Indonesia- part 2: Sumatra

Posted: November 1, 2012 in Indonesia
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In my last post I promised that I would continue the story with Jakarta..

So after arriving from Bali by plane to Jakarta I hopped on a bus to the centre and on the bus I met this very nice man in his 60s called Julianus.

He is from Papua working in Bangkok so only spent a night in Jakarta to catch his onwards flight next day. He was very interested in my trip and I think he had a quite good grasp on the fact that travellers don’t have a luxurious life, so he offered me to stay in his hotel..I was a bit worried first …staying in the hotel room of a slightly older Indonesian man but then i thought..why not. So this is how I ended up in a 4 star hotel  in Jakarta. He took me for dinner..and didn’t let me pay for anything.. He said: ‘You are in my country I would like you to leave with a good impression about it.’

Next day early he left, and I stayed a bit longer to enjoy the luxury:) In this hotel I met another man ..hyperactive, super nice, so he helped me with my half day sightseeing plans giving me directions in Jakarta.. It was so funny he took me to his family’s room, woke them up saying, hey there is Hungarian girl, talk to her..lol..I bet all they wanted at 9am to chat with a foreigner…haha!

So this is what you can see on Facebook me being in a hotel room with a few Indonesians:)

Jakarta is nice but it’s just a city. I saw very little from it, but little was enough. In the afternoon I took the bus to Merak, where I decided to take the ferry to Sumatra (I think I didn’t know that you could cross overland but never mind) This ferry trip was memorable for sure. I was the only tourist..and people were staring at me. I got into a different world than I was in the commercial Bali and Gilis…I got into the real Indonesia. One brave woman half way on the 2 hour ferry ride came to me and spoke to me in Indonesian…unfortunately spending a half month in the country hasn’t been enough to pick up the language so I answered in Hungarian to her. We were both smiling so it was a pleasant conversation. Then an Indo band started to play live music, so i got taken to the middle of the outdoor area and asked to dance ..Indonesian dance is a bit different to the latin but there is one common move..the hip..so they enjoyed it very much, cameras phones were filming the scene, babies were taken to me for pictures so I was the local celeb. I normally like attention as some of you might know, but this time I was dead tired and all I wanted was to be left alone..however it was quite a unique experience.

So then I took a minibus to Kalianda (the starting point of the Krakatao volcano tour) I found a ‘hostel’ called ‘Hotel Beringin’. Now this was the second place where i was a bit shocked..squatting toilets.. I have never been in a ‘hotel’ before where you have squatting toilets..But I am so used to it by now that a western toilet would be weird.

Since I wanted to do this volcano without tour I needed time to figure out how..but when I realised that i won’t be able to do it independently I already missed the next day’s trip. In my day off I got taken by a local guy staying in the hotel to nice beaches around (not even close to the Gili view, but still nice beach) so I spent a day with him, we went out for dinner and the next day I did the tour. Now this volcano trekking was a lazy one. We took a fishing motor boat (2 hours more or less) and then we got to the volcan..black volcanic sand..and a tiny (400m ) volcan..You wouldn’t believe that this little f…..er would have done such a big damage in 1883 that the boom was heard as far as in Perth resulting a 30m high tsunami…

It’s still active today. On the way back we went snorkelling and then back to Kalianda. This tour was pretty lame but considering that not as many tourists are in this area as other parts of Indonesia or even Sumatra I saw what I needed to see nothing more, nothing less.

In the afternoon I took a night bus from Bandarlampung to Bukittinggi. Now this was a 36 hour bus ride. ( Lonely planet says 22) I was suffering..but still met the best local people ever..they took care of me so much as the only foreigner on the bus..

Finally I arrived to Bukittinggi at 6am, then I met someone who offered me to show me around in the city, so I left my big backpack at the station and did a 2 hour sightseeing tour. Bukittinggi is a rather insignificant city..with a zoo, a monument, some mosques, but the starting point of Lake Maninjau where I made my way after the sightseeing. The guy took me there by motorbike. 1.5 hour..with a 22 kg backpack..not fun on the bike.

I stayed in Muaro Beach Bungalows, where I met a Colombian boy Andy, with his German girlfriend Angelica. They were very nice, I was extremely happy to see a Colombian person..I guess i am still missing Latin America…

I spent 3 days, 2 nights here just chilling, visiting the famous rafflesia flower (75cm)

This flower is blooming for 7 days, so I was lucky enough to catch it on the 4th day..very impressive flower.

After the visit I went around the lake with scooter..it was fun!

I already knew that I wouldn’t be able to make the 26th October flight which I had to buy at the airport in Melbourne in a rush in order to be able to enter Indonesia, so I bought a new flight from Banda Aceh (west Sumatra) as I read about this stunning island of Pualu Weh..excellent for diving.

So after leaving Lake Maninjau I decided not to go to Lake Toba which is another amazing place with the difference of the religion of the locals. Maninjau is a muslim place and Toba is Christian. I went straight to Medan (21 hour bus ride), where I took a minibus to Bukit Lawang. Bukit Lawang is in the jungle where you can do one or multiple days of trekking.

I arrived there in the evening and stayed in the hostel called ‘On the rocks’. Wifi was essential for me and this was one of the few places that had wifi..Once I occupied my amazing jungle room:

…I got to know some ‘excellent’ news from Colombia..I won’t go into it but I kind of put a dot on another love chapter of my life..

I arranged a 2 day trekking tour starting next day. There was a German couple in my group and an English ex couple. I love trekking with couples lol:)

The last time I was in the jungle was in Colombia, the Lost City so this environment brought up pretty much all the memories..natural pools, monkeys jumping around, monitor lizard, peacocks, orangutans..awesome! I would have wanted to walk more but it started raining so we made our way to our ‘Jungle Hilton’ (shelter made of bamboo and plastic bag roof)..we had a fun afternoon with the guys and our guide playing silly card games, tricks, etc).

The second day I went walking in the morning with another guide because my group decided not to do any walking in the rain..but then after we met by the river where we went back to the village rafting.

After Bukit Lawang I took the bus to Banda Ace which is West of Sumatra. This is where the ferry leaves to Pulau Weh island. This island is the 3rd best place to dive in Indonesia, so I planned to do my Advanced course here. Unfortunately my Colombian diving school forgot to send off my papers to PADI, so even though I did the Open Water, I couldn’t start my master until it’s proved..so after 2 days of skyping with the other side of the world I, I managed to get into the system, but I only had 2 days left to do the course (5 dives). I dived before in Bali and Gilis without having needed to show a proof of my previous experience, but it’s down to every dive school how strict they are. I heard a lot about Sergi (Spanish dive instructor) that he was amazing so i asked him if i could do my course with him and he was happy to take me on. We did one dive but only Bouyancy..and unfortuantely my ears couldn’t take it…I tried the night dive anyway the same day but it was incredibly painful so I came up after 5 mins. Maybe I’ll finish it up in Malaysia..or who knows.

Pulau Weh is a muslim area…you cannot hang out in a bikini which is a shame, cause the beach is amazing..crystal clear water..I stayed in Erick’s Green House on Iboih beach..Very chilled place with very few tourists. It was a nice group of people here already so I hung out with them..it’s incredible how different everything in Asia than in South America..the way of people travelling..they spend 3-4 months in a place..I couldn’t do it..I mean I did stay in Colombia for 2 months but I was working..it was slightly different..

Few pics on Pulau Weh:

This my last day in Indonesia and I am spending it in Banda Aceh..oh I am going to miss this country..I got taken about 200 pictures..I received so much love and care in this country…so many smiles…
I saw extreme poverty..I got used to living in rough circumstances…i learnt sleeping with geckos around me..I heard so many times laughing children saying:
‘Hello Mister!!!’ Some of them know that a girl is a ‘Miss’ though..I had the most delicious food from the simplest ingredients…I had the tastiest Papaya, Salak, Mango, Watermelon…I understood a lot about their culture, the versatility of their religions, the history of the 2004 earthquake/tsunami catastrophe which killed 380.000 people in South East Asia..

I am happy that Indonesia could surprise me..make me laugh, make me cry, make me care, make me feel…
One tip for those who are planning to visit the country with its 17.000 islands:

Indonesia- part 1: Bali and the Gili islands

Posted: October 17, 2012 in Asia
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Here I was…at my first stop in Asia…Bali. I heard/saw many fantastic things about this little Indonesian island so I was very much looking forward to it. From the airport I took a taxi to Kuta…mistake..

Even though I read all those horrid warnings on Lonely Planet about Kuta, I decided to go there, simply because when I arrive to a new place I like to go ‘more lively’ places so that I can meet people..I don’t actually regret going there for one reason. I met Sofie, Dutch girl travelling alone a few months in Indonesia and possibly somewhere else too. Bali used to be a Dutch colony so many Dutch people choose it as holiday destination.

I spent in Kuta 1.5 days…it was actually enough. Balinese people in that area are a bit like leech…you just cannot get away from them. They are only nice to you because they want to sell you stuff…I sat down on the beach and i found myself surrounded by 5 older women ..one started doing my nails, the second massaging my feet, the 3rd breading my hair, the 4th selling bracelets, and the 5th offering me to bring beer putting a nice commission on it:) See pic

I didn’t say no to the mani/pedicure simply because it was cheap and i haven’t had it for ages..

