tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56719882011-08-22T13:42:05.859+01:00Free at Last!... South and Central America DiaryYEAR ONE OF MANY!!!
A blog, for Jeremy and Amanda and their travels.
Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.comBlogger951100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1106456505298232042005-01-23T04:59:00.000Z2005-01-23T05:01:45.300ZThe LAST POST of Our first year!
We had arrived in Santiago Airport. Something that, way back when, in our little end terrace in Mickleborough Avenue, Nottingham, seemed like a Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com35tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1106279781962812342005-01-21T09:53:00.000Z2005-01-23T04:59:26.903ZSantiago The capitol and the end.
Santiago was yet another bow in the ribbon like country that is possibly one of the most diverse in the world.
Chile is divided in its climate, socially and politically. It is 4,300 km long and 175km wide. In the north, like San Pedro there is desert. In the South like Tierra Del Fuego, Alpine and snow, glaciers fjords and lakes. The centre is Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1106446752743077302005-01-21T06:14:00.000Z2005-01-23T04:53:41.170ZValparaiso and Vina Del Mar
Out of the bus in Valparaiso we avoided the taxi drivers and middle aged women renting their spare bedrooms out and jumped onto the first bus that looked like it was going to town. I knew where I wanted to go, found the place in the book, mentally marked places of reference to show our buses progress, we even asked the conductor to tell us when we got to the right spotJez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1106130425167092742005-01-21T03:50:00.000Z2005-01-21T03:58:07.270ZChiloe. Island of ghost ships, goblins,witches and sheep.
It did have to happen really. If you go through 12 months in South and Central America escaping any form of theft it would be a miracle. We had been lucky so far but to be robbed in the last 2 weeks was heart breaking. At least we had our passports. Later we found out that Australian Working holiday Visa’s have numbers on them directly Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1106454614901162212005-01-20T15:55:00.000Z2005-01-23T04:56:12.166ZPuerto Montt. Not a great welcome to Chilie.
The bus ride from Bariloche to Puerto Montt turned out to be a joy. We were aware that a new Australian adventure was just hiding around the corner and or time in South America was drawing to a sighing end. Sad as this was, our spirits were lifted high as we drove through the primeval forest that separates the far south of Argentina and Chile. Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1106278767869806872005-01-20T03:37:00.000Z2005-01-23T04:55:44.923ZSnowboarding for beginners.
Attempting to remove the worm.
Somewhere in Bolivia I think, probably in the heart of the damp, green Amazon, something bad happened to me. I don’t have a clue what it was, maybe a canny, hungry six legged beastie, maybe a rusty nail, who knows? Whatever it was I got to Bariloche sporting a nasty bump on my side. It was purple and an angry red, and it was Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1106278090533308302005-01-20T03:26:00.000Z2005-01-23T04:55:09.120ZBariloche. Town of Chocolate, skiing, snowboarding and fondue.
Leaving Mendoza we sat back in our front seat position on the top of a particularly comfy bus and started to relax. Next stop Bariloche, by all accounts a very cool place in the South of Argentina. Set on the shores of the huge Lake Nahuel Huapi it is one of those small towns that still use the traditional wooden steep rooved Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1106133290576528232005-01-19T11:11:00.000Z2005-01-19T11:14:50.576ZMendoza. Vineyards and fine Argentinean wine.
Another Andesmar overnight bus trip later, we arrived, tired and ready
for a shower in Mendoza at the foot of the Andes. We had both agreed
that we would pick a hostel that was recommended by the Footprints
guide, find it, visit it and then take the room. But…… it was like we
had entered a chapel. There were 'Silence' signs everywhere and our
Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1106133638953294472005-01-19T06:15:00.000Z2005-01-19T11:20:38.953ZSalta, the cosmo capital of south America.
In accordance with tradition, and in line with South American bus company policy, we arrived in Salta well into the night. Thirstily passing immanently closing coffee shops and cafes we hopped straight in to a taxi, spurred on by a tout at the bus stop straight to our very posh hotel. The room they tried to fob us off with was tiny, right next to the Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1106035158158430082005-01-18T07:54:00.000Z2005-01-18T08:05:09.486ZThe valley of the moon.
We paid 4'000 peso's, 5US and about 3 pounds to one of the many tour
agencies running daily trips into the national park. Happy not to
mention the possibility of stumbling upon atitanic mines lest you
stray off the path, we made our first stop at Death Valley. Nobody can
live here and many people have died trying to cross it. Natural
sculptures impress across the Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1106034876503220282005-01-18T07:49:00.000Z2005-01-18T10:00:13.280ZFrom Bolivain salt flats to Chilean Desert.
Smuggling mind altering substances through the border.
Way way back in Peru, whilst meandering through the produce market in
Miraflores, Lima, a stallholder approached us, offering to sell us
coca leaves. If you read our blog regularly, you will know that these
are a widely accepted 'drug', legal in Peru and Bolivia. Leaves are
heavily used by the Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1106026904500423142005-01-18T05:39:00.000Z2005-01-18T08:30:21.156ZGetting close to the ancestors.
