15 - 20 November 2008: Fiji Time!

Crossing the date line and losing a whole day just like that was a bizarre feeling. We left Chile on Thursday 13th November and arrived in Auckland, 13 hours later, on the 15th November! It's quite remarkable how, for the 14th November 2008, Kat and I ceased to exist!

You can't fly direct to Fiji from South America so we had to go via Auckland, NZ. You'd think having to wait 12 hours in Auckland airport would be boring but Kat and I managed to fill most of the time running around like hyperactive kids, getting overly excited about the fact we were in an English speaking country! Getting a cup of tea, being able to understand announcements, and being allowed to put toilet roll down the toilet rather than in the bin was just too exciting for words!!

However, the cost of things was quite a shock to the system and we suddenly wished we'd done a lot more shopping in South America! I actually remember having a discussion about how expensive the guinea pig we bought on our last night in Peru was... "24 soles? I'm not paying that for dinner... they've only put the price up because they know tourists want to try it..." 24 soles is actually less that 5 pounds!! Oh how I wish we'd taken more advantage of the low costs when we were there.

Anyway, back to Fiji... so, after hanging around in Auckland airport for 12 hours we got on another plane and headed for Nadi (pronounced Nandi) on Viti Levu, Fiji's main island. On arrival we found ourselves in the friendliest, most chilled out airport ever, where everyone is smiling and men stand in the entrance singing, dressed in sulus (sarongs) with flowers in their hair. We also arrived to torrential rain... we English like to make ourselves feel at home wherever we go!

Although the outer islands are supposed to be more spectacular, with only 5 days and a limited budget we decided to stay on the main island and head to the Coral Coast, only a couple of hours bus ride from Nadi... and what a bus ride! The bus driver saw us walking at the side of the street (nowhere near an actual bus stop) and pulled over to see if we wanted to get on. On the bus the reggae was playing and everyone just bounced along the unfinished road with no worries in the world. About half way through the journey the bus pulled in at a fresh fruit and veg market and gave us 10min to jump off and get anything we wanted. Great! If London transport was as accommodating no-one would ever get anywhere!!

We stayed at a gorgeous beach resort called The Beach House, which is actually where Love Island (one of those awful Z-list celebrity 'reality' TV shows) was filmed. It was, as I said, gorgeous!! It was right on the beach front, tucked away from all civilisation and you only had to walk a short way into the sea to come across beautiful coral and fishes. It had lovely cabins, a pool, bar, free use of sea kayaks, free breakfast, free tea and scones every afternoon and the staff were just lovely. In fact everyone in fiji is lovely.

There were palm trees all around and I spent a lot of my time developing my coconut cracking skills, they were delicious! Kat laughed at me and said I was discovering my cave woman roots, sitting on a beach in a bikini bashing coconuts against rocks while all the other girls read books and bronzed themselves, but she was happy when I provided her with lunch!

Fiji really is another world... everyone is happy and chilled out, no one is in a rush to do anything and a busy day comprises of getting up, reading a book, smashing open a coconut or two and going for a swim. Phew... you might need a nap in a hammock after all that!

Fiji time is a concept that takes some getting used to... "the bus comes every hour" they tell you, after 2 hours of waiting there is still no bus but it's Fiji so you can't be angry! And kava is another thing that definately takes some getting used to. I can say with all honesty that 5 days was not long enough to make me love it, or even slightly like it. In fact I hate it!! It's a mildly narotic drink that looks (and tastes) like dirty pond water. They drink it day and night and on arriving at our hostel we had to (yes, HAD to... not drinking kava is, unfortunately, the one thing they frown upon!) drink it. It is a ceremonial drink and on being offered it you have to clap, down the drink in one (urgh!!), then clap 3 times and shout "Bula!". The direct translation of 'Bula' is 'live', and they use it for everything. It means hello, thank you, goodbye, how are you, cheers etc etc...

So, to summarise, Fiji was fantastic. It provided us with the perfect relaxation we needed after a slightly trying time in South America. We got a great dose of sun (in fact Kat got more than her fair share on the first day and had to spend the rest of the week covered up in the shade, bless her!), made some great friends, read lots, snorkelled, learnt how to open coconuts and embraced Fiji Time with open arms! Bula!

Adios South America... some final thoughts...

I know my blog is pretty delayed (about 1 1/2 months in fact... sorry!) but I just wanted to share with you a few things that were going through my head when I left South America. I really have fallen for the Latin American magic and to be honest didn't want to leave. Here are a few of my favourite things about South America...

