On Peru ...
by james22 @ 2005-07-30 - 01:48:57
Hi
Hope all is well.
I have now finished my journey through the country of Peru and am currently waiting for a bus in Copacabana to take me to Bolivia´s capital, La Paz. Overall I found Peru to be many more times more enjoyable than its Northern neighbour Ecuador. It seemed Peru offered up a lot more and was a lot friendlier.
I started at the beach resort of Mancora ... a great, chilled out resort where I met a few cool people whom I was to meet later on whilst travelling South. I was also offered the honey moon suite for $8 a night with its own porch and hammock. I really did not want to leave. Mancora was the last time I actually felt warm during the day and night as it has been getting progressively colder (currently around minus 5 at night).
After sunning myself at Mancora I got a bus to a town called Trujillo. There is not much to mention about this time other than I recieved the worst hair cut of my life ... the guy had to be 80, deaf with shakey hands and left me looking like Gary Rhodes. I can´t really mumble though as it cost me 50p. I did however have to go next door an hour later and get another haircut to make myself look "presentable".
Anyway after Truijillo I got a bus to the capital city of Lima. Now some peeps have told me that Lima was a grimy, smelly, dangerous city but in fact I found it to be a safe, fun and interesting one. Thankfully fate played me a good hand as I had met a Peruvian lady who lived in Lima, Marlene and a Swiss lady, Michelle, who also lived in the same suburb whilst in Mancora. So during the week I was at Lima I was taken around the city, away from Gringo ally, into the depths of Lima. There were a few memorable events worth talking about including a HUGE parade that went on for at least 4 hours in Lima with an astronomical fireworks display that was unparelled to any I have seen before (soirry dad) that went on for at least 20 minutes to a sound track from Star Wars. One night I was also invited to Marlenes flat and decided to buy and cook them a typical English dinner ... avocadoes and prawn mayonaise to start then stir fried beef with mixed vegetables in hoi sin sauce. The meal cost me under 8 pounds to buy ... and it served 5! Special thanks have to go to the Marlene, Michelle and Fabiola for their hopsitality.
After exploring Lima it was time to travel to Cusco. I decided to get a plane up there as it would have been a butt clenching 32 hrs by bus. Cusco was certainly a shock to the system not only because of the inflated prices but also the fact it was over 3,000 mtrs above sea level and bloody freezing at night ... I decided to not bring my sleeping bag and indeed any warm clothes. High altidue really does smack me hard and it felt like I had asthma and a dicky heart after climbing only 10 steps to the hostal. When I got to Cusco however I met a girl whom I had spent time with in Lima called Emily (from Palmers Green). She had already been at Cusco for a while so knew a few people thus we all went out in a big group and got pissed. One thing I did not heed was to go slowly on your first night in Cusco and thus I woke in the morning with a mini lightning storm actively engaging my temples and half my torso frozen to the bed. Cusco itself is a very beautiful town with cobbled narrow alleyways and a spectacular grand plaza but the hostels I stayed in where nuts ... literally a shed with no hot water or radiator.
Whilst in Cusco I did the gringo tours and went to a days worth of ruins surrounding the town, which according to the guides all look like Pumas and Condors ... you need to be chewing a lot of Cocoa leaves to imagine this. After three days it was time to see the grand-daddy of Inca ruins, Macchu Pichu. Unfortuantely I was not able to do the 4 day tour as you needed to book at least 3 months in advance so decided to do it in a day. After getting up at 5.00 am, catching a bus, then train, then another bus I arrived to see the MP ruins in blazing sunlight. A fantastic experience and one which I shall not forget. I have not yet developed my photos but I am sure there are a few gems.
After Cusco I travelled South (passing more ruins) to the Sourthern town of Puno. Puno is a bloody freezing town (I´ll never take a radiator for granted again) sitting beside the worlds highest lake, Titicaca. After meeting up with Emily again I spent my first and only day in Puno exploring the floating islands which have been man made from the lakes reeds. The natives have an interesting and tranquil life where they can move the islands to different spots if need be. From Puno I got a bus to the Bolivian boarder.
