Thursday 22nd May
Well, I'm back and re-adjusting gradually to UK life. Its a slow process for as you can see I'm still writing blogs... but on the positive side I've gotten used again to being able to flush toilet paper rather than putting it in a bin (much to Bert's relief).
Coming home has actually been brilliant... champagne, parties, phone calls, cards and even a DRUM KIT!!! Wow. I'm hoping this is the way things will continue...
Just wanted to say thanks to you all for the messages and cards and general loveliness.
Am now off to try and find a job so I can save up for my next 'holiday'!!! Ha.
Thanks again,
T
Thursday, 22 May 2008
Sunday, 18 May 2008
Ready or not, here I come...
Sunday 18th May
Well... its finally arrived... the day I fly home. And in a minute my taxi will arrive too (hopefully).
Ooh, so excited... a little sad to leave but so looking forward to seeing everyone, yey!
T
Well... its finally arrived... the day I fly home. And in a minute my taxi will arrive too (hopefully).
Ooh, so excited... a little sad to leave but so looking forward to seeing everyone, yey!
T
Thursday, 15 May 2008
3 days left...
Thursday 15th May
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TIM!
Well, thought I ought to mention what I've been up to since my Salt flats tour...
Got the Wari Wari train to Tupiza where I stayed or a couple of nights... just long enough for me to take a 3 hour horse ride of the surrounding areas. And, well... 3 hours was quite long enough thank you very much! I started off on a nice sleepy horse only to be transferred to a much larger one, called Fachas, with an attitude problem. Fachas could also have benfitted from a visit to the 'over competative horse' support group as he would not let anything infront of him. This was all fine until he (repeatedly) went the wrong way... and he completely ignored however I pulled the reigns so my 14 year old guide (!!!) had to try and get infront of him to stop him. Easier said than done... and mostly resulted in dear fachas going faster and faster with me holding on tighter and tighter. Well anyway, I survived with only minor scratches from the thorny bushes and a numb bum.
Left Tupiza heading for the Argentinian border, one large slice of cake and a bus ride later I was back on Argentinian soil and heading for the city of Salta. Took a couple of trips out into the landscapes surrounding Salta, which are quite impressive... visited the odd bodega too for a spot of wine tasting... hic.
Next stop was Puerto iguazu, right in the topmost tipmost north east corner of the country... 24 hours from Salta by bus. Here I visited Iguazu Falls... the largest waterfalls in South America. A rather cloudy and drizzly morning (whats all this wet stuff falling from the sky about eh... havent had that for a while)... turned into a beautiful blue sky just as we got to the 'Devils Throat'... which is bascially a HUGE waterfall. Dont know how to describe it but it was so big and powerful and difficult to take in that it actually made my head dizzy. It also made me very wet and after 10 minutes I was soaked to the skin. But worth it, it was truly awesome.
No time to stop for longer than a 2 hour hammock swing... then off to catch my last bus. 18 hours to Buenos Aires, my LAST stop before my flight home.
And thats where I am now. Arrived this morning and got ripped off by a taxi driver, nice. But its great to be back and have had a fab day so far. I loved Buenos Aires first time round but I have to say its much better second time round... feel at home and really happy to spend a bit of time here before I get home. Have also met up with some friends I met in Bolivia so thats great.
Travelling has been tough lately... cold beers, hammocks in the sun, spotting toucans in the evening treetops, shopping for vintage clothes, spot of vino...
So, not much more to say other than see you all soon... please can you reserve some nice weather to ease me back into UK life.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TIM!
Well, thought I ought to mention what I've been up to since my Salt flats tour...
Got the Wari Wari train to Tupiza where I stayed or a couple of nights... just long enough for me to take a 3 hour horse ride of the surrounding areas. And, well... 3 hours was quite long enough thank you very much! I started off on a nice sleepy horse only to be transferred to a much larger one, called Fachas, with an attitude problem. Fachas could also have benfitted from a visit to the 'over competative horse' support group as he would not let anything infront of him. This was all fine until he (repeatedly) went the wrong way... and he completely ignored however I pulled the reigns so my 14 year old guide (!!!) had to try and get infront of him to stop him. Easier said than done... and mostly resulted in dear fachas going faster and faster with me holding on tighter and tighter. Well anyway, I survived with only minor scratches from the thorny bushes and a numb bum.
