After 47 days, 5 countries, 3 Jungle Trips, 2 stomach parasites and an amazing time... its almost time we packed our bags for the last time and headed back home....
But thats not to say we´re leaving quietly... Our last day is pretty jam packed... Our plan is to go to Igazu falls this morning for one last look (they are truly amazing!!.. yesterday we went on a speed boat ride that took us right under them.. the pressure was crazy), then we jump on a plane to Buenos Aires, where we have 55 minutes to get to our hotel and change and be ready to be picked up to go to a Football match.. then we plan to head to Polermo (party district) for one last steak, then head out for drinks....All going to plan we are able to wake up and head to the airport about 10am tomorrow!.
The trip has been awesome.. we´ve seen so much, done so much and only thought our death was imminent on a handful of occasions...
Thanks to everyone that commented, you´ve kept us company, made us laugh and are truly the only reason we will be able to make it to the airport tomorrow!..
Our flight arrives around 9.20pm on Sunday night.....
For everyone at work , we´ll see you Wednesday...
Signing Out...
The Jungle Girls..
Friday, September 24, 2010
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Lovin Argentina!!
Ok, you can´t make us come home.. Honestly.... we´re in love and might just stay here... Of course we´ll come home for Christmas.....
Yesterday we arrived in Buenos Aires... and its awesome... For instance McDonalds has caramel icecream with cadbury chocolate bits in it and caramel fudge... ... like can you even imagine a bettter concept than that!!... Not to mention that within 3 hours being through customs, we found ourselves in a Tango class... which was followed by a 3 course meal WITH alcohol included... whilst watching a very fancy Tango show....This place is seriously cool.. in every sense... Oh, and the locals aren´t that hideious to admire either!. ahah...
This morning we woke up not feeling the best and initially were worried that the food was dodgy!... but then we realised it was just an old friend of ours called Hangover... its been so long we mistook it for the return of Frank and Connor...Ahh, the memories of self inflicted pain...
Anyway, gotta run cause we only got one lifetime to explore this town and it may not be enough...
Take Care...
Yesterday we arrived in Buenos Aires... and its awesome... For instance McDonalds has caramel icecream with cadbury chocolate bits in it and caramel fudge... ... like can you even imagine a bettter concept than that!!... Not to mention that within 3 hours being through customs, we found ourselves in a Tango class... which was followed by a 3 course meal WITH alcohol included... whilst watching a very fancy Tango show....This place is seriously cool.. in every sense... Oh, and the locals aren´t that hideious to admire either!. ahah...
This morning we woke up not feeling the best and initially were worried that the food was dodgy!... but then we realised it was just an old friend of ours called Hangover... its been so long we mistook it for the return of Frank and Connor...Ahh, the memories of self inflicted pain...
Anyway, gotta run cause we only got one lifetime to explore this town and it may not be enough...
Take Care...
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Mayo fell in love with Leah then peed on me...
Hey guys,
Fresh off the canoe, speedboat, motorbike, plane then taxi, ´we´ve just gotten back from the Jungle and are hanging out in a very cool hostel in Lima...
The last few days have been very cool.... plently of time to lie in our hammocks reading, with the odd jungle excurision to break up the days...
Today we went fishing for piranhas, and I caught 5.. though 2 got away... and Leah also managed to catch one, and caught an angel fish.... Yesterday, we went to a local village and while we were chatting to the locals, they happened to show us a massive Boa Constrictor that was just cruising around... It was totally surreal cause there were 4yr kids running around patting it as well.... Very bizarre...
Strangely enough, our ¨"hotel" in the jungle could accomodate 80 people but there was just 3 of us... Leah, me and another girl we made friends with from our last tour who decided to join us.. It was cool.. The hotel had no electricity in our rooms, so we were going to bed VERY early...
As for Mayo... Hes a monkey!..We stopped via an Island where the monkeys come and climb all over you... While one took a big liking to Leah and tried to drag her into the jungle.. when it came time to give me a hug.. he peed on me... Dirty little bugger...
Anyway.. . We´ll definitely post some photos soon.. but my dinner just arrived so i´m going to run and eat...
Fresh off the canoe, speedboat, motorbike, plane then taxi, ´we´ve just gotten back from the Jungle and are hanging out in a very cool hostel in Lima...
The last few days have been very cool.... plently of time to lie in our hammocks reading, with the odd jungle excurision to break up the days...
Today we went fishing for piranhas, and I caught 5.. though 2 got away... and Leah also managed to catch one, and caught an angel fish.... Yesterday, we went to a local village and while we were chatting to the locals, they happened to show us a massive Boa Constrictor that was just cruising around... It was totally surreal cause there were 4yr kids running around patting it as well.... Very bizarre...
Strangely enough, our ¨"hotel" in the jungle could accomodate 80 people but there was just 3 of us... Leah, me and another girl we made friends with from our last tour who decided to join us.. It was cool.. The hotel had no electricity in our rooms, so we were going to bed VERY early...
As for Mayo... Hes a monkey!..We stopped via an Island where the monkeys come and climb all over you... While one took a big liking to Leah and tried to drag her into the jungle.. when it came time to give me a hug.. he peed on me... Dirty little bugger...
Anyway.. . We´ll definitely post some photos soon.. but my dinner just arrived so i´m going to run and eat...
Friday, September 17, 2010
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Frank and Connor Died so we had a pina colada
Hi Guys
Yesterday, we finally managed to kill off Frank and Connor (our pet stomach parasites) and celebrated by having Pina Coladas by the pool in our desert Oasis town of Huacachina.... It was the perfect day to start feeling better as we had a planned Sand Boarding excursion in the afternoon..
I think its safe to say its one of the most fun afternoons I´ve ever had... Firstly we were harnessed into our V8 dune buggies, complete with roll bars where we went on the most exhilirating ride of our life.. We were flying over massive sanddunes at around 100km per hr, often being air borne while we sailed over the top of dunes that had sheer drops... The adrenalin rush was awesome....
After finally stopping out in the middle, we unloaded our sand boards, and "surfed" down a few massive hills...
Arriving back in time to watch the sun set over the Oasis, I think we only then remembered to breathe again after smiling and screaming so much for the last few hours...
This morning we started off early and headed to the Ballestas Islands... or commonly known as Poor Mans Galpagos... It was about half an hour´s boat ride out to the islands, where we were greeted with approx 90 gazillion birds, give or take... and more than our fair share of Sea Lions... Check out the pics for an idea of the birdlife out there!..
This arvo, we plan to sit around the pool again and have a few more pina coladas. After 5 weeks of not being able to drink due to either altitude or sickness, we fully intend on making up for lost time!.
Tomorrow we´re headed off to Lima, where this tour finally ends... But as they say, as one Tour Ends, another begins and we will find ourselves with a new group, heading back to the Amazon!.
Chat soon
Leah and Katie..
Yesterday, we finally managed to kill off Frank and Connor (our pet stomach parasites) and celebrated by having Pina Coladas by the pool in our desert Oasis town of Huacachina.... It was the perfect day to start feeling better as we had a planned Sand Boarding excursion in the afternoon..
I think its safe to say its one of the most fun afternoons I´ve ever had... Firstly we were harnessed into our V8 dune buggies, complete with roll bars where we went on the most exhilirating ride of our life.. We were flying over massive sanddunes at around 100km per hr, often being air borne while we sailed over the top of dunes that had sheer drops... The adrenalin rush was awesome....
After finally stopping out in the middle, we unloaded our sand boards, and "surfed" down a few massive hills...
Arriving back in time to watch the sun set over the Oasis, I think we only then remembered to breathe again after smiling and screaming so much for the last few hours...