...The painted signs. They don't waste money on elaborate shop fronts / signage, they just paint signs and adverts on walls or wood and then paint over them when they want to change. So simple!
...Colourful buildings. None of this boring white paint and brick!
...The way vehicles beep each other as they overtake - not in an aggresive "get out of my way you b@#$*ed" way but in a friendly "hi, thanks for letting me overtake" kind of way! How nice!
...Brazilian men!! Enough said, haha!!
...Dancing... anywhere anytime!
...The stunning and constantly changing landscape.
...Street sellers selling all array of goods.
...Llamas!!
...Cheap accomodation, food and drink... SOOOOO cheap!
...'South American Time' - different from anywhere else in the world and completely unpredictable!
...Random shops selling the oddest mixture of things... electrics, books and grocceries all together! We had hours of fun deciding what we would have in our 'combination' shops!
...Traditional clothes.
...Incan beliefs - They live by the rule 'don't lie, steal or be lazy'. Simple but classic!

And a few things that I was desperately looking forward to...

...Toilets with a seat, toilet paper and the ability to flush!
...Drinking tap water.
...A decentcup of tea with fresh milk. MILK... ahhhhhh... I'd almost forgotten what it was!
...Peanut butter. I'd give my right arm to have some peanut butter!
...Being sure that you're on the right bus / going the right way / ordering the right meal and not just having to guess!
...Using a currency without a million zero's after it!
...Plugging things into a wall without being electricuted in the process.

7 - 13 November 2008: Chile

Our only reason for going to Chile was that we had to fly out of Santiago, however now that I've spent a few days there I definately want to go back and visit properly. Chile is described as South America's first First World country, and it was a welcome relief after the trials and tribulations of Peru!

We travelled down the coast from Arica to Santiago, stopping off at La Serena and a tiny mountainous oasis called Valle De Elqui on the way. Beautiful, calm, baking hot and just what the doctor ordered! We stayed at a beautiful lodge with a pool and mountain views and went stargazing at an observatory at night. Chile has approximately 340 clear nights a year so is home to some of the worlds biggest observatories.

We also made a pilgrimage to the Concha Y Toro wine vineyards near Santiago, where we sampled many fine wines, enjoyed good cheese for the first time in 3 months and were drunk by lunchtime!!

And then our South America journey came to end... we flew from Santiago to Auckland, where we satyed in the airport for 12 hours (Ahhhhhhh!!!!!), and then made our way to the paradise that is Fiji! I'll tell you all about that soon...

21 October - 7 November 2008: Peru!

Ok... time for more Peru tales!

It has to be said that our time in Peru had the biggest highs, but also the biggest lows...

HIGH - The Inca Trail...

The Inca Trail was definately one of the best experiences of my life. It was tough at times, mainly due to a lack of sleep (the tents weren't the most comfortable and most nights they were conviently positioned on a hill... actually thinking back I feel very sorry for Manuel who had to wake us up every morning and be the first person to witness my bad moods!) and a lack of oxygen at 4600m above sea level but the scenery was stunning, the group we were with were brilliant and the food was supplied in copious amounts so it made it feel easy!

The second day hiking up to Dead Woman's Pass was definately the toughest day, and I'm quite embarrassed to report that Kat and I were beaten to the top by a 71 year old - the legendary Norm!!! To be fair he is officially the fittest man in the universe (we presented him with an award telling him so!) so I can't be too gutted, although we were also beaten by Paul (a fellow Loki dweller!), who appeared to be suffering from altitude belimia and was so ill he hadn't eaten for about 2 days! Now that is embarrassing!

The porter's carrying the tents, cooking equipment etc were INCREDIBLE!!! They were tiny (most people in Peru are - Kat feels right at home!) and went zooming past us with 10 times more weight on their backs... and then clapped us when we arrived!! Nuts! Maybe the corn beer that they drunk ALL day helped a bit?!

As some of you may have seen in photos self-image went out of the window whilst we were on the trail (that happens when you don't shower for 4 days!)... with the help of her cheap poncho Kat turned into a giant blue tent, Grant (another fellow Loki-ite) started to sport the nutty professor/fagan look, whilst the bags under my eyes got so big I looked like I'd been in a fight. Only Paul managed to reach Machu Picchu with some dignity... so much so that young girls started asking to have photos taken with him!!! Kian from Westlife eat your heart out!! (Paul if you're reading this that memory still makes me giggle!! hahaha).

On the 4th day we woke at 4am to walk to the sungate and see the sunrise over Machu Picchu... well at least that was the idea. We couldn't even see the sun through the cloud let alone Machu Picchu. As you can imagine we weren't best pleased, but as the cloud cleared so did our moods and I have to say that Machu Picchu really is as magical as everyone says. If you ever get the chance to do the Inca Trail DO IT!!!

LOW - Being robbed...

On a night bus from Cuzco to Pisco Kat had her camera and money stolen from her bag. A guy was being overly helpful so we were keeping an eye on him and kept our bags with us all the time but while we were asleep he must have managed to get into her bag. God knows how he didn't wake us up. Kat wasn't bothered about the cash or the actual camera but sadly all her photos have gone - gutting :-(

HIGH - Seeing hundreds of wild sea lions, penguins and various other birds (including the Peruvian Booby!) at the Isla Ballestes.

LOW - The way Peruvian man treated us... no more needs to be said about that!

HIGH - Sand boarding in Huacachina... brilliant fun!

