Lima is disappointing, it has to be said. It seems to lack any real charm, appeal and history compared to the places we've visited so far. The buildings are square, concrete communist looking things, maybe that's part of the problem?
Yesterday we went for a walk around to see what we could find, and short of a few central Plaza's we couldn't find a lot else of interest.
The San Franisco Monastery was probably one of the few highlights with it's Catacombs where 27,000 (Lonelyplanet states 70,000?) people were buried, and today you can tour them (sadly you can't take photographs), but you can see the photo's of the other bones found under the Cathedral.
The other two points worth a mention are the woeful 'tour' we took on a landtrain. We waited 30 minutes, and after paying our 5 soles (their currency) or £1 each we were on our way to discovering Lima... Well 20 minutes later, we were back where we started, having driven around the block and been spoken at in Spanish.
Later that day, our luck changed and after a bad run, we were delighted to be shat on - Miranda took the first bullet, striking her on the chest. As I fumbled for a pamphlet to carefully tend to her (barely managing to hide my smile), I was struck, struck by large calibre (Eagle) shit... My hair, neck, and predominantly chest were soiled. Earlier I tried to hide a smile, and now I was fighting back tears as I raised my fists to the sky. The Peruvians found it somewhat funny, and well if I hadn't have laughed I'd only have fuelled their happiness.
Today is a new day, and we decided to leave this place in favour of greener fields, today we go to Paraças and it's national park. It's right next to Pisco (Pisco Sour) and while we also wanted to also visit here, we discovered Pisco was flattened by a 2007 earthquake - apparently 2 years later it's still in the same state. Back to our trip: we'll be doing 1 night stays in Paraças, Nazca, then Ica and from there onto Cusco, Arequipe and Puno where we'll cross Lake Titicaca...
Plenty more to come then, anyway Waffles and Maple syrup await, so I'll be off!
Apologies RE Skype, we've struggled to get onto it in the last few days, mainly due to busy schedule. Hopefully catch you up tomorrow night!
C'mon Leicester!!!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Thursday, November 26, 2009
The Frightening Facial
Now before I start this post, I know what you're thinking...facials are hardly slumming it! Whilst I would normally agrees with you, there's a little spa sandwiched between our budget hotel and the beach. I decided to enquire on the price and it's £18 for an hour's facial-how could I refuse??
So with my Spanglish I informed the nice beautician that I wanted an hour treatment and lay on the bed. Expecting the lights to dim and smell aromatherapy oils, I was a little alarmed when she shone a 100watt LED light on my face and pulled on some latex gloves. Now I was afraid!
For the next 30 minutes she performed the 'sports massage' of facials. Feeling like I'd had a bit of an ordeal, I felt sure I didn't need the top four layers of skin anyway and was satisfied we'd finished.
As I sat up to leave, my beautician indicated that I should lay back down and unveiled a machine that would have been more fitting in a hospital resuscitation room. She turned it on and as it chugged into action she pulled a spatula-like device from the machine. It crackled like there was electicity running through it. She held it to my cheek and within a split second my suspicions were confirmed and I felt an electric shock. I jumped and she did it again! She saw my look of horror and proceeded to explain that it was absolutely fine as it will make my pore smaller.
Well that's alright then!!!
They say no pain no gain. I'm sure when the nightmares stop I'll appreciate how soft my skin is!
Mx
-- Posted from Miranda's iPhone
So with my Spanglish I informed the nice beautician that I wanted an hour treatment and lay on the bed. Expecting the lights to dim and smell aromatherapy oils, I was a little alarmed when she shone a 100watt LED light on my face and pulled on some latex gloves. Now I was afraid!
For the next 30 minutes she performed the 'sports massage' of facials. Feeling like I'd had a bit of an ordeal, I felt sure I didn't need the top four layers of skin anyway and was satisfied we'd finished.
As I sat up to leave, my beautician indicated that I should lay back down and unveiled a machine that would have been more fitting in a hospital resuscitation room. She turned it on and as it chugged into action she pulled a spatula-like device from the machine. It crackled like there was electicity running through it. She held it to my cheek and within a split second my suspicions were confirmed and I felt an electric shock. I jumped and she did it again! She saw my look of horror and proceeded to explain that it was absolutely fine as it will make my pore smaller.
Well that's alright then!!!
They say no pain no gain. I'm sure when the nightmares stop I'll appreciate how soft my skin is!
Mx
-- Posted from Miranda's iPhone
Adios Caribe Mar!
We made it to the airport with too much time on this occasion, so thought I'd treat to all to a transmission.
We're now waiting at Cartagena airport for our wings back to Bogota, and I think we're both sad to see the back of the place (for now). We'll be landing at 11pm, so after a brief taxi ride to the hostel...
*BEEP BEEP*
As I was saying, last night we got the flight from Cartagena, and headed straight to bed on arrival in Bogota. Today involves a 1pm flight from Bogota, to Lima (Peru).
Why Peru, and not Ecuador?
