Hey hey again,
Well we seem to have covered a lot of ground since we last wrote! We went to the Waitomo caves, and they were stunning. White limestone caves underground (the Cathedral is about 14m underground, and the acoustics are so good that Sting and other artists have performed there) were simply stunning. Our guide had a robust sense of humour, and we really enjoyed understanding everything he said! (A novelty for us)... the caves were beautiful - very difficult to describe them, but some of them looked like pavlova pudding, and there were stalagtites and stalagmites everywhere... We walked through them, got into the boat (he did ask us to get 'into' the boat, rather than falling down the side of it), and then paddled on an underground river in the complete dark (quite scary). Suddenly, the top of the cave was studded with little green LED lights, like in a nightclub. They were glowworms (we checked that they were not fake). Twinkling away, looked very pretty. So worth the 14 quid we paid for the tour. Absolutely beautiful.
We then headed up to Whitianga, and found that the hostel we wanted to stay in was booked up, so we were shown to Adele, the lady in the hostel next door, and for the same price we had a massive kitchen, big sitting room (with TV), bathroom, laundry, our own room... big garden out back... our own little holiday chalet, and we only had to share it with one other girl. We loved it, and Adele was hilarious. We loved it so much, we decided to stay another night... so the next day, armed with Adele's spade, we set off to Hot Water Beach and started digging. Volcanic activity in the area means that certain areas of the beach are scalding hot - the water gets up to 65 degrees celcius. We dug ourselves a hole and sat in it. First bath for the other 2 in 6 months! Very relaxing. Then headed to Cathedral Cove, and it was beautiful. A huge arch on the beach (the cathedral), - so spent a few hours relaxing in the hot sun. Stunning (photos are put on the internet).
Yesterday we had another productive day - Stopped at Katikati for a coffee (no other reason to stop there), found a beach covered with shells in Tauranga, ate our lunch in the park in Rotorua, and headed off to the Wai-o-Tapu geothermal area. We walked about for 2 hours, and saw the most incredible things. It was nature being simultaneously horrific and beautiful (the BBC filmed 'Walking with Dinosaurs' in the area). Due to the volcanic activity locally, there are plumes of sulphur bellowing out of the ground, boiling mud pools, and steaming lakes that are coloured red, yellow or green depending on the minerals. Love being completely taken aback and surprised by nature. It's definitely not something that is similar to anything else that I've seen, which is very refreshing. Quite often now, we see things and think, yeah, this is great, but it was much better (and cheaper) in Guatemala, Mexico etc etc.... so very pleased to be shocked out of that bad habit!
Came down to Taupo last night, and ran errands and spent time trying to find places to eat and drink (we left it kinda late, oops)... We're heading to Wellington today, and Hayley and J are hoping to do a skydive this morning (mental people, I'm holding the camera)... if the weather clears up a bit. So all's good, and we are thoroughly enjoying New Zealand.
Love to everyone, from us all,
Alice xxx
Thursday 26 March 2009
More photos up!
Just a quickie - all safe and sound but in a rush to get some dinner, so enjoy the photos! Will write again soon.
Love from us all,
Alice xxxxx
Love from us all,
Alice xxxxx
Monday 23 March 2009
Road Trippin......
Hello everyone, hope everything is ok in England, and you are all enjoying the spring weather.
Just a quick update, as internet is limited. We collected our hire car today, a silver Nissan Bluebird, which we have named Bambi (we thought Bambi Bluebird sounded like a good porn stars name!) and have started our journey south. We were all alittle nervous about driving again after 6 months away, but luckly they drive on the same side here, could of caused alot of confusion for J and I! It all came back to us tho and we took it in turns to make the 3 hour journey south to Waitomo (only had to make a few u-turns). Arrived in Waitomo about 6pm to find all the hostels full. We were starting to think we may have to camp out in the car when we came across a hut about 2km out of Waitomo village, with massive bunk beds, hot showers, huge kitchen and really cute kitten, for the bargin price of 4 pounds each. Also found a pub that serve cider and snake bite, so were able to have our first pints of cider in 6 months....yummy!
Tommorow we are off to see some glow worms in Waitomo caves, and then have a mini road trip planned back up north to visit the hot water beaches on the west coast. So lots of driving, and singing along to the I-Pod for us.
Well time for bed,
lots of love from all of us, Hayley xxx
Just a quick update, as internet is limited. We collected our hire car today, a silver Nissan Bluebird, which we have named Bambi (we thought Bambi Bluebird sounded like a good porn stars name!) and have started our journey south. We were all alittle nervous about driving again after 6 months away, but luckly they drive on the same side here, could of caused alot of confusion for J and I! It all came back to us tho and we took it in turns to make the 3 hour journey south to Waitomo (only had to make a few u-turns). Arrived in Waitomo about 6pm to find all the hostels full. We were starting to think we may have to camp out in the car when we came across a hut about 2km out of Waitomo village, with massive bunk beds, hot showers, huge kitchen and really cute kitten, for the bargin price of 4 pounds each. Also found a pub that serve cider and snake bite, so were able to have our first pints of cider in 6 months....yummy!
Tommorow we are off to see some glow worms in Waitomo caves, and then have a mini road trip planned back up north to visit the hot water beaches on the west coast. So lots of driving, and singing along to the I-Pod for us.
Well time for bed,
lots of love from all of us, Hayley xxx
Sunday 22 March 2009
Auckland, NEW ZEALAND!
Hey hey,
We made it! We finally arrived in New Zealand (after completely losing the 20th March, - completely disappeared. Didn't live it. Slightly disconcerting)...
So we left Santiago easily enough. Met a couple of other travellers too so the banter continued. Check in easy, our bags were wrapped in lots of brown tape, to keep sleeping bags on and zips closed properly. We did look slightly strange and had obviously been on the road for a while! Security fine, flight great (apart from uncomfortable chairs). Brilliant films, great playlists of music, only problem was that I fell asleep for a couple of hours so didn't get to watch everything that I wanted to! Food was great, (although not enough), and the wine was tasty. The passenger next to me was incredibly rude (Australian), but in a joking way, so we were horrid to each other for the whole flight, and I thoroughly enjoyed that...
