Crossing the Magellan Strait

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.

Chilean prostitute auctions sex for charity

Found in today's Herald LOL!

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

Expediciones Strella Del Sur

Jason on tour.
Originally uploaded by benwoo

I highly recommend this tour group whom I used to take us from San Pedro de Atacama to Uyuni. The company is "Expediciones Strella Del Sur". In our group we had 6 people. They were the 2 Canadians Jason and Michael, Joan the Spanish, Stephanie the Mexican, Heekow the Korean and mua! Our guide Carlos was the driver, cook and guide to the trip. He was knowledgeable and has a great sense of humour. He didn´t speak any English but 3 of the crew did so it wasn´t an issue. It cost us 4,900 pesos or 90 USD for the trip. I know people who paid 4,300 pesos for other tours but I have also heard lots of horror stories, like people not having enough blankets up there or the food was horrid or the 4x4 ran out of gas or broke down halfway. We did not experience any of these problems, though when we got to Uyuni the 4x4 was running on empty! :)

Small World!

Get this, I met Alex Coonce back in 2003 in Cambodia and China. And last week, at the Tatio Geysers at San Pedro de Atacama we bump into each other again!!!! What a bloody small world! I ended up going to dinner with her and her bf at a local restaurant. We talk heaps to find out about mutual travelling friends from 2003. Alex and John are heading the same way as me up South America but only have a few weeks left. But it was great for me, as that was my first nice dinner out with companions.

And this is what I love most about travelling, the randomness of it all, encountering people from the past in the other side of the world 4 years later!

Wot´s been happening...

Tis mad it is... these last few days of no communications.

I am now in the city of Potosi. At 4,090 metres this is the highest city in the world according to the bible. It felt it too when me and my companions got here. We were out of breath pretty quickly, so walking around town takes time. Especially since Potosi is a hilly city... We came here specifically to see the mines and meet the miners. Potosi was the richest city in South America 500 years ago because of the mines and the mineral it produces. And after 500 years these mines are still operating. We visited the mine shelf's, crawl through the different levels, met the workers and heard the horrors of working in such an inhospitable place with no protection for the miners. The miners we met were all furiously chewing on coca plants. They believe it gives them the effect of not feeling hungry (miners don´t take lunch) or tired.

But I am tired... the last few days has been hectic and very little sleep was gathered. My trip from San Pedro de Atacama in Chile to Uyuni in Bolivia pass through some amazing scenery. From the highest geyser fields in the world (over 4,000 metres), active volcano, amazing rock sculptures at 4,500 metres (which I tried climbing for all of 5 minutes), red-green-white colored Alpine lakes, wild animals such as wolf, vicunas and pink flamingo´s to amazing salt flats which is blindingly white for miles around.

I will try and post some photos as soon as possible. Am hoping to find faster Internet cafe in order to do this.

Cost 16th July

15 Bolivianos - TNT-fuse-BIG BOOM
80 Bolivianos - Mine tour
40 Bolivianos - Accomodation
14 Bolivianos - Lunch
10 Bolivianos - Entrance to view point
17 Bolivianos - Dinner
2 Bolivianos - Internet
4.5 Bolivianos - 2 ltr Water
===========
182.5 Bolivianos

Cost 15th July

40 Bolivianos - Bus from Uyuni to Potosi
20 Bolivianos - Tip
20 Bolivianos - Dinner
4 Bolivianos - Internet
40 Bolivianos - Accomodation
4 Bolivianos - Taxi
5 Bolivianos - Toilet
=========
133 Bolivianos

Cost 13th-14th July

No cost, didn´t spend moolah as I was on a tour. Chooooice!

Cost 12th July

49,000 Pesos - Salar de Uyuni tour
... to be completed.