Well, after some deliberation, ear-wigging and research we've decided to skip Ecuador all together in favour of more time in Peru. Flying to Quito from Bogota would have cost £175pp, or involved a 30hr bus ride... I'm not sure there's enough Anusol in circulation to prepare adequately for such a voyage. We'd also heard Quito was fairly dirty, unwelcoming and more of a gateway to better places, so we jumped the fence (if we could afford to visit the Galapagus Islands, things would be different). Hopefully the additional week or so in Peru will prove to be the right decsion to have made... We'll see!
So Peru, for me this is where the activities start, with things like mountainbiking, rafting, bungee and skydiving apparently freely available. There are of course other pulls like Machu Picchu, ancient temples from lost civilizations and mountains carpetted in rainforest to explore.
On talking to a few people, it seems the traditional Incan trail up Machu is more akin to a stream on ants up a tree. We've learnt of some perhaps better routes which involve cycling for 1 day, then a jungle trek for 2 nights... Count me in!
Zooming back to Cartagena, it's a fantastic place to visit and somewhere we plan to visit in the future (the water temperature alone is enough to get me back on a plane, unreal). Today we had a wander around the old town (walled city), and it's like something out of a picture book (the pictures will hopefully show some of what it's about), it's a stunning colonial town.
We visited the Rosario Islands, where we went snorkelling on a coral reef, we both really enjoyed it and saw many weird and wonderful fish, though Miranda suffered somewhat initially with a leaky mask and dodgy snorkel. It was a bit of a trek in a speedboat, and a long way off of the 45 minutes we were quoted by Billy(wouldsellyiuhisgranny) at the hotel.
Anyway, gotta dash, flights called. More later!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
We're now waiting at Cartagena airport for our wings back to Bogota, and I think we're both sad to see the back of the place (for now). We'll be landing at 11pm, so after a brief taxi ride to the hostel...
*BEEP BEEP*
As I was saying, last night we got the flight from Cartagena, and headed straight to bed on arrival in Bogota. Today involves a 1pm flight from Bogota, to Lima (Peru).
Why Peru, and not Ecuador?
Well, after some deliberation, ear-wigging and research we've decided to skip Ecuador all together in favour of more time in Peru. Flying to Quito from Bogota would have cost £175pp, or involved a 30hr bus ride... I'm not sure there's enough Anusol in circulation to prepare adequately for such a voyage. We'd also heard Quito was fairly dirty, unwelcoming and more of a gateway to better places, so we jumped the fence (if we could afford to visit the Galapagus Islands, things would be different). Hopefully the additional week or so in Peru will prove to be the right decsion to have made... We'll see!
So Peru, for me this is where the activities start, with things like mountainbiking, rafting, bungee and skydiving apparently freely available. There are of course other pulls like Machu Picchu, ancient temples from lost civilizations and mountains carpetted in rainforest to explore.
On talking to a few people, it seems the traditional Incan trail up Machu is more akin to a stream on ants up a tree. We've learnt of some perhaps better routes which involve cycling for 1 day, then a jungle trek for 2 nights... Count me in!
Zooming back to Cartagena, it's a fantastic place to visit and somewhere we plan to visit in the future (the water temperature alone is enough to get me back on a plane, unreal). Today we had a wander around the old town (walled city), and it's like something out of a picture book (the pictures will hopefully show some of what it's about), it's a stunning colonial town.
We visited the Rosario Islands, where we went snorkelling on a coral reef, we both really enjoyed it and saw many weird and wonderful fish, though Miranda suffered somewhat initially with a leaky mask and dodgy snorkel. It was a bit of a trek in a speedboat, and a long way off of the 45 minutes we were quoted by Billy(wouldsellyiuhisgranny) at the hotel.
Anyway, gotta dash, flights called. More later!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Arrival in Cartagena and Bogota in retrospect
Well we arrived on our £54 flight from Bogota to Cartagena, after initial concerns we were going to be cutting it fine for check-in. Luckily, South American time came to our rescue and therefore having 5 minutes to spare meant we were actually pretty early in the scheme of things.
The flight was 1hr10m, during which I was unfortunately seated next to (as Miranda put it) "Miss Plastic Fantastic". After initial concerns and contemplation of how exactly I'd contain the scene if the worst was to happen (no, not the plane crashing); her implants exploding, I settled back into my seat and relaxed. Some time later she picked up on my authentic London twang, it transpired she'd spent a year in London studying English. In summary, she said she woon't be going back to England, mainly due to the weather and that Cartagena was the best place in Colombia... we'll see! Interestingly she said, she loved her country, something I can't imagine many British people saying?
So, Bogota... the evil city who's inhabitants included visits from Pablo Escobar and Satan, the city where mountains of white stuff are universally snorted by old ladies and children alike. Our stay was in the old town, which is called La Candelaria. It's full of little cafes, eateries, restaurants,cocaine dealers, and beautiful buildings. The Cranky Croc hostel was our base, which was recommended and seemed like a great hostel - lounge/bar area/wifi/hot water/big tv - and a lively international atmosphere.