That afternoon, spurred on by the bowl of soup graciously provided by the tour agency, Amanda and I joined Robert and Tanja in a little hill walking over a long ridge, the salt flats gleaming a dull silver in the fading light to our right. Passing cacti and rocky scrub we trekked for about an hour till we reached a shadowy sheltered valley flanked by high Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1105846600053818762005-01-16T02:56:00.000Z2005-01-16T03:45:29.923ZThe Salt Flats of Uyuni. Would you like fries with that?
We woke very early on the day we were to leave for the salt flats. This was almost entirely due to the frost that had begun to cause my eyelashes and beard to snap off. I experienced a brief moment of panic when I couldn’t feel my feet, but relaxed when I realised it was just the sheer weight of bedding pressing down on my legs, cutting offJez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1105844105328749882005-01-16T02:54:00.000Z2005-01-16T03:44:00.033ZBack in La Paz, time to plan for the Uyuni Salt flats.
The ‘Majestic’ hotel proved yet again to be our haven. The Irish girls stayed with us and relished all 12 hours worth of their sky TV, however tired. We were that tired we even missed our free brekkie. Later in the day we met up with the girls in a natural food café to make up for it. Uyuni called and we had to find the best deal on Gringo Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1105787985466766232005-01-15T11:18:00.000Z2005-01-15T12:31:00.303ZThe Bolivain Amazon.
First order of the day, before even getting our usual feast for breakfast, was to get down to the airline office and book a flight out of Rurrenabaque for when we got back from the jungle. Most of those who had arrived came by bus, and had no wish to leave the same way. For that reason flights out were at a premium. Space was precious. As soon as it opened I was in theJez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1105791409445855892005-01-07T13:15:00.000Z2005-01-15T12:27:22.456ZThe anaconda filled swamps.
For the most part excited, for the rest, made up and pouting furiously, we boarded the boat and shot down the river to what Pampas Man had told us the night before was the primo anaconda spotting swamp in the area. He might have been a little drunk, but I assume he was right. At least three quarters of the remaining tourists on various tours through these parts Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1104747185852421512005-01-03T10:08:00.000Z2005-01-15T11:42:16.436ZTeam Anaconda...ready for the Pampas.
We woke up early and pre-packed, all the stuff we were taking to the pampas in our little day bags, everything else safely locked away in the big bags which we stored in the hotel. Our hangovers from the night before doing nothing to dampen our excitement to be finally on the way to the wilderness. We set out to have the biggest breakfast yet… pancakes, eggsJez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1104745729773015072005-01-03T09:43:00.000Z2005-01-03T10:08:00.333ZRelaxing in Coroico in the Hotel sent from Heaven.
The hotel we picked in Coroico had a pool and an amazing view of the mountain scenery that we had just spent the last 6 hours cycling down. Of course it was dark by the time we’d settled in and actually left our room to have a look. Still, there was always tomorrow, we decided to spend the day here and wander around the town for a bit, take in Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1104649300077002822005-01-02T06:57:00.000Z2005-01-02T07:07:12.276ZThe Worlds Most Dangerous Road. La Paz to Coroico.
Starting about half an hour away from La Paz by minibus, the “worlds most dangerous road” is actually more of a track cut into the side of the enormous mountainous valleys that surround the City. One and a half lanes at best of dirt and gravel with places every few hundred metres where cars can wait to allow people coming the opposite way to Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1104645871585941812005-01-02T05:46:00.000Z2005-01-02T06:12:50.976ZTiahuanaco...the only ancient ruin in Bolivia
About 1600 years before Mary and Joseph failed to book ahead for their holiday in Bethlehem there existed a little village in a wide, high valley somewhere in what would later be called Bolivia, inhabited by the forerunners of a civilization called the Tiahuanaco. Two thousand years later, mainly because these ingenious people managed to develop Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1104221531818573732004-12-28T07:38:00.000Z2004-12-28T08:22:55.806Z
Leaving the mountain behind.....
Climbing to 5600 ft was the hardest thing I have ever done. The altitude is a killer. Thousands of tiny breaths every second nearly convincing you that its your physical strength that is'nt up to scratch. I cried a lot, sat down a lot, went at my own pace but still managed to enjoy some of the scenery on the way. When I reached the tin hut at base camp, the Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1104218614105793512004-12-28T07:22:00.000Z2004-12-28T07:38:04.496ZAn Unexpected Guest
Putting the little gas hobs on to boil water for coffee was both a good and a bad thing. On the plus side, we all got a hot drink and the air in our tin shelter warmed up sufficiently enough for us to shed a couple of layers. On the other hand, all the ice on the roof started to melt causing a light rain to patter on our heads as we drank. It was worth it though, a little Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1104139055353328522004-12-27T09:13:00.000Z2004-12-28T08:25:46.333ZHuayna Potossi….I know! Lets climb to 6088 feet.
We had previously met a “guy on a baot”, the travellers equivalent of that fat bloke down the pub for up-to-date relevant hot-off-the-presses information who regaled fantastic stories of climbing this huge, insane, cold and treacherous mountain near La Paz called Huayna Potosi. Not ones to baulk on a challenge Amanda and I decided there and then Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1103595700817779142004-12-21T02:21:00.000Z2004-12-21T02:35:38.656ZShow us the highest city in the world.