So we landed at about 4.15am in Auckland. Due to other flights being delayed and/or cancelled, it meant that we walked straight through immigration and customs - no queues at all! Absolutely fantastic. Had our trainers sprayed with disinfectant in the lab, declared our shells and wooden beads etc, and were safely through in as little time as possible. We caught a shuttle to our hostel, and were soon back in bed again in very comfy beds, watching a little TV...
We managed to sort out a hire car (works out at 5.50 each per day), for NZ, and generally ran errands before collapsing for a siesta. Being in NZ is very strange. Being around English speaking people is veyr weird (although still can't always understand them), and having cars on the left hand side of the road seems wrong too. We can understand the signs, and even found Starbucks, THE BODY SHOP!!!! and Borders Books.
Tap water - brilliant. So taken for granted. Still very strange that we can DRINK FROM THE TAP. A novel concept. Will save me so much money. But the one thing I'm really struggling with is the loos. In South America and Central America, you absolutely cannot put any paper down the loo, so you have to use the bin provided. Finding it very strange to put the paper in the loo again, and am stupidly paranoid that the loo is going to block... I'm sure I'll get over it soon though...!
So basically we are all settled in, and spent yesterday meandering around and saw a T-Rex called Sue in the museum - 30m high (or long, can't remember which!) So been cultural too... (in between the necessary shopping - one simply cannot get everything a girl needs in South America). We are collecting our hire car at lunchtime today, and then heading off somewhere this afternoon (not sure where yet). Internet isn't always easy to find, and calling is very difficult now as we are 13 hours ahead of the UK. But will try to keep logged in as much as possible.
Anyways, just wanted to let you know that we have safely arrived, and will write again soon!
Lots of love from us all,
Alice xxxxxx
We made it! We finally arrived in New Zealand (after completely losing the 20th March, - completely disappeared. Didn't live it. Slightly disconcerting)...
So we left Santiago easily enough. Met a couple of other travellers too so the banter continued. Check in easy, our bags were wrapped in lots of brown tape, to keep sleeping bags on and zips closed properly. We did look slightly strange and had obviously been on the road for a while! Security fine, flight great (apart from uncomfortable chairs). Brilliant films, great playlists of music, only problem was that I fell asleep for a couple of hours so didn't get to watch everything that I wanted to! Food was great, (although not enough), and the wine was tasty. The passenger next to me was incredibly rude (Australian), but in a joking way, so we were horrid to each other for the whole flight, and I thoroughly enjoyed that...
So we landed at about 4.15am in Auckland. Due to other flights being delayed and/or cancelled, it meant that we walked straight through immigration and customs - no queues at all! Absolutely fantastic. Had our trainers sprayed with disinfectant in the lab, declared our shells and wooden beads etc, and were safely through in as little time as possible. We caught a shuttle to our hostel, and were soon back in bed again in very comfy beds, watching a little TV...
We managed to sort out a hire car (works out at 5.50 each per day), for NZ, and generally ran errands before collapsing for a siesta. Being in NZ is very strange. Being around English speaking people is veyr weird (although still can't always understand them), and having cars on the left hand side of the road seems wrong too. We can understand the signs, and even found Starbucks, THE BODY SHOP!!!! and Borders Books.
Tap water - brilliant. So taken for granted. Still very strange that we can DRINK FROM THE TAP. A novel concept. Will save me so much money. But the one thing I'm really struggling with is the loos. In South America and Central America, you absolutely cannot put any paper down the loo, so you have to use the bin provided. Finding it very strange to put the paper in the loo again, and am stupidly paranoid that the loo is going to block... I'm sure I'll get over it soon though...!
So basically we are all settled in, and spent yesterday meandering around and saw a T-Rex called Sue in the museum - 30m high (or long, can't remember which!) So been cultural too... (in between the necessary shopping - one simply cannot get everything a girl needs in South America). We are collecting our hire car at lunchtime today, and then heading off somewhere this afternoon (not sure where yet). Internet isn't always easy to find, and calling is very difficult now as we are 13 hours ahead of the UK. But will try to keep logged in as much as possible.
Anyways, just wanted to let you know that we have safely arrived, and will write again soon!
Lots of love from us all,
Alice xxxxxx
Thursday 19 March 2009
9.5 hours left in Chile...
Hey there,
Just a quickie to say that I have added more images into the Argentina folder and the Chile folder on Picasaweb (website address is now at the top of this page, under the title). Hope you enjoy them!
Also have booked flights to come home for 3 weeks to help Mum and Dad move back to the UK. Flying from Kuala Lumpur to Germany and arrive on the 26th June, head back to Bangkok from the UK on the 16th July. Will probably be quite hectic moving and sorting, and probably quite a culture shock flying in and out of Asia! Oh well...
Lots of love from us all, next update from NZ!
Alice xxx
Just a quickie to say that I have added more images into the Argentina folder and the Chile folder on Picasaweb (website address is now at the top of this page, under the title). Hope you enjoy them!
Also have booked flights to come home for 3 weeks to help Mum and Dad move back to the UK. Flying from Kuala Lumpur to Germany and arrive on the 26th June, head back to Bangkok from the UK on the 16th July. Will probably be quite hectic moving and sorting, and probably quite a culture shock flying in and out of Asia! Oh well...
Lots of love from us all, next update from NZ!
Alice xxx
Wednesday 18 March 2009
The final countdown...
Hey hey there everyone,
Hope you are enjoying the springtime in England - been hearing all about bunnies, daffodils and so on... sounds lovely.
We managed to find Mr Hugo in Maipu to do the wine tasting in Mendoza. Took us a while, as we really had no idea where he was, but we befriended 4 Israeli girls and boys who showed us the way from the bus, very kind. So we set off on our bicycles. One of the Israeli guys couldn´t ride a bicycle, which was very entertaining, but we headed on our merry way. Stopped and tasted wine in a winery (where there was also a museum), cycled 10km to an olive oil factory, then back up to another winery (gorgeous Cabernet Sauvignon there), before finally heading to a chocolate and liquor factory... a lovely day in the sun, but feeling very tired on the bus home, understandably! So headed out to a pasta place for some grub before yet again, having an early night... (we are such old ladies here!).
The next day we spent on a bus - at this point, we have spent 6 days on a bus through central America (if you add up all the hours we were actually sat on a bus), and I have done EIGHTEEN DAYS through South America (the other girls have done about 1-2 days less). So very glad to be finishing all that and getting a hire car in New Zealand...