The next day I spent on the beach..trying to surf again..no success…this is the kind of sport that you need to do on a regular (i would say daily) basis in order to be good at it.

I rented a motorbike in the evening and the next day I was off to Ubud. Ubud is in the middle of the island, no beach, but lots of culture, thrilling art. Everyone has an iPhone, new cars..very rich part of Bali. You can see that on the prices too.

I stayed in a very nice place (so much nicer than in Kuta) called Duanas. Mady the owner looked after me and made incredible breakfasts.

I met Pang from Singapore and we did a couple of day trips together around Ubud visiting Temples, Rice fields.

One night when we went out I passed by a bar and heard a beautiful violin…….my heart drove into the bar nd voila…a Hungarian girl was playing.

I talked to her after the concert, her name is Helga living in Bali for 3 years..she introduced me to a couple of more Hungarian girls, it was amazing! Erika and Dia..and the cherry on top of the cream was that Erika knew Bea (if you remember she is the girl I was travelling with a bit in South America..did the Sensation white together:)) small world!

I stayed 3 nights in Ubud, then I went up to Lovina..On the way I saw the most impressive rice fields of Jatiluwih:

Besakih, the mother temple:

Lovina:


I booked a diving trip for next day in Lovina, in return I got free accommodation..

Oh…the sexiest Indonesian smile I have seen was this one…I asked for directions but after 15 minutes of trying to converse in Balinglish I had to continue my trip…:)

So the diving trip was absolutely amazing..I rented an underwater camera with an Italian boy and took a few great shots of turtles, sharks..colorful underworld..

After diving I set off to Amed..it’s about 3 hours bike ride from Lovina..I arrived in the dark which is  shame as the road goes along the beach..i loved the night ride though:)

Amed is a little diving spot..however I didn’t dive here only swam and snorkelled the next morning.  Then I rode to Padangbai, booked accomodation (Topi Inn – by the beach) and rode to Kuta to return my bike. You have several ways to travel in Bali..The cheapest is defo renting a motorbike (around $4/day- add another $1.5 and you are done with petrol for the day)…if you don’t like the adventure, take the shuttle buses between the cities (average $10 to get from one town to another). You can hire a driver who takes you to wherever you tell him to go (aprox. $45/day).

Accommodation for a single person is between $10-$15.

So..i spent 2 days in Padangbai..and this was the first time i met with a genuinly nice Bali person without any interest..He is running the local post office, his name is Vajuk. He took me to a local place to eat with his bike (while i had my bike i only ate at local restaurants).

He had a lot of knowledge on what’s going on in the world..supernice. The rest of the Balinese people..hmm..nice nice but there is always some kind of interest behind…in Kuta for example while I stayed there I was the best friend of everyone..every day same comments: ‘you remember yesterday my friend!!’ (needless to say there was nothing to remember of)..once your big backpack is on you and you are leaving the place they don’t even say bye..

Anyway..on Friday (12th) I was off to the Gili islands…now these 3 islands are like little paradise…perfect honeymoon spot (was great being here solo..LOL). Nice fish, nice dive, crystal clear turcoise water..

There are 3 islands: Trawangan (the party one), Meno (the most tranquil one) and Air (the mix of previous 2). I stayed on Air 3 nights:

 


I met a really nice Dutch couple with whom I was hanging out in the evenings on Air..we took some nice decisions together about my life:) Here they are:

I also met 2 Hungarian girls, Panni & Dori. It’s funny how I only met like 4 Hungarians in South America in 7 months and I met in Bali and Gili 5 in 10 days:)

One more day on Air, then the next day in the morning I did island hopping to Gili Meno which is a stunning little paradise island..very quiet. I was snorkelling the whole day and sunbathing, swimming with turtles, intercating with locals, met 2 Spanish guys too, then I took the ferry to Trawangan the party island out of the 3 Gilis. On the ferry I met Silvia, Italian girl, she travelled alone too and it was her last night too..so we decided to party…a bottle of Absolute vodka was a bad idea….we woke up in the next morning as the guys in the Hangover…very similar conditions:) Then a 2 hour fast ferry ride back to Bali (horror with a hangover), and I had my fight to Jakarta at 5pm.

This is where I will continue in my next blog:)

Australia

Posted: October 4, 2012 in Australia
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Australia…my teenager dream that has come true…

To be honest after South America I felt that the best part of my trip is over..but after visiting the land of kangaroos and koalas and so many natural beauties I feel completely different.

I didn’t spend much time in Oz (mainly lack of time and also money), but what I saw was truly beautiful.

I am sure that the regular blog readers know Tracy from Australia, the first person I met during my trip in Rio de Janeiro, and with whom I hooked up a couple of more times in South America..we have become friends on the long road.  She left South America a month before me and just about to start her new life back home..

I arrived to Melbourne International airport early in the morning on the 20th September. It was a bit of a mission finding her place in Sunbury (which is a very pretty suburb of Melbourne..or just off Suburbia as I know she is reading it and is a perfectionist;-)  because the buses were not really frequent, but eventually I got to her town, made friends with the people working at the train station who guarded my backpack until I took my computer to the first shop I found to get is repaired.

Then I found her cute little house..I have to say I was very impressed with her house and in general the houses in Australia..you don’t really come across this architecture in Europe..neither in South America:) Here is a few examples:

I went food shopping and cooked ‘rakott kel’ (typical Hungarian owen baked meal) for her..Finally she arrived in the evening..well..I have to say she wasn’t really that free, happy Tracy I met in South America..she seemed stressed and tired..which made me picture my future once I am back to the UK hunting for jobs…

Anyway it was very nice to see her..I think both of us felt that at the moment the other person is the ’only thing’ we have left from South America..beyond all those unforgettable memories that we’ve been through…

The next day she went to work and I spend the day with her mum, Dot, around Sunbury, New Gisborne, Woodend and Macedon. She is just as nice as her daughter..I felt spoilt. Kelly, Tracy’s younger sister joined us during the day with her 1 month old baby Zenda. Wow..holding a baby was just….fantastic and scary in the same time 🙂 We visited Hanging Rock and Camel’s Hump, the cross and other lovely places.

We had dinner together, then Tracy arrived and we chatted a bit then we retired as next day we were off to the Great Ocean Road.  Well this was something spectacular..she drove all the way to the Twelve Apostoles (and past). Great sunny day on Saturday, a bit less sunny on Sunday but still nice.

Australia is beautiful…truly is..but at that point I still wasn’t addictive to it as a lot of my travellers fellows have become.

On Monday I spent my whole morning in the computer shop…unfortunately my little netbook wasn’t as healthy as I thought, but in the afternoon and the next day I went to Melbourne.

Now..someone at some point in the past told me that the best fit for me as an Australian city would be Melbourne. .

I am sure it would have been different if I visited it in the summer time, and also if I had spent a bit more time there but Melbourne reminded me of London…A LOT. In fact..it was interesting to see my reaction…I got nervous..dropped camera on the tram..I just felt I was back in my routine..cold..rain..

I saw Melbourne in beautiful sunshine as well and it enchanted me with its little cafe’s and riverside walks and the scenery but …I just couldn’t think of living there..

The best part was in the Crown with Tracy (she quit her job on Monday so she came to me to Melbourne on Tuesday) just before entering the casino having a happy dance in the hall with classical music and waterfalls around us…now this made me emotional..and all I could think of was Colombia and the people there and the conditions..and I was angry with myself that I let this shiny world make me happy..I spent long time in poverty..and it felt refreshing being in a flashy environment again..but I don’t want to feel this way…I want to feel the way I felt in Colombia  getting rid of these materialistic chains that I ‘m still wearing the remaining of…

Anyway..a few days before this I decided that I would go to Sydney for  3 days..I just couldn’t go away from Australia without being in Sydney and seeing the Opera house. So I stayed in Melbourne in a hostel that night as I had a very early 6am plane on Wednesday.

Sydney at first impression was hot, sexy, playful and fun! I think these would be the words I would use for this stunning city!

I made my way straight away to Manly by ferry. The transport is really easy in the city, less complicated than London, and London is easy peasy..

Manly is a superb surf beach..a bit more upmarket than Bondi, see some pics:

I just envied the people there going for their morning run by the beach or walking their dogs …in 27 degrees (in spring). I spent about 2 hours there because I was supposed to meet Sasha at my Bondi hostel  at 12pm. I met Sasha in Rio as well..we went together to the Sambodromo and stayed in the same section, partying over the nightJ. She couldn’t make it in the end so we re-scheduled to Friday.

So spent the afternoon surfing (better- trying to surf) on Bondi..I was the only girl in the water with her embarrassing big board among all those good-looking (but also aware of it) surfers. I ended up struggling in a current for about half an hour by the time a guy came to ‘save ‘ me..he was very nice, tried to console me with the fact that Bondi is not for beginners and also surf itself takes time..and I only did it once in Peru so….I kinda gave up and went sunbathing insteadJ

In the evening I went for a walk with Erica and Stefania, 2 lovely Italian ladies studying and working in Oz. Wow..the crowd is so so different here to even New Zealand…but very nice people all.