Boliva was going to be a country of wet jungle, sweltering pampas, dangerous mountain biking and serious mountain climbing. First we wanted to get settled into La Paz, which would be our base for a while.
The bus was packed with travellers, all looking to experience the culture shock that La Paz promised. It was only supposed to take about 4 hours from Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1103281959503443102004-12-17T10:59:00.000Z2004-12-17T13:15:15.906ZAnd then I recieved the first mail from my mum.
With Judith Hanton's permission....saying goodbye to Bolivia, trying to get to Peru for the flight to England.
"After we crossed the border it was hot in the bus and we both fell asleep. Next thing I knew, the bus had stopped and all the lads were playing football. As I suspected it was a blockade. I soon got over being upset as we had to decide Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1103280758471464982004-12-17T10:44:00.000Z2004-12-21T02:29:55.533ZSaying goodbye.
My mum is such a jet setter. When my sister Jeni was 21 she flew to Thailand....just to say Happy Birthday you understand! She and John have been backpacking around the Greek Islands and could advise anyone on a multitude of Euorpean hotspots.
You would think South America would be a little different. New culture, no English, caution needing to be displayed everywhere in termsJez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1103276954551177492004-12-17T09:20:00.000Z2004-12-17T10:44:21.256ZFree Brekkie before the Island of the sun!
What a lovely welcome from the locals.... (quick! check mum's suitcase for the little one)
From Isla Del Sol, in this magical lake, was born the Inca race. Legend has that Manco Kapac and Maama Occllo, the children of Viracocha, the creator of God, were born from Titicaca. Later they founded Cusco and the Inca nation. And we were looking foward to Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1103273295917136642004-12-17T08:47:00.000Z2004-12-17T09:12:27.200ZBolivia, a whole new country
Burn the Mayor!We’d heard on the South American travellers’ jungle drums (www.bbc.co.uk/news) that just before we’d reached Puno the citizens, sick of the blatantly corrupt administration in their little town had formed a mob, flaming pitchforks and viciously sharp torches in hand and dragged their mayor from the council house. They then set about burning him alive… Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1102743148103808912004-12-11T05:27:00.000Z2004-12-12T01:19:34.186ZIsle Taquile. Lake Titicaca. Serene
When you turn a corner and see a scene like this, you know you are in a special place. This island in the middle of Titicaca is very beautiful and very peaceful. It is dotted with Inca and pre-Inca ruins and a walk around it literally takes your breath away!
Enjoying each others company after so long.
The altitude hit us as we climbed from the boat and Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1102737805640722792004-12-11T03:48:00.000Z2005-01-11T06:16:43.556ZLake Titicaca...only an overnight bus trip away!
After having thoroughly researched every possible bus company that could take us to Puno, the Peruvian edge of Lake Titicaca, we settled on what seemed like the best option. 4 hours later, steaming hot, sweating and wishing we had chosen any one of the 7 companies that had already left the depot, we waited......and waited!
There was'nt many Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1102567156956472542004-12-09T04:35:00.000Z2004-12-14T02:47:25.283ZAvoiding the market…….Pisac ruins at long last
Following a now established tradition, we breezed past the rows of market stalls that inevitably line the roads to any remotely popular tourist sight in Peru, politely turned down the local guides and entered the ruins. Pisac was originally an Incan administrative and farming town. It is built along familiar Inca lines, i.e. if you can, go higherJez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1102239958941327792004-12-05T09:31:00.000Z2004-12-05T09:59:48.306Z
Why is our hotel only half finished?
Me and mum sat down on a bench near the water somewhere outside of our hotel..which we could’nt find. What we thought was probably our hotel had no windows and no doors. It did’nt even have any walls. Our foreheads crumpled pensively, a small smile on both of our lips and then we just roared laughing. Nothing could surprise us any longer. In Peru you just Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1102237731434591562004-12-05T09:07:00.000Z2004-12-05T09:22:37.236ZMachu Picchu… a guided tour ?
Just couldnt resist another one
Amanda and I worked our way back to the entrance of the city to engage a guide, marvelling as we went at the buildings we had walked past, blind in the misty darkness only hours before. Under a makeshift canopy sat five or six prospective guides waiting for the first of the days tourists to predictably argue with them over pricesJez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1099735033522555902004-11-06T09:53:00.000Z2004-12-05T09:30:27.196ZMachu Picchu....Incas in the mist.
The warmth we'd generated during the olympian climb we'd just done was fast disapearing and we quickly undid our packs to get at sweaters and thermals. The smell of bacon and eggs wafted to us from the makeshift camp of some Inca trail walkers, at last finished with their three day trek they were getting down to some serious brekkie.
It drove us both crazy. Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1099720882331528162004-11-06T05:28:00.000Z2004-11-06T09:52:41.480ZMachu Picchu.....the 4am expedition.
We were up at 3am, such was our excitement at getting to these ruins, so that we could leave at 4 and arrive at the city by 6 and sit down to rest and watch the sun rise over the mountains of the Inca valley from their most famous citadel.
To our eternal credit, none of us decided to call the whole idea off, go back to bed and get the train up, thereby Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1098783629556535432004-10-26T09:39:00.000+01:002004-11-06T10:05:41.176ZOllantay-tum-tum...
