Twenty American Dollars

Top 5 Spots

2008-02-28T12:30:00.006+13:00

Ok I have been home for over a week. And I have had some time to reflect back on the wonderful journey. And many people have been asking me for my highlights. So I decided to compile a Top 5 list. This is the first of a few. Yes I have lot of time, yes I still love my blog, and yes I cannot get off the travel-bum mindset just yet!

Top 5 Spots:

Machu Picchu, Peru

Despite the amount of tourist, despite it being used in just about every possible adverts that you can think of, despite it being expensive, despite not being able to hike the Inca Trail to get to this ruin (3 months advance booking required) and despite it being touted as the "New Seven World Wonder" as voted in by popularity poll. Machu Picchu did not disappoint. Getting up there, seeing the ruins covered in a mist, it felt like only I was privy to this surreal other-world. The setting is spectacular, as it is surrounded by high mountain peaks and deep valleys. How did the Incas manage to build this city so high up the mountain?

Galápagos Island, Ecuador

It cost an arm and a leg, literally, if you got bitten by a shark that is! Otherwise it just hurts the wallet of a backpacker with the flights, the cruise and the Island tax. But I can say this place is well worth the cost and effort to get to. You may not have realized, but The Galápagos archipelago is comprise of many, many different Islands, all unique in it's own way. Many host animals that can only be found here. Such as the Galápagos Sea Lion, Giant Galápagos Tortoise, the Blue-footed Bobbies, the Galápagos Land Iguana and the Marine Iguana. And the most incredible thing for me, is that the animals are so friendly, since they know of no human predators. The baby Sea Lion would just waddle right up to your feet. And it took a lot of self control not to get down to pat them! The landscape is also varied and stark: Windswept, volcanic, green and lush, dry and treeless... Finally there were new and wonderful experience to had! Like having stingrays swim over and touch your feet as you waddle into shallow water!

Mount Roraima, Venezuela

Ever read Sir Arthur Conan Doyle "The Lost World" and about it's amazing dinosaurs at the top of these errie Table Mountains? Ever seen Angel Falls? The highest waterfall in the world which drops 1km down one of these Table Mountains? At 2,810m Mount Roraima is the tallest of them all, located in the South Eastern part of Venezuela, just across the border from Brazil. The trek up the mountain is an adventure, and at the top, it is a totally different kind of world. Wet and stony, sparsely filled with animals and insects unique to the mountain. We lived in natural caves, exploring the surface by day. I felt like a caveman!

Patagonia, Argentina/Chile

Big big big!!! The area that is, stretching from Southern Argentina across to Chile. The Patagonia region is a wonderland for hikers and nature lovers. It serves up big mountains, big glaciers, big open empty space and big juicy lamb and steak. It is my favorite hiking region, as the setup allows easy access to many of it's parks and mountains. My favorite peak here is Cerre Torre. It is a series of sharp, jagged and rocky peaks. Some top with a lofty mushroom like snow cover. It is also one of the hardest peak to climb as it is all about your rock climbing skillz! Glacier Moreno is just mind blowing. Imagine standing 300 meters away from an ice shelf, at 70 metres tall, 2.5 km wide and then watching HUGE chunks rip off it and hits the water with a massive force, causing ripples all the way around, and hearing the explosion echo back. Un-fuckin-belivable! It is also a advancing glacier, one of three according to some sources. So nothing like the glaciers we have in New Zealand!

Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia

It is completely flat, blindingly white, and it stretches out as far as the eyes can see. This is the world's largest Salt Flat folks! Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia is 10,582 km², and at 3,650m above sea level, it is one of the highest too! Due to the flat, horizon less and white environment, it is also the spot where groups of people pose for all kinds of abstract and ultimately, pointless, photo shoots. I know because my group did it too! And if you love salt, this is paradise! Lick it!

Home Free

2008-02-25T10:40:00.002+13:00

So it has almost been a week since I arrive home.

I tell ya, it was good to catch up on 7 1/2 months of lousy sleep! There was no need for ear plugs or eye mask, as there are no lights being turn on or plastic bags being shuffle round as I slept!

It was also such a liberating feeling, to chuck my iPod, camera, passport and moneybelt out, leaving it lying around without the fear of having it stolen.

After my recovery. :) I spent it catching up with my girlfriend and mates. It was a mission trying to talk to everybody at once as I was so excited to see them all!

Advice on people returning home though, is to tidy up your photos before attempting to show them! As otherwise nothing is in a chronological order, and nothing is censored! haha

So, back in the job hunt now. Back to normality, back to a routine, something which I did miss whilst being on the road. But I am not so sure about it now. It is always that way isn't it? That the grass is always, ALWAYS, greener on the other side. :)

So folks, that's it! Hope those of you whom are still on the road continue to have an excellent adventure! Just remember it is all about the experience! And that it is something you will look back in later on in life with lots of fond memories.

As for those who are still thinking about heading out, well... WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? LIFE'S AN ADVENTURE, LIVE IT!

Suerte!

Aerolinea Argentina

2008-02-21T10:26:00.000+13:00

Folks, do NOT fly Crap-o-lina Argentina. It rates as one of the WORST airline I have ever flown with.

Here is their scorecard:

On the way there:
No personal entertainment system behind seats.
The in-flight projector screen had serious discoloration.
The captain's intercom was so distorted you couldn't hear his announcements.
Attendant never attended when I page them.

The return flight:
Flight was delayed by 2 days.
No personal entertainment system behind seats.
They played a total of 1 movie on the 13 hours flight.
No working headsets. Had to use my own earplugs.
Attendant never attended when I page them.
Toilet do not provide hand moisturizers.
No magazines shelves on board.
The food sucks: Sticky pasta, melted butter, cold buns.
No orange juice on the drinks tray: Only coke, sprite or water.
They lost my luggage at Auckland Airport.

Score: F-

And I am not the only one! Simply Googling "Aerolinea Argentina crap airline" will bring out lots of results of other unsatisfied customers. So I hope this airline dies a quick and painful death! <evil>

Goodbye Buenos Aires Goodbye South America

2008-02-18T11:08:00.003+13:00

Well, in 30 minutes time I will be in a taxi heading towards the airport.

My South America adventure is finally at an end.

Feeling very mix right now...

But this morning, I gave my shoes and t-shirts to a street family. Actually they were living only a block from my hotel. The street people are seen everywhere around Buenos Aires. They live under fly-overs, in the parks and public squares. They are the ones waiting at traffic lights to wash windshields, they are the ones begging on the streets, and they are the ones seen rummaging through rubbish sacks with their shopping carts as soon as the sun goes down. Very sad. Especially when you see the rich living right next door. This isn't just a Buenos Aires problem though. It is a pattern seen right across South America, from Bogota to Rio de Janeiro.

Anyway, I don't need them anymore. It will be a while before I leave home in search of another adventure. Most especially after I seen the damage done to my bank balance. LOL!

Regardless... I haven't had time to reflect on my adventure yet. As today has been one big rush to get presents for home. Co-incidentally I bump into two travellers I hung out with down South. Martin the other Chiwi and Collin the American. It was great to see a familiar face after hanging out alone mostly in Buenos Aires.

Otherwise this has just been another beautiful bright and sunny day in South America! :)

PS: As seen in the photo I will be missing my beef very much upon leaving Argentina!

Last thoughts on Argentina

2008-02-18T02:33:00.003+13:00

Argentina has a lot to offer. It has one of the best natural wonder I have seen: The Iguazu Falls and the Patagonia region. It has hands down, the best beef I have had anywhere. It has the best and most luxurious bus transport system I have ever seen. It also has some of the most beautiful girls in South America.

However, the one constant thing that has been irritating me during my past 5 weeks here in Argentina are the people. They are certainly different to the rest of their South American siblings. As a tourist I have seen too many unfriendliness, cold-shoulders and snobbishness shown. Others say this is mainly from the "porteño" aka people from Buenos Aires. But I couldn't agree less! I felt the same attitude when visiting the Patagonian region and the Lake district region.

At the shops, it feels as if the staff seems annoyed to serve. They don't seems to want to work in the place. Nor have I ever seen a smile on their face. Never, nunca, nada...! Only an indifference. I have never seen such horrid customer service. Can you imagine working in a customer facing role back home and treating your customer like dirt? It would be unheard of! Whilst participating in adventure activities, I feel I was treated as a number with no feelings. An example was at my glacier trek, where the tour guide had no personality nor did he make the group feel welcome.

So as a joke I would sometimes challenge myself to crack them up, just to see if I can re-arrange their face!

Now this feeling is shared by fellow backpackers, as well as foreigners working in the tourist industry. My bicycle tour guide, a French man name Damien, has lived in Buenos Aires for a year, and has a "porteño" girlfriend. He mention that the locals here have an European attitude: The indifference and cold shoulders. But to be honest, besides getting this feeling in France (of all places!) I did not feel it when travelling through the rest of Europe. So maybe Damien is referring to the famous French snobbishness!

Unfortunately for me, the people is probably the most important matter to me when visiting a foreign country. This is more so over it's scenery, food and adventures. And in South America, Argentina would rate at the bottom in terms of their people status.

Scam Scam Scam!

2008-02-15T13:27:00.002+13:00

I cannot believe this, as since Venezuela nothing else horrid have happen to me. Until today, when I was almost caught in a scam!

It all started as I was walking down an alleyway from the crap-lolina airline office, I felt something spray on my back. As I turn around I saw a guy pointing towards me to tell me I got something on my back. And then he looked up as if to see where it came from. I knew immediately it was a scam and made sure he did not come near me. I looked at him and pulled my bottom eye lid down, to show that I am watching him.

In case you are wondering how this scam works. It goes like this: You get dirt sprayed over you, some good pass-byer pretend to help you clean it off. But in reality it is just a distraction for them to pick-pocket you or take off with your possession. I have heard it from too many tourist to know not to let this fooker get near me.

I really wanted to hit him... Hard. But there were just too many other dodgy looking folks in this alleyway. So I thought better of it and walked away. Later on I took off my shirt to wipe the stuff off. It turn out to be some sort of orange juice mix.

To be honest I was just flaggerblasted, like why was I picked on? I look like a badly dressed backpacker, walking in sandals and a un-labeled t-shirt. And yet this fooker thinks I have money!!!

Flight Delayed

2008-02-15T13:17:00.003+13:00

Crap-lolina Argentina has done it again!

Due to a 2 days pilot strikes my return flight home has been delayed for 2 days. So now I will be arriving home on Tuesday morning instead of Sunday.

But at least I got my dream finish. :)

After much complain - that I have no more money left, that I am going back to work and that I want compensation dammit! They have put me up in a classy hotel (which I checked out beforehand!), along with my own room I got air-con, private bathroom, cable TV, gym, sauna and with all meals included.

Wh00p Wh00p!

Note: I am only being put in a 3 star hotel... boo hoo! It is called the Hotel Presidente. Sounds very flash. Actually I can't complain as I did view the room and am pretty stoke with the luxury. I am just a dirty old backpacker remember! haha!

Car crash outside my Hostel

2008-02-15T00:05:00.000+13:00

This morning I woke up to see this in front of my hotel. A car manage to flip itself upside down on the narrow streets of San Telmo.

I can't believe it! And it seem like no one else could too. Thank gosh no damage was cause to the surrounding buildings.

I reckon it is somebody's Valentine's day gone wrong. Ho ho ho!

Recoleta Cementerio

2008-02-13T13:32:00.003+13:00

I visited Recoleta Cementerio. This is South America's most famous cemetery. Upon entering I was impressed by the grandure and size of the tombs. Most of them are family tombs, so that more then one generation is buried within.

Have a look at the photos and see what you think.

.... I found many wondering cats in the cemetary. Somebody seems to be looking out for them as cat food and water are left out in little plates all around the area. Interesting...

The cemetery is 10 acres in size. It contains 1000 tombs, and it is completely full. There are no space to increase, and that the only way to buy a plot for your family is off an existing family whom cannot afford to maintain their tombs.

The irony about the Recoleta Cemetery is that it is surrounded by shops, cinemas, night clubs, cafes and restaurants. It cracks me up as I wonder what the original planners would have thought of all this!

Here is a classic shot of the cemetery with McD's billboard behind!

And finally, not forgetting the most famous person in this cemetery. Evita Peron. Anybody who watched Madonna in that Hollywood film will not all about her. Every person in Argentina look to her like their Princess Diana. She was charming, she was beautiful and she held much influences amongst the people being the wife of a president.

Unfortunately she died age 33 of cancer back in 1952. Her tomb was actually in Spain, before being bought back to Buenos Aires in 2000.

More info on Evita here in wiki.

Final week in Buenos Aires

2008-02-13T00:35:00.000+13:00

Last week of travel, and I am back in Buenos Aires.