On Thursday morning we continued our walk with Stefania on the Great East Coast Walk..pictures on Bondi and the beach path:

Around 2pm I went to the centre to look around. (I booked my second night there)

Walked around in China Town and popped into Paddy’s market, and I really felt the desire to hop onto this Mono Rail that I saw crossing in an elevated railway around the centre. When I went to the ticket office funnily enough a Serbian-Hungarian guy gave me the information on ticketing. I was so surprised that we started talking and we didn’t stop for at least 40 minutes. He told me how did he end up in Australia and in his break he took me on the Mono rail for free with a top spot too, next to the driver:)

We got off at Darling harbour..very nice area with all the pubs and restaurants. I would have loved to spend more time there but it’s impossible to do everything in such a short time. So we said bye, I headed back to my hostel as in the evening I was meeting a very nice friend of mine FROM HIGH SCHOOL, Miki. Our story is a funny one..we never really spoke when we were younger only from the time we bumped into each other on the plane to London..anyway..who knew that once we were going to have jugs of beers in the roof terrace of a central Sydney pub enjoying  the stunning view on these skyscrapers (similar to Canary Wharf)…

Since I HAD TO see the Opera house by night as well he was reluctant to come with me and be my guideJ  So there..great night..I love surprises and extreme situations..this was one for sure.

Here is the proof:)

On Friday –with a hangover- I met Sasha at 10am (Miki came with us too for a while) and we walked to the Botanic Garden, then entered the Opera House and then Miki left and me, Sasha and an ex colleague of hers walked to the Sky Tower- while I went up and took pictures they had lunch together.

I had my flight back to Melbourne at 3pm so we said bye, I grabbed my bag and rushed to the airport (again kinda late but made it). Tracy was waiting for me at the airport..turned out she quit her job, as she didn’t feel it was for her so I had her all to myself for the next 4 days…

So Friday night we went for dinner to Kelly’s, then Saturday we invited her other sister, and mum and her friends and I cooked some gulyas with pogacsa. (great success)

Then went to Melbourne with the last train as I wanted to check out the nightlife there…

We had a brilliant night with Tracy there..went to Chase Lounge first hoping that there was 80’s night, but it was early 2000 night with Beyonce..was fun though.

Then we found a Latin bar…hahh! that’s all I needed! J loved to go back to Latin America for a couple of hours!

Then we ended up in a late club called ‘Sorry Grandma’ I found the name hilarious..great club! We rocked until 6.30am!

Slept 2 hours then went home to a family lunch..we were both knackered but it was worth itJ

On Monday we just chilled and went for a short walk with Tracy’s sister, Bobby (her dog..cutest ever) and the little ones..

On Tuesday..the last day we went with Tracy and her mum to Daylesford and visited the lake and the springs…(horrible tasting water but I felt the good effect on meJ ) Very nice area..and I bought my big dream a pair of fantastic EMU boots..Ugg fans..EMU is taking over 🙂

Then Tuesday evening she took me to the airport and I flew to Bali..I had a similar situation than I did in LA with visa to Indonesia…I don’t seem to learn from my mistakes but hey..I just bought an outbound ticket from Indonesia and that’s it…sorted 🙂

So my next note will be on Bali and the other islands in the beautiful Asia…wow…I am back to Asia..cannot believe it…as some of you know this whole trip was inspired by my Thailand trip so…it feels great being here.

Los Angeles and New Zealand..the SHOCK!

Posted: September 20, 2012 in Los Angeles/New Zealand
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Well hello everyone!

It will be a very quick post with very little photos as my computer died…this is the saddest news nowadays …we were like a married couple..and the hard drive just went..with my pictures (luckily backed up in dropbox) and MUSIC (sadly backed up nowhere…the only memory I have from my beloved South America…well not the only…but the easiest way to reconnect with it was through music…)

So…I flew out of Bogota on the 7th September…with a change in Florida I arrived to Los Angeles..I cannot possibly imagine a more drastic change…from the REAL Colombia..to the PLASTIC Los Angeles.. Don’t get me wrong it was quite refreshing to be there..dress up..put make up on and the non-existent heels (it’s been 7 months that I haven’t been wearing heels…and i cannot imagine doing it in the future…) and walking on the ‘walk of fame’..visiting Madonna’s David Beckham’s, Justin Timberlake’s, JLO’s house…viewing Michael Jackson’s bedroom window where he died..seeing the Playboy Mansion and the famous movie scenes..

I spent only one full day there but it was enough.

I had my flight in the evening to Auckland..now this was one of a kind….

I didn’t know that I had to apply for the Australian visa before I attempt to enter New Zealand…and my mind wasn’t really thinking ahead..so..I got told at the airport that I cannot board my plane to Auckland unless….I buy an outbound ticket from OZ. I had 45 minutes to do it…(laptop was still working luckily) but it put me in a rather difficult situation as I had no idea how long I wanted to stay in Australia..whether I wanted or better needed to stop to work for a while…or not..so I bought a ticket to Bali for the 3rd October…

When I went back to the check in they said it still wasn’t enough for me to board because it doesn’t resolve the visa issua…I was so angry…why did they make me to buy this flight then?!!! So finally we figured that I wasn’t eligible for the ETA (because of my Hungarian passport…screw Australia and its super strict immigration policy) but I had to apply for an eVisitor visa which I was eligible for..(still not quite sure what is the difference). This application can take from 10 minutes up to 10 days until it gets approved…so ….I was a tiny bit nervous…

I already made some decisions in my head..if I’d lost the next flight as well I’d just have flown to Mexico and made my way down in Central America (as the plan was originally the other way round) and returned to my beloved Colombia..

Well..New Zealand immigration sorted my plans…or better the Australian one..they approved the application in 10 minutes so I could get on the next flight…I was sad and happy the same time..I couldn’t let Colombia go..still cannot..

So..I arrived to NZ..no jetlag…(weird)..and flew directly to Queenstown. Checked in the Flaming Kiwi hostel where I met some amazing people and the Kiwi adventure started… I can say it was another extreme in a way…from summer 44 degrees to winter/spring 10 degrees….i was freezing.

So as some of you could see on my profile I skydived..which was an eternal experience….also because i jumped with a Hungarian boy and Hungarian colored parachute:) If you haven’t seen the video yet:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?v=10151029479052681&set=vb.620822680&type=2&theater

The rest of the days in QT i was hanging out with people in the hostel..I met my soul mate there..Clare 🙂 If you read it like it:P

We went out on our last night in QT and get absolutely hammered…what a fun night!

Next day I felt down…I missed the South American thrill..I missed the spice from New Zealand so..I decided I would create some.

I decided to hitchhike in the rest of my stay. Everyone who picked me up said what a dangerous thing is this that I am doing alone..but to be honest with you after South America my danger factor wasn’t the same as the kiwi’s…

So I can say I met all kind of people…I met a 23 year old drug addict…who was driving while smoking…this was the only ‘slightly scary ‘ one..150 km/h speed in the mountains…then only nice people…I even got a free helicopter ride from a nice old grandfather….when would I have got that if I was travelling the traditional way?:) So I saw a few glaciers..and some nice mountains…but….(sigh) apologies from all kiwi friends…but Patagonia was more impressive for me:( I needed to compare though,…The last place I went to (Akaroa) was amazing though….it’s like a Bariloche…that was on similar level to Patagonia:)

Last night I slept on the airport in Christchurch and today I am in Australia:) Will stay with Tracy..she was the very first person I met on my trip in Rio de Janeiro…..So I am off now to cook something for her and buy a bottle of wine…

My mind is still in Colombia/South America…I miss it every day more…

Colombia- part 2- the working life

Posted: August 8, 2012 in South America
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It’s almost a month now that I am working for Guias y Baquianos and I have to say that my stay in Santa Marta  is beating the Carnival in Brazil!! I absolutely LOVE  interacting with tourists, and learning about their way of travelling, planning etc. I met some super awesome people..the only ‘downside’ is that I am going out basically every night because every day there are tourists coming back from one tour or from another who are happy to be back in civilisation and want to get smashed and rumbiar!!!:)

However I have to say since David Steinig left Santa Marta I am going out a bit less..

The people I am working with are just unbelievably kind sweet and they love me:)

This is how a normal working day looks like:

I work from 9ish till 7pm..have a 3 hours lunch break that I am spending like this:

or this:

or this:

And once I finish..my night looks like this:

or this:

I get paid around £7 /day and I get free accommodation, occasionally food and drinks and obviously free tours worth at least $300 each.

So therefore I did my diving licence (Padi open water, Nautilus diving school is highly recommended), I went to Cabo de la Vela and Punta Gallinas (the northest part of South America, amazing lobster) and I am going up to the Lost City one more time next week.

A few pics on the programs above:

The plan is the following..I’ll leave Santa Marta on the 17th of August, then visit Cartagena, Medellin, Salento, Bogota and it’s surroundings. I’ll fly to Los Angeles on the 7th of September and from LA to Auckland on the 8th.

I’ll update my South American part with one more post on the places above and then….new chapter…I don’t think I am ready to leave this continent but I don’t think I ever will be so I just need to do it.

Hey by the way I heard a lot of promises from you on ‘joining in’ somewhere….I shall remind you I am half way now..so I look forward to travelling with you guys a bit! Take those holidays off!;-)

Besitos a todos!