YES! I am back... returned from the wilderness that is real life! Though I must admit that real life is still lurking somewhere outside the warm cucoon Amanda and I have managed to spin about ourselves. It was close for a while. Touch and go, but we seem to have made the transition from carefree travellers to job-seekers /flat-hunters to wage-slaves with relative ease. Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1094090896321527522004-09-02T02:50:00.000+01:002004-09-02T13:21:29.046+01:00Note Re: Photographs.
For those of you who have been logging on for the past few months soley to see us in wierd and wonderful places ( i.e can't be bothered reading about it) or in the hope to finally see yourselves, we are sorry but the web site design is a bit dodgy and cannot take some of the files. A few of Mexico, Galapagos and Cuba are on in the relevant sections if you want to have a Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1093649301385794322004-08-28T13:06:00.000+01:002004-11-06T09:39:30.540ZDoing it the backpacker way!!!
Although we were fully aware that there were yet more ruins at Ollantaytambo and indeed it was part of the 10 dollar tourist card we had bought and therefore was free to visit, the real reason we were here was to save 100 US dollars each on the train fare to Machu Picchu.
Even if you inquire at any 10 seperate tourist offices in Cusco you would be forgiven for Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1093570421606511382004-08-27T02:13:00.000+01:002004-11-06T09:44:38.016ZOne more day in Cusco
Having visited most of the ruins around the sacred valley that we had wanted to, Ollantaytambo being the exception, as it was on the way to Machu Picchu, we spent the next day wandering around Cusco, the menfolk once again marveling at a woman's capacity for market shopping and seemingly insatiable fingerpuppet consumption. I discovered that morning that at some point my Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1092620851957543332004-08-16T02:28:00.000+01:002004-10-05T10:20:26.030+01:00Pisac market.
The sacred valley was enchanting. And can you imagine the potential of a market at the foot of one of the most magnificent ancient sights in Peru! Laura and Luis had warned us about Pisac market way back in Guatemala. The plan was to take half the day for the market and half the day for the ruins overlooking the whole valley. Unfortunately, John had been suffering from what me and Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1092601304565379282004-08-15T20:34:00.000+01:002004-11-06T10:26:45.340ZCusco, Inca Heartland... Gringo paradise
Full of pizza from a restaurant we elatedly found in the centre of Nazca we settled down in the bus office to await our chariot which was, we were reliably informed, to arrive at 10ish. By 11pm we were all getting a little impatient, the other gringo tourists waiting for the same bus had disappeared over the road to an internet cafe about half an hour Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1092419358954136252004-08-13T18:35:00.000+01:002004-10-05T10:46:24.643+01:00The Enigma that are the Nasca lines.
Being lazy holiday makers in the sun....we got up late, shimmied over for a cup of tea in Mum and John`s posh room, ( the kettle was beginning to grow on us) and got the quick 2 hour bus trip to Nasca.
What felt like hundreds of people greeted us off the bus. They mobbed us...nicely but forcefully. There were about 20 taxis and 10 people to each one, all Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1092415147195839792004-08-13T17:29:00.000+01:002004-10-05T10:51:21.463+01:00Sandboarding in Huacachina.
There was no way my mum was moving from her little peice of paradise, beside the only pool, in the only heat that she was likely to find in Peru, to go sandboarding. Can you imagine the thought! Spanish speaking John ( a big surprise to even himself after having learnt it at school 50 years earlier) however, always ready to shock, decided that this would be the Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1091984093923795662004-08-08T16:55:00.000+01:002004-10-05T10:58:40.810+01:00Bag hunting in Lima airport. second time lucky.
On the second night in Lima with no clean undies, John and I took a trip to the airport in the hopes that the airline billed as the "worst in South America" had managed to find their luggage. We were told that they would arrive at around midnight and, as he was going that way anyway the son of our hostel owner nicely gave us a lift. Quickly, we setJez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1092367175573923642004-08-08T09:00:00.000+01:002004-10-04T10:21:00.403+01:00Only one more day till I see my Mum.
Now this was a biggy. I hadnt seen my mum for 10 months and until the evening when she was to arrive I hadnt really admitted to myself that she was actually coming. Then I found myself standing at the airport, pushing my way through the 5000 Peruvian families who come by the bus load to welcome their next door neighbours, friends uncle, or anyone else as Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1091918148605828672004-08-07T22:16:00.000+01:002004-08-15T19:51:11.540+01:00Only 10 days!!!
Leaving Jez at the only airport in the world that forbids non passengers to go any where near the check in desks was horrible. 2 hours earlier than planned I was forced to leave him at Quito Airport bound for Peru...and 2 days later he would be in England. We were both pleased I had changed my flight so that I would be spending the 10 days while Jez went home for Stephen and Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1091907176477158722004-08-07T19:31:00.000+01:002004-09-02T07:08:59.636+01:00Galapagos Island life. Part 2... The Post Office
After we had thoroughly exhausted ourselves chasing sea lions and stingrays in the waters of the Devils Crown, surprisingly enough, a ring of sharp jaggedy stone jutting out of the water like Neptunes royal headpiece, we took another walk on land. This time though we were less interested in the particular flora and fauna on this part of Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1091477178784805852004-08-02T20:32:00.000+01:002004-09-02T07:12:42.023+01:00Superfragilistic Galapagosadoshus
Says it all......