The rooms were dotted around a small outdoor courtyard, which was fine with exception of some noise, and the possibility of needing to get dressed in the middle of the night to go for a pee (altitude does funny things to one's bladder). The other oversight was any form of heating in our room, not helped by the lack of glass in our door (shutters aren't draft proof) and having just arrived from a nice 35 degrees in Rio, the room got more than a little nippy at night - thank god again for our sleeping bag liners! Climate control in the UK is a different concept entirely...
Edit - I neglected to mention, that on third day there they commenced with some building work to the floors. We arrived back to find that the 3/4 tiles they'd lifted from the floor on our way out, had grown to 3/4 trenches, that allowed us all to appreciate just how good sewage smelt. Disgusting. It's a decent hostel though, just let down by a distinct lack of cookware and in our case, the horrendous smell of god knows what...
Anyway, highlights of Bogota include:
I reckon it was the third day before we were feeling normal, and from that point you no longer felt your heart rate increase when opening a door. Makes me wonder what reaction La Paz will provoke 14,000ft... sick bags at the ready!
So Bogota in a few (actually 200) words, it feels safe and I'm sure nobody would have any issues, provided they follow the simple common sense rules you'd use in East London of leaving jewellery, watches, iPhones at home (they catch your eye when you earn £150-£200 a month). The people are friendly, if you need anything they'll point you in the right direction. We didn't have even a sniff of the white stuff, there's nobody peddling it on the streets at least. The climate is somewhat similar to the UK, and like Rio it's surrounded by nice green mountains. Oh, and though we didn't need to use it, they have a subway in the shape of bendy-buses, which operate on their own dedicated roads (no traffic(lights)) and appear to work fluently... the reason? They couldn't find the cash to build an underground.
Finally, first thoughts on Cartagena... fork me it's hot and sticky!!!
P.S Pics to follow.
The flight was 1hr10m, during which I was unfortunately seated next to (as Miranda put it) "Miss Plastic Fantastic". After initial concerns and contemplation of how exactly I'd contain the scene if the worst was to happen (no, not the plane crashing); her implants exploding, I settled back into my seat and relaxed. Some time later she picked up on my authentic London twang, it transpired she'd spent a year in London studying English. In summary, she said she woon't be going back to England, mainly due to the weather and that Cartagena was the best place in Colombia... we'll see! Interestingly she said, she loved her country, something I can't imagine many British people saying?
So, Bogota... the evil city who's inhabitants included visits from Pablo Escobar and Satan, the city where mountains of white stuff are universally snorted by old ladies and children alike. Our stay was in the old town, which is called La Candelaria. It's full of little cafes, eateries, restaurants,
The rooms were dotted around a small outdoor courtyard, which was fine with exception of some noise, and the possibility of needing to get dressed in the middle of the night to go for a pee (altitude does funny things to one's bladder). The other oversight was any form of heating in our room, not helped by the lack of glass in our door (shutters aren't draft proof) and having just arrived from a nice 35 degrees in Rio, the room got more than a little nippy at night - thank god again for our sleeping bag liners! Climate control in the UK is a different concept entirely...
Edit - I neglected to mention, that on third day there they commenced with some building work to the floors. We arrived back to find that the 3/4 tiles they'd lifted from the floor on our way out, had grown to 3/4 trenches, that allowed us all to appreciate just how good sewage smelt. Disgusting. It's a decent hostel though, just let down by a distinct lack of cookware and in our case, the horrendous smell of god knows what...
Anyway, highlights of Bogota include:
- The Gold Museum, apparently the worlds biggest collection of gold artifacts. It costs pennies to get in, and houses 3 floors full of all things golden and a few other bits and pieces thrown in for good measure. Definitely worth seeing, though I was mildly disappointed by the lack of gold fixtures and fittings in the toilets...
- The Botero Museum, this one is actually free entry on certain days/times. Housing all of Botero's work, and a fair selection of other artists it's a nice place to aimlessly wonder. I wouldn't really describe myself as being an art fan, but Botero's work is something I can really appreciate and for the most part you get the impression most of his paintings were done with his tongue in his cheek. Well worth a visit, if only for the fact it has a Juan Valdez (think authentic Starbucks) coffee shop next door, Miranda isn't a fan of Juan though...
- The Police Museum, we actually went to his one today, and also free entry. This basically involves a tour around and looking at the technologies and techniques the Police in Colombia have used over the years to counter terrorism and drug issues (i.e Escobar/FARQ). They've got a couple of rooms dedicated to Pablo's legacy (though they certainly don't glamourise him), but for me the most interesting room was the gun room, wall-to-wall guns... including my Canons!
- The food, it's cheap... really cheap. You can feed 2 and have a drink each for £3 if you shop around (Recolete al Carbon, just off of Calle 15, muy bien!). There's also a great chain here called Crepes and Waffles, which despite it's name has a wide selection, though not as cheap, we're talking £5 each. The jewel in the crown though for me, was this special bread they have called Areype, kinda like a naan crossed with a pitta I guess... filled with whatever you choose, also cheaper than chips.
