Argentina rocks

Bolivia footnote.....

We arrived back after the death road bike ride and I was looking forward to a nice long bath and an early night before our morning flight to Argentina, but events had conspiried against us and instead we spent the next 2 hours engaged in a fierce debate with the manager of our hostel and the local constabulary, about $40 dollars which had mysteriously vanished from our bedroom. I didn`t really hold out much hope of getting the money back, as my spanglish doesn´t really extend that far, but we had a good stab at explaining the situ to the police in our pigeon spanish at 11pm. What fun! This involved me gesticulating and eye rolling a lot and a very moody Robbo insisting that regardless of what the police or the owner said that he would not be paying the bill. The policmen didn´t look too impressed, and I started to have a bit of a panic that Ben would get arrested and we would miss our flight, so we ended the evening in a stalemate. In the morning Ben went down for round 2 but I think they had had enough of him scaring off all the customers in reception as the concierge finally said we could leave with out paying. So we skipped off very pleased with our moral victory, although I am slightly worried that we are the newest addition on Bolivia`s Most Wanted list.

Argentina

So after that drama we were looking forward to a change of scenery. The flight from La Paz was great as we took in the views over the Andes. We flew in Buenos Aires after a stop in Santiago and we were immediately struck by the change of atmosphere. You really feel like you have left the third world and arrived back in the developed world. BA has a really european feel and is described in lots of guidebooks as being like Paris 100 yrs ago.

The capital is full of tree lined avenues and trendy cafes, perfect for idlying away the days and people watching. This is also the place to go if you like a bit of shopping (Mrs Croz). Argentines spend a considerable amount of cash on looking good, so you can while away the hours looking in boutiques and chuckling to yourself about the price of everything. The peso is 3:1 against the dollar now, so since the devaluation of the peso Argentina has become the perfect place to stock up on designer bits and bobs. Of course I was not allowed to indulge as Ben had a tight grip on the purse strings.

We arrived at our hotel and I felt like we had died and gone to heaven. Mark and Jill had treated us to a couple of nights in a swanky place called Malabia House (www.malabiahouse.com.ar), which I would recommend to anyone who visits BA. We arrived and we treated to a fantastic glass of wine (a first since we had been away), and then shown to our beautiful bedroom. I nearly cried when I saw a white fluffy bathrobe and a pair of slippers in the wardrobe. I tried to explain to Ben what this meant to me, but he thought I had gone totally loopy. However I am sure any girls reading this will understand why I was so happy after months of staying in grotty hostels. It was absolute bliss!!

We were staying in a lovely area called Palermo Vieho, which is an old quater of the town. We did a bit of shopping the next day and waited for the Robbo Snr´s to arrive. They settled in after a long trip from Toronto and then we went out to try our first steak. Haha, we certainly weren´t dissapointed. Ben and Mark´s faces were an absolute picture. You certainly wouldn´t struggle doing the Atkins Diet out here.

The next day we went to San Telmo to have a look round the antiques markets and then went out to Guido`s Bar for dinner. We didn´t really know what to expect when we arrived but we had heard it was a good place to eat and it was packed with locals which is always a good sign. The walls of the restaurant are covered with pictures of famous stars including signed shirts from the La Boca football team.

There's no menu, you just sit down and get presented with appetizers, and then the specials of the day arrive. But the best bit is pud. Marinated cherries, tiramisu and some cracking icecream. It was wonderful. It is all slightly chaotic but really charming and you really feel like you are experiencing a bit of the local culture.

The next day we went to San Antonio de Areco, which is a small town a couple of hours from BA. The main attactions here are the local Estancia´s which are home to the Gaucho´s (Argentine cowboys). We visited Estancia El Ombu (www.estanciaelombu.com/eombu.htm) which is a beautiful ranch about 6 kms from SA de Areco. The grounds of the ranch are stunning. The cattle have 300 hectares of farm land to roam around in and as a result they look pretty happy.

We were given a tour around the ranch and then watched a gaucho show, where Ramon (the chief dude) and his family demonstrated their skills on horseback.

We also got to have a ride on the horses and this time Ben didn´t get a Dobbin (much to my dissapointment) so we managed to have a decent ride. And Ben had time to give Ramon a few riding tips.

Lunch was a real treat as they BBQ their own cattle, so we had a massive amount of meat to feast on, plus a couple of bottles of wine to wash it down, so we were pretty content for the rest of the day.