Left Tupiza heading for the Argentinian border, one large slice of cake and a bus ride later I was back on Argentinian soil and heading for the city of Salta. Took a couple of trips out into the landscapes surrounding Salta, which are quite impressive... visited the odd bodega too for a spot of wine tasting... hic.
Next stop was Puerto iguazu, right in the topmost tipmost north east corner of the country... 24 hours from Salta by bus. Here I visited Iguazu Falls... the largest waterfalls in South America. A rather cloudy and drizzly morning (whats all this wet stuff falling from the sky about eh... havent had that for a while)... turned into a beautiful blue sky just as we got to the 'Devils Throat'... which is bascially a HUGE waterfall. Dont know how to describe it but it was so big and powerful and difficult to take in that it actually made my head dizzy. It also made me very wet and after 10 minutes I was soaked to the skin. But worth it, it was truly awesome.
No time to stop for longer than a 2 hour hammock swing... then off to catch my last bus. 18 hours to Buenos Aires, my LAST stop before my flight home.
And thats where I am now. Arrived this morning and got ripped off by a taxi driver, nice. But its great to be back and have had a fab day so far. I loved Buenos Aires first time round but I have to say its much better second time round... feel at home and really happy to spend a bit of time here before I get home. Have also met up with some friends I met in Bolivia so thats great.
Travelling has been tough lately... cold beers, hammocks in the sun, spotting toucans in the evening treetops, shopping for vintage clothes, spot of vino...
So, not much more to say other than see you all soon... please can you reserve some nice weather to ease me back into UK life.
Monday, 5 May 2008
Lots of salt
Monday 5th May
Hello from Tupiza. Arrived by Wari Wari train this morning from Uyuni where I took a 3 day jeep tour of the Salar and Reserva Edwardo Avoara (i.e. salt flats and altiplano volcanic landscapes).
Instead of me rambling on I'll let the photos do the talking. There was alot of salt:
which meant you could have fun making silly photos:
and some cactii:
and some lakes coloured by algae with sulphur, borax and other mineral deposits:
and rocks:
and flamingos:
There was also a band of youngsters weilding pan pipes, but I'll spare you that for now.
Off on a gee gee tomorrow... yee hah.
Chau for now.
Saturday, 26 April 2008
Dangerous roads and mosquito infested jungle
Saturday 26th April
Well, I have just returned to La Paz after 3 days on the edge of the Amazon Basin exploring the pampas. But before I start jumping ahead let me fill you in on what I've been up to since my snowy peak adventure...
La Paz is a crazy city. Full of smoke and cars and more car fumes and people and alcoholics anonymous centres... alas it seems that most of the folk who should attend such places don't, such as the taxi driver who decided to drive off road and wrap his car around the lamp post just yards from where me and a friend were walking. I love lamp posts.
I signed up to cycle 'the world's most dangerous road' which is basically a single track gravel road cut into the edge of a sheer mountain side. Its stunning. One of the most amazing places I've been. It was a photo of these roads that first triggered my interest in Bolivia and by gum they lived up to my expectations. Unfortunately the nickname 'death road' also lived up to its reputation and a middle aged man in my group fell off his bike and off the edge with tragic consequences. So that was a terrible shock and needless to say we didnt finish the road. These places deserve and demand respect... I just learnt that another cyclist was killed 2 days ago, knocked off the edge by a bus. Sometimes its easy to dismiss the disclaimers you sign for these things, but they're there for a reason!
To top off that rather somber day I then fell quite ill for a few days, boo. However, I am now marvellous again so thats all history, yey.
On 23rd I flew north from La Paz to a small town/village called Rurrenabaque. Its on the edge of the jungle and the starting point for my 3 day pampas tour. Stepping off the plane I almost melted, coming from La Paz at 3500m altitude it was VERY hot and humid. I was annoyed with myself as I'd forgotten to take my penknife out of my hand luggage at the airport... but luckily the nice check-in man took it from me and then went round security and gave it back to me when I got on the plane!!!
My taxi met me at the airport... it was a scooter. Good job I only had a small rucksack. I then spent one night in a hostel hoping that the electric ceiling fan wouldn't fall down as it was a tad wonky. The next morning I set off for my pampas tour.