How do I feel about this? After 7 1/2 months on the road...

Well, awesome really. :) I am actually looking forward to going home. This trip have been different to previous trips because I have something to come home for! For a start, my beautiful girlfriend is waiting for me, that I have a career to look forward to going back into, and finally... The next 2 years could be an interesting time in my life! ;)

But enough about that...

Right now, to end my travels in Buenos Aires is the best thing that can happen. This city of 12 million has SO MUCH to offer.

For a start, there are good food to be had everywhere. In fact, I have been stuffing myself so much that last night I decided to stay in and cook. The meat here are of extremely high quality and just simply mouth watering. Two nights ago, I went for dinner with Ziv, an Israeli. We ate at this legendary restaurant by the waterfront, which is famous for it´s "Tenedor Libre". Which is buffet to you and me folks. And guess what, it was H-U-G-E. We got to try every part of a cow, from tender baby steaks, blood sausage (non unlike black pudding), T-bone steak, chorizo (spicy sausage), roast pork and more. And I love this, for 15 USD we also got free bottle of wine, a big salad bar and desert to choose from.

My only advice is, DO NOT EAT DINNER AT 11pm like the locals! Otherwise you will spend all night digesting your meal like me! hahahaha it was sad, but I had to walk 12 blocks to try and digest all of it.

Then there are the culture stuff like world class museums and art galleries to check out.

And finally there are the shopping. Enough said!

Yesterday, with 4 days left in my travel. I left sleeping in a "domitorio" for the last time, and decided to have some luxury by checking into a single room. Woo-hooooooo! No more rustling plastic bags, no more bag zipping sounds, no more alarm clock ringing, no more door slams and best of all, no more lights being turned on in the middle of the night!

Wh00p!

Wh00p!

What do you know about Uruguay?

2008-02-11T07:24:00.001+13:00

So I spent 4 days in this small country, stuck between big brothers Argentina and Brazil. Uruguay have a population of 3.3 million, with the majority of it's people - all 1.7 million of them, living in the capital: Motevideo.

Uruguay, like Paraguay, is not really famous for anything... So I enter the country not knowing too much, aside from that I found the folks to be much similar to the Argentinians, in their love for beef and their "gaucho" (cowboy) culture, their love for "mate" (the tea), and that they the same slang and slur in their vocab.

I enter Uruguay by catching a ferry from Buenos Aires to Colonial. Colonial is a pretty and tiny town by the seaside. Fought and won over between the Spanish and Portugese for decades, before changing hands for the last time to the Spanish.

This place probably invtented the word "tranquillo". With little traffic, tree lined streets, rocking chairs in front of houses, and long "siesta" time. In the afternoon many shops are closed, the business people are all having their extended lunch, the older folks are sitting outside their house, and the kids are fishing off the rocks. The old part of the town is listed as UNESCO World Herritage to preserve it's old buildings, city walls and the wobbly cobble path.

I fell in love with Colonial straight away. I love the idea of having an "open" house where people can peep in to see what their neighbours are up to, where people greet each other on the streets, and where the "siesta" time seems to last forever. Finally, the sun are spectacular. I spent my evenings sitting by the waterfront, watching the sun go down, the sky darken, and the boats returning to port. Tranquillo!

I also spent two days in Motevideo, the capital. First impression again is the friendly folks. Amazing for a capital city. And when I got on board the bus with my backpack, people actually stood up to offer me their seat. The city itself isn't very exciting for tourist. But I enjoy walking the streets and seeing a real living city, where it's citizen get about on their day-to-day business. Thankfully the city is still in the midst of celebrating the carnival. And I manage to catch some of the performance at a open air theater. They had a stage set up with different groups singing, acting out sketches, and some fantastic back street boyz style dancing. The celebration is probably pale in comparison to Brazil but hey, at least I got a taste of it, without blowing my budget! :)

Made it to Uruguay!

2008-02-05T09:24:00.001+13:00

Yey, I am finally in Uruguay.

Just for a few days... In order to see the historical city of Colonia and later the capital Montevideo.

There were no dramas entering. Other then a 20 hours bus ride from Bariloche to Buenos Aires, followed by a 1 hour ferry ride across the harbour to Colonia.

So am pretty tired, but happy to have well... finally made it across all of South America. CHOICE BRO!!! :)

Malvinas son Argentinas!

2008-02-04T09:10:00.000+13:00

The Malvinas aka Falkland Islands. As we all know, Argentina tried taking it back from the Brits back in the 1982 and was defeated soundly in a matter of weeks by the Brits.

You'd think that is the end of that. But no they just can't give it up. Therefore you see plenty of signs, street names and even Hotels name after the Malvinas. I even saw the Malvinas listed as a part of Argentina in some maps around town.

As an Englishman told me in Ushuaia. England would more then happy to hand the Falklands back to the Argentine... But it is the Falklanders themselves whom do not want this to happen! LOL!

Chiwi Chiwi Chiwi oi oi oi!

2008-02-04T07:33:00.000+13:00

I can't believe this... After backpacking for 7 months, I finally meet not 1, but 2 other Chiwis!!! And all in the same bloody hostel (Marco Polo) here in Bariloche. And all 3 of us are travelling alone. Unbelivable!

I met Andrew from Papakura, and then I met this guy, Martin from Kingsland.

It certainly is cool to see other chiwis out there. Keep it up! :)

Hotel Llao Llao

2008-02-03T09:40:00.000+13:00

This my friend, is the most expensive hotel in Argentina. It is call Hotel Llao Llao (pronounced 'Yao Yao'). It is situated in the Lake Districts region. As you can see it is surrounded by lush mountains, glaciers. This photo also grace many Argentinian tourism leaflets.

Me and my mates tried going in for high tea but guess what? You need a reservation. We reckon that was their way of fobbing us of.

And no wonder, coz after checking it's website http://www.llaollao.com/ The cost of the cheapest room in low season is 255 USD, and the most expensive Presidential Suite is a mere 3050 USD. Oh and don't forget to add VAT (tax) on top of that.

Anyway, the photo was taken at the perfect time, at sun down, with 10 minutes of golden ray on this golden hotel.

Finally... Is it just me, or does ' Hotel Yao Yao' sound Chinese? LOL!

The perfect day!

2008-02-03T09:16:00.000+13:00

I had the best time with Marty and Odette on Saturday. Marty's from Aus and Odette's from the States. We decided to hire bikes and cycle around the lake district area of Bariloche.

This is Marty and mua in our supercool bike whilst Odette shows off her little pinky bike with training wheelz. Did we look GOOD!

The course we took contain lots of stops along the way. From doll houses (Marty loves dolls), lake side beaches (which we swam in the freezing cold water!), coffee stop at golf houses, lots of photo opportunities and finally to a home brew pub for dinner and drinks. There were also pebble skipping competition along the way (which I won I won I won!!!)

All in all a perfect day!!!

My favorite peak

2008-02-03T08:47:00.000+13:00

It really went from omg mouth wide open to lots of dribbles running down at the sight of each new mountain in the Patagonia region for me.

But this *IS* my absolute favorite mountain of them all in this region.

It's name is Cerro Torre. And it is located in the Argentinian side of Patagonia.

As you can see, it looks amazing, with a number of smaller peak on it's right side. Cerre Torre is apparently the most difficult mountain to summit in this region due to it verticle length and the top being completely covered in snow and ice.

Indeed, but I still met a number of climbers on their way out there. They included Bulgarians, Americans and Argentinians.

I went to the base of the Cerro Torre as part of a glacier hiking group. Ont he way to the glacier we had to cross this river belly up.

This was first time hiking on glacier, and it was a neat experience! I also got to try ice climbing (ok so it was only 60 degrees or so) with ice axe and cramp-ons.

Unfortunately our little group only lasted 2 hours on the glacier. I wish it was oh so much longer especially since it took us a good 4 hours just to reach the glacier!!!

Lets climb a mountain!

2008-02-03T07:45:00.000+13:00

Yes ladies and gentlemen, these 3 fella's (well 2 guys and 1 chick) are about to climb Cerro Fitz Roy. A beautiful granite peak at 3405 metres. But because of the straight vertical granite face you can't just hike up this mountain and lots of technical (rock and ice climbing) skillz are required. Ok so you can't quite see it here as it is in the background, but I have post other photos of this amazing mountain in the blog.

Anyway, I spoke to these Argentinians. They reckon they can get to the top in 2 days, around 26 hours of climbing all together. Good luck to them!

Glacier Moreno

2008-02-02T08:41:00.000+13:00

CHECK OUT THE SIZE ON THIS BEAST!

Yes people, this is Glacier Moreno. The *ONLY* advancing glacier in the ENTIRE world!

It is massive!!! Here are the stats: The main face of the glacier is 5 km wide, with an average height of 60 metres above the surface of the water, with a total ice depth of 170 metres. AND, it advances at an average of 2 metres a day... That is around 700 metres a year!

MASSIVE! And you know what, it advance so far out that it dam the river in the photo: Brazo Rico. The last time this happened in 2004 the strain on the river was too much (it rise 30 metres) that the end result was a spectacular rupture. And guess what??? It dam the river again this year (yes 2008) and they predict the rupture to happen in March. I wish I could see it then!

But throughout my time there you can see massive chunk of ice shave off the face of the glacier into the water below. After hitting the water you hear the slight delayed echo in the air. And then the local and foreign audience present goes wild with claps and cheers!

Find out more on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perito_Moreno_Glacier

Hiking Mates

2008-02-02T07:57:00.000+13:00

Thankgod, after loosing Jens I manage to find other people to hang out with. So here we are, on our last day of the trek.

From left to right people I met on the Torres del Paine hike. Matthew (BRI), Ben (NZL), Miguel (ESP), Collin (USA) and Marty (AUS).

Torres del Paine National Park

2008-02-02T07:56:00.000+13:00

I spent 4 days hiking at Torres del Paine National Park. An amazing park in the Chilean side of Patagonia. It certainly is my favorite hike in South America, as everyday I got to see something different. Me and Jens (my German partner) followed the classic "W" shape route hiking from the West to East side.

This is our camp site on day 1, situated at a beautiful camping spot called Paines Grande. As you can see I have beautiful mountains for backdrop. There are also a lot of tents around us as it is peak hiking season right now. And no wonder too as we had an absolute jewel of a weather throughout!

The trek on day 1 is along a very expose ridge, with a huge river full of ice bergs floating down the side. It also explains for the state of these trees. Unfortunately the wind took it's toll on a German girl I met. She got pushed over by the whilst attempting to take a photo. She ended up rolling down the hill and breaking her leg. Yicks!

This mountain range in the French valley is what I saw on day 2. Basically you trek high up to this valley, and at the view point you are surrounded almost all the way (260 degrees) by mountains.

Unfortunately I lost Jens on day 3 of the trek. He had to turn around because of a stuff knee. It was a bit daunting for me being such a green camper as it meant that I had to carry everything whilst climbing more hills. Nevermind coz I did it! :)

This is the legendary Torres del Paine at sun rise on my last day of trekking. Seeing the golden rays of the sun touching the tip of these 3 granite rocks. Shaped by centuries of the retreating force of glacier ice, was mesmerizing. The rocks perturbs into the sky sharply and stand out against the surrounding landscape. The highest point is the middle - Cerro Paines Grande at around 2750 metres. The South Tower is at 2500 metres whilst the North Tower is at 2460 metres.

I can now go home happy. I have came to South America, and have seen everything I wanted to.

The Patagonia region was the last must-do thing on my list. And it has not disappointed. In fact, I may go as far as to say... It may have been the highlight of my trip in this region!

Me and my new spikes

2008-01-31T23:42:00.001+13:00

Still alive, and lots to share. I just got back north from the incredible Patagonia region of Southern Argentina and Chile.

The days were spent hiking, camping, climbing and meeting many local Argentinians and foreign travellers. The weather has been perfect, no clouds, and the view.... senfuckinsational... Just look behind me, check out that magnificient peak. And guess what... There are many, many, many more.

I was truely blown away by Patagonia. And I will be uploading photos and sharing them with you.

Ushuaia

2008-01-18T11:58:00.001+13:00

Today is my last day in Ushuaia. Despite the weather which has been wet and windy, I still had a blast here. I mean, being so far South (1,188 km from Antarctica), what else can you expect but shitty weather?

My only grip with the town is that trying to sell the "Fin del Mundo" or "End of the world" title may get a little dry. Calling itself the Southern most city in the world is more to the point... But I am guessing the "Fin del Mundo" title is an idea from the past (pre 1600's), when this was considered to be the end of the world. It was remote and inhospitable.