Colombia- part 1

Posted: July 14, 2012 in South America
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Once I left Ecuador I jumped on a bus to go to the Colombian border…luckily there were 2 other ‘gringos’ on the bus so we crossed altogether.

Big surprise on the Ecuadorian border, I met Tracy, my Aussie friend from Brazil!!! How cool!! She was on the way back to Argentina…

Once we crossed with the guys, we separated, and I went to see the stunning church that I have been hearing from since Peru called Las Lajas.

After the church I hopped onto a bus to go to Pasto (about 2 hours from Ipiales). The place didn’t particularly attract me but I wanted to avoid night travel in Colombia as everyone suggested. Now saying that I met a lovely girl who was travelling to Cali so decided to continue until Popayan which was meant to be nice. I arrived at 1am….that’s all about night travel 🙂

I went to the hostel that everyone recommended called Hosteltrail where the next day I met Corrine (EN), Mark (EN -with whom I crossed the border) and Vivien (US). We all went to a village called Silva to a market but the market was a bit crappy..still we had a good time.

Few pics on Popayan:

Next day midday we said bye to Mark and us girls were hitting the road to Cali..the Salsa Capital of Colombia!!! I was super excited about it understandably 🙂 We stayed in an excellent hostel called Pelican Larry…I loved it so much! The girls at the reception were beautiful and sweet..I had a motorbike ride to the centre too with one of them to buy shoes as my ‘going out shoes’ wore out. We went out 2 nights to Cafe de Madre Tierra, Tin Tin Deo..both salsathecas but you hear all kind of latin music from reggeaton, baciata, merengue and the rest…Needless to say the way how South American people dance gave me such a satisfaction that it’s not easy to describe…Cali is a full on passionate city..I learn some great moves however all my dancers thought that i learnt dancing in South America:)

After Cali I took the night bus to Bogota. I was very optimistic by just turning up at the Terminal at 10pm hoping to have a bus because it was a bank holiday weekend in Colombia so all buses were full for the day…

Here come my actress skills in the pic:) I had a flight from Bogota to Cartagena 2 days after but I thought the only way to somehow get on a bus would be to say it was next day (the bus ride is 10 hours)..so the guy was very nice and put me on the seat next to the driver…There was no way that I could sleep on that seat due to the position, the loudness of music and the full blast aircon.

So..arrived to Bogota at 10am knackered..went to Hostel Cranky Cranc, slept, went on a little individual city tour in the afternoon and in the evening FIESTA!

There is a place called Andres Carne de Res, just outside Bogota…an incredible place. You can have a massive asado (barbecue) or if you just want to party, the dance floor is waiting for you…I went with the hostel, we got drunk in the minibus, upon arrival we hit the dancefloor..superb night!

A little insight in the party (last song)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTYqbQuIPas&feature=plcp

The next day I was fresh, no hangover from the famous Colombian drink called: Aguadiente..similar taste to Uzo and watered Sambuca.

My flight was at 3pm, arrived to Cartagena at 4 and took a bus to Santa Marta where my English grumpy friend Iain was waiting for me:)

Next day David arrived too (we had a cracking time in Rurrenabaque in the jungle and since then we have been in touch trying to catch up but we had to wait till here). So we booked the Lost City tour together for the next day (Guias y Baquianos agency is highly recommended).

The tour was quite tough walking in the heat and humidity but so so beautiful! The group was great too, a very nice girl joined us from New Zealand called Ali. We quickly realised that we are on the same page, so after the Lost city I continued travelling with her.

A few pics on the tour:

Upon arrival to Santa Marta we had a crazy night out with the group, then the next day we continued with Ali to Palomino. This little heaven is situated about 70km from Santa Marta and has very few tourists..and a beautiful eternal beach.

We stayed here 2 nights, slept in the La Sirena hostel in hammock right by the sea…so usual wake up time was 5.30am:)

Then we went straight to Tayrona Park..

Now here we met a few crazy people..one is him above…so funny and annoying in the same time!

When we got back to Santa Marta we spent a night in the Dreamer hostel (my all time favourite in South America) then Ali was off to Cartagena and I started working for the tour operator I went with to do the Lost City…

I should open a new blog with the title of: Working ethics in South America:P

Needless to say I am dancing more on the street then working in the office..I am supposed to do some marketing for them (which never existed)..but since my starting suggestion was to change the name and we all agreed that it was a good move the logistics of the process will take…..maybe 10 years. I am planning on staying here till end of June only 🙂

See how it goes..I am used to the thought now that my life and plans are changing on a daily basis…

It’s Saturday…time to Rumba!!!!!

Ecuador

Posted: June 25, 2012 in South America
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When I left my beloved Huanchaco I didn’t know what was waiting for me at the apparently most dangerous border crossing: Tumbes…I got off the night bus at 10 am and a man came to ‘help me’. He said how dangerous it was crossing the border alone, and he offered his help, as a representative of a major Peruvian bus company (CIFA) that has services directly to Cuenca, Ecuador.

As I read in my Lonely Planet that this was the best way to cross the border, taking a bus directly from Tumbes to Cuenca, and also having asked a few more people around at the station and they all confirmed this, I went up to the man (asked him to show me his ID as a CIFA representative and all this) and said let’s go to CIFA then.

He had a beautiful black BMW (should have been my first doubt ), another man joined us and he asked if i had dollars for Ecuador. I said no but he shouldn’t be worried about that I’ll withdraw in Ecuador. He said that I should take money here as in Ecuador the cash machines are charging $21 commission after every transaction. I found it weird but I listened to them…

Once I was loaded with money we got back to the car and drove to an agency which wasn’t called CIFA. I said to him I wanted to go to CIFA. He said that this was a sub agency of CIFA (with a completely different name). I started to be worried so asked around people and they all said that there was no CIFA in Tumbes only this agency. So the fare would have costed 80 Soles or a budget option 50 Soles which sounded about right. This new man from this sub agency hopped in the car and we were driving somewhere the 4 of us. Me and 3 men….This was the moment when I knew I was trapped….they said we would go to the border and take the bus there but surely if you take a direct service from Tumbes it doesn’t leave from the border but from the city. So they set the new price for the border crossing service and bus fare to Cuenca: $148. I said..NO WAY! They started to panic as soon as I raised my voice and said ok, so be prepared to be killed and robbed at the border if you cross alone. I tried to control my fear and I said firmly that I wanted to get out of the car at that moment. They said ok but I should pay $20 for taking me to the border. I said we are not even at the border and on the other hand for 5 minutes driving I will NOT PAY $20. He said I didn’t pay he wouldn’t return my backpack from the boot. I started screaming and crying and said I will not pay $20, so he said pay whatever you want then. So I paid 20 Soles which is about 10$, got out of the car and stopped the first microbus going to the border. From here all went smooth but I was shaking the rest of the day. The bus fare from Cuenca was $7….imagine how many tourists pay $148 for his ‘services’ that allows him to circulate in this fancy car….

Anyway Cuenca. I stayed in ‘El Cafecito’ hostel. Very mellow, romantic place.

Since I arrived on Saturday there was a life concert which I slept through as I passed out at 9pm. On Sunday I woke up early and was eager to discover Cuenca however I had to realise that on Sunday everything is closed…A few museums were open though so I visited them, had lunch at the market with fresh orange-carrot juice (you have the choice of min. 10 flavours that you can mix too). Then in the evening I chilled with the 2 Swiss girls I was in the same dorm with..we didn’t even realise that we were chatting till 2am. Very nice people. On Monday I continued my city tour ..the culture in Cuenca is amazing..very high level city with great nightlife, funky bars and versatile restaurants.

I also visited a stunning lake close to Cuenca in Cajas  National Park:

In the evening Tegan (my Aussie friend) arrived – it was so nice to see her. But just before in the hostel some musicians got together so we decided with the Swiss girls (one of them played the guitar and sang too) to join..we had some Canelazo (this is a fantastic drink, you can read more about it here: http://southamericanfood.about.com/od/drinks/r/canelazo.htm )

The drink and the music made me very emotional. It was a happy emotional feeling though…I knew this year would happen only once in my life and I knew I would always remember that night…They sang and played amazingly:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akcMXI17f4c&feature=plcp

Then once Tegan arrived we went for dinner and to bed. The next day we visited with Tegan Ingapirca ( gift to Ecuador from the Inkas from the pre-Hispanical  season- Similar to Machu Picchu the main  structure in Ingapirca is the Temple of the Sun, a giant elliptical structure that was built without mortar, just like the traditional Incan way of constructing buildings.)

Once we arrived to Cuenca we had time together with T till midnight, so we had dinner in a restaurant called ‘The Maiz’ (corn – where all dishes were made of corn). Despite the fancy look the food didn’t impress me too much. At midnight I took the night bus to Banos.

This lovely city has a lot to offer..great place to hike, cycle, horse ride, do some extreme sports like ‘Puenting’ or canopy or canyoning..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyBe9gaaH68&feature=relmfu

I spent there 3 days, on the first day I went hiking in the surroundings, on the second day I hired a bike and did the ‘Ruta de las Cascadas’ (The waterfall’s route) and the 3rd day I went to the nicest waterfall in the area and in the afternoon I just chilled in a mountain spa for hours. Perfect 3 days..I didn’t meet anyone though. Maybe I stayed in the wrong hostel (Princesa Maria). Viktor the 60 year old man working there was very nice tough..we had a lot of evening conversations.