Cost 11th July

6,400 Pesos - Dinner (!!!)
5,000 Pesos - Accomodation
1,000 Pesos - Llama Kabab
500 Pesos - Cheese snack
1,500 Pesos - Moon Valley Entrance fee
1,500 Pesos - Tatio Geyser Entrance fee
500 Pesos - Tips
2,500 Pesos - Lunch
=========
18,900 Pesos

Cost 10th July

2,000 Pesos - Lunch
500 Pesos - Coke
5,000 Pesos - Accomodation
800 Pesos - 5ltr Water
10,000 Pesos - Tattio Geyser tour
4,000 Pesos - Moon Valley tour
1,500 Pesos - Bus from Calama to San Pedro
2,400 Pesos - Dinner
==========
26,200 Pesos

Cost 9th July

398 Pesos - Internet
1,288 Pesos - Lunch
100 Pesos - Snacks
========
1,778 Pesos

Tigger Lilly

...Oh and Tigger Lilly wants to say hi to her putriku... :)

Monkey Magic

I love street arts and art bombs and Chile is full of it. This one was taken at the port city of Valparaiso.

Photo of me and soldier at La Serena

Photo was taken at La Serena today. Wanted to pose with this soldier guarding the a hill side fort. Well he wasn´t really standing at attention. Before I ask him for a photo he was listening to the radio from his mobile... Guess his job must be pretty damn boring huh?

Weather here as you can see has been perfect almost everyday. But La Serena is on a dry plain close to the desert which I am heading up to tonight. So it gets pretty cold as soon as the sun sets.

Up the coast to La Serena

Caught a 6 hours bus ride from Vina Del Mar today. The buses here are great, reminds me of buses in Turkey. There is an attendant whom walks the aisle and hands out treats like hot tea and cookies. I notice my co-passengers even got serve lunch! They must pay extra for the privilege. The seats in the bus was most comfy too, with recliners and foot rest, and the television plays movies but you don´t get the sound unless you plug your headphones into the headphone plug above you. That is a huge blessing as compare to many long distance buses around the world you don´t have to listen to their blaring televisions while trying to get some sleep!

I arrive in La Serena late, around 3pm. So didn't have much time to check out the town before dusk. I did walk out to the beach to see the lighthouse, and locals being touted for horse rides. The sand here are nice but the water is too damn cold and dangerous to swim. Or so the big sign on entrance said...

Am staying at a hotel call El Punto. I haven´t sleep there yet but it has 5 star backpackers potential already. The beds are solid and comfy, the room very tidy with reading lights, the showers and toilets are clean and comes with toilet paper, there is a fridge for food, a nice hang out area for chit chat and a bar at the back with... Satellite TV! My final hope is for a quiet restful sleep as the past week my sleep has been punctuated with barking mad dogs, locals chatting loudly and construction.

Oh for dinner I ate at Doggies - remember that Hot Dog fast food place I spoke of a few days back? Well I can tell you the food isn't too shabby. The hot dogs was chopped up and server on a plate of french fries and top with chopped tomatoes and avocados. De-li-cious!!!

Cost 8th July

Ok I am not hitting the 20usd budget, but no surprise there... Except am running low on cash... And can´t wait till Bolivia which should be much cheaper!

9,000 Pesos Accommodation
2,100 Pesos Doggies dinner
1,300 Pesos Breakfast
19,400 Pesos Bus ticket from La Serena to Calama
400 Pesos Internet
=========
32,200 Pesos

Chillano

My darling putriku wanted to know if the people in Chile are hot... the definite answer is NO! In fact, I notice many Chilean guys have very untidy bushy eyebrows, and I saw quite a few whom seem to have uni brows. LOL!!!!!!! Will have to take a photo evidence when I get a chance!!!! :)

As for the girls, lets just say I have yet to see a pretty Chillano. :*(

Again will have to ask other backpackers for their thoughts when I actually meet one!

Big Mac Index

Big Mac Combo - 1990 Pesos

No I didn't have one and no I am not an anti-globalisation dickhead. I just weren't desperate for something "western" just yet. Big Mac index is good coz McD exist in most countries around the world and the index tells you something about the country's wealth. :)

Today I ate Paila Marina at the markets in Valparaiso. It is basically seafood chowder cook in a pot. It is serve in a big stone bowl filled with shellfish of every sorts and fish. It was kinda yummy... but to be honest it got too much after awhile. And there were too much sandy residue in the soup and in the meat... eeek! Still, that was my main meal for the day. I ate 2 minute noodles for dinner.

Day 5 Cost

6,000 Pesos Accommodation
2,800 Pesos Lunch
600 Pesos Funicular rides
1,687 Pesos Supermarket
554 Pesos Dinner
700 Pesos Metro
1,350 Pesos Phone call
400 Pesos Internet
=========
14091 Pesos