- BoozeBus, I felt compelled to parade my gringoness on the bus with a load of lads from the hostel. Jist of it was you got free Tequila/Vodka shots whilst you were on the bus, and from time to time it stopped at bars/clubs for you to make a fool of yourself. I hate Tequila...
I reckon it was the third day before we were feeling normal, and from that point you no longer felt your heart rate increase when opening a door. Makes me wonder what reaction La Paz will provoke 14,000ft... sick bags at the ready!
So Bogota in a few (actually 200) words, it feels safe and I'm sure nobody would have any issues, provided they follow the simple common sense rules you'd use in East London of leaving jewellery, watches, iPhones at home (they catch your eye when you earn £150-£200 a month). The people are friendly, if you need anything they'll point you in the right direction. We didn't have even a sniff of the white stuff, there's nobody peddling it on the streets at least. The climate is somewhat similar to the UK, and like Rio it's surrounded by nice green mountains. Oh, and though we didn't need to use it, they have a subway in the shape of bendy-buses, which operate on their own dedicated roads (no traffic(lights)) and appear to work fluently... the reason? They couldn't find the cash to build an underground.
Finally, first thoughts on Cartagena... fork me it's hot and sticky!!!
P.S Pics to follow.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
*Toot Toot* All aboard!
Just a quicky before we head out to see out the Police Museum.
Today we're taking a flight from Bogota to Cartagena, which thankfully is situated on the Carribean coast of Columbia. We'll then be flying back here (to Bogota) on the 25th, where we'll make a move for our next border crossing.
We checked on kype just now, but nobody was on... you're all fired!
Oh and... Blue Army! ;o)
Today we're taking a flight from Bogota to Cartagena, which thankfully is situated on the Carribean coast of Columbia. We'll then be flying back here (to Bogota) on the 25th, where we'll make a move for our next border crossing.
We checked on kype just now, but nobody was on... you're all fired!
Oh and... Blue Army! ;o)
Thursday, November 19, 2009
New pictures
Quick update just to let you know the first Columbia pictures are up. Featuring:
Bogota city centre
Monserrat (which gave me very bad altitude sickness!)
The Gold Museum
My sleeping bag liner-which has been invaluable for cold bus journeys, the chilly nights in Bogota and protecting ourselves from not-so-nice bedding
Proper update on Bogota to follow shortly.
Mx
-- Posted from Miranda's iPhone
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Rio
We're currently on a six hour bus ride from Rio to Sao Paulo (getting our internal flight to Bogota,Col-oooom-bia in the morning). Even after just three weeks of travelling we've adjusted really well to the long bus journeys- anything under 16 hours now feels short!!
After nearly a week in Rio I've certainly developed mixed emotions about the place. The natural surroundings are just breathtaking with the green hills and mountains and gorgeous beaches it certainly has a lot going for it. That said the rich/poor divide is huge and obvious everywhere you go. One street can be affluent at one end, with it's residents expected to live until they're over 70 yrs old and just metres away there's poverty, with their life expectancy parallel to Sierre Leone.
The really difficult pill to swallow is that these people have no opportunity to ever work themselves out of poverty. The cleaner in out hostel works 9 hours a day, 6 days a week for 500 reias a month which is less than £200 and her rent in the favaela is 200 reias leaving her and her family £100 a month to live on (and living is by no means cheap in Rio)! School there is only 4 hours a day from 6-14 years so if by some miracle on this limited education they reached the same academic standard as a well off child, how on earth would their parents pay for university when the family has so little to life on?! So the cycle just continues.
Outside of this Brazil has so much going for it, with a wealth of natural resources, it could absolutely thrive!
Yesterday we met up with some friends (2 French guys from
our Florip hostel) and went to the Maracana to watch a football match. It was a brilliant night. From the really positive, friendly atmosphere in the stadium to the excitement of the game. Saying this the friendly atmosphere could be down to there being about 60,000 Flumenese fans and 10 (yes 10!) Atletico fans there. I'm told it's because it would have been a 12 hour bus ride each way on a Sunday night for the match but who knows!
A custom seems to be bringing a bag of flour with you to the stadium and then when the players some on,they're thrown like bombs through the air and onto the pitch. Ever wondered how much mess tens of thousands of bags of flour can make? The results being that everyone gets completely covered in flour, visibility goes to zero for about 10 mins and you have flour sitting in your lungs for a couple of days!
We should arrive at our hotel (yes you heard me right-hotel) at about 10pm then up again at 5am for our flight so in that time I need to use all the complimentary toiletries and blow dry my hair, just because it'll be Christmas Eve before I see another hotel (or a beloved hairdryer).
See you in Bogota
Mx
-- Posted from Miranda's iPhone
After nearly a week in Rio I've certainly developed mixed emotions about the place. The natural surroundings are just breathtaking with the green hills and mountains and gorgeous beaches it certainly has a lot going for it. That said the rich/poor divide is huge and obvious everywhere you go. One street can be affluent at one end, with it's residents expected to live until they're over 70 yrs old and just metres away there's poverty, with their life expectancy parallel to Sierre Leone.