So arrived in Valparaiso yesterday evening, and just did the usual, emailing and getting a steak for supper. We meandered around today, and saw some fantastic, colourfully painted houses on Concepcion hill, and much graffiti - most of it excellent. So really enjoyed photographing it this morning, and we went to a brilliant cafe too, Color Cafe, filled with pictures, photos, paintings, drawings, dolls, candles, bottles and so on on the walls, very quirky. And the waiter was an old guy with an eye patch - somehow fitting for the setting! So lunch there, before heading on yet another bus to Santiago... and arrived this afternoon.
Took us over 24 hours to realise that there was one hours time difference between Chile and Argentina, luckily it wasn´t important for us... so we are now settled into an hostelling international hostel, in the centre of Santiago. It is lovely, clean, free breakfast and internet, cool graffiti in the stairwell, beautiful garden/patio area, and lovely and helpful Nicholas on the front desk. So we are mooching around tomorrow (hopefully collecting laundry otherwise will be on the plane in a bikini)... and then fly out to NZ at 10pm (we are now 4 hours behind the UK). Somehow we cross the international date line - not sure really what happens, really not hoping that it`s anything like the Bermuda triangle... but we arrive in Auckland on Saturday. Will head out of Auckland as soon as we have organised a hire car.
So this is our last night in South America, and I´m really quite sad. We are going to go out for a Chinese meal tonight (Chinese food is cheap globally!) and maybe drink some lovely Argentinian or Chilean wine, to celebrate our last night in South America. We have spent 5 months and 20 days in Central and South America, and it has been a long time in a culture which differs between countries, but that is generally quite similar all the way through. Our Spanish has progressed from nonexistent to moderate, and we have seen far too many Mate cups... (it´s an Argentinian thing).
We have learnt that Argentinian and Chilean men can be extremely attractive, but some Argentinian men are slightly scary. Everyone, and I mean everyone, in Bolivia, Peru and Equador, is short. The buses are smaller I swear, and even then, their feet do not touch the floor, so you have old grannies swinging their legs. We have learnt not to ask what the smell is, and to always carry loo roll with us. Hayley and J have learnt not to believe people when they say that the food is vegetarian, and I have learnt not to put bras in the washing machine at the hostel (they burn the bras)... I have also developed a slight (huge) fascination and adoration of Israeli men. It´s the army, making their bodies so beautiful...
Anyways, the Chinese is calling, but will message when finally get to Auckland (if we don`t get stuck between days!)
Loads of love to all from us all,
Alice xxx
Hope you are enjoying the springtime in England - been hearing all about bunnies, daffodils and so on... sounds lovely.
We managed to find Mr Hugo in Maipu to do the wine tasting in Mendoza. Took us a while, as we really had no idea where he was, but we befriended 4 Israeli girls and boys who showed us the way from the bus, very kind. So we set off on our bicycles. One of the Israeli guys couldn´t ride a bicycle, which was very entertaining, but we headed on our merry way. Stopped and tasted wine in a winery (where there was also a museum), cycled 10km to an olive oil factory, then back up to another winery (gorgeous Cabernet Sauvignon there), before finally heading to a chocolate and liquor factory... a lovely day in the sun, but feeling very tired on the bus home, understandably! So headed out to a pasta place for some grub before yet again, having an early night... (we are such old ladies here!).
The next day we spent on a bus - at this point, we have spent 6 days on a bus through central America (if you add up all the hours we were actually sat on a bus), and I have done EIGHTEEN DAYS through South America (the other girls have done about 1-2 days less). So very glad to be finishing all that and getting a hire car in New Zealand...
So arrived in Valparaiso yesterday evening, and just did the usual, emailing and getting a steak for supper. We meandered around today, and saw some fantastic, colourfully painted houses on Concepcion hill, and much graffiti - most of it excellent. So really enjoyed photographing it this morning, and we went to a brilliant cafe too, Color Cafe, filled with pictures, photos, paintings, drawings, dolls, candles, bottles and so on on the walls, very quirky. And the waiter was an old guy with an eye patch - somehow fitting for the setting! So lunch there, before heading on yet another bus to Santiago... and arrived this afternoon.
Took us over 24 hours to realise that there was one hours time difference between Chile and Argentina, luckily it wasn´t important for us... so we are now settled into an hostelling international hostel, in the centre of Santiago. It is lovely, clean, free breakfast and internet, cool graffiti in the stairwell, beautiful garden/patio area, and lovely and helpful Nicholas on the front desk. So we are mooching around tomorrow (hopefully collecting laundry otherwise will be on the plane in a bikini)... and then fly out to NZ at 10pm (we are now 4 hours behind the UK). Somehow we cross the international date line - not sure really what happens, really not hoping that it`s anything like the Bermuda triangle... but we arrive in Auckland on Saturday. Will head out of Auckland as soon as we have organised a hire car.
So this is our last night in South America, and I´m really quite sad. We are going to go out for a Chinese meal tonight (Chinese food is cheap globally!) and maybe drink some lovely Argentinian or Chilean wine, to celebrate our last night in South America. We have spent 5 months and 20 days in Central and South America, and it has been a long time in a culture which differs between countries, but that is generally quite similar all the way through. Our Spanish has progressed from nonexistent to moderate, and we have seen far too many Mate cups... (it´s an Argentinian thing).
We have learnt that Argentinian and Chilean men can be extremely attractive, but some Argentinian men are slightly scary. Everyone, and I mean everyone, in Bolivia, Peru and Equador, is short. The buses are smaller I swear, and even then, their feet do not touch the floor, so you have old grannies swinging their legs. We have learnt not to ask what the smell is, and to always carry loo roll with us. Hayley and J have learnt not to believe people when they say that the food is vegetarian, and I have learnt not to put bras in the washing machine at the hostel (they burn the bras)... I have also developed a slight (huge) fascination and adoration of Israeli men. It´s the army, making their bodies so beautiful...
Anyways, the Chinese is calling, but will message when finally get to Auckland (if we don`t get stuck between days!)
Loads of love to all from us all,
Alice xxx
Sunday 15 March 2009
Now in Mendoza... via Bariloche (still Argentina).