Even though the hostel from hell we´d just slept in was run by the most annoying and irritating hostel company of Ecuador, who charged far too much and hated all their guests with a passion. Even though they furnished the place with chairs and beds stolen from the care home next door. Even though they made us sleep in bunk beds, something I Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1091462633362348562004-08-02T16:46:00.000+01:002004-08-15T21:31:33.930+01:00Riobamba: On a train through the Andes...... and back again
Morning dawned bright and early in Riobamba, as it usually does on a weekday. The sun was valiantly trying to shine through the thick layers of cloud and mist that mercilessly descended to see us all off on our 6am start towards the Devils Nose. At the train station, blowing steam into the air with every breath was a God-sent Angel of Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1089763230808361622004-07-14T00:21:00.000+01:002004-08-15T21:32:40.013+01:00Cuenca. Brush with the nastier side of life.
We left Banos by bus for the town of Cuenca feeling a little tired but happy that we´d seen some of Ecuadors prettiest scenery. Our next aim was to get onto the Devils Nose train that we´d heard so much about which started a little further down the road. Basically a railway built from Quito to Guayaquil in the south. The clever engineers that built itJez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1089756576581313062004-07-13T22:38:00.000+01:002004-10-04T11:51:27.580+01:00Soggy waterfalls and pick-up trucks
Our open backed pick up truck conveyed Amanda and I in warm dryness through some of Ecuadors most impressive Andean scenery. On our right side the road carved a huge wall out of the sheer rocky sides of the mountain, on our left side the road meekly gave way to drops that would make Milton effect a re-write, all the way to the valley floor. Somewhere down Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1089145662216784232004-07-06T21:19:00.001+01:002004-10-04T11:46:49.506+01:00Lets see if i can remember back to Ecuador...
Wow, its been an age and a half since I typed a word of our travels into this blog. What with everything that has gone on, Galapagos island hopping, disapearing off to England for my big brothers wedding and Amandas mum coming to Peru to visit, its no wonder really. Still, I´m back and ready to start from where I left off, about a month ago. If the Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1087332654027721022004-06-15T20:56:00.000+01:002004-10-04T11:44:32.476+01:00Off to Banos
Quito is stunningly picturesque, set amid an awesome array of towering mountains, with a beautiful cobbled old town and a bustling new one. However, it`s two main drawbacks are also its greatest asset. Those wonderful panoramic views you get out of your toilet window are there because the place is incredibly high above sea level, the effect of which, apart from the great photo Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1086401723319957302004-06-05T02:47:00.000+01:002004-06-15T20:55:50.926+01:00So this is what the middle of the world looks like
What is Ecuador famous for? Apart from their Miss Universe entry who was obviously genetically spliced with a gerbil at the phoetal stage. When you think about it, it`s obvious. The Equator of course, its where the place gets its name, the imaginary line that some fella imagined would run through the middle of the world. Turns out the guy was Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1085712177293885882004-05-28T03:12:00.000+01:002004-08-27T01:54:01.853+01:00Altitude sickness in Quito. Equador!
9 months in now and Mexico City was a massive milestone for us, as Costa Rica was 6 months earlier. It signified the end of Central America and highlighted the measly 3 months we had to go in this part of the world. When faced with it, not a lot of time in the scheme of things! We were however happy and releaved to leave Mexico. Basically we had had enough! Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1085709917709106832004-05-28T02:21:00.000+01:002004-06-01T03:06:24.803+01:00Palenque and the end of ruins
Our mobile phone/alarm clock displayed typical sociopathic tendencies that following morning in Campeche. In other words we were up before 6am, a time that people who don´t work should never have to see. Still, it wasn´t all bad, it gave us a chance to have a wander by the sea front promenade just outside the old town before flagging down a cab to the bus station. Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1085620965676054062004-05-27T01:54:00.000+01:002004-10-04T11:38:27.803+01:00From Sad Goodbyes to Random Wanderings
As always must happen to good things, Claire and Neil's time in Mexico had to come to an end. On our last morning on Isla Mujeres, or Island of Women (winner of the "Place Name Most Likely To Result In An Anticlimax Award 1996-2004") we woke thoroughly hungover, a feeling that I was beginning to associate with Neils presence in a very Pavlovian way, and Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1085619104496600312004-05-27T01:48:00.000+01:002004-10-09T14:25:18.313+01:00Ferry Bound for Cozumel
As much as Jez thought he might have made a boob by plonking us next to the ferry terminal, mine and Claire´s female radar for gossip clicked in almost immediately (God how i have missed that). Relaxing on the sand, Claire and Neil on their expensive sun loungers and me and Jez on our sarongs!!!,we had a scream at all the fat rich Americans being pushed in wheelchair-likeJez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1085185128966902342004-05-22T01:01:00.000+01:002004-10-04T10:37:36.033+01:00Waiting for Claire and Neil...and waiting...and waiting...