The really difficult pill to swallow is that these people have no opportunity to ever work themselves out of poverty. The cleaner in out hostel works 9 hours a day, 6 days a week for 500 reias a month which is less than £200 and her rent in the favaela is 200 reias leaving her and her family £100 a month to live on (and living is by no means cheap in Rio)! School there is only 4 hours a day from 6-14 years so if by some miracle on this limited education they reached the same academic standard as a well off child, how on earth would their parents pay for university when the family has so little to life on?! So the cycle just continues.
Outside of this Brazil has so much going for it, with a wealth of natural resources, it could absolutely thrive!
Yesterday we met up with some friends (2 French guys from
our Florip hostel) and went to the Maracana to watch a football match. It was a brilliant night. From the really positive, friendly atmosphere in the stadium to the excitement of the game. Saying this the friendly atmosphere could be down to there being about 60,000 Flumenese fans and 10 (yes 10!) Atletico fans there. I'm told it's because it would have been a 12 hour bus ride each way on a Sunday night for the match but who knows!
A custom seems to be bringing a bag of flour with you to the stadium and then when the players some on,they're thrown like bombs through the air and onto the pitch. Ever wondered how much mess tens of thousands of bags of flour can make? The results being that everyone gets completely covered in flour, visibility goes to zero for about 10 mins and you have flour sitting in your lungs for a couple of days!
We should arrive at our hotel (yes you heard me right-hotel) at about 10pm then up again at 5am for our flight so in that time I need to use all the complimentary toiletries and blow dry my hair, just because it'll be Christmas Eve before I see another hotel (or a beloved hairdryer).
See you in Bogota
Mx
-- Posted from Miranda's iPhone
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Yep, even more pictures up'd!
Yesterday we visited Pao de Acucar, or Sugarloaf Mountain to you and I. Unfortunately yet another quick post, but I promise to stop back when I can with a summary of Rio.
Today, we'll be moving hostels from this sh*thole (sorry it needed to be said), to hopefully a better (by that I mean not having to refer to my girlfriend as 'inmate') place on Ipanema beach, After that we're hoping to finally get a chance to visit good ol' Jesus Christ - the picture above is about as much as we've seen of him all week!
Then obviously England vs. Brazil, where we shall be attending a nearby Ingerlish bar, for some IN-GER-LUND chanting and a few beers!
Over and out!
Friday, November 13, 2009
Amusing
Is anyone else finding this as funny as me???!!
NB: James 'doesn't need' suncream.
-- Posted from Miranda's iPhone
NB: James 'doesn't need' suncream.
-- Posted from Miranda's iPhone
More photo's up!
Hot on the heels of the last bunch, the first batch from Rio are up and ready to go...
Yesterday we visited a Favela (actually 2, of the 950 in Rio). I won't say too much as I'll cover it in more detail when time permits. Anyway, take a look and as always, comments very welcome!
Hopefully make some of you realise what life can be like when you fall through the cracks.
Today, Statue of Christ and Sugar Loaf... If the low cloud leaves us alone!
Speak to you all later.
P.S on the subject of speaking, I've added the Skype status buttons to the site (see right), if were online you should be able to click to dial us.
Skype Names:
James - ozzyo99
Miranda - mirandahonan
Yesterday we visited a Favela (actually 2, of the 950 in Rio). I won't say too much as I'll cover it in more detail when time permits. Anyway, take a look and as always, comments very welcome!
Hopefully make some of you realise what life can be like when you fall through the cracks.
Today, Statue of Christ and Sugar Loaf... If the low cloud leaves us alone!
Speak to you all later.
P.S on the subject of speaking, I've added the Skype status buttons to the site (see right), if were online you should be able to click to dial us.
Skype Names:
James - ozzyo99
Miranda - mirandahonan
Two oddities of Florip'
Despite recently leaving Florianopolis, I feel compelled to post two pictures, which for me were two brand new experiences:
The first encounter was on the way back from the motorcycle hire place (without a motorbike - long story). After a long 25 minute walk in 35 degree sunshine, and facing the same walk back, we encountered this little thing on Logoa de Conceicao.
Rather odd for the climate I'm sure you'll agree!
We noticed in the distance what we naturally assumed was a fish, but no it was indeed a Penguin. As soon as he'd noticed us he waddled up the beach... Poor thing looked as confused as we were!
Not sure how true it is, but o e of the surfers said when they get lost, they usually don't make it due to the water temperature (the lagoon is like a bath). Hope the little fella proved the exception!
Onto other delights in Florianopolis. We heard via Caio (co-manages Tucano) of a fantastic local pizza restuarant that offered something a little different - Doce (Sweet) Pizza.
Doesn't look that great, but honestly... Chocolate really does work on a normal pizza base, they should do them everywhere!
The first encounter was on the way back from the motorcycle hire place (without a motorbike - long story). After a long 25 minute walk in 35 degree sunshine, and facing the same walk back, we encountered this little thing on Logoa de Conceicao.
Rather odd for the climate I'm sure you'll agree!
