/s320/IMG_7937.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We arrived at our La Paz hotel above Plaza San Francisco at 5pm, so decided to book optional tours for the next 2 days rather than crash or see the city. That night we did something out-of-the-ordinary for dinner - we went Indian, run by a Brit! Poonan and Jess could not help themselves. It was OK since there were no Papadums and very slow service!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LpULTW_6WA4/TWF6zn-YUUI/AAAAAAAAAV4/Kal-yiYiynU/s1600/IMG_7995.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" j6="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LpULTW_6WA4/TWF6zn-YUUI/AAAAAAAAAV4/Kal-yiYiynU/s320/IMG_7995.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The next day (16FEB), I set out on my first tour at 8:30am to trek and climb to the summit of Chacaltaya, a mountain in the so-called Andean "Royal Chain". After 2hrs we ascended past the 5,000m snow line and stopped at 5,317m. I am amazed that they drive these rickety mini-buses to such great heights over shity, muddy, rocky roads with streams in the middle and hugging cliff-top edges. </span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"></span><br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dIFcFqagfuY/TWGKFJo1cGI/AAAAAAAAAXQ/1t6UUzdKles/s1600/IMG_8022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" j6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dIFcFqagfuY/TWGKFJo1cGI/AAAAAAAAAXQ/1t6UUzdKles/s320/IMG_8022.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">It is here that we all got out and trekked to my highest ever on-foot elevation of 5,482ft from 5,317m at the bus over 35min. At the top the view was spectacular and La Paz was obscured by cloud. It was at the summit, of all places, that I met Susan from Coogee in Sydney, who just a few weeks earlier had scaled the heights of Mt Aconagua Elev 6,962m, the highest mountain in Argentina, South America and in the world outside of the Himaylayas!</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I couldn't believe it! There I was standing, breathing and beholding my own two feet on a snow-capped summit at 5,482m (17,986ft), almost 4,000ft above the oxygen line! I was in the heavens... as much as anyone could be! My previous record was 4,910m. Mt Chatalcaya is also the home of the highest ski run, from 5,320m to 4,900m. This was discontinued in 2005 because of insufficient snow. The locals blame global warming.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cfZYz3aJpqQ/TWF7F5OAkgI/AAAAAAAAAWA/aAW1qY9s4lc/s1600/IMG_8071.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" j6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cfZYz3aJpqQ/TWF7F5OAkgI/AAAAAAAAAWA/aAW1qY9s4lc/s640/IMG_8071.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pkeXu6tXcgo/TWF7RgE1ivI/AAAAAAAAAWE/BxMgNQmEJ2Q/s1600/IMG_8077.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" j6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pkeXu6tXcgo/TWF7RgE1ivI/AAAAAAAAAWE/BxMgNQmEJ2Q/s320/IMG_8077.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Our descent was very quick and before we knew it we were in the mini-bus and on our way back to visit the Moon Valley, 10km south-east of La Paz. The Moon Valley is actually a physical valley of very tall, erosion sculpted, pillars of beige coloured clay and dirt formed some 20-60 million years ago when Lake Titicaca was a vast inland sea. We spent an hour walking between pillars and climbing various pillars. These pillars are everwhere and in the outer suburbs of La Paz, giving it a spectacular appearance. These pillars resemble certain cliffs on the moon, hence the name.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hznFaRdmpLs/TWF8O6JtvKI/AAAAAAAAAWg/pqpy5wQYKuU/s1600/IMG_8212.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" j6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hznFaRdmpLs/TWF8O6JtvKI/AAAAAAAAAWg/pqpy5wQYKuU/s320/IMG_8212.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">That night I met Susan for dinner at a restaurant across the road from our hotel that she recommended for Llama. It was better than Alpaca - had a big slab of it, done on a hot plate. It was tender, salty and tasted like venison.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The next day 17FEB, Johnny Cloudrunner, turned into "Johnny Cloudrider" by completing a 55km mountain bike ride down a gravel road that is rated as the "World's Most Dangerous Road (WMDR)". </span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Cwav50nnEpM/TWGEyA6tRnI/AAAAAAAAAWo/HYZxzhNIRtM/s1600/IMG_8105.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" j6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Cwav50nnEpM/TWGEyA6tRnI/AAAAAAAAAWo/HYZxzhNIRtM/s320/IMG_8105.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I did this as part of an optional tour organised by a company called "Gravity Assisted Mountain Biking" with Poonan and 9 other people from USA, Netherlands and NZ. This gravel road was built over 4yrs starting in 1937 between the towns of Unduavi and Yolosa, some 60km from La Paz to enable farmers to pick-up supplies. This road killed an average of 250 people per year, making it the most dangerous based on deaths per km per period. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iqHb_MIBqLU/TWGE3pYOLOI/AAAAAAAAAWs/OA7glJ62G30/s1600/IMG_8147.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" j6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iqHb_MIBqLU/TWGE3pYOLOI/AAAAAAAAAWs/OA7glJ62G30/s320/IMG_8147.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">What makes it particularly dangerous is the very narrow cliff-side twists and turns with no barriers, as it descends from 4,500m to 1,200m in just 48km. Huge trucks used this road making it worse. For this reason, a new road was started in 1997 and opened in 2007. The WMDR is now just used by bikers like us. Our biking started 15km further back from the start of the WMDR at an elevation of 4,700m. We cycled the first 7km in 20min in snow and freezing conditions. Unfortunately we got cold and wet so it was back into the bus for the next uphill 8km to the start of the WMDR. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AcJR8euK7eQ/TWGFFpx9GkI/AAAAAAAAAW0/cZAl1TxKlfA/s1600/IMG_8153.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" j6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AcJR8euK7eQ/TWGFFpx9GkI/AAAAAAAAAW0/cZAl1TxKlfA/s320/IMG_8153.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We put on more dry layers of clothing and started the WMDR. It was spectacular, winding and twisting its way down cloud covered valleys and waterfalls. There was light rain the whole way and temp went from 10C to 15C. There were countless tricky bits and the bike rumbled over the gravel. The bikes were equipped with fluid driven disk brakes so slowing and stopping was a breeze. I nearly stacked it twice - once on a bend running close to the cliff wall and the other time when someone stacked it in mud right in front of me and I had to swerve suddenly to avoid them. It took me 90min to do the 48km over 3.5hrs of stopping and starting over "stages" to enable slower riders to catch-up. Once at the bottom we visited a UK run animal sanctuary (for injured wildlife) which offered us hot showers and a buffet lunch of vegies and pasta! After a few beers to celebrate we climbed aboard our van for the 3hr, 80km trip back to La Paz. Well worth the $110AUD we paid for this experience.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sgYkrQGsZ0A/TWGFMcEtW_I/AAAAAAAAAW4/mIKj53cS0Ec/s1600/IMG_8173.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" j6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sgYkrQGsZ0A/TWGFMcEtW_I/AAAAAAAAAW4/mIKj53cS0Ec/s320/IMG_8173.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I suprised myself at 6:30am the next day, by completing my 10km run in the hilly streets of La Paz over 55 minutes at 3,660m, my second highest run. At 9am I set off to see the city sights. The central "Plaza Murillo" (the city's founder) has an impressive cathedral. The Presidential Palace (home and office) is next door andd the plaza is completely covered in pidgeons! I then visited the "Folklore Musuem" to get a feel for the indigenous peoples that lived and still live aorund La Paz, their textiles, cooking utensils and even dancing masks! </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mHUtLf7CZ64/TWGFiKyIzbI/AAAAAAAAAXE/UIEmg24vZw8/s1600/IMG_8204.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" j6="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mHUtLf7CZ64/TWGFiKyIzbI/AAAAAAAAAXE/UIEmg24vZw8/s320/IMG_8204.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I then walked to famous "Witches Market" where you can buy indigenous medicines and the prized specialty of dried Llama fetus! Now that was one thing I was NOT game to eat! </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">From there I went to regular markets that sell so many things over such a tight space that you can hardly walk through the crowd. It is here I got "squirted", a scam were thieves squirt detergent in your face, expecting you to stop and wipe, whilst they pick-pocket you. I had read about this in my Lonely Planet so I did not stop and ran forward instead and got away with everything in-tact! </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MraQ1r_A4IU/TWGFosR3B6I/AAAAAAAAAXI/EhpC0aLaVzc/s1600/IMG_8210.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" j6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MraQ1r_A4IU/TWGFosR3B6I/AAAAAAAAAXI/EhpC0aLaVzc/s200/IMG_8210.JPG" width="133" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">My final stop was the "Coca Musuem" that chronicals in absolute detail, everthing you ever wanted to know about the famous Coca Plant (Leaf) and what is Bolivia's major export crop. Refer some interesting facts below. I met Susan again for a second Llama dinner before leaving our La Paz hotel at 6:30pm for our 12hr overnight bus to Sucre, the capital of Bolivia.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><strong>NEXT BLOG: to cover visits to Sucre (Capital of Bolivia) and Potosi (Highest City in the World) on our way to the Uyuni Salt Flats due 25FEB.</strong></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CPh9Ww5cq4U/TWGFTwFwcUI/AAAAAAAAAW8/Q5armbKTOC0/s1600/IMG_8191.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" j6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CPh9Ww5cq4U/TWGFTwFwcUI/AAAAAAAAAW8/Q5armbKTOC0/s320/IMG_8191.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: 1) Thanks to Susan from Coogee in Sydney who took the marvelous shots on Mt Chacaltaya Bolivia and climbed the tallest mountain in South America, Argentina and outside of the Himalayas, Mt Aconagua Elev 6,962m. 2) Thanks to Phil and his team for guiding us down the world's most dangerous road without a single stack! Great guides and great bikes since 1998, "Gravity Assisted Mountain Biking" is the best way to go at <a href="http://www.gravitiybolivia.com/">http://www.gravitiybolivia.com/</a> </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q1vdBftvmTM/TWGFbLkgYAI/AAAAAAAAAXA/sHhi4QZEd-w/s1600/IMG_8198.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" j6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q1vdBftvmTM/TWGFbLkgYAI/AAAAAAAAAXA/sHhi4QZEd-w/s320/IMG_8198.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">PERU FACTS: 1) Fifth largest country of 12 in South America covering 1,098,580sq km (size of France and Spain combined). 2) Has the most peaks over 6,000m making it the highest overall country. Characterised by the "Altiplano" a high wide treeless valley-like plain with volcanic mountains on either side. 3) Pop of 9.8m, 95% Catholic, 60% indigenous Quechua or Aymara with infant mortality of 45 per 1000 (both the highest in South America). 4) Ironically the poorest and cheapest country in South America but is the richest in mineral deposits (mostly Lithium and Silver, then Gas, then Oil). Bolivia does not have the money or expertise to exploit minerals. Every time they try they are ripped-off, mainly by Chile. 5) First signs of humans in 1,500BC, then Aymara peoples from AD500 to AD900, then Tiwanaku peoples from AD900 to 9th Century, then Inca invasions to 15th Century, then Spanish from 1532, then independence on 6AUG1825 after 15yrs of bloodshed under General Antonio Jose De Sucre and Simon Bolivar. 6) Since indpenedence Bolivia lost 350km of Pacific coastline to Chile in the "War of the Pacific (1879-83), lost a huge chunk of rubber-rich Amazon land to Brazil and lost inland forest land and 80,000 lives to Paraguay in the "Chaco War (1932-1935)". 7) There have been 200 changes of Government between 1825 and 2010 including countless military coups during the 1980's. 8) World's biggest producer of Coca leaves and by-products but at one stage USA tried to shut it down since one by-product is cocaine. Bolivia battled this out and won! Current President Evo Morales has done much to preserve this industry and put it in the control of the indigenous peoples.9) Some prices: 625ml local Pilsener beer ranges from $1-2AUD, bread is $0.50AUD, restaurant main is $2-4AUD, sandwich is $1-2AUD.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Vkt2da9G2Vs/TWGErp9Q_HI/AAAAAAAAAWk/iHeGo0ePJbc/s1600/IMG_8091.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" j6="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Vkt2da9G2Vs/TWGErp9Q_HI/AAAAAAAAAWk/iHeGo0ePJbc/s400/IMG_8091.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">COCA FACTS: 1) Bolivians, Peruvians, Equadorians (mainly farmers living above 2,700m) all chew the Coca Leaf to prevent altitude sickness, give them extra strength for work, reduce hunger, reduce pain and provide high source of protein and fibre similar to legumes and grains. 2) First chewed in 2,500-1,800BC since found with mummies. 3) Incas used it as anesthetic to remove brain tumors. 4) Huge source of cocaine, first extracted in 1885. Does not affect you when yoou chew leaves. 5) First used in Coca Cola in 1886. Still used now bbut with cocaine alkaline removed. 6) Catholic Church band it in 15th Century as a drug. 7) Henry Kissinger band it from import to the USA in 1971 but Bolivia fought to re-introduce in 1983 with cocaine alkaline removed. 8) Has twice the fibre of legumes.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">STOP PRESS: Correction: the last post "Lake in the Clouds" covered "</span><span lang="ES-MODERN"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">11-14 February 2011, Days 64-66 of 127"</span></span><span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, instead of 11-16 February as posted.</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span></span></span>Zorbahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10118806867477722349noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3293689768229502823.post-86203624390815724082011-02-16T11:51:00.001+11:002011-02-16T11:51:29.336+11:00Lake in the Clouds (11-16 February 2011, Days 64-68 of 127)<span style="font-size: x-small;"> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Cuzco, Peru is the acknowledged capital of the Incas. The proof is in the ruins. Five big ones to be exact! Fri 11FEB was the day we visited all of them and were quite impressed with what we saw and learned.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AFXn6KuXNTw/TVsUyLSzn6I/AAAAAAAAATg/unajJpUuZhs/s1600/IMG_7462.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AFXn6KuXNTw/TVsUyLSzn6I/AAAAAAAAATg/unajJpUuZhs/s320/IMG_7462.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Our tour started at 2:30pm with a visit to No 1 Qorikancha in the centre of Cuzco. This name means "The Temple of Gold" and the Spanish built a Dominican Monastery on top of this Inca site in 1535. The Spanish did this on purpose. Qorikancha was actually the "Mecca of the Incas"! Every Inca was required to visit this temple at one point in their life. The Spanish considered the Incas to be Pagans so they did their best to repress their religious sites. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mcOJppeKYc4/TVsU90srNcI/AAAAAAAAATk/HWH_82sRVnY/s1600/IMG_7477.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mcOJppeKYc4/TVsU90srNcI/AAAAAAAAATk/HWH_82sRVnY/s320/IMG_7477.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">But karma had its way. Three major earthquakes in the late 18th and early 19th centuries saw the Spanish buildings crumble and the Inca ruins remain. This is because the Spanish used square bricks and mortar while the Incas used trapezoidal granite blocks that "locked" together. This involves huge bolders with "steps" or "edges" and angled sides that prevent one block from sliding over the other. The former crumbled and fell while the later just shifted with gaps but stayed upright! That did not stop the Spanish from nicking 150,000 tons of Gold and 16 million tons of Silver from Peru to Spain during their occupation.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hfeaSPTD21U/TVsVHH0t81I/AAAAAAAAATo/3mz7ZjHZfBo/s1600/IMG_7481.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hfeaSPTD21U/TVsVHH0t81I/AAAAAAAAATo/3mz7ZjHZfBo/s320/IMG_7481.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The next stop was No 2 Saqsaywaman (pronounced "sexay waman") at elevation 3,600m and the best preserved of the 6 ruins. This huge site is 2km from Cuzco and is an Incan Royal Residence and symbol of power to enemies since was built from huge granite blocks ranging from 30 to 180 tons over 3 levels as if to say: "don't f**** with us!!! The photos you see in this post only show 20% of the total structure that survived the Spanish occupation.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-d9xdXTtMsV4/TVsVPxr_cEI/AAAAAAAAATs/Wc3p6WKM01c/s1600/IMG_7492.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-d9xdXTtMsV4/TVsVPxr_cEI/AAAAAAAAATs/Wc3p6WKM01c/s320/IMG_7492.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">No 3 "Tambomachay" at 3,765m and 11km from Cuzco, was our next stop which was the Incas ceremonial bath with water still flowing but not many structures still standing. Very close was No 4 "Pukapukara" which means "red fort" but was actually the alledged royal Incan "hunting lodge"!!! It overlooks distant valleys and mountains to the east of Cuzco.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The final, No 5 site was "Q'engo" which means "zig-zag" and is a massive limestone rock (as big as small house), the interior of which was carved out of a single massive boulder by the Incas as a place of sacrifice, featuring an altar, seats and even a sky-light so they could see what they were killing!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">That night, Maureen and I enjoyed Alpaca done medium with pepper sauce in a slightly "fancier" place and it tasted like beef!</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KLFvXOB6bvw/TVsVbYexjOI/AAAAAAAAATw/gLQJ1OGQ1FM/s1600/IMG_7497.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="266" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KLFvXOB6bvw/TVsVbYexjOI/AAAAAAAAATw/gLQJ1OGQ1FM/s400/IMG_7497.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The next day on 12FEB, we farwelled Cuzco at 8:30am for a 5hr double-decker bus ride to Puno on the eastern side of Lake Titicaca, the highest lake in the world at 3,809m (12,497ft, only 1,500 ft below the oxygen line) - literally a "lake in the clouds"!!!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">It is in Puno (Pop 178,500. Elev 3,860m), that John Cloudrunner broke another high altitude run record, not once but twice. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Two 10km runs along the lake at 3,809m (12,497ft), one on 12FEB and the other 14FEB. Runs were harder than Chivay (previous record of 3,651m) with 52min and 55min to do 10km and some pain in right foreleg on second run. Nevertheless, I was thrilled to run the highest lake in the world and do it twice! The runs where along the Titicaca shore-line. the first with plenty of sun and granny-smith crisp weather, sky so blue, water deeper blue and visibility unlimited!</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ro-cJQfEqoQ/TVsWG64zCjI/AAAAAAAAAT0/uM8vK8a9gNc/s1600/IMG_7548.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ro-cJQfEqoQ/TVsWG64zCjI/AAAAAAAAAT0/uM8vK8a9gNc/s320/IMG_7548.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The bad news about being in Puno was the need to fix my laptop which went belly-up on the 5hr bus ride from Cuzco to Puno when Windows refused to re-start during a battery change. The good news is that I managed to find a place in Puno to fix it two days later - read all about it in LAPTOP DRAMA below.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">At 7am on Sun 13FEB we set out from our Puno hotel to spend the next 2 days on Lake Titicaca with an overnight stay with an indigenous faqmily on one of the islands. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-v4PayAk_ZCM/TVsW_VvhDfI/AAAAAAAAAUA/QL3prN-aALQ/s1600/IMG_7593.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="266" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-v4PayAk_ZCM/TVsW_VvhDfI/AAAAAAAAAUA/QL3prN-aALQ/s400/IMG_7593.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Lake Titicaca is the highest lake in the world at 3,809m (12,497ft) and covers an area of 8,560sq km, almost the size of Switzerland! At an average of 165km by 60km, maximum depth of 600m, average temp of 9C in summer and 2C in winter, it is more like a freshwater sea. The lake was central to Inca culture, being the bithplace of the Inca Sun God. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JJBSi6IP1xo/TVsXUR_gVAI/AAAAAAAAAUE/P4NjthcTKIw/s1600/IMG_7584.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JJBSi6IP1xo/TVsXUR_gVAI/AAAAAAAAAUE/P4NjthcTKIw/s320/IMG_7584.JPG" width="212" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Our first stop on our Titicaca adventure was a visit to one of the 50 "floating islands" of the local Uros peoples, some 10km offshore from Puno but still in Puno Bay. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">These peoples decided to build floating islands from the native "reeds" in the lake to avoid the aggressive attacks of the Incas pre-15th Century and the sackings of the Spanish post this period. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">They continue to this day! </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">There is a total of 3,550 Uros left living on these islands with 4 schools and 3 churches to boot! Our tour group of 25 visited 5 families living on a single island and they explained to us how they built it, how they maintain it (reeds must be replaced twice a year) and what they eat and make. This is not a place for the very active but the absence of stress means they can live to up to 75yrs old which is a lot for a local. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1oUvHdViA94/TVsX1qAu7gI/AAAAAAAAAUI/eK2iqQV_76E/s1600/IMG_7622.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1oUvHdViA94/TVsX1qAu7gI/AAAAAAAAAUI/eK2iqQV_76E/s320/IMG_7622.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Next stop was Amantani Island (Pop 4,500. Max Elev 4,145m. 38km from Puno) where we would stay the night with a local indigenous family descended from the Tiwanaku culture. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">It takes a boring 3hrs to sail the 30km from Uros since the boat is old and has a piss-weak engine with max speed of 10km/h! </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Once there, each of the 25 gringos were split amongst 12 families making our experience very intimate and authentic. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kTVCrfjuVyg/TVsYVH12XKI/AAAAAAAAAUQ/J_Qi-VydIGI/s1600/IMG_7744.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kTVCrfjuVyg/TVsYVH12XKI/AAAAAAAAAUQ/J_Qi-VydIGI/s400/IMG_7744.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Maureen and I met Senior Ricardo at the wharf, who walked us to his humble abode up in the town plaza, some 15min walk, 30m uphill! Although Maureen had a hard time walking up we both delighted to find that Snr Ricardo was the towns publican running a cute pub with plenty of beer! Trust the only two ozzies to be assigned to the pub owner!!! We then met the very short and moon-faced Seniora Francesca. A lovely lady with rosy-red altitude cheeks and lots of colourful layers of traditional skirts. She looked like a walking onion! Our hosts have 6 children ranging from 30yrs to 13yrs with 2 at home and Snr Ricardo is 70 whilst seniora is 64. How do they do it? </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-x7XFyIaTfJg/TVsZTpgmt6I/AAAAAAAAAUU/sjIP-ej8PpA/s1600/IMG_7635.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-x7XFyIaTfJg/TVsZTpgmt6I/AAAAAAAAAUU/sjIP-ej8PpA/s320/IMG_7635.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">After a lovely home cooked lunch of Quencha soup, "haloumi-style" fried cheese, tomato and YES, more potatoes, I set off to the beach for my swim in the highest lake in the world, I wanted to do 30min but could only manage 5min in the 9C water before my heart felt it would jump out my chest and my head explode! </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">At 4pm all the families brought their gringo guests to the town square and we set off to walk to Mt Pachatata (Elev 4,050m) and Mt Pachamama (Inca for "mother earth", Elev 4,145m and this highest point on the Island and in all of Lake Titicaca). </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fBedvH2Whac/TVsZ8EJbvGI/AAAAAAAAAUc/OthRJGQOxGc/s1600/IMG_7677.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="133" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fBedvH2Whac/TVsZ8EJbvGI/AAAAAAAAAUc/OthRJGQOxGc/s200/IMG_7677.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rRUerrud2wE/TVsZtoeAXMI/AAAAAAAAAUY/WCm9Btk3H1I/s1600/IMG_7649.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="133" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rRUerrud2wE/TVsZtoeAXMI/AAAAAAAAAUY/WCm9Btk3H1I/s200/IMG_7649.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The views from both were spectacular and the hike up was good for me but not for some due to altitude sickness. Lake Titicaca has simply the best clouds I have ever seen, especially when sunny - the lake is so high that the whispy alto-cirrus and thick alto-cumulus clouds at 20,000ft are right there above your head and just look spectacular! </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QqWW6JLq0t4/TVsaHYaEIDI/AAAAAAAAAUg/NWJFP6iacoI/s1600/IMG_7639.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QqWW6JLq0t4/TVsaHYaEIDI/AAAAAAAAAUg/NWJFP6iacoI/s320/IMG_7639.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We got back at 6pm and had a lovely beer on our home-stay balcony overlooking the lake. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Dinner was very simple comprising a potato-thickened vegie soup and a tomato/herb/potato omelette. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I also shared my red wine in the yogurt container with our hosts and they loved it. Before you say "salute" (cheers) and drink, you must pour a smidgen of your drink on the ground to "pachamama" or mother earth so she can return the favour 5-fold! </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qmo4nUph2d4/TVsanT10EKI/AAAAAAAAAUk/wrr2N0r8W9s/s1600/IMG_7716.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="150" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qmo4nUph2d4/TVsanT10EKI/AAAAAAAAAUk/wrr2N0r8W9s/s200/IMG_7716.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Our hosts simply loved the wine and gobbled it down, especially the seniora! I was starving but too shy to ask for 5 more omelletes! Instead I relied on my own stash of two museli bars and a packet of crackers that I bought from Snra Francesca and gobbled up late at night with a beer for good measure! </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pt8TUFWvg0w/TVsbALyg-0I/AAAAAAAAAUo/9dSbGXD6zzE/s1600/IMG_7724.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pt8TUFWvg0w/TVsbALyg-0I/AAAAAAAAAUo/9dSbGXD6zzE/s200/IMG_7724.JPG" width="150" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Our lovely couple then dressed Maureen and I in traditional costume and walked us to the local hall for a Peruvian dance with all the other gringos (our tour group) and their host families. We had a great time dancing and drinking 625ml beers for only $2AUD! Snra Francesca was particularly keen to get us dancing and threw us around like coca leaves! I slept like a baby that night.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The following day we woke at 7am after a night of heavy rain and enjoyed a breakie of corn pancake and coffee. After thanking Snra Francesca and greeting her 1yr old grandson baby boy "Sebastian", Snr Ricardo walked us down to the wharf to meet the rest of our tour group and set off on a 1hr sail to nearby Taquile Island (Pop 2,500, Max Elev 4,015m. Area 7sq km). </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WJpYv_VPPtk/TVsbUR__8rI/AAAAAAAAAUs/Rj80x1jgazk/s1600/IMG_7752.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WJpYv_VPPtk/TVsbUR__8rI/AAAAAAAAAUs/Rj80x1jgazk/s320/IMG_7752.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The boat trip to the island was horendous for many, rolling around in a 2m swell! </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Taquile Island is UNESCO protected because it produces very unique, hgh quality fibres, that women spin while walking and wait for this.... from which the MEN (yes MEN) knit and weave high quality clothing in the traditional Tiwanaku style. UNESCO has decided to preserve this tradition. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We walked 1hr and ascended 209m from the port to the town square under occassional showers. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kEakJohIJY8/TVsbk_yup8I/AAAAAAAAAUw/NR0l9tkWqAk/s1600/IMG_7762.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kEakJohIJY8/TVsbk_yup8I/AAAAAAAAAUw/NR0l9tkWqAk/s320/IMG_7762.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">As soon as we got to the town square it poured meaning we would not see the "weaving men" who actually knit outside and as they walk around. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Instead we visited their co-operative to see their finished products which were very colourful and varied in design. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We also found out that single men wear a red hat and married me wear a red and white hat. When men get engaged they have to weave the bride's wedding dress! No wonder there were so many red hats in the town square!!! </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Lznks932ftQ/TVsb707IlBI/AAAAAAAAAU0/vgXXwJ9KDOE/s1600/IMG_7765.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="133" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Lznks932ftQ/TVsb707IlBI/AAAAAAAAAU0/vgXXwJ9KDOE/s200/IMG_7765.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Poonan, Jess and I then decided to head back to the boat down 500 steps insead of lunching with the others at 11am. By 12:30pm we were on our way back to Puno, another 3hr cruise which I slept most of the way. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Once back in Puno I completed my second record-breaking run and picked up my repaired laptop. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oIDS3BcUT-U/TVscRUqYywI/AAAAAAAAAU4/v44vbOsE730/s1600/IMG_7777.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oIDS3BcUT-U/TVscRUqYywI/AAAAAAAAAU4/v44vbOsE730/s400/IMG_7777.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">It was then off to a local restaurant to have Guinea Pig, Peru's specialty!!! You need to order the Guinea Pig ahead of time when you book the restaurant, because they kill it 1hr before you arrive and prepare it for cooking when you arrive. The little critter is flash-fried then finished in the oven and usually served with local potato and large white corn. It tastes like a cross between turkey and duck believe it or not. A lttle rich, not much flesh but filling because of the mini-crackling skin. Another local animal bites the Golfin dust!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><strong>NEXT BLOG: to cover our entrance into Bolivia form Peru and La Paz (the capital) due 20FEB.</strong></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EJQBJ6-bcBM/TVsdZrUeY-I/AAAAAAAAAVI/hwota1qThWI/s1600/IMG_7869.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EJQBJ6-bcBM/TVsdZrUeY-I/AAAAAAAAAVI/hwota1qThWI/s320/IMG_7869.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: 1) My sincere thanks to "Pomme Peru" (Apple Peru) computer store in Puno for their fine work in recovering my data and fixing my laptop. All this for 50 Soles ($47.25AUD)!!!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">LAPTOP DRAMA: I had my first laptop failure in the 5hr bus trip from Cuzco to Puno. I had just finished writing my Machu Picchu blog about 1hr before Puno (spent 4hrs writing it) when I got the low battery warning, so I decided to save to disk and shut down to change battery before backing up to stick. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HY8if2EexZo/TVsd1KIq9OI/AAAAAAAAAVM/xfmAkEmU6LA/s1600/IMG_7517.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HY8if2EexZo/TVsd1KIq9OI/AAAAAAAAAVM/xfmAkEmU6LA/s320/IMG_7517.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">To my horror, after changing the battery, Windows refused to re-boot citing a corrupt config.sys file in thesystem32 directory and asking for a reload from a system disk that I did not have. I had just lost 4hrs of blog that I wanted to post that night from Puno! I was heart-broken. Not only would I have to re-write it but my laptop was dead and inaccessible. Lucky for me, our guide and I managed to find a computer place, cheekeley called "Pomme Peru" (Apple Peru) after arriving in Puno and they were able to access my data via another PC. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TX0HxoF3bZQ/TVseFEHa3gI/AAAAAAAAAVQ/andTdbJ2oSc/s1600/IMG_7520.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TX0HxoF3bZQ/TVseFEHa3gI/AAAAAAAAAVQ/andTdbJ2oSc/s320/IMG_7520.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">They then asked me to leave the laptop with them for a day since they suspected a bad hard disk. Lucky for me I was off to the Islands on Sun 13FEB returning Mon 14FEB so I left it and came back Mon arvo. The cause of failure was a virus that polluted several windows files. He reformatted the disk and loaded the latest WIndows XP Professional, Microsoft Office 2007 and ESET NOD32 antivirus software. The only downside is that it is now slower (heavier software than before) and all in Spanish!!! Maybe this is the best way for me to learn Spanish! Despite the happy ending, I had to post my Machu Picchu blog from the hotel machine from the data that my man in Puno had recovered. Yet another set-back overcome!!!</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rUABm-5kyOw/TVseXiAkipI/AAAAAAAAAVU/1aPuJLMdkvU/s1600/IMG_7732.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rUABm-5kyOw/TVseXiAkipI/AAAAAAAAAVU/1aPuJLMdkvU/s320/IMG_7732.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">FACTS: 1) Indigenous people in Puno and around Lake Titicaca are darker and shorter with longer eyelids and larger (hook) noses because of the higher altitude and more sunny days. 2) I forgot to include the following in my Machu Picchu blog so I attach them now: a map of our Lares Treck and a map of Machu Picchu and what we saw in detail that day.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">One of my mot favourite photos is the one on the left here... It is a moonlit night of Lake Titicaca under moon and Venus on the night we danced with the locals...I went out for a break...and saw this....what a moment...thanks S95 and Tv timed shutter exposure!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">PS: Venus is the dot in the middle of this grand photo!</span></span>Zorbahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10118806867477722349noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3293689768229502823.post-70013553642620799952011-02-13T14:38:00.000+11:002011-02-13T14:38:10.613+11:00Inca Delphi University (7-10 February 2011, Days 60-63 of 127, Half-Way Mark)<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is with particular excitement that I present to you this special "Ai Caramba 2011" post, celebrating the half-way mark and the magic of Machu Picchu, easily the best ever single tourist site I have visited in all my travels!</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-m_GYnnNjMZI/TVdHKDEzMOI/AAAAAAAAAR8/_bAZxwHu5bQ/s1600/IMG_7446.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-m_GYnnNjMZI/TVdHKDEzMOI/AAAAAAAAAR8/_bAZxwHu5bQ/s400/IMG_7446.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Machi Picchu is the Incan equivalent of the combination of the ancient Greek city of Delphi combined with the modern day University (for the Greeks out there, you could say this was the equivalent of the Orthodox community of Mount Athos!) Why say you? Most indigenous Peruvians (including our Lares and Machu guides) agree with the most common anthropological theory that Machu Picchu was a "centre of enlightenment", ie, a place of learning, contemplation and religious worship. It was not just another Incan village (ie, not a "lost city" as is frequently captioned). Instead it was the modern equivalent of a "university" where, in the words of our indigenous guides, "priviledged" Incas lived. By priviledged we mean: scholars, priests, shamans, astrologers and oracles. It did have houses but these were more like "campas accommodation" for the elite, rather than village dwellings. Ordinary Incan folk did not live here. More on this fascinating place in the heavens in a moment.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9Pu94JooW_U/TVdHf4SEFYI/AAAAAAAAASA/2RIaPBAU2qw/s1600/IMG_6888.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9Pu94JooW_U/TVdHf4SEFYI/AAAAAAAAASA/2RIaPBAU2qw/s320/IMG_6888.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The "spiritual" journey to Machu Picchu began in Lares with a 3-day, 29km trek to Yanahuara, followed by a 10km drive to Ollantaytambo, followed by a 43km train trip to Aguas Calientes after which I ran the last 11km to Machu Piccu!!! All together a 4-day, 93km journey!</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The voyage to Machu Picchu began at 3:45am on Mon 7FEB with a night-time wake-up call in our hotel at Ollantaytambo. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our private van started out out at 4:45am and took 4hrs to cover the muddy, cloud-covered, 100km ascent to the village of Lares (Pop 2,000. Elev 3,100m) where we would start our 3-day trek to the religious university in the sky! </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8NcM0tVRQ3I/TVdHsvzDccI/AAAAAAAAASE/H1vq5FlLtlY/s1600/IMG_6945.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8NcM0tVRQ3I/TVdHsvzDccI/AAAAAAAAASE/H1vq5FlLtlY/s320/IMG_6945.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Being a Monday, Lares was alive with "market-day" where all the local farmers bring their produce (including animals) for sale and even barter exchange. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We stocked up on fruits and bread-rolls to give to the local indigenous children that we would meet on the famous "Lares Track". These children often follow trekkers, expecting something from the strange-looking "gringos" (tourists), as is the custom.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uZLhU-PVhos/TVdIX-2bbXI/AAAAAAAAASM/UTPVMtZLxCo/s1600/IMG_6984.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uZLhU-PVhos/TVdIX-2bbXI/AAAAAAAAASM/UTPVMtZLxCo/s320/IMG_6984.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By 9:30am we were on our way. All we carried were our day-packs with snacks and water (3-5kg), whilst a convoy of 4 horses, 1 cook and 3 helpers carried our specially provided duffle bags (7kg for each of us), food, cooking utensils, gas, tents and sleeping bags 60min ahead of us. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On the first day we walked a total of 5.5hrs across 9km from 3,100m to 3,750m where we spent the night. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KsBEFJON4U0/TVdJWRw5eQI/AAAAAAAAASQ/kJAspcRxLj8/s1600/IMG_7145.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KsBEFJON4U0/TVdJWRw5eQI/AAAAAAAAASQ/kJAspcRxLj8/s320/IMG_7145.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The weather was good. Cloud with sunny periods (short sleeve and pants) to noon followed by mist and light rain to the end. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Terrain was simply spectacular. Eucalypts to start with followed by treeless tundra style valleys with green and red lichen on rocks and a roaring river (Rio Lares). </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The snow line here is at 5,000m because this part of the Andes is still in the tropics! Along the way we passed several small indigenous communities (3-7 mud-brick houses with dried straw thatched roofs). </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FS0tuIQGTfE/TVdICNFMPqI/AAAAAAAAASI/U3BNi_918ic/s1600/IMG_6956.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FS0tuIQGTfE/TVdICNFMPqI/AAAAAAAAASI/U3BNi_918ic/s320/IMG_6956.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The best experience was meeting sherpa children minding Llamas, Sheep and even Goats. We took many pictures with the children and gave them fruit and bread to eat. The incredible thing is that every single soul up here from 3 to 70 wears thick mulit-coloured traditional clothing and hats and SANDALS on their feet even though it is wet and 10C. The reason for this dates back to the Incas who wore no shoes and adapted to the muddy conditions by forming multiple layers of skin on their feet to the extent that it is so tough that it is almost a "biological shoe"! </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eyyZEoliHuI/TVdJkWnXtcI/AAAAAAAAASU/3eLUN4p_r0w/s1600/IMG_6975.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eyyZEoliHuI/TVdJkWnXtcI/AAAAAAAAASU/3eLUN4p_r0w/s320/IMG_6975.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After a very brief bout of sprinkly rain we had lunch in the village of Huacahuasi (Pop 1,000. Elev 3,600m) in a special "dining room tent" with foldout table and chairs and even a multi-coloured Inca woven table cloth! The cook and helpers had arrived there 1hr earlier on horses, set up the tent and makeshift dining table and cooked! Very civilised. This happened again with dinner and our night camp. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Nf_vmkFRoQ4/TVdJs2VqDFI/AAAAAAAAASY/Na14ROgynG0/s1600/IMG_7022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Nf_vmkFRoQ4/TVdJs2VqDFI/AAAAAAAAASY/Na14ROgynG0/s320/IMG_7022.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After leaving lunch at 2:30pm we arrived at an isolated river-side spot at "Sonvor Pass (Elev 3,750m)" at 4:30pm in the cloud layer (remember that this is over 12,000ft) to find all our individual stand-up sleeping tents, dining tent and even kitchen tent all set up with dinner under way. At 5pm we enjoyed a hot beverage with banana fritters and pop-corn. At this time it was sprinkling outside at approx 10C. Dinner started at 7pm under candle-light with semolina vegetable soup, chicken stew with vegies and hot local cocoa pudding! Of course my Chilean Cab Sav featured heavily which everyone enjoyed as the temp dropped to 5C with a light sprink outside. Getting to sleep was easy with -15C rated sleeping bags, the pitter-patter of rain on the tent and my red wine working its miracle! The miracle of the day 1 of 3 on the Lares Track to Machu Picchu!</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vsN5YZlyiVk/TVdJ4BoK4vI/AAAAAAAAASc/kuTz5Hn9GHY/s1600/IMG_7029.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vsN5YZlyiVk/TVdJ4BoK4vI/AAAAAAAAASc/kuTz5Hn9GHY/s320/IMG_7029.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Day 2 (Tue 8FEB) of the trek began with a 6am wake-up call and a piss from the tent door! Outside it was misty and "mysterious Abba"! What magic. All you could see was cloud and all you could hear was sound of a soothing running river. Suddenly massive peaks would appear then disappear all around you. What else could you expect from sleeping under and waking up to over 12,000ft! </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--7I0AqfLzeE/TVdKIAWLbaI/AAAAAAAAASg/V1fDevHAu94/s1600/IMG_7059.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--7I0AqfLzeE/TVdKIAWLbaI/AAAAAAAAASg/V1fDevHAu94/s320/IMG_7059.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Atfer a semolina porridge and mutli-coloured vegetable omelet we began our 7.5hr trek over 18km from Sonvor Pass (Elev 3,750m) back towards Yanahuara (Pop 7,000, Elev 2,700m) in the Sacred Valley. To acheive this we had to first ascend to the highest mountain pass at "Abra Aruraycocah" at 4,400m (14,432ft, or on the oxygen line). It was a spectacular feat, taking 2.5hrs and from there it was all down hill. What an incredible view from here. It is a thin ridge with two massive valleys on either side surrounded by clouds just above your head. What a marvel. How closer to the heavens can you expect to be than from here in the Andes! </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fayMq9KSixg/TVdK1W10K4I/AAAAAAAAASo/2aK4fR-Z9Gg/s1600/IMG_7167.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="133" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fayMq9KSixg/TVdK1W10K4I/AAAAAAAAASo/2aK4fR-Z9Gg/s200/IMG_7167.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lunch was at Lake Yuraccocha (Elev 4,050m), a descent of 1hr from a forest of huge native "red woods" that the Incas, now locals used for firewood. Lunch was the highest I have ever had outside of an aeroplane!!! The terrain here was simply awsesome. Two huge lakes with fresh trout surrounded by towering Andean mountains licking 6,000,m!!!! </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-h8-WaS0lM2Y/TVdLTw05syI/AAAAAAAAASs/6XVhpKJPM7E/s1600/IMG_7082.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-h8-WaS0lM2Y/TVdLTw05syI/AAAAAAAAASs/6XVhpKJPM7E/s320/IMG_7082.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span id="goog_1276693894"></span><span id="goog_1276693895"></span>At each mountain pass there are rocks stacked up high in the shape of little pyramids for good luck. This is in the tradition of the Incas, who did the same and even buried gold, pottery and food (especially Coca leaves) in dedication to the Gods of the Mountains. This is the reason for trecking to Machu Picchu, in order to get a sense of what the Incas did and what their modern day successors do by walking these extreme heights and distances just to survive. All of the modern day indigenous peoples living in these extreme heights still edure the same, walking incredible distances and altitudes just to exchange foodstuffs (mainly potatoes, of which there are almost 3,000 varieties in Peru!). </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dA_MhDkJHv4/TVdMRE8sajI/AAAAAAAAASw/Um5zcq_-pKY/s1600/IMG_7149.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dA_MhDkJHv4/TVdMRE8sajI/AAAAAAAAASw/Um5zcq_-pKY/s320/IMG_7149.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our second night campsite was in a very protected area close to our final point. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner featuring the popular Peruvian soup "Quina" which comprises thousands of tiny crescent moon shaped grains from the Quina Plant. We also had<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>grilled chicken and local beetroot. Peruvians always have soup to start their meals, no matter what the time of year - in many cases this is all they eat.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nmUcZFbSfpI/TVdM7b1dCfI/AAAAAAAAAS0/yaSi1ZjzGGg/s1600/IMG_7196.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nmUcZFbSfpI/TVdM7b1dCfI/AAAAAAAAAS0/yaSi1ZjzGGg/s320/IMG_7196.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our last day of the Lares trek saw us walk 2.5km over 1hr from our campsite at 3,000m down to the village of Yanahaura (Pop 7,000, Elev 2,700m) where we took a taxi to Ollantaytambo, only 10km away. </span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PATUG5Sgkhs/TVdONJGSMbI/AAAAAAAAATA/U8A6OGrFvAs/s1600/IMG_7202.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="133" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PATUG5Sgkhs/TVdONJGSMbI/AAAAAAAAATA/U8A6OGrFvAs/s200/IMG_7202.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From here we boarded the "Peru Rail" train, complete with scenic glass ceiling panels but no aircon to Aguas Calientes (Pop 2,000. Elev 2,050m) which is only 11km by road from Machu Picchu.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xooGoOG_8OA/TVdOR5UkZLI/AAAAAAAAATE/KYtOfRW9i1g/s1600/IMG_7237.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="133" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xooGoOG_8OA/TVdOR5UkZLI/AAAAAAAAATE/KYtOfRW9i1g/s200/IMG_7237.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Aguas Calintes is also known as "Machu Picchu Village" and is exclusively a town of hotels and buses to ferry gringos to the ruins, 20km away. It is also the only town I have seen with a train travelling down the main road!</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What a trek! In all, we walked 29km in 14 hours from 3,100m to 4,400m and back down to 2,700m.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lBWQr_gV9ks/TVdNsmQbNsI/AAAAAAAAAS4/y4GOaoYGtB8/s1600/IMG_7424.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="425" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lBWQr_gV9ks/TVdNsmQbNsI/AAAAAAAAAS4/y4GOaoYGtB8/s640/IMG_7424.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mission accomplished! At precisely 6:50am on Thursday 10 February 2011, I jogged up the steps to the ticket gate at Machu Picchu (Elev 2,380m) after leaving Aguas Calientes (Elev 2,050m) at 5:40am, 11km away, with a 5min forced ticket inspection at the Rio Urumbamba bridge guard house at the 3km mark. That's a 65min run with 8km all uphill, ascending 330m without stopping. This is without doubt my hardest but best run to date. I have no idea how I managed it, since it was raining and my calves were sore from the 3 day Lares Trek ended the day before. It must have been the adrenaline when I woke up at 4:30am and ran into the dark at 5am, rain and all. My successfull run however was not without its dramas. I had to run back to the hotel at the 3km mark to get my ticket and restart my run after running 6km - refer to MACHU RUN DRAMA below for details.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TSlom0c-Vmo/TVdOJKW9PBI/AAAAAAAAAS8/vR1gNiAHZxY/s1600/IMG_7319.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TSlom0c-Vmo/TVdOJKW9PBI/AAAAAAAAAS8/vR1gNiAHZxY/s320/IMG_7319.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Running into Machu Picchu in the rain and fog at first light and then watching the fog lift like a curtain to reveal the "classic" picture of the ruins surrounded by massive, steep, cone-shaped mountains bathed in cloud, is a surreal, even "mystical" experience. What makes Machu Picchu so special is the good condition of the ruins and their location in a place that seems completely isolated and unaccessible. Your first thought is: 'how the heck did these Inca's build this place and live up here all alone???".</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Mc5zVItvBgg/TVdOY3_lOPI/AAAAAAAAATI/xMYseeuRJ1I/s1600/IMG_7265.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Mc5zVItvBgg/TVdOY3_lOPI/AAAAAAAAATI/xMYseeuRJ1I/s320/IMG_7265.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Despite the setback of my run, I got to the ticket gate at 6:50am and was elated, since I was confident I would get one of the 400 free admissions (handed out from 7am according to our guide) to climb Wayna Picchu at 11am. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This was not the case. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Admissions actually started at 6am and the last one had been handed out at 6:40am. I had missed out by 10min. My joy turned to anger! Our guide had stuffed up again! But in true Golfin style, I was not going to accept defeat, so I walked to the entrance gate to Wayna Picchu (Elev 2,634m) and pleaded my case to go up. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The guard said YES!!!</span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Rs6qcsmsoS8/TVdPh2qe2yI/AAAAAAAAATU/UhzoTkZypJA/s1600/IMG_7389.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Rs6qcsmsoS8/TVdPh2qe2yI/AAAAAAAAATU/UhzoTkZypJA/s320/IMG_7389.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span id="goog_1397034058"></span><span id="goog_1397034059"></span>What a roller coaster ride this day was turning out to be. With a sudden surge of joy and a second shot of adrenalin, I made it up the hundreds of steep steps to the top of this famous hill in 30min. I spent only 10min at the top since Machu Picchu was obscured by fog. Every now and then it would reveal the grand site below. The top was rough, marked out by several huge bolders and to get there you needed to also crawl through two narrow "tunnels" in the rock and climb a ladder. Descent was 20min. The total time of 50min (254m up and down) was 5min short of our guide's recollection of 45min run by one of her past clients. The site allowance is 90min. If it wasn't for the rain (slippery steps), I wreckon I could have beaten it but it was a nevertheless a satisfying challenge eaten up.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5CBkIFuUAng/TVdPdJIjbHI/AAAAAAAAATQ/BvwAk05FCbk/s1600/IMG_7360.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5CBkIFuUAng/TVdPdJIjbHI/AAAAAAAAATQ/BvwAk05FCbk/s320/IMG_7360.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I then returned to the entrance gate at 9:30am to meet my fellow travellers for our 2.5hr guided tour of the Machu Picchu site. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This site is so isolated that the Spanish did not discover it. This is why it survived in such good condition to now. American historian, Hiram Bingham discovered it in 1911 whilst looking for the lost city of Vilcabamba (refer HINTS & TIPS below for more details). The 100yr anniversary of this discovery is to be celebrated in June of this year. </span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lEpvCq-yFLM/TVdPXesV1iI/AAAAAAAAATM/YE-sDw_k0C0/s1600/IMG_7357.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lEpvCq-yFLM/TVdPXesV1iI/AAAAAAAAATM/YE-sDw_k0C0/s320/IMG_7357.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Machu Picchu was built over 100yrs, starting in 1542, from granite sourced from the mountain it is built on - so no draggging of blocks uphill! It comprises: 4 main temples, royal palace for the visiting Inca King, royal tomb (no bones found), ceremonial baths, agricultural terraces, gardens and residences for the elite. The pity of it all was that the Inca's abandoned it, shortly after they finished building it since their empire had collapsed under the Spanish conquest and they did not want them to find it! Sad plan, but the Incas succeeded in preserving the place.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our tour finished at noon and we spent the remainder of our time (until 1:30pm) at this magical site taking photos, since the fog actually lifted and the light sprinkling stopped to reveal, more fully, the classic picture seen all over the world.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Suffice to say, I was glad to bus it back down to Aguas Calientes, soaking wet, cold and exhausted from the day's dramas and victories! After a 45min clean-up and celebratory beer at the hotel, we caught the 2hr, 3:30pm train back to Ollantaytambo where our private van whisked us back to Cuzco leaving at 5:30pm and arriving at 7:30pm. Our guide shouted us to a bottle of red to celebrate the days events.That night I continued the celebration with a bottle of Chilean Chardonnay, 3 ham/cheese/tomato rolls and a DVD. I slept like a dead man but a very happy one!!! </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>NEXT BLOG: to cover Cuzco Inca Ruins, Lake Titicaca (highest lake in the world) and the entry into Bolivia, due 16FEB.</strong></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u40P6F1oVvk/TVdPr9-d0qI/AAAAAAAAATc/IkjMFuD4QMI/s1600/IMG_7425.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="426" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u40P6F1oVvk/TVdPr9-d0qI/AAAAAAAAATc/IkjMFuD4QMI/s640/IMG_7425.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: 1) Full marks to our Lares Trek guide Armando and his crew of 4 who carried our gear on horseback, cooked our meals and set up our tents. 2) Poonan has made the final cut for the grand prize of best signature shot with her award winning Machu Picchu "Kiss Photo" and "Sacred Speedos" photos in this Post. Many thanks and congratulations. I also thank Poonan and Jess for "collaborating" to prevent the "Sacred Speedos" photo from being deleted after a female Peruvian guide shouted at Poonan for photographing me in my speedos. The guide called one of many guards to grab my cammera. Whilst I was dressing and playing dumb, Poonan slipped my camera to Jess and pretended she had photographed me with her camera. Poonan then proceeded to pretend that she had deleted the photo by showing her camera to the guard! Both accomplaces but well done girls!</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ErVEpbGpO5c/TVdPmddATtI/AAAAAAAAATY/ugvsg44tM5g/s1600/IMG_7410.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="266" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ErVEpbGpO5c/TVdPmddATtI/AAAAAAAAATY/ugvsg44tM5g/s400/IMG_7410.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">MACHU RUN DRAMA: I started my run to Machu Picchu at 5am so I could get to the ticket gate before 7am in order to get one of 400 free daily admissions to climb "Wayna (or Huanan) Picchu" which is the tall mountain behind the ruins that you see in all the photos. This plan however came under threat when I got to the Rio Urubamba bridge inspection post at the 3km mark in the darkness and rain of 5:15am. The guard asked for my general admission ticket - a small detail that our guide omitted. I tried to make a ran for it but got stopped. So off I ran BACK to the hotel driven by sheer anger, woke up the guide, screamed at her, woke everyone else up in the process and then proceeded on a second departure at 5:40am which formed the official start time of my run. Why did I not take all my stuff as instinct had originally told me? Even on holiday you must double-check the info you are given and take a conservative approach with backups were possible. Anyway, my initial disappointment turned to joy when I reached the gates in far less time than I expected.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: ES; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: ES; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">HINTS & TIPS: 1) Peru forbids the carriage of any alcohol in overnight buses so I would pour my red wine into 1L empty drinking yogurt bottles - it worked a treat! 2) The Intrepid Trip Notes (and our guide) on Machu Picchu are incorrect. In order to see Wayna (Huanan) Picchu you must get a free admission stamp on your general admission ticket on arrival at the main gate. This is available from 5:20am (not 7am). Only 400 free tickets are issued and these go fast (all gone by 6:30-6:45am, even in bad weather). First bus is 5am (not 6:30am). If you elect to walk (or run as in my case) you must take your general admission ticket with you to show at the booth in front of the Rio Urumbamba bridge (this was not mentioned and I had to run back to get it!!!). The bridge is open at 5am (not 6am). This lack of info almost cost me Wayna, an opportunity most of us only get once in our lives! 3) Read all about Bingham's discovery of Machu Picchu at www.gutenburg.org 4) An alternative to drugs for altitude sickness is Coca leaves that all indigenous chew on in their dried state. These little leaves are packed with antioxidants, multi-vitamins and even have protein. Most indegenous adults that we encountered on the Lares Track would ask us for some. You must start chewing on these at least 2 days before ascending past 2,700m so they can take effect. Taste is not the best but bareable.</span></span>Zorbahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10118806867477722349noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3293689768229502823.post-90868454837662430772011-02-10T08:34:00.000+11:002011-02-10T08:34:43.251+11:00John Cloudrunner "ups the Ande" (1-6 February 2011, Days 55-59 of 127)<span style="font-size: x-small;"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TVL73MRaHNI/AAAAAAAAAPY/vMq1uo--6-Q/s1600/IMG_6225.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TVL73MRaHNI/AAAAAAAAAPY/vMq1uo--6-Q/s200/IMG_6225.JPG" width="133" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I did it! At 3:05pm on Wednesday 2 February 2011, I completed my all time highest altitude 10km run in 60min on the road from Chivay to Cabanaconde in the Peruvian Andes at an elevation of 3,651m (11,978ft). Instead of my usual 4.5-5.0min/km, I did 6min/km and with a 2km hill. I weighed in at 65kg (2 more than I wanted) but the run went swimmingly! No headache, no dizziness, no pain in the legs (no lactic acid) and no shortness of breath. The key new experience was a fast beating heart and many more breaths per minute. I first experienced this in Quito (Elev 2,850) but I must have got used to it with over the 5 runs there. My name is now "John Cloudrunner" and I have "upped the Ande" on Luke Skywalker in Quito!</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TVL8K8PHWwI/AAAAAAAAAPc/3n44CUfUkGU/s1600/IMG_6365.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TVL8K8PHWwI/AAAAAAAAAPc/3n44CUfUkGU/s400/IMG_6365.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Our ascent back into the Andes began at 10pm 31JAN with a 9hr overnight sleeper-chair, double-decker bus from Nazca (80km from the Pacific, Elev 563m) to Arequipa (530km from the Pacific, Elev 2,336m). Later we would progress higher to Chivay, Cuzco and finally Oollantaytambo, the base for Machu Picchu (next blog).</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TVL8Za7qWYI/AAAAAAAAAPg/at9fkgdzAkU/s1600/IMG_6062.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TVL8Za7qWYI/AAAAAAAAAPg/at9fkgdzAkU/s320/IMG_6062.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Arequipa (Pop 905,000, Elev 2,336m, Est 1540) is also filled with classic Spanish mansions but with a difference. Buildings are made of the volcanic "sillar" stone which is off-white (greyish) and sparkles in the sun. The buildings are huge with big doors and windows, reminiscent of the large apartments of Paris, Athens or Rome. The city is also surrounded by 3 massive snow peak volcanoes: Chachani (6,075m), El Misti (5,822m) and Pichu Pichu (5,571m). After our arrival to the hotel at 8am, I went on a run and then started my walking conquest of the city at 10am. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TVL8oIn3qtI/AAAAAAAAAPk/1xqDEPcq6e8/s1600/IMG_5953.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TVL8oIn3qtI/AAAAAAAAAPk/1xqDEPcq6e8/s320/IMG_5953.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">First victim was the central "Plaza De Armas" featuring the huge city cathedral and 3 double-storey sillar commercial buildings. Nearby are the classic stone mansions of Casa Ricketts and La Casa De Moral and the sillar Inglesia De La Compania church with ornate facade and gold alter inside. The centre is mostly cobble-stoned streets but traffic is thick and chaotic. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TVL9CP0bgrI/AAAAAAAAAPo/AYRMELPoKHg/s1600/IMG_5999.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TVL9CP0bgrI/AAAAAAAAAPo/AYRMELPoKHg/s320/IMG_5999.