The next morning we headed back to BA and went to La Boca which is the working class area of the city. It is really popular with tourists and attracts lots of pickpockets so the men were on their guard. The houses here are largely clad in corregated iron and painted so it is a really colourful place.

We had a bit of a wander round and looked at the local art work before finding a quiet spot to sit down and have a drink. We were there for about 2 mins before Ben was accosted by a woman and made to dance the tango.

He looked suitably embarrassed but I think he was just relieved not to have to wear the full outfit sported by her dancing partner.

In the evening we took Mark and Jill´s first night bus to Montevideo in Uraguay and I think they were quite impressed with the whole thing (it is a bit better than National Express). You actually have a bed to lie in which makes a 10 hr journey almost bearable. Uraguay is a really interesting place. It hasn´t really been discovered by tourists yet, so it is quite quiet in comparison with BA. We spent some time in Montevideo and and also headed to Colonia which is a really small town not far from the border with Argentina. Both places are really lovely, but I kind of missed the buzz of Buenos Aires.

After some messing around with the local airline, we managed to fly to Iguazu falls in the north of Argentina to see the falls. This wasn´t originally on our itinerary but we had heard such great things we decided to take detour and we are all glad we did.

The falls are really stunning. These pictures doen´t really do them justice but at least you have an idea.

As part of the day you can take a a trip in a truck along the nature trail which runs down the side of the falls. The park is in teperate rainforest so you get to see lots of wildlife including birds, butterflies and the odd puma if you are lucky.

After you get off the truck you then take a ride on a boat which goes on the river up to the falls. Unfortunately they don´t tell you that you are going to go under the falls and get completely drenched, so it came as a bit of a shock.

After our stay in Igauzu we took a flight to Mendoza - wine country, to try our hand at a bit of wine tasting. It is like an oven there - 38 degrees when we arrived, so we were hugging the air con units a lot.

We took what has to be desribed as the worst bus tour in the world in Mendoza. We wanted to see the local sites but by mistake we booked onto a spanish comedy tour of the city, which involved the local am-dram class dressing up and `entertaining` us for an hour with a little play/musical. It was so bad I ended up wearning my earplugs for the last 20 mins.

We went on a couple of wine tours around the local area, which were really good fun and had a wonderful lunch at one of them. Ben says this is a picture of ´the love of his life and Tiggy´.

We also ate at some fantastic restaurants in Mendoza including La Barra, which has affliliations with the Argentine rugby team, so Ben and Mark had a great time chatting to the staff there. We left Mendoza after a few days and we have now travelled onto Chile, and are about to head south towards Patagonia (scary), but that is another blog. So just to finish off - Argentina has to be one of the best kept travel secrets in the world. The place is really wonderful and yet there are hardly any tourists here yet. So get yourselves over here before everyone finds out!

x

Bolivian Breakdown

Ben Writes -

The journey from Cusco to La Paz was pretty comfortable and we immediately felt at home in the world´s highest capital. The Bolivians are simply more chilled out than the Peruvians and as a result La Paz is slightly less crazy than the other South American capitals we have visited - and none the worse for that. Wherever we went in the city and later in the countryside we were impressed with the hospitalitity of the Bolivians - unfortunately the Peruvians had not always scored so highly on this point.

La Paz is perched in a valley at a height of 3700m. The main street is at the bottom of the valley with all other streets sloping up from it. We realised that we would have to get a move on to see something of the country as we only had just over a week here before flying on to Buenos Aires from La Paz.

The day after we arrived we booked ourselves onto a tour of 'Solar de Uyuni' some amazing salt flats and volcanic landscapes in the south of the country. We left that night on the overnight bus. I managed to get some sleep on the first part of the trip but by morning the road deteriorated into a rocky dirt track and I was violently sick as a result (I made it to the bathroom in time but did not much enjoy the clean up job after). This was illness no. 6 on the trip I belive which may constitute some kind of record.

Later on we arrived at the desert town of Uyuni to catch our jeep that would take us off road for four days. Uyuni was an eerie, desolate place. The town itself had one real interest point, which was a railway graveyard just out of town. Massive rusting hulks of ancient trains were decaying there in the desert and we were allowed to go and clamber all over them.

A slight hint of what was to follow occurred when we returned to our jeep and found our driver and several of his mates with their heads under the bonnet. All was fine he assured us. Off we went.

About thirty minutes out into the desert a loud bang forced our driver to swerve across the road and come to an abrupt halt. The front axle had gone. We thought that was it for the jeep but our driver was determined that he could fix it. We waited for three hours in the midday heat until he admitted defeat. It was a bit hot. Our man was not happy at losing our group to another driver but we were pleased to be underway again.