This morning we started off early and headed to the Ballestas Islands... or commonly known as Poor Mans Galpagos... It was about half an hour´s boat ride out to the islands, where we were greeted with approx 90 gazillion birds, give or take... and more than our fair share of Sea Lions... Check out the pics for an idea of the birdlife out there!..
This arvo, we plan to sit around the pool again and have a few more pina coladas. After 5 weeks of not being able to drink due to either altitude or sickness, we fully intend on making up for lost time!.
Tomorrow we´re headed off to Lima, where this tour finally ends... But as they say, as one Tour Ends, another begins and we will find ourselves with a new group, heading back to the Amazon!.
Chat soon
Leah and Katie..
Monday, September 13, 2010
5 Seater Plane and Open Graves
Hi Guys!
After staying up till the crazy hour of 8.30pm last night ive found myself wide away around 6.30 so I thought I´d come down and say hi...
Yesterday we arrived in Nasca, after spending the night travelling here on a bus from Arequipa.. Arriving around 6.30am we had a brief chance to shower and unpack before heading off to the Airport for a flight to see the Nasca lines...
Our plane seated only 5 people and had the optional advantage of being able to be flown with the windows down...I think everytime a Condor in Peru farter we dropped a few feet and swayed to the left...Nevertheless, the flight was good fun and we got a really good view of the lines.. Pretty amazing stuff....
Interestingly, in order to fly on the small planes you had to weigh in so they could make sure weight was distributed evenly.. It seems thanks to Frank and Connor (our pet stomach parasites), Leah and I have lost 5 and 7 kgs respectively since the start of the trip!!.. Never mind though, we fully intend on eating more fudge icecream in the next 2weeks so will probably regain it al!.
After the flight we did a tour of the local cementary which is easily the most bizarre thing i´ve ever seen.. Stuck in the desert, graves are now lying open shwing you the mummified bodies of people that died over 1000 years ago.. You can see their hair, eyes, tongue in some cases.. Its truly gross.. Worse still you walk around and can see random rib cages and bones on the top of the sand.... The wind was blowing a gale so you involuntarily swallowed like heaps of "people dust" as we were calling it...
We will try and post some pics cause its really creepy...
Anyway, today we´re off to play in Sand Buggy´s and go sandboarding.... Whilst tomorrow we´re off to the Ballastas Islands.
Chat soon.
Love Leah and Katie.
After staying up till the crazy hour of 8.30pm last night ive found myself wide away around 6.30 so I thought I´d come down and say hi...
Yesterday we arrived in Nasca, after spending the night travelling here on a bus from Arequipa.. Arriving around 6.30am we had a brief chance to shower and unpack before heading off to the Airport for a flight to see the Nasca lines...
Our plane seated only 5 people and had the optional advantage of being able to be flown with the windows down...I think everytime a Condor in Peru farter we dropped a few feet and swayed to the left...Nevertheless, the flight was good fun and we got a really good view of the lines.. Pretty amazing stuff....
Interestingly, in order to fly on the small planes you had to weigh in so they could make sure weight was distributed evenly.. It seems thanks to Frank and Connor (our pet stomach parasites), Leah and I have lost 5 and 7 kgs respectively since the start of the trip!!.. Never mind though, we fully intend on eating more fudge icecream in the next 2weeks so will probably regain it al!.
After the flight we did a tour of the local cementary which is easily the most bizarre thing i´ve ever seen.. Stuck in the desert, graves are now lying open shwing you the mummified bodies of people that died over 1000 years ago.. You can see their hair, eyes, tongue in some cases.. Its truly gross.. Worse still you walk around and can see random rib cages and bones on the top of the sand.... The wind was blowing a gale so you involuntarily swallowed like heaps of "people dust" as we were calling it...
We will try and post some pics cause its really creepy...
Anyway, today we´re off to play in Sand Buggy´s and go sandboarding.... Whilst tomorrow we´re off to the Ballastas Islands.
Chat soon.
Love Leah and Katie.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Mummies and Parasites...
Hi Guys!...
Greetings from Arequipa.....We´ve just come back from visiting Juanita.. Juantia was a teenage incan girl that was sacrificed on a mountain 500 years ago and perfectly preserved until she was discovered 15yrs ago... It was a bit creepy actually, you can still see flesh and hair and teeth and everything!..
Following Juanita, we went to check out a "city inside of a city".. Its actually a massive convent that has been occupied by Nuns since the 1600´s... Once inside, they dont leave.. Even today there are still some nuns that live in there but stay in a separate area during the day while Tourists can walk around and have a look... think its safe to say its the only time Leah and I will be spending our time inside a convent... However, it would be wrong of me not to mention the most amazing Brownie-icecream-fudge dessert we ate inside.....
Health Update....
After a couple of weeks of not being able to eat, and being constantly sick, our Guide arranged for a Doctor to visit our hotel.... and he quickly diagnosed our problem... wait for it..... We are the proud hosts of some stomach parasites... yep.... we have some nasty little South American buggers in our guts that means that we can function quite ok as long as we dont eat... And so as soon as we feel better, we eat, then get massively sick again... The good news was that the cure sounded quite simple..Take one tablet and the parasite will die, and then take 2 more tablets for 3 days and it will kill any bacteria that we may also have.......
So with great joy we stocked up at the chemist last night and cheered to our parasite killing party (after naming our enemies of course).... Only thing was the Dr didn´t warn us that this magic pill is somewhat equivalent to swallowing Napalm.... Within 15min of swallowing it, the 4 of us that took it were staggering home... One person dry wretching in the gutter and Leah and I doubled over in agony trying to get back to our rooms.....Its seriously potent stuff!..
On the good side, i managed to scoff my dessert and am still not suffering, so I tentatively say I may just be cured... just in time given we have a night bus tonight to Nazca.....Tomorrow we go on a flight to see the Nazca lines, and then we´re off to see some massive sanddunes and go sand boarding...
Better run.. Hope everyone is doing well.. Love to hear from you all.
Love Katie and Leah.
Greetings from Arequipa.....We´ve just come back from visiting Juanita.. Juantia was a teenage incan girl that was sacrificed on a mountain 500 years ago and perfectly preserved until she was discovered 15yrs ago... It was a bit creepy actually, you can still see flesh and hair and teeth and everything!..
Following Juanita, we went to check out a "city inside of a city".. Its actually a massive convent that has been occupied by Nuns since the 1600´s... Once inside, they dont leave.. Even today there are still some nuns that live in there but stay in a separate area during the day while Tourists can walk around and have a look... think its safe to say its the only time Leah and I will be spending our time inside a convent... However, it would be wrong of me not to mention the most amazing Brownie-icecream-fudge dessert we ate inside.....
Health Update....
After a couple of weeks of not being able to eat, and being constantly sick, our Guide arranged for a Doctor to visit our hotel.... and he quickly diagnosed our problem... wait for it..... We are the proud hosts of some stomach parasites... yep.... we have some nasty little South American buggers in our guts that means that we can function quite ok as long as we dont eat... And so as soon as we feel better, we eat, then get massively sick again... The good news was that the cure sounded quite simple..Take one tablet and the parasite will die, and then take 2 more tablets for 3 days and it will kill any bacteria that we may also have.......
So with great joy we stocked up at the chemist last night and cheered to our parasite killing party (after naming our enemies of course).... Only thing was the Dr didn´t warn us that this magic pill is somewhat equivalent to swallowing Napalm.... Within 15min of swallowing it, the 4 of us that took it were staggering home... One person dry wretching in the gutter and Leah and I doubled over in agony trying to get back to our rooms.....Its seriously potent stuff!..