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The highlight was the 1580 Monasterio Santa Catalina, a 5 acre stone-walled citadel with a mini-city for nuns inside. This was a plush nunnery. Rich families would send their second oldest daughter here to become a nun. They paid the equivalent of $50K in today's money but instead of a cell, the new Dominican nun got a mini-house complete with living room, kitchen and even a servant! The reformation soon fixed this and these luxuries were removed. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TVL9MgYv8pI/AAAAAAAAAPs/v7D9gH8O38k/s1600/IMG_6033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TVL9MgYv8pI/AAAAAAAAAPs/v7D9gH8O38k/s320/IMG_6033.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The tour was excellent visiting 3 cloisters, 5 mini-streets connecting 80 mini-houses, huge refectory and huge dormatory (introduced in the reformation). There were also a total of 400 paintings in the complex. There are now 20 nuns and 4 novices remaining. Following the monastery I walked to a piss-weak viewpoint and to make matters worse the 3 volcanoes were hidden in cloud. Dinner was a farce - a big restaurant served only by one waiter and it happened to be a carbon copy of "Manuel" from Faulty Towers! Not only did he get the orders wrong and take 5yrs to serve us but had to run two blocks down to another shop to get me a cold beer!</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TVL9aVdyzdI/AAAAAAAAAPw/567svoJApvk/s1600/IMG_6128.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="133" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TVL9aVdyzdI/AAAAAAAAAPw/567svoJApvk/s200/IMG_6128.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The following morning (2FEB at 8am) we began our exciting 2-day side trip to Chivay by private van, high-up in Andes and the base for the massive Colca Canyon (3,191m deep)! </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TVL-td8eorI/AAAAAAAAAP8/D9-awR87kLA/s1600/IMG_6153.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TVL-td8eorI/AAAAAAAAAP8/D9-awR87kLA/s320/IMG_6153.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The 160km journey from Arequipa to Chivay (Pop 4,600, Elev 3,651m) was the best for the Andes so far and possibly the best mountain scenery I have seen in my life. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Huge valleys surrounded by snow capped volcanoes straddling 6,000m (Everest is 9,000m) with green moss, multi-pool-like lakes and no trees. We stopped several times along the way to take photos, chew on coca leaves (to prevent altitude sickness) and relieve ourselves (one of the most obvious symptoms of high altitude - affected me big time!). </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TVL-6v5OKkI/AAAAAAAAAQA/HD8RUYgoTW4/s1600/IMG_6185.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TVL-6v5OKkI/AAAAAAAAAQA/HD8RUYgoTW4/s320/IMG_6185.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The highlight was a mountain pass called "Patapampa" where the road reaches 4,910m (16,109ft) which is 2,000ft above the oxygen line (14,000ft, the height aircraft descend to in the event of depressurisation)!!! This is the highest elevation in the Ai Caramaba adventure. I had the highest ever piss in my life and ate some of the heighest ever snow. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TVMBYv8ejQI/AAAAAAAAAQg/24X_h_qZztA/s1600/IMG_6237.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="133" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TVMBYv8ejQI/AAAAAAAAAQg/24X_h_qZztA/s200/IMG_6237.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TVMBPuZBrcI/AAAAAAAAAQc/czhB81V4CUw/s1600/IMG_6211.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="133" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TVMBPuZBrcI/AAAAAAAAAQc/czhB81V4CUw/s200/IMG_6211.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">After our arrival in Chivay at 1:30pm, everyone went to lunch and I accomplished my lifelong ambition to "run in the clouds"! High altitude simply agrees with me. It must be the red wine opening up all of my capilleries and veins. Only my run in Antarctica beats this one. I am now on-track to run into Machu Picchu!!! How's this for timing. After my run we visited the volcanic thermal mineral springs of La Calera only 10min drive from Chivay. For 60min, I soaked in a huge open-air pool full of minerals at 39C whilst drinking 3C beer!!! It does not get better than this for John Cloudrunner!!! </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TVL_iQh0LBI/AAAAAAAAAQM/m2vQIcrHuNc/s1600/IMG_6248.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="150" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TVL_iQh0LBI/AAAAAAAAAQM/m2vQIcrHuNc/s200/IMG_6248.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TVL_WuwOgPI/AAAAAAAAAQI/SXSD8a8UMfM/s1600/IMG_6253.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="150" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TVL_WuwOgPI/AAAAAAAAAQI/SXSD8a8UMfM/s200/IMG_6253.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Just when I thought it was all over, we had Alapaca for dinner with Peruvian music and dancing at a restaurant near the centre of Chivay. The Alpaca was served as a minute steak, grilled on a hot plate - it was tender and tasted like salty pork done in the oven.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">The 3FEB began with breaky in Chivay at 6am and by 6:30am we were on our winding way to the breathtaking Colca Canyon. We had several picture stops and visited the little farming town of Maca. We then walked to the "Condor Cross" where we spotted 2 condors and looked down on the spectacular 3,191m deep Colca Canyon.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TVL_8tTeztI/AAAAAAAAAQQ/boXB5kIKBd0/s1600/IMG_6343.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="426" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TVL_8tTeztI/AAAAAAAAAQQ/boXB5kIKBd0/s640/IMG_6343.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TVMAX1ufndI/AAAAAAAAAQU/6yLrpvcyHL8/s1600/IMG_6386.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TVMAX1ufndI/AAAAAAAAAQU/6yLrpvcyHL8/s320/IMG_6386.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The river below it runs all thee way to the Pacific Ocean! </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">At 10am we started back to Chivay stopping along the way for more views of the Colca Valley which is home to several small villages and terraced farms growing a variety of produce and farming Alpacas and Lliamas (many blocked the road). </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TVMBreipywI/AAAAAAAAAQk/G137ZeFUknU/s1600/IMG_6455.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TVMBreipywI/AAAAAAAAAQk/G137ZeFUknU/s200/IMG_6455.JPG" width="133" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">After my park-bench lunch in the Chivay town square watching short, colourful skirt, pigtail and hat, old Peruvian folk walk by, we departed for Arequipa, leaving 1:30pm and arriving 4:30pm. Our total round-trip to the Colca Canyan was 420km. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">That night we enjoyed our first home-cooked meal at the hotel. We had use of kitchen and a nice private room with dining table and TV/DVD. After dinner we watched the latest Harry potter Film (Deathly Hallows - Part 1). Great way to end Colca.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TVMCYF7_QYI/AAAAAAAAAQw/_WWnx7ObK9c/s1600/IMG_6492.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="133" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TVMCYF7_QYI/AAAAAAAAAQw/_WWnx7ObK9c/s200/IMG_6492.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Our last day in Arequipa (4FEB) featured the excellent "Reality Tour", the brainchild of "Miguel", </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">who used to work for Intrepid but branched off when he realised that many tourists are interested in seeing real life - a new concept in touring! </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Refer to "REALITY TOUR FACTS" below for a summary of what we learned. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TVMCoWlCehI/AAAAAAAAAQ0/dTmvzkliNdg/s1600/IMG_6465.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TVMCoWlCehI/AAAAAAAAAQ0/dTmvzkliNdg/s200/IMG_6465.JPG" width="133" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The tour involved a 2.5hr visit to one of Arequipa's "shanty towns" where we saw first hand: </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">1) A visit to a quarry where local guys made "sillar" bricks. Typically each man makes 10 per day for 1 Sols each - that's 10 Sols a day or $4AUD. Land is owned by Gov and each man pays 50 Sols per year rent. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TVMC1I09cjI/AAAAAAAAAQ4/1OAttpyJdJQ/s1600/IMG_6475.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="133" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TVMC1I09cjI/AAAAAAAAAQ4/1OAttpyJdJQ/s200/IMG_6475.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">2) Visit to a local cemetery. People pay 3,000 Sols for 30yrs or 6,000 Sols for ever to bury one body per plot. If family does not reclaim bones after 30yrs then they are put in the tip. Each plot has a mini-house built over it reflecting old pre-Inca custom of pleasing the soul so that they put in a "good word" for the living in Heaven. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">3) Visit to day-care centre where local woman (without husbands) take turns looking after each-others kids while they work - brainchild of Miguel's mother! </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TVMDe3wbiwI/AAAAAAAAARE/CtWOwju87Ho/s1600/IMG_6054.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TVMDe3wbiwI/AAAAAAAAARE/CtWOwju87Ho/s320/IMG_6054.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">4) Visit to a local "common dining room" or "soup kitchen" where again, local women take turns cooking for the community for low prices so that both couples can work instead of cooking - again an idea from Miguel's mum. This tour was trully an eye opener. Miguel uses tour money to cover cost of tourist transport, small margin for him and rest as "loans" to local people to enable the initiatives above (self-help). Good luck to Miguel. I spent the rest of the day watching DVDs at the hotel before our 8:30pm overnight bus trip to Cuzco.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TVMDpUNNxRI/AAAAAAAAARI/43A-qIACDiU/s1600/IMG_6503.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TVMDpUNNxRI/AAAAAAAAARI/43A-qIACDiU/s320/IMG_6503.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">After 10hrs on the double-decker sleeper bus, we arrived in Cuzco (Pop 349,000, Elev 3,400m, Est 1100s by the Inca King, Manco) at 6:30am. Cuzco is surrounded by the Andes and has a rustic old town that mixes Inca and Spanish colonial architectures. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">After a difficult 10km run, I was off at 9:30am climbing another 130m to view the city from "Cristo Blanco", a hill with a huge statue of Christ in white stone overlooking the city. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TVME_dyw4HI/AAAAAAAAARY/iaw4B28AZBA/s1600/IMG_6646.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TVME_dyw4HI/AAAAAAAAARY/iaw4B28AZBA/s320/IMG_6646.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The city is South America's longest inhabited city and was conquered by Pizarro in 1533. Plaza San Blas is the arty part of town with the San Blas church (featuring one of the most ornate, intricate, hand-carved, wooden pulpits in South America). Outside are arts and crafts and a huge Trevi-style fountain. Students dressed in black let off fire crackers celebrating one of many Catholic feast days for the Virgin Mary. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Next stop was the central "Plaza De Armas" with the usual huge cathedral and nearby churches of Compania De Jesus and La Merced. All have massive, intricate facades carved from stone and very impressive gold painted wooden altars. The plaza is very big and is surrounded by Cuzco's red rooved houses on steep hills. I then walked down the main commercial road to Santo Domingo church which is built on the Inca site of Qorikancha. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TVMFQLEhMYI/AAAAAAAAARc/jkwTnx8uwSA/s1600/IMG_6633.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TVMFQLEhMYI/AAAAAAAAARc/jkwTnx8uwSA/s320/IMG_6633.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">From here I walked down a historic narrow street called "Loreto" which contains an old Inca wall of the "Aqllawasi" or house of the sun virgins - no virgins, just sellers of "Chicharron" (fried pork ribs, the specialty of Cuzco). The central covered market (Mercado Central) is big and jam packed with meats, fruit, vegies, cereals, bread and food-stalls. On my way back I passed Plaza San Francisco, Plaza Regocijo and two "eat streets" full of local food including "Tandoori Guinea Pig"!!! That night it pissed down with rain whilst I settled down to DVD "Sahara" and canned lentils (because no one would come to dinner)!!!</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TVMF8UUQOTI/AAAAAAAAARk/uxvwfsfHu-Q/s1600/IMG_6441.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TVMF8UUQOTI/AAAAAAAAARk/uxvwfsfHu-Q/s320/IMG_6441.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The next morning (6FEB) was a civilised 9:30am departure to the "Sacred Valley" via private van. This is the area of the Andes that best preserves the Inca civilisation including the famous Machu Picchu religious site and the citadels of Ollantaytambo and Pisac.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Our total van journey from Cusco to Ollantaytambo took 5hrs with plenty of stops along the way (total distance of 125km thru very steep windy roads and full of incredibly fertile valleys of green with corn and potato as the key staples). </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TVMGItiiszI/AAAAAAAAARo/bXWbK6k1xYw/s1600/IMG_6694.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="133" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TVMGItiiszI/AAAAAAAAARo/bXWbK6k1xYw/s200/IMG_6694.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">First stop was Chinchero (Pop 1,000. Elev 3,800m) where we visited a textile co-operative run by President "Marlene" in charge of 46 women and their families making all sorts of Peruvian clothes from Alpaca and Sheep fibres via totally traditional and natural means. This means cleaning the wool in a natural detergent eminating from rubbing a local root in water, colouring the fibre with natural pigments from roots, stones and plants, spinning the fibre into thread via manual means and weaving it into cloth via wooden trescels. Amazing. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TVMG92iDTEI/AAAAAAAAARw/R6fQhUCkIFI/s1600/IMG_6704.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="133" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TVMG92iDTEI/AAAAAAAAARw/R6fQhUCkIFI/s200/IMG_6704.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Our last stop in Cinchero was the Sunday market, full of local produce to the sound of recorded music! </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Urubamba (Pop 10,800. Elev 2,870m) was our next stop which featured a host of local encounters. The first was a demonstration of the making of Inca Pottery followed by Inca Chocolate made from 100% pure locally grown Cocoa Beans, hand-cleaned, roasted, ground, melted and cast. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TVMHaJFFE_I/AAAAAAAAAR0/chgn131v07s/s1600/IMG_6759.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TVMHaJFFE_I/AAAAAAAAAR0/chgn131v07s/s200/IMG_6759.JPG" width="133" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">To top it off we had a lunch at the home of a local family followed by lessons on the making of and tasting of the local "Chicha" beer made from one year old dried giant corn kernels, soaked in water and left to ferment for 8 days to create a 2-3% alcoholic beer that is even given to children!!! This beer is not commercially produced, only by families in the traditional way and sold direct by hoisting up a red plastic bag on the end of a long pole in front of their house. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TVMIEHNI9nI/AAAAAAAAAR4/GmWy5_vdWJ0/s1600/IMG_6868.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TVMIEHNI9nI/AAAAAAAAAR4/GmWy5_vdWJ0/s320/IMG_6868.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Finally we arrived in Ollantaytambo (Pop 2,000. Elev 2,800m), an incredibly picturesque village only 58km from Machu Picchu. This narrow, cobblestone village features a massive hilltop perched Inca fortress and citadel and full of "gringos" (tourists)! This was one of my favourite places since it is surrounded by massive peaks, full of history and featured one of the best view points available. Not to mention the lentil soup and quarter pounder lentil burger I scoffed down that evening washed down by a COLD white wine - Peruvians sell and drink their whites warm! After a lengthy debate on the Nazca lines and Peruvian culture with our guide, I farewelled electricity for the last time (internet and charging) before our 3 day trek, the next day starting at 4:40am!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><strong>NEXT BLOG: to cover the magical Machu Picchu due 12FEB.</strong></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: 1) Thanks to Miguel for his interview during the Reality Tour. His website is www.aitraveltours.com 2) Ongoing gratitude to Poonan for the excellent signature shots and ozzie-dag-dance sequences. 2) Thanks to Marlene for the interview on Peruvian textiles. 3) Thanks to Monica for teaching us to make 100% cocoa chocolate! 4) Thanks to Celicia for the lovely home-cooked Peruvian lunch and Chicha beer!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">REALITY TOUR FACTS:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">1) Approx 50% of Arequipa's 905,000 inhabitants live in shanty towns under the poverty line. 2) Poverty line is 700 Sols per month ($255AUD) but most earn 450-550 Sols ($165-200AUD). 3) Most people work day-to-day for an average of 15 Sols/day ($5.50AUD) either labouring, cleaning, gardening, painting etc, between 8-12hrs, mostly for the middle to upper class. There is no such thing as minimum salary or unions and all pay is black. 4) Most families have 3-5 kids each since parents will get no pension so they depend on their kids to take care of them in retirement. 5) Most kids will marry and their spouses will stay with them at their parents house for 5-6yrs to get enough of a deposit together to buy their own land or build above their parents ground floor. 6) Most of Peru's rich are actually foreigners who brought money into country and set up enterprises. 7) There are 28,000 taxis in Arequipa, employing many poor with only 15% owned by drivers. 8) Visit to doctor in public hospital costs 10 Sol and social workers determine what a person will pay for an operation. 9) Education is free to the end of public high school with up to 200 Sols per year in books etc during high school (which most poor cannot afford). University averages 2,000 Sols per degree.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">HINTS & TIPS: 1) Always check if there is hot water BEFORE you unpack when you stay at a 2 or 3 star hotels in South America! 2) Laundrettes are very cheap in South America. $1-2/kg. Not worth cleaning your own. 3) Intrepid should alter itinerary to stay extra day & night in Cabanacombe in Colca Valley instead of Arequipa. 4) Intrepid should add the "Reality Tour" as a standard feature when in Arequipa - it was one of the most interesting and informative options to date.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">NOTES TO SELF: 1) After almost 2mths in South America, three very interesting things have struck me and my fellow travellers about all the indigenous peoples we have seen to date: a) No premature baldness or even receding hairlines for men. b) There are no beards or moustaches on men. c) Very few adults or children wearing glasses!</span></span>Zorbahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10118806867477722349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3293689768229502823.post-35644283888094152642011-02-02T08:24:00.000+11:002011-02-02T08:24:58.118+11:00Pollo and PhD (28-31 January 2011, Days 50-53 of 127)<span style="font-size: x-small;"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUhp6s08LZI/AAAAAAAAANc/2bVDhC0r7uQ/s1600/IMG_5496.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" s5="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUhp6s08LZI/AAAAAAAAANc/2bVDhC0r7uQ/s320/IMG_5496.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Everyone in Lima (and Peru) loves chicken! </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">It is everywhere. Pollo this and pollo that - every which way you can eat it! Fried, roasted, boiled even "scrambled" according to one place. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Lima (Pop 8.2m, Elev 60m, Est 1535 by Francisco Pizarro) is huge. It took 2hrs to drive through the mainly chanty-style suburbs to get to our hotel in the most affluent Miraflores suburb by the Pacific Ocean. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUhqn6eRJBI/AAAAAAAAANk/L07KUDZaTDc/s1600/IMG_5525.