LOW / HIGH.. just generally random actually - Scariest car journey of my life EVER from Huacachina to Arequipa...

I won't go into detail as it might give my parents a heart attack but I'll just say alarm bells should've started ringing when the driver drove us into the desert to roll a giant spliff... or maybe when we noticed the Indiana Jones style knife by his seat... or maybe when he told us he didn't like England becasue "you can't buy the police there"??! We decided to accept to offer of a lift after our previous bus trip ended up costing us a camera but actually ended up paying more for petrol than we would've for the bus and the journey took twice as long because our driver fell asleep for 6 hours! (he pulled over first don't worry!) But on a positive note we did wake up to find that he'd pulled over next to the ocean (it was pitch black when we stopped and we had no idea where we were but the sea was literally 5metres from my window) which is a pretty special view and certainly one you wouldn't get from a bus!

HIGH - Arequipa in general... beautiful buildings, crazy 5 1/2 horse trek with the maddest guide yet (riding up to a bar and ordering beer whilst on horse back was certainly a new experience for me!)

LOW - getting my drink drugged on our last night in Arequipa... but don't worry (as I know you all would!) I saw the guy do it and saw the pill floating in my drink so didn't touch it. Phew!

HIGH - White water rafting!

LOW - All thr bloody road blocks and strikes making it either impossible or really dengerous to travel anywehere. We ended up having to fly to Chile as no buses were crossing the border between Tacna in Peru to Arica in Chile.

I hope this doesn't make it sound like we had a bad time in Peru becasue we didn't, we had an absolutely brilliant time full of action, dramas and learning experiences, and, except for getting Kat's camera robbed, I wouldn't have changed our time there for anything.

18 - 21 October 2008: Lake Titicaca and into Peru...

Well, what can I say... Peru is one crazy country! Soooo much happened in the few weeks we spent here. I guess the best place to start is the beginning...

Lake Titicaca was stunning. It's just so huge it's impossible to think of it as a lake. We visited the Uros Islands (floating islands), which are made by weaving reeds together and can actually be moved around the lake. The families can just pull up the anchor and move to another part of the lake... if only moving house was so simple! Each isalnd is really small with only one or two families on each one, and families are getting a lot smaller now than they used to be as a result of a Japenese business man who donated solar panels for each island... this provided the power for TVs and in turn the average number of children reduced from 14 to about 4!!!

We stayed with a family on Amantani island over night which was an interesting experience. We felt very priviliged to be staying with the president of the island, Ignatious. His children were lovely however no-one spoke any English and our small amount of Spanish didn't really help as they spoke Quechua so there was a lot of gesturing, smiling and awkward silences!! We were hoping a family stay would provide us with a real taste of life on the islands, however it was clear they were behaving differently because we were there and didn't really involve us in their way of life which was a shame. We helped Olga, the mum, with dinner but when it came to eat we sat at a table and ate with cultlery and the family waited for us to finish before they sat around the stove and ate with their hands. The food - all cooked in a ceramic pot above a flame - was brilliant. All simple, natural food grown on the island and so tasty. Seeing what people can do with the most basic ingrediants and basic equipment has really made me re-think the way I eat.

After dinner Kat and I, and all the other visitors staying with other families, were dressed up in Peruvian national dress and marched down the hill to a 'party'. I was looking forward to it as it was my chance to learn the Peruvian national dance, but it was actually really cringe-worthy and we looked like complete plonkers!! It was so cold we couldn't bring ourselves to take our clothes off so had the dresses on over the top of jeans, jumper and trainers. Not a look I would usually go for I must admit! The 'party' consisted of a load of tourists - all looking as stupid as each other - being shoved in a freezing cold hall, watching some bad (and quite strage) Peruvian dancing (pretty sure the performers were completely plastered. At one point they started shaking up bottles of coke and spraying them at each other and then, unsurprisingly, kept falling over because the floor was so slippery. To this day no one has been able to explain why they did this!) and being dragged up to join in. Not quite the cultural experience we were hoping for!!

We spent the next day visiting Taquile island which was beautiful. The water was so blue and went on for as far as the eye could see. Just beautiful.

When we arrived back in Puno on the mainland we were informed that the bus we had booked to Cusco wouldn't be running as there was an agricultural strike and road blocks stopping any traffic getting to Cusco... this is where the infamous cab journey tale began...

The next day the buses still weren't running. We had to get to Cusco by the following day as we were starting the Inca Trail so, when faced with the choice of a ridiculously expensive flight or a cheaper but longer cab journey (the cab could fit along the mountain roads and avoid the road blocks), we decided to get a cab all the way... 8 hours! 2 Slovenian guys were having the same trouble as us so we decided to share a cab and managed to negotiate a really good price.