After Banos I wanted to check out the Laguna Quilotoa close to Latacunga but didn’t want hike. Once I got to Latacunga people suggested me to go to Hostel Tiana where I can get info on how to get to the lake but it was already late for the day to go there and also I accidentally asked about the Galapagos and she found an amazing deal for me which she couldn’t book because it was Saturday so I decided to go straight to Quito and start looking around for Galapagos deals ( I haven’t done any research on it earlier just because I knew I wasn’t able to afford it ). So Quito..I stayed in the Mariscal area..where all the bars and clubs are. Stayed in Centro del Mundo hostel which is great to meet people and it’s close to the bars (walking home is not recommended though from a club..I did it only because the hostel was literally one corner from the main hub). So the hostel was full of early twenty something Americans who headed out but I didn’t really want to go with them, so opted for the going solo one 🙂 Well…to be honest with you guys..it’s great to do at the beginning of your trip..you meet lots of different people (mainly local men though)who wanna chat you up but after a while the repetition of the same questions over and over again can be tiring…the top 5 most common questions are:

–          De donde eres? (Where are you from?)

–          Viajas solita? (Are you travelling alone?)

–          Desde cuando estas viajando y donde fuiste? (How long have you been travelling for and where have you been)

–          Ahh que bien…entonces tienes mucho plata! (Ah..wonderful, so you have a lot of money)

–          Quieres que te acompano? ( Would you like me to come with you?)

So I hit Bungalow 6..had a superstrong rum and coke watched the people having fun in groups and went home a bit disappointed that my friends were not there with me…

Next day on Sunday I went to the historical centre and I met the most amazing old man who was selling maps..We had a perfect connection..a bit like grandfather and his grandchild..I invited him for lunch as he showed me the whole city centre and explained the history. The man was like a walking library…it was so nice to meet finally someone with brain and not having to explain where Hungary was. He knew Liszt Ferenc and all that…So hats off. We spent the whole afternoon together, he also recommended me some islands on the Galapagos (I still wasn’t sure if i should take a cruise or do it individually but everyone suggested the 2nd oprion). So in the evening (Sunday) I went to the airport and bought a return ticket to the Galapagos islands from Monday (next day) to Friday.

I was superhappy. For some reason I felt I needed this trip to get me back to my normal balance..

So I woke up at 5.30am, went to the airport and this is where the fun starts…I bumped into Cam Smith my previous affiliate sitting at Quito airport..The last time we met was in London a few years ago so it was incredible meeting him there. Turned out he was heading to Galapagos on the same flight to we travelled together. The flight was a bit delayed unfortunately so we landed at 3pm..didn’t have much time on Monday but I found a great hotel (cheap too), checked in, walked around, went to the Charles Darwin complex . ( story in brief: in 1831 he sailed to Galapagos and 30 years later published his theory of evolution- the conversation of animals (giant land turtles mainly) had to be started as they would have instinct in 10 years time from the discovery)

After visiting the complex I went to every single agency on Santa Cruz island to plan my next days. Unfortunately I didn’t find any cruise going to Espanola island (one of the best ones but the furthest one too so no day trips are avail.) which turned out to be better because I still saw the best islands in the neighbourhood: Seymour Norte, Isabela and Bartolome.

Seymour Norte:

Isabela:

Bartolome:

I met on my first day trip Simone- english girl, we had a click so we were hanging out the rest of the time together…our ‘local’ for the week has become the Bongo bar and Panga club downstairs..

I’ll upload few videos on the animals…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjr4ebRdsPo&feature=plcp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hmarHTJ0c8&feature=plcp

On Friday in tears I said bye to the Galapagos islands, flew back to Quito, went straight to the ‘Mitad del Mundo’ (Middle of the World)

I wanted to go straight to Otavalo as a festival was starting on Saturday but in the hostel when I returned to collect my backpack (I went only with a light pack to Galapagos) they didn’t suggest me to arrive late in the evening so I stayed in the hostel and left Sat. Morning.

The market is impressive in Otavalo..almost occupies the whole city. Everyone can find something for their taste that’s for sure. In Otavalo people are wearing traditional clothes.

And men have long hair (pigtail) and they are wearing a poncho and black trousers, black waistcoat and white shirt under the poncho. Very nice people. The festival kicked off at 7pm, I went down a bit later, met a guy and his gf. Whom I met first in Banos, so we hung out together and participated in the dancing bit too.

On Sunday I just chilled in the hostel and walked a bit in the city. Today heading to the border and the Colombia. Fingers crossed for a safe crossing….

Peru

Posted: June 8, 2012 in South America
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I think it’s the first time that I am going to talk about my feelings here in the amazing South America beyond describing my adventures…I don’t know whether it’s the fact that I have been travelling for 4 months now or Peru or the combination of things but for the first time I feel that I miss my life back in London. I miss my family, my friends, my job at Foxy ..the office banter, my nice clothes, my decent look, the bars and Asian restaurants and I could carry on….but hey let’s talk about Cusco and Machu Picchu first.

After Copacabana I got to Cusco in the middle of the night with 2 lovely Dutch travellers, Klaas and Ivora. We got lucky with the hostel (well more or less) as a man was waiting for us with a great offer at the bus station so we went to Apu Wasi hostel close to the centre of Cusco. We didn’t waste our time too much, slept till 10, then went to discover a bit this stunning city.

In the afternoon we booked our Machu Picchu jungle inka trail which started the next day. After a long minibus ride up to the mountains I felt terrible..I don’t know whether it was the altitude again or the serpentine but I felt so sick…I got a bit scared too because I felt that I had fever and it was exactly 7 days after the Jungle of Bolivia which made me think that I had malaria (apparently it kicks off after a week of getting bitten, and I was covered by bites). Once we were on the top of the mountain we started cycling downhill…it reminded me of the Death road but a less scary version of it. The fresh air helped me, so I felt better. Our guide’s name was Martin, seemed like a nice guy. After the bike ride we went for lunch and to our hostel in Santa Maria. It was basic, still nice. In the group there was an English couple, an English guy, a Chilean couple, my Dutch fellows and me. In the afternoon we went rafting. This was the first time I did it…AMAZING.

Once we were back we went for dinner and played pool. I had my first Peruvian Pisco sour..I don’t think I should blame the drink though for falling into a water fount on the way back to the hostel as it was very dark (no street light) and it was hidden on the pavement! I do think I can blame the Pisco sour for my next day diarrhoea though (sorry for the details but I reckon it’s part of the story:P).

The next day after breakfast we started walking up in the jungle..quite hard walk but on the way we were surrounded by stunning trees, banana, monkeys and picturesque landscape while listening the story of Pachamama, coca leaf and the inkas.

Martin painted some Inka pattern on all of us so we could feel that we were part of the history for a few days…

At lunch we went to an Inka farm and chilled for an hour in the hammocks.

In the afternoon we continued our trip all the way until Santa Teresa but just before that we reached the hot springs and had the opportunity to relax our muscles after 8 hours of walking.

Evening- dinner, then we went to a club where I could show off with my salsa moves:)

The next day after breakfast we went to do some Zip line adventure. It was an incredible fun..the only thing that put some shadow on it was that I wasn’t feeling great again. Fever and dizziness.

We had a terrible minibus ride again to the lunch place where I had no appetite and all I wanted was just lying down. Martin suggested me to take the train to Aquas Calientes instead of walking for 3 hours but I didn’t want to be a lightweight so I said I would walk- bad decision. My group walked fast..I felt shit..so I was left behind and walked with a German group- they were nice and helpful…I honestly thought I would pass out during these 3 hours. My group hated me because they had to wait for me (which they only did when they got close to the town). I still had no appetite, went to see a doctor who said I had bacterial infection so he gave me antibiotics. I went to bed at 6pm because the last day was the highlight..Machu Picchu. I knew I wouldn’t be able to walk up the stairs the next morning so I took a bus up there with Ivora ( her ankle was really bad so she couldn’t walk either) at 5.30, and we met Martin and the other up there at 6am. When the gate opened everyone went in and was enchanted by the beauty of Machu Picchu.

We spent up there 4 hours then went back to Aguas Calientes and chilled until our train back to Cusco (9pm). We got there after 1am so we went straight to bed. I was feeling a bit better but because of the antibiotics I couldn’t eat much for days (great way of losing weight, horrible way to travel). I stayed a few more days in Cusco and did some day trips to the Sacred Valley. Met Zoli my Hungarian friend and Danila, my Argentinian friend with whom I was in the jungle in Bolivia.

The next destination was Lima. The bus ride was fairly long, around 20 hours but good. I stayed in the historical centre, met Anne-Laure (French girl, we met first in Brazil- she is studying in Lima), and I hang out with an American girl, Maggie. We got on well. Lima was a nice surprise, beautiful cathedrals, and great vibe. Miraflores is a stunning area by the sea.