Nowadays, I am told the population of Ushuaia is at a healthy 64,000. There is a bit of a construction boom in town, with houses and roads stretching out as far as the flat land allows. I guess it can be a bit of a worry in terms of environmental concern. But hey who am I to judge? The city is still bless with beautiful snow capped mountains, pristine lakes and a beautiful bay.

I would love to return in 25 years time like my Argentinian dorm mate, to see how much this city will change!

Antarctica Tourism Office

2008-01-18T11:30:00.001+13:00

Being in the Southern most city in the world, I decided to visit their Antarctica Tourist Office.

I wanted to find out more about the ice continent. The office had a load of broaches on Antarctica, postcard for sell, play-stamps to add to your passport, and a giant TV with a film which shows tourist what they would expect to see on a cruise. For me this is the next best thing to getting on one! LOL! And maaan... The scenery is amazing! Floating ice bergs, gigantic glaciers, blinding white snow, colourful sun sets and tons of animals; seals, sea lions, whales, penguins and many species of birds. They also reveal some interesting information for me, such as last year 30,000 tourist visited the ice continent. 30,000 visitors!!!

There are many departure to the ice continent from Ushuaia at this time of the year. In fact, we are right in the middle of cruising season as it runs from November to March. Today, there is a boat called the "Explorer" docked and about to depart for Antarctica. I see a bunch of oldies in town today too and for sure they disembarked from the "Explorer" earlier.

Being a mere 1188 km away, Ushuaia *is* the number 1 departure point for Antarctica, accounting for 83% of total departures. The rest? As the photo shows... New Zealand is 2200 km away, Australia is 2600 km away and South Africa is 4200 km away.

So, I had to find out the cost! I visited a "Last Minute Deal" travel agency to get the price. And so on the 31st Jan the boat "Polaris" is leaving on a 10 days cruise, whilst on the 5th Feb the boat "Andrea" leaves. The cost is 4500 USD, or 4150 USD if I paid in cash.

It is so easy, I tell myself... To just say "Lets do something fuckin' crazy!", or "Why not? It's only money!"

"Fin del Mundo" aka "The end of the world"

2008-01-15T17:12:00.000+13:00

If you buy into the hype! Regardless, I am in Ushuaia! A mere 3000 km from Buenos Aires, and it is the Southern most city in the world!

I arrived in Ushuaia at 9pm last night, completely zombied out after a seriously daunting 32 hours of bus ride!

But seriously, God must be looking after me. As I arrived at peak tourist season, at night, without accommodation booked. But I manage to find one hostel with one bed left to crash out. I cannot tell you how happy I felt that everything worked out!

My first impression of this remote place? It is simply breath taking! Looking around me I am surrounded one side by snow capped hills, and the other is the port overlooking the Beagle Channel. This is where Antarctic cruise leave from and it takes 2 days of sailing to get down there. That is, if you have a spare 4500 - 15000 USD! I have already met people at the hostel whom are setting out for a cruise. In fact, I enquired about cruises today, and the 4,500 USD price tag is the discounted price for a 10 days cruise. From the agencies comment books it seems like nobody came away unsatisfied! So anybody wants to donate to me to make this trip? hah!

Ushuaia is also not as small as I thought. It is a pretty well developed place, with lots of tourist shops, restaurants and nightclubs. And today there is a massive cruise ship docked off the pier. Still, it still doesn't rid it of the frontier town feeling, thanks to the surrounding terrain of snow capped mountains and icy sea.

The other cool thing about being so far south is that the daylight goes on forever! When I hit the sack at midnight last night it was still light outside!

I am excited to have made it so far south. As it meant I have bus my way from tip to tip in the entire continent. It is nuts to even think about it but I have done it! :)

Crossing the Magellan Strait

2008-01-15T14:30:00.001+13:00

The sheeps in the foreground are taken onboard the ferry that I am on. There are lots of sheep ranch out here, as the locals love lamb as much as we do back home. :b

... And here we go... Crossing the Magellan Strait to get me to Tierra del Fuego, aka Fire Island, one of the last stop for adventurers on their way to Antartica.

Moving south and killer bus journeys...

2008-01-13T00:22:00.001+13:00

Just want to say that southern Argentina is bleak, windswept and empty. Unlike our pristine green and mountainous South Island.

This is the impression I got so far anywhere. I am currently in Puerto Madryn, a coastal town with it's origin settled by the Welsh back in the 1800's. It is now a pretty successful town for tourism as it is their version of our Kaikoura. Tourist flock here to see whales, dolphins, penguins and seals.

But I came here to see traditional Walsh cottages and to eat cakes instead. So yesterday me and some English backpackers visited Gaiman (which we reckon sounds more like Gay-man), a town settled by the Welsh in 1860's. It is one of those quaint places with lots of Welsh signs, and anyone who knows Welsh knows that they have the longest word in the Guinness Book World of Record so the signs are well long and sounds funny! They have some old brick cottages and nice Churches. But we were there mainly for the 3pm high noon tea. We got served unlimited Welsh tea, cakes of all sorts (apple crumble, lemon cakes, cheese cakes, sweet chocolate cakes...) and bread with home made jam. It was without doubt the best kind of desert for me: Unlimited, a wide selection and all so very delicious! And to prove her Welsh heritage the owner of the tea house can say that longest word in that big book of records! LOL!

We manage to roll out of Gay-town afterwards with a full tummy, and only had salad for dinner. :b

Epic bus rides should be the title, not killer bus journeys... As anybody whom travelled by buses in Argentina will know that the buses here rocks! They have great seats, clean toilets, serves HOT food at meal time, play English movies, and have bingo on board to entertain (plus a bottle of wine for the winner!).

But it is still epic! From Buenos Aires I took a 19 hours bus ride down to Puerto Madryn. And it will be another 32+ hours before I reach the southern most city in the world - Ushuaia. Yes, that place is a mere 3,000 km away from Buenos Aires. And I plan to get there in the next 2-3 days.

So wish me luck y'all! :)

Vitaliza!

2008-01-10T14:06:00.000+13:00

Vitalise!

I almost cried when I saw our little green can halfway around the world.

I went looking as soon as I reached Argentina. And guess what? I am happy to tell you that they are EVERYWHERE! As I am only at a small border town called Posada and they were sold in most corner stores I visited!

Hooray for V!!! Hooray for Frucor!!!

And for your info, they are sold at 3 Argentine Pesos, approx 1USD. :)

Made it to BA!!!

2008-01-09T23:47:00.002+13:00

I am here! Finally at Buenos Aires! The city I most look forward to seeing besides Rio!

But the heat, omg the heat! I arrived on a day when the temperature sore to 41 degrees. FORTY ONE DEGREES!!! I could hardly move in this heat, and when I visited the central, I along with everyone else, moved from shades to shades.

The heat was so stifling, that I could hardly sleep last night. Unfortunately my hostel (Garden House Hostel) does not have air con, and the poor fan could hardly cool us down. It was still frickin steaming at 12 midnight! So my bed, along with everyone else's in my dorm, felt like a super heated hot towel upon lying down upon it. It felt like the sun has spent the whole day baking it to this temperature!

So, today in BA, I am hoping for cooler weather, or even some welcome Auckland rain! :b

Argentina Border Crossing

2008-01-08T06:27:00.001+13:00

Sweet sweet sweet!

No issues at all... Left Encarnacion this morning for Posada in Argentina. The first thing that I chat about with my immigration officer was... Nuava Zelanda rugby suxxx porque Argentina Puma es Numero Uno!

I am sure you can guess what it meant! ;)

Drinking "mate"

2008-01-07T15:09:00.000+13:00

It is nothing quite like seeing a hot chick walking on the streets in the middle of the night carrying a mug with it's metal straw similar to the one I am holding and a flask of "mate" on the streets of Paraguay.

How could one not laugh when they are not used to the culture? :D

For those who are wondering... Mate is basically a tea brewed in hot water filled with other goodness like herbs and roots, before serving in a social setting with mates refilling and passing that mug around. It is also the national drink of Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina.

I must say, after getting my first taste of "mate" from friendly locals, I found it to taste similar to Chinese tea! They fill the flask up with cold or hot water depending on the climate. In my case I drank it cold and it was very refreshing in the 38 degree heat.

So I guess this culture and custom is not dissimilar to Chinese in China, carrying a bottle of thermal flask and a glass to ferry their precious tea back and forth from social to business gatherings!

For more info on mate check wiki.

Paraguay Recycling

2008-01-07T15:00:00.000+13:00

Now if even a 3rd world country like Paraguay can offer something as clear cut as this in recycling, why can't we do the same back in NZ? Time to kick our government's ass on this issue me thinks!

How do I spend all that money?

2008-01-07T13:43:00.001+13:00

That is exactly the dilemma I am having right now... I am only in Paraguay for 3 days, and have exchange a shit load of Brazilian Reals for Paraguay Guaranis. I have spent it on a lavish dinner, sight seeing and having my own room for the night. I have never been in this predicament before, and am hoping to be so when I get to my final week in Buenos Aires! :b

Also, Paraguay and Colombia can follow Venezuela's example in removing the last 3 zero's from their currency (though only started in January). It is nuts especially when South Americans refer to 3 zero's as millions. So 1 thousand in English is 1 million in Spanish. How confusing is that!

I also forgot to mention, that Paraguay is the second poorest country in South America after Bolivia. Which is why everything is dirt cheap here! :)

Jesuit Ruins of Trinidad & Jesus

2008-01-07T11:54:00.000+13:00

So I am finally here! Term by LP as the "least visited UNESCO site in the world", so I was disappointed to find other people there. LOL!

Just kidding. But there weren't many tourist on a Sunday afternoon at both Trinidad and Jesus. I could count the local tourist with two hands. So that statement may be true! :)

I came here to visit these Jesuit ruins. The Jesuit are a bunch of missionaries whom came over to this part of the world in the 17th and 18th century. They left their mark in Paraguay and Argentina with some massive city ruins. However it is all left to rot now, as the missionaries were kicked out by the Spanish back in the 17th Century. They were kicked out because they did such a good job in protecting the local indigenous people from exploitation (ie slave trade) from the colonist.

These city ruins includes cathedrals, colleagues, houses for the indigenous people, houses for the priest, bell towers and cemeteries. All are missing roof and some walls, but I was quite impress with how well preserved it all is. As in most other 3rd world countries ruins like these without protection would have allowed the locals to reuse the materials for to construct their own houses.

Brazilian`s answer to V

2008-01-06T13:50:00.000+13:00

Yes, they call this drink Kuat, and it taste almost better then the green V that I have come to know and love. Well... actually, I think it taste better as I have been drinking this all throughout Brazil. It has less of a sugery and fizzy taste then the green V.

BUT... in saying that, the red V is still my favorite drink in the world and I am expecting my ex-boss Al to have a couple of boxes ready for me to collect when I return! ;)

Paraguay Border

2008-01-06T13:26:00.001+13:00

Made it! I cross the Paraguay border this arvo from Brazil. It all went smoothly, until I was told that I need a VISA to enter Paraguay! Oh dear.... Luckily, the friendly Paraguay Custom officer told me I could get a 5 days transit visa for 30USD or 60 Reals. So I thank my lucky star and cough up the moolah!

The border town of Ciudad de Este is NUTS! It is a duty free town and is known for it`s electronic goods. So today being Saturday as well, there were a ton of Brazilians and Argentinians in town shopping for a deal. You see them all, crossing back to Brazil carrying various electronic goods like cameras, speaker systems and LCD screens.

So since I am not looking for nuthin, I took the bus south west to Encarnación, to check out what Lonelyplanet terms as the least visited UNESCO site in the world!

Also, I tucked into a delecious Jap dinner tonight. Eating maki and katsu chicken at a Japanese restaurant call Hiroshima. The last Jap outing for me was at Ken in La Paz 5 long months ago!!!

Iguazu Falls

2008-01-06T11:19:00.000+13:00

Instead of posting photos of this amazing waterfall. I decided to take a video clip and let you see for yourself the sheer size and power of this waterfall.

The Iguazu Falls borders Brazil and Argentina, and consist of a whopping 275 waterfalls along 2.7 km of the Iguazu river. The video is taken from the Brazilian side, as it is here that you get an overrall picture of the mighty falls. The part of the video where it goes all misty is the Garganta del Diablo or known as the Devil`s Throat. It is accessable from the Argentinian side (alongside most of the other impressive falls) and seeing it is amazing to walk right into it. As you are almost surrounded by waterfalls (all 260 degrees of it according to Wiki!), at 150 metres wide and 700 metres long, it kicks ass to be in the midst of it!

So unlike Angel Falls with it`s sheer height, Iguazu Falls impress with it`s width! For more info on this amazing fall, check Wiki or the World Heritage Site List.

Goodbye Rio

2008-01-04T08:30:00.001+13:00

What a fantastic city Rio has been. I think it will be very hard to top this city. And trust me, I have visited a lot of cities!!!