Overall Peru was a great country with diverse communities and interesting, exciting activities and I can easily say has been my favourite S. American country thus far. Lets see what awaits in Bolivia.
Just to let you know the blog site is not working and thus I cannot download photos or update the site but it shall be done soon.
Pura Vida,
James
On Bolivia ,
by james22 @ 2005-08-19 - 21:21:15
Hola
Si usted es de habla hispana por favor chasque encendido el acoplamiento abajo. Este Web site puede traducir inglés al español para libre - http://www.appliedlanguage.com/free_translation.shtml
If you are English speaking please ignore the above paragraph as it is just for the Spanish speakers.
Well let`s see .... I am currently writing to you in humid and sweaty Manaus after a 3 day stint living in the depths of the Amazon rain forest in Brazil eating pirahana and hunting crocs ... this story and I am sure more from this fascinating country will have to wait for the next time. In the meantime - Bolivia!
Bolivia was a fantastic little country (pop. only 8 million) full of friendly people and pyschedellic landscapes. In total I travelled Bolivia for just over 2 weeks. My first stop in Bolivia was an idyllic little boarder town called Copacabana (not the same one old Barry M sings about). Copacabana has Bolivia´s share of Lake Taticaca ... and I feel the more attractive side. I spent a few days exploring this town and trekking the ISLA DE SOL (a beautiful island 4,500 mtrs high) after which myself, Emily and a lad from S. Hampton called Andy grabbed a grimy mini bus to the capital city La Paz.
The unfortunate thing about Bolivia is that La Paz is in the cnetre whilst all the interesting places to visit are either North, South or East of the capital. This meant I travelled through and stayed in La Paz many times. La Paz itself is quite laid back and at a O2 deprived altitude over 4,000 mtrs. Over the first few days in La Paz there were a number of festivals and parades and it was during one of these parades that I met Mariela (a great local gal) and friends, who showed me round the racuous nightlife of La Paz. Hi guys and thanks for everything. La Paz was also the main city from where I bought an abundant amount of souvenirs ... the place is unbelievably cheap. Where else can you buy a steak with 2 eggs, rice, potatoes, a side salad, fizzy drinks and desert for under 3 pounds! In total I sent over 12 kilos of items back home (must have pleased the Barnet postie) including a poncho, wooden snake and a large number of mint condition 50´s pulp books which I itend to sell on Ebay.
From La Paz I travelled on the worlds most dangerous road North towards Coiroco. It is named the most dangerous as it has the highest number of fatalities per annum ... this is forced into your head from all the crucifixes attached to the cliff where some poor fella met their maker and the fact that the bus you are travelling on has only a 3 mtr, gravel track for it to ´race´ down (there are no safety barriers between road and 1000ft fall). Thankfully I survived the journey and enjoyed a few days in Coiroco. Coiroco is an eden over looking the rainforest and a great place for photogrpahy, especially when I went horse riding over the mountain range. This place was also the one and only time I got to mix coca leaves with some black enzyme ... which certainly gives you a buzz (as well as numbing your whole mouth). From Coiroco I headed to its grimy neighbour Chullimani. - a rather dumpy town which happened to run out of water whilst I was there. This place was however the first time I had experienced REAL S. America as it had no gringos, no internet, no hotels, no restaurants but plenty of poverty and many bored looking villagers staring longingly into the nights sky ... I only spent a night. My original plan was to visit the Amazon from Bolivia and Rurrenbuque but that would have meant two 15 hr bus rides on unpaved roads, so I changed my mind and decided to viisit the Amazon in Brazil ... a good call. It was then back on to the dangerous road again and back to La Paz.