When we got to the car the cab drivers 2 kids were in the backseat. He said he needed to drop them at school on the way, but instead of leaving them in the back with us he picked them up and shoved them in the boot with our bags. I couldn't believe it! Once out of Puno - minus the kids - the journey seemed to be going quite smoothly. The driver kept offering to pull over so we could take pictures of the view and seemed like a decent guy... until we arrived at our destination that was and he started demanding double to agreed price. he pulled over on the outskirts of the city, locked our bags in the car and wouldn't let us go until we paid him. We refused (or should I say Matty and Matty our Slovenian body guards refused and took charge!) and managed to squeeze our bags out over the back seats and run away with the cab driver chasing after us and hurling abuse at us... what a great start to Peru!!

My interent time is about to run out, but there will be more tales to come asap...

14 - 18 October 2008: Bolivia - La Paz / Copacobana

La Paz was pretty much a write-off in terms of culture, however we did get very well aquainted with the hospital! The English speaking doctor was lovely (as were the others... didn`t mean for that to sound language-ist!) and the canteen did a mean coffee and pastry! Unfortunately all this time spent in the hospital meant that something was wrong and it turned out poor Rach has fractured her ankle. Ow! She`d been hobbling around on it for 2 days! After many phone calls to her insurance company, airlines etc. she`s decided to head home to recover and postpone the rest of her trip until next year. It`s so gutting for her and so upsetting, and it`s made me realise how quickly this dream could be over. Fingers (and toes) crossed that nothing like that happens to me or Kat.

La Paz isn`t the most convenient city to be on crutches in... in fact it is possibly the hilliest town in the world ever! So with Rach`s leg in cast we spent most of our time helping her drown her sorrows in the hostel bar. And what a bar it was! Loki La Paz is definately the best hostel we`ve been to so far. Great rooms, great building, great staff, great friends, great atmosphere, GREAT happy hour and a free breakfast till 1pm... just what you need after a night of partying!

The witches market was a bizarre experience, dead baby llamas strung up by their legs and all array of smells, in fact the whole of La Paz was quite a bizarre experience. The setting is stunning, tucked between towering snow topped mountains, so the view from afar is beautiful, but up-close and personal it`s not so pretty. It does have a great atmosphere though and the hussle and bussle is never ending! We had 3 days partying hard, said an emothional goodbye to rach and then headed to Copacobana with 2 friends from the hostel to spend time at Lake Titicaca.

It was a trying bus journey after a very heavy night out and once we arrived in Copacobana it was all Kat, Yvonne, Eric and I could do to put one foot in front of the other. Kat and I were heading for a hostel we`d read about, however with our hangovers, heavy bags and the midday heat we gave up and fell into the closest one we could find. After a couple of hours kip we felt revived and went for a walk, only to find the hostel we were looking for was only 2 doors further up, and looked a lot nicer!! Oh well!!

Copacobana is cute, arty town but obviously only there for the tourists. We met up with Eric and Yvonne for dinner and thought we`d found a real bargain when we can across a restaurant that had a set menu of 3 courses for 22 Bolivianos (less than 2 pounds!). Trout is supposedly the speciality here and all around Lake Titicaca so we ordered and eagerly awaited our dinner... no wonder it was so cheap!!!! The portions must have been designed for borrowers! If you weren´t looking closely you could have easily missed the lemon pie we had for desert!

Heading into Peru tomorrow to visit the other side of the lake and stay on the islands... bye bye Bolivia. It`s been emotional!!

9 - 13 October 2008: Bolivia - Tupiza to Uyuni

Another bus journey and another border crossing. We were expecting to have to hang around at the Bolivian border for the best part of the day as the trains aren`t very regular, but luckilly we managed to jump straight on a bus to Tupiza, out next destination.

Tupiza is a gorgeous little town that reminds me of the wild west! It`s surrounded by mountains and red rock and has a lovely laid back atmosphere. Our hotel was lovely - private room, hot showers and ridiculously cheap! One day in and I love Bolivia already!

From Tupiza we went on a 4 day trip to the Salar de Uyuni (the largest salt plain in the world). Words cannot describe what an amazing time I had. Our group was excellent - Rach, Kat and I along with Vesna and Jure, a crazy couple from Slovenia - our guide, Julio, and cook/surrogate Bolivian mummy, Berna, were absolutely brilliant and everyday was more beautiful and more breathtaking than the last. Bolivia has such an amazing landscape, it`s a completely different world from anything I have ever seen or anywhere I have ever been.

On day 1 we visited the Quebrada de Palala, a natural rock formation, and drove through beautiful mountains. We stopped at a small gold mining village in the middle of nowhere called Nazarenito, where 9 families live. We spent our first night 4260m above sea level... Being at such high altitude is bizarre... you get out of breath so quickly and can literally feel the oxygen getting thinner. It`s also FREEZING!!!! We wore every item of clothing in our bags, snuggled into slepping bags with about 4 blankets on top and had a swig of rum to warm us from inside! The stars were incredible, although we could only stay outside and brave the cold for about 20sec at a time!