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" s5="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUhqn6eRJBI/AAAAAAAAANk/L07KUDZaTDc/s320/IMG_5525.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Lima is surrounded by a middle-eastern looking </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">dusty semi-desert with humidity and hills with Jesus on top of them. It is crowded (one third of Peru lives here!) with chronic traffic problems having only recently implemented a bus-based "metro" system which operates in the middle of a ring road that surrounds the city. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Most of Lima was destroyed in an earthquake in 1746 and re-built. The 1879 war with Chile also wrecked the city. If that was not enough, Lima was the centre of terrorist attacks from 1986-1992. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Lima is also the capital of Peru and of car honking - making New York sound polite! </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">My day started with a fabulous run along the cliff-top purched suburbs of Miraflores and Magdalena Del Mar, overlooking a roaring Pacific surf some 60m below. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUhqUbhm68I/AAAAAAAAANg/Bq7p7dmzOag/s1600/IMG_5493.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" s5="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUhqUbhm68I/AAAAAAAAANg/Bq7p7dmzOag/s320/IMG_5493.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Our main day in Lima (28JAN) began with a walking tour of the city beginning in the central "Plaza De Armas" which contains the main Cathedral, Presidential Palace, Archibishops Palace and fountain. All in the classic Spanish style and pastels but not as colourful as Trujillo and mainly in yellow, the colour of good luck in Peru. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The 1555 cathedral contains the tomb of the city's founder and has 13 very ornate chapels within it. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUhrqzhuwNI/AAAAAAAAANs/LXZhKYWzRkA/s1600/IMG_5565.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" s5="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUhrqzhuwNI/AAAAAAAAANs/LXZhKYWzRkA/s200/IMG_5565.JPG" width="150" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUhrZJK6KiI/AAAAAAAAANo/pVA0w_sR5n8/s1600/IMG_5556.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" s5="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUhrZJK6KiI/AAAAAAAAANo/pVA0w_sR5n8/s200/IMG_5556.JPG" width="133" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The river Rimac also runs through the city and I visited the "other side" which is only for locals (guide told me later) and here I am thinking that everyone loved my fluro-yellow chesty Bonds singlet! Police and armed vehicles are present!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">A highlight of the city is the San Francisco Church and Monastery which contains extensive catacombs with some 70,000 skeletons. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUhsBRbOKhI/AAAAAAAAANw/8rLsxhoBEw8/s1600/IMG_5473.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" s5="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUhsBRbOKhI/AAAAAAAAANw/8rLsxhoBEw8/s320/IMG_5473.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We then walked down the main pedestrian only shopping road called "Jiron Del La Union" connecting "Plaza De Armas" with "Plaza San Martin" containing classic white Spanish mansions. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We finished the day with a Pisco Sour in the old world Hotel Bolivar which is much like having a Singapore Sling in the Raffles Hotel. The hotel has a stained glass cupola in the lobby!</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUhsqbSr34I/AAAAAAAAAN4/Q48Y6wtOsYc/s1600/IMG_5570.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" s5="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUhsqbSr34I/AAAAAAAAAN4/Q48Y6wtOsYc/s400/IMG_5570.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Dinner was a fizzer but the suburb, Barranco was great, centre of Lima nightlife and eating for both tourists and locals. Great views over the Pacific.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUhuE_DqxlI/AAAAAAAAAOE/ktefH_iComM/s1600/IMG_5683.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" s5="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUhuE_DqxlI/AAAAAAAAAOE/ktefH_iComM/s200/IMG_5683.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUhtIeZ6voI/AAAAAAAAAN8/F6JlVDkHIxw/s1600/IMG_5672.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" s5="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUhtIeZ6voI/AAAAAAAAAN8/F6JlVDkHIxw/s200/IMG_5672.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>The next day (29JAN) I went on an extensive walking tour of Miraflores, enjoying its manicured parks and boulevards and snapping photos of the cliffs along the Pacific. <br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUhuSmE4qdI/AAAAAAAAAOI/HdbNWwltz6I/s1600/IMG_5595.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" s5="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUhuSmE4qdI/AAAAAAAAAOI/HdbNWwltz6I/s320/IMG_5595.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>I also visited the mud-pyramid of Huaca Pucllana in Miraflores, 5km from the cliffs, built in 500AD by the "Limas" to worship the Pacific. It uses mud-bricks stacked like books on shelves so that they can flex during earthquakes! Clever! <br />
<br />
At 1:30pm we farewelled Miraflores and set on our hottest, smelliest bus trip to date to the coastal town of Pisco, 5hrs away (home to the Pisco Sour drink). <br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUhvk0zbj2I/AAAAAAAAAOQ/W_tluKvav34/s1600/IMG_5567.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" s5="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUhvk0zbj2I/AAAAAAAAAOQ/W_tluKvav34/s200/IMG_5567.JPG" width="133" /></a></div>Pisco (Pop 54K, Sea Level) was destroyed by an 8.0 earthquake in 2007. The government did not do much to restore the town. The main church is still not repaired. As a result crime is high so we stuck to the central plaza for dinner. Being so close to the water we enjoyed our best dinner since starting Intrepid - whole snapper for just $7AUD washed down with heaps of local Negra beer! Just as well because Maureen had a dummy spit with our guide "Ally-J" just before dinner. Ally-J has been putting the girls in share-triples, repeats herself a lot (especially during our tour time instead of in the bus or at dinner) and generally is quicker to say "no" rather than "let me see what I can do". The Negra certainly calmed Maureen down.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUhvxMCmUvI/AAAAAAAAAOU/hxWcxpSYYgo/s1600/IMG_5689.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" s5="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUhvxMCmUvI/AAAAAAAAAOU/hxWcxpSYYgo/s320/IMG_5689.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The following morning we were up at 6am and out the door at 7:30am for our 1hr van ride to the nearby Pacific port of Paracus. We climbed aboard a speed boat with 36 others and sped off to the Ballestas Islands some 30min ride away. On the way we saw the famous "Candleabra" image drawn into the side of a mountain. Most popular theory is that Spanish pirates did this back in the 16th century. Lucky it does not rain a lot to rub it out! </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUhwCSH968I/AAAAAAAAAOY/nb-kpyAdvzw/s1600/IMG_5744.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" s5="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUhwCSH968I/AAAAAAAAAOY/nb-kpyAdvzw/s320/IMG_5744.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The Ballestas Islands are the "poor mans Gallapagos" - they comprise outcrops of rocks and sea caves/arches containing a heavy concentration of: Sea Lions, Peruvian Boobies, Peruvian Pelicans, Humbolt Penguins and Cormorants. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">There are hundreds of seals and thousands of birds perched on these rocky outcrops with the stench of seal and bird poo everywhere. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUhyVudbGOI/AAAAAAAAAOg/1ZMh98FfvAk/s1600/IMG_5733.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" s5="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUhyVudbGOI/AAAAAAAAAOg/1ZMh98FfvAk/s320/IMG_5733.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We spent 60min cruising around, snapping up photos and then I realised that we were not getting off the boat - I had to go to the dunnie!!! </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">By this stage I was busting and given the 30min cruise back, I had no choice but to literally "piss in a pot" at the front of the boat, next to the driver and with my back to 40 people! What a look! What an effort! Relief never felt so good! </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUhyp_rG1TI/AAAAAAAAAOk/LZmf1zpm9Rs/s1600/IMG_5770.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" s5="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUhyp_rG1TI/AAAAAAAAAOk/LZmf1zpm9Rs/s320/IMG_5770.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Back at Paracas, we had a quick refreshment and climbed back on the van for our 1hr drive to the sand dunes and lake oasis of Huacachina (Pop 200), 5km out of Ica (Pop 300K). The landscape here is amazing. It may as well be in Syria, Lebanon or Northern Africa. Desert and sand dunes everywhere with a sizeable 300x100m lake Oasis in the middle and all this is only 60km from the Pacific Ocean! Peruvian legend has it that this place was formed by the long scarf of a lost princess and is so well known that it is on the back of the Peruvian 50 Solas Note! I made it more famous by swimming 8 laps (1500m) in it! </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUhzNahIRhI/AAAAAAAAAOo/4DyJgRSG2As/s1600/IMG_5776.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" s5="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUhzNahIRhI/AAAAAAAAAOo/4DyJgRSG2As/s320/IMG_5776.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">It took only 30min drive to transfer from Oasis Lake to Peruvian Pisco Winery. Here we learnt the secrets of making Peru's favourite spirit - Pisco, which is actually very close to Cognac, made by single-distilling the fermented Quebranta white grape but no barrels. Instead fermentation is in concrete vats but the still is copper. Unlike Cognac there is no blending of vintages. We tasted 6 different variations including Quebranta wine (sweet) and finished off with another Pisco Sour cocktail. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUhzlM7wMQI/AAAAAAAAAOs/BkHZmW2M1Xs/s1600/IMG_5846.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" s5="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUhzlM7wMQI/AAAAAAAAAOs/BkHZmW2M1Xs/s640/IMG_5846.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">By this time we had enough juice in us to brave the 30m metal tower that overlooks the famous UNESCO protected "Nazca Lines" just 20km outside the desert town of Nazca (Pop 53K, Elev 563m) where we stayed the night. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUhz-2J0j4I/AAAAAAAAAOw/KiYgpQcHpeM/s1600/IMG_5821.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" s5="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUhz-2J0j4I/AAAAAAAAAOw/KiYgpQcHpeM/s320/IMG_5821.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">There are 800 lines forming 300 shapes belonging to 70 plants and animals over 50sq km of flat, arid, rocky desert some 80km from the Pacific Coast and at the foot of the Andes. They were discovered in 1939 by American scientist Paul Kosok on a routine survey flight and since then no one has any evidence of who formed them and why. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The most popular theory is that the "Nazca" peoples created them between 200BC and 600AD as an astrological calendar. I reckon Aliens put them there so that they can land here later! They are actually very weird. From the tower we saw the 'hand", "lizard" and "tree". </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUh4lD-yxwI/AAAAAAAAAPI/vo6aJAtmhLU/s1600/IMG_5887.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" s5="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUh4lD-yxwI/AAAAAAAAAPI/vo6aJAtmhLU/s320/IMG_5887.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The total time on the road from Pisco to Nazca was 4.5hrs. Our dinner in Nazca was at a very local place where there is no menu, just what they have on that night. For only $4AUD we had a beef and vegie soup (big bowl), turkey and rice and a can of beer! Mostly farmers and families ate here. Now you know just how poor Peru is.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">31JAN was a free day in Nazca. In the morning I went for a run towards the highest sand dune in the world, Cerro Blanco at 2,078m and got within 4km of the base. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">People actually "sand board" off its huge smooth slope! The landscape out on my run was breathtaking and piping hot - rockie desert mountains and gun barrell roads just like Route 66 across Arizona!!! I then relaxed with a movie, streamed on my little laptop (used to write this blog) via the hotel wi-fi. I have been watching one horror movie each night for the last 4 nights this way - unreal! </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUh1fF0lpyI/AAAAAAAAAO4/QxMLLzc7LeM/s1600/IMG_5891.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" s5="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUh1fF0lpyI/AAAAAAAAAO4/QxMLLzc7LeM/s400/IMG_5891.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUh14jdow7I/AAAAAAAAAO8/f38LlLWwRZA/s1600/IMG_5907.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" s5="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUh14jdow7I/AAAAAAAAAO8/f38LlLWwRZA/s200/IMG_5907.JPG" width="133" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">At 3pm in the arvo we set off on an organised tour of the ancient 'Nazca" peoples burial ground in Chauchilla, 30km from Nazca. What a place. Out in the middle of no where in a large barren plain between the rising Andes lies a large burial ground where you can see a dozen open tombs in the ground with crouching mummies inside including babies and a parrot! The "Nazcas" where pre-Inca and lived between 100BC and 600AD. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We returned to Nazca to see how their pottery was made - the special feature is that it is light and strong - much like bone China. We concluded the tour with a visit to a local Gold Miner who explained to us in "Play School" style how the locals mine for gold under a co-operartive arrangement. Each miner averages 500g of Gold per year. </span><br />
<br />
<b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUh2Nk6uDDI/AAAAAAAAAPA/tSS129kr2Iw/s1600/IMG_5918.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" s5="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUh2Nk6uDDI/AAAAAAAAAPA/tSS129kr2Iw/s320/IMG_5918.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">STOP PRESS: Golfin solves mystery of Nazca Lines:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">After the another great identical local dinner we attended a 60min lecture at the Nazca Lines Hotel to hear everything about the famous Nazca Lines and Maria Reiche, the lady who studied them the most. It is during the lecture that I solved the mystery of the Nazca Lines. Much to my disappointment, they are not the work of Aliens but indeed the Nazca people, who in my opinion worshipped the sun, moon and stars and <em>actually projected the path of these celestial bodies onto the ground as they traversed the skies</em>. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUh3UPlD4YI/AAAAAAAAAPE/YWfTOACNKdQ/s1600/IMG_5935.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" s5="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUh3UPlD4YI/AAAAAAAAAPE/YWfTOACNKdQ/s320/IMG_5935.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">They did this by using long reeds which they pointed to the star by looking along it and dug the other end into the ground to make a mark. They did this every 30min like time-lapse photography and then joined the dots in the day to create the lines. The larger geometric shapes that look like runways are the result of mapping the movements of the moon and sun which cast a wider "light" shadow (lots pf dots and much wider). I came to this conclusion when I saw the model of Nazca Lines in the hotel lobby (most lines where straight like "paths"), combined with the IMAX style rotation of stars that we saw during the lecture. I reckon this can be proved by generating a computer simulation of the paths on the ground that the 100 most brightest stars in the 100BC-600AD rotating night sky would have generated on the ground as the earth rotated at that time and then comparing it to the lines in Nazca. As a matter of fact I reckon there were many more that erosion from rain would have eliminated. i have contacted the local Peruvian authorities for my honourary PhD. QED.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><strong>NEXT BLOG: to cover our ascent back up to the Andes from the Pacific (Arequipa to Cusco in Peru) due 6FEB.</strong></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUh4v7sVWzI/AAAAAAAAAPM/DMiioSC_gFM/s1600/IMG_5877.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" s5="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUh4v7sVWzI/AAAAAAAAAPM/DMiioSC_gFM/s320/IMG_5877.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: 1) Thanks to Craig Edwards who explained why there are so many unfinished buildings in South America - Gov charges a tax on completion so people delay... 2) Thanks to Paul, our guide from Ica, for the interview on the making of Picso. 3) Thanks to Jess who supports my theory on the Nazca Lines. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">HINTS & TIPS: 1) We should have stayed in Paracus instead of Pisco which is seaside, much nicer, safer and allows a sleep in the next morning before walking to the boat for the Ballestas Islands. 2) The optional tours in Nazca (Inca ruins, cemetery & gold mine) should be included to make them cheaper and have something to do. 3) Do not attend the Nazca Lines lecture unless you reckon you can beat Golfin's explanation!!! It costs $7AUD and you can hire a video for that much money!!!</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUh5Kbblz6I/AAAAAAAAAPQ/raGpWZ28oq8/s1600/IMG_5868.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" s5="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUh5Kbblz6I/AAAAAAAAAPQ/raGpWZ28oq8/s400/IMG_5868.JPG" width="400" /></a></div></span> </span>Zorbahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10118806867477722349noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3293689768229502823.post-30202387444081550762011-01-28T09:08:00.000+11:002011-01-28T09:08:53.460+11:00Bienvenidos A Pacifico (24-27 January 2011, Days 46-49 of 127)<span style="font-size: x-small;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUHZX7o9ZbI/AAAAAAAAAMI/HbhBkoA5TII/s1600/IMG_5170.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" s5="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUHZX7o9ZbI/AAAAAAAAAMI/HbhBkoA5TII/s200/IMG_5170.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Welcome to the Pacific Ocean! </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Our new life on the Pacific Coast began in Peru starting with Mancora (Pop 10K, Sea Level), a small surfie town with tuc-tucs and souvenir shops everywhere - very reminiscent of Asia (Thailand or Bali) but without the "essence". It is weird seeing the tuc-tuc drivers not looking Asian and speaking Spanish. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUHaJmH9-MI/AAAAAAAAAMQ/n1M1t39WcMY/s1600/IMG_5213.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" s5="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUHaJmH9-MI/AAAAAAAAAMQ/n1M1t39WcMY/s320/IMG_5213.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The great thing about the Peruvian coast is the low humidity - much lower than Asia and even Queensland given the proximity to the Equator! Sun is hot and it reached 28C on both days we were here. Our hotel was individual style bungalows with palm thatched roofs - very large with hammocks at the front! I enjoyed a fabulous coastal run and big swim in the green coloured Pacific amongst the local fishing boats. On both evenings we enjoyed Ceviche (featuring the non-soup version of raw fish marinated in herbs, onion and lime) and </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUHcArnZd2I/AAAAAAAAAMc/MyRJadBxaKE/s1600/IMG_5226.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" s5="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUHcArnZd2I/AAAAAAAAAMc/MyRJadBxaKE/s200/IMG_5226.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUHawDTaMGI/AAAAAAAAAMU/-I30KsqqZfc/s1600/IMG_5234.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" s5="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUHawDTaMGI/AAAAAAAAAMU/-I30KsqqZfc/s200/IMG_5234.