We flew into Cancun from Cuba with hearts full of expectation. When the only people you´ve seen for nine months have been total strangers, when the only friends you make last for at most a week or so, having a familiar face fly all the way from England to Mexico is a very big deal. Especially when they are such special people. Amanda wasJez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1085081807798572352004-05-20T20:05:00.000+01:002004-09-02T04:40:16.240+01:00Cuban Welcome Party
The people of Cienfuegos had obviously heard in advance that we were going to be staying the night. They had been good enough to organise a huge street party in the bay in our honour. It may have been done under the banner of the Aqua Bike 2004 ceremonies, but we were not fooled. It was all a bit touching actually. We wandered down the main street and along the promenade to Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1084396101909986802004-05-12T21:46:00.000+01:002004-09-02T03:42:51.266+01:00Diving off The Bay Of Pigs.
Amanda and I have a snail. Some couples go all gooey when a certain song plays on the radio, others journey every year to that spot where they first met and reminice. We have a snail. The flamingo tongue snail to be exact. It lives in the sea and crawls over coral and sandy beds looking for tasty algae and the occasional lady snail. It is coloured like a jaguar with Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1083445184806408762004-05-01T21:59:00.000+01:002004-09-02T04:08:15.726+01:00Sane again, 2 stone lighter each, tanned, healthy and VERY happy!
You only notice things when its too late. Hindsight is really the only sight with any degree of acuracy. Look at yourself for instance, think about how you´re doing, how you feel, it´s not until you are in a completely different situation and alternate frame of mind six months down the line that you are able to look back and say, Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1082411774139365042004-04-19T22:56:00.000+01:002004-04-20T00:28:14.030+01:00Doing the Orange walk
We were so attached to Caye Caulker, so in love with the quick to smile, rasta inhabitants, the island time attitude, the white sand streets and cheap bottles of rum, that we couldn´t bring ourselves to leave immediately after the diving was all done. It may have been all we went to Belize for, but now that it was done we had more to stay around for. Frankly, the place was Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1081991549245806772004-04-15T02:12:00.000+01:002004-08-09T17:21:08.276+01:00Take it or leave it, but you´d better Belize it!
Altogether we were in Guatemala for over a month. Great country, really amazing things for travellers to do. I never expected when we started out on this crazy trip that there was such a diverse and varied amount of stuff that could take up our time during those hazy, work free days that stretched ahead of us like one of those long, long roads in Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1081530928949059672004-04-09T18:15:00.000+01:002004-10-04T10:13:30.010+01:00Dr Livinston?... Wrong Continent, wrong waterfall
We spent the first day in Livingston chilling out and doing nothing productive at all, which makes a pretty productive day in my book. Almost as soon as we got off our luxury yacht we bumped into three of the card players we'd met in Semuc Champay and arranged to meet up later for a drink. The rest of the day was spent wandering around, looking Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1081023557898699502004-04-03T21:19:00.000+01:002004-10-04T08:59:50.103+01:00And on the 7th day, we rested
and the 8th, and the 9th...
We were meditating by the river one fine day on the meaning of water. I spent about 2 hours stuck in the lotus position with double sided sticky tape contemplating my navel, looking up I noticed Amanda floating two feet in the air with a knowing smile on her face. Smiling down upon me she said...
..."I have seen the Lake, and it is Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1080869250176237732004-04-02T01:15:00.000+01:002004-10-04T08:53:02.940+01:00Off the Hippy Trail
Panajachel and Lake Atitlan are very nice, the hippies are good when you need something to laugh at for a couple of days and I like to buy overpriced stuff in tourist markets as much as the next man, but all good things must come to an end. So, waving the crusty, dreadlocked, aging hippies in their tie-dye t-shirts goodbye we hopped on a minibus straight to Guatemala City. Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1080084071344409632004-03-23T23:21:00.000Z2004-10-04T08:43:39.060+01:00First sight of Lake Atitlan
Earlier than I have the capacity to comprehend we were out of bed and waiting for the bus to Atitlan. As with most journeys through the Highlands of Guatemala we traversed the sides of ancient volcanoes on narrow roads suspended in hope over 200 feet of nothing. At one point we were driving through clouds, ten minutes later, when we had dropped a few hundred feet Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1079642075045302452004-03-18T18:52:00.000Z2004-10-04T08:39:40.046+01:00Living with the Guatemalan headmaster and his family
In the end, leaving the family from hell turned out to be a great deal easier than living with them. We just walked in there, took our bags, said goodbye and left. We spent the next night in a double room in the school and then moved into the directors house with hot water, proper food and a mad set of crazy kids. Well worth the move. His wifeJez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1079483319814882832004-03-17T01:28:00.000Z2004-10-04T08:28:55.860+01:00Antigua, old but tourist savvy
We spent the first two days of Antigua lazing about in our hotel, looking at some of the many crumbling old churches, marvelling at the fountain in the middle of the town square that has water squirting proudly out of the nipples of various mermaids, and wandering around the bustling arty-crafty market. The prices were a little inflated here I thought, because the Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1079392664443163592004-03-15T23:17:00.000Z2004-10-04T08:24:59.780+01:00El Salvador`s hidden jewel...Suchituto... the place, not the Italian porn actress
After thoroughly desensatising ourselves to the woes and problems of the capital's population we took a bus North the next day to yet another collonial town called Suchituto. I know I harp on about going to quaint little collonial towns on this website, you' d be forgiven for thinking that all we do is hop from oneJez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1078850322014543772004-03-09T16:05:00.000Z2004-10-04T08:20:05.970+01:00Three countries in one day
After Copan was out of the way there was little to keep us in Honduras for much longer. Not that there wasn´t more to see there, there´s always some funky place you didn´t go, always that last ruin or lake you could have seen. The trick is to know that unless you want to spend the next 10 years in a country, there´s no way you are ever going to see it all, or really Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1078278727052446202004-03-03T01:52:00.000Z2004-10-04T08:11:56.126+01:00Copan Parque Archeologico National, a bit of a mouthfull
Today we went to see the ruins of that once great Mayan City of Copan. Let me get this straight before we move on, I thought it was fantastic, totally amazing, awe inspiring and mind boggling. Pretty good for an days tourism-ness.
