Wednesday, 20 January 2010

I´m dreaming of a white...January 21st...

Who knew this time last year that when I booked this trip I´d be missing out on our first white christmas in years and years?? To catch up on my snow debt, I´ve come to Patagonia, which at first look appears to be remarkably like Wales (green, hilly, and of course, raining). I´ll keep you updated.

Monday, 11 January 2010

Yes, even better than in Italy

Argentina and Chile have the best ice cream in the world. FACT. I need to try and find a course here so I can make it at home. Argentina win in the creaminess stakes, however Chile have to get the special medal for innovation.

Flavours worth mentioning;

carrot
lemon and basil
chocolate and pepper
toasted flour
tomato
rose

...YUM.

Saturday, 9 January 2010

Sandboarding

During a very hot afteroon in the middle of the Atacama desert recently, I spent a large amount of time...

- sitting on my butt in the sand
- wiped out on my back in the sand (I got away with pretending to make sand angels. Once.), and,
- flat on my face in the sand
- climbing up a massive sand dune dragging a snowboard behind me

and a very small fraction of time...

- boarding down the dune trying to look like a pro

It was wicked - so worth the pain! Now, if only I could find one at home to practice on...

Wednesday, 6 January 2010

Bolivia














Altitude, speed bumps and a llama whisperer...

Bolivia is amazing. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!!!

The past few weeks have included;

galloping through the same countryside where Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid saw the end of their days planning to rob a train going through the salt mines

a breathtaking 4 day tour around the southwest of Bolivia. Largest salt flats, highest lakes in the world, several thousand llamas and a night in a hotel built of salt: included. Running water: not included

Christmas dinner with 100 people in La Paz

avoiding the old Quecha lady trying to persuade me to buy a dried llama fetus...also in La Paz!

Mountainbiking on a 40 mile downhill road - the world´s most dangerous, apparently!

Hogmanay at a bizarre beach party in colonial Sucre, one of South America´s prettiest cities

....and finally, another bumpy transfer to San Pedro de Atacama, Chile, where I am now!!

In short, I loved Bolivia. It´s unlike any other South American countries I´ve ever been to, except perhaps Ecuador. This is down to the striking, intense landscape and altitude (I didn´t get much below 3,000 metres in the whole trip), and more importantly to the incredibly well preserved Incan culture which prevails here. The people tend to be a little more reserved than in the rest of South America, however they make up for it in genuine warmth when you get to know them a little better. I´m almost missing the sense of adventure now I´m in Chile, which is extremely European. However things are much easier for me here, particularly as people seem to assume automatically that I´m either Argentinian or Brazilian (In Argentina they think I´m Chilean or Brazilian, in Brazil they think...well, you get the point!!) but I´m loving the increase in temperature!!

Photos in the next post....

Wednesday, 16 December 2009

Bolivia!!

Have spent an incredible 4 days in a gorgeous, sleepy town called Salta in Northern Argentina, going horseriding, enjoying cafe and backpacker culture, as well as grilled rare steak on the farm, olives, French cheese and fine wines - very very relaxing, and photos to follow soon!

This morning I arrived in Bolivia, a country I´ve been desperate to visit for a long time! Am in a southern town with incredible red mountains and not much else, getting aclimatised to the altitude and hiding from the very fierce sun. So far Bolivia has not disappointed; I think it´s going to be a much more extreme experience than Argentina, or indeed anywhere else in South America! The culture is very evidently more Andean than the European vibe of Argentina, and the landscape is eerie, beautiful and like nothing else I´ve ever seen before. 95% of the roads are unpaved - the rains wash them away every year, so think tractor moved dirt and gravel and that´s pretty much it. I love it.

Friday, 11 December 2009

Today I am jumping on another beloved overnight bus to Salta in Argentina, before crossing into Bolivia next week. I´ve hardly spent any time in Buenos Aires, but I need to leave for 2 reasons;

1) I wish to make it to La Paz before Christmas
2) Buenos Aires is so cool that if I don´t leave soon there´s a real danger I´ll spend the whole 10 weeks here!