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Parihuela (crab, fish, squid and scallops cooked in a spicey yellow-curry style broth). The restaurant was on the beach and we enjoyed magnificent sunsets (a-la Phuket) whilst sipping the local brown ale beer (malty with hint of honey sweetness). Peruvian wine is not that great so we experimented with the Chilean "Carmiere" grape (a lighter version of peppery Shiraz) for our pre-dinner drinks around the pool! It is here we met two dudes from Finland literally "surfing" the world - they had just spent 6mths in Asia so we figured that they must be funding their trip with drugs! We also met a history teacher from Liverpool England, living in Lima for the past 6yrs!</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUHbcSlVviI/AAAAAAAAAMY/gfNaNSYib48/s1600/IMG_5157.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" s5="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUHbcSlVviI/AAAAAAAAAMY/gfNaNSYib48/s320/IMG_5157.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The 25JAN saw us climb aboard 1 Tuc-tuc, 2 Buses and 1 Van to travel 11hrs door-to-door to our coastal hotel in Huanchaco (Pop 18K, Sea Level), 12km from Trujillo. The landscape between Mancora and Piura (3hrs on the bus) is like an elephant's back - sandy dunes with small scrubb-like bushes that look like African Thorn Trees. It is hot and dusty - but still not a lot of humidity. It is semi-arid here and you can sense the desert of Atacama in Bolivia starting to take shape! At Piura we changed buses for another 7hr ride to Trujillo via Chiclay. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUHc4Ec2DyI/AAAAAAAAAMk/_77BgE7bXqk/s1600/IMG_5413.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" s5="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUHc4Ec2DyI/AAAAAAAAAMk/_77BgE7bXqk/s320/IMG_5413.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The land in between was weird: flat, dry and dusty with scrub and what looked like Ozzie salt bush. At times it was just all sandy dunes then suddenly you see rice paddies and even a few vines then its back to desert. I used this time to write this blog and catch up on "sta-stis-tis" (statistics) such as total km travelled to date (almost 45,000km including all flights from Sydney or 32,000km within South America including flights). I will easily exceed the 40,000km I predicted within South America at the launch. After arriving at our sea-side hotel in Huanchaco at 8pm we set off for a fresh seafood BBQ dinner cooked on hot coals and washed down by Peruvian Negro beer. We slept like babies!</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUHdLyYyR3I/AAAAAAAAAMo/XwEMLV8qcRA/s1600/IMG_5283.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" s5="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUHdLyYyR3I/AAAAAAAAAMo/XwEMLV8qcRA/s400/IMG_5283.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The following day we rented a taxi and the four of us set out to discover Trujillo and two ancient ruins. I call Trujillo, "The Cairo of Peru" since it has two huge mud-brick pyramids just outside the city in a dusty barren landscape that resembles the Pyramids outside Cairo in Egypt. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUHdcRojKLI/AAAAAAAAAMs/fKoMTBW9apc/s1600/IMG_5313.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" s5="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUHdcRojKLI/AAAAAAAAAMs/fKoMTBW9apc/s320/IMG_5313.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Our first stop was 22km away at "Huaca Del La Luna" (Temple of the Moon) which is a huge adobe mud brick pyramid structure of 5 levels built by the "Moche" peoples between 100-600AD. This temple was used to worship a number of Gods including human sacrifices of losing warriors in armed combat. Every 100yrs, the Moche would add another level to their temple identical in layout to the one before. You can see the total of 5 levels in this huge site with plenty of unearthing still to occur! There are rooms and intact friezes of lions heads everywhere with a very impressive 7 layer entrance wall. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUHhsILHJJI/AAAAAAAAANE/7cIMwQZH_k4/s1600/IMG_5262.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" s5="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUHhsILHJJI/AAAAAAAAANE/7cIMwQZH_k4/s200/IMG_5262.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUHhX7x9qcI/AAAAAAAAANA/jiNgdvhCixc/s1600/IMG_5303.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" s5="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUHhX7x9qcI/AAAAAAAAANA/jiNgdvhCixc/s200/IMG_5303.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Approx 1km away we visited the second temple of "Huaca Del Sol" (Temple of the Sun). This is more intact, the largest ancient structure in Peru built with 140million adobe mud bricks and has walls that slope 77deg. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">This place is also home to the furless Peruvian dog which actually looks like a giant rat! It has such a high body temperature that the locals use them as leg warmers on cold nights!</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUHd0zs8BhI/AAAAAAAAAMw/kvxmREvJcHs/s1600/IMG_5346.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" s5="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUHd0zs8BhI/AAAAAAAAAMw/kvxmREvJcHs/s200/IMG_5346.JPG" width="133" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Our second stop was the "Plaza De Armes" at the centre of Trujillo city (Pop 682,800, Elev Sea Level, Est 1534 by Francisco Pizarro). This is the best plaza we have seen to date. It is filled with pastel coloured, black painted wrought-iron, huge suspension lamps, colonial Spanish buildings, church and fountain. It is also very clean. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">After observing a Catholic student demonstration against the evils of the internet we walked down the main foot-mall drag with colourful musuems, shops and fountains every 200m. This city was a pleasant surprise and the third largest in Peru.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUHeRRRsKBI/AAAAAAAAAM0/SYDiwkxVtvI/s1600/IMG_5315.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" s5="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUHeRRRsKBI/AAAAAAAAAM0/SYDiwkxVtvI/s400/IMG_5315.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUHiTPn2j-I/AAAAAAAAANI/cHr4PYby5Es/s1600/IMG_5394.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" s5="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUHiTPn2j-I/AAAAAAAAANI/cHr4PYby5Es/s320/IMG_5394.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Our third stop was the historic city of "Chan Chan" (Sun Sun) built around 900AD by the "Chimu" peoples (only the Inca's are now left for us to visit). Once again this city is made of adobe mud bricks but the Chimu were less volatile and did not engage in humann sacrifices. Our guide was a nice old guy, barely 5ft tall and reminded us of a Peruvian version of Yoda! Most of these historic sites are worn down but there is enough detail to make you appreciate their size. At its height, Chan Chan covered 20sq km with 100,000 people.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUHimpGyRGI/AAAAAAAAANM/iIW-NFd6zVo/s1600/IMG_5459.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" s5="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUHimpGyRGI/AAAAAAAAANM/iIW-NFd6zVo/s320/IMG_5459.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">After a quick supermarket stop for more booze we returned to Huanchaco to go for a run and swim. There was a long board surfing competition when we were there with a $30,000USD first prize! The beach has great surf but has dark sand full of small rocks and pebbles. The water was also 17C - I cannot understand why, since we are still above Capricorn and close to the Equator. Not good for swimmers. Huanchaco is also famous for its fishing canoes, made of a long thin buoyant reed to enable passage through the big surf. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUHrq4rzF_I/AAAAAAAAANY/LwLFLza6N4o/s1600/IMG_5451.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" s5="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUHrq4rzF_I/AAAAAAAAANY/LwLFLza6N4o/s320/IMG_5451.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Tonight it was back to our favourite seafood place for a nice BBQ fish caught that morning followed by a visit to the local bar to enjoy several "Pisco Sours", the Peruvian signature cocktail! Suffice to say we were a bit crumbly the next morning as we journeyed another 9hrs from Trujillo to Lima, Peru's capital. The only blessing was the big double-deck luxury bus with air-con, business class style almost flat seats, a hostess and even lunch! To top it off was on-board wi-fi which I used to post this blog! Who said that Peru was not up to date!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><strong>NEXT BLOG: to cover the final leg of our Peruvian Pacific Coast journey from Lima (incl) to Arequipa (excl) due 31JAN.</strong></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUHjDngfQmI/AAAAAAAAANQ/ngMuq7PPNcM/s1600/IMG_5419.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" s5="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TUHjDngfQmI/AAAAAAAAANQ/ngMuq7PPNcM/s320/IMG_5419.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">PERU FACTS: 1) Third largest in South America covering 1,285,220 sq km (5 times size of UK). 2) Pop of 29.5m with 80% Catholic, 45% Indigenous (highest proportion in South America, most speak "Quechua", nothing like Spanish). 3) Poorest with over half living below poverty line with unemployment so high that it cannot be measured. 4) First settled by nomads around 7000BC with Incas only ruling between 1100-1600 and dominating for only 100yrs. Spanish arrived 1526 took over 1535. Independence started by Jose De San Martin in 1821 and completed by Simon Bolivar in 1826. Up to 2007 nothing but mitlitary dictatorships and corrupt Presidents. So bad that inflation reached 10,000% before 2000. 5) Soccer is no 1 sport but Peru has not qualified since 1982. Next big thing is bullfighting, Spanish style. 6) Peruvian Andes are even higher with most peaks between 3000-4000 and highest being Huascaran at 6,768m! 7) Cheapest country to-date: 640ml beer $1.30, typical restaurant main is $5, Sandwich is $2, 330ml water is $0.50, Canned food is $0.80, Bread is $1, Milk is $0.80, 1GB Mini Laptop is $300, T-Shirts $4 but petrol is $1.10/L.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: Thanks to Poonan for fliming more crazy Ozzie-dance sequences.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">HINTS & TIPS: I am quickly realising how easy it is to rock up and catch buses from city to city in the countries visited to date. I think it is feasible to book hotels and buses once you are here - it is tons cheaper but you do need more time allocated. The wi-fi in most hotels also makes booking the next hotel a snap! So instead of a hire car you just substitute buses and you can do your own trip!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">NOTES TO SELF: I beginning to call South America "the continent of unfinished buildings"!!!! Everywhere you go you see heaps of houses and commercial properties at various stages of incompletion.</span>Zorbahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10118806867477722349noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3293689768229502823.post-32417328434033352512011-01-24T14:26:00.000+11:002011-01-24T14:26:15.466+11:00The Adios Descent (20-23 January 2011, Days 42-45 of 127)<span style="font-size: x-small;"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTzpJud36zI/AAAAAAAAAK8/WcobbOWZiuk/s1600/IMG_5045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" s5="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTzpJud36zI/AAAAAAAAAK8/WcobbOWZiuk/s320/IMG_5045.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Our descent from the Equadorian Andes began at 11am on Thursday 20 January from the city of Riobamba and ended in the Peruvian Pacific Ocean coastal town of Mancora at 4:30pm on Sunday 23 January. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Along the way we visited the cities/towns of Riobamba and Cuenca in Equador, saying "Adios" (Goodbye) to Equador along the way!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">And what a descent that was!</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTzpSHOC5eI/AAAAAAAAALA/Ks20RJnjlQI/s1600/IMG_4751.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" s5="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTzpSHOC5eI/AAAAAAAAALA/Ks20RJnjlQI/s320/IMG_4751.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Riobamba (Pop 182K, Elev 2,750m) is a shabby, unkept industrial town but features a long straight cobbled-stone main road with many colonial buildings and 3 main plazas. Riobamba is surrounded by Andean volcano's and is the base for Chimborazo, Equador's highest mountain at 6,310m, it is 2/3rds the hight of Everest! Chimborazo is also recognised as the farthest point from the centre of the earth given the "equatorial buldge" of the Earth! Worth googling to see if the buldge is big enough to surpass Everest! </span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTzq6GC8nrI/AAAAAAAAALQ/UPWH4pdX2yQ/s1600/IMG_4791.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" s5="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTzq6GC8nrI/AAAAAAAAALQ/UPWH4pdX2yQ/s200/IMG_4791.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTzo3Kh4aoI/AAAAAAAAAK4/jQ0ffDFmLaQ/s1600/IMG_4814.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" s5="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTzo3Kh4aoI/AAAAAAAAAK4/jQ0ffDFmLaQ/s200/IMG_4814.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The area around Riobamba is also dominated by fruit growing areas featuring the sweet "tree tomato" (drunk as a juice) and the grenadilla (passionfruit). Did not do much in this town except two runs and my first tub of ice-cream in a long time! Our hotel door-to-door journey from Riobamba to Cuenca took 7hrs via 2 taxis, 2 buses and 1 van. Given the 6hr bus ride with no stops, Maureen and I stocked up on white wine, cheese and olives from the night before and enjoyed a civilised but shakey lunch as we watching the steep farmed hills of the Andes roll past. The landscape was definately softening from the harsh jagged peaks and cavenous valleys of the Quito north. Many of the villages were so high that they were covered in cloud, making for some awe-inspiring scenery.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTzqqMRUrII/AAAAAAAAALM/iXTqGFvXM2I/s1600/IMG_4878.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" s5="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTzqqMRUrII/AAAAAAAAALM/iXTqGFvXM2I/s320/IMG_4878.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Cuenca (Pop 470K, Elev 2,530m, Est 1557) is a more, rustic, charming city with narrow cobblestone streets, a river running throught the centre and surrounded by a ring road and more mountains. It is UNESCO protected and home to the famous white with black band "Panama Hat". Cuenca is known as the "Athens of Equador" given it is a city of learning with 3 universities and the home of Equadorian poetry. It certainy looks better than Athens with multiple church domes amongst colourful colonial buildings - more like the "Florence" of Equador! Dinner on our first night (20JAN) featured the local "Plato Typica" off roast pork pieces with corn and scrambled egg, chips and avocado! It is here we discovered the local export Pilsener - very malty and severely refreshing.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTzrJ3esjgI/AAAAAAAAALU/072umk-oWrY/s1600/IMG_4950.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" s5="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTzrJ3esjgI/AAAAAAAAALU/072umk-oWrY/s640/IMG_4950.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTzqCpJZPOI/AAAAAAAAALI/zQKsD3To7Vs/s1600/IMG_4939.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" s5="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTzqCpJZPOI/AAAAAAAAALI/zQKsD3To7Vs/s200/IMG_4939.JPG" width="150" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTzpyWLmT-I/AAAAAAAAALE/i14-TkmvUXw/s1600/IMG_4869.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" s5="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTzpyWLmT-I/AAAAAAAAALE/i14-TkmvUXw/s200/IMG_4869.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The following day (21JAN), Maureen and I hit the streets and in classic Golfin style we visited the entire city by noon covering, 2 plazas, 3 churches, the river, some piss-weak Inca Ruins and of course some shopping. The highlight was the massive1885 granite built New </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Cathedral with 3 huge capollas and a massive crucifix under an even bigger gold painted sepulchure (see pictures). </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTzr2urDCzI/AAAAAAAAALY/TyOFUWyepjs/s1600/IMG_4960.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" s5="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTzr2urDCzI/AAAAAAAAALY/TyOFUWyepjs/s200/IMG_4960.JPG" width="133" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">In the afternoon we took a local bus and within 30min we were soaking in the local thermal public baths of Cuenca fuelled by some seismic activity beneath smaller dormant surrounding volcanoes. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">A great way to complete the day!</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTzsbEYqJUI/AAAAAAAAALg/a0XeESFyl8o/s1600/IMG_4996.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" s5="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTzsbEYqJUI/AAAAAAAAALg/a0XeESFyl8o/s320/IMG_4996.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTztBG8Ii0I/AAAAAAAAALo/JLToZqocD5k/s1600/IMG_5015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" s5="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTztBG8Ii0I/AAAAAAAAALo/JLToZqocD5k/s200/IMG_5015.JPG" width="133" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTzs2PCGdqI/AAAAAAAAALk/ftiOLvh8l5s/s1600/IMG_5021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" s5="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTzs2PCGdqI/AAAAAAAAALk/ftiOLvh8l5s/s200/IMG_5021.JPG" width="133" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Our final day in Cuenca began at 8:30am with a 2hr bus ride to Ingapirca which features the ruins of a small Inca setllement from the 16th centrury. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Given the drama of a 3hr bus ride back (first bus broke down) and the lack of enough guides to explain the ruins (which are not that intact) I reckon it was a waste of a day. Better to go to the National Park for a bush walk. The only point of interest was the face of an Inca in the side of a hill (see photo).</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTztUg8577I/AAAAAAAAALs/Ahe5khEEnNA/s1600/IMG_5113.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" s5="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTztUg8577I/AAAAAAAAALs/Ahe5khEEnNA/s320/IMG_5113.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">At 6:45am we farewelled our Cuenca Hotel and took a taxi to the bus </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">station to start our 5hr journey down from the Andes to Huaquillas at the Equadorian border. Even though this crazy lead-foot bus driver turned our morning yoghurt into lunchtime cheese, the scenery on our way down from the Andes was fabulous: narrow valleys, towering peaks, very green slopes, full of farms, small villages and brightly dressed indigenous women. The final descent to the Equadorian coastal plain was simply the best to date. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTztgfZRdWI/AAAAAAAAALw/opGJJuq4da4/s1600/IMG_5140.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" s5="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTztgfZRdWI/AAAAAAAAALw/opGJJuq4da4/s320/IMG_5140.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Massive open valleys with cliff-edge dirt roads, peaks hugged by clouds and raging rivers below. This was made possible by a detour caused by a rain-induced landslide covering the main road. My camera worked overtime. Finally we got to the Equadorian border post (crappy building and the worst toilet to date!) where we spent 20min getting our passport stamped and another 20min waiting for the Peruvian bus. Another 20min entering Peru which was an atco shed with everyone queued outside in the hot equatorial sun! Lucky it was not raining. After 45min the aqua green Pacific showed itself - a sight for sore eyes - I had not seen it since arriving in South America.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><strong>NEXT BLOG: to cover the Peruvian Pacific Coastline to Lima due 27JAN.</strong></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTztxyjySEI/AAAAAAAAAL0/0TNHh7khJww/s1600/IMG_4925.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" s5="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTztxyjySEI/AAAAAAAAAL0/0TNHh7khJww/s400/IMG_4925.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTzuWjOdcMI/AAAAAAAAAL8/hgjs0fw4m2I/s1600/IMG_4764.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" s5="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTzuWjOdcMI/AAAAAAAAAL8/hgjs0fw4m2I/s200/IMG_4764.JPG" width="133" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: 1) My thanks to Maureen for taking most of my crazy dance sequences for the film, especially the one under the New Cathedral main door which took some time because of dumb-arse people walking in front of the camera.