Day 2 included a visit to a ghost town, some absolutlely stunning lagoons with hundreds of flamingos, hot springs and geysers. We reached our highest altitude - 5000m - and got quite light headed at times. South Americans swear by coca leaves to help with altitude sickness so we were all chewing away... they don`t taste particularly great (kind of like feet in fact) and make your mouth go numb but they supposedly help open up your capillaries so more oxygen can get around your body. God knows if that`s true!

Sitting in the hot springs was fantastic... sitting in a bikini in 35C water high up in the mountains looking out at stunning landscapes... wow!

On day 3 we saw even more impressive lagoons, more flamingos and visited a semi-active volcanoe. We drove through constantly changing landscapes and spent the night at a hotel made entirely from salt (which we had to lick of course!). After dinner (which was always amazing, we ate soooo much!) some local boys put on a show for us. Dressed in traditional dress they played the panpipes (VERY badly bless them!) and got us up dancing. They informed us they knew 22 songs... all of which I`m pretty convinced were identicle!! But however bad they were this was finally my chance to learn the traditional Bolivian dance. To be honest there`s not much to it... basically stepping backwards and forwards and swinging your arms around! You don`t really need a degree to master it!!

Day 4 was the final day... we got up super early to watch the sunrise from the salt desert and I can honestly say it was the most beautiful site ever. Freezing but beautiful! We visited a cactus island in the middle of the desert and spent time messing around on the salt plain taking silly photos! Having already visited a salt desert in Argentina I wasn`t expecting to be hugely impressed but I was completely blown away... the Salar de Uyuni is HUGE!!! 12,000km2... you can just see gleaming white for as far as the eye can see in every direction. Incredible!

We reached our final destination, the town of Uyuni, in the early afternoon, absolutely desperate for a shower (there was no running water in the desert and we all stank!!). Rach had hurt her ankle during the trip so we were pretty anxious to get to a hospital so, after a hot shower, we got an overnight bus to La Paz. Hell!!!! The worst bus journey so far. It was so bumpy we were practically being thrown from our seats, there was no toilet and the bus hardly ever stopped so we were too scared to drink anything. We were told food and drink would be included so hadn`t had dinner but it wasn`t, and we had a group of drunk Bolivian men sitting near us who spent the entire journey leering at Kat and Rachel and `accidently` sitting on Rach. It was horrible and freezing cold and we arrived in La Paz absolutely exhausted.

7 - 9 October 2008: Argentina (a very brief visit!)

The Argentinian buses are great! Comfy seats, friendly staff and you get dinner (albeit a cheese and ham sandwich accompanied with a cheese and ham sandwich and then, you guessed it, a cheese and ham sandwich to follow - bizarre!) We arrived in Salta and were reunited with Rach. It was so great to see her again. Salta itself is a lovely city and seemed really safe and friendly (a welcome change from Paraguay!).

We went on a spectacular day trip `to the clouds`. We visited gorges, small mountain villages, ghost towns, craft markets, saw beautiful views of the 7 Colour Mountains (stunning!) and visited the Salinhas Grandes salt plains. It was an incredibly long day with a lot of sitting in the back of a mini bus but was definately worth it. Unfortunately we only spent a couple of days in Argentina but it`s definately somewhere I`d like to return to to see it properly.

Next stop Bolivia...

1 - 6 October 2008: Iguaçu Falls and random trips to Paraguay... bye bye Brazil!

Ok... first of all I want to apologise for the huge delay in updating the blog. For one reason or another (being in the desert with no electricity, computers working no faster than a snail in Bolivia, being too tired to string a sentence together etc etc) I haven`t been able to spend much time on a computer but after a 4 day hike on the Inca trail I`m having a lazy day and have set up camp in an internet cafe!

So here we go...

Iguaçu Falls is incredible!! Wow! In fact I`m not sure I can describe it in words. You can`t appreciate the enormity of the falls until you`re there, feeling the spray and hearing the roar of the water. It`s deafening! The falls consist of 275 waterfalls spreading over Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay. We spent time on both the Brazilian and Argentinian side of the Falls and they really are indescribable. As well as the falls the wildlife and surrounding jungle is gorgeous. Just take a look at the video, although that doesn`t even do it justice!



Sadly it was after visiting Iguacu Falls that Melissa left us and headed home :-(. We wanted to send her off in style and have a relaxing last day together so had a lovely day of sunbathing and swimming in the hostel pool planned, only to wake up to terrential rain. And I mean terrential! I`ve never seen anything like it! After taking a wander around Foz do Iguaçu (the town) we found shelter in a bar and dried off whilst enjoying a beer or few. We got chatting to some local Brazilian guys (Fernando, Roberto and Douglas (what a typical Brazilian name???!)) who, when I asked then for some advice about where to go in the evening, decided to take us under their wing and show us how the locals party! I can most definately say it was one of the more random nights of my life!