It started with a 3 hour jeep ride on a spine numbing bumpy road... boing boing. We then unloaded the jeep and loaded the boat which took 1 an a half hours to get us to the lodge. The wildlife in the pampas pretty much smacks you in the face. Within minutes we were seeing huge stork birds, parrots, vultures, crocodiles, squirrel monkeys, dolphins... Anyhoo, we arrived at the lodge and I found a nice hammock to swing in for a while before that evening's crocodile hunt. Croc eyes glow red in torch light, and boy oh boy were there alot of red eyes. Yuri, our guide, caught a baby croc so we got a close up view, it was about 2 years old and probably 50cm long. In the dark, the plants were full of little glowing bugs and fireflies which looked like they were reflecting the stars in the sky... the night time is deafening with all the bugs singing and buzzing and the odd frog splooshing into the water.
Back at camp I almost trod on an Anaconda in the darkness... yikes! Thank goodness I had my headlamp on. Although apparently they aren't poisonous... they just give a nasty bite.
Next morning we went off down river to a marshy bit to hunt for Anacondas... alas 2 hours of plodding about in knee deep water and mud we didnt see any (although we heard and saw movements from about 3 or 4). We returned to the lodge for lunch... yum... then headed out again to go piranha fishing. I didnt hold many hopes for catching anything but ended up catching the most in my group... 2 piranha, 1 sardine and a slimy catfish thing later we left our fishing spot to watch the sunset.
Day 3 consisted of going swimming... in the same river we caught piranha, hunted crocodiles, where anaconda live etc... with pink river dolphins. They like to nibble your feet under the water which is a bit disconcerting as you can't see below the surface. One girl in our group got a hefty chomp on the bum from a piranha too... hee hee. I decided to get out at that point.
We then headed back to Rurrenabaque by boat and then jeep. My little plane back to La Paz was literally waiting for me when I got to the airport so I jumped on (the dont have security scanners so penknife was safely carried on, phew). The runway is a grass and mud strip cleared from the surrounding forest so a few bumps later we were airborn.
There... a brief yet rambling run down of Beagle in the jungle pampas... loved it and was ace to be away from 'civilisation' for 3 days although am glad to be back so I can tend my poor bitten feet and legs and liberally apply aftersun to my burnt bits (I ran out of suncream on the last day, oops).
Right, off to book my bus south. Chau...
Well, I have just returned to La Paz after 3 days on the edge of the Amazon Basin exploring the pampas. But before I start jumping ahead let me fill you in on what I've been up to since my snowy peak adventure...
La Paz is a crazy city. Full of smoke and cars and more car fumes and people and alcoholics anonymous centres... alas it seems that most of the folk who should attend such places don't, such as the taxi driver who decided to drive off road and wrap his car around the lamp post just yards from where me and a friend were walking. I love lamp posts.
I signed up to cycle 'the world's most dangerous road' which is basically a single track gravel road cut into the edge of a sheer mountain side. Its stunning. One of the most amazing places I've been. It was a photo of these roads that first triggered my interest in Bolivia and by gum they lived up to my expectations. Unfortunately the nickname 'death road' also lived up to its reputation and a middle aged man in my group fell off his bike and off the edge with tragic consequences. So that was a terrible shock and needless to say we didnt finish the road. These places deserve and demand respect... I just learnt that another cyclist was killed 2 days ago, knocked off the edge by a bus. Sometimes its easy to dismiss the disclaimers you sign for these things, but they're there for a reason!To top off that rather somber day I then fell quite ill for a few days, boo. However, I am now marvellous again so thats all history, yey.
On 23rd I flew north from La Paz to a small town/village called Rurrenabaque. Its on the edge of the jungle and the starting point for my 3 day pampas tour. Stepping off the plane I almost melted, coming from La Paz at 3500m altitude it was VERY hot and humid. I was annoyed with myself as I'd forgotten to take my penknife out of my hand luggage at the airport... but luckily the nice check-in man took it from me and then went round security and gave it back to me when I got on the plane!!!My taxi met me at the airport... it was a scooter. Good job I only had a small rucksack. I then spent one night in a hostel hoping that the electric ceiling fan wouldn't fall down as it was a tad wonky. The next morning I set off for my pampas tour.