Hey hey there,
Well we successfully made it from El Bolson up to Bariloche. El Bolson was absolutely lovely, a small town (and quite gimmicky with fake Swiss ski lodges), but it had a great crafts fair on while we were there, which was actually quite unusual after many similar crafts fairs in Peru and Bolivia. We bought more jewellery (very naughty I know), and had these weird braid things put in our hair - although we have had some comments about our looks - people have mentioned to us that it looks as though we have been travelling for a long time - just another way of saying we look rough I think! Oh well...
The hostel in El Bolson was lovely - a bed and breakfast really, with brilliant comfy beds, - so nice after a horrid journey! We really enjoyed our two days in El Bolson, especially when we were sat under a (small) tree by the fair eating our lunch, and a local guy called Maura came and serenaded us with the guitar... So headed onto Bariloche that evening (only 2 hours away).
Again, lovely hostel and fantastic people there, whoever we were talking to. Many hours spent laughing around the kitchen table, and the kitchen was massive and well stocked full of utensils - very nice after eating cereals with forks and so on... Bariloche is on a lake, and is quite a pretty place, but it feels very touristy. The suburbs are grim and look like there is council housing, and the centre is full of chocolate shops and restaurants and so on. We asked Christian, the guy working in the hostel, what we could do that was cheap, and so he pointed us in the direction out of town. We walked up a steep hill for 30 minutes (rather than take the chair lift), to see gorgeous views of the local lakes, rivers and hills, and then walked through part of a nacional park, past various lakes, to arrive at Lago Escondido. Very romantic setting with a jetty over the lake, and by this time the weather had brightened up so the whole place was beautiful. The woods inspired Walt Disney`s Bambi film, and it was lovely to be walking again. However the mere 10 km was somehow exhausting, quite surprised at just how tired we became!
So on Saturday (yesterday), we headed on another bus at 1pm to Mendoza, and arrived this morning at 8am. Hayley and J have already been here, but kindly left the wine tour until I was travelling with them again (when they were here before I was in Brazil). So we are all checked into a beautiful hostel with a good breakfast (lots of coffee!) and friendly staff - Mendoza Inn.
http://www.hihostels.com/dba/hostels-Albergues-Juveniles-Mendoza---Hostel-Mendoza-inn-002057.en.htm?lswitch=Y
We are going to check out an antiques market, a crafts fair, a couple of plazas and have a picnic in the park today. The weather is hotter - high twenties I think, which is a nice change from being cold down in Patagonia (although Patagonia was definitely the highlight of Argentina for me). And then tomorrow we are doing a wine tour... on bicycles. Think they give us helmets - definitely will need one of those! Especially after just receiving my compensation money from my last run in on a bike with a car...
So we are very happily settled into Mendoza, and are enjoying a lazy Sunday. Wine tour tomorrow, then bus from 9am to 6pm on Tuesday to Valparaiso in Chile. (Have to be in Santiago, 2 hours from Valparaiso, on Thursday at the latest for our flight to NEW ZEALAND! at 10pm... time has absolutely flown!) So nearly at the end of our South American trip now, very very sad.
Anyway, hope all is well in the UK, and will write again soon.
Lots of love from us all,
Alice xxx
p.s. List of things left on buses in South America (by Alice)...
- sleeping bag
- sunglasses
- fleece
- hat (hopefully will lose less when we rent a car in NZ!) xxx
Well we successfully made it from El Bolson up to Bariloche. El Bolson was absolutely lovely, a small town (and quite gimmicky with fake Swiss ski lodges), but it had a great crafts fair on while we were there, which was actually quite unusual after many similar crafts fairs in Peru and Bolivia. We bought more jewellery (very naughty I know), and had these weird braid things put in our hair - although we have had some comments about our looks - people have mentioned to us that it looks as though we have been travelling for a long time - just another way of saying we look rough I think! Oh well...
The hostel in El Bolson was lovely - a bed and breakfast really, with brilliant comfy beds, - so nice after a horrid journey! We really enjoyed our two days in El Bolson, especially when we were sat under a (small) tree by the fair eating our lunch, and a local guy called Maura came and serenaded us with the guitar... So headed onto Bariloche that evening (only 2 hours away).
Again, lovely hostel and fantastic people there, whoever we were talking to. Many hours spent laughing around the kitchen table, and the kitchen was massive and well stocked full of utensils - very nice after eating cereals with forks and so on... Bariloche is on a lake, and is quite a pretty place, but it feels very touristy. The suburbs are grim and look like there is council housing, and the centre is full of chocolate shops and restaurants and so on. We asked Christian, the guy working in the hostel, what we could do that was cheap, and so he pointed us in the direction out of town. We walked up a steep hill for 30 minutes (rather than take the chair lift), to see gorgeous views of the local lakes, rivers and hills, and then walked through part of a nacional park, past various lakes, to arrive at Lago Escondido. Very romantic setting with a jetty over the lake, and by this time the weather had brightened up so the whole place was beautiful. The woods inspired Walt Disney`s Bambi film, and it was lovely to be walking again. However the mere 10 km was somehow exhausting, quite surprised at just how tired we became!
So on Saturday (yesterday), we headed on another bus at 1pm to Mendoza, and arrived this morning at 8am. Hayley and J have already been here, but kindly left the wine tour until I was travelling with them again (when they were here before I was in Brazil). So we are all checked into a beautiful hostel with a good breakfast (lots of coffee!) and friendly staff - Mendoza Inn.
http://www.hihostels.com/dba/hostels-Albergues-Juveniles-Mendoza---Hostel-Mendoza-inn-002057.en.htm?lswitch=Y
We are going to check out an antiques market, a crafts fair, a couple of plazas and have a picnic in the park today. The weather is hotter - high twenties I think, which is a nice change from being cold down in Patagonia (although Patagonia was definitely the highlight of Argentina for me). And then tomorrow we are doing a wine tour... on bicycles. Think they give us helmets - definitely will need one of those! Especially after just receiving my compensation money from my last run in on a bike with a car...
So we are very happily settled into Mendoza, and are enjoying a lazy Sunday. Wine tour tomorrow, then bus from 9am to 6pm on Tuesday to Valparaiso in Chile. (Have to be in Santiago, 2 hours from Valparaiso, on Thursday at the latest for our flight to NEW ZEALAND! at 10pm... time has absolutely flown!) So nearly at the end of our South American trip now, very very sad.
Anyway, hope all is well in the UK, and will write again soon.