The salt flats were incredible. Our new driver showed us where local people collect the salt for commercial use. There is not much chance of them running out anytime soon - the plains run for 1000 km in every direction and are about 20ft thick.

We had to wear sunglasses to account for the brilliant white glare from plains. Taking off the glasses was disorientating. I had left my sun hat in La Paz as I was expecting it to be freezing cold - not a very smart move. It was cold at night but it was very warm and sunny during the day - doubly so when so much heat was reflected back at you from the ground.

We were shown a salt hotel which was constucted entirely of salt quarried from the plains and then drove on to an island in the plains which was covered in cactus and had fantastic views.

In this remote place some of the cacti on the island were up to 16,000 years old.

That afternoon it started raining and we were lucky enough to see the effect of water on this perfectly flat suface. With no drainage the plains form a pefect reflection of the sky and horizion above.

We stayed in salt constructed dwellings the next two nights. It was great fun despite the lack of electric lighting or heating. It got a bit cold after dark. We continued our jeep trek down to the Chilean border where we were treated to amazingly green and pink lakes with flamingoes, volcanic hot waters, guysers and bubbling mudpools. All this was presented in typically laid back Bolivian style which was quite charming.

We had 8 hours of dirt tracks back to Uyuni the next day and then had to wait until 3am the following night for our connecting train to Oruro. We had to get another bus from there to La Paz. All the hassle was well worth it though. We had seen one of the most isolated and beautiful parts of South America.

Back in La Paz we had one more day left until our flight to Argentina which we wanted to use constructively. We had heard previously on our travels about 'the world's most dangerous road' or 'death road' a 70km bike ride that drops 3000m along it's length and is in some places only 2 meters wide. The road hugs the side of the mountains for 30km with a sheer drop on one side.

We were told that some companies would not run the trek during the rainy months of January and February but it wasn't raining and the forcasts were good. We'd be fine right? Well not exactly. The rain started drizzling in the morning of the ride and grew steadily throughout the day. We got drenched.

Apart from our hands and feet going to sleep the heavy rain caused many waterfalls which fell on both sides of the road and in some cases formed streams and torrents which washed right across the dirt road making it more unstable. Bits of the ride were not actually enjoyable at all, especially when we went past the many crosses and small memorials to people who had gone over the edge. We took no pictures of these as it would have been rather crass to take any and they were actually quite unnerving. One old guy stands at a hairpin bend waving people through as some years ago his whole family was lost there. 100 people are currently lost a year but this should fall as the road is shortly to be closed to general traffic. Only cyclists will be able to use it in future as a new road is being opened up for non tourists. A good thing as the manic bus and van drivers don't make the trip any easier.

On the way back up the road in the van after the cycling we got a flat tyre. We were perched on the very edge to let others past as the guides changed it as quickly as they could. It was getting dark so we were all relieved to get it done and get back to La Paz.

But we made it and got the T shirt.

Next stop Argentina.

We did it!

We have just got back from the Inca Trail, after the four day trek and I have to say it is one of the best things I have ever done. Even my tired old lungs managed to trek the 49kms without any major trouble. The 1 Jan was spent catching up on a bit of sleep after the NYE celebrations and doing a bit of last minute shopping - like buying some sexy waterproof trousers and a big hat (not a good look). We got to the SAS office at 5.45am on 2nd and had a quick briefing before climbing onto the bus and driving to km 82 which is where the trek starts.

It is pretty nervewracking as you drive there as you can see the mountains rising above you and you know the only way to get to Machu Picchu is to climb up there. As you know I am not the fittest person in the world, so the first day I was waiting to go through `the wall of pain´. We walked for about 10 kms up and down hill, but it was no problem at all. I felt fine as I had 2 walking sticks with me. Sounds lame but they really help when you feel like your legs are about to fall off. We arrived at the camp site and the wonderful porters had already set up our tents and had some hot chocolate waiting for us - bliss! At dinner time we got to meet the rest of our group who were really lovely, and our guide, Ozzie, who was a bit of a nutter. He had lived in the UK for a while, so he kept coming out with lots of phrases like ´cheers big ears´ and ´alright chaps and chapesses`. He also managed to introduce me to the 20 male porters as Titty - so that made everything most entertaining. As you can imagine Ben was really impressed! My inca name is now ´Titty two sticks´.