The setting, the people, the landscape and the parties must certainly make Rio one of the most sought after travel destination in the world. You can see it too, with numerous hotels and so many international tourist.

On New Years day, the city put on an incredible show. The beaches were packed with patrons, rich and poor, black and white, from all over the world. The Brazilians of course partied the hardest. And come 12am fireworks were shot off numerous barges parked on the water, and it went on for 20 minutes. Whilst the 8 big cruises parked off shore join in the fun too with their spot lights. There were stages put up on all the main beaches in Rio, with all sorts of music played from Samba, bossanova to electronic music featuring top name DJs (Above and Beyond, Astrix, Yahel, Infected Mushroom for those wondering!!!).

And on New Years day, the crowd return to the beach, this time to relax and recover under another beautiful sunny day. For me, these 9 days in Rio have been perfect. I met some great people, ate great food, stayed at a great hostel (´cept for the camera business!) and saw many beautiful sights.

I do intend to return to Rio, as there are so much more that I haven´t done.

I AM IN LOVE WITH THIS PLACE!!!

KFC Brazil Style

2008-01-04T08:16:00.001+13:00

You know how much I love KFC! Everywhere I have traveled I have seen the local´s take on it. And here we have the Brazilian version.

For 9.95 Reals (5.50USD) you get 2 pieces of chicken, chips, rice, black beans and *maniac* flour... LOL actually it is called manioc flour, used by Brazilians in almost every kind of cooking. In case you are wondering, the manioc flour is the yellow flaky stuff you see on the bottom left hand corner of my plate.

Also notice how the portion are served in a proper plate with proper cutleries? Why don´t we do this back home??? It all adds up to a tasty dish.

rūzu sokkusu

2008-01-04T08:08:00.001+13:00

Well not quite the Japanese loose socks style, but omg this lady has taken dressing dogs up to a new level. And I have not seen this until arriving in Brazil. Parnell mums take note!!!

Also of interest, Brazil is second only to America when it comes to pet ownership. I just hope not all of them are C R A Z Y like this lady!

Stolen items

2008-01-03T00:04:00.002+13:00

My iPod and camera got stolen out of my locked backpack in my dorm. The shitty thing is that it was only my backpack that got searched, with all my contents spilling out. The thief manage to pull the zip open whilst the bag was locked, and manage to fit his hands through and looked about. Everyone elses bags was not touched.

However, the thief did me a favour really as it was my broken camera. And it is missing both the memory card and the battery. LOL!

HAPPY 2008

2007-12-31T10:55:00.001+13:00

Hey everyone!

Just wanna wish you all in NZ a Happy 2008! I know as the countdown begins everybody will be full of excitement of what the new year will bring. I love you all and can´t wait to see you all in Feb!!! :)

This delicious photo was taken at the top of the Sugarloaf. Up here I saw a beautiful sun set with Copacabana beach stretching away in the distance. I am loving it here at my favorite city in South America!

It is a cold day in Rio!

2007-12-29T13:42:00.001+13:00

NOT! Today was probably the hottest day in Rio too! As the temperature sore to 38 degrees... And the coconut (as shown) and other juice vendors were doing a brisk business.

But seeing this temperature reading cracks me up! I don´t know if it was deliberate due to the Pepsi advert above, or that it is broken (I believe the later!). As there are ad billboard with temperature meters such as these everywhere in Rio.

Havaianas

2007-12-28T23:02:00.000+13:00

You know how these pair of jandals cost 25NZD and you can only get them at fashion stores like Amazon back home?

Guess what, in Brazil they cost between 7USD and 12USD, and you can buy them everywhere, even from local dairy and pharmacy's!

Apparently it is a bit of an institution here, and everybody wears it. From the mothers to the bums on the street. Very nice!

Update!!!

I have seen Havaianas for 3USD at a market street! So you can buy them from between 3USD and 12USD. Lovin it!!!

The most beautiful city in the world

2007-12-28T14:49:00.001+13:00

Rio de Janeiro is the most beautiful city in the world and this is why:

The setting - Big bays, Bright blue ocean, kilometers of beautiful white sandy beach, hills with rocky tops and seems to bend at odd angles all over (and you can rock climb them!!!).

The people - The Brazilians invented thongs and the butt-lover bikini bottoms. The tan body, the beautiful face and the athletic body... Which leads me to...

The sports - Football yes... They have more World cup medals then anyone else, yes they have a world class Football stadium and yes they have a couple of heroes like Pele but for me, it is... 2 on 2 Beach volleyball! Yes where else are you going to find next to nothing costume (!!!) and model like players on the beach. Also, the men and women team are the reigning champs at this sport!

The buildings - Not quite Europe but a fine blend never less. The downtown area is full of majestic colonial buildings which has been left to age... It can do with a new lick of paint or the graffiti could be removed but it all gives it some kind of rustic charm.

The sports - Rock climbing (of course with so many beautiful rocks around!), cycling (nice and flat with a beautiful beach front - eat your heart out Mission Bay!), kite surfing, surfing, hang gliding and, the Brazilian capoeira (That is Eddy from Tekken in case you are wondering!), and not forgetting all that dancing which leads to...

The Music - Home of bossanova and the samba style drumming... It is also home of the biggest street party in the world - the Carnival in February!

I spent day 3, a beautiful cloudless day, wondering the streets of Rio, riding on my push bike, people watching, jumping in the clear blue ocean myself to cool down in the drenching 34 degrees heat, and then... at 7.45pm, watched the most amazing sun set over the big ocean on Ipanema beach, to a round of applause from the crowd around me. It was a wonderful feeling I tell you.

So I am in love with this city, and it´s citizens. I am here to see in the New Year, and plan to be wearing white in Copacabana beach alongside 2 million people. I cannot wait to see this!

Angel Falls Video

2007-12-26T23:30:00.000+13:00

This is a short video clip I took of Angel Falls. I want to give you some idea of how powerful the fall is from where I stood. I was less then 100 metres away from the action. My group was bless to be able to see it on the day as it rain hard overnight, giving us the fall in all it´s finest. Though, I have been told during the rainy season the falls above gets as wide as 150 metres!!!

Cruising down the Amazon river

2007-12-23T02:45:00.001+13:00

I am currently in the middle of the Amazon river, at a town call Santarem. I am only stopping over here until this afternoon, when I will board another boat for Belem out on the coast.

The boat trip has been fantastic so far! The boat I board was call Ana Vitoria, it has 3 level, with the top being an open bar area. The boat itself is tiny, but it was full of passengers! Me and the Aussies was on the second floor, away from the engine room downstairs. We slept in the ``hammock class´´, otherwise known as Rede class, for the last 2 nights.

And what an experience! The whole floor was filled bumper to bumper with hammocks. I did not sleep too well on the first night as there were just too many hammocks, I was touching hammocks against 3 other hammocks! I am guessing the boat is full as most people are going home for Christmas.

Despite the number of people on board (I estimated 150) the boat was kept surprisingly clean. The staff swept the floor and clean the bathroom regularly. There was also unlimited drinking water and the meals was not too grubby tasting. Meal time is fantastic, the crew would bang on a pot, and everybody would rush downstairs to queue up for dinner. But the dining table is small, accommodating only 24 people at a time. So you could imagine the wait! But the crew are very efficient, clearing out the table as groups of 24 people finish. It all feels very boarding-school like due to the rush to eat as much as possible, in as little time as possible!

Cruising along the Amazon is not just for tourist here, the locals use the river as their major highway. In fact, the cities within the Amazon river are connected by boats only. So it is a great way to meet locals. I spent my time on board sleeping, hanging out with locals and other tourist, listen to my iPod or read. It is all very relaxing.

My favorite part of the trip is during sun set, sun rise and when docking at a local port. That is when all the action happens. Yesterday, I saw a bunch of Amazon river dolphins, playing near our boat whilst docked at a local port.

So, I still have another 2 days of down river to go. Am looking forward to getting back on, but this time I will be doing it alone as I say goodbye to Richard and Penny. They are off to a little ``beach´´ town call Alter do Chao.

Brazil is $$$

2007-12-20T14:09:00.001+13:00

I have made it into Brazil, after leaving Venezuela a day ago.

Coming into Brazil has been a bit of a shock, on the $$$ side of things. As this is the most expensive country in South America. And don't you know it!

I mean... my 13 hours night bus cost USD48! This compare to me paying around 1USD an hour on bus rides in Venezuela and 2USD an hour on bus rides in Colombia! Also, accommodation at my hostel cost 11USD a night. And that is in a 8 person dorm!

But I did expect this, so am prepare to bite the cost and carry on with me travels. :)

I am now in the city of Manaus, in the middle of the Amazon region. This city was once known as the Paris of the South America. Thanks to it's massive rubber boom in the late 1800's and early 1900's. So many massive and rich looking buildings were built. The highlight includes the Theater, the floating platform out on the docks and the market. However most of the other buildings are now in a sorry looking state. Something which can definitely be done about once more money pours in.

It is pretty surreal though, as at the river mouth there is a HUGE German ocean going cruise ship, which has entered the Amazon river and is now dock at Manaus's floating platform.

Tomorrow, I will be on a smaller cruise... a tiny boat, compare to the German cruise ship. And I will be making my way out of the Amazon river, out to the sea, to the big city of Belem. I am sleeping in "reed" class, meaning... I will be packing a hammock for the 4-5 days cruise.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

2007-12-19T03:52:00.000+13:00

Merry Christmas folks!

This is that mad Aussie which I mention earlier under Puppetry of the Penis.

Yup I met Richard again, this time without his mates, on the climb up Mt Roraima. And yup, Rich needed a partner and that guy was yours truely for this scenic view!!! :b

Trekking up Roraima Tepui

2007-12-18T13:30:00.001+13:00

I just spent 6 days trekking in National Park Canaima. My trek took me up to the top of Mount Roraima. A big fat and flat table top mountain otherwise known as Tepuis. Mount Roraima is the highest of the Tepuis in Venezuela, at 2810 metres.

This is my favorite trek in South America so far. The first 2 days took us through grassy plains, towards Roraima's base camp.

On the left you have Mount Kukenan, and on the right is Mount Roraima.

Mount Kukenan, as taken at sunrise on the right, is known as the evil twin. It has been told that back in the days, the native people here, known as Pemon, would rather climb up Kukenan and throw themselves off rather then falling to enemy hands. Nowadays there are no tours that heads up there as no native people would ever lead tourist up. I suspect the real reason is that it is much harder to climb then Mount Roraima!

And on day 3 we climb up the mountain. It was a slippery afair, but less scary then I thought. We cross the famous Tears Crossing, basically a series of waterfall which falls over us. And then, we reach the top after 4 hours of effort.

Up on top of Roraima it is all about rocks. Re-incarnated in various formations. All in very interesting shapes and sizes. There are also amazing crystal to be found at many areas on Roraima. These rocks you see are vary old, older then the Himalayas, the Alps and the Andes combined! The top is also pretty wet, therefore there are more plant life then I thought. Plus some insect and small animals.

The Roraima frogs are the most interesting. They are very tiny, about the size of my finger nail. They have a black body and a yellow belly underneath. These frogs do not hop like their cousins, instead they walk on all fours! Very trippy!

The group at Roraima
Originally uploaded by benwoo

We did not have the best weather during the trek over the 6 days trek. At times our tents were flooded and we saw plenty of rain and fog.

So at times there was no view on top of the mountain at all! But I didn't mind, as running around and examining the rocks themselves was interesting enough.

We finally made our decent on day 5, and spent the next 2 days walking back out to civilization!

I had a pretty cool group too. From the left they are: Penny (Aus), Richard (Aus), Sarah (Eng), Barna (Hun), Fran (Eng), Camilla (Swe), Ryo (Jap) and yours truely!

We made our tour with Mystic tour, run by Roberto. And paid 770 Bolivars for the fantastic trek.

Maho and Masai

2007-12-17T03:45:00.000+13:00

Maho and Masai
Originally uploaded by benwoo

This is Maho and Masai. Two Japanese backpacker in my group out to the Angel Falls. Maho has been on the road for 1 1/2 years whilst Masai has been on the road for... 3 years!

Masai was cycling around South America when he bump into Maho in Ushuaia, Argentina 18 months ago. Together they travelled for 6 months and fell in love along the way. They are now engaged!

After a break of individual travels, they are back again travelling in Venezuela. After this, Maho plans to travel in Central America for another 6 months, whilst Masai has another monster 3 years of biking to be done. He plans to cycle through United States, Europe and Asia before returning home to Japan.

I tell you, Japanese travellers are some of the coolest and most hardcore of all travellers I meet along the way. They would travel into hot spots, without speaking the language, nor have a full grasp of English. I also respect them for their politeness and easy going nature.