On the good side, i managed to scoff my dessert and am still not suffering, so I tentatively say I may just be cured... just in time given we have a night bus tonight to Nazca.....Tomorrow we go on a flight to see the Nazca lines, and then we´re off to see some massive sanddunes and go sand boarding...
Better run.. Hope everyone is doing well.. Love to hear from you all.
Love Katie and Leah.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
The Group has moved on, and Im still here!
It was around 2.00am this morning when I was sitting on the floor of the shower, knowingly, and uncaringly risking getting Tinea on my backside, feeling like death that I first wondered why on earth hadnt I suggested to Leah that we spend 7 weeks in the Maldives or Tahiti sipping cocktails around a swimming pool..
After skipping meals for the last 48 hours Leah and I decided to start eating last night ... thinking we were sensible we ate only rice and herbal tea... Leah said she felt sick going to bed, but I felt really good.. until around 1.30am..
I realised around 3.00am that there was no chance I was willingly going to get on a bus with no toilet at 9.00am for a travel day and two day excursion to the Colca Canyon to see Condors.... ..So i took every possible drug I could find in our room and waited for either daylight or death.. haha.
Thankfully, Leah managed to speak with our guide and arranged for me to stay at this hotel with a stockpile of water, drugs and toilet paper for the next two days and Ill rejoin the group when they return....
The hotel is lovely and they ring up and check on me and offer to bring me stuff up so I know Ill be fine.. From all accounts this only lasts for about 2 days and then everyone seems to be back on track... Luckily we still have a free day in Arequipa when the group returns so I{ll still be able to have a look around when im better.
As for Condors, I will be like you and eagerly await Leahs return to see pictures.... until then I may just look them up on Google
chat to you soon...
(ps.. as Leah is the official photo poster on this blog, we may need to wait for her to return to post photos of the Inca trail.. but she has left with me the USB of piccies we have chosen... I just have to figure out how to decompress the size... if i master that ill post them earlier.)
After skipping meals for the last 48 hours Leah and I decided to start eating last night ... thinking we were sensible we ate only rice and herbal tea... Leah said she felt sick going to bed, but I felt really good.. until around 1.30am..
I realised around 3.00am that there was no chance I was willingly going to get on a bus with no toilet at 9.00am for a travel day and two day excursion to the Colca Canyon to see Condors.... ..So i took every possible drug I could find in our room and waited for either daylight or death.. haha.
Thankfully, Leah managed to speak with our guide and arranged for me to stay at this hotel with a stockpile of water, drugs and toilet paper for the next two days and Ill rejoin the group when they return....
The hotel is lovely and they ring up and check on me and offer to bring me stuff up so I know Ill be fine.. From all accounts this only lasts for about 2 days and then everyone seems to be back on track... Luckily we still have a free day in Arequipa when the group returns so I{ll still be able to have a look around when im better.
As for Condors, I will be like you and eagerly await Leahs return to see pictures.... until then I may just look them up on Google
chat to you soon...
(ps.. as Leah is the official photo poster on this blog, we may need to wait for her to return to post photos of the Inca trail.. but she has left with me the USB of piccies we have chosen... I just have to figure out how to decompress the size... if i master that ill post them earlier.)
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Landslides and Mass Vomitting...
Hey Guys
Am writing this from our hostel in Cusco.... As you may have read, our day yesterday started at 3.50am when we started the last part of our hike on the Inca Trail. I'm sure you can imagine that by the time we had lunch at 2pm, and were told to board a train back to Cusco at 5pm we were already exhausted... The train trip to Cusco was meant to take 4hrs, so our plan was to arrive around 9pm, grab some food and head out to meet our Inca guides at 10.30 for Salsa.. but as we have quickly learnt, not much goes according to plan in South America.
After playing cards on the train for about an hour, eating snacks, chatting and comparing photos the train threw on its emergency brakes, we heard a bit of a thud and saw a few drinks flying across the carriage... despite the intial concern it soon appeared that nothing drastic seemed to have happened and we kept on going, albeit a little on edge.
Not too much further down the line, we stopped again.. This time we were informed that there was a landslide ahead and we would need to wait 30min for the rocks to be cleared and the line to be restored. After an hour of waiting, we asked again what was happening and were told that the rocks were still falling on the line and could we please stand to the right side of the carriage as we were going to try and go through it.
To make it all a little more chaotic, our train had a glass roof, and we were currently stopped on the edge of a cliff. It was dark so we couldnt see the drop, but all noticed the train tilting as everyone moved to the right side. Our guide tried to convince the staff it was completely unsafe and we should just go backwards to the last town and we could catch local buses back. Unfortunately, our pleas were ignored and we proceeded through the landslide - the amount of rocks that had fallen were massive... It was the kind of experience you just know would never happen back home, but thankfully we made it through...
Arriving at our hotel close to Midnnight we scoffed a pizza and went to bed..... until during the night both Leah and I started taking turns in the toilet. This morning I went to cancel our Quad Biking that we planned for today, and Leah still hasnt' made it out of bed (its 3pm). I am barely holding off throwing up, but my stomach is certainly in crisis which sucks since i have only had the last 4 days where i havent' felt sick.., and poor Leah is very sick today... I stumbled down town earlier and tried in my best spanglish to get some drugs for her so hopefully she will start feeling better soon. Turns out7 of us out of our group are sick today so I suspect its not just coincidence.. Today's sickness now pretty much means every single person on this trip, all 16 of us has had stomach problems in the last 3 weeks... Is definitely not a continent for the faint hearted.
Drugs taken to date.
2 bottles of cough medicine, one each.
1 round of cold antibiotics, for me... You can get antibiotics for anything over the counter here.
1 round of stomach antibiotics, for Leah
2 lots of cold and flu tablets, one each
Lots of Gastro stop!
Malaria tablets
Altitude sickness tablets
Lots of Buscopan
Antibacterial stomach tablets
\
And the tally keeps counting.|...
Tomorrow we dont fly out until 12.30 so hopefully we will be in a better state by then....
Take Care...
L and K.
Am writing this from our hostel in Cusco.... As you may have read, our day yesterday started at 3.50am when we started the last part of our hike on the Inca Trail. I'm sure you can imagine that by the time we had lunch at 2pm, and were told to board a train back to Cusco at 5pm we were already exhausted... The train trip to Cusco was meant to take 4hrs, so our plan was to arrive around 9pm, grab some food and head out to meet our Inca guides at 10.30 for Salsa.. but as we have quickly learnt, not much goes according to plan in South America.
After playing cards on the train for about an hour, eating snacks, chatting and comparing photos the train threw on its emergency brakes, we heard a bit of a thud and saw a few drinks flying across the carriage... despite the intial concern it soon appeared that nothing drastic seemed to have happened and we kept on going, albeit a little on edge.
Not too much further down the line, we stopped again.. This time we were informed that there was a landslide ahead and we would need to wait 30min for the rocks to be cleared and the line to be restored. After an hour of waiting, we asked again what was happening and were told that the rocks were still falling on the line and could we please stand to the right side of the carriage as we were going to try and go through it.
To make it all a little more chaotic, our train had a glass roof, and we were currently stopped on the edge of a cliff. It was dark so we couldnt see the drop, but all noticed the train tilting as everyone moved to the right side. Our guide tried to convince the staff it was completely unsafe and we should just go backwards to the last town and we could catch local buses back. Unfortunately, our pleas were ignored and we proceeded through the landslide - the amount of rocks that had fallen were massive... It was the kind of experience you just know would never happen back home, but thankfully we made it through...