I spent a couple of days in La Paz and then went South to the butt clenching freezing salt plains of Uyuni. I got a 3hr bus ride to Oruro and from there a 7hr picturesque train journey to Uyuni. The next day I woke early (literally frozen to the sheets, serves me right for not listening to the guys about taking a sleeping bag) and went down to the ´locomotion cemetary´, a fantastic place full of decrepit, rusting trains and locomotives; a photographers dream. From there I went on a tour to the Uyuni salt plains with a couple of Italian lads. The plains were pretty unbelievable. It looks like you are driving on ice but it is actually miles and miles of pure white salt. We went to the´fishing island´full of rather large cacti and the place where I frist ate llama ... tastes like a good steak. We also checked out the mummies of Uyuni (a rather grim cave full of corpses), flamingoes of the salt marshes and watched the sunset over this outerworldly landscape ... perfect tranquility and silence.
From Uyuni I got a 10hr bus back, once again, to La Paz. The next day I took a tour to see the Tiahuanaco ruins just outside of La Paz. It was pretty dispapointing after witnessing the grand daddy of ruins Machu Pichu but we did get to view a recent discovery of canablised corpses! This culture (from which the Incas originated) was not one to mess around with.
The next day I caught a 4.00 am flight to Brazil.
Bolivia may have been short on sights but it was not short on friendliness and I had a good couple of weeks there which I shall not forget in a hurry. I plan to spend over a month in Brazil due to the vastness of this country and shall write another email when I get the opportunity. Remember to keep on checking the blog.
In the meantime if you have any news it would be good to hear from you.
Take care,
James
On Brazil ...
by james22 @ 2005-09-28 - 19:39:07
Hi,
I hope all is well with you.
In two days I turn 28 and have come back to La Paz, Bolivia to celebrate with some friends there. I shall spend about a week in Bolivia before heading to the North of Argentina and then heading South towards Patagonia. However, this email details the month and a half I spent travelling around Brazil ... so I shall not divulge.
I arrived in Manaus, Brazil on 14/8/05 which is smack bang in the middle of the Amazon and one of the furtherst Northern points in Brazil. Travelling from a very chilly La Paz many 1000´s of mtrs high to the rather sweltering, humid climate of Manaus took a while to get used to (so did the Portugese language).
However, on the second day I booked myself on a three day jungle tour that unlike other tours was located on one of the Northern tributaries of the Amazon ... which meant isolation, tranquility and going back to basics. After a 3hr bus ride and a one hour boat ride I arrived (along with 2 Italian lads both named Andrea) at the camp.
The camp was simplicity itself with the sole use of hammocks as your bed (thankfully mosquitoes were scarce due to the acidity of the water), a large hole in the ground for private business and a table with buckets of water where you could wash (rather unnervingly they also washed the meat there aswell). After our short tour of the camp we jumped onto a canoe and rowed out to a quiet part of the river and went for a refreshing dip and then told that we had to go catch our dinner ... pirhana (thankfully I was told this after I had gone for a swim in the same place we were to fish). We were supplied with a line, weight and hook along with large chunks of meat and were told to tug HARD after the second bite. After the space of an hour our guide had caught around 20 of these brutes, my companions at least one each and my turn came just before we took the decision to return to camp. Pirhana itself is a rather tasty fish and catching and cooking the creature yourself added to its flavour. Unfortuantely pirhana tend to be a smallish fish with numerous bones thus eating them can be a frustrating task.
After satsifying our hunger we jumped back onto the canoe at midnight and went to hunt alligators by torch light. These creatures were by no means plentiful in our tributary and it took a good hours silent rowing and shining our torches onto the banks of the Amazon before a pair of ruby red eyes refelected back. Our guide skillfully rowed up to the alligator and quick as a flash threw his hands into the waters and pulled out a 3ft caman. Some what to my alarm he then tunred round and asked me to hold it whilst he pulled away! I gingerly held it by the neck and it was suprisingly not as slimy as I thought. The creature stayed perfeclty still for a moment as if posing for a picture but then began to struggle viciously and I panicked and threw it overboard. We then headed back to camp guided by the light of the full moon. The following day we went for a trek through the Amazon rain forest but no wildlife was forthcoming due to the density of the trees and foilage. However the guide did point out various interesting fauna that had different effects including sap that burned like wax, mint tasting bark and a vine, which when cut, would supply fresh water. We spent the rest of the day pirhana fishing and dolphin watching whilst the sun set on the tranquil, mirrored water.