We started out by waking up at 7am, the park opens its doors at 8, so its best to get there on the dot, Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1078167919023935622004-03-01T18:23:00.000Z2004-03-23T21:14:24.360ZNote: I finished the previous blog this morning, so you probably havent read all of it it yet. Go down and see before you read this one...
Tegucigalpa. The daftest Capital in the world
On the bus from the border to the Capital, Amanda and I learned the correct way to pronounce its name. We also found out that it was never said. The locals simply say "Teguch", well, that sorted that out then.
Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1078087595788333842004-02-29T20:46:00.000Z2004-04-01T03:23:44.873+01:00Apart from nice colonial buildings, what have the Spanish ever done for us?
The trip from Ometepe to Granada was first by boat, bobbing along in a little ferry containing about 200 people (and no life preservers), occasionally getting sprayed by the not unpleasant fresh waters of the lake. All was forgiven though with one look at the view from the deck. Ahead was the mainland, coloured a Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1076032816749105462004-02-06T01:59:00.000Z2004-03-23T21:38:42.450ZArenal to Monteverde......the pretty way!
The industrious little guy who met us at the bus stop in 'La Fortuna' had obviously cottoned on to the fact that we were impressed that he was called Jeremy. He turned up at our hostel and sold us tickets for the trip to Monteverde, a tour he liked to call the "jeep-boat-jeep" trip, though I think "minibus-boat-minibus" would be more appropriate, but Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1074471165955930962004-01-19T00:12:00.000Z2004-05-04T00:09:54.153+01:00Attempting to leave Panama City
Fed up of the rather smelly hostel we were in we decided to move to a nicer place we had been recommended. It was located in one of the less upmarket areas of Panama City and so, for a mere five dollars more than we had previously paid, we got a fifth floor room with air conditioning, a massive bed, someone to change the sheets once in a while, cable TV and best Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1073941998052757572004-01-12T20:25:00.000Z2004-10-04T07:55:44.293+01:00The best laid plans...
Our fleeting visit to Panama was supposed to take in the islands of Bocas Del Toro for a few days, then quickly on to David City, still on the Costa Rican border. Then we were supposed to go straight up the Pacific coast back to San Jose. But things have changed a little. As a result I am writing this from Panama City, and soon we are headed further away from Costa Rica toJez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1073273360525840102004-01-05T03:29:00.000Z2004-10-04T07:52:36.466+01:00San Jose
Its always so exciting to go to a new place, but this was a new stage in our trip...
Central America!
It had always been a little milestone, like "When we get to Costa Rica we should have lost weight, we should have only spent this much, we will definately speak good spanish, we will have 5 months without pre-booked flights to laze around and be less rushed...." so we did just that. Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1073262610922312382004-01-05T00:30:00.000Z2004-01-14T23:03:32.920ZTimes a´ wastin´
Due to the fact that I am so behind in the writing of this blog (for reasons of computer error and my incessant ramblings taking too long to type), I need to catch up to the present day fairly quickly. What follows is then a synopsis of what we did and where we went over the last few weeks so we can carry on at a more leisurely pace in the future.
The end of Angel falls
Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1073094146475215802004-01-03T01:42:00.000Z2004-01-14T22:49:16.546ZThe ghosts of Angel Falls... And other bed-time stories
Back from our sweat dripping jungle workout, and refreshed after our dip in the waterfall pool we set out to dilligently relax and do nothing. The sun seemed determined to set with unseemly haste and soon the trees round the camp were darkness shrouded, dim memories we knew would be there in the morning. The only evidence of where we were Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1072647985957730752003-12-28T21:46:00.000Z2004-01-14T22:45:58.436ZThe night before the fall
The first nights sleep in a hammock, whether in a jungle camp or the chill out room of the playboy mansion is always helped along by a little bit of alcohol. It eases the transition from mattress, firmly locked to the ground, to swinging piece of material 3 feet in the air. Unfortunately, though a load of Venezuelan tourists had thought to bring bottles of rum up the Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1072465266578958232003-12-26T19:00:00.000Z2003-12-28T21:46:21.890ZFeliz Navidad Everybody!!!
That means Happy Christmas.
I know its a day late, but you don´t think I´ll be writing this blog on Christmas day do you?
In case I´m too drunk later on, Feliz nuevo ano tambien...
Jez and Amanda.Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1072135673483994302003-12-22T23:27:00.000Z2004-01-14T23:07:17.310ZI am not a happy bunny...