The second day is a bit of a monster, as you have to climb 1200m to 4215m. We were woken up at 6am with a cuppa and then we packed our stuff for the day. As usual it was a bit tense in our tent as neither of us are any good in the morning but after a bit of a grumpy start we made it for breakfast at 6.30. They really know how to serve up a feast on these tours. We had the most enormous breakfast to prepare us for the day ahead, so we all set off feeling pretty happy. Ben was carrying a massive ruck sack with both our gear in it, but for the second day you can hire a porter to carry the stuff for you, which is a really good idea, as you have no idea how steep the climb is before you set off. The porters are amazing. They are about my height but they carry their own bodyweight in bags and run up the steep trails - complete nutters!

We had to walk for 12 km and climb from 3000m where our campsite was to 4200m, which is the highest point on the trek on Day 2 - so this is the day everyone dreds. It is really high at the top and some people really suffer with altitude sickness so the tour guides have to carry oxygen in case people are ill, but we had no troubles at all. It was totally knackering, and I felt like my lungs were about to explode at the end, but it is worth it when you arrive at the top of the pass. The scenery was really incredible. As you are up really high the air is very clear and you can see for miles around. Here are me and Nic reaching the top of ´Dead womans pass´ the highest point of the trek. After reaching the top and eating a snickers bar to celebrate, we had to climb down 600m which was a bit of a nightmare for your knees. The trail consists of huge granite stone steps which are not the easiest to climb down in you aren´t blessed with long legs. We got to the campsite at about 2.30pm and had a massive lunch and then had the remainder of the day to rest. We went to sleep pretty early but I got woken up by a very strange noise in the night, which I was convinced was a huge tranachula trying to burrow into the tent, so as usual I woke Ben up in a complete panic and turned on the torch to see the outline of a donkey, who was trimming the grass outside our tent. He was a very noisy eater!

Day 3 was definitely my favourite. We walked for 16kms through high jungle and grasslands so terraine was very changable and the wildlife was really amazing. We saw parrots, lamas, pigs, donkeys and loads of indiginous trees and plants. It was a really long day and the only time when I got a bit fed up. But after we had reached the second high pass in the morning we had lunch and then I felt ready to start again. We had a 7km downhill hike in the afternoon which is a real bone crusher, but they give you coca leaves to chew - which are really great. If you were wondering why we look like we have hamster cheeks in all the photos, this is us chewing the coca leaves. They make you forget about your breathing and feel more relaxed, so that you forget about any pain and enjoy the view.
On the evening of the 3rd day it was Dixie´s birthday so we made sure he was suitably embarrassed by singing happy birthday to him and the chef made him a cake.

We had to get up at 4am on the 4th day to get to the Sun Gate to see our first glimpse of Machu Picchu, so we went to bed after a nice game of scrabble and a couple of celebratory beers. Our campsite was perched on the side of a cliff so it was fun trying not to roll down the hill during the night, and even more fun trying to navigate my way down to the loo in the pouring rain, in my poncho.

On day 4 we woke up and packed our stuff before having breakfast at 4.30am. The idea is to leave early so you get to the Sun Gate to see the early sun rise. Tourists who catch the train to Machu Picchu aren´t allowed in to the site until10.30am so the trekkers always arrive earlier to enjoy the view and wander around the site before it gets too busy. We walked for 1 1/2 hours to get to the Sun Gate, but it was raining all the way so we donned our ponchos and tramped through the mud. Very glamerous. When we arrived we were really gutted as it was so misty we couldn´t see anything. We waited there for a while to see if the mist would clear and then we walked to the end of the trail, which was about another 20 mins. This is where all the famous pictures of MP are taken. And guess what..... we couldn´t see a thing. I thought I was going to cry!

We walked down into the site and had our tickets checked and the mist started to clear a bit. We walked round MP which is an amazing place. It is positioned in between 4 moutains and feels like it is sat on top of the world. We did finally manage to get a decent view of the site after a couple of hours but the weather really wasn´t great all day, but the whole trek was brilliant, and now I know that I am not as much of a weed as I thought.

We got back from the trek at about 9 and went out for a belated birthday celebration with the Dixie´s and pottered around Cusco yesterday before they headed off back to Lima this morning :-(

We are off to Bolivia on the nightbus later, which should be entertaining. We are due to arrive in La Paz tomorrow morning and then we have about a week there to visit the salt flats and Lake Titicaca before flying out of La Paz to meet the Robbo snr´s in Buenos Aires in mid January.

Take care of yourselves

Tigs xxxxx