It started with a 3 hour jeep ride on a spine numbing bumpy road... boing boing. We then unloaded the jeep and loaded the boat which took 1 an a half hours to get us to the lodge. The wildlife in the pampas pretty much smacks you in the face. Within minutes we were seeing huge stork birds, parrots, vultures, crocodiles, squirrel monkeys, dolphins... Anyhoo, we arrived at the lodge and I found a nice hammock to swing in for a while before that evening's crocodile hunt. Croc eyes glow red in torch light, and boy oh boy were there alot of red eyes. Yuri, our guide, caught a baby croc so we got a close up view, it was about 2 years old and probably 50cm long. In the dark, the plants were full of little glowing bugs and fireflies which looked like they were reflecting the stars in the sky... the night time is deafening with all the bugs singing and buzzing and the odd frog splooshing into the water.
Back at camp I almost trod on an Anaconda in the darkness... yikes! Thank goodness I had my headlamp on. Although apparently they aren't poisonous... they just give a nasty bite.Next morning we went off down river to a marshy bit to hunt for Anacondas... alas 2 hours of plodding about in knee deep water and mud we didnt see any (although we heard and saw movements from about 3 or 4). We returned to the lodge for lunch... yum... then headed out again to go piranha fishing. I didnt hold many hopes for catching anything but ended up catching the most in my group... 2 piranha, 1 sardine and a slimy catfish thing later we left our fishing spot to watch the sunset.
Day 3 consisted of going swimming... in the same river we caught piranha, hunted crocodiles, where anaconda live etc... with pink river dolphins. They like to nibble your feet under the water which is a bit disconcerting as you can't see below the surface. One girl in our group got a hefty chomp on the bum from a piranha too... hee hee. I decided to get out at that point.
We then headed back to Rurrenabaque by boat and then jeep. My little plane back to La Paz was literally waiting for me when I got to the airport so I jumped on (the dont have security scanners so penknife was safely carried on, phew). The runway is a grass and mud strip cleared from the surrounding forest so a few bumps later we were airborn.
There... a brief yet rambling run down of Beagle in the jungle pampas... loved it and was ace to be away from 'civilisation' for 3 days although am glad to be back so I can tend my poor bitten feet and legs and liberally apply aftersun to my burnt bits (I ran out of suncream on the last day, oops).
Right, off to book my bus south. Chau...
Wednesday, 16 April 2008
Almost...
Wednesday 16th April
Well, today I returned from Huayna Potosi... the 6088m snowy mountain near La Paz. Alas, mine is not a tale of victory, boo, but it was an adventure nonetheless.
We started yesterday with a 2 hour trek to the 'high camp' at 5300m... thats pretty high. More than enough to make going to the loo a breathless experience! Hmm, perhaps a bad choice of example...
We had a spot of dinner, then went to bed at 6pm... to be woken at midnight for our summit departure at 1am. So, not much sleep and alot of clothes putting on later we were ready for the off. I was paired with a guide all to myself... called Andreas. He was tiny (compared to me) and had gold around his front teeth which seems to be the fashion here. There was another girl in the group who also had her own guide... we were grouped according to speed. And two giant dutch guys who were speedy and grouped together with the 3rd guide.
I had a pair of kickass plastic boots... illuminous yellow with mean crampons. Had there been any planes flying over I could have easily landed them by waving my boots in the correct manner. Unfortunately the boots were way too big and 4 pairs of socks later my poor wee tootsies were still floating around... nevermind, onwards and upwards.
So off I went, up the snow, following the footprints illuminated in the ittle circle of light from my headtorch. And that was my view for the next 5 hours. The dutch guys soon passed me and were gone, the american girl was way behind so it was just me and my guide in the dark. It was one of the loneliest physical challenges I've done... just me against myself really.
All went well for a couple of hours but I then started having stomach issues and dizziness. Battled on with it for another 2 hours, including a bit where you have to climb across a crevass and then climb a near vertical snow wall with ice axe and crampon power. I actually liked that bit, was fun.
Kept pushing on, determined as usual, but just got to the stage where my legs were so tired I could barely lift my boots and I was wretching every few steps (nice huh)... my feet started not quite going where my brain was telling them to. I hadn't been drinking, honest! So Ma and Pa you'll be pleased (and maybe surprised!!!) to hear that I was SENSIBLE and decided to turn round just as soon as I started feeling unsafe. And to be honest I knew I couldn't have finished the climb which I knew was another half hour at least and then a 1 hour climb up a 150m wall.