Arriving at our hotel close to Midnnight we scoffed a pizza and went to bed..... until during the night both Leah and I started taking turns in the toilet. This morning I went to cancel our Quad Biking that we planned for today, and Leah still hasnt' made it out of bed (its 3pm). I am barely holding off throwing up, but my stomach is certainly in crisis which sucks since i have only had the last 4 days where i havent' felt sick.., and poor Leah is very sick today... I stumbled down town earlier and tried in my best spanglish to get some drugs for her so hopefully she will start feeling better soon. Turns out7 of us out of our group are sick today so I suspect its not just coincidence.. Today's sickness now pretty much means every single person on this trip, all 16 of us has had stomach problems in the last 3 weeks... Is definitely not a continent for the faint hearted.
Drugs taken to date.
2 bottles of cough medicine, one each.
1 round of cold antibiotics, for me... You can get antibiotics for anything over the counter here.
1 round of stomach antibiotics, for Leah
2 lots of cold and flu tablets, one each
Lots of Gastro stop!
Malaria tablets
Altitude sickness tablets
Lots of Buscopan
Antibacterial stomach tablets
\
And the tally keeps counting.|...
Tomorrow we dont fly out until 12.30 so hopefully we will be in a better state by then....
Take Care...
L and K.
Monday, September 6, 2010
The Inca Trail is freaken hard......
Did i mention, EXTREMELY hard.....
Hey Guys
Fresh off the track this morning, we´re writing this while waiting for our well deserved hot apple pie and icecream and hot chocolate.. To say we can´t move is an understatement. Leah no longer has functional calves, and only one knee thats any use. As for me, i swear my ankle is broken in 9 places, but our spirits are high and we´ve had an amazing four days.
Never let anyone tell you the Inca trail isn´t hard. Its literally 4 days of walking up and down mountain ranges in the Andes at altitude. At some points its mind blowing, at others its soul destroying. Its not unusual to be told you have 4 hours of non stop stairs going up, or to be told you have 8km of walking down stairs with no flat sections.. There are no even paths, and every step is over rocks that are uneven...
At times it was really hot, and at others you need thermals and jackets on.... We were really lucky with the weather though as it didn´t rain... until this morning. We were woken up at 3.50am to start walking into Machu Picchu.... it was dark, cold, we were in pain and yes it was pouring rain..... To our great luck it cleared up mid morning and the sun came out ( I even got sunburnt) so we could get some great pictures which we will load in the next couple of days.
Gotta run cause my apple pie is here but will write tomorrow from Cusco... tonight we´re heading our with our tour guides for a bit more salsa in a club..
Chat soon.
Katie and Leah.. ( Inca Warriors!)
Hey Guys
Fresh off the track this morning, we´re writing this while waiting for our well deserved hot apple pie and icecream and hot chocolate.. To say we can´t move is an understatement. Leah no longer has functional calves, and only one knee thats any use. As for me, i swear my ankle is broken in 9 places, but our spirits are high and we´ve had an amazing four days.
Never let anyone tell you the Inca trail isn´t hard. Its literally 4 days of walking up and down mountain ranges in the Andes at altitude. At some points its mind blowing, at others its soul destroying. Its not unusual to be told you have 4 hours of non stop stairs going up, or to be told you have 8km of walking down stairs with no flat sections.. There are no even paths, and every step is over rocks that are uneven...
At times it was really hot, and at others you need thermals and jackets on.... We were really lucky with the weather though as it didn´t rain... until this morning. We were woken up at 3.50am to start walking into Machu Picchu.... it was dark, cold, we were in pain and yes it was pouring rain..... To our great luck it cleared up mid morning and the sun came out ( I even got sunburnt) so we could get some great pictures which we will load in the next couple of days.
Gotta run cause my apple pie is here but will write tomorrow from Cusco... tonight we´re heading our with our tour guides for a bit more salsa in a club..
Chat soon.
Katie and Leah.. ( Inca Warriors!)
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Off to do the Inca Trail..
Hi Guys
Greetings from Cusco.... We only have about 15min before our bus leaves so this is a quick update to say we're both still alive and having fun...
Tomorrow we embark on the our 4 day Inca Trek to Macchu Picchu.... Stayed up till past midnight packing last night and we're getting excited. Our briefing last night told us to prepare for some seriously cold weather and some hard work on Day 2 as we climb to over 4500m in altitude..... Please keep your fingers crossed for us... climbing one set of stairs at this altitude leaves us all breathless so the mere thought of the trek is pretty scary!.
Health update... Leah still has a bit of a cough, a sore knee and some minor concussion from whacking her head against a cement wall.... I still havent eaten a decent meal in about 4 /5 days without regretting it, but the cold is slowing going so whilst we're not in peak condition for the trek we were certainly worse a few days ago.
The last few days have been pretty fun - two of the people on our trip shared a birthday yesterday and we had our tour guides sister's hens night on the same day... ended up having our salsa dancing teacher do a strip show for us girls with his mate whilst the boys sat outside having a beer on the footpath, and then he took us all out to his salsa club dancing for the rest of the night to see in the birthday's..... Was awesome fun.. He was throwing us around the dancing floor and i swear everytime we thought our head would smash the floor but he knew his moves and we learnt a few moves..
Anyway gotta run...
Wish us luck for the next 4 days and we'll hopefully check in after having completed the trek..
Katie and Leah..
Greetings from Cusco.... We only have about 15min before our bus leaves so this is a quick update to say we're both still alive and having fun...
Tomorrow we embark on the our 4 day Inca Trek to Macchu Picchu.... Stayed up till past midnight packing last night and we're getting excited. Our briefing last night told us to prepare for some seriously cold weather and some hard work on Day 2 as we climb to over 4500m in altitude..... Please keep your fingers crossed for us... climbing one set of stairs at this altitude leaves us all breathless so the mere thought of the trek is pretty scary!.
Health update... Leah still has a bit of a cough, a sore knee and some minor concussion from whacking her head against a cement wall.... I still havent eaten a decent meal in about 4 /5 days without regretting it, but the cold is slowing going so whilst we're not in peak condition for the trek we were certainly worse a few days ago.
The last few days have been pretty fun - two of the people on our trip shared a birthday yesterday and we had our tour guides sister's hens night on the same day... ended up having our salsa dancing teacher do a strip show for us girls with his mate whilst the boys sat outside having a beer on the footpath, and then he took us all out to his salsa club dancing for the rest of the night to see in the birthday's..... Was awesome fun.. He was throwing us around the dancing floor and i swear everytime we thought our head would smash the floor but he knew his moves and we learnt a few moves..
Anyway gotta run...
Wish us luck for the next 4 days and we'll hopefully check in after having completed the trek..
Katie and Leah..
Monday, August 30, 2010
Home away from the Homestay
Hi Guys
We´re back in Puno having a bit of a rest day today after being adopted out to a remote island family for a night....
Yesterday morning we boarded a boat for a 3hr trip across Lake Titicaca (the lake is over 160km long! and is at around 3800m or so above sea level). The first stop was a little island for lunch and a quick tour.. I´d (Katie) tell you about it but i´ve been sick as a dog so i stayed on the boat whilst the others climbed up the hill. I have a bad head cold and my stomach has decided not to be friends with food...
After another 1hr boat trip we arrived at our Island... the view was seriously beautiful, really clear blue water and for the first time since our trip, fresh air!... We were greeted by our new "mama" who in our case happened to be an 18yr girl!... We were taken back to the family house that she shared with her parents and brother and a sister... After some time to get our stuff unpacked, we went down to the local football field (which was made of cement!) to have a game with the locals. I (Leah) was looking forward to playing, but just before we left the house to come down managed to split my head open on the cement doorway to our room...which happened to be a good foot shorter than me!