The night was not spent at camp but at a isolated beach. We watched the bright stars, grilled our pirhana and listened to the noises of the jungle (including Pumas). In the morning we got up whilst the sun rose majestically over the waters. Back at camp we were taught how to make a blow pipe and darts and various pieces of jewlerry and later I was picked up and taken back to the city of Manaus. By far and away this adventure made the Brazilian trip and it will certainly stay in my memory for a good few years. Apologies if I have rambled on but this was certainly different to anything I have ever done before.
Anyway from Manaus I got a flight to the city of Recife, a grimy, rainy, industrial city for which I only stayed a day before heading to the more comfortable surroundings of Natal. Natal would have been a very pleasant beach town had it not been constantly raining. However one day when it had cleared up slightly I went on a sand buggy excursion. Along with two Brazilians and our guide we sped along miles of beautiful beaches. These sand buggys are marvellous creations and everytime we were launched over a 70ft sand dune the thing managed to stay on four wheels. A rather scary sandy rollercoaster. During that day I also went on a ´death slidé´ that landed in the coldest lake ever and sand boarding. You couldn`t get any simpler, sit on a board of wood, fly down a 90 degree hill and land in a lake ... probably one of the scariest rides I have ever experienced.
Following Natal I headed to the picturesque town of Praia de Pippa for some sunshine. Unfortunately it was raining here aswell but the scenery was pretty spectacular. Perched above three gorgeous white sand beaches and crystal clear waters with frollicking dolhins this place would have been ideal had it not been for a number of occcurances ... I broke my sunglasses, my watch suddenly died on me, I lost my UK to Brazil electrical adapter (which I can tell you was impossible to replace) and found out that due to the over development of this town the prices were astronomically high.
I only spent a couple of days in Pippa before I continued my Southward journey to the capital of the Bahia regio, Joa Pessoa. Conflicting with reviews in various travel books I actually enjoyed Joa Pessoa. Yes, it was a large city with high rises but I found the atmosphere more tranquil and laid back. One memorable night was when I hired a guide who took me to see a true life Guiness world record holder. Every single day over the past five years this man had been going on to a canoe and with saxophone in hand played the same song (which I cannot remember) whilst the sun set over some dramatic scenery. Interesting bloke, he looked like a rather fat ewok with dreadlocks. Unfortunatelty whilst taking his photo my camera mysteriously broke and it was not until Salvador that I could get it fixed.
From Joa Pessoa I flew to the city of Salvador. Throughout my travels so far this has to be the sketchiest city. Once in Salavador I was constantly accosted by beggars and bored people wanting money or trying to sell cocaine. Probbly my fault for staying in the historic centre. However, unlike the other towns of Brazil Salvador had the most magnificent colonial buildings and narrow cobble stoned steets ... unfortunatly one could not take many photos through fear that your camera would get stolen.
I only spent a couple of days in Salvador as I was uncomfortable by the underlying menace that pervaded the city. One good example was when a friendly fellow (they often initially appear so) greeted me with an open hand. Halfway through shaking his hand he said the word ´present´ and I felt a package of cling film wrapped cocaine enter my fist. Before I was able to argue two rather large policemen strolled around the corner and straight for me and the guy. The first thing that came into my mind was ´sting´, they knew about this exchange and would throw me into a grotty Brazilan jail. With my heart trying to escpae from the enclosure of the rib cage I continued walking with the drugs in my hand past the police. After they went by and we had walked around the corner, fear led to anger and I approached the guy and threatened to throw the cocaine into the street, so he pounced up, grabbed his package and ran off!
