RIO - Caipirinhas and skimpy cossies...

After braving 24hrs on another bus I made it to Rio de Janeiro... home of caipirinha cocktails and skimpy cossies...
I stayed at the Mango Tree - a hostel 1 block from Ipanema beach and owened by an Australian! I was so greatful to see museli, fruit, youghurt and VEGEMITE for breakfast!
I met a few girls at the hostel and went with them to see the sights of Rio - Sugar loaf, Lapa steps and Christ the Redeemer (which was covered in scaffolding!! they are cleaning it in time for the 2012 olympics)
Went to a local soccer match, Fluiminese v's Vittoria. Locals were selling beer to us in the van on the way to Maracana stadium (you cant drink alcohol in the stadium - as a way of curbing fanatical behaviour). It was the second last game in the world biggest soccer stadium before they close it for renovations for the soccer world cup in 2014.
Our group managed to find a spot in the stand amongst the home team behind the samba drums and massive team flags. The atmosphere was amazing! Supporters were chanting the whole time (too bad I couldnt understand what they were saying!), flares were lit amongst the crowd and people were crying when goals were missed. Think we were the only ones in the supporters section who werent wearing jerseys!Finally the weather cleared up and I took advantage of the Rio sunshine! Ipanema beach reminded me of home. Clear water, white sand. The only things setting it apart were the men in speedo shorts (put it away...) and people walking along the beach trying to sell you things... food, beer, icecream, swimmers, towels, sarongs, jewellery. It was great being served on the beach and not having to move!
I went on a Favela tour (shanty towns/slums in Rio) to get a different perspective on the city. The people living in favelas are living there illegally and in extreme poverty. Generally they have no infrastructure such as electricity, garbage or sewage. The houses are self made and irregular with tiny alleyways seperating them.The favelas have the best views of Rio - they are located right on the sides of the hills overlooking the beaches.
The favelas are also home to the drug lords of Rio. During the tour the guide would tell us where and when we could take photos - he didnt want us accidently taking photos of the drug lords to then be chased down the street by them with guns!80% of the renowned Brazilian soccer players grew up in favelas.

A place where I shouldn't have bothered wearing a rainjacket

Argentinian buses are the best.. hot food.. wine.. champagne and a seat that reclines into a bed. There would have been no other way I'd wanted to spend 18hrs on a bus.
After meeting a great bunch of people on the bus we made our way to Puerto Iguassu, the Argentinian side of Iguassu falls. A span of waterfalls that intersect at the Brazilian and Argentinian border.

First I went to the Brazillian side to view the falls.. It was amazing, you could get a real sense of how far the Iguassu falls spaned the earth.This night we were supposed to see the falls by full moonlight. It was overcast but we didnt think much of it as we pilled into the bus. When we arrived at the falls.. the busdriver - who spoke very little English blerts out "oh no! No moon!" laughs.. and turns the bus around.We all thought that he was taking us to another access point to the falls only to find ourselves back at the hostel with no explaination. Obviously because of the clouds we weren't able to do the tour.. but instead we got to see a Brazillian dance show at the hostel - which turned out to be us the tourists dancing like strippers with the 2 Brazillian ladies wearing practically nothing and a crazy Brazillian guy with a tambourine.
Woke up the next day to see the Argentinian side of Iguassu falls and there was torrential rain.
I thought that covering my backpack in a rainproof sac, wearing a rainjacket and then an 'emergency poncho' over everything would keep me dry.. boy would I be wrong.

The Argentinian side put you right into the middle of "Devils throat". The amount of water and the speed at which it was flowing was incredible. It was very dramatic. From this side we were able to take a speed boat right into the falls.. the sun came out at just the right time and a rainbow spanned across the landscape. No raincoat or poncho could keep me from getting absolutely soaked.

Celebrating Argentina's independance in a mosh pit

When I arrived to Buenos Aires... everything was shut... the dorm was empty.. and I was eating Sao's for dinner. Not quite what I imagined to be doing in such a lively city.
It wasn't until the next day... the 25th of May that I discovered it was the Bicentenary of Argentina's Revolution. I made my way down to the 9 de Julio Avenue - the main avenue in Buenos Aires and saw the swarm of Argentinians celebrating their independance - and could not walk a step without being trodden on or shoulder barged!It was amazing to see how patriotic everyone was... most carrying their nations flag on their back.