We noticed in the distance what we naturally assumed was a fish, but no it was indeed a Penguin. As soon as he'd noticed us he waddled up the beach... Poor thing looked as confused as we were!
Not sure how true it is, but o e of the surfers said when they get lost, they usually don't make it due to the water temperature (the lagoon is like a bath). Hope the little fella proved the exception!
Onto other delights in Florianopolis. We heard via Caio (co-manages Tucano) of a fantastic local pizza restuarant that offered something a little different - Doce (Sweet) Pizza.
Doesn't look that great, but honestly... Chocolate really does work on a normal pizza base, they should do them everywhere!
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Happy Belated Birthday
To Julie
Happy belated birthday. We hope you had a lovely day.
So sorry it's late, you can blame our poor grasp with the real world at present!!
Lots of love
James and Miranda xxxxxx
-- Posted from Miranda's iPhone
Happy belated birthday. We hope you had a lovely day.
So sorry it's late, you can blame our poor grasp with the real world at present!!
Lots of love
James and Miranda xxxxxx
-- Posted from Miranda's iPhone
Monday, November 9, 2009
New photos
New photos are up. As you can see we spent most of out time in Florip relaxing at our hostel so not too many shots of the island I'm afraid.
Off to Rio now so I'm sure we'll have more interesting shots for you from there.
Mx
-- Posted from Miranda's iPhone
Off to Rio now so I'm sure we'll have more interesting shots for you from there.
Mx
-- Posted from Miranda's iPhone
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Followers
Hi
If you're reading this can you please post a comment with your name so we know who's following our adventure.
Thanks
Miranda and James
-- Posted from Miranda's iPhone
If you're reading this can you please post a comment with your name so we know who's following our adventure.
Thanks
Miranda and James
-- Posted from Miranda's iPhone
Friday, November 6, 2009
Tucano house
Over the past two days James and I have been passing the time at Tucano House which is proving to be more like the Big Brother house than a hostel. They have their very own Hostel dog Duna who everyone loves. You can take her with you to the shops (without a lead), she'll cross roads and wait for you outside the supermarket until you're finished your shopping....genius!!
The whole place is centred around communal areas and very quickly everyone knows everyone.
Most people eat breakfast and dinner in the hostel together and inevitably spend the rest of the day with someone or other from the hostel.
There are a lot of interesting characters including an over index of people from London. Whether reading a book in one of the hammocks or lounging by the pool, there seems to be plenty to do to pass the hours.
I made the mistake of telling an English guy Farook that James worked in IT and could probably take a look at his laptop. Unfortunately I didn't realise this was going to occupy hours each day fixing this complex problem and James is less than happy. From now on we're going to say he's a bible bashing cult leader to anyone who asks!
Tomorrow we're hoping to hire a moped and explore the island as we're very aware we've barely scratched the surface...
Hoping to get some good pics for you all tomorrow.
Mx
The whole place is centred around communal areas and very quickly everyone knows everyone.
Most people eat breakfast and dinner in the hostel together and inevitably spend the rest of the day with someone or other from the hostel.
There are a lot of interesting characters including an over index of people from London. Whether reading a book in one of the hammocks or lounging by the pool, there seems to be plenty to do to pass the hours.
I made the mistake of telling an English guy Farook that James worked in IT and could probably take a look at his laptop. Unfortunately I didn't realise this was going to occupy hours each day fixing this complex problem and James is less than happy. From now on we're going to say he's a bible bashing cult leader to anyone who asks!
Tomorrow we're hoping to hire a moped and explore the island as we're very aware we've barely scratched the surface...
Hoping to get some good pics for you all tomorrow.
Mx
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Praia mole and Barry
Hello peeps
It's day 2 in Florip (yes that's what the cool kids call it!) and we went to one of their nice beaches 'praia mole'.
It wasn't too busy and beautiful brazilians peppered the view. It's a long narrow sandy beach with turquoise waves breaking right along the shore. Lots of surfers were out today, catching big waves and lapping up the sun.
There was one interesting spectacle on the beach; Brazil's answer to Barry Chuckle from Chucklevision! Barry was parading down the beach in his rather ill-fitting moss coloured lycra hotpants and very severe mohawk. To be honest even from the back he looked a bit of a prat. Then he turned around...we both gasped. Barry had the best example of a full on adolf style moustache attached to his face. Oh yes, the ensemble was complete!!
If anyone is inspired by today's blog- (Alasdair I'm thinking you'd pull this look off the best) then I'll be sure to try and get some photographic evidence tomorrow.
Mx
It's day 2 in Florip (yes that's what the cool kids call it!) and we went to one of their nice beaches 'praia mole'.
It wasn't too busy and beautiful brazilians peppered the view. It's a long narrow sandy beach with turquoise waves breaking right along the shore. Lots of surfers were out today, catching big waves and lapping up the sun.
There was one interesting spectacle on the beach; Brazil's answer to Barry Chuckle from Chucklevision! Barry was parading down the beach in his rather ill-fitting moss coloured lycra hotpants and very severe mohawk. To be honest even from the back he looked a bit of a prat. Then he turned around...we both gasped. Barry had the best example of a full on adolf style moustache attached to his face. Oh yes, the ensemble was complete!!