After 2 days I took the bus to Trujillo. This is ‘the capital of the North of Peru’, but I went straight away to Huanchaco, 20 minutes by bus to a little beach town which I fell in love with. Upon arrival I got some bad news from back home which changed completely my plans..- I guess this was the aim of the bad news- so I decided to stay here for 2 weeks and study Spanish here instead of rushing to Quito. I realised I needed to take a break of the rush and just chill out for a while. I have to say I did the right thing. My Spanish has improved a lot. My teacher Sam, is a Welsh guy and has been living in Peru for years. (highly recommended!)

He gave me the same deal as I got in Quito, and I have been taking 4 hours per day. Now mentally it’s been tiring but I combined it with some physical activity too such as running, exercise and surfing so I have been busy all day every day and managed to digest the bad news….well..mas o menos…

I found a fantastic place to live- it’s a vegetarian restaurant called ‘Otra Cosa’, where I rented a private room, free from tourists. The restaurant is run by a Dutch guy called Berry- he is living here with his Peruvian (beautiful) wife and kid, there was a girl volunteering from the US and a Dutch guy working for a travel agency..apart from them the kitchen crew was awesome too and they had a little dog Yardy (coming from Yard dog) and Killy the few months old kitten. So I feel I found a bit my equilibrium here..got involved with a lot of local people and made lots of friends…oh I am going to miss those fresh juices and breakfasts on the market in Jerrer’s shop..and the surf guys, and the vibe of this amazing place.

It’s time to move though…tonight I am going to Tumbes (city on the Ecuadorian border) and tomorrow hopefully I will be in Ecuador.

Peru has been amazing…and if I had to choose a place to come back, Huanchaco would be the one.

A few pics on my ‘paradise’ 🙂

Bolivia

Posted: May 16, 2012 in South America
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I left San Pedro de Atacama on the 22nd April. The group seemed to be nice in the minibus on the way to the border..There were a few people though who didn’t speak much. After the border crossing we had breakfast in the beautiful National park of Fauna Andina Eduardo Avaroa. The group halved and we packed all our stuff into 2 jeeps. I wasn’t very happy at the beginning because the ‘cool’ people stayed with the other group, so i continued my way with a Polish guy Szymon, a French couple, Tom and Elena and a Spanish guy Carlos. We visited on the first day the Laguna Verde (for me this was the highlight):

then we went to the geysers..impressive:

And after this we headed to the hot springs where I didn’t go into the water for 3 reasons:

A, I was a bit sick of altitude (5200m)

B, I had bed bug bites all over me

C, It was freezing cold and i still had my cold from the Navimag

After this 1 hour break we went to our accommodation.

Had lunch and a bit of siesta, then in the afternoon we went to Lago Colorado..Now this was something special with all the flamingos..my altitude sickness kicked off though even more. Luckily Chino (our guide) had a lot of coca leaves so I mastered in the chewing technique.

We went back to the hostel, had dinner, and played cards with the guys while having a bottle of wine. Early bed time (I was happy to lie down but i woke up a few times during the night because I couldn’t breathe. I measured my heartbeat by the way in the evening and it was 90 which is fairly high..this gives u an idea how is this altitude sickness.

Next day we left early to continue our way to the rocks where there is the Arbol de Piedra:

Then we continued to the Train Cemetery and to the market of the Salt flats.

We arrived to Uyuni around 5pm (There was an hour less than San Pedro). Walked around. It’s not a particularly nice city. Then dinner at 7pm and another card night with the boys. Won again:)

On the 3rd day we had to be out at 5am to see the sunrise in the Salt flat…

Chino’s family came with us. In Bolivia the guides for the Salar work almost 7/7 so he only gets to see his family for an afternoon every 3 days…and earns 1500Bolivianos /month which is about £150.

We had breakfast in the Hotel of Salar de Uyuni where everything is made of salt.

And we carried on discovering this massive Salt flat, plus went to a place where we could see some mummies of the Inka’s.

We got back to Uyuni at 11am, the tour finished. Everybody took the 12pm bus to Potosi. The bus ride was about 3 hours, we stopped once to eat in a place.

After we got to Potosi we went to the same hostel. Elena and Tom to a different room, I stayed with Carlos and Symon.

We went out a bit and met some people from San Pedro, then we did a bit of shopping in the Central Market (you could buy there even Langos!!) and I cooked in the hostel. We had dinner but everyone was dead so went to sleep.

The next day I had a lie in..it was incredibly good not being on a schedule. In the afternoon i went to explore Potosi, had lunch at the market. They have these set lunches for 6 Bolivianos: soup, main and soft drink..I met there Ute and Rosa, we booked the tour in the mine for the day after in the morning, except Rosa she did it straight away. I did a tour in the ‘Casa de la Moneta’ of Potosi, the history of the coins…quite dull tour but one thing surprised me. Even though Bolivia is rich in minerals, the country doesn’t have money for the technology of printing coins..so they outsource is to Europe , Canada and Chile..impressive. After the tour I was walking around with Ute, and went up to the ‘Gherkin of Potosi’:

In the evening we met Rosa again and went out for a meal. Then hostel and sleep.

Big day was waiting for me the Mine tour..i was the only one on the English tour which was great. Pedro, my tour guide- his nickname among the local girls is ‘Lama face’- made sure that I get a proper intro into the minor’s world. We first went to the mining shop where I bought soft drink and dynamite to the minors..Look at my outfit:

Then we went to the place where all the minerals are processed:

And after we entered the mine..imagine something like this:

We spent about 2 hours inside..met Tio who is the Devil but kind of God of minors…they have a ‘party ‘ every Friday, they bring coca leaves to him, cigarette, and the famous 96% alcohol:

I have to say the life of the minors is tough…they are self employed, therefore some of them start at 6-7 in the morning and leave at 9-10 in the evening..I had the luck to try to work there a bit..after 2 minutes I was sweating..they smash incredible stones to get a tiny bit of minerals of them..

After the tour one of the ex minors (now working as a tour guide) invited all the tourists to his wedding which took place on Saturday. I couldn’t miss this opportunity so I offered him that I could take some nice pics for them and this would be my present. He was over the moon.

So I left Potosi at 4pm and went to Sucre, to the capital of Bolivia with Ute. We had a 3 star hotel called Hotel San Francisco for 6 euros/night..not bad..I needed a bit of luxury after the past days.

On Thursday we went to bed straight so we can start early with the sightseeing..after amazing avocado, cheese and fruit breakfast we started the city tour..very cultural amazing city:

In the evening we met Verana (I did the Uyuni tour with her) and Daniel from Izrael and we went to a local 1st of May (Labour’s day) celebration. I had the spiciest food ever and the drink’s base was the 96% alcohol I reckon because it hit my head straight away. We bought a 1.5l bottle for the 4 of us..

Ute went home earlier, Verana and the guy did too so i had no other choice..Funnily enough I was walking home drunk with the remaining of the alcohol and the police came in front of me, and without saying anything they took my drink. Later on I found out that u cannot drink alcohol on the street..probably better that they took it from me:)

On Saturday I did a bit more sightseeing then packed and left to Potosi at 1.30pm. Upon arrival I checked into a hostel, bought some ‘wedding accessories’ in the market and went to the tourist info office where Carlos accompanied me to the church. In Bolivia the church ceremony can start at 6,30pm as it did in the case of Efrain and Juliana. The priest did an awesome speech..he asked them why they were here..and then demonstrated the difference between loving each other or being used to each other with the example of the bread and cheese dinner every day. I was truly impressed. After the ceremony the couple went out to the church yard and a Mexican band was waiting for them with music. First they danced with each other then with relatives. After this they went to the official ceremony (only the family went with them, the guests including me had some free time until 9pm). At 9 I went to the tourist office again, they hired a minibus for the tourists (certainly not for free) and we went altogether to the party..The first 30 minutes were very serious..which very quickly turned around and in about an hour you saw the 70 year old Bolivian lady dancing with the 20 year old English guy or the Hungarian girl dancing with the 60 year old Bolivian granddad. It was hilarious..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzM2ph0nc6o

The cake distribution was another impressive moment:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38qU25xxwLM

I lasted till 3..and then I left. I lost the key of the hostel so I had to wake up the owner of the hostel..it’s a family and a 10 year old little girl let me in.

Next day I was running around to develop pictures and write them on CD, once it was done I left them with Carlos, walked around a bit and caught the 22.00 bus to La Paz. My God..it was truly the toughest night trip since I started travelling…it was 10 degrees outside and 5 in the bus..everyone was coming with 2 blankets and i didn’t know that in Bolivia you don’t have blankets supplied so I had none!! I begged the driver to turn on the heating but I don’t think it was working. Slept nothing, arrived to La Paz at 6am, took a cab and went to the hostel to sleep. At midday I woke up and went out to explore. I booked both the Death Road bike tour and the Rurrenabaque Pampa’s tour…very happy! In the evening I had a few drinks..I stayed in the biggest party hostel..which was a mistake. Screaming 20 years old blond English/Dutch girls and zoned out people coming back in the morning from Ruta 36..what is ruta36? It’s a cocaine bar, moving around in La Paz. Ruta 36 is the address u need to give to the taxi driver if you want to go there. I didn’t. I went out for dinner to the Steakhouse and had Lama steak..The taste is similar to lamb, so I didn’t like it too much but I had to try it. The next day early start, I went to the Valle de la Luna:

After I went to the market…and bought a few things…about 6 kilograms to send home. To be honest if I had been aware of the costs of sending home stuff from Bolivia I might not have gone near the market..but hey..I will be very happy opening them up when I am home..FACT.