The walk back was beautiful. The sun was rising and the sky burst into a million colours. I was amazed at just how far I'd actually gone and how steep it all was. That was the good thing about climbing in the dark, you are happily oblivious to what you're climbing on, round and up! In the photo, I got to just below the right hand snowy peak/point (which is the summit). You can just about make out the tracks in the snow which start on the left and go up and to the right, above the rocky bit. Then onward and upward over the second peak's shoulder to the base of the summit peak.
Anyway, got back down to the hut having reached about 5900m where I found 2 other people who had turned back earlier... was disappointed especially as I should have been able to do it but I just felt weak for some reason. But then, its good to be reminded every now and again that we cant always have what we want. And especially where the rather wonderful Mother Nature is concerned. So, I missed my 6000m mark by a snippet, but I'll get it one day... hopefully with boots that fit and stronger legs (and a better stomach)! Glad I tried though. Snow climbing though was fun, if very tiring... looking forward to taking a course somewhen.
Well, today I returned from Huayna Potosi... the 6088m snowy mountain near La Paz. Alas, mine is not a tale of victory, boo, but it was an adventure nonetheless.
We started yesterday with a 2 hour trek to the 'high camp' at 5300m... thats pretty high. More than enough to make going to the loo a breathless experience! Hmm, perhaps a bad choice of example...
We had a spot of dinner, then went to bed at 6pm... to be woken at midnight for our summit departure at 1am. So, not much sleep and alot of clothes putting on later we were ready for the off. I was paired with a guide all to myself... called Andreas. He was tiny (compared to me) and had gold around his front teeth which seems to be the fashion here. There was another girl in the group who also had her own guide... we were grouped according to speed. And two giant dutch guys who were speedy and grouped together with the 3rd guide.
I had a pair of kickass plastic boots... illuminous yellow with mean crampons. Had there been any planes flying over I could have easily landed them by waving my boots in the correct manner. Unfortunately the boots were way too big and 4 pairs of socks later my poor wee tootsies were still floating around... nevermind, onwards and upwards.So off I went, up the snow, following the footprints illuminated in the ittle circle of light from my headtorch. And that was my view for the next 5 hours. The dutch guys soon passed me and were gone, the american girl was way behind so it was just me and my guide in the dark. It was one of the loneliest physical challenges I've done... just me against myself really.
All went well for a couple of hours but I then started having stomach issues and dizziness. Battled on with it for another 2 hours, including a bit where you have to climb across a crevass and then climb a near vertical snow wall with ice axe and crampon power. I actually liked that bit, was fun.
Kept pushing on, determined as usual, but just got to the stage where my legs were so tired I could barely lift my boots and I was wretching every few steps (nice huh)... my feet started not quite going where my brain was telling them to. I hadn't been drinking, honest! So Ma and Pa you'll be pleased (and maybe surprised!!!) to hear that I was SENSIBLE and decided to turn round just as soon as I started feeling unsafe. And to be honest I knew I couldn't have finished the climb which I knew was another half hour at least and then a 1 hour climb up a 150m wall.
The walk back was beautiful. The sun was rising and the sky burst into a million colours. I was amazed at just how far I'd actually gone and how steep it all was. That was the good thing about climbing in the dark, you are happily oblivious to what you're climbing on, round and up! In the photo, I got to just below the right hand snowy peak/point (which is the summit). You can just about make out the tracks in the snow which start on the left and go up and to the right, above the rocky bit. Then onward and upward over the second peak's shoulder to the base of the summit peak.Anyway, got back down to the hut having reached about 5900m where I found 2 other people who had turned back earlier... was disappointed especially as I should have been able to do it but I just felt weak for some reason. But then, its good to be reminded every now and again that we cant always have what we want. And especially where the rather wonderful Mother Nature is concerned. So, I missed my 6000m mark by a snippet, but I'll get it one day... hopefully with boots that fit and stronger legs (and a better stomach)! Glad I tried though. Snow climbing though was fun, if very tiring... looking forward to taking a course somewhen.
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