If anyone is inspired by today's blog- (Alasdair I'm thinking you'd pull this look off the best) then I'll be sure to try and get some photographic evidence tomorrow.
Mx
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Arrived at Florianopolis!
We set off (what seems like days ago) yesterday on yet another bus journey... We had better get used to them, no trains and another 16 hours to Rio!
We happened to be doing the same route as 4 Americans who we'd met earlier and seemed to get along well with (thankfully different from the Texans we met only days before).
Upon arriving at Foz du Iguaçu station we ate some dinner and loaded up with snacks for the journey. Unfortunately Brazilian bus travel isn't the 3 course meal, wine, champs and breakfast offered over the border in Argentina.
At 18:15 we boarded our bus and prepared for the 14 hour trip ahead. Ciao Iguaçu, next stop Florip'
Leas than an hour into our journey, the bus stopped in a service station (presumably to fill up), the locals were immediately hanging their heads out of the window, but soon they had their head firmly in their hands. As it turned out our fan belt had snapped, and the radiator was overheating... Perfect!
As we had no idea how long we'd be waiting for a replacement, we headed into the services for a beer with the rest of the folk on the bus.
Thankfully and right on cue (an hour later) another bus arrived. So back on the bus and away we go... but not before the Americans had to empty their bags for the Police. We were asked, but after explaining we were English were not required to empty them, result.
Several hours later, we (and a coach in front) were forced to stop for a spot check by the Rosavario Federal. Not sure if it the bus in front was someway involved or if it was purely coincidental, but this 206 was also right next to the bus?
Another hour later, after they'd checked a handful of bags we were sent on our way.
We went to sleep (in an 'eyes-closed-but-can-hear-everything' kinda way) pretty quickly afterwards. This morning we woke to yet another sunny 30+ scorcher, and some hours later rocked up at Florip' bus station.
The next apparent hurdle was the bus drivers here being on strike, at this point we had no way of getting to our hostel. Me, Miranda, an Argentinian girl (from our bu)s, and a random managed to grab a lift with some guy in a Corsa (5 adults, 3 big bags... the chassis was bowing).
So finally 16 hours later arrived at our hostel, Tucano House. We'd managed to book it online yesterday where it had received some acclaim as being 2nd best hostel in South America... Seems like a nice social place complete with (bath sized) swimming pool, pool table, internet, tv etc, we booked in for 5 nights (we get a 6th free) as we figured we deserved a break!
Now, for sleep! Tomorrow, the beach!
Ciao ciao!
-- Posted from my iPhone
We happened to be doing the same route as 4 Americans who we'd met earlier and seemed to get along well with (thankfully different from the Texans we met only days before).
Upon arriving at Foz du Iguaçu station we ate some dinner and loaded up with snacks for the journey. Unfortunately Brazilian bus travel isn't the 3 course meal, wine, champs and breakfast offered over the border in Argentina.
At 18:15 we boarded our bus and prepared for the 14 hour trip ahead. Ciao Iguaçu, next stop Florip'
Leas than an hour into our journey, the bus stopped in a service station (presumably to fill up), the locals were immediately hanging their heads out of the window, but soon they had their head firmly in their hands. As it turned out our fan belt had snapped, and the radiator was overheating... Perfect!
As we had no idea how long we'd be waiting for a replacement, we headed into the services for a beer with the rest of the folk on the bus.
Thankfully and right on cue (an hour later) another bus arrived. So back on the bus and away we go... but not before the Americans had to empty their bags for the Police. We were asked, but after explaining we were English were not required to empty them, result.
Several hours later, we (and a coach in front) were forced to stop for a spot check by the Rosavario Federal. Not sure if it the bus in front was someway involved or if it was purely coincidental, but this 206 was also right next to the bus?
Another hour later, after they'd checked a handful of bags we were sent on our way.
We went to sleep (in an 'eyes-closed-but-can-hear-everything' kinda way) pretty quickly afterwards. This morning we woke to yet another sunny 30+ scorcher, and some hours later rocked up at Florip' bus station.
The next apparent hurdle was the bus drivers here being on strike, at this point we had no way of getting to our hostel. Me, Miranda, an Argentinian girl (from our bu)s, and a random managed to grab a lift with some guy in a Corsa (5 adults, 3 big bags... the chassis was bowing).
So finally 16 hours later arrived at our hostel, Tucano House. We'd managed to book it online yesterday where it had received some acclaim as being 2nd best hostel in South America... Seems like a nice social place complete with (bath sized) swimming pool, pool table, internet, tv etc, we booked in for 5 nights (we get a 6th free) as we figured we deserved a break!
Now, for sleep! Tomorrow, the beach!
Ciao ciao!
-- Posted from my iPhone
Monday, November 2, 2009
High res shots uploaded
The complete low res archive is on the Picasa link (see below), however I've also added the high res originals to our new Flickr account (see right) - basically you can view them in full size/quality if you choose to (Click ''All Sizes'). There's a few photo's that didn't upload, but I'll add those when I get the chance... Picasa one is complete.