The celebrations continued into the night.. everyone lined the main avenue and waited for the parade to begin - which we all thought was to start at 8pm. By 10pm the music and dancing finally started!The parade represented various moments in Argentinian history - the British invasion, the crossing of the Andes, the arrival of the Immigrants and finally their democracy. There were hundreds of dancers and it was more spectacular than any parade I've ever seen and managed to get covered in foam, confetti and water..
After 2hrs the parade finished and the celebrations continued with bands playing and fireworks lighting the sky.
The Obelisk was erected in the center of Buenos Aires to commemorate the founding of the city, and can be seen from afar towering over the city.I also saw the Recoleta cemetary... a cemetary full of family crypts. Evita Peron is laid to rest here.

Lake Titicaca and the interesting Bolivian border crossing!

Our tour group was dwindling... the remaining 4 of us (and Jesus) took a 7hr bus ride to Puno, our base to visit Lake Titicaca. We took a tuc tuc to the harbour before exploring the lake - they are pushbikes with a carriage on the front. Gregg and I could hear the driver panting the whole trip!Lake Titicaca is the highest navigable lake - 3800m altitude and spans about 200km. On our extremely slow boatride across the lake our leader explained that the name means Puma Stone.. not shit (caca!)

Our first stop was to the Uros Islands - a group of about 4o small artifical floating islands made out of river reeds. These islands are held to the riverbed with anchors to make sure they don't float away - even their houses are made out of dried reeds!
We continued on the boat for another 3hrs before arriving to Amantani - our island for our homestay. We stayed with a family and helped around the house collecting potatoes and trying to peel the potatoes for dinner with a knife. Our 'Mum' kept laughing at us because the potatoes came out very small and square after we were finished with them! The kitchen was very basic - the floor was made out of compacted mud, and the stove was an open fire which managed to fill the kitchen with thick smoke.The family was very poor. There are over 2000 varieties of potatoes in South America.. and we definatly had our share on the island! Lunch and dinner consisted of potato soup.. boiled potatoes.. rice and beans.. tomato and cucumber, grilled cheese and other type of potato that tasted like a mix between corn and potato.
After dinner the locals put on a party for us.. we dressed up in the traditional clothes and danced the night away in a traditional 'hoe-down'!! Our mother was very enthusiastic and got us up to dance for every song.
The next day we made our way back to Puno before getting on another bus to cross the border into Bolivia.
What an experience!

I had to get out of the bus and physically walk across the border to get my passport stamped by the Bolivian immigration.
Our bus had to pass a strait in the lake.. and again we all had to get out, get into a speed boat while the boat was put onto a barge and shipped across the lake. Apparently a vote to build a bridge resulted in a no - it would lose too many jobs.
Finally we made it to La Paz in Bolivia and our group was down to 3 Aussies!
On our last night together on the tour, Jesus took us to a restaurant where I had chicken Cordon Bleu and Mojito for $AUS8.o0! Bolivia is really cheap..When we arrived back to our hotel there was a festival to celebrate the Saint of Power. Locals were synchronised dancing in the street! They looked like they were dancing for the finale for Slumdog Millionaire!Locals were handing out free warm alcohol that tasted like cinnamon and was very strong!!
There were also fireworks being let off in the middle of the crowd without warning.. bits of coal and ash from the fireworks landed on us.. I have never been afraid of fireworks until that night....

Kicking back after the Inca trail...

The next day after the Inca trail I spent sleeping in and re-charging my body after putting it through the perils of the trek.Tonight our group headed out for the last night we would all be together - and the lucky place to have our presence was Las Vegas! A local salsa club - we were the only Gringo's there...We went with our Oasis leader - Jesus, and our Inca trail leader Alfredo who both showed us some salsa moves.But.. we could handle only so much from the local men, so we moved on to a more touristy club.

The next day a few of us went whitewater rafting on the rapids of the Urubamba river. After putting on our sexy patched up wetsuits, lifejackts and helmets we were briefed about how to NOT fall out of the raft and if we do.. how we should continue to float down the river until a safety kayaker came to our rescue! Needless to say this made me very nervous...