After soccer we were invited into the Kitchen for dinner.. The kitchen was a separate mud hut- we were invited to sit at the table whilst the real Mum, Dad and Grandmother sat on stools on the floor to eat.. Dinner was a basic vege soup, then rice with veges... As I (Katie) wasn´t feeling well, i didn´t eat much but the Dad went and got some mint for some tea which apparently is good for your stomach then went and warmed a rock on a fire for me to use as a hot water blanket.. not bad hey!..
After dinner our "mama" and her mum came up to our room with armfuls of traditional clothes and dressed us all up! We then went down to the hall where they had a band playing and we danced until we fell over (literally.... the altitude made it impossible to dance more than about 5 minutes without collapsing on a chair!)
This morning after some pancakes for brekkie we said goodbye to our "mama´s" and caught the boat back to Puno via Uros - the floating reed islands (check out the photos - pretty bizarre!!!)
Tomorrow we head to Cuzco (where I beleive some salsa dancing is on the cards - and no I won´t let Katie off the hook!!!)
Hope you are all well and talk to you soon....
Katie and Leah
We´re back in Puno having a bit of a rest day today after being adopted out to a remote island family for a night....
Yesterday morning we boarded a boat for a 3hr trip across Lake Titicaca (the lake is over 160km long! and is at around 3800m or so above sea level). The first stop was a little island for lunch and a quick tour.. I´d (Katie) tell you about it but i´ve been sick as a dog so i stayed on the boat whilst the others climbed up the hill. I have a bad head cold and my stomach has decided not to be friends with food...
After another 1hr boat trip we arrived at our Island... the view was seriously beautiful, really clear blue water and for the first time since our trip, fresh air!... We were greeted by our new "mama" who in our case happened to be an 18yr girl!... We were taken back to the family house that she shared with her parents and brother and a sister... After some time to get our stuff unpacked, we went down to the local football field (which was made of cement!) to have a game with the locals. I (Leah) was looking forward to playing, but just before we left the house to come down managed to split my head open on the cement doorway to our room...which happened to be a good foot shorter than me!
After soccer we were invited into the Kitchen for dinner.. The kitchen was a separate mud hut- we were invited to sit at the table whilst the real Mum, Dad and Grandmother sat on stools on the floor to eat.. Dinner was a basic vege soup, then rice with veges... As I (Katie) wasn´t feeling well, i didn´t eat much but the Dad went and got some mint for some tea which apparently is good for your stomach then went and warmed a rock on a fire for me to use as a hot water blanket.. not bad hey!..
After dinner our "mama" and her mum came up to our room with armfuls of traditional clothes and dressed us all up! We then went down to the hall where they had a band playing and we danced until we fell over (literally.... the altitude made it impossible to dance more than about 5 minutes without collapsing on a chair!)
This morning after some pancakes for brekkie we said goodbye to our "mama´s" and caught the boat back to Puno via Uros - the floating reed islands (check out the photos - pretty bizarre!!!)
Tomorrow we head to Cuzco (where I beleive some salsa dancing is on the cards - and no I won´t let Katie off the hook!!!)
Hope you are all well and talk to you soon....
Katie and Leah
Friday, August 27, 2010
The Ultimate Ride...
Hi Guys!
This morning for breakfast I had a malaria tablet, an altitude sickness tablet, 2 sinus tablets and 2 gastro stop tablets... Similarly, Leah chose to vary her buffet by substituting the last two items for some cough syrup and a caramel biscuit that was scavenged off a bus about a week ago...
Needless to say we weren´t feeling the best, but that didnt stop us embarking on our final Bolivian challenge...Cycling Death Road affectionally known as the Worlds deadliest road.....
The ride started at 4700m above sea level and covered 64km of downhill descent to a final destination at around 1200m... The vast majority of the road is unsealed dirt road which is only about 3m wide and, requires you to navigate various obstacles like cows, dogs, kids, potholes , water crossings, hair pin turns and of course the sheer drops of up to 600m with no guard rails. In some sections of the ride you get up to between 40-60km per hour...
The scenery (by daylight) was absolutely stunning and it really was a mental challenge more so than a physical one... When you relaxed and enjoyed the ride you seemed to glide over the rocks and it felt great.. The second you actually thought about it and looked over the edge, you would over correct and get all jumpy and start to skid... Due to the variances in altitude, the first part of the ride was quite cold, but by the time we decended below around 2500m, it got quite warm.
The bikes were great quality and the guides very professional. To keep things safe we didn´t take any photos as we went but there was a team photographer that took shots along the way so we get the CD tonight and cant wait to see them.
Tomorrow we have a travel day as we head towards Puno and ultimately Lake Titicaca in Peru.. at which point we get billetted out to a local family for a homestay. I think for the most part the most dangerous parts of our tour is behind us and we have survived !!
Hope everyone at home is doing well!. Can´t wait to see you all and seriously can´t wait to see a real toilet.. Constantly paying for toilets that dont flush, or dont have doors and all of which means you can´t put the paper in the toilet is kinda gross...
Chances are our host family wont have electricity let alone internet access so we might be offline for a couple of days, but will definitely check in again as soon as we can.. but dont worry, it will be a tame few days if everything goes to plan...
Miss you all..
Leah and Katie.
This morning for breakfast I had a malaria tablet, an altitude sickness tablet, 2 sinus tablets and 2 gastro stop tablets... Similarly, Leah chose to vary her buffet by substituting the last two items for some cough syrup and a caramel biscuit that was scavenged off a bus about a week ago...
Needless to say we weren´t feeling the best, but that didnt stop us embarking on our final Bolivian challenge...Cycling Death Road affectionally known as the Worlds deadliest road.....
The ride started at 4700m above sea level and covered 64km of downhill descent to a final destination at around 1200m... The vast majority of the road is unsealed dirt road which is only about 3m wide and, requires you to navigate various obstacles like cows, dogs, kids, potholes , water crossings, hair pin turns and of course the sheer drops of up to 600m with no guard rails. In some sections of the ride you get up to between 40-60km per hour...
The scenery (by daylight) was absolutely stunning and it really was a mental challenge more so than a physical one... When you relaxed and enjoyed the ride you seemed to glide over the rocks and it felt great.. The second you actually thought about it and looked over the edge, you would over correct and get all jumpy and start to skid... Due to the variances in altitude, the first part of the ride was quite cold, but by the time we decended below around 2500m, it got quite warm.
The bikes were great quality and the guides very professional. To keep things safe we didn´t take any photos as we went but there was a team photographer that took shots along the way so we get the CD tonight and cant wait to see them.
Tomorrow we have a travel day as we head towards Puno and ultimately Lake Titicaca in Peru.. at which point we get billetted out to a local family for a homestay. I think for the most part the most dangerous parts of our tour is behind us and we have survived !!
Hope everyone at home is doing well!. Can´t wait to see you all and seriously can´t wait to see a real toilet.. Constantly paying for toilets that dont flush, or dont have doors and all of which means you can´t put the paper in the toilet is kinda gross...
Chances are our host family wont have electricity let alone internet access so we might be offline for a couple of days, but will definitely check in again as soon as we can.. but dont worry, it will be a tame few days if everything goes to plan...
Miss you all..
Leah and Katie.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Always have a backup plan... even for the backup plan...
Hi Guys
We are writing this safe and well from La Paz (Bolivia), after a horror 15hr jeep ride (more on that later) and only 4 hours sleep, so we´re pretty exhausted... but let me try and bring you all back to speed....
It was only a few days ago we were sitting on our 18 seater Bolivian light aircraft flying La Paz to Rurrenbaque (Gateway town to the Amazon) and getting precariously close to the Andes when we thought Adventure had reached a new level.. little did we know what was in store for us..
As you may recall, we were never meant to go to the Amazon at this stage, but it became a back up plan when we had to be diverted to avoid some violent protests in several towns nearby. Unfortunately, noone told us that at this time of year nearly EVERY farmer in the Amazon burns off so the entire place is filled with smoke...(more on this later!)