Lots of love from us all,
Alice xxx
p.s. List of things left on buses in South America (by Alice)...
- sleeping bag
- sunglasses
- fleece
- hat (hopefully will lose less when we rent a car in NZ!) xxx
Thursday 12 March 2009
A few ponderings...
Some lessons we have learnt along the way so far;
- spaghetti carbonara at 8.30am is never a bad thing
- 6 months really is too long for not having a haircut
- never try to throw men bigger than you into the sea. You will be pushed in first.
- clean clothes always take up more room than dirty clothes
- a fundamental mistake in our trip - not enough cheese! We have done well following the wine trail through Chile, Argentina, NZ and Australia, but seriously underplanned for the lack of cheese.
More to come!
xxx
- spaghetti carbonara at 8.30am is never a bad thing
- 6 months really is too long for not having a haircut
- never try to throw men bigger than you into the sea. You will be pushed in first.
- clean clothes always take up more room than dirty clothes
- a fundamental mistake in our trip - not enough cheese! We have done well following the wine trail through Chile, Argentina, NZ and Australia, but seriously underplanned for the lack of cheese.
More to come!
xxx
Wednesday 11 March 2009
Finally made it to El Bolson, (still Argentina)...
Hello there,
Well feeling a little jaded to say the least! Have been on the computer for 2 hours so far trying to download photos onto CD, and it is going very slowly...! Really wish had my laptop here... oh well, can`t have everything!
We finally made it to El Bolson. We met 2 guys on our last day in El Chalten, one English and one American, who entertained us that night before our bus. The bus turned up only 40 minutes late, and we left only 95 minutes late... oh dear, the buses here are meant to be good! The up side is that we were sat next to a couple of Israeli guys, who were very good looking. So Hayley and I had some nice day-night-dreams to go to sleep to! It wasn`t helping that one of them, Adir, had half his shirt falling off so we could see his well defined muscles... the 3 years conscription in the army that they do certainly does shape them up rather well...! Anyway, off this obsession (I was pacified when I was told that there were more Israeli guys in Australia too)...
So we were turfed off the bus unexpectedly at a bus stop half way through our 30 hour journey. Luckily this was at a reasonable time in the afternoon, so we spent an 2 1/2 hours on the bus stop floor, waiting for another bus to come to take us to El Bolson and Bariloche. All went well when we got on the new bus, but was rather disappointed with the journey. We had gone up the western side of Argentina, because the road, route 40, is meant to be THE road to do, in terms of stunning scenery. Well it was identical to the other 4,000km we had done from the north to the south of Argentina on the coast side! But this time the road was untarmaced, and made from mud and gravel...
Which led us to the next problem. Suddenly in the bus there were screams from the back, so we pulled over to find out that the window had completely shattered (no shatter resistant glass here!) all over the 4 israeli girls, as a stone had hit the window. So they moved into other seats, and we turned up at the tiniest town about 20 minutes later, where we spent 90 minutes in the service station, as the bus drivers cleaned out the glass and taped plastic over the hole, so we could continue on our journey. Talk about a palaver!
So we finally arrived in El Bolson, surprisingly only 90 minutes later than expected, and found ourselves a gorgeous little hostel. The girl was so kind to us, and showed us up to our room that was free, so that we could sleep for a while. Normally we are not allowed to check in until lunchtime, so often spend our time hanging around feeling horrid and dirty. The hostel is really cosy, we have our OWN ROOM! with a double bed and pink and purple walls, curtains and duvets... proper duvets! The family is wonderful (the guy superglued my sunglasses back together again), there is a kitchen and the showers are hot. Such a warm welcome after a very uncomfortable bus!
So just been doing errands today - no walking for us as blisters still too sore, (none of us want to even see our trainers again for a long time!) and Hayley`s ankles have swollen slightly due to the long bus journey, so we are taking it easy this time. Off to Bariloche at 5pm tomorrow, (think we are 2 or 3 hours behind the UK), to then stay there for a few days. Rather a rush now unfortunately due to our flight out of Santiago being on the 19th MARCH! Nearly the end of south America, and very sad.
Anyways, gotta go and do some more computer stuff, but love to all,
Alice xx
Well feeling a little jaded to say the least! Have been on the computer for 2 hours so far trying to download photos onto CD, and it is going very slowly...! Really wish had my laptop here... oh well, can`t have everything!
We finally made it to El Bolson. We met 2 guys on our last day in El Chalten, one English and one American, who entertained us that night before our bus. The bus turned up only 40 minutes late, and we left only 95 minutes late... oh dear, the buses here are meant to be good! The up side is that we were sat next to a couple of Israeli guys, who were very good looking. So Hayley and I had some nice day-night-dreams to go to sleep to! It wasn`t helping that one of them, Adir, had half his shirt falling off so we could see his well defined muscles... the 3 years conscription in the army that they do certainly does shape them up rather well...! Anyway, off this obsession (I was pacified when I was told that there were more Israeli guys in Australia too)...
So we were turfed off the bus unexpectedly at a bus stop half way through our 30 hour journey. Luckily this was at a reasonable time in the afternoon, so we spent an 2 1/2 hours on the bus stop floor, waiting for another bus to come to take us to El Bolson and Bariloche. All went well when we got on the new bus, but was rather disappointed with the journey. We had gone up the western side of Argentina, because the road, route 40, is meant to be THE road to do, in terms of stunning scenery. Well it was identical to the other 4,000km we had done from the north to the south of Argentina on the coast side! But this time the road was untarmaced, and made from mud and gravel...
Which led us to the next problem. Suddenly in the bus there were screams from the back, so we pulled over to find out that the window had completely shattered (no shatter resistant glass here!) all over the 4 israeli girls, as a stone had hit the window. So they moved into other seats, and we turned up at the tiniest town about 20 minutes later, where we spent 90 minutes in the service station, as the bus drivers cleaned out the glass and taped plastic over the hole, so we could continue on our journey. Talk about a palaver!
So we finally arrived in El Bolson, surprisingly only 90 minutes later than expected, and found ourselves a gorgeous little hostel. The girl was so kind to us, and showed us up to our room that was free, so that we could sleep for a while. Normally we are not allowed to check in until lunchtime, so often spend our time hanging around feeling horrid and dirty. The hostel is really cosy, we have our OWN ROOM! with a double bed and pink and purple walls, curtains and duvets... proper duvets! The family is wonderful (the guy superglued my sunglasses back together again), there is a kitchen and the showers are hot. Such a warm welcome after a very uncomfortable bus!