Angel Falls

2007-12-17T03:21:00.000+13:00

I spent 3 days out in Canaima, in South Eastern Venezuela. I flew to Canaima to view Salto Angel, otherwise known as Angel Falls. Name after Jimmy Angel, the discoverer of the famous fall. He discovered it on 16 November 1933.

Angel Fall is the highest waterfall in the world, at 979 metres there are no other waterfall that comes even close!

The day before we got there we receive a dose of heavy rain. Exactly what was needed for the big water experience. And so on the day we got there, it was mysty and cloudy. I love it though as seeing Angel Falls for the first time through the fog seem quite surreal!

But we ended up getting the best of both world as after noon the fog lift and the weather clear up brilliantly. However the fall was still too strong from the overnight rain so we weren't able to swim in the pool below the fall. The force of the water below created a wind draft that was strong enough to blow a baby off!

The trip out to Angel Falls is an adventure in itself too. We paid 850 Bolivars (170USD Black Market rate) for a "cheaper" tour. This meant that our group had to take a 2 hours car ride from Ciudad Bolivar to La Paragua. From there it was a 30 minutes plane ride on a 6 seater Cessna to Canaima.

And then in Canaima, it was a walk, followed by a 4 hours boat ride, and then another 1 hour trek to get close to the falls.

Along the way we got to view other water falls too, like this amazing El Sapo falls. The coolest thing about this big fall is that you can walk behind the fall, and see it fall in front of you like a curtain. The spray from these falls was awesome and the whole group was very wet when we eventually headed off.

The area around Angel Fall is also full of Tepuis. Otherwise known as the Table Mountains. These flat top mountains rises magnificiently over the surrounding countryside. They all seem to top off at about 2500 metres. The Tepuy that Angel Falls is on is the known as Auyan-tepui. It is also the biggest Tepuy in the world, measuring 700 square km.

For more information on this amazing fall check out Wiki!

The only poo poo from the trip out to the falls were that 5 out of 6 in the group had money stolen. We suspect it may have been the boat driver and his helper but we have no prove. However I only had 20,000 Bolivars stolen (about 4USD worth) but my friends had about 20-40USD stolen from them (all Black market rate of course!).

Still, it will not stop me from recommending the tour company that we went with or the tour guide that we had. The company was call Adrenaline and our guide was Gabriella.

Seph and Ben

2007-12-12T03:47:00.000+13:00

This dude on the left is Seph, an American from San Diego. I met him in Ciudad Bolivar and together we headed into Santa Elena. He is an editor by trade and is in Venezuela to write about the country for the Rough Guide (a travel guide in direct competition to my bible).

I used to think this would be one of the coolest job to have, since you get paid to travel. But after hearing Seph's experience I am not so sure anymore! He is on a tight schedule therefore is doing a lot of night bus travels. He spends his days interviewing numerous people, agencies, guesthouse owners, restaurants etc etc for prices, tours, dates and what-nots.

Basically not something I would want since it would cut into my siesta time! :)

Petrol vs Water

2007-12-11T05:16:00.001+13:00

Did you know, a litre of 91 Octane purchased in Venezuela cost only 70 Bolivars?

Which amounts to 30 cents on the offical exchange rate or about 12 cents on the black market rate.

A litre of bottled water here cost 2,500 Bolivars. Which amounts to 1.10 USD on the offical exchange rate or 50 cents on the black market rate.

Either way, with rising petrol prices around the globe here PETROL IS WORTH NOTHING!!!!!!

Los Llanos Caiman

2007-12-07T08:08:00.001+13:00

This is a Los Llanos Caiman all! Don't the baby look cute? :)

There live in plentiful numbers in the Los Llanos region. They look like crocodiles from a distance. But up close you can tell the difference in it's pertrube snout (nose) and it's wider and shorter jaw. Caimans are very shy creatures, and would dive into the nearest waterway when approach by human. They feed on fish primarily, but would not hessitate to take a chunk off your leg if it feels threatened. ;)

Tony and his assistant Michael caught this big Caiman for us to have a close up look. This baby was pretty tranquil, and we were allowed to touch and grab hold of it for our Kodak moment.

If you look closely though you will notice that Tony has wrapped it's mouth shut tight with another piece of rope just in case! A rope has also been lasso around it's neck, and was used by Michael to subdue the animal at the beginning.

Los Llanos and my wildlife safari tour!

2007-12-07T07:08:00.000+13:00

I had a brilliant 4 days out in Los Llanos, on a wildlife safari tour.

Los Llanos is located in the South Western part of Venezuela. It is a vast tropical grassland, and many parts of it stay flooded during the rainy season. Therefore it supports a rich collection of wildlife. There are giant rats call Capybaras, big snakes like the Annaconda, river dolphins, pirahnas, and a whole lot of different bird spieces.

Our tour took us through different mode of transport. We did tours on horseback, van, boat and we also went out for a night safari by foot. We also did different activities on the tour like pirahna fishing and tubbing down a river. My favorite activity was pirahna fishing. I mean, they were SO easy to catch! I caught like 5 pirahnas within 45 minutes.

The pirahnas are fierce creatures allright! They spot very sharp teeth, and over on the right you can see the result of their frenzy attack. Kerrin caught this fish 5 minutes ago, chucked it back into the water as bait and within 5 seconds, half it's flesh has been bitten off. Crazy shit!

We gutted our fish and got it ready for dinner. It was deep fried with salf and it was delicious!

And here is Tony Martin, my guide with his catch of the day. A mighty Anaconda. It was amazing to see him work as he was amazingly fast with his hands. You need it to catch this creature by the neck, and to hold it still to stop it from biting.

I was happy to see the giant snake caught, and to hold onto one as I haven't played with them since my snake keeping duty in Bolivia. The Anaconda skin is smooth and beautiful to touch. It has scary eyes from up close though as it is all hazy with no pupils showing.

And here you have another spectacular sunset at Los Llanos.

We did a lot of the overland tour on top of the roof of our van. The view from above over the plain are superb, with lots of birdlife seen.

Our guide Tony was pretty good. He definately knows what he is doing and is very knowledgable about the animals. But he is also impatient and a little ego-tistic. But the last day bought him back down to earth, as he cut himself bad on our little white-water adventure. After falling out of his tube and smacking head first into a rock down the rapids. That requires 10 stiches and you can see the big bandage over his left eye on the top photo!

Rahhhhhhhh I am still ALIVE!

2007-12-05T12:13:00.001+13:00

Los Llanos
Originally uploaded by benwoo

Yes, just came out of Los Llanos, the low lands of Venezuela on a 4 days safari tour. I saw lots of animals, lots of birds, did a few exciting things and generally had a great time, and will blog about the trip soon! :)

Am right now about to step on a 13 hours night bus across Venezuela out to Ciudad Bolivar. Get ready to hit the freezer!

Jake Meyer

2007-12-01T10:50:00.003+13:00

I must make a special mention of this person here. His name is Jake Meyer and he has set the record as the youngest person to have climb all 7 continent's highest peaks.

Starting at 15 he started off by climbing Mt Kilimanjaro, and finished his 7 summits expedition at Mt McKinley in Alaska, at a tender age of 21!

He is now 23, and is traveling in Northern South America to you summit a few peaks. I just can't believe how young he is and that he is on holiday just to climb more peaks!

For more information on his achievements visit his website http://www.jakemeyer.co.uk/

Puppetry of the Penis

2007-12-01T10:45:00.000+13:00

I met these Mad Aussies from Melbourne at the Guesthouse in Merida, and foolishly decided to follow them up the mountain to see Pico Bolivar. As this is their favorite past time, posing naked where-ever they go. Including this in front of Venezuela's highest peak.

From the left we got Penny, Richard, Ben and Merrrrrv. Way to go Aussies! :b

Climbing Venezuela's Highest Peak

2007-12-01T10:30:00.001+13:00

This is Venezuela's highest mountain, Pico Bolivar, at 5,007 metres.

Getting there to take the following photo was no mean feat. I had to dorn on my winter woolies, shades, hiking boots and the rest. Climb on board the world's highest cable car system, and made my way up.

The cable car starts from Merida at an altitude of 1,640 metres, before winding it's way up in 4 stages, to the dizzying height of 4,765 metres!

From there, I tried climbing the rest of the way up, before being stopped by this silly sign along with it's yellow tape, intended to put wanna-be's like me off.

Well they succeeded. I could not go on. I was too tired, too out of breath, too under equipped and lack the stupid thing they call a permit to reach the summit of Venezuela's highest peak! *sniff sniff*

Chilean prostitute auctions sex for charity

2007-11-29T10:56:00.001+13:00

Found in today's Herald LOL!

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/2/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10479043

Venezuela and it's corrupt police

2007-11-28T12:47:00.001+13:00

Hi all,

I just want to let you know that I have entered Venezuela safely. But not without problems.

I got up at 5.30am this morning, and caught the 6am bus out of Bucaramanga. The journey to the border was uneventful. I arrive at the border at 12pm, but then getting out of Colombian immigration was a 2 1/2 hours wait. It took forever, so I was glad to have eaten lunch beforehand.

I finally made it into the Venezuela border at 3.30pm, I was running behind time already, as I had another 8 1/2 hours bus rides (and needing to change bus midway) ahead of me.

Everything was fine, until my van got pulled over at the police check point leaving town. The police picked on me as soon as I came out. Demanding my backpacks to be x-rayed and searched. The fact that my backpacks was x-rayed at the border didn't seem to satisfy them. The police woman that scrutinize my passport was very rude, but as I later discover, at least honest. Because afterwards, her and a young male colleague went through my backpack and daypack. They were very thorough, pulling out every bit of item from both packs. All my clothes were search, my books opened, my toilet bag, medical bag, pill box, pencil case was scrutinized.

I notice only my items were all pulled out, and thrown on the counter like junk. Where-as the locals only had their bags quickly look through.

Then I notice the young police man was eye-ing my iPod, asking me what it was, and then pulling it out to play with it on two occasion. At first I thought it was curiosity and a touch of childishness (boyz toyz and all!), but then...

The lady finished with her search and left my contents in a mess, and I had the task of putting everything back. I was feeling pretty angry at the way my possession were thrown out, not in any order, nor were there any help given in putting them back. Never had I seen such rudeness or carelessness.

So I pack everything away in my backpack, whilst eye-ing the young policeman wearily, as he was *still* looking through my now thoroughly searched daypack.

He then told me I had to be body search. I started to panic, as I remember the owner of the guesthouse I stayed at in San Gil telling me that they are after money. I said "No no no", but he said this is standard procedure. I didn't have a choice anyway so I was taken into a private room.

Inside the room, he first told me to hand all my possessions in my pants over. So there goes my wallet. But afterwards he wanted me to drop my pants for the money belt that he knew was there. I resisted of course! But he would not hear of it. He then went through the contents, and started pulling out my USDs (US Dollars). I was really shitting myself then.

I know there are no official rules in which foreigners are not allow to bring USDs into the country. But I also know the official exchange rate for 1 USD = 2060 Venezuelan Bolivians, whilst in the black market un-official rate is up to 6000 Bolivians. Almost 3 times as much!

So I started demanding my money back. In fact, I pulled the dollars out of his hands, and place them back into my money belt, whilst talking rapidly and loudly to him about this being my first day in Venezuela, that NZ has no problems with Venezuela, that the USDs are for my travels in all of South America, and that my friends had warn me about policemen taking people's money away. Of course I don't think he understood half of what I was trying to say, I was panic-ing and speaking Spanglish. He was trying to get me to pay him off, whilst trying to hush me with his finger to his lips. He kept gesturing towards the money and speaking rapidly in Spanish but I could not understand him. Maybe not speaking too much Spanish may have helped me in this sticky situation.

As after putting my clothes back on, and storing my money belt away I basically took my chance and walked out the room. I pretended to check to see if my van was still waiting outside. He told me to wait, and spoke to whom I thought was his senior officer, he was whispering to the guy as if saying "This guy is loaded with USDs!" and what seem to me to be like working out a bargain between them to get my money. I look on pleadingly. The senior officer - God bless him, must have said something like "Let him go.", as the next moment he was nodding towards me. I took that as a sign and fled to the van with my backpack and daypack.

I am still shaking from this whole experience which only happened 3 hours ago, and cannot stop rewinding in my head what could have had happen. Never in any of my previous travels have I encountered such corrupted police. And I am praying that I do not meet any more such people.

Colombia Most Wanted

2007-11-28T11:26:00.000+13:00

This is the to 3 most wanted Colombians. The photo was taken at the DAS immigration office on my way out of Colombia.

$5,000,000,000 pesos = 2.5 million USD

Here is more! Notice how some has their face crossed off with MUERTO written? Yup that's right they got him.