</span><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">HINTS & TIPS: 1) Peru is the cheapest country in South America for electronics, especially laptops. Good place to replace lost or broken stuff or invest in a small laptop for travel. 2) You can catch buses on main routes that have "no sellers". These are 50% more expensive (most tickets are $5-15) but can be up to 30% quicker.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTzu8_YBn-I/AAAAAAAAAME/JysgOspO8JM/s1600/IMG_4899.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" s5="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTzu8_YBn-I/AAAAAAAAAME/JysgOspO8JM/s400/IMG_4899.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">NOTES TO SELF: 1) Buses in Equador remind me of Greece 40 years ago - there are no set stops, people just get on and off along the way, including locals selling stuff. This is what makes the journeys so long. A 200km trip can take up to 5hrs!</span></span><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Zorbahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10118806867477722349noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3293689768229502823.post-56636457744757147132011-01-20T14:46:00.000+11:002011-01-20T14:46:06.286+11:00Amazonopoulos (17-19 January 2011)<span style="font-size: x-small;"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTekWJ4jdNI/AAAAAAAAAJM/L4EkByzfOA4/s1600/IMG_4420.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" n4="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTekWJ4jdNI/AAAAAAAAAJM/L4EkByzfOA4/s200/IMG_4420.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Casa Kanela Hostel in Quito to Cotococha Lodge in the Amazon Basin took 7.5hrs, 1 van and 2 buses to cover the 193km. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTekhdN7T8I/AAAAAAAAAJQ/WBDPh2nY0qc/s1600/IMG_4392.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" n4="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTekhdN7T8I/AAAAAAAAAJQ/WBDPh2nY0qc/s200/IMG_4392.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We rode through the Andes along spectacular valley roads passing through 4,000m and descending down to 518m surrounded by thick lush green jungle into a town called Tena (Pop 23K). What a ride. Windy roads, high humidity but the final destination a real treat.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTelpOiZaNI/AAAAAAAAAJU/SuiRVKWkKc8/s1600/IMG_4522.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" n4="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTelpOiZaNI/AAAAAAAAAJU/SuiRVKWkKc8/s320/IMG_4522.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">This part of Equador is home to the Quechua indigenous peoples who speak their own language (nothing like Spanish) and are fairly autonomous. I stayed in a wooden, palm-thatched bangalow facing the river (Rio Napo) and surrounded by thick jungle. Rio Napo is one of 12 main rivers that "start" the Amazon from the Andes. The lodge is 15km from Tena, has 22 stand-alone bugalows offering 44 beds, seperate bungalows for eating and entertainment and two long boats for the river.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTemFpWSfhI/AAAAAAAAAJY/GGWX7v7AERk/s1600/IMG_4446.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" n4="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTemFpWSfhI/AAAAAAAAAJY/GGWX7v7AERk/s200/IMG_4446.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">After our arrival at 3:30pm we were whisked away in a long boat on the river and to the indegenous town of Tiya Yaku where we learned all about local food (mainly the potatoe-like "Yuca"), pottery and poison dart shooting. Back at the lodge, each of us received two kero lanterns for our rooms as there is no electricity. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTemf438PWI/AAAAAAAAAJc/uhV_GnAQL3E/s1600/IMG_4620.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" n4="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTemf438PWI/AAAAAAAAAJc/uhV_GnAQL3E/s200/IMG_4620.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Maureen and I adjourned to a lovely bottle of Chilean 2008 Cab Sav and local cheese, before dinner, overlooking the river. Dinner slipped past a moonlit night and off to the starrey night of river and jungle nocturnal music...</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The 18JAN began with a 12km run at 6:30am through the Amazon Basin, past a village and 3 chasing dogs!</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTemyHtQOHI/AAAAAAAAAJg/CPHuREi6vss/s1600/IMG_4485.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" n4="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTemyHtQOHI/AAAAAAAAAJg/CPHuREi6vss/s200/IMG_4485.JPG" width="133" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">After a quick coffee, we were in the long tail boat across the river and on our half-day walk to a waterfall, deep in the jungle. The Amazon is thick and noisey! It could be Greek! The main feature of visiting this area is purley flora! Animals are here but unlike the low shrub-line of the swampy Pantal, they are hard to spot. The other signature feature is butterlies - they are everywhere. Even the trees "strangle" each other with their roots and trunks in competition for space and light. We also learned that because there are no seasons, Amazon trees have no rings so you cannot tell their age. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTenXESlr9I/AAAAAAAAAJk/SH-7pawH8xI/s1600/IMG_4480.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" n4="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTenXESlr9I/AAAAAAAAAJk/SH-7pawH8xI/s400/IMG_4480.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTeniRJfJTI/AAAAAAAAAJo/BjcVIGqFAOA/s1600/IMG_4512.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" n4="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTeniRJfJTI/AAAAAAAAAJo/BjcVIGqFAOA/s200/IMG_4512.JPG" width="133" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The one hour sweaty walk was quickly forgotten in the cool clear waters of the Napo waterfall. After a relaxing swim and sunning on the rocks we headed back to the river and instead of taking the boat to the lodge we "tubbed" back, sitting in huge truck tyre tubes and paddling on our own down the river for 40min. This was a defining moment since we all spread out and with no boat engine, all you could hear was the jungle on both sides of the river and you alone in the middle of the river - such isolation - such beauty. It was at this moment that the enormity and wilderness of the Amazon hit me. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTen0MEtdtI/AAAAAAAAAJs/XNlhSoCwpXM/s1600/IMG_4519.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" n4="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTen0MEtdtI/AAAAAAAAAJs/XNlhSoCwpXM/s320/IMG_4519.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I could not believe I was in a tyre in the middle of the river in the Amazon! Another highlight of tubing is riding the rapids and spinning around as you do it. Back at the lodge and instead of lunch I went for a 30min swim in the river. The afternoon was spent at a butterfly farm learning about the entire life-cycle and observing several species through each stage. The highlight was being let loose in a huge nettted area to chase and photograph these graceful creatures. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTeojlune0I/AAAAAAAAAJ0/oF2lGwR1rKM/s1600/IMG_4456.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" n4="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTeojlune0I/AAAAAAAAAJ0/oF2lGwR1rKM/s200/IMG_4456.JPG" width="133" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTeoT719RRI/AAAAAAAAAJw/rFbMqmMOXpM/s1600/IMG_4592.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" n4="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTeoT719RRI/AAAAAAAAAJw/rFbMqmMOXpM/s200/IMG_4592.JPG" width="133" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We had a mountain of fun getting back to the l</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">odge - instead of the river pebbles on the way there we had to run through a very narrow jungle trail so that the soldier ants below our feet did not have time to climb on us and bite us! On our way back I actually ate some ants that the local guide, Marco, offered to us that live in the stem of a particular plant. They tasted like lime. Back at the lodge we showered and relaxed to the more civilised pre-dinner wine and cheese under lanterns with Maureen at the top floor of the bangalow overlooking the river, jungle and full-moon. Tonight was a special night with "local tucker" before dinner and indigenous dancing after. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTeo1vkVpSI/AAAAAAAAAJ4/RB5ImmSFugo/s1600/IMG_4578.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" n4="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTeo1vkVpSI/AAAAAAAAAJ4/RB5ImmSFugo/s400/IMG_4578.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTepMTiu1VI/AAAAAAAAAKA/-6t7W4AhvmU/s1600/IMG_4605.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" n4="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTepMTiu1VI/AAAAAAAAAKA/-6t7W4AhvmU/s320/IMG_4605.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The tucker involved a souvlaki of beetle lavae ("Chontacuro") and banana. I proceeded to bite the head off (you do not eat this part) and consume the body - tasted like the skin of a grilled salmon - quite rich and oily but suprisingly tasty - no bitterness. I consumed 3 of these, helped along by my second bottle of Chilean Cab Sav! The dinner featured the local Amazon fish "Tilapia" and local beef accompagnied by the local potato-like "Yuca". The dancing after dinner was like "piss-weak world" in D-Generation. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTepcHUqCYI/AAAAAAAAAKE/4RL2fk5G2O8/s1600/IMG_4615.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" n4="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTepcHUqCYI/AAAAAAAAAKE/4RL2fk5G2O8/s400/IMG_4615.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTepv6Z5lkI/AAAAAAAAAKI/6fX9CggaATA/s1600/IMG_4573.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" n4="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTepv6Z5lkI/AAAAAAAAAKI/6fX9CggaATA/s200/IMG_4573.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">It started with a local dressed as a medicine man "cleansing" volunteer American tourists and sending Maureen and I to sleep at the same time! Then I tried my hand at some indegenous dancing which was very repetitious so I improvised with my "dag" dance and some Ozzie Aboriginal moves which got the audience going for a while. After watching the locals accidently swash a grasshopper as they danced, it was off to bed. Too much red!</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTer-FdUI2I/AAAAAAAAAKU/NP-V53ERQn8/s1600/IMG_4646.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" n4="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTer-FdUI2I/AAAAAAAAAKU/NP-V53ERQn8/s200/IMG_4646.JPG" width="133" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The next day we left the lodge at 8am and started our journey out of the Amazon Basin heading south back up to the Andes to end up in our overnight stop at Riobamba (Pop 182K, Elev 2,7540m), after 10hrs (5hrs on the road), 1 van 3 buses and 1 taxi. Near Banos, we visited three huge waterfalls, the most famous being "La Pailon Del Diablo" (The Devil's Cauldron). Many locals from the coast come to visit these waterfalls via bikes or open-air "party truck" serving booze with music. Banos (Pop 15K, Elev 1,800) itself is famous for its thermal baths (caused by nearby 5,016m semi-active volcano Tungarahua) and "Melcocha" (toffee). </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTetog4jB4I/AAAAAAAAAKk/yqh_-b3rYYA/s1600/IMG_4677.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" n4="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTetog4jB4I/AAAAAAAAAKk/yqh_-b3rYYA/s200/IMG_4677.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We also visited the town's spectacular cathedral with wood-scuplured fornt door icons and an ornate tiled interior. Poonam tried to bungie-jump off the 60m Banos bridge but I pissed my pants and she couldn't bear the thought of a smelly bus! The scenery between Banos and Riobamba was the best to date featuring a massive valley with Banos volcano Tungarahua steaming in the distance!</span></div><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTet_aTTARI/AAAAAAAAAKo/WQ6lYeHyrIQ/s1600/IMG_4722.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" n4="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTet_aTTARI/AAAAAAAAAKo/WQ6lYeHyrIQ/s640/IMG_4722.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><strong>NEXT BLOG: to cover our descent from the Equadorian Andes to the Pacific Coast due 24-25JAN.</strong></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTeuZmZ3OvI/AAAAAAAAAKs/KgpCiYqG3bY/s1600/IMG_4501.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" n4="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTeuZmZ3OvI/AAAAAAAAAKs/KgpCiYqG3bY/s320/IMG_4501.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: My Sincere thanks to Poonam who took the "Insect Photo" and the "Waterfall Photo", in particular, amongst others. She too is in the running for "Best Signature Shot" to be judged by the followers of my blog and a grand prize awarded to the winner by nme on the launch night of "Ai Caramba 2011 - The Movie!" approx 2 mths after my return.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTeu0_8qrXI/AAAAAAAAAKw/dHdj14_gcQ0/s1600/IMG_4688.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" n4="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTeu0_8qrXI/AAAAAAAAAKw/dHdj14_gcQ0/s320/IMG_4688.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">HINTS & TIPS: Definately see the Amazon in Tena Equador or Iquitos Peru via "Jungle Lodges" rather than the boats at Manaus Brazil - the lodges are more isolated and feature a rich array of activities to get you close to the jungle. If its animals you want to see you must do the Lodges at the Pantanal where they cannot hide as easily! Lodges are worth booking from Oz as they fill up.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTevFjWGPjI/AAAAAAAAAK0/l8d6XydUdi0/s1600/IMG_4624.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" n4="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTevFjWGPjI/AAAAAAAAAK0/l8d6XydUdi0/s320/IMG_4624.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">NOTES TO SELF: 1) Equador has just recently passed a law that forbids the buying and drinking of alcohol on Sundays! I got around this by filling up two water bottles with Sav Blanc and sharing it with Maureen. What a blast. 2) I take my hat off to Maureen who is travelling 2 yrs through South America and europe from 6DEC10 just planning it as she goes. I also admire her ability to "rough it". 3) Equador does not use trains for general transport. There is one for tourism.</span></span>Zorbahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10118806867477722349noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3293689768229502823.post-53517888919824886142011-01-17T10:28:00.000+11:002011-01-17T10:28:30.196+11:00To Quit or Galap the Equator? (9-16 January 2011)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTNwjfHzayI/AAAAAAAAAII/Uw00u5ifrvs/s1600/IMG_4382.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" n4="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTNwjfHzayI/AAAAAAAAAII/Uw00u5ifrvs/s320/IMG_4382.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Quito and Galapagos have two things in common: they belong to Equador and are on the equator. The incredible difference is that the capital and 2nd largest city, Quito (Pop 2.2m) is 2,850m above sea level. That's 3 Katoomba's high! Combine that with the equator and its temperature is typically dry, comfortable and between 11-24C. Galapagos on the other hand is at sea level but not like the steamie-room of Singapore! It is humid in the main town but very bareable out on the islands because of open sea breezes and lack of evaporation due to no forests or trees. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Total journey time from Parakaupa Lodge in Angel Falls Venezuela to the cruiser "Guantanamera" on the Galapagos Islands in Equador was 1 day and 4 hours (including 6hrs of flying over 4 flights and an overnight in Quito). My first impressions of Equador in Quito was that it was poorer and much more run down than all the countries I had seen to date but despite this was more savy with tourists, eg: bilingual signs, out of airport in 15min and English speaking taxi drivers!</span> <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTDFAVWp6JI/AAAAAAAAAG4/1_eI5EIHyXw/s1600/IMG_4222.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" n4="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTDFAVWp6JI/AAAAAAAAAG4/1_eI5EIHyXw/s320/IMG_4222.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Galapagos Archipaelago comprises 19 official "islands" (6 inhabited by some 30,000 people, with no new immigration allowed since 1989) some 1,000km due west off the coast of South America in the Pacific (1hr 40min flight). It was born from a volcanic hot spot that is still active today and discovered by the Spanish who saw a myriad of Land Tortoises on the islands, whose shapely shells reminded them of horse saddles or "Galapagos" in Spanish. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTDGVLIClwI/AAAAAAAAAHA/9eyyO3ok7Z4/s1600/IMG_3705.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" n4="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTDGVLIClwI/AAAAAAAAAHA/9eyyO3ok7Z4/s320/IMG_3705.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Galapagos is the marine equivalent of a game park of wilderbeast in South Africa. There are birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians coming out of every nook and cranny, free, uninhibited and happy to interact with you! You not only see them but walk with them and swim with them. It has "Attenborough" written all over it! The best way to see the wildlife and landscape is to take a cruise that allows you to hop-off, swim and snorkel along the way. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTDFL7PQLdI/AAAAAAAAAG8/bO643sVambQ/s1600/IMG_3966.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" n4="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTDFL7PQLdI/AAAAAAAAAG8/bO643sVambQ/s200/IMG_3966.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I did this on a cruiser called the "Guantanamera" with 15 other people (mostly from Denmark with Germany and Holland) and 7 crew. The wessel is 25m long, cruises at 15km/h and has most of the comforts of home. I shared a cabin with Monika, a Vet, originally from near Frankfurt but living in England. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here are the daily highlights of what we did and saw.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTDOHUuOECI/AAAAAAAAAH8/GBpoYufhAxg/s1600/IMG_3467.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" n4="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTDOHUuOECI/AAAAAAAAAH8/GBpoYufhAxg/s320/IMG_3467.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Day 1 - Sunday 9 January 2011: Baltra Island (Airport, Arrived 11am) to Santa Cruz Island (Bachas Beach, Landing 1, Snorkel 1, 2-4pm):</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From Baltra airport, we were bused a short ride and zodiaked to our 3-level diesel cruiser. After a signature tuna lunch we set sail for one hour to Bachas Beach on the second largest island of Santa Cruz. It is here that we went on our first nature walk and while others snorkelled, I decide to add the Galapagos to my "Long White Line" by going for a 40min run on the beach sand. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTDG51IiETI/AAAAAAAAAHI/TSTG3sUx4NY/s1600/IMG_3530.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" n4="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTDG51IiETI/AAAAAAAAAHI/TSTG3sUx4NY/s320/IMG_3530.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We saw 2 types of birds (Frigates and Brown Pelicans), the Sally Lightfoot Crab, Marine Iguanas, Sea Lions and Lava Lizards. Then it was back to the boat to travel to travel to Punta Carrion where we set anchor for a briefing, an intro and toast to all the crew, a lovely beef casserole dinner, not much conversation or humour since I landed a dinner table full of geriatric kroats, so I resorted to lots of beer and finally sleep! A total of 6 new species seen today.</span><br />
<br />
<b><br />
</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our walk culminated atop the highest point giving great views of both South and North Plaza islands and Santa Cruz across the strait. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTNxpEDd_6I/AAAAAAAAAIM/Nb8FKUEyujI/s1600/IMG_3507.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" n4="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTNxpEDd_6I/AAAAAAAAAIM/Nb8FKUEyujI/s320/IMG_3507.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Day 2 - Monday 10 January 2011: South Plaza Island (Landing 2, 7:45-9:45am) and Santa Fe Island (Snorkel 2, 2;15-3:45pm, Landing 3, 4-5:30pm):</strong></span><br />