So just been doing errands today - no walking for us as blisters still too sore, (none of us want to even see our trainers again for a long time!) and Hayley`s ankles have swollen slightly due to the long bus journey, so we are taking it easy this time. Off to Bariloche at 5pm tomorrow, (think we are 2 or 3 hours behind the UK), to then stay there for a few days. Rather a rush now unfortunately due to our flight out of Santiago being on the 19th MARCH! Nearly the end of south America, and very sad.
Anyways, gotta go and do some more computer stuff, but love to all,
Alice xx
Monday 9 March 2009
Patagonia, still... now El Chalten
Hello all,
In a very expensive internet cafe so am going to try and write this quickly... or as quickly as I can! We had a great time in the hostel in El Calafate, until one female member of staff managed to thoroughly irritate us, so we were happy to move on. We saw the Perito Moreno glacier - kilometres long and wide, and about 60m high. It can move up to 2m a day. You can hear it creaking and groaning, extremely loudly, and when parts of ice fall off it echoes around the place. Very impressive. We took a local bus there and the scenery was spectacular. Kind of similar to the UK, but somehow more pure. Words really cannot describe it, so will just have to wait for the photos to be put onto the internet! Seeing the glacier was brilliant, but you could not really get that close to it - simply walking along walkways and looking from balconies near it. Compared to some of the experiences we had in Guatemala and Bolivia, where health and safety does not come anywhere near those excursions, it seemed kind of tame. It was `nice` and we were glad we had seen it. Unfortunately the weather turned as well for the worse, which was really unfortunate as didn`t manage to get many good photos of it. But was still good to see it, and we went on a boat ride to it, to see it from the water level (seemed taller), and managed to stand on the boat, tucked up in our raincoats and sunglasses so much I was called a terrorist. (Sunglasses were needed to keep the rain out of eyes!). We also managed to do the Titanic impression at the front of the boat before we were told off... oh well! Pictures to follow.
So have made it to El Chalten, where we spent a couple of nights in a hostel that resembled a shed more. Was so cold, we booked into a better hostel for the 3rd and 4th night. El Chalten is stunningly beautiful. We have walked two long walks - 22 and 25km each, and now cannot walk anywhere! Blisters on ankles, very sore bodies, and thoroughly exhausted. The scenery is spectacular here, and with snow covered mountains, it is probably one of the most gorgeous places that I have visited. The colours are just beautiful, the air is pure, you can drink the water from the streams, and the walks are challenging. Photos to follow of that as well!
We met 4 Israeli guys in the hostel on Thursday and Friday, and ended up having a great time with them. They were so funny, although it took a bit more whisky before we could see the funny side of them nearly setting the hostel on fire (note to self, NEVER put a towel on a gas powered radiator, and be careful when lifting it as it bursts into flames...!) Luckily they have all been in the army for 3 years, so were capable of stamping out the flames. They had trekked up to the Laguna de los Tres to see the Cerro Fitz Roy at sunrise on Friday morning, and so were in a mood to relax on Friday night. Was great to chill out with them, - they were very entertaining.
Saw them a bit more the following day, but unfortunately they had to leave. Always the way with travelling, you meet someone nice, and either you or they have to go in different directions. Still, was great fun while it lasted. So after doing 2 days of gentle walks, and 2 days of more challenging walks, we are crippled enough to go to the next place. Heading to El Bolson or Bariloche this evening - will arrive there early Wednesday morning (32 hours away without delays). Hopefully internet cheaper there, will write again later!
Love from us all,
Alice xxx
In a very expensive internet cafe so am going to try and write this quickly... or as quickly as I can! We had a great time in the hostel in El Calafate, until one female member of staff managed to thoroughly irritate us, so we were happy to move on. We saw the Perito Moreno glacier - kilometres long and wide, and about 60m high. It can move up to 2m a day. You can hear it creaking and groaning, extremely loudly, and when parts of ice fall off it echoes around the place. Very impressive. We took a local bus there and the scenery was spectacular. Kind of similar to the UK, but somehow more pure. Words really cannot describe it, so will just have to wait for the photos to be put onto the internet! Seeing the glacier was brilliant, but you could not really get that close to it - simply walking along walkways and looking from balconies near it. Compared to some of the experiences we had in Guatemala and Bolivia, where health and safety does not come anywhere near those excursions, it seemed kind of tame. It was `nice` and we were glad we had seen it. Unfortunately the weather turned as well for the worse, which was really unfortunate as didn`t manage to get many good photos of it. But was still good to see it, and we went on a boat ride to it, to see it from the water level (seemed taller), and managed to stand on the boat, tucked up in our raincoats and sunglasses so much I was called a terrorist. (Sunglasses were needed to keep the rain out of eyes!). We also managed to do the Titanic impression at the front of the boat before we were told off... oh well! Pictures to follow.
So have made it to El Chalten, where we spent a couple of nights in a hostel that resembled a shed more. Was so cold, we booked into a better hostel for the 3rd and 4th night. El Chalten is stunningly beautiful. We have walked two long walks - 22 and 25km each, and now cannot walk anywhere! Blisters on ankles, very sore bodies, and thoroughly exhausted. The scenery is spectacular here, and with snow covered mountains, it is probably one of the most gorgeous places that I have visited. The colours are just beautiful, the air is pure, you can drink the water from the streams, and the walks are challenging. Photos to follow of that as well!
We met 4 Israeli guys in the hostel on Thursday and Friday, and ended up having a great time with them. They were so funny, although it took a bit more whisky before we could see the funny side of them nearly setting the hostel on fire (note to self, NEVER put a towel on a gas powered radiator, and be careful when lifting it as it bursts into flames...!) Luckily they have all been in the army for 3 years, so were capable of stamping out the flames. They had trekked up to the Laguna de los Tres to see the Cerro Fitz Roy at sunrise on Friday morning, and so were in a mood to relax on Friday night. Was great to chill out with them, - they were very entertaining.
Saw them a bit more the following day, but unfortunately they had to leave. Always the way with travelling, you meet someone nice, and either you or they have to go in different directions. Still, was great fun while it lasted. So after doing 2 days of gentle walks, and 2 days of more challenging walks, we are crippled enough to go to the next place. Heading to El Bolson or Bariloche this evening - will arrive there early Wednesday morning (32 hours away without delays). Hopefully internet cheaper there, will write again later!