These guys all looks to be part of the paramilitary here in Colombia.

Speaking of paramilitary. Here is an interesting news article on the Guardian website, with regards to a 29 years old Dutch woman name Eillen, whom have been fighting on FARC's side since 2001. Recently her diary was recovered by Government soldiers, and within it she tells of her life with the communist rebels.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/colombia/story/0,,2216994,00.html

Crossing the border into Venezuela

2007-11-28T10:44:00.000+13:00

Made it into Venezuela... This photo was taken before encountering the shit head corrupt policemen. :o)

San Gil, Bucaramanga and beyond!

2007-11-27T12:24:00.000+13:00

I have been visiting the self proclaim adventure capital of Colombia; San Gil, near the border with Venezuela.

I came here to absail down this huge 180 metres waterfall! It look big too when we got there! However we found out that only one section is possible to absail. That section is 80 metres long so it still look huge, dangerous and exciting!

Well, going down has never been a problem for me, so me and another kiwi (Andy Gale from Hamiltron!), work our way down the face of the waterfall, into the thick of it all. It was exciting stuff allright! The rock was slippery and I was reduce to jumping down it McGyver style. :)

Here are the photos! The one above is of Andy going over. The one on the left is the 80 metre section that we went down. If you zoom in to the photo you will be able to see the ropes we used to absail.

Today I am in Bucaramanga, basically my last stop in Colombia, before heading into Venezuela.

Colombia has set the bench mark for me in terms of my favorite country in this continent. The people, the landscape and the adventures have been all top stuff. The only low point would be in their culinary!

Taganga

2007-11-25T10:16:00.001+13:00

Taganga Fishing Port
Originally uploaded by benwoo

I love Taganga. Stayed here for a few nights, in between my trek into Ciudad Perdida.

This is a small fishing on the Caribbean coast with a great backpacker atmosphere. There are no 5 star hotels out here, just a beach with a bunch of restaurant selling cheap seafood.

I spent my time snorkling off the coast, eating great seafood (snapper and prawns!) and just chilling on a hammock.

The People

2007-11-22T13:01:00.000+13:00

And here are photos of the people including the group at the Lost City trek.

Here is a Koguis mum, at 15 year old with her son.

Here is a Koguis girl showing off her colourful necklace.

To tell the difference between the girls and the boys is that the boys all carry a knapsack, whilst the girls all wear pretty necklaces.

Here are two Koguis boys, no older then 12 and 14, having a fag during a break up on the trek. They told me they started smoking at a tender age of 11.

Wh00p Wh00p! Yeah mate, I would have look so much better possing if it wasn't for them German style socks and sandles. But I did the whole bloody trek in sandles! They were PERFECT for the numerous muddy and wet trails. That is, until the last day when we had to slug through avalanches. My poor Tevas just couldn't handle them.

Anyway.... RAH RAH!!!

From the left is Missile our cook, Eduardo our English speaking guide and the younger Eduardo Spanish speaking guide possing with their Galil rifles...

RAH RAH!!!

Here is my group on the trek having breakfast. From the right we have Matt (Walsh), Olga (Polish), Karen (Walsh), Christine (Canadian), Jordan (Canadian), yours truely and Sef (Denish).

This is our brilliant guide Eduardo, with his mum and dad. We stayed at his house on the first night of the trek. Eduardo is strong as an ox and nimble as a deer during our trek. He helped carried Christine's backpack when she was too tired, and knows the trail, the animals, the plant life like a native. During the trek he picked out sugarcane, mandarin, oranges, choclate growing along the path and cut it up for us. Eduardo is only 19 years old, but has been guiding for 3 years and was a cook for 5 years before that. His dad is 52 and his mum is only 49. He also has 5 brothers and 2 sisters.

Ciudad Perdida

2007-11-22T11:03:00.001+13:00

I just spent an exhausting 5 days trekking in the Sierra Nevada region, out to visit Ciudad Perdida, also known as the Lost City.

We had a great group of people with mixed nationality: Poland, Denmark, Canada, Walse and NZ. :) We also had 2 guides and 1 cook from the tour operator Sierra Tour.

The condition of the trek was wet, muddy and slippery. This is the rainy season we are trekking in so every afternoon except for the last day we experience a torrential downpour. And on our very first trekking day half the group ended up having their contents entirely soaked through. I took a great picture of Matt, the Walsh, with his Lonelyplanet Phrasebook and Colombian Pesos on the table, attempting to dry them out. But basically the unlucky ones were trekking in their wet clothes for most of the time.

There were also numerous river crossing, and some the water came up to our waist. Being in a hurry I manage to trip and fall into the rushing water, taking my guide Eduardo with me. Therefore I am greatful to have double line all my clothes in two bin bags, and had everything else like camera and torch light wrapped in plastic bags.

However the rain did more damage then we anticipated, as we had to return the way we came in, and on the last day we must have passed at least 30 avalanches, completely blocking our way out. It was through much cussing and groaning that we eventually got out to a point where motorbikes can cross, to return us to civilization!

So was it all worth it in the end? The answer is yes! The Lost City is pretty well situated, at the banks of the river, up the hill, and overlooking a lush green valley, with Tulcans seen flying above.

We eventually reach it on the third day of our trek, after enduring endless mosquitos and sandflies, torrential rains and muds, we climb the 1200 stone stairs all the way up to see the "city" of a long lost civilization (wiped out by the invading Spanish of course). With the fog flowing in and out of Ciudad Perdida it did remind me a little of Machu Picchu, as it has that same mystic air to it. But the difference is the complete lack of tourist.

The following day we hiked around the ruins, seeing the remains of these stone structures, and tools used by the civilization then. The city was believe to have been founded in 800 AD, and may have contain up to 8,000 inhabitants. We also saw a Helicopter landing on the main terrace, carrying 3 American tourist whom paid 3000USD for the privilage.

In 2003 eight backpackers were kidnapped from here by the Paramilitary ELN and held for 90 days. They were luckily released unharm, but it put people off doing this trek for a number of years. Today there are 40 millitery personal located in the Lost City to protect tourist from visiting it.

Did you know...?

2007-11-15T02:03:00.001+13:00

That the very popular TV series and Emmy award winner "Ugly Betty", is originally from Colombia? Yes! The series here is known as "Yo Soy Betty, La Fea" (I am Betty, The Ugly One).

Also, the very beautiful singer Shakira, is also from Colombia.

I loooove Colombia! :o)

Mud Volcano of Totumo

2007-11-14T16:26:00.001+13:00

Eeek! Covered from head to toes in muddy slimy goo. It was great fun!

Today, I headed out to the mud volcano of Totumo. About 40km from Cartegena. It was an interesting day trip as the photo shows. Once there, the group I was in don on our togs, climb the steps up the 20 metre cone, and step into this slimy gooey mud. The sensation is wonderful! I felt like a kid again, playing with mud, rubbing it all over myself, making it burp and fart around me.

The coolest thing about this stuff is that it is simply un-sinkable! I was litrally lying down on the mud, dozing off in the mid afternoon heat. Other folks around me were getting a nice full body mud massage by the locals.

After the experience, we climb back down the ladder and were lead to a pond, to be wash down by the local ladies. They did a very good job with cleaning me and my togs (off!).

But now as I type this, I am picking at my ears to find more black goo stuck to my finger nails!

I made it to the Carribean coast!

2007-11-13T16:39:00.000+13:00

I made it!!! Starting from Chile, I have travelled by bus, boat and 4WD all the way from Chile, the southern most country in South America, to Cartagena, up here in the Carribean coast. It has taken just over 4 months, and from here I plan to cross over to Venezuela, before heading South to Argentina to complete my travels. :)

Cartagena

2007-11-13T16:32:00.001+13:00

I am in Cartagena now! This picture doesn't really reflect the city, but to remind people that in South America there are many poor and homeless people.

This city is probably the most famous city in all of Colombia. It is famous because it is one of the few cities left in the world with an intact wall to protect the city. It was built way back in Colonial times (1600's) the Spanish was force to build this defence after repeated attack by pirates off shore. The city is famous then as a trading post, and was a key departure point for Spanish loot of the region.

So within the wall city, most streets retains their colonial charm, with beautiful churches, monastries and other beautiful buildings. It certainly is the prettiest Colonial city I have visited in my trip so far!

Botero statue

2007-11-13T16:05:00.001+13:00

This is a piss take on Botero, the most famous artist in Colombia. Found at Cartegena's Independence festival this weekend.

And this here is the real Botero statue!

Frenando Botero as you may have notice is famous for his work with regards to fat-ness. This is seen in his museum in Medellin and Bogota. His art work includes sculptures and paintings. It is very interesting to see how he potray all his subjects, from dogs, fruit plates to people, in a "fat" form.

For more information on Botero and hiswork, check out Wikipedia and Museum Syndicate.

Colombian toilet

2007-11-09T16:55:00.003+13:00

Why aren't there toilet seat covers in Colombia and the rest of South America? Is it because everybody carries their own due to hygine purposes? Or that they are afraid that customers might steal it???

Other questions I have:

Why do drivers turn on their hazard light signals whilst driving in the rain?

Why do women get butt implants? Is it to make them hang out more?

Why do people use their mobile like a walkie talkie? That they would first listen to the conversation, and then remove the phone from their ears, place it by their mouth and speak into it.

Guitar AK47

2007-11-09T16:55:00.001+13:00

This is interesting photo was taken at the Museo de Antioquia here in Medellin. The artist converted an AK-47 into a guitar. According to the plaque it is a statement against violence.

For those who din't know, Medellin used to be the drug capital of the world. It was one of the most dangerous cities in the world due to the various gangs and drug cartels. And it is here, not so long ago, that an average 6,000 people died from homicides back in 1991.

But with a new mayor and his iron fist, the city has clean up. homicides rate dropped significantly. The drug cartels destroyed and as everyone saw on the news back in 1993, it's most famous convict Pablo Escobar, was shot and killed on the roof top right here in Medellin.

I LOVE CRACK!

2007-11-09T16:52:00.001+13:00

Crack climbing that is!

This is what I did today!!! :) :) :)

I finally got to do some real climbing after a long break. Today, Laird (my Canadian mate) and I went rock climbing at El Peñol, a massive piece of granite rock, judding out of the countryside, 2 hours East of Medellin.

We started off with a long 30m climb, graded at 5.8 and called the Kurakata. The climb was a good warm up, and it was also Laird's first outdoor climbing experience and kodus to him as he top it!

This photo is taken for a climb called Alcatraz, rated at 5.10B and is 25m high. It is my first proper crack climb, as you can see from the photo, the jagged age goes all the way up. In fact, the whole route is 80 metres, requiring 3 multipitch climb. It would have been so cool to do the whole thing!

Just Check out the view!

El Peñol is situated in a very pretty area, surrounded by lakes and beautiful countryside. Many rich folks from the big city of Medellin have bought holiday houses out here. As you can see their houses, and the occasional speed boats out on the water. I certainly cannot complain about the view, nor the beautiful climb.

And finally, here is our guide: Yon Monsalve. He is a 31 year old Colombian from Medellin and has been climbing for 12 years. He is a great climber, and have set 3 of the 4 routes we climbed today.

He has had first hand experience with Colombian's war with the rebels. He got shot on the back of his shoulder, with the bullet piercing his left shoulder, and busting his jaw. So now he has a slightly crooked jaw. The shot put him in a coma for 2 days. This happened to him at the age of 17, whilst he was in the Colombian army.

The Bullring

2007-11-06T08:01:00.001+13:00

The Bullring

This is the bullfight ring in Bogota. It is interesting to see from above (taken from a tall tower near by) as you can see the massive holding pens for the bulls.

Bullfighting is big in South America, after being introduced from Spain. At the start of the bullfighting season the top matadors are invited over from Spain to participate. Unfortunately I won´t be seeing it in Bogota as the season starts in December.

Big Mac Combo - Colombia

2007-11-05T11:58:00.000+13:00

Big Mac Combo cost 9,600 Pesos = 4.90USD

I love Colombians!

2007-11-05T08:24:00.000+13:00

Sunday Flea Market

So far I am loving Colombia. This is due mainly to the lovely people that lives here. It is on an almost daily basis that I am met with kindness by the locals.

An example was yesterday when I wanted to take a cable car up to a nearby hill for a view of the city, but I am short on cash, so the woman in the queue behind me offered to pay the differences!

Another time, I was in a bus, and because I didn´t know how to get to my destination, friendly locals would stay on the bus with me to help me get off at the right place, even if it meant they miss their stop!I have also been offered fruits to tried by locals, whether they are farmers or city person.