After sampling pineapple caipirinhas (most definately the most disgusting drink I`ve ever had misfortune to put in my mouth) and going to an all-you-can-eat restaurant with a showcase of South American dance and music (crazy women dancing with pots on their heads, glitzy costumes and far too many naked bum cheeks for dinner time...) we found ourselves clasping our passports and crossing the border into Paraguay for a night of clubbing! The club was awful and full of 15 year olds but we had a great time all the same and at about 3am, just when I thought the night couldn`t get any stranger, the worlds worst U2 tribute band came on stage! We think they were singing in English but can`t be sure! After a drunken border crossing back into Brazil we finally rolled in at about 4.30am, giving us just enough time to get a couple of hours sleep before having to pack, check out and move on to the next destination... we had an emotional goodbye and Melissa headed to Sao Paulo to catch her flight home, whilst Kat and I took another trip into Paraguay. Sobre this time!

I can`t believe our month in Brazil is already over. I`ve finally got the hang of Portuguese and now we`re going to have to change to Spanish! ahhh! Brazil really has been fantastic... it`s like a hundred different countries in one and no 2 places are the same. The people are friendly, the atmosphere is buzzing and - thankfully - we haven`t witnessed any of the horror stories you so often hear about.

We had never planned to stay in Paraguay, it was just the quickest route to from Brazil to Salta in Argentina, however we hadn`t expected to hate it quite so much! We arrived in Asuncion, the capital of Paraguay, at about 11pm, tired and keen to book our onward bus to Argentina. The people at the bus station were horrible and completely unhelpful and for a little while we thought we might be stuck in Paraguay forever as no-one could (or would) give us any information about how to get out of the god forsaken place. We decided to check into a hotel opposite the bus station and try again in the morning. The `Royal Hotel` was a treat... pretty much a prison cell containing 2 concrete slabs with duvets on and, rather weirdly, 2 bathrooms. One with wires hanging out of the walls where bathroom fittings should have been and one with, surprisingly, hot running water! Yippee!!!

Needless to stay we got out of Paraguay as quickly as possible. After a hectic couple of days on numerous buses, border crossings, delays and wrong tickets we finally arrived in Argentina in one piece! Phew!!!

25 - 30 September 2008: Campo Grande / Pantanal Jungle Stay

We arrived in Campo Grande tired, smelly and hungry! After trailing the streets for somewhere to eat (Brazilian's eat their main meal at lunchtime so not many restaurants are open in the evening) we found ourselves in a stange little place with dirty table cloths and no menu... the waiter (or should I say random man that came to our table) reeled off lots of words, none of which we understood except for "beefy", so we smiled and nodded at that and waited to see what would appear. The next thing we know numerous plates turned up piled high with salad, rice, chips, beans and beef with fried eggs on top. And all for about £2.50 each!

From Campo Grande we set off on a 4 day trek to the Pantanal (Huge wetland half the size of France!). We stayed in a 'rustic' jungle lodge where the water out of the tap was brown, showers were a cold drizzle, mice lived on the roof and were so noisy I swear they spent the nights wrestling with each other, and we shared our room with frogs, spiders and cockroaches. It was great!! We spent our time here going on boat trips, trekking through the jungle, going on a jeep safari, piranha fishing (and eating our catch for lunch!), alligator spotting, tubing down the river, horse riding and just generally getting close to nature! In fact we got a bit too close to alligators for my liking... I wouldn't even have needed to stretch my arm out to touch them!! The wildlife and biodiversity here is simply stunning. Seeing monkeys, armadillos, capybaras, alligators, caimens, macaws, toucans, giant otters and an amazing variety of colourful birds was a daily treat!

Our guide, Pipino (born and bred in the Pantanal), was slightly strange but very impressive with the animals.... he was like Dr Dolittle, making crazy noises and literally speaking to the animals! The noise made by the howler monkeys was incredible. SO loud! Not quite so impressive when they woke us up at 4am though!

Our last night in the Pantanal was definately one that I will never ever forget. A group of us were enjoying a beer round the campfire by the side of the river when Pipino and his cousin, Marcello, decided it would be a good idea to go swimming (in the same river that we'd spent the day piranha fishing and alligator spotting in!). Not to be beaten by the locals Kat and I followed suit... Splashing around in the dark with no idea what animals were around was amazing! Later, whilst drying out by the campfire the most incredible storm started. We could see it long before we could hear or feel it. The lightning was incredible and lit up not only the sky but everything. Every few minutes it was so bright that you would've sworn it was daytime. Then the wind came, almost knocking us over and sending the campfire flying, and then came the rain. Huge, heavy drops that soaked us through within a few seconds. Rather than retire to the rickety skack we were staying in I decided to enjoy the fresh air and dance in the rain. Unforgettable.

I really can't put in words what an incredible time I had and I think it's safe to say the Pantanal is one experience that will stay with me forever.

24 September: Brasilia

So... we left the lovely Lencois and Little Charles and headed to Brasilia... big mistake!! The coach from Lencois to Seabra (where we were due to get our connecting bus) was 2 hours late (very normal for Brazil!). The next bus from Seabra wasn´t until 11.30pm (it was 1pm at this point) and we had visions of being stuck in a tiny bus station with nothing to do but play cards and eat cake (they sell cake EVERYWHERE!). Luckilly for us nothing in Brazil runs on time and out connecting bus was also late so we managed to get it - just!