Given the amount of things we´ve been up to, i´ll just bullet point our highlights....In the last 3 days we have
- Fished for Piranhas in the Amazon river (Our guide caught 7 of them and Leah caught a catfish!)
- After fishing for them, we jumped in and had a swim in Alligator and Piranha invested waters (Sorry mum i know i promised i wouldn´t but it was so HOT)
- After fishing and swimming with Piranhas we figured the next logical step would be to eat one.. so we did (tastes like fish!)
-We´ve been Anaconda hunting (somewhat scary since we had no first aid supplies and ended up walking around in shin high mud looking for a Cobra or Green Mumba)
- Our local tour company that took us out to the Amazon didn´t cater enough water so on the second day we were rationed 2 litres each to last just over 24hrs... keep in mind the temperature was so hot and humid and we were out in the sun all day.. it was torture.. At one point our back up plan was to boil the water in the tank normally used for showers.... which was fine until the water pump broke...
We made it back to Runnebaque only to discover that no flights had arrived or left for the last few days due to the smoke... Our luck continued when we realised we were stuck.. We couldn´t stay another night as the town has no ATM or money exchange and we had all only bought with us 3 days worth of cash so accomodation wasn´t an option....At one point we were told a plane was coming so we went to the airport only to be told that it had to turn around and go back due to smoke..
By this stage we are in the same clothes for 4 days with no showers, no money, covered in a mixture of sunscreen, mosiquito repellant, smoke and 6 inches of dust (all roads are unsealed in jeeps with the windows down)....
So we had to move to a new back up plan...
The last resort was to pool our emergency US dollars that we were all carrying and hire jeeps to drive us back to La Paz...which we soon discovered meant driving for 15hours without stopping (with nothing but choc chip cookies and pringles for food) and having to drive Death Road in the middle of the night... To say the drive was scary is an understatement, and we no doubt tell you all the details when we are home safe and sound... but to our great relief we pulled in around 5.30am this morning... For those who dont know death road, its a dirt road that traverses the Andes and is only just over one car width wide, with no guide rails... there are sheer drop offs and sitting in the dog box of a jeep with no seat belts or tail lights is an experience neither of us will ever forget.
Hope everyone is well at home... We´ll be here in La Paz until the day after tomorrow for when we head off back according to our original itinerary...
Take Care
Katie and Leah.
We are writing this safe and well from La Paz (Bolivia), after a horror 15hr jeep ride (more on that later) and only 4 hours sleep, so we´re pretty exhausted... but let me try and bring you all back to speed....
It was only a few days ago we were sitting on our 18 seater Bolivian light aircraft flying La Paz to Rurrenbaque (Gateway town to the Amazon) and getting precariously close to the Andes when we thought Adventure had reached a new level.. little did we know what was in store for us..
As you may recall, we were never meant to go to the Amazon at this stage, but it became a back up plan when we had to be diverted to avoid some violent protests in several towns nearby. Unfortunately, noone told us that at this time of year nearly EVERY farmer in the Amazon burns off so the entire place is filled with smoke...(more on this later!)
Given the amount of things we´ve been up to, i´ll just bullet point our highlights....In the last 3 days we have
- Fished for Piranhas in the Amazon river (Our guide caught 7 of them and Leah caught a catfish!)
- After fishing for them, we jumped in and had a swim in Alligator and Piranha invested waters (Sorry mum i know i promised i wouldn´t but it was so HOT)
- After fishing and swimming with Piranhas we figured the next logical step would be to eat one.. so we did (tastes like fish!)
-We´ve been Anaconda hunting (somewhat scary since we had no first aid supplies and ended up walking around in shin high mud looking for a Cobra or Green Mumba)
- Our local tour company that took us out to the Amazon didn´t cater enough water so on the second day we were rationed 2 litres each to last just over 24hrs... keep in mind the temperature was so hot and humid and we were out in the sun all day.. it was torture.. At one point our back up plan was to boil the water in the tank normally used for showers.... which was fine until the water pump broke...
We made it back to Runnebaque only to discover that no flights had arrived or left for the last few days due to the smoke... Our luck continued when we realised we were stuck.. We couldn´t stay another night as the town has no ATM or money exchange and we had all only bought with us 3 days worth of cash so accomodation wasn´t an option....At one point we were told a plane was coming so we went to the airport only to be told that it had to turn around and go back due to smoke..
By this stage we are in the same clothes for 4 days with no showers, no money, covered in a mixture of sunscreen, mosiquito repellant, smoke and 6 inches of dust (all roads are unsealed in jeeps with the windows down)....
So we had to move to a new back up plan...
The last resort was to pool our emergency US dollars that we were all carrying and hire jeeps to drive us back to La Paz...which we soon discovered meant driving for 15hours without stopping (with nothing but choc chip cookies and pringles for food) and having to drive Death Road in the middle of the night... To say the drive was scary is an understatement, and we no doubt tell you all the details when we are home safe and sound... but to our great relief we pulled in around 5.30am this morning... For those who dont know death road, its a dirt road that traverses the Andes and is only just over one car width wide, with no guide rails... there are sheer drop offs and sitting in the dog box of a jeep with no seat belts or tail lights is an experience neither of us will ever forget.
Hope everyone is well at home... We´ll be here in La Paz until the day after tomorrow for when we head off back according to our original itinerary...
Take Care
Katie and Leah.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Bolivia is mayhem and just a bit feral...
Hi guys
After another 9 hrs on the bus yesterday we finally arrived in La Paz..... The bus ride itself was an experience... To our great fortune we were seated across from some locals who apart from staring at us alot then must have got travel sickness... Unlike us where we would go to the toilet they just threw up sitting down... .. As most of you would be aware I (Katie) have a massive phobia to vomit so had to put my MP4 player on and turn it up and wish i was in a happy place.. .. Leah (closer to the action) was breathing through her jacket for a considerable part of the journey as there was a nice combination of urine, vomit and body odour drifting through the aisles...
Driving in La Paz is the scariest driving experience i´ve ever had.. there are no rules, no ettiquette, you just drive and beep your horn and hope for the best.. Our taxi driver didnt think twice before turning 90 degrees into oncoming traffic... Its crazy.
On the upside, everything is so cheap.. Even the entry tax.. For comparison it cost us $61 US dollars to enter Chile... To enter Bolivia its 200 pesos, which coicidentally is also the cost of going to the toilet in Chile...
Altitude is starting to affect us now.. Leah has a persistent cough, and I´m getting massive headaches.. Everyone gets short of breathe doing the simpliest of tasks... After packing your bags, you honestly need to sit down for a bit. Yesterday on the bus, our packet of Doritos exploded from the pressure!!!
Ín about 15min we´re on our way to the airport, where we are headed towards the Amazon (our back up plan since we can´t get into Potosi, Uyuni or Sucre).. so we may be out of contact for a few days
On our return we´ll be back in La Paz for a few days so we´ll definitely have some stories and photos to share.
Oh, get this.. In San Pedro Leah used an ATM that whilst saying it had given her money, gave her nothing.. So she had to make an 11 min call to her card company to explain the problem. As it turns out, the money had already been returned to her account by the time she made the call (had to wait about 5hrs due to the time differences. She has just told me that call cost her $80 AUS...... The amount she was trying to withdrawal was equivalent to $ 71. OUCH!
Take Care
Leah and Katie.