Presidential Guards

But of course, currently being in the capital of Colombia (Bogota) I am well aware that this city has the worst reputation of robery then any other cities I have visited so far. In fact, I have heard so many first and second hand stories that it would make any person become overly paranoid.

Yesterday I met Tim, a Dutch backpacker who caught came directly from Quito, Ecuador. Whilst on the bus, he was drugged by a co-passanger, ended up passing out and waking up in a hospital the following day! How freaky is that! But then again, he was stupid as he took drinks from strangers onboard the bus, his whiskey was laced with drugs. However there was a happy ending as the rest of the passangers on the bus notice what was happening and manage to catch the perpetrator, who is now sitting in a Bogota jail cell.

I have also heard countless stories of arm robberies, sometimes in daylight. One was a guy who had robbers robbing him with guns right in the middle of Simon Boliviar square, the main presidential square of Bogota! Another story was of a girl who got a knife held on to her outside Platypus, my hostel in Bogota. Dodgy!

So there are good people and there are bad people. But overrall, I have yet to meet the baddies. And dispite Bogota´s bad rep, I found it safer walking the streets here then in Quito (Ecuador)!

Flash flood in Bogota

2007-11-04T12:55:00.000+13:00

Today I got to witness the extreme wet weather here in Bogota.

It rain heavily in the afternoon and in less then 30 minutes, the water level rise above the curbs and the roads turned into a mini river. It was a little scary but fascinating to watch as I was stuck in a bus on my way North. And soon after it started hailing hard! This lasted almost an hour, drowning the roads and cars with white pebbles, so by the end of it Bogota looked like it was in the middle of a snowy white Christmas!

But if you think my photos did not look too bad, check out "El Tiempo" (The Time) the daily newspaper of Bogota. It has an article and an incredible photo of the flood and damages caused by the storm.

Tierradentro and it´s underground tombs

2007-11-02T12:09:00.000+13:00

After San Agustin, I visited another UNESCO World Heritage Site at Tierradentro. This area is even less visited then San Agustin due partly to the road condition.

Tierradentro contains the only known underground tombs in Latin America. They are believe to date between the 6th and 10th Century. Most of them are decorated with motif and painted with 3 basic colours (black, red and white). Again not a lot are known about the people who built them nor the tombs themselves. But many items were found in the tombs alongside the bodies, these included statues similar to those seen in San Agustin. All the tombs are built high up in the hills surrounding Tierradentro.

For me and Nicolas (my Belgium companion), the village and hills in this area are more interesting then the tombs themselves. We enjoyed hiking the hills to visit the ruins, chilling in the tiny village (of 15 houses!) sipping our juice and having the whole place to ourselves!

For more information go to UNESCO World Heritage Site on Tierradentro.

San Agustin and it´s facinating Stone faces

2007-11-02T12:07:00.000+13:00

I recently spent 3 days in San Agustin, a town in the South of Colombia.

I came to see these fantastic ruins which was found only in the 1970´s. And up until recently, the whole area were not visited by travelers due to active guerrilla activities. But it is now safe for visiting. There are more then 500 stone statues to be viewed. Most in human shape, but some in animal shape, such as a bird holding it´s pray - a snake in it´s beak. Some of the statues were preserved in a perfect state, including the colours used!

The site is pretty big, spread out over the countryside, so on the second day me and 2 other backpackers rented horses to take us along spectacular scenary to visit some of these sites.

Very little is known about the culture surrounding these ruins. But they were believe to have been scultured by the Andean people between the 1st to 8th Century.

For more information, check the UNESCO World Heritage Site for San Agustin.

Salento

2007-11-02T02:19:00.000+13:00

I have spent the last few days staying at a hostel call the "Plantation House" at Salento, in the coffee growing region in Colombia. This area like the South of Colombia is lush, green surrounded by rolling hills. I came here to relax, visit coffee plantations and do some hike around the area. However October and November is the rainy season, so I have been wet more then once.

Yesterday I went hiking to see the world's tallest palm tree, known as the Wax Palm. It is impressive all right, reaching up to 70 metres they outgrow everything around them.

But by the time we got back to town we were all pretty soaked. This weather according to Tim the owner of our hostel, is the wettest of the wet season he has seen in the 4 years he has lived here!

Thanks for checking Marcus - I am still alive, it is just that fast Internet haven't been easy to come by in the small towns that I have been visiting, so will post more updates and pictures when I get to Bogota for the weekend! :)

I love backpackers!

2007-10-25T12:40:00.000+13:00

Sometimes you get someplace and you meet really cool people - Backpackers that is! So here in Popayan I have met and gel with a good group of folks.

I stayed at the very cool Hostel Trail, run by Tony and Kim. A Scottish couple whom were traveling themselves until they got an unbeatable deal to own and operate their own hostel in Popayan. My first impression of them was "Geeze they are the youngest foreign Hostel owners I have ever met!!!!".

Hostel Trail is barely 3 months old so it has a lot to prove. But so far, it has all the right condition for travelers like me and you. It has a TV/DVD room, a book exchange, a reading area, communal kitchen, free coffee, a lovely dining area and Internet access.

But most of all, Tony and Kim are both friendly and helpful. Unfortunately, they were on their way home to Scotland for 3 months shortly after my visit, and they have got two of their cronies Stephen and Colin to run it whilst they are gone. I personally don´t know if I would trust leaving my hostel to a Walsh and a Scottish. HAH! ;)

Check out their Hostel website and the amazing Network they have created for backpackers traveling in South America!

Rainy day in Popayan...

2007-10-23T14:51:00.001+13:00

Rain rain go away, come again another day!!!

The weather so far from Quito has been predictable. Sunny mornings followed by rainy afternoons.

This is the rainy season in this side of South America, but at least Popayan is not freezing like Quito after the rain!

Welcome to Colombia!

2007-10-23T14:32:00.001+13:00

Welcome to Colombia! I made it, and the border crossing between Ecuador and Colombia (between Tulcan and Ipiales) is one of the easiest that I have encountered. There was no hassle at all and there were no bribes involved. :)

But I was nervous about the Colombian pesos as I have never ever seen one before. So I manage to convince my Ecuadorian custom officer to follow me out to flag down a road side money changer. I wanted him to verify the fact that those pesos I get are authentic!

This photo was taken by the Colombian border guard. Smile! :)

After the crossing I spent another 8 hours by taxi and bus, to get me up to the town of Popayan. But thank God I didn't take this old bus (known as "Colectivos") on the right.

Instead I caught one of these super fast taxi minivans, which sped through the Pan American highway along some spectacular landscape, where the cliff drops steeply down deep valleys, with a roaring river below. Oh also, if you are heading North like me, sit on the right side for the best view!

Otavalo´s famous market

2007-10-21T13:55:00.000+13:00

Yey! I finally left Quito. I arrive in the town of Otavalo, about 2 hours north of Quito today to check out one of South America's most famous and biggest outdoor market.

It is certainly big alright! Stretching out from the main plaza (town square) out to adjacent roads all around town. The stores were full of handicrafts, artworks, clothing's and jewelry. But you know what? It wasn't as mind blowing as I thought it would be. I dunno whether it is coz I have seen that many outdoor markets or that I was sore from bouldering yesterday or... That I wasn't planning on buying "nada" (nothing) since I still have so much time to travel. However I enjoy people watching, and seeing locals from the villages in their traditional costume and jewelry, gave me countless Kodak moments.

In the evening I had plans to see the cock fight in a local ring, but the rain put an end to that idea. I was soaked, not from above, but from below. The problem was the road, it's puddles and the passing traffic. My pants are right now being dried at the fireplace.

Speaking of which, anyone who visits Otavalo should check out the hostel I stayed at. It is call Hotel Riviera Sucre and features big rooms, tv, comfy beds, fireplace and hammocks. Tomorrow I will be crossing the border into Colombia. I am looking forward to seeing this country as I have met countless travelers whom have raved about this country to me.

Where I have been! :)

2007-10-20T15:35:00.000+13:00

This is a pretty cool site, you tick the box of all the countries you have visited and it will generate a map of the countries you have visited!

Quito Climbing

2007-10-19T14:58:00.001+13:00

I finally baptise my zapatos de roca (climbing shoes) on Tuesday. After buying those beautiful babies (La Sportivas) from LA I have been wanting to use them.

So I found this bouldering place call MonoDedo (One Finger) near La Coruna Calle (road), about 20 minutes walk from home. Inside there were all these monkeys climbing everywhere.... I felt like a bloody pig compare to them. I SUCK and am sad to think that I have lost all my form (what form LOL) after 4 months of absence.

But Al / Steve / Anna / Nick and the rest, I am still gonna KICK your asses when I return! :b

One week in Quito

2007-10-19T14:37:00.001+13:00

This is me studying Spanish with Floro. And as you can see I am so good at Spanish that she didn't need to write anything on the board. :b

My week in Quito has been awesome. The school has arranged for a home stay for me. So I have my own room, a big bed, bathroom and 2 meals a day. It has bought some sort of normality back to my life and I love it. Today I even went to Quito's big shopping mall call Centro Commercial Jardin (Park Central) and sat at Mr.Book (Border's Like bookstore) reading English materials. It felt great!

And as for cost? My one-to-one Spanish lessons is 4.50usd an hour and the home stay is 12usd per day. A bargain!

I shag Turtles...

2007-10-16T14:36:00.000+13:00

I see Turtles too... Ooooooo La La!

The Galápagos Islands

2007-10-15T14:34:00.000+13:00

I spent an incredible 6 days out in the Galapagos last week and I want to rave about it!

I spent most of it on board this sail boat name "Merak". It is a smallish, carrying 4 crews and 8 passengers. Wel actualy it is pretty tiny, as upon arrival at the dock the Merak was the smallest ship of the lot by far! The crew included one naturalist guide name Cesar, the captain Teto, first mate Lenin and the cook Jamie.

We had a good group of people on board which was nice as the boat was too small for any sort of difficulties. However we did not have an auspicious start as the American Pete (on the left of the photo) left his backpack on board the bus and we were all delayed from starting out on the cruise. He apparently saw the basking sea lions at the dock and got so excited with taking photos that he forgot all about his backpack - what a dumb arse! But we soon forgave him and forgot about the incident. :)

Cesar our guide is the best guide I have had so far in this trip. This old man who turns 70 next year, is one exceptional guide. Seriously! Cesar is a joker and can take as much himself as he dishes out. He tells us his favorite position is '69 LOL! This was after we saw this big male bull sea lion gave it to his lover (in the only style they can master - guess). Cesar must have a pretty long love life as he has 5 ex-wives along with 12 kids from past marriages. But he told us when the tax man came they told him he had 6 ex-wives so he is still looking for the last one! hahaha

Cesar is also strong for his age, always being the first on our inflatable, standing up to help with the navigation. As for his guiding style he would just walk off when he wants to, so if you do not want to hear his explanation you don't have to. He has been guiding for 30 years (including 2 as a cook!) so he can tell us anything and everything we wanted to know without a book. I love this old man and will rave about him to other travelers. So it is only a pity that Cesar plans to retire at the end of the year. Salud!

The Galapagos archipelago is actually a group consisting of 13 main Islands. And in our tour we only visited 5 Islands. They are:

Baltra - which everybody visits upon arrival as that is where the airport lives. We visited a beautiful beach near by on our first day, and saw ruins of a pier left by the American GIs station here during WWII.

Santa Cruz - the mainland hub which has the largest human population (20,000 and counting) and home of the famous Charles Darwin Research Station where massive land turtles can be observed.

Santa Fe - A small-ish Island full of cactus trees along with a whole host of lizards including the Land Iguana and Lava Lizard.

Espanola - My favorite Island for it's terrain and animals! It is full of bird species such as the wave Albatross, Hood Mockingbirds, Blue footed Boobies, Swallow-Tailed Gulls and Finches. There are also spectacular blow holes and loads and loads of Marine Iguanas (and we observe them swimming in the ocean!).

Floreana - Another beautiful Island with beautiful beaches where you can observe (and feel!) stingrays swimming at your feet on the beach, see pink flamingos in the lake and leave mail for someone to post at "Post Office Bay". The "Post Office Bay" is name after barrels of mail left by whalers back in the 18th century as a means for ships destined for the USA and Europe to deliver their mail home. Floreana had the best snorkeling around it's offshore Island called the "Devils Crown". It is actually a submerged volcanic cone full of coral and fishes.

On the left this is a Land Iguana, chewing on it's favorite food from the cactus tree. This big lizard was lazing around beforehand but move fast when Cesar cut and drop this cactus at it's feet. I am guessing it hasn't eaten in a while! The photo was taken at Santa Fae Island.