Love from us all,
Alice xxx
Tuesday 3 March 2009
Puerto Madryn to Rio Gallegos to El Calafate... yet another challenging journey!
Hello all,
I am writing this sitting next to Hayley in the most gorgeous hostel I have ever seen. The whole town does not seem like a replica of a French, German or Austrian town in the Alps, but the real thing. The sunlight is flowing through the (dirty) windows, and we are overlooking Lago Argentina, stunning. The hostel is I Keu Ken, in El Calafate, and it is exactly like a ski lodge in the Alps. With an open fire, deliciously comfy beds and fantastic (and pretty/handsome staff), this is my favourite place by far. And we`ve not even ventured outdoors yet!
Still battling the cold, but now it has turned into an annoying cough. Very annoying for all concerned! Also the 119+ bites are now going down, however I have a few new additions- the latest is huge on my leg,weeping like a blister in the middle and hot to the touch. Even Carolina, at reception, was repulsed and told me to go to the hospital! So will venture there today...
Anyway, we had yet another `challenging bus ride`. Our bus from Puerto Madryn to Rio Gallegos arrived an hour late from BA (that part of the journey only took 19 hours)... so we got on the bus to find out that the seats were different to the ticket office`s computer, so we were sat right by the loos. Again. Of course the loo was broken-no flush, paper or water, or door lock. The door lock was amusing for us, as we watched people walk in on others on the toilet when they disregarded our shouts, however it was very stinky.
So we headed off, stopping for aggges in different places, to fix various parts of the bus. The toilet, parts on the side of it or generally the whole thing. We were 3 hours late getting to the next town, and then the bigger problems began. We had felt a flat tyre for hours, but they eventually stopped and tried to change it (without an apparent jack and with everyone on board too). Again, hours late. We arrived at a petrol station early in the morning, and were there for a few hours. Another flat tyre, but this time the rubber was falling off the tyre in pieces, and the spare was broken as it had replaced the first flat tyre. Never travel with El Penguino (the penguin) bus company!
They moved all the women with children onto another bus that had pulled up, and we unfortunately could not get onto the bus as our bags were too big. So we sat around for another 2 hours, to wait for a new bus to come, but it never did. So somehow they managed to repair the spare, and luckily we began the journey again. We were now resigned to the fact that we were going to be very very late to the hostel, and luckily I managed to use the only phone in a 50km radius to call the hostel, asking them to keep the reservation for us.
So we headed off, only to be summoned to the front of the bus by Edgar and Walter, the bus drivers. Had a fantastic time watching the road-the countryside is completely flat from BA to Rio Gallegos - thousands of kilometres. (The whole country is 5,200km long!) No rivers, turns in the road, trees, buildings... just low lying shrubs. For thousands of kilometres. Was identical to the Motorcycle Diaries film. Absolutely stunning sunsets, never seen anything like it before in my life. So we chatted away, and I traded a bracelet for Edgar`s sunglasses - thankfully as I had left them on a previous bus! And needed them for the glacier tomorrow...
Anyway, we managed to while away the next few hours. Edgar summoned me to the cab again, and like the naive, innocent girl I am, I saw nothing funny about him offering me a bed to sleep on - the bed in the cab that the drivers use. Until Edgar got into bed with me. And asked me for kisses. What is it about these Argentinian men?!!! So hastily got out of bed, made my excuses and ran away to Hayley and J. Which was a shame as the bed was really comfy...
Finally made it to Rio Gallegos - only 8 hours late - was 27 hours instead of 19, with only another 7 people on the 50 seater bus, as the others had got into the replacement bus. Next time, I think we will stay away from the budget buses!
So booked up a ticket for El Calafate a couple of hours later. Would have called the hostel again, but unfortunately the phones were down in Rio Gallegos. Got harrassed by this Argentinian man (again, seriously!) called Angel, who fancied a bit of Hayley. He was really kind and bought us supper, and was generally a bit weird. Overly friendly but weird. So after falling into holes, walking through fences (the other 3 had a very strange time going to the supermarket,) we headed off to El Calafate. Two police checkpoints held us up again, as they walked through the bus checking passport numbers and so on. We also stopped for while after we had just pulled out from a service station, as I think we hit a cow. Luckily not hard so we continued after a little while! This trip was just getting weirder and funnier. We had to laugh otherwise we would cry out of frustration and tiredness!
So eventually arrived in El Calafate at 1.30am, rather than 4pm. We managed to shed a few men here and there by promptly jumping into a taxi and heading up to our wonderful hostel.
So now getting ready to head out for the day (or back into bed, unbelievably tired), and are looking forward to our free drinkies tonight with Frederico, the guy in the hostel who islovely and pretty. Life is difficult! If our trip tomorrow shows that the glacier is as beautiful as pictures show, I might just stay here...
Love to all,
Alice xxx
I am writing this sitting next to Hayley in the most gorgeous hostel I have ever seen. The whole town does not seem like a replica of a French, German or Austrian town in the Alps, but the real thing. The sunlight is flowing through the (dirty) windows, and we are overlooking Lago Argentina, stunning. The hostel is I Keu Ken, in El Calafate, and it is exactly like a ski lodge in the Alps. With an open fire, deliciously comfy beds and fantastic (and pretty/handsome staff), this is my favourite place by far. And we`ve not even ventured outdoors yet!
Still battling the cold, but now it has turned into an annoying cough. Very annoying for all concerned! Also the 119+ bites are now going down, however I have a few new additions- the latest is huge on my leg,weeping like a blister in the middle and hot to the touch. Even Carolina, at reception, was repulsed and told me to go to the hospital! So will venture there today...
Anyway, we had yet another `challenging bus ride`. Our bus from Puerto Madryn to Rio Gallegos arrived an hour late from BA (that part of the journey only took 19 hours)... so we got on the bus to find out that the seats were different to the ticket office`s computer, so we were sat right by the loos. Again. Of course the loo was broken-no flush, paper or water, or door lock. The door lock was amusing for us, as we watched people walk in on others on the toilet when they disregarded our shouts, however it was very stinky.