After another 9 hrs on the bus yesterday we finally arrived in La Paz..... The bus ride itself was an experience... To our great fortune we were seated across from some locals who apart from staring at us alot then must have got travel sickness... Unlike us where we would go to the toilet they just threw up sitting down... .. As most of you would be aware I (Katie) have a massive phobia to vomit so had to put my MP4 player on and turn it up and wish i was in a happy place.. .. Leah (closer to the action) was breathing through her jacket for a considerable part of the journey as there was a nice combination of urine, vomit and body odour drifting through the aisles...
Driving in La Paz is the scariest driving experience i´ve ever had.. there are no rules, no ettiquette, you just drive and beep your horn and hope for the best.. Our taxi driver didnt think twice before turning 90 degrees into oncoming traffic... Its crazy.
On the upside, everything is so cheap.. Even the entry tax.. For comparison it cost us $61 US dollars to enter Chile... To enter Bolivia its 200 pesos, which coicidentally is also the cost of going to the toilet in Chile...
Altitude is starting to affect us now.. Leah has a persistent cough, and I´m getting massive headaches.. Everyone gets short of breathe doing the simpliest of tasks... After packing your bags, you honestly need to sit down for a bit. Yesterday on the bus, our packet of Doritos exploded from the pressure!!!
Ín about 15min we´re on our way to the airport, where we are headed towards the Amazon (our back up plan since we can´t get into Potosi, Uyuni or Sucre).. so we may be out of contact for a few days
On our return we´ll be back in La Paz for a few days so we´ll definitely have some stories and photos to share.
Oh, get this.. In San Pedro Leah used an ATM that whilst saying it had given her money, gave her nothing.. So she had to make an 11 min call to her card company to explain the problem. As it turns out, the money had already been returned to her account by the time she made the call (had to wait about 5hrs due to the time differences. She has just told me that call cost her $80 AUS...... The amount she was trying to withdrawal was equivalent to $ 71. OUCH!
Take Care
Leah and Katie.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Desert Yesterday, Seaside Today, Jungle Tomorrow
Hey guys
Just a quick note to let you know we have arrived safely in Arica which is a little seaside town in the North of Chile.. its our last day in Chile before heading into La Paz (Bolivia) and then the jungle.
Today is a free day so we are taking it easy and not moving too much, given we had another cold shower before going on an overnight bus last night to get here. Our room is pretty awesome, from our beds we are looking right at the ocean and the sand is about 20m from where we sleep. I´ve never slept closer... better yet we have hot showers so life is good at the moment..Here hoping there no king tides this week.
Our ears are going a bit crazy being at sea level after being at 4000m yesterday.. but tomorrow we´re heading back up to 3700 in La Paz, then down again for the Amazon, then back up again on our return to La Paz.... its all part of the plan to get us used to altitude before the hike.. Our greatest height will be 4900m in the Colco Canyons...
Yesterday we did a bit more sightseeing around the desert.. saw some active (and smoking Volcanoes), saw some salt flats and some flamingo´s and patted some Illamas.. (oh yeah and i ate some for lunch too - tastes like beef!)
Hope all is going well...
Will chat soon and hopefully be able to figure out how to post photos today too.
Just a quick note to let you know we have arrived safely in Arica which is a little seaside town in the North of Chile.. its our last day in Chile before heading into La Paz (Bolivia) and then the jungle.
Today is a free day so we are taking it easy and not moving too much, given we had another cold shower before going on an overnight bus last night to get here. Our room is pretty awesome, from our beds we are looking right at the ocean and the sand is about 20m from where we sleep. I´ve never slept closer... better yet we have hot showers so life is good at the moment..Here hoping there no king tides this week.
Our ears are going a bit crazy being at sea level after being at 4000m yesterday.. but tomorrow we´re heading back up to 3700 in La Paz, then down again for the Amazon, then back up again on our return to La Paz.... its all part of the plan to get us used to altitude before the hike.. Our greatest height will be 4900m in the Colco Canyons...
Yesterday we did a bit more sightseeing around the desert.. saw some active (and smoking Volcanoes), saw some salt flats and some flamingo´s and patted some Illamas.. (oh yeah and i ate some for lunch too - tastes like beef!)
Hope all is going well...
Will chat soon and hopefully be able to figure out how to post photos today too.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
The desert is HOT.. and VERY cold
Hi Guys,
Long time no chat!!!.. I think we left you in Santiago on our first day and haven´t had any chance to check in until now....
Firstly, as some of you are aware, there are all sorts of political problems in Bolivia at the moment and there are violent protesters blockading the towns we are meant to be visiting... But please be assured, we´re both safe and having a great time. We have been living each day as it comes waiting for the UK Embassy to give a sign that its ok to enter, but we just found out about half an hour ago that its still a bit too dangerous to stick to our itinerary, so our tour leader has decided to take us on a detour and we´ll hang out in the Amazon Jungle for a few days.. Apparently swimming with piranhas and playing with Anacandors is safer!. ahaha.
What else.... ok, so our tour group is pretty cool. We are travelling with 8 others.. A german couple in their 20´s, a guy from England, and the rest are Aussies.. We are hanging out with the Germans, A guy from Aus and the British guy mostly - they are awesome value.
We´re writing this from San Pedro De Atacama... it took us 17 hours on a bus to get here and we are basically right in the middle of the desert.. Yesterday a group of us hired bikes and rode around the desert till we found some inca ruins then spent an hour and a half climbing a sandy mountain.. awesome fun. We also did some spontaneous canyoning-caving on a mini tour, and watched the sunset from the top of a sand dune....
Health wise we´re both fine... we´re at altitude at the moment, and apart from getting puffed out easily, we´re holding up pretty good (though Leah is trying to break a new record for hitting her head on stuff, shes fine!)
Otherwise, we spent some time star gazing at La Serena, checked out a local pisco sour factory (crazy cheap local alcohol.. its 12% and only $2!) and spent some time looking at the Vineyards and have tried a couple... so good!.
This morning started at 3.45am, when we were picked up to go check out some Volcanic Geysers (like blow holes).. No one told us it woudl be minus 10 degree so we were all freezing.. so what best to do in those conditions..... swim!!!.. Yep, you betcha we had a swim in a lake... the water was tepid at best, and freezing on entry and exit.. so much fun though.
One funny thing we didn´t notice when we booked this tour is that there is no transport for us, no big truck .... everytime we go somewhere, we´re catching public transport with the locals!!... Its kinda funny and we´re slowing getting used to the extra security precautions we have to take. (theres lots of them!!!)
The only complaint about this trip is that both sleep and food are not high priorities.. we basically eat on the run most days with food we buy from shops, and we have late nights (often travelling), or very early mornings.. but who are we kidding, this is awesome!!
Hope everyone is safe at home.. Apologies for not replying to individual emails.. The connections here are crazy slow, but we really appreciate it and love hearing from you.
Take Care and we´ll chat soon.
Katie and Leah
Long time no chat!!!.. I think we left you in Santiago on our first day and haven´t had any chance to check in until now....
Firstly, as some of you are aware, there are all sorts of political problems in Bolivia at the moment and there are violent protesters blockading the towns we are meant to be visiting... But please be assured, we´re both safe and having a great time. We have been living each day as it comes waiting for the UK Embassy to give a sign that its ok to enter, but we just found out about half an hour ago that its still a bit too dangerous to stick to our itinerary, so our tour leader has decided to take us on a detour and we´ll hang out in the Amazon Jungle for a few days.. Apparently swimming with piranhas and playing with Anacandors is safer!. ahaha.
What else.... ok, so our tour group is pretty cool. We are travelling with 8 others.. A german couple in their 20´s, a guy from England, and the rest are Aussies.. We are hanging out with the Germans, A guy from Aus and the British guy mostly - they are awesome value.