During my stay in Salvador I was told about an island, Morro de Sao Paolo, that was meant to be a haven away from this city. So, the next day after a 2 hour boat ride I arrived on this island ... and what a good decision that turned out to be. The island was almost an idyllic paradise with four great beaches surrounded by palm trees and a large red mountain that rose into the distance. I spent a week on the island soaking up the sun, diving for shells (of which I found many and have been sent home) and drinking dangerously potent cocktails. Also by good fortune I found an electrical adapter that some English guy had left in his room and thus was able to charge up my mp3 player and phone.
After reluctantly leaving the surroundings of Morro de Sao Paolo I got a boat to Valenca from where I took a ´torturous´ overnight bus to Arrial Dájuda. Arrial Dájuda was another great beach fronted town that had endless lengths of pristine white sand. I particularly liked the apartment I rented that had its own kitchen (so I could cook some noodles), lounge area and porch. From Arrial Dàjuda I took a number of excursions to different places including the rustic beach town of Transcoso and the more developed town of Puerto Seguro. It also has to be documented that the most attractive women I have ever encountered were found around this area of Bahia ... a visual treat for the eyes. That particular Brazilian myth is certainly true.
By this time it was 17/9 and so more headway had to be made so I hopped onto a flight to Rio de Janiro. After a recommendation from a fellow in Morro de Sao Paolo I headed to Ace Hostel in Botafago (a suburb North of Copacaban). A good recommendation it was too for I had come at the weekend and many parties were being organised by the hostel. Even though I had very little sleep from the morning flight I ended up back in the hostel at 6.30am after drinking and dancing in the Lapa neighbourhood (I do have photos but they seem to take forever to upload). The next night was spent listening to DJ Scooby Doo! spin tunes at a club in the centre. After clubbing it the previous night I spent a day at a football match, Botafago (club from Rio) Vs a rather hopeless team. The atmosphere of a Rio footie match, especially after the home side scored certainly beats that of any UK club. The fans constantly jump up and down shaking the dodgy scaffold stand, waving gargantuam flags and lighting flares. Our team won 3-1. The next day I moved to Ipanema beach where I got a taki up to the Sugarloaf mountain and the large statue of Christ.
The panaramics from these two attractions were magnificent but unfortunately the weather tended to be overcast and grey which I am sure will rather dilute the photos. The next day I jumped onto a tour of Rio´s infamous favellas - literally slums located on the mountains of Rio where those too poor to live in the city live instead. At first I was worried about the danger of these areas (having seen ´City of God´) but was suprised to learn that crime is not allowed in the favella, a law introduced by drug barons, for crime brings police and the last thing any drug lord needs is police knocking on the door. It was certainly an interesting day and allowed me to view the other side of Brazilian life.
From Rio I flew to Foz de Igucua which is home to ´arguably´ the worlds most beautiful waterfall. In the morning I first went to see the falls from the Brazilian side which gave a spectacular panoramic. I then made my way to Argentina and checked out the falls from this side which allows for a more close up inspection. In fact I jumped into a speed boat and was absolutely drenched to the bone when it went almost underneath one of the largest waterfalls. Forget Maids of the mist (Niagra) this trip was 100 times better.
I left Foz after three days and landed at Sao Paolos airports. Sao Paolo is a city like no other. It is HUGE and with over 17 million people is the third largest in the world ... a sprawling mass of favellas, high rises and parks. This was also the weekend of the Forumla One Grand Prix which I would like to have gone to had it not been booked out. Instead I spent a day looking at various markets and then (after one cancelled flight) headed to La Paz, Bolivia.
All in all the Brazilian experience was fantastic and the range of different locations and back drops, from pristine jungle to sprawling cities, treated me to diversity I had not expected. A highly recommended country to visit.
Laters,
James
On Argentina (& Uruguay) ...
by james22 @ 2005-11-18 - 23:11:27
Hola amigos
Hope all is well
Firstly, you may have heard on the grapevine that I have got engaged after just 3 and 1/2 weeks of meeting Ohlivia in Argentina and I can confirm that this it true. Of course, it does feel a bit weird after such a short time of knowing her but what can I say ... it was love at first sight!