In the evening I had dinner with 3 girls from the Isle of Wight and went to sleep to be fresh and relaxed for the Wednesday activity, the Death road.

So early start in the morning, 7am I had to be at the El Solario hostel. We had breakfast there, picked up our gear and jumped into the minibus. Then when we arrived close to the death road we mounted the bikes and started the adventure. The first hour was easy..on concrete, going down fast, but then we arrived to the proper dangerous narrow stony road. Our guide went first always and we followed. He was pretty fast. At the beginning I went a bit slower but then got used to the road and reached the speed of 60km/h..we crossed rivers and took edgy curves. This was the road:

The landscape was pretty amazing. In the end I came 4th out of 18 J We had lunch in a restaurant and the biggest surprise was that the owners were Hungarians. And the funny thing is that there was another Hungarian guy, Zoli who was travelling in South America. The owner (Laci) said that every half year there is one Hungarian passing by..how cool that he had on one day 2!! This was the crew:

Unfortunately a guy from Izrael fell with the bike and had to have his chin stitched..it was bleeding badly..but we didn’t go back to La Paz until everyone had lunch and had a dip in the swimming pool..I heard that this is normal..2 weeks ago a guy broke his shoulder but lunch and swimming was still priority before the hospital..Laid back population..We got some stats on deaths /year..it’s about average 10 people..quite high number if you think about it.

In the evening I met Verana again in La Paz in my hostel!! We were happy to see each other and planned on going out but it failed on my behalf. So we just had a few drinks with her and Darran (Irish guy, he was on the same death road tour).

On Thursday I woke up early, went to Killi KIlli mirador. View from it to La Paz:

Then to the post office to send home the stuff. I had a set lunch on the market, then headed to the airport to catch the plane to Rurrenabaque.

Imagine a mini plane like this:

I arrived in the evening, took a motor taxi and went to the Tucano hostel. Surprisingly Darran was on the check in list, so i thought we were doing the Pampa tour together which we did.

In the evening I walked around, had some dinner..I was suffering though because meanwhile I was chatting to the Hungarians after the death road i got bitten by sun flies…annoying little creatures..the bites are not only itchy but after a few days your legs look like you were beaten up and it hurts a lot too.. By now they are gone luckily.

So the Pampa tour started next day with a 3 hour jeep ride on a very bad road. The team was great, Maki, Japanese lady, Darran, Dani, Argentinian girl, Marie from France, Fanny, from Holland, and 2 Izraeli girls.

We had lunch close to the place where we took the boat..lots of laughs and fun. Then we arrived to the boats, packed all our backpacks there and all the food for the 3 days met Tas our guide and the boat trip started..We saw a lot of animals already on the way…caimans, monkeys, lots of birds. Around 4 pm we got to the hostel, went to play football in the only field in the neighbourhood and went back for dinner. (food was awesome during the 3 days..our cook was top!) Oh before dinner we got introduced to Anthony the alligator..I played a bit with him..and touched him too..if I think back that I was afraid of frogs this is a massive achievement:

Evening activity: searching for alligators with head lights..so interesting their eyes are so bright

in the dark. We saw a few.. Upon arrival Tas introduced us to his rules…6.10 am we had to be by the boat next morning to see the sunrise. He said even if there was only one person by the boat he would leave.

We were 5 minutes late..the whole group except the Dutch girl with great team spirit who was by the boat. They left the 2 of them…7 people were standing there like pigeons waiting for Tas..we all thought he was sleeping. Eventually we figured out that he left with Fanny..and we were so pissed off. Another guide felt a bit sorry for us..or maybe he just realised that we paid for the tour and NO GUIDE CAN JUST LEAVE US THERE WITHOUT WARNING, so he took us out on his boat to see the sunrise..we just about caught it. Upon arrival I had to open my mouth and tell Tas that this behaviour is not accepted and next time please be a bit more flexible and give us at least one warning. Hehh..the answer was: there will not be a next time…Wow..my chin dropped.

The atmosphere wasn’t the greatest after this..after breakfast we went for anaconda search. This activity was on a small island and the previous group returned from it all muddy and wet until their bum. So we opted out with Dani and took some sexy pics instead:

I seemed to be the only one to be in fight with Tas so Darran tried to suggest the white flag policy but Tas was stubborn and hurt..well me too!

So in the afternoon we went to swimming with the dolphins..they were there but they seemed to have only little interest in playing with us..few of us went into the water once Tas reassured us on the lack of alligators and piranhas in the water when a dolphin is around..He also told a story about a girl who went into the water a few weeks ago and he vagina got bitten by the piranhas because she was on her period!!!!

We were pretty close to the dolphins but they didn’t swim with us…until the last minute when I felt that one swam under ,my hand…it was amazing experience..but as a first reaction I screamed a bit..Tas hated me for this too (and we were still in fight) so we left the place went to play volley ball and for dinner. In the evening we were in the hammock room where Tas made a ring to Dani saying to her that she was the only one who wasn’t Hypocratic….hahh!

But..I think he might have had bad conscious because before i was going to bed he shaked hands with me. That was his way of apologizing. I was fine with it..

Oh a few pics on the Refugio we stayed in:

Oh and I forgot to say that I fed monkeys just before dinner, Tas gave me bananas from the kitchen but he didn’t tell me that i am not supposed to give him straight away the whole banana..

 

Next morning we did a second attempt to see the sunrise..This time everyone was 5 minutes earlier than the meeting time..and we saw a lot of animals:

Then after breakie we went to Piranha fishing..I didn’t get any, the whole boat got 3:

Then lunch, saying bye to the camp and we made our way back where the jeeps dropped us. On the way monkey feeding:

Tas got mad at me again for giving the monkey the whole banana…..i couldn’t do anything right on this trip 🙂

In the end we said bye to him, gave him a nice tip…and even though he seemed to hate me I got the biggest hug and he suggested me to come back right now for another 3 daysJ

Jeep ride back to Rurrenabaque was horror..Maki left her backpack in the camp which made her things complicated…also there was a 2-3 days of road blocking coming from Monday in the whole Bolivia..You couldn’t get the correct info on it so I was hoping that if I fly back to La Paz early in the morning I would have a little chance to catch a bus straight to Copacabana..FAILED.

I was at the airport for the whole day with Marie (French girl), in the end I found a ‘dodgy’ taxi driver who was willing to leave at 3.30am in the morning with us to Copacabana for $100 (the people who block the road go to sleep this time..but again this is not sure..maybe they drank 50 cans of redbull and they wouldn’t move from the road. This blocking is physical blocking people are on the street with stones..if there is a car passing they throw the stones at the car. So fairly risky..but I didn’t want to spend one more day at the airport so we took the risk. It went all smooth..Arrived to Copacabana in the morning around 7, got a hostel, Marie left to Arequipa and I went for a walk..pretty cool little town. I went to bed early due to my 36+ hour sleeplessness..

Next day as of today I came to the Isla del Sol situated in the middle of Lake Titicaca. I am walking in the island ..it’s stunning..Tomorrow back to Copacabana and take the 13.30 bus to Cuzco to see Machu Pichu.

See some pics on the Isla del Sol. Bye everyone! X

Pucon/Santiago/Valparaiso/Vina del Mar/San Pedro de Atacama

Posted: April 27, 2012 in South America, Uncategorized
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I arrived to Pucon very late (11 pm), and went straight to the hostel called El Refugio where Bea (Hungarian girl, I mentioned how we met first in Buenos Aires and then in Torres del Paine) stayed.

We met immediately and jumped into each other’s arms of the joy again. She climbed the Villarica volcano (main attraction in the area) on that day because the weather was nice, and since the next day it was forecasted similar weather I begged the hostel to book me in for a tour. (You can only do this climb with guides –advance booking just as in the case of any tours is essential and usually at 11pm there is not much chance to be able to book anything, tears always help though 😉

So next day after a 6am wake up we started the tour. 2 guides picked us up (a girl and a guy), and took us to the volcano in minibus (6 people is the standard group size). We saw the sunrise from the bottom of the volcano:

The starting point of climbing was 1800m.

You had 2 options to start the first 400m with:

Chairlift or walking. 5 people including me took the chairlift and 1 warrior walked.

The first hour after the chairlift was ok..on volcanic sand, then we had the ice bit where we had to put on special ice walking gear like this:

By the way the tour company provided boots, jacket, ice walking gear, gloves and sliding gear for the way back..yes, sliding, I will explain later..

My boots were brand new so I had to stop to cover the fresh blister caused. After the ice bit we had the hardest part, climbing on moving volcanic rocks..very steep climb, one bad move and you are down…

Saying that, about 2 month ago 2 people fell off at this point..bodies were found only after 2 days..they fell about 500m.