We´re writing this from San Pedro De Atacama... it took us 17 hours on a bus to get here and we are basically right in the middle of the desert.. Yesterday a group of us hired bikes and rode around the desert till we found some inca ruins then spent an hour and a half climbing a sandy mountain.. awesome fun. We also did some spontaneous canyoning-caving on a mini tour, and watched the sunset from the top of a sand dune....
Health wise we´re both fine... we´re at altitude at the moment, and apart from getting puffed out easily, we´re holding up pretty good (though Leah is trying to break a new record for hitting her head on stuff, shes fine!)
Otherwise, we spent some time star gazing at La Serena, checked out a local pisco sour factory (crazy cheap local alcohol.. its 12% and only $2!) and spent some time looking at the Vineyards and have tried a couple... so good!.
This morning started at 3.45am, when we were picked up to go check out some Volcanic Geysers (like blow holes).. No one told us it woudl be minus 10 degree so we were all freezing.. so what best to do in those conditions..... swim!!!.. Yep, you betcha we had a swim in a lake... the water was tepid at best, and freezing on entry and exit.. so much fun though.
One funny thing we didn´t notice when we booked this tour is that there is no transport for us, no big truck .... everytime we go somewhere, we´re catching public transport with the locals!!... Its kinda funny and we´re slowing getting used to the extra security precautions we have to take. (theres lots of them!!!)
The only complaint about this trip is that both sleep and food are not high priorities.. we basically eat on the run most days with food we buy from shops, and we have late nights (often travelling), or very early mornings.. but who are we kidding, this is awesome!!
Hope everyone is safe at home.. Apologies for not replying to individual emails.. The connections here are crazy slow, but we really appreciate it and love hearing from you.
Take Care and we´ll chat soon.
Katie and Leah
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Hola!!!!!
We´ve made it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ok, we´ve just arrived at our hotel, and its about 5am Aussie time so we´re pretty knackered..... Trip is off to a good start with only a couple of kinks occuring so far ..
Our flight from Australia to NZ went without any dramas, and despite our inital plan not to drink, we enjoyed a few vino´s whilst chatting to a lady sitting next to us... Slightly intoxicated we disembarked, only to stumble into John G from work... what are the chances!!...Also had the bonus advantage of having a rather good looking flight attendant (Alexander) ...
Next flight we continued with our good flight karma and ended up sharing a row of four seats between the two of us... which should have meant we got a good nights sleep ... but it didn´t.... Those damn planes are so uncomfortable...
Anyway, after arriving in Santiago we line up in customs for what felt like 9hrs (prob 20min), only to be told we had to be in another queue..... finally, with our entry tax paid, we went to collect our luggage ... and while standing at the wrong carousel, a damn sniffer dog took a liking to my backpack and started pawing it... i love dogs, but i thought that was the beginning of the rest of my years in a South American jail.... with my bag taped up, we go through customs where its inspected... Turns out Starburst ¨fruit filled¨lollies, really do smell like fruit to an over zealous labrador... phew.
After being accosted by a few thousand dodgy taxi people, we went and withdrew some money... Poor leah ended up accidentally withdrawing most of her holiday savings since we couldn´t understand the ATM or have any idea what the exchange rate is.. So we have plenty of peso´s now! HAHA... After being claimed by a taxi driver, we ended up accepting a lift and paid about $100 US for a taxi fare that shoudl have cost us $37.... too tired to care , or realise we actually tipped the dodgy guy as well. HAHA.. we´ll catch on after a bit of sleep i´m hoping...
We´ve found our hotel, and apart from going in a lift with no doors - we´re safe and well.. and in good spirits.. just in need of a good sleep i think...
BTW Mum locke ' DO NOT CALL INTERPOL - I´m not dead, missing or kidnapped - its just my phone doesnt work over here.... If you need me urgently , u can call Leah otherwise its email all the way now...
Big hi to all...till next time..
Ok, we´ve just arrived at our hotel, and its about 5am Aussie time so we´re pretty knackered..... Trip is off to a good start with only a couple of kinks occuring so far ..
Our flight from Australia to NZ went without any dramas, and despite our inital plan not to drink, we enjoyed a few vino´s whilst chatting to a lady sitting next to us... Slightly intoxicated we disembarked, only to stumble into John G from work... what are the chances!!...Also had the bonus advantage of having a rather good looking flight attendant (Alexander) ...
Next flight we continued with our good flight karma and ended up sharing a row of four seats between the two of us... which should have meant we got a good nights sleep ... but it didn´t.... Those damn planes are so uncomfortable...
Anyway, after arriving in Santiago we line up in customs for what felt like 9hrs (prob 20min), only to be told we had to be in another queue..... finally, with our entry tax paid, we went to collect our luggage ... and while standing at the wrong carousel, a damn sniffer dog took a liking to my backpack and started pawing it... i love dogs, but i thought that was the beginning of the rest of my years in a South American jail.... with my bag taped up, we go through customs where its inspected... Turns out Starburst ¨fruit filled¨lollies, really do smell like fruit to an over zealous labrador... phew.
After being accosted by a few thousand dodgy taxi people, we went and withdrew some money... Poor leah ended up accidentally withdrawing most of her holiday savings since we couldn´t understand the ATM or have any idea what the exchange rate is.. So we have plenty of peso´s now! HAHA... After being claimed by a taxi driver, we ended up accepting a lift and paid about $100 US for a taxi fare that shoudl have cost us $37.... too tired to care , or realise we actually tipped the dodgy guy as well. HAHA.. we´ll catch on after a bit of sleep i´m hoping...
We´ve found our hotel, and apart from going in a lift with no doors - we´re safe and well.. and in good spirits.. just in need of a good sleep i think...
BTW Mum locke ' DO NOT CALL INTERPOL - I´m not dead, missing or kidnapped - its just my phone doesnt work over here.... If you need me urgently , u can call Leah otherwise its email all the way now...
Big hi to all...till next time..
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
And We're Off.....
Well to be exact we haven't exactly taken off yet - but I'm (Katie) sitting here in the Qantas Club sipping Chandon ( its only 8.30am) but who am I too pass up the opportunity of free champagne (and good stuff at that!).
I'm having my second breakfast for the day (cause again, its free!) - So scoffing my pancakes and sipping my Chandon I'm thinking about everything that I should have with me..
Passport - Check, Money- Check, Phone - Check, Spanish dictionary - Check... Travel Companion.... ... damn - I knew something didn't feel right...
Technically Leah is AWOL- but don't be alarmed - she's in the building somewhere saying an extended goodbye to Ben ;-)... My goodbyes were reserved to a quick phone call, a hug to my parents and a big pat (ok, several of those) for my puppy earlier this am... ... So after clearing customs - given the opportunity of free alcohol, I've made a run for the Qantas Club while Leah's having a bit more time upstairs..
As long as she shows in the next 14.5min, all will be good...HAHAH..
Speaking of, my glass is nearly empty so i'm going to top it up...
Will chat to you all soon ...
xxx K.
I'm having my second breakfast for the day (cause again, its free!) - So scoffing my pancakes and sipping my Chandon I'm thinking about everything that I should have with me..
Passport - Check, Money- Check, Phone - Check, Spanish dictionary - Check... Travel Companion.... ... damn - I knew something didn't feel right...
Technically Leah is AWOL- but don't be alarmed - she's in the building somewhere saying an extended goodbye to Ben ;-)... My goodbyes were reserved to a quick phone call, a hug to my parents and a big pat (ok, several of those) for my puppy earlier this am... ... So after clearing customs - given the opportunity of free alcohol, I've made a run for the Qantas Club while Leah's having a bit more time upstairs..
As long as she shows in the next 14.5min, all will be good...HAHAH..
Speaking of, my glass is nearly empty so i'm going to top it up...
Will chat to you all soon ...
xxx K.
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