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.