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.
Wednesday, 20 January 2010
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.
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...
- 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
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....
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....
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