All was going well until our guide at the back of the raft and the safety kayaker pushed me deliberately into the 4deg water. Lucky we were in a quiet part of the river!
It was great fun..and all survived. We managed to not flip the raft or go tumbling down the river like a ragdoll!
Afterwards we got to have a sauna to warm up and then made our way back to Cusco.

Cusco and the Inca Trail

I flew into Cusco and the first thing I noticed was that this town was alot greener - probably due to the floods that occurred in the rainy season in February.Cusco is my favourite city in Peru so far even if it is the most touristy. The only thing that was really annoying was the local women shoving random things in your face for you to buy (most bizzare = inner soles for shoes!!)The city was once the capital of the Incan empire which included Peru, Ecuador, Northern Chile, Bolivia and Northern Argentina. Cusco is built ontop of Incan ruins, there are many narrow cobblestone roads which I'm still not sure as to whether the roads were actually supposed to be one way or not..we were in a taxi one day and had to reverse back down the alley to let the other car go past.
Our tour group did a tour of the Sacred Valley - this included Pisac and Ollyantayambo - sites of Incan ruins. The Incan empire ruled between the 11th and 16th centuries, their amazing engineering skills have allowed these Incan cities to withstand time and many earthquakes.

INCA TRAIL
DAY 1
Anyone who knows me knows that waking up at 4.30am to go for a hike is usually not my idea of fun..especially when it is freezing!
We took a bus to the start of the Inca trail - 82km from Cusco. The Inca trail is (what I now know to be a very gruelling) 42km hike that ascends to 4200m (nearly 14000feet).We have to carry a day pack, including the essentials: toilet paper, mozzie spray, beanie, scarf, sun hat, sunscreen, bandaids, strapping tape, water purification and Gastro tablets. While our porters - who are about half my height AND weight carry all our clothes, sleepingbags, mattresses, tents, food, tables and chairs, cooking facilities and utensils.
We were introduced to the porters. Most of them are in their mid 20's but look much much older (in their 40's). Some have 3 wives and 10 children. They are very softly spoken, humble men and are always running!
After our first break - lunch, I realised that we wouldn't be slumming it on the Inca trail. The company - Pachamama "mother earth" was fantastic. Before eating they would prepare warm water for us to wash our hands with soap. The meals were served in a tent with a tressel and chairs. Every main meal consisted of soup, some sort of meat (alpaca, chicken, beef) with rice or quinoa and of course potatoes and tea! Afternoon tea was usually popcorn, crackers, or wontons with MILO! Every morning the porters wake us up and give us coca tea (to help with altitude sickness and energy) in the tent.

The porters always start treking about an hour after our group because they have to pack up the camp... but they always overtake us and get to the next camp a few hours before us and have the camp already setup!! There is alot of camaraderie within our group and our porters... always giving eachother rounds of applause and high fives when we reach the campsite.
The 1st day was a piece of cake compared to what was to follow....
DAY 2
Breathless is an understatement to describe the 2nd day. 5hrs of walking vertically uphill on an uneven rocky surface was the hardest thing I've ever done - but reaching the summit (Dead womans pass) (4200m) was an amazing feeling of achievement. It was so cold!Decending 5km to the camp was pretty hard on the knees!
The porters filled our drink bottles up with hot water tonight to use as hot water bottles in our sleepingbags... still didnt get much sleep though.. must be because of the altitude!

DAY 3
The chef this morning made us a cake.. "Bienveineudo Macchu Picchu" welcome to macchu picchu - it had mountains decorated on it.This day was all down hill - the whole 16km of it! But wasn't as difficult and I didnt have my head down the whole time watching my step - so I got to take in the sights! Being above the clouds was awesome. The trek today was like being in a rainforest... lots of orchids and moss growing on the trees, streams flowing beside the track...
Our tour guide Alfredo said that our group were like mountain goats! Apparently we were fast walkers.. this gave us alot of time at the camp every night to play cards..
Tonight was the last night with our porters. We had a thankyou
ceremony for the porters.
The chef and the head porter welcomed us to Peru and wished us a fantastic time at Machu Picchu. The porters then continued by saying in Quechua (Incan language) "Hi ladies and gentlemen, my name is Santos.. I carried the fruit"... "Hi my name is Pietro.. I carried the duffle bags"..."Hi my name is Herman... I carried the gas". And they all said what they carried. They were so cute. They are true superheroes, without them I would be at the bottom of the mountain.
DAY 4 - Reaching Machu Picchu
We got woken up at 3.45am this morning by the porters...
Our chef gave us pancakes for breakfast - he drew pictures of stickfigures walking up mountains on them with caramel sauce.
We started walking to the check point and had to wait 45min in the cold darkness (watching shooting stars) before it opened so that we avoided the ques. I am quite surprised actually at how we hardly ever saw anyone (except the porters rushing past) walking the Inca trail. Must be because we were mountain goats and no-one ever caught up to us!Seeing Machu Picchu was awesome. Machu Picchu (Old Mountain) was never conquered by the Spanish. It was a sacred place for the Inca's that only a select few knew about. It is still in such good condition.
I still cant believe that I made it! I have to sat that I am so proud of me! haha