Today we woke to the sound of barking sea lions! After a great breaky of muesli, yogurt, eggs, ham, cheese and toast we were on shore on South Plaza Island which was absolutely chokers full of wildlife, green cactus (Iguana food) and red/orange sea bush. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTDHg-W6jVI/AAAAAAAAAHQ/dLWX3MaL5pw/s1600/IMG_3573.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" n4="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTDHg-W6jVI/AAAAAAAAAHQ/dLWX3MaL5pw/s400/IMG_3573.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTDIFu0yeRI/AAAAAAAAAHU/jkHjxvPL84c/s1600/IMG_3655.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" n4="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTDIFu0yeRI/AAAAAAAAAHU/jkHjxvPL84c/s320/IMG_3655.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After lunch, we arrived at the fabulous shallow turquiose bay of Santa Fe Island. I went for a 30min swim, 13 times around our boat (since I was not allowed to swim to the islands) and then we went snorkelling, coming within inches of Sea Turtles, Spotted Eagle Rays, White-Tipped Reef Sharks (1.5m long) and finally playful Sea Lions which swam right up to us! After returning to the ship for a quick break we were on land again on Santa Fe where the highlight was a 150yr old cactus tree, Land Iguana's and various birdlife. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTDIX2bddiI/AAAAAAAAAHY/ca3CxfrvLaY/s1600/IMG_3601.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" n4="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTDIX2bddiI/AAAAAAAAAHY/ca3CxfrvLaY/s320/IMG_3601.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is here that we learned that Galapagos Iguanas have two willies! Yes you read right! The only problem however is that they can only use one at time! Talk about redudancy! After dinner we watched parts 1 of 2 of a well-filmed BBC documentary on the Galapagos! In summary, today we saw all 6 wildlife species from yesterday plus 15 additional ones: Darwin Finch, Blue Footed Booby, Swallow Tailed Gull, Shearwater, Tropic Bird, Nazca Booby, Yellow Warbler, White Tipped Reef Shark, Ray, Sea Turtle, Galapagos Dove, Common Stilt, Lava Herron and Wandering Tatler. We also learned today that there is no such thing as an animal or dish called the "Galapagos Duck"! Pity, since I had my heart set on eating one!</span><br />
<br />
<b></b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTNyLEgQ_-I/AAAAAAAAAIQ/Ik3AQHT2x9w/s1600/IMG_3678.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" n4="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTNyLEgQ_-I/AAAAAAAAAIQ/Ik3AQHT2x9w/s320/IMG_3678.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Day 3 - Tuesday 11 January 2011: Espanola Island (Gardner Bay, Landing 4, 8-10am, Snorkel 3) and (Suarez Point, Landing 5, 2-5pm):</strong></span><br />
The morning horizon was repleat with the large expansive beach of Gardiner Bay. Our morning landing was free time to us. As the beach was covered in seals, I was not allowed to run so I executed a very fast walk-semi-jog in soft sand for 90min - a killer equivalent! We had already seen all the animals here and there was not much to snorkel. Before lunch we went for a quick snorkel and saw various schools of coloured fish - clouds of them! <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTDI4U3AKMI/AAAAAAAAAHg/IaA2bK63ZUQ/s1600/IMG_3822.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" n4="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTDI4U3AKMI/AAAAAAAAAHg/IaA2bK63ZUQ/s320/IMG_3822.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After lunch we sailed for Suarez Point which was the highlight of our trip. There was more wildlife and scenery per metre of land here than anywhere else. Every animal here was not afraid of humans and we were able to stand right next to them for brilliant photo results! The highlights for me were: watching two male Marine Iguana's fighting (over a girl, of course!), almost kissing two Boobys (birds that is!) and witnessing the "test flight" of a young Albatross! </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTDJLNMG4_I/AAAAAAAAAHk/2X7Xf1qgKNo/s1600/IMG_3802.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" n4="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTDJLNMG4_I/AAAAAAAAAHk/2X7Xf1qgKNo/s320/IMG_3802.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Suarez Point alone presented 13 species we had already seen plus 5 new ones, being: Mockingbird (follows you around for fresh water, a bad habit brought on by early tourism giving them water), Galapagos Hawk (Female has up to 4 husbands), Galapagos Albatross (wingspan of up to 2.5m), American Oystercatcher (can't catch the champagne though!), Storm Petrel. Dinner featured lentils! Yeah! My chance to get regular again - these South Americans just love their meat! The night concluded with part 2 of the BBC film on Galapagos.</span><br />
<br />
<b></b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTNyovdQBNI/AAAAAAAAAIU/oq9iEpWmdjc/s1600/IMG_3908.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" n4="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTNyovdQBNI/AAAAAAAAAIU/oq9iEpWmdjc/s320/IMG_3908.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Day 4 - Wednesday 12 January 2011: Floreana Island (Cormorant Point, Landing 6, 7:30-9am, Snorkel 4, 9:30-11am), Post Office Bay, Landing 7, 12-2:30pm) and Santa Cruz Island (Puerto Ayora, Landing 8, 8-9:30pm):</strong></span><br />
A new day, a new island. This was our sixth and the most southern in the archipaelago: Floreana. Our morning landing took us past Flamingo lake (sadly, no Flamingos but I will see these in Bolivia so stand-by) and to a spectacular torquoise beach on the other side called Cormorant Point where our eyes feasted on scenery and sting rays! <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTDJvxv7x0I/AAAAAAAAAHs/jsBoRv8_oIM/s1600/IMG_3765.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" n4="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTDJvxv7x0I/AAAAAAAAAHs/jsBoRv8_oIM/s320/IMG_3765.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After returning to the ship, the usual 6 snorkellers headed out on the dinghy past the "Devil's Crown" rocks in search of Hammerhead Sharks! Unfortunately we did not see any but were visited by over 8 White Tipped Reef Sharks, two large Sea Turtles, six Manta Rays, one very playful Sea Lion and masses of clouds of coloured fish. We also saw white coral, sea urchins and blue/yellow star fish. It was our best snorkel! All snorkels were off the dinghy in isolated coastline locations. All other snorkels were off the beaches featured in our landings. We must have seen at least a dozen different type of tropical fish. It is a whole other duplicate world down there! After lunch we made a quick 20min sail to Post Office Bay where there is a make-shift postal box started in 1792 by whalers to pass on messages, etched on pieces of wood, to loved ones - each hunting party would leave their messages for the next party to pick-up and hand deliver to addressees. This tradition has continued to this day with tourist parties leaving postcards supplied them by their guides for the next party to pick up but bugger the hand-delivery bit - I got 8 for Australia covering Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane! After this we were free to do our own thing so I went for a beach run and then a quick snorkel. We even saw a swimming Penguin! Yes, they are here in parts where the water is cold (15C). After this we started our 4 hour cruise back to Puerto Ayora, the largest settlement (pop 20,000) on Santa Cruz. After dinner we were ferried to the main town for our own leisure. We had some farewell drinks at the local disco and were dinghied back.</span><br />
<br />
<b></b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTNzM7SOGUI/AAAAAAAAAIY/LncnWjBtJCo/s1600/IMG_3987.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" n4="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTNzM7SOGUI/AAAAAAAAAIY/LncnWjBtJCo/s320/IMG_3987.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Day 5 - Thursday 13 January 2011: Santa Cruz Island (Charles Darwin Station, Final Landing 9, 6:45-830am) and Baltra Island (Airport, Departed 11:20am):</strong></span><br />
The 5:30am wake-up call was not necessary this morning - I did not get much sleep with the constant racket of passing vessels and our ship changing anchor 3 times during the night! Finally we said farewell to the "Guantanamera" and were dinghied 10min to the Darwin Research Station which is in Puerto Ayora. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTDK6M1vxgI/AAAAAAAAAH4/o3QzQzD7tpM/s1600/IMG_3872.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTDK6M1vxgI/AAAAAAAAAH4/o3QzQzD7tpM/s320/IMG_3872.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The station was founded 50 years ago in honour of Charles Darwin who made the Galapagos Islands famous by developing his theory of natural selection based on what he observed there in 1835 for 5 weeks. Basically he noticed that the same "type" or "genous" of animal could manifest itself via different "species" depending on its physical environment (driven by availability of food, weather, terrain and of course - predators). The prime example is the "Darwin Finch" which has 13 species over the various Galapagos Islands. Unfortunately as the area was settled, nearly all the original Giant Land Tortoises were slaughtered for food and oil. That's were the centre stepped in and is now breeding them back - so far they have released 1,000 back into various islands (with 75% mating success on their own) - once this reaches 30,000 they will stop and let nature take over. We saw many baby Giant Land Tortoises and fully grown ones. It is amazing. The hatchling starts at 30mm and 50g and ends up with an adult up to 800mm and 200kg with ages topping 200 years old! Most reach 100yrs. We saw the famous 80-90 year old "Lonesome George" who was one of the last remaining Tortoises from which the centre cloned all the rest. He even appeared in the movie "Scareface" as Al Pacino's exotic present to his new wife! From here a bus picked us up and we were off to the aiport for the flight back to Quito. What a wildlife wonderland.<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> I had seen 28 species of animal not including the fish!</span></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTN0FaXIlVI/AAAAAAAAAIc/KhCVwMQUqMs/s1600/IMG_4085.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" n4="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTN0FaXIlVI/AAAAAAAAAIc/KhCVwMQUqMs/s320/IMG_4085.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Quito and surrounds and the start of my 83-day Intrepid Tour...</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thu 13 to Sun 16 January were spent discovering Quito City and the surrounding areas. Quito is stunning geographically! It is a long thin city running some 20km long North to South sandwiched between a valley of volcanoes, approx 7km East to West. The highest peaks about 50km away are close to 6,000m high which is two-thirds the hight of Everest! Amazing!!!</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTN0Vony92I/AAAAAAAAAIg/ymOKSIwj6qQ/s1600/IMG_4132.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" n4="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTN0Vony92I/AAAAAAAAAIg/ymOKSIwj6qQ/s320/IMG_4132.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I started my assault on the city on Fri 14JAN at 7:30am by heading to El Panecillo (Little Bread Loaf) which is a smaller volcano reaching 3,050m and overlooking the Unesco protected "Old Town" and entire city of Quito. On the top of the hill is huge statue of the Virgin Mary. From there I descended down hundreds of steps into the old town highlighted by three main plazas. Plaza Santa Domingo was the first with the Church of St Domingo (built 1581-1650), Plaza San Francisco was the second with the convent (built 1534-1604) and the third the Plaza Grande containing the presidents palace and office, the archbishops residence and office and the cities main Cathedral. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTN0mMkvPnI/AAAAAAAAAIk/LJEVbDToC5M/s1600/IMG_4164.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" n4="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTN0mMkvPnI/AAAAAAAAAIk/LJEVbDToC5M/s200/IMG_4164.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The most ornate church was the "La Compania de Jesus" with gold leaf and bright red paint covering every inch of the interior. The old town contains many apartments that feature 17th century facades combining Spanish, Moorish and indigenous influences. It is a buzz with people and very appealing to the eye. There are small shops and street sellers everywhere.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From here I walked to the New Town via three central parks where business people, tourists and baskers gather. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTN1F8VZo4I/AAAAAAAAAIo/9Bqgfldz6Hc/s1600/IMG_4123.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" n4="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTN1F8VZo4I/AAAAAAAAAIo/9Bqgfldz6Hc/s200/IMG_4123.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The New Town or business district is dominated by the main thoroughfare "Avenue Amazonas" repleate with tourist cafes, hotels and shops. This leads to "Mariscal Sucre" which is literally the "tourist ghetto" full of hostels, hotels, bars and hamburgers. This is were I stayed but stayed well away from its trappings. I ended my first day in Quito with a 9km, 50min jog down the main road at 2,850m elevation, dodging peak hour traffic - at least the Equadorians use indicators but they double parked everywhere!</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTN2DAl_vbI/AAAAAAAAAIs/xIZxff-XRdM/s1600/IMG_4155.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" n4="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTN2DAl_vbI/AAAAAAAAAIs/xIZxff-XRdM/s320/IMG_4155.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today (14JAN) was actually day 1 of my 83-day "Intrepid Tour" which is actually four tours back-to-back. This first tour is 36days from Quito Equador to La Paz Bolivia. It takes in all of Equador, Peru and Bolivia including the Amazon and Machu Picchu. I met our guide Johanna Cordova and all all three fellow travellers - YES - you read right - only 3 - how intimate! Poonum and Jessica are from London and Maureen from the Gold Cost (who is also doing the entire 83 days!). </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTN3Vt9BWsI/AAAAAAAAAI0/3u-lsm72r7s/s1600/IMG_4185.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" n4="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTN3Vt9BWsI/AAAAAAAAAI0/3u-lsm72r7s/s320/IMG_4185.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTN3sbhYcPI/AAAAAAAAAI4/IavTzhu-rP4/s1600/IMG_4224.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" n4="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTN3sbhYcPI/AAAAAAAAAI4/IavTzhu-rP4/s320/IMG_4224.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We celebrated the start of our grand adventure with an Equadorian dinner of Ceviche (Fresh cold marinated seafood soup with lime), Empanadas (Savoury banana pastry pocket with cheese inside) and the national favourite of 2 fried eggs on beef with fries! All washed down with the hot alcoholic sugar-cane spirit called "Canezalo"! We also had wine (for the first time in 3 weeks) and in the true Golfin curse, the first wine I order is not available - how is this possible - 12,000km form Melbourne and they still do not have what I want!!! I am cursed!!!</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTN4CLryOCI/AAAAAAAAAI8/y6ExI7ph-SA/s1600/IMG_4252.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTN4CLryOCI/AAAAAAAAAI8/y6ExI7ph-SA/s320/IMG_4252.JPG" width="212" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The next day (15JAN) saw our new-found Intrepid family of five (incl guide) travel 3hrs by public buses some 100km North to Otavalo (Pop 60K, Elev 2,530m) famous for its Saturday markets brimming with rainbow coloured locally-woven textiles, arts, crafts and a plethora of fresh and cooked foods. The town is occupied by the indigenous "Otavalenos", short, jet-black hair, colourful traditional costumes and hats and men with braided pony-tails! The indigenous in the Andes are very short since the heart has to work much harder in high altitudes to pump blood "up" the body. Overlooking the town is the snow-capped 5,790m volcano "Cayambe". Between Quito and Otavalo is a massive valley full of rose farms - I discovered that roses are the number one export of Equador (mainly Europe)!</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTN4gd9qc3I/AAAAAAAAAJA/vOLK8WNVZsw/s1600/IMG_4269.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" n4="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTN4gd9qc3I/AAAAAAAAAJA/vOLK8WNVZsw/s320/IMG_4269.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our final day in Quito (16JAN) opened the curtain on a spectacular morning ride on the "TeleferiQo" (Cable Car) some 2.5km length up the slopes of volcano Pichincha to a height of 4,100m for a astronaut's view of all of Quito. This is over 12,000ft and only 2,000ft under the oxygen line! As I walked a further 300m uphill I could feel my heart pounding with some shorteness of breath and light headedness. A bit like starting a third bottle of Heathcote Shiraz! </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTN40h3mXYI/AAAAAAAAAJE/KtC9yvG7v70/s1600/IMG_4300.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" n4="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTN40h3mXYI/AAAAAAAAAJE/KtC9yvG7v70/s400/IMG_4300.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We then caught two public buses some 22km north of Quito to San Antonio to the exact spot where the equator crosses Equador! Aptly named "Mitad Del Mundo" (Middle of the Earth) it comprises a big tourist area dominated by a tower with YELLOW line on the ground marking the equatorial line. As it was Sunday, we also enjoyed some traditional Equadorian dancing also watched by locals on their "day out". After another Equadorian meal we bunkered down for the night ready to journey to the Amazon Jungle in the morning...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTN5HBLTQ6I/AAAAAAAAAJI/TvMs9vhU1vg/s1600/IMG_4350.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" n4="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTN5HBLTQ6I/AAAAAAAAAJI/TvMs9vhU1vg/s320/IMG_4350.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">EQUADOR FACTS: 1) Covers 283,560 sq km (Size of New Zealand), 2) Pop 15m, highest density in South America (52/km), 95% Catholic, 65% Mestizos (50-50 Indingenous-Spanish), 25% Indigenous, 40% live in poverty! 2) History: oldest tools date back to 9,000BC</span>, first peoples were the Valdiva around 4,000BC, first indigenous "Shyris" battled Inca's 1300-1532, Spanish landed 1532, Spanish Governor Gonzalo first to travel full length of Amazon in 1540 in search of Gold, Independence 1830, mostly military rule to 1941 when war broke out with Peru until final settlement in 1998, democracy kicked in 1979. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3) Equador adopted the US Dollar from 2000, 4) No 1 sport is Soccer, No 2 is Volleyball with Bull Fighting and Cock Fighting an unoffical 3rd!, 5) No 1 music called "Cambia", 6) Most dense wildlife and ecological system in the world, ie, no of species per area of land: 20,000 plant (1 new one every year, 17,000 in all of North America), 1,600 bird (twice all of North America), 300 mammals, 7) Latest President has suggested that the world should pay Equador NOT to mine huge oil reserves below their national parks - how's that for thinking outside the "terrorist" box! 8) Prices: $1.50 for coffee, $1 for 375ml local beer, $4-8 for main at restaurant, $2 for hamburger.</span><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">NEXT BLOG: On The Amazon Jungle due 19JAN11.</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ACNOWLEDGEMENTS: 1) Sincere thanks with great relief to Annette from Denmark who supplied me with the correct adapter to charge my camera and laptop batteries after I had brought the wrong one! 2) Thanks to Elena from Holland who took the "Seal Photo" and the "Booby Photo" in this blog. 3) Thanks to Johan our guide for his interview with Golfco Pictures.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTDP9MiX0cI/AAAAAAAAAIE/6Mq81aEsVI0/s1600/IMG_3885.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" n4="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CFgNMg-Z1xo/TTDP9MiX0cI/AAAAAAAAAIE/6Mq81aEsVI0/s400/IMG_3885.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">NOTES TO SELF: 1) Contrary to my brother's belief that Venezuela's Santa Barbara Airlines (SBA) would result in my nieces inheriting my worldy posessions, he was wrong: an empty 767-300 (same as Qantas planes between Sydney and Melbourne) with 2 meals and 6 185ml cups of Spanish Trempanllio served to me over a 2.5hr flight between Caracas Venezuela and Quito Equador! Qantas - stop counting drinks in economy and you JUST may get more revenue! Even if we did go down, at least it would be on a full and happy stomach!</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div></span></span></span>Zorbahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10118806867477722349noreply@blogger.com0