Sea lions abound in every Island we visited.
From the moment we arrived at the dock in Baltra we found these lazy creatures on land. However in water they are a different story. Garret, Dave, Bos and I had the most exhilarating experience underwater at Espanol Island, because the teenagers came underwater to play with us! They would swim right up to us, blow bubble in our face and swim off, one swam so close to me I got to touch it´s rubbery skin! They were so playful that they disturbed a white tip shark whom was basking beneath the rocks!

The Galapagos visit was an incredible experience for me because these animals weren't afraid of human presence. I guess they have no fear for us because they were never hunted by human beings like elsewhere. So we could get very close to these wild creatures. And some of them like the finches and baby sea lions would hop up to investigate or to play with us.

Blow Holes at Espanol Island

The landscape was also very beautiful, from big cliffs with blow holes, dried out windswept terrain, humid and wet forest, perfect sandy beaches to rising volcanic cones all devoid of human habitation. 97% of the Galapagos is protected and this is the largest marine reserve in the world.

I only hope that with the increasing human presence (both locals and tourist) that the Galapagos can maintain it's uniqueness, and that one day my kids will be able to see this landscape and animals in the same way that I saw it.

I am back in Quito!

2007-10-14T11:06:00.001+13:00

http://generator.click2map.com/maps/chiwi/South America Adventure

Just testing a new mapping tool to show people where I am currently. Tell me what you think of it or if there is a better alternative to this. What I really want is a mapping tool which shows people where I have been with some kind'a travel line.

Sweet!

24 hours madness in Vegas

2007-10-08T11:49:00.001+13:00

I spent a mad 24 hours in Vegas when I was in LA. I started by catching a 6 hours Greyhound bus out at 8am. And realise immediately why people from the States do not use the Greyhound. The bus was full of bums and low income earners hoping to make it big in Vegas. One bum was so smelly that nobody sat next to him! Upon arriving in Vegas, I immediate set out for that famous boulevard.

First impression - I WAS BLOWN AWAY. Ok so people from the States wonder what the facination is. Well when you see and watch it on TV, hear about it on the news and then finally see it with your own eyes. It is just simply fantastic! I felt I was in La La land!!! Though the La La land would have been even better if I was loaded! ;)

Even the first sighting of Vegas was incredible. One moment it is all desert and dry plains, and then you start seeing big billboards on the side of the road (with one gun shop selling M-16´s wtf?), before the tall white buildings of Vegas rose out like a mirage in the distance. And everything in Vegas is HUGE. Then again, everything in the States are massive! From their billboards, food portions to big cars and 10 lanes wide boulevards.

Walking around the main strip neon signs, TV screen, and big billboards all jump out at you. I thought there were some hilarious contradiction though. Such as passing by wedding chapels (whom broadcast your wedding for free over the Internet) and seeing a big poster of Dalai Lama´s upcoming preaching. And of seeing nuns in their garb strolling by those big evil casinos.

I really enjoy watching the different people out here too. From fat mama´s to men in cowboy suit. But I saw a lot of families too, like this is some kind of healthy outing or something. :)

This fountain is pretty impressive too, found outside Paris Vagas. I went up the Eiffel Tower for a great view over the city.

Afterwards I caught a few free shows. The most impressive being Ballagio´s massive fountains. I was hugely impress by it´s size, and the height of the fountain. I just wish the show was longer! LOL

I caught the pirate show at Treasure Island next, that wasn´t as impressive though the audience were huge. I also caught the volcano show outside of the Mirage and the Roman show inside Caesar´s Palace, all pretty average but fun to watch neverless.

Vegas is all about gambling, shows and shopping. I didn´t have time to gamble, but I caught shows and shopped. They had some pretty cool shops too! Such as the M&M bar on the right. I LOOOOVE M&M´s and they had all kind´s of M&M. Such as M&M´s with peanut butter inside! It was yummy!!!! And at some casinos such as the Venetian they built a canal inside the mall, and had paddlers take passengers out on boat. The ceiling were pretty impressive, with the sky painted on.

So most of these casinos had a theme, from Paris Vegas´s French furnishing, Excalibur´s old England theme, Caesar´s Palace´s Roman theme to Luxor´s Egyptian theme.

Obviously if you wanted to catch a decent show you had to pay for it. So I fork up nearly 150USD for the latest Cirque du Soleil show. It was call "Love" and is based on the Beatles. The show was at the Mirage, and I booked it prior to arriving here thanks to Andreanne in Melbourne. She worked for Cirque du Soleil and manage to get me a pretty decent seat inside.

Technically this is the most advance show I have seen. Every seat in the purpose built theater had 4 speakers built in. The lighting and sound effects was also impressive! And the show, it was fantastic! I enjoy hearing all the Beatles song, and watching the actors dance to the songs. They used 3 VW Beatles in the show, and one actually comes apart during the show. But in terms of the actors skill I was more impress with the other Cirque du Soleil show I saw - Varekei.

So in the end, I caught the 1.30am bus (which was delayed till 3am thanks Greyhound!) back to LA. It has been one tiring but fantastic 24 hours for me. :)

Every dog has it´s day...

2007-10-07T11:49:00.001+13:00

I finally get to watch an All Blacks game, at the only pub in town showing it. To me we were definitely the better team on the day. We dominated at line out, scrum, possession and our backs were on fire. But the fluky French side came back and wins by 2 points.

20-18 enuf said! <cries>

I´ll be back!

2007-10-04T09:15:00.001+13:00

I love LA, there was so much to see and do in my time there that I did not get to see everything.

I spent the first day visiting Universal Studio Hollywood, one of the biggest movie studios in the States. Universal Studio Hollywood is one part fun ride and the other part a proper production studio. With on going series productions such as "Desperate Housewife" and "Jericho", and recent famous films such as "Shrek 3" and "The Kingdom". It was interesting to look through the production studios and the fake city setups. I was pretty impress with the setup for "War of the World´s" though as they cut up a real Boeing 747 and scattered the pieces throughout the stage. I also love the movie rides and movies such as Jurassic Park, Shrek 4D and the Mummy. The best bit about this was I waited for no rides as it wasn´t pack on a Monday!

Another day was spent walking through Hollywood Boulevard. It was fun looking out for my favorite actors but I thought there were way too many, and they even included cartoons such as the Simpsons and Donald Duck in the Hollywood star walk! It was cool to see the legendary Grauman´s Chinese Man theater, and to see the writing by famous actors outside. In this photo you can see the writing by the current governor (some call him the governator!) of California. :) I still think it is hilarious but appropriate to have an A class (well I think he is A class) actor ending up being the governor of that very State. I hope he goes all the way to become to Prez one day (when they decide to change the rule about American-born to become President).

This last star has got to be mine. LOL!

But I went ga ga over the actors found. Including Bruce Lee, Wyona Ryder, Marilyn Monroe, Arnie, Jonny Cash... Though as mention before, it was weird to see cartoon characters being featured here. Perhaps I am missing something but according to my guide it cost 15,000 USD to place the tile and to maintain it. Are the fan base of the Donald Duck club big enough to have fund raise for this?

The only disappointment I had here was that I couldn´t find the star of Scarlett Johansson. :)

I love California!

2007-10-04T09:13:00.001+13:00

This is where I have been for the past 11 days. I spent it with my mate Derek and his girlfriend Cynthia in LA. I went there as it has been a long 4 years since we last partied together, and it was also his 40th birthday so we wanted to celebrate it in style. Don´t he look good for an old man? :)

Derek and Cynthia lives in Brentwood, a suburb in Santa Monica in West LA. LA by the way is one massive city, home to 13 million (encompassing Long Beach and Santa Ana). It is also a massive car-friendly and people-unfriendly city, as getting anywhere requires wheels.

Anyway, Derek and Cynthia´s neighbourhood can be considered as the Parnel/Remurea of Auckland. Big mansions, beautiful apartments, palm tree lined boulevards and lots of nice cars on the streets. Seeing SUV´s, Porsche, Mercs and BMWs driving past are like seeing Fords and Nissans back home.

They also own a cute little Beagle name Holly. She is only 6 months old. She spots these big fluffy ears (which I would very much like to pin back) and a beautiful fur coat. I love watching her run around the apartments as the marble floor makes her slip and slide everywhere.

This photo I took of her will probably be her last time sitting in the back seat! Coz she threw up both on Cynthia and me afterwards. They blame it on her eating prior to coming out and of sitting out back. Poor little Holly!

Climbing Shoes

2007-09-30T06:55:00.001+13:00

Yey! I finally got myself a pair of climbing shoes. I have been holding off until I got to LA to look for them. These babies that I bought are La Sportiva Cliff (http://www.sportiva.com/products/prod/996). Not the hottest looking thing out there but since when did climbers ever care about fashion ;) and they were cheap! At 60USD it is a bargin!

For the outdoor enthusaistics out there I purchased my babies from REI Sport (http://www.rei.com/). One of the biggest outdoor store in the States. They have everything here! All, except for my beloved NZ brands like Macpac, Fairydown and Ice Breakers.

U S A

2007-09-24T12:07:00.001+12:00

Guess what, I am in LA now. Yes LA! The city of Angels. Home of Hollywood, plastic surgery, Venus Beach, In And Out Burgers, Bay Watch and the OC. I am having a great time so far. The weather is beautiful, sunny and a constant light sea breeze to stay cool, and at night it is warm enough to go out without a jacket.

I came here to see a good mate, Derek and his gf Cynthia. I came to celebrate his birthday and to take a break from travelling through South America. But what a big contrast it has been compare to the third world countries that I have been travelling through in the last 3 months. From driving through Hollywood Boulevard last night, setting sail on a boat in Orange County during the day and to see all those beautiful mansions with their meticulously kept garden, big name brand shops, fancy cars and boats, well maintain boulevards with palm trees lining both sides of the street. This is LA alright!

It was great to see Derek and Cynthia. They live in a pretty nice pad in Brentwood. According to Derek this is the Chelsea of London, or Parnell of Auckland. Everybody here looks good, drives nice car and owns a dog. Derek and Cynthia owns a cute little puddle name Holly. She is only 6 months old, has big floppy ears and is very adorable. She seems a little spoilt though and shares their bed at night. Awwweee!

First impression of USA is that they are a patriotic bunch! American flags abound and many houses have a flag pole out front, factories would have a big American flag painted on their walls, and even car yards have mascot cars painted with the stars and stripes.

Quito in one day...

2007-09-21T14:18:00.001+12:00

I arrive in Quito from Cuenca this morning. I survive another night bus thanks to my trusty pill - Diazepam. :)

Anyway, I check myself into a lovely hostel call "The Secret Garden". It is beautifully decorated and has a beautiful terrace which overlooks Quito´s old town. After dumping my backpack and having a quick shower I took off eagerly to explore the UNESCO old town. But upon walking out the hostel and turning round the first corner, I came across a dead body! It was a shock, but seemed more surreal then scary. This man, who can´t be over 35, was lying face up on the steps of a building, eyes and mouth wide open, and arms and legs splay out. Surrounding him at a fair distance were some locals and 3 policemen. I ask one of them "Esta muerte?" (Is he dead?) and she confirm it. As to why she couldn´t say... It felt so weird as no one bother to cover his body or even his face up.

So five minutes later, after walking past more drunks and druggie looking guys, I saw two policemen walking their big black brute of a dog, so I approach them to take a photo. And what do you know, they both got their dogs to stand on their hind legs to pose for me. It was hilarious, these big black brutes, looking so very ugly and mean, and whom could probably eat me up at the slightest provocation, doing circus tricks. LOL!

I feel Quito is an edgy city, with it´s "nice" side and it´s "dark" side. Like the druggies and drunks just around the corner. And being warn of the "bad" Colombians and Peruvians whom came here to steal and rob. But you know what? I kinda like it, as it feels like a real city. That it is dodgy and all, I mean which city hasn´t got it´s dodgy areas?

But walking around the old city was a wonderful feeling. It felt like walking through certain European city, with streets after streets of beautiful colonial architecture, all pretty much in a good state. There are big plazas with beautiful statues. And I tell you what, Cuenca (the other UNESCO city in Ecuador) cannot compare to Quito´s old city.

Later I came across the most beautiful church I have seen so far in South America: The Church of the Society of Jesus of Quito (La Compania), built in 1765 (after 160 years!) the entire interior is covered in gold leaf. Rumours has it that 2 tons of gold were used but my guide reckon it is more like 50 kgs. Still, it did not fail to impress. Everything was shinny and in true Baroque style everything was symmetrical. Right down to the fake stair well which was painted in, to match the real thing beside it! I also love the religious paintings, from the Quito school of art, as they seem more realistic then the Cuzco school of art (where there is a real competition) in Peru. I sat in the church for ages gazing in wonder.

Oh and finally, I got to check out Andy Warhol´s exhibition! It was great to see this great artist´s work, even if the explanation and guides were all in Spanish! :)