After exploring we spent the day at a town called Aguas Calientes (Hot Water) and relaxed our aching legs before taking the train back to Cusco. Due to the mudslides and floods that occurred in February, alot of the track was destroyed. Making our train ride horribly slow.. and jerky....and having to take a bus for half the way back aswell.

The adventure begins...

After some anxious thoughts about travelling on my own I set off half way across the world on the 30th April 2010 - to Peru in South America. I started my travels with a tour group, Oasis for 3 weeks.

First stop was Lima, the capital of Peru.
I arrived at midnight to my hotel and after a 25hr flight I was exhausted- but I didn't get any sleep, probably due to the combination of a 15hr time difference and the continuous car horns beeping.
My roomate for the tour - Suzy from Canada arrived 1st thing in the morning. We met our tour group which was a good mix of nationalities including Australia, UK, Canada, Cyprus, Japan and Belgium - all of which are really great people.

Lima is a great little colonial city with a very glamorous main square.
I have come to the conclusion that Peruvians don't have road rules and use the car horn to: warn other drivers that they are approaching, indicate, approach an intersection, reverse, tell pedestrians to get out of the way.Next stop was the Ballestas Islands - also known as the poor mans Gallapagos. The islands were massive and smelt like bird poo. There are an amazing number of birds that co-inhabit the islands, all of them were either lining the islands or flying above us. There were also sealions lazing around and we were lucky enough to see dolphins circling our boat aswell!
My trip continued to Tacama - a wine region famous for making Peru's national liquor Pisco. It tasted like Nonno's Grappa! Locals drink it with lime and call it a Pisco Sour.
The winery is very different to what I know from back home - they still use people's feet to crush the grapes! A picture of the grape crusher...My favourite part of the tour so far was visiting the Ica desert. Driving through sanddunes and out pops an oasis - Huacachina. It is amazing.The best part was sandbuggying and sandboarding down the steep sanddunes. My life flashing before my eyes between bouts of shrieking with laughter. Im still finding sand in the pockets of my shorts!Camping in the desert was also an amazing experience. At night the locals cooked us a great BBQ and we all sat around a campfire singing songs with a guitar. Bedtime and no tents... lucky I bought a good sleepingbag! When I woke up there was mist disguising the sanddunes and people in their sleepingbags scattered around the dead fire. Man was I dying for a shower...

Taking a 6 seater plane to see the Nazca lines is something that I wasn't too keen on and now even after the experience I am still unsure whether it actually was a good experience or not!
It was pretty amazing to see the magnitude of these rock carvings and to make my own mind up as to whether they were etched by native Nazca people or aliens and whether they are used as some form of astrological farming tool - BUT i know for one thing.. my stomach DID NOT like it! The pilot kept pointing out the lines and maneuvering the plane so we could see them, by the end I couldn't look down! Managed to hold down my breakfast.. just.

Our next stop was Arequipa.. another beautiful colonial city also known as the White City because of the white Spaniards that conquered the city and also for the white buildings that they erected. Local delicacy = Guinea pig.. dont think that would have settled very well in my stomach if I ate it so I decided to go for Alpaca steak instead - tastes like veal!
We then went on a 2 day tour to the Colca Valley - famous for its Condors. The Colca valley is the highest altitude that I have been at so far in the trip - 4200m. Walking up a slight incline made me feel extremely breathless - like I had just run a 100m sprint! The air definatly feels thinner.