Once on the bus we had some interesting toilet incidents... we´re not sure but we think the toilet on the bus was just a hole that went onto the road. There was definately light coming up from it and it felt a bit breezy!!! We also came across some interesting bubbling toilets at a service station. Kat and I left the ´banhieros´(toilets) very confused, damp and in fits of giggles!! The stars and electric storm made the 16 hour bus journey a bit more interesting than some of the others, but the coach was probably the worst we´ve been on so far and we didn´t get a wink of sleep.... the roads were so bumpy we were regularly thrown from our seats and the bus squeeked and rattled so much I thought it was doing to fall apart! All part of the experience!

So... we eventually get to Brasilia at 7am, shattered and starving! However once we arrived we realised the bus was probably a better option and booked our next bus out for 7.30pm! There´s NOTHING to do here! A big concrete grid in the middle of Brazil. Basically Milton Keynes in a microwave (no offence Kayz!) but with less to do and lots of scary people everywhere! Needless to say I don´t have mucj to report about our time here, other than to warn you never to come!!!

21 - 23 September 2008: Lencois (Parque Nacional da Chapada Diamantina)

Lencois is a beautiful little town 6 hours inland from Salvador. It´s an old diamond mining town in the Chapada Diamantina region and a lovely change to the coastal towns, with it´s lush green plants and mountainous backdrop. After deciding not to venture up to the Amazon (due to time constraints, money etc) we had a few days to play with so decided to stop here on our way to Brasilia. So glad we did! Felt really safe here, a completely different Brazil to Salvador.

After a hot and sticky march up a hill with our backpacks (a lot more uphill than it needed to be thanks to my map reading!) we arrived at our cute little pousada (guest house) and booked our trip to the National Park.

Our guide for the trip, Little Charles, is possibly the craziest man I´ve ever met! He was basically a smile with legs, bouncing around all day full of energy and laughing at everything! He was great! We set off early to go to a waterfall for a swim, then spent the day visiting caves, swimming in fresh water lakes and climbing mountains. We watched a beautiful sunset from the top of Pia Inacio (basically a big mountain!). This area has a gorgeous landscape with such a rich history behind it (slave trade, mining etc) and a warm and inviting atmosphere. Great place!!

18 - 21 September 2008: Salvador

Salvador is a crazy place! I was told before arriving that it evokes a lot of emotions and it really does... One minute you´re happily joining in with/watching capoeira in the street, the next you feel sad and guilty as children beg for money and food, then you get carried away samba dancing, become intruiged by the local characters, in awe of the baroque architectiture... and all the while completed worried and paranoid that you´re going to get pick-pocketed or mugged.

It was Rachel´s birthday whilst we were here so we enjoyed numerous caipirinhas, a huge dinner (portion sizes here are gigantic... we still haven´t quite got to grips with how much to order!), and tried a crazy local drink that is made from cloves and tastes like Christmas! We spent most of time in the historic centre, wandering round cobbled streets, visiting churches (one for each day of the year apparently, although we only managed 3!), going to markets and chatting to locals. The city is split into 2 halves and you have to get a lift from the upper city to the lower city - crazy!!

Unfortunately we didn´t get to the beach whilst we were here as the day we´d set aside for that turned into the wettest day ever and it was all we could do not to drown! Oh well... I´m sure we´ll come across a few more beaches at some point on our travels!

I can now add samba to the list of dances that I have learnt (not quite mastered yet though!) and my portuguese is definately improving. I´m becoming partial to Brazilian coffee - strong and sweet - but am getting a tad bored of their breakfasts... bread rolls, cake and fruit. I´d give anything for a nice bowl of cereal and a cuppa!!

16 - 18 September 2008: Itacare

Itacare has some stunning beaches and rainforest, but unfortunately it was the first place we felt unsafe and after falling in love with Arraial D´Ajuda I was a little disappointed. As soon as we arrived at the hostel we were warned not to go to certain areas after 4pm as they´re dangerous, especially for girls, and not to take anything valuable to the beaches with us at any point. That said we still had a great time, enjoying the area during the day and staying in at night chilling out in hammocks, cooking dinner and drinking cheap wine!

So... the beaches... they´re gorgeous! 5 bays all with white sand, palm trees, bright blue water and a back drop of tropical rainforest. The first 4 are easily accessible but you can only get to the 5th bay by trekking through the rainforest. I hadn´t planned on venturing that far but, after meeting some locals I was persuaded and found myself in the middle of the rainforest in a bikini, sarong and flip flops! Saw my first snake, balanced in logs to get over rivers and had a generally bizarre day! Also practiced capoeira on the beach and managed to get the BIGGEST bruise on my butt cheek when attemping, and failing to do a back flip!! Ow!!

So all in all we had a good time in Itacare. It´s not somewhere I´d necessarily come back to but has definately shown another side to Brazil and has made me more safety concious. Next stop Salvador...