Studiously I have been ferreting away at this blog so that you nice people at home can see what it is we are actually doing on the other side of the world. Make no mistake about it, blood sweat and tears have gone into this thing. Over the last week or so I have been steadily telling the story of two hapless travellers winging their way through Venezuela, and now, Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1072133939002110182003-12-22T22:58:00.000Z2004-01-14T22:24:30.296ZThis is continued from the previous blog because the internet cafes in Caracas dont open late enough for my needs on a Sunday.
Its actually a few days later that sees me writing this continued post. I know I should just give up and call it a brand new one, but I`m not going to, so there...
From Rio Caribe
At least the boats were nice
Anyway, having decided that the little crab Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1071438133791991832003-12-14T21:42:00.000Z2003-12-26T19:05:21.263ZOut of Argentina
Its been a while since the last posting here. And SO MUCH has happened. I hope able of remembering it all, at least in the right order. We´ve been a little separated from a computer recently, by about 5000 years of technological development in some places, and by extortionate cybercafe prices in others.
As I write this I am in the Sabana Grande district of Caracas, Venezuela. Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1069615627389934232003-11-23T19:27:00.000Z2004-01-18T23:07:48.186ZPuerto Madryn, land of whales, sealions and ...penguins!
Well, my 3 different types of antibiotics kicked in, and by the time we got here, way back up the coast, I was better. No more waking up 4 times in the night to take my tablets. (See, Jez was right, the mobile phone alarm clock is essential). I think i was coming out in sympathy for Claire and my nana. So come on you two, get well!!!
Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1069369859701951332003-11-20T23:10:00.000Z2004-01-18T22:56:49.390ZFinally Jez is released from prison
The bus that took us back to Rio Gallegos was actually part of a convoy. Ours was one of the lucky few that didnt break down on the way to the ferry. After waiting this time for the right weather conditions, we had been blessed with crystal calm waters in only low grade gale force winds. By now this felt like the hight of summer, which it very nearly was Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1069198029993609562003-11-18T23:27:00.000Z2003-12-10T19:51:39.233ZLeaving for our 50 Hour bus trip south!
I hope you all enjoyed the top 10 bit of kit list (or space filler as I like to call it), for the record Amandas ear plugs are lumped in with the inflatable pillow, same reason...
We woke on the morning after Amandas birthday a little worse for wear. I think this may have something to do with the fact that we were treating champagne as a spirit and havingJez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1069124171561562642003-11-18T02:56:00.000Z2003-11-23T17:25:03.700ZAt this moment in time I only have half an hour to put the new blog update on. Considering that last time it took me a good three hours to wrench the words out of my caffiene fueled sea lion dung poisoned brain I dont think the chances of getting anywhere close are very high, so I will instead compose the ..............
"Jez´s top 10 bit of kit list"
which is sure to help all you out there whoJez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1068062561450926702003-11-05T20:02:00.000Z2003-12-10T19:44:57.216ZPunta del Este cont...
After looking for 5 hours for a place to stay that was under 50 dollars a night, we finally got somewhere nice and went out for a beautiful meal. Those 'That Cafe' fans will be pleased to know you can still get good teriaki steak but you have to go to Uruguay! The next day we took our tour to the sealion colony in a less exciting but supposedly safer and certainly more Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1067308018701964422003-10-28T02:26:00.000Z2003-10-28T02:28:37.770ZHemos capturado a Jeremy y Amanda para la gloria de la revolution, y para que ellos nos eusenen ingles para nuestro examen del lunes. Los estamos alimentando a la fuerza con vino blanco y guiso.
Envie 1 million de dolares y la ultima edicion del dictionario collins ingles/espanol a la Casa de los Terroristas, sobrela la Calle Revolucion, Colonia, Uruguay.
Ni se les ocurra venir a buscarlos, Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1066767142394705892003-10-21T21:12:00.000+01:002003-12-10T19:31:46.763Z!Hola Amigos!
They do this funny thing with upside down exclamation marks in spanish, I love it...
Bonito, wet and wild!
So... we arrived in Bonito on the smallest bus in Brazil (it must have taken a team of experts years of research to work out the optimum comfort space in any given vehicle for the comparative length of my legs, and then taken about 2 inches off), and were met by the son of anJez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1065149335470198912003-10-03T03:48:00.000+01:002003-12-10T19:18:55.763ZPelorinho
Salvodor´s historical district was undoubtedly incredible. It used to be the capital city of North Brazil when it was under Portuguese rule. It was very rich but for years and years it has been left to rot. The architecture is amazing and the crumbling buildings, although sad are amazing to see. The churches, especially Sao Antonio, which is completely covered in gold and took 28 yearsJez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5671988.post-1063902920417716442003-09-18T17:35:00.000+01:002003-12-10T19:12:54.420ZWelcome to Jez and Amandas Travel Blog
It feels funny, this being the first posting here, we´ve already been away for a couple of weeks and work (and life) seems to be a distant dreamlike memory already. Still, late to start or not, here it is.
The story so far...
We took off on a 14 hour flight from london to Rio at the end of August, driven in style in Neil and Claire´s convertable!!!Jez and Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09569748859418905597noreply@blogger.com0