I was a bit worried therefore very cautious of my steps. We were on the top around 1ish, but the wind was very strong so the fume of the volcano let us stay there only 10-15 minutes. (incredibly horrible feeling to inhale that toxic fume, it gives you headache and coughs)

But the crater looked amazing:

The view from here was well worth it though:

On the way down, my knees were suffering from all those downhill but then we got to the first sliding bit..Imagine a snow slide like this

We put our sliding gears on and the fun started

http://youtu.be/x_20t_CTRVY

http://youtu.be/PezTaL72ZWg

There were 2 more of these. You had to listen to the guide on how to slide because the snow was very icy and full of rocks underneath. One of the girls on the 3rd slide couldn’t slow down and literally flew away in the end landing off the slide. Since she wasn’t moving for a bit everyone got scared but in the end she was fine just hit a little bit her hip. The tour finished at 5pm, I went back to the hostel, met Bea, decided to cook together, but first she had to meet a friend in another hostel, so I walked with her..where I bumped into Iain, Chris and Katherine (Navimag)..small world.  And on the way we also bumped into our tour guide, Emir, who invited us for an asado (barbecue) in the evening, and since we were starving, we accepted the invitation 🙂

Pucon Tours was the host, so we were the only travellers there. To give you an idea about the amount of meat on the grill:

A few beers later the Spanish seemed to be our mother tongue 😛 Then the cherry on top of the cake was Tal who turned up at the asado a few hours later…she lived there!! I was supposed to give her back her driving licence that she left in my wallet in Bariloche a month ago..so this fact eased the meeting:)

We got a bit tipsy and went home around 1-2..

The next day we woke up 10ish, did some admin , bought the tickets to Santiago for that night, and then went to the hot springs to release our tired muscles. After a month of hiking this seemed to be a fab idea.

I wanted to stay a bit longer in Pucon, but since Bea got super excited about the Sensation White 2012 in Santiago, even though the tickets were sold out, we decided to go there and try to buy tickets on the spot. The journey took 10 hours- we took a night bus.

Arrived to Santiago at 6am, then we were hanging out at the station a bit, as I didn’t want to call Carmen very early (she is my amazing Spanish friend whom I met on the W trek..she straight away offered me without even knowing me that I can stay in her flat..so sweet), so we went to a hostel to book Bea in and she discovered a free city tour starting at 10am..so after the vague sleep on the bus we did a 4 hour walking tour…my brain was a sponge..in the end we lost our tour as we were busy taking pictures of a couple of lama-like animals on the street.

We met Carmen after and went to the Mercado central to eat amazing sea food..I just cannot have enough of the fresh Chilean sea food..I love it!

It turned out that the venue where the highly sought Sensation took place was just next to the Central market. So we went there at 5pm, as we saw already a few people around..tickets were gone, and since it’s illegal to sell tickets on the spot we had to hunt for them..after 2 hours of waiting/negotiation on prices we managed to get 2 tickets for 50.000 pesos which is about £60 (original price was: 55.000 CHP). We were super happy!!! Carmen stayed there as she met Cora (the other lovely girl I met on the W, Carmen’s friend), and me and Bea went back to the hostel to get ready, pick up my stuff and make out way after to Carmen’s house, and then to Cora’s house for pre-drinks. It’s a shame that we didn’t get the chance to go altogether but the girls didn’t have budget for it (me neither in theory but I just couldn’t say no to an event like this!!!!).

This was our outfit:

We had a really fun taxi ride with my favourite salsa, La vida es un Carnaval, and upon arrival (midnightish) we got interviewed by CNN Chile…I would love to see this shot but probably they cut out from the production as it was scandalous:)

By this time we were fairly drunk (almost had a litre of vodka, just the 2 of us).

The party was SENSATIONAL!!!! OMG! Total euphoria! Check out a short video:

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150662871937681

The party finished at 6am, so we went home. The next day was a bit rough…when am I going to learn that Redbull gives the worst hangover ever?? Malta should have taught it to me.

Anyway, I spent the afternoon with Carmen and Bea, cooked spaghetti Bolognese, chilled in the afternoon and in the evening went to Valparaiso.

It’s a little town 1.5 hours away from Santiago. Colourful houses, antique, authentic. We got there eat 9pm, so we didn’t want to spend too much time with searching for hostels. Through a weird sales guy we reached our destination, a nice old family house with a beautiful baby. Chilean babies are sooooo nice!!!

Next day we decided to make our lives easier and we took a tour for 10.000 pesos with minibus. It was a great idea as the city is quite big and we could save some time by going by car.

‘The colonial city of Valparaíso presents an excellent example of late 19th-century urban and architectural development in Latin America. In its natural amphitheatre-like setting, the city is characterized by a vernacular urban fabric adapted to the hillsides that are dotted with a great variety of church spires. It contrasts with the geometrical layout utilized in the plain. The city has well-preserved its interesting early industrial infrastructures, such as the numerous ‘elevators’ on the steep hillsides.’

PICTURES:

The tour was fun, with 2 Brazilian ladies, one from Rio, the other one from Belo Horizonte..oh all the Brazilian memories came back during the day..Such happy people!

Our guide Mario was very good and funny so all of us enjoyed the tour. We also went to Vina del Mar, which is much more modern.

We got back into town at 6pm.The hostel we stayed in was full for the upcoming night so i went to another hostel (family house rather) and that’s where the fun started.

Bea left in the evening for Mendoza and I sat down in the living room to do some admin. An old guy (Jorge) who lived there came up to me to chit chat. I wanted to focus on what I was doing but then I gave up as he sat down and just talked to me. So very quickly turned out that my birthday was coming up, he brought beers, wine and we had a drink together. Then the son of the landlady (Jose) came home from uni (20 years old) and joined us in the drinks. By the time we finished 2 litres of beer we wanted to have more so i went out with Jose to buy some more. Unfortunately Jorge came out after us and while he left the house a lady who went up to collect the rubbish in the house nicked my precious Maltese metal lighter..I loved that lighter but oh well..so they felt bad about it but I told them not to worry…considering that my credit card, dslr camera and laptop were on the table too and they stayed untouched I felt quite lucky. But the atmosphere was going down after this…in the end we decided to go to sleep, when….the house started to be shaking…more and more and more. I freaked out…we all knew that it’s an earthquake. I wanted to run out, but they said it’s safer in the house so apart from a few plates and bit falling nothing major happened. Turned out it was 6.8 strong, it lasted about a minute. It was followed by 2 smaller ones…first time I experienced something like this..I calmed down after a while and went to sleep.

The day after I met Hannah, she was on the Navimag too and she stayed in Valparaiso too. We decided to take it easy and just go to Vina del Mar to chill on the beach.

In the evening I went back to Santiago and we just chilled with Carmen, didn’t go out.

The day after (Wednesday, on my birthday) she went to school in the morning, and I happily stayed in. I needed some rest and catch up with my things. Went to buy my bus ticket for Thursday to San Pedro de Atacama, then she came back home and cooked very yummy Spanish tortilla with original salsa from Andalucía.

In the evening both Jessica and Pat (flatmates of Carmen) were ready to have a few drinks with us on my birthday. I bought a bottle of Pisco, and some food to cook them Rakott kel, a typical Hungarian dish. They were so sweet, prepared a little surprise cake for me..the candles were quite powerful, so we almost lit up the house:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10150763463824171

We had a power nap before and we woke up super late so the whole night was a bit delayed. We were meant to meet Mariona and Xavi and Hannah too, but we had no time unfortunately.

So we managed to get ready by 2am, which was too late for me..I couldn’t face all those drunken students at the club, so I went home after an hour.

Next morning we spent together with Carmen, packed and caught the 12.20 bus to San Pedro de Atacama. It was a 24 hour bus ride, I was travelling with Julia, a German girl. In Calama during our 10 minutes stop I met the German couple from Navimag whom I met also in Chiloe and Pucon. So funny that you keep bumping into people.

We arrived on the 20th April at 12pm to Atacama. As usual, hostel sellers were waiting for us at the bus station. So we went to La casa sol de naciente, but Julia didn’t like it. I stayed.

It turned out that it was worth doing 2 very good tours, one is sand boarding and watching the sunset in Valle de la Luna and the other was star-gazing in the desert.

So I booked the sand boarding tour for 3pm on the day of arrival. It was a lot of fun. I never tried any board whether it’s skate or snow…but I assume sand boarding is the easiest and softest terrain.

After the 2 hour long fun we went to Valle de la Luna to check the salt caves..Incredible, San Pedro de Atacama was under the ocean millions of years ago and you could see all the salt on the clays.

We had to rush to see the sunset on top of a beautiful clay mountain where you had a perfect view on the volcanos and Los Andes..Unbelievable views..

We celebrated the end of a fun day with a few Pisco sour..the last ones I had in Chile..then went back to the hostel and I slept.

The second day in Atacama I hired a bike and went to Pukara Quitor.

I met Rene and his daughter on the hill and continued the day with them.. Around 3pm I went back to the hostel, returned the bike and wanted the collect the video on sand boarding but it wasn’t ready.

I also wanted to book the stargazing for the night but I was too late..no more spaces were left but they suggested me to go back at 8pm in case some people cancel. It did happen, so at 9.30pm i went to the desert where a Chilean lady did a 2 hour explanation on the constellation of the stars, the zodiac, and the rest. It’s incredible how limited things we see in Europe. Chile and Australia are the 2 best places to see the amazing galaxy.

I went back to the hostel at 12.30, packed for next morning when I started a tour to Uyuni crossing to Bolivia. This is the topic of my next blog.

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