13 - 16 September 2008: Arraial d´Ajuda

I have officially fallen in love with Brazil! Arraial d´Ajuda is the most gorgeous little town... cobbled streets, colourful buildings, fairy lights in the trees, live music being played at all hours, hippies everywhere, capoeira and dance. It´s so quirky! I can´t even remeber what made us come here but I´m glad we did, if I had to describe myself as a place I think it would be here!!

It´s not peak season so is pretty quiet on the tourist front but I think that´s why I like it. Yesterday whilst on one of my wanders I met a group of locals on the beach playing capoeira. We got chatting (with my rather poor, but slowly improving, portuguese on one guy trying to translate) and it turned out 2 of them were lambada teachers so the girls and i spent last night in a nearby neighbourhood learning lambada and dancing the night away. The actual residential area of Arraial d´Ajuda is very run down with 30% unemployment rate and a lot of recent political scandal. No tourists ever go out of the centre so it was a real taste of ´true Brazil´, and a real privilage to be invited. No one spoke English, except for the guy who I met on the beach, and I felt very ignorant not knowing much portuguese but no one seemed to care and everyone was so welcoming.

After learning the lambada and dancing till my legs felt like jelly we went to a small square in the centre of town and continued to dance to a live band. My feet are battered and bruised but it was well worth it! The Brazilian´s passion for dance completely swept me away and I definately want to return to this area and learn the lambada properly. I love that nothing out here has anything to do with money. Music is played because they love it, people dance because they love it, no money changes hands and no one is trying to make a profit from what they are doing. I really could get used to this way of life.

Unfortunately we have to head off tomorrow and continue up the coast, but I´ve heard great things about our next stop so fingers crossed it won´t disappoint. I´ll keep you posted...

8 - 12 September 2008: Rio de Janeiro

Wow!!!! 5 days in and I´m having the time of my life. Rio is an amazing city. Although the plane was delayed, the man sitting across from us got peed on by his 2 year old daughter and we arrived to 2 days of terrential rain the energy of the city more than made up for it. Our hostel, The Mango Tree, was situated in Ipenema just one street away from the beach. It´s bright white and blue exterior, swinging hammocks, free buffet breakfast and friendly staff and guests made it the perfect first stay for the trip.

So.... what we have been up to in Rio?

We spent time visiting 2 of the 750 favelas in Rio (yes 750!). It was a hugely eye opening and educational experience. Our guide, Miranda, explained the history of favelas, how they came to be and the way life is for people living in them. Subject to popular belief only 10% of people living in favelas are involved in organised crime and drugs. The majority of people work within the main Rio City, but are paid so little that they cannot afford to move away from the favelas. And strangely enough, due to the organised crime favelas can actually be safer places to be than the main city, where the police are corrupt and robberies and pick pocketing is common. In favelas it is an unwritten rule that no one robs from anyone - the only crime taking place is the crime that is organised.

Whilst in a favela called Vila Canoas we spent some time in a small school, Para Ti. The school is a non government organisation that was set up in 1994 to help get the kids of the favela off the streets and away from crime. A total of 350 children attend the school at various times throughout the week - the children I met were absolutlely gorgeous. So happy and lively and fascinated with digital cameras!!

Watching the Brazil vs Bolivia world cup qualifying match was great fun! Seated in amongst the Brazilian crowd we had out faces painted and learnt the chants. We also learnt that all Brazilians hate Ronaldinhio and love Robhino (not sure if I spelt the names right???!). I did feel sorry for the Bolivian fans though... I counted 10 in the whole stadium, very proudly holding up their flag!

We have, of course, also spent time on Ipenema beach and yesterday morning Rachael (a fellow traveller who we have adopted!) and I went for a run along a beach and did yoga on the cliff top before breakfast. The wind was so strong I thought I might end up in the sea rather than looking at it so decided against doing the one legged balances! It was so interesting watching the city come to life.

Visiting Cristo Redentor (Christ Redeemer or The Big JC as we like to call him) was amazing... For the first two days he wasn´t visible because of the low cloud so I was so excited to finally see the famous statue... and even more excited to be getting the old cog train (the same one used to transport the building materials when making the statue) up the mountain to see it.

The most ´wow´ moment so far was Thursday evening. I had one of those ´I can´t believe I´m actually here´ moments. We had just hiked up the side of Morro da Urca (taking a few wrong turns and making the walk last a lot longer than it needed to) and reached the summit - a little sweaty and red cheeked - just in time to watch the sunset behind Cristo Redentor. Stunning. Beautiful. Breathtaking. So Kat, Melissa, Rachael and I sat atop a mountain, watching the sunset and sipping (very strong) caipirinhas. Not a bad way to spend an evening!!

We have now left Rio de Janeiro and arrived at Arraial d´Ajuda, a small bohemian village on the coast between Rio and Salvador. It was a long 18 hour bus journey here... I´ll let you know in a few days if it was worth it!

Bye for now xxx