Nah only kidding but I wanted your attention for the email on Argentina!
Currently I am writing from the Chilean city of Vina Del Mar after travelling over the Andes yesterday. As its been nearly two months since my last correspondence let me recap on what has been going on. I left Brazil a couple of days before my birthday so that I could celebrate with style in Bolivia. Once again I met up with Mariela and chums in La Paz and we spent a good week getting drunk and visting places I did not manage to get around to seeing during my last spell there including La Paz´s poor attempt at a zoo; bears chewing on coke bottles, king cobra displays with cracked glass panels and kids hand feeding pringles to the chimps was just some of the higlights. Just before I flew to Cordoba, Argentina I went to a two day rock concert in La Paz and saw the infamous ´Cumbia Kings´, the unforgetable ´Molotov´´and the eight time Brit winners ´Attaque 77´ ... hey, but at least a pint of beer was only 0.17p!
I arrived in Cordoba on 11/10/05. Cordoba was a very quaint, leafy student city and had (I can now confirm) the most beautiful people on the planet. With my eyes constantly spoiled by all the eye candy my legs did want to move on ... but move on I did. Three days after arriving in Cordoba I found myself in Rosario which was again a quaint, leafy student town with slightly less-beautiful people. However my goal was to get to Buenos Aires and its surrounding areas so I went straight there.
I arrived in Buenos Aires on the day (unknown to me) that Boca were playing River Plate (a bit like Man Utd Vs Man City or Arsenal Vs Spurs) so the streets, shops and cafes were devoid of life. At this point I decided to travel to the neighbouring country of Uruguay for a few days and come back to Buenos Aires when there were a few more people around.
The next day I boarded a ferry which two hours later arrived at the Uruguain capital of Montevideo. I must say I was not too impressed by this city which seemed rather drab and shabby. It was the dinner that night that confirmed my continuation to the neighbouring city of Colonia. The restaurant itself looked clean but after digging up various bugs in my salad and then watching with startled eyes as a chef turned, grabbed a rather large cockroach off the wall and hastily threw its wriggling body into the coals (above which my steak was being grilled) that I knew I had made one of the worst culinary choices of my life.
Colonia however was a gem of a city. I recall sitting at a cafe watching the sun set whilst cars from the 40s rotted slowly away on the cobbled streets and thinking to myself that this was the perfect place to retire. I spent a couple of dayswandering the streets of Colonia before I headed back to the hedonistic hostal in Buneos Aires.
When I returned to Buenos Aires I felt like a student again and spent most days nursing a hangover (from the effects of Fernet) and most nights partying until 4 in the morning. Of course I did spend some time flitting through the cultural delights of Buneos Aires including various museums, the hugely grand cemetry and other important buildings (Evitas balcony, the monolith etc.). At this point let me just confirm that the best thing about Argentina (other than the women) were the steaks (and in Patagonia, the lamb). One night in BA, whilst out with a couple of lads from the hostal, I ate the biggest and best steak I had ever seen. The restaurant itself was a parilla which I belive translates as "eat as much meat as you can possibly force down". The steak itself was served by a Roy Walker (geezer from Catchphrase) lookalike and weighed approx 2 kilos with bloody flesh still crawling in the middle. Thankfully the good man bought me a personal heater to cook the centre of the meat but boy it was good ... and only cost a few quid!
After partying hard in BA I made my way by bus (thankfully they were pretty good throughout Argentina as I spent a few 18hr journeys on them) to Mar del Plata. Mar del Plata was pretty disappointing as I was expecting a fun beach resort but got a grey washed out Brighton instead. That day several ´Boston´ banks had been bombed with red paint in expectation of Bush´s visit and the atmopshere was bordering on violence. I only spent a night here at a hostal whose staff seemed to be a collection of extras from Cocoon before getting a bus down to Viedma.