Anyway, gotta dash... see you at the other side :o)
Anyway, gotta dash... see you at the other side :o)
Todays trip to Iguazu & Photo upload (finally)!
So as Miranda has already covered, we went to Iguazu Falls within Argentina today. Wow... very very impressive, the sight, sound and sheer power of what you're witnessing takes a couple of minutes to absorb. For anybody planning to visit, if time/money are of concern, just visit the Argentinian side. Whilst the Brazilian side offers a better panoramic view, it's completely overshadowed when you see El Diablo Garganta.
The Argentinean side is a lot larger, and whilst we got most of what we set out to accomplish done, there were a few stones left unturned (Marcocu trail), for now. We thought it would e awfully rude not to jump in a speedboat and get absolutely drenched under the waterfalls, so that's exactly what we did... even from the safe distance we got to, the power of the water hitting your skin, well it was like large hail stones!
During the trip, we managed to happen upon several million Butterflies, many Lizards, some Coati thingies, a troop of Monkey's and 3 Mosquito's which took a piece of me... the barstewards!
Met some people at the Hostel today from Chile who confirmed that despite living there for 20 years, that they couldn't fully understand the Spanish spoken in Equador and parts of Bolivia - doesn't bode well for us then... Puedo hablar mas despacio por favor?! We can only try :o)
So tomorrow, we're heading to Florianopolis for some Sun, Sea and Relaxtion, sadly it's another 14 hour bus journey on the cards, but I'm sure we'll be well drilled in no time at all. So that's it for Argentina for now; back around December to Mendoza/Patagonia which should be interesting.
On the subject of photo's I've uploaded everything to my Picasa account (http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/jamesdosborne) for now, which you should hopefully be able to see and access on the right hand side. Apologies for the somewhat amateur photography, we haven't had the time or desire to sit and process them anymore than uploading them!
The Argentinean side is a lot larger, and whilst we got most of what we set out to accomplish done, there were a few stones left unturned (Marcocu trail), for now. We thought it would e awfully rude not to jump in a speedboat and get absolutely drenched under the waterfalls, so that's exactly what we did... even from the safe distance we got to, the power of the water hitting your skin, well it was like large hail stones!
During the trip, we managed to happen upon several million Butterflies, many Lizards, some Coati thingies, a troop of Monkey's and 3 Mosquito's which took a piece of me... the barstewards!
Met some people at the Hostel today from Chile who confirmed that despite living there for 20 years, that they couldn't fully understand the Spanish spoken in Equador and parts of Bolivia - doesn't bode well for us then... Puedo hablar mas despacio por favor?! We can only try :o)
So tomorrow, we're heading to Florianopolis for some Sun, Sea and Relaxtion, sadly it's another 14 hour bus journey on the cards, but I'm sure we'll be well drilled in no time at all. So that's it for Argentina for now; back around December to Mendoza/Patagonia which should be interesting.
On the subject of photo's I've uploaded everything to my Picasa account (http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/jamesdosborne) for now, which you should hopefully be able to see and access on the right hand side. Apologies for the somewhat amateur photography, we haven't had the time or desire to sit and process them anymore than uploading them!
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Cataratas Iguazu
James and I have now seen Iguazu falls from both Brazil and Argentina and we can unanimously say that the Argentinian side is phenominal!!!
Pics to follow later...
On another note, a cultural observation is that whilst Argentinian people queue, James and I must have 'gringo' written all over us as they all like to (try and) push infront of us.
Today we were waiting in line to get on the speed boat that takes you under Iguazu (amazing by the way) and a guy behind us had the look of a queue jumper in his eyes. For the purpose of this, we'll call him 'Juan'. Juan did not look relaxed at all, was shifting from foot to foot, trying to find a gap between myself and James. We're now a little less wet behind the ears so deliberately blocked his path. There were a couple of very old people in front of us and the staff were saying to us to come ahead of them. In a moment of lapsed concentration I saw Juan out of the corner of my eye taking his chance whilst I was distracted.
The next few seconds are a bit of a blur but I managed to dive infront of Juan, block his path and gave him the best angry stare of my life-yes 1-0 to the Gringos!!!
Pics to follow later...
On another note, a cultural observation is that whilst Argentinian people queue, James and I must have 'gringo' written all over us as they all like to (try and) push infront of us.
Today we were waiting in line to get on the speed boat that takes you under Iguazu (amazing by the way) and a guy behind us had the look of a queue jumper in his eyes. For the purpose of this, we'll call him 'Juan'. Juan did not look relaxed at all, was shifting from foot to foot, trying to find a gap between myself and James. We're now a little less wet behind the ears so deliberately blocked his path. There were a couple of very old people in front of us and the staff were saying to us to come ahead of them. In a moment of lapsed concentration I saw Juan out of the corner of my eye taking his chance whilst I was distracted.
The next few seconds are a bit of a blur but I managed to dive infront of Juan, block his path and gave him the best angry stare of my life-yes 1-0 to the Gringos!!!
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