Viedma (and its neighbouring city Patagne) were pleasant enough and full of bright green parks and rowers racing with each other on the river but my real target was the fabled area of Patagonia. After spending a couple of days in Viedma I took a bus to Puerto Madryn ... and from this point on Argentina became touristy. Puerto Madryn is most famous for its marine life especially whale watching. A day after arriving at Puerto Madryn I booked myself onto a tour to a peninsula near the city full of sea lions, penguins and whales.
However the next day I was told that the port had been closed due to high winds so I was not able to see the big boys in action and had to put up with some gargantuam elephant sea lions (look like rather large slugs) and some cute waddling penguins. Feeling dismayed at not seeing whales (especially when everyone is showing you pics on their digital cameras of these creatures) I decided on having a Welsh tea at a town called Gaiman, originaly founded by our leek munching neighbours. The cup of tea and tasty scones certainly hit the spot (being only my second cuppa in half year) and I decided to make a move to the snowy lands of Patagonia.
The following day I took a flight from Trelew to Ushuaia, the Southern most city in the world. Ushuaia was orginally a penal colony (you have to feel sorry for the prisoners sent here) and is now a tourist mecca surrounded by the snow capped mountains of the Andes. The days here seemed to last forever as the sun set at around half ten at night and the light was always very soft and great for photography. During my days at Ushuaia I spent time on a boat that travelled the Beagle channel which stopped at islands crammed full of many varities of sea birds and sealions. I also spent one day on a 10k trek with some German pals through a national park that resembled a back dop from a Tim Burton film (Sleepy Hollow meets Blair Witch).
From Ushuaia I took a 15 hour bus to the Southern Chilean city of Puerto Natales. Puerto Natales itself is simply a stop so hikers can reach the beautiful scenery of Torres de Paine (a Chilean national park). Torres de Paine consisted of idyllic Andes, deep blue lagoons and a large beach with floating icebergs ... one of the last things you expect to see on a beach. It was however bitterly bitterly cold and nearly lost my little finger through frost bite. From Puerto Natales I took a another butt numbingly long bus trip back to Argentina, more specifically El Calafate.
El Calafate certainly held one of the higlights of Patagonia ... the Moreno glacier. Moreno is a glacier over 15 storeys high that is constantly moving (around 2 mtrs a day) and thus large chunks of ice break off and fall into the surrounding river. I watched with awe as tons of ice break off and smashed into the frozen river, a fantastic natural phenomena.
From El Calafate I caught a flight out of Patagonia to the town of Bariloche (located in Argentinas lake district). After disembarking the plane I almost believed I had been warped to Austria. Consisting of chocolate shops, icy cold blue lakes, an abundance of pine trees and St Bernards with tacky whisky barrels strapped to their collars, Bariloche was not the stereotypical picture of a South American town. I spent my time here hiking though beuatiful trails (getting lost with a ´fiery´ French girl) and kayaking in the lakes.
Originally from Bariloche I intended to take a bus across the Andes and travel North up through Chile however I decided to stay in Argentina and took a 12 hr bus to Mendoza (on the same latitude as Santiago). Mendoza has streets lined with beech trees, good weather, nice parks but dodgy hostals ... especially when some blighter stole 100s of pound worth of currency from my room mates! The wine here was however top notch and I spent one day on a tour around various atmospheric wineries getting tipsy on tasters.
After spending a few days in Mendoza I took a bus through the Andes and here I am writing this email.
Overall I can say that I really enjoyed Argentina. From basking in the sun up North to watching ice bergs float by down South, Argentina kept providing visual highlights. Not only was the food the best in South America but the people were very friendly indeed (with the one exception being in a shop where I was booed by the customers after England won 3-2). Of course I took many 100s of pictures in this country but these shall be developed once I return to good old blighty. In fact I would like to display my pictures one night where people can buy prints with a percentage going to charity ... location yet to be decided.
I now only have a couple of weeks before I head back to the reality of Christmas in London (6/12/05) and hope to see many of you then.
Take it easy,
James