So we headed off, stopping for aggges in different places, to fix various parts of the bus. The toilet, parts on the side of it or generally the whole thing. We were 3 hours late getting to the next town, and then the bigger problems began. We had felt a flat tyre for hours, but they eventually stopped and tried to change it (without an apparent jack and with everyone on board too). Again, hours late. We arrived at a petrol station early in the morning, and were there for a few hours. Another flat tyre, but this time the rubber was falling off the tyre in pieces, and the spare was broken as it had replaced the first flat tyre. Never travel with El Penguino (the penguin) bus company!
They moved all the women with children onto another bus that had pulled up, and we unfortunately could not get onto the bus as our bags were too big. So we sat around for another 2 hours, to wait for a new bus to come, but it never did. So somehow they managed to repair the spare, and luckily we began the journey again. We were now resigned to the fact that we were going to be very very late to the hostel, and luckily I managed to use the only phone in a 50km radius to call the hostel, asking them to keep the reservation for us.
So we headed off, only to be summoned to the front of the bus by Edgar and Walter, the bus drivers. Had a fantastic time watching the road-the countryside is completely flat from BA to Rio Gallegos - thousands of kilometres. (The whole country is 5,200km long!) No rivers, turns in the road, trees, buildings... just low lying shrubs. For thousands of kilometres. Was identical to the Motorcycle Diaries film. Absolutely stunning sunsets, never seen anything like it before in my life. So we chatted away, and I traded a bracelet for Edgar`s sunglasses - thankfully as I had left them on a previous bus! And needed them for the glacier tomorrow...
Anyway, we managed to while away the next few hours. Edgar summoned me to the cab again, and like the naive, innocent girl I am, I saw nothing funny about him offering me a bed to sleep on - the bed in the cab that the drivers use. Until Edgar got into bed with me. And asked me for kisses. What is it about these Argentinian men?!!! So hastily got out of bed, made my excuses and ran away to Hayley and J. Which was a shame as the bed was really comfy...
Finally made it to Rio Gallegos - only 8 hours late - was 27 hours instead of 19, with only another 7 people on the 50 seater bus, as the others had got into the replacement bus. Next time, I think we will stay away from the budget buses!
So booked up a ticket for El Calafate a couple of hours later. Would have called the hostel again, but unfortunately the phones were down in Rio Gallegos. Got harrassed by this Argentinian man (again, seriously!) called Angel, who fancied a bit of Hayley. He was really kind and bought us supper, and was generally a bit weird. Overly friendly but weird. So after falling into holes, walking through fences (the other 3 had a very strange time going to the supermarket,) we headed off to El Calafate. Two police checkpoints held us up again, as they walked through the bus checking passport numbers and so on. We also stopped for while after we had just pulled out from a service station, as I think we hit a cow. Luckily not hard so we continued after a little while! This trip was just getting weirder and funnier. We had to laugh otherwise we would cry out of frustration and tiredness!
So eventually arrived in El Calafate at 1.30am, rather than 4pm. We managed to shed a few men here and there by promptly jumping into a taxi and heading up to our wonderful hostel.
So now getting ready to head out for the day (or back into bed, unbelievably tired), and are looking forward to our free drinkies tonight with Frederico, the guy in the hostel who islovely and pretty. Life is difficult! If our trip tomorrow shows that the glacier is as beautiful as pictures show, I might just stay here...
Love to all,
Alice xxx
Sunday 1 March 2009
BA to Puerto Madryn... and yet another bus!
Hello all,
We safely arrived in BA and spent a day sorting ourselves out. We were more motivated this time due to the smelly room we were in (horrid), so only spent 2 nights in BA. We watched `Slumdog`at the cinema (half price on Wednesdays), - very very good. Finally got to see it! Went for a few drinks in the other `Milhouse`hostel across the road - very swish - only for one of my friends from uni to walk in, having just landed from the UK. Such a surprise (and a welcome one!) as haven`t seen him since June last year, and had completely forgotten he was travelling in South America. So was able to give him a few hints and tips, and one drink turned into 4... needless to say, not a very good idea as felt awful the next morning!
So got on a 20 hour bus to Puerto Madryn, on the eastern coast of Argentina. Dad mentioned that he had been there - I didn`t believe him initially - until he explained that he had a ship full of sick soldiers and had moored up there in the port during the Falklands war. Very random! We were late leaving on the bus as there was yet another demonstration outside the bus station, complete with firecrackers. Luckily we could enter the bus terminal from the other side, so were pretty safe. Just a hassle waiting around for a bus when feeling hungover!
Got to Puerto Madryn (the main port and city for Patagonia), and it is a lovely place. Calm, friendly, small enough to walk everywhere, and a pretty beach with 2 massive piers, that cruise ships and navy ships moor up in. The hostel, Posada del Catalejo is lovely. Very homey, with sofas (really miss having somewhere to relax and chill in hostels without them!), a TV (although cannot open the DVD player, even with a pen knife, big kitchen, comfy beds, it is generally clean, and we have met a lovely Australian and a great British couple here. The Australians, Dave and Laine, are very entertaining - Dave`s first marriage was by accident! He was in Gretna Green with his lady friend, travelling Europe, and a Scottish man told them that they had to do a `fake marriage`in Gretna Green, for the memory. So they did, and signed their names etc for their `keepsake` souvenir paperwork.... only to realise that it was real! Absolutely hilarious. They tried to make a go of it, but 6 weeks later Dave wanted to go to Morocco, and she didn`t, so they divorced under ìrreconcilable differences! Very very funny. His second wife, Laine, he married for a visa... luckily he does like her as well! So have had an entertaining time with them here.
Brilliant place to stay and recover after too much alcohol in Rosario and BA. Hayley and I have come down with colds, so feeling pretty manky. Think our bodies are protesting! Nevertheless, we dragged ourselves out to Punto Tombo yesterday, a national reserve 2.5 hours south of PM. We saw hundreds of thousands of penguins, so cute! some were moulting, and there were feathers everywhere. They waddle in a great fashion, and were sleeping standing up in many places, snoring gently with their beaks open. Lovely to see. Photos to follow at some point!
Also visited Gaiman, a Welsh town believe it or not, filled with tea houses and Welsh buildings. It is the best cup of tea that we have had in 5 months! Not quite Wales as we know it, but an Argentinian version. Very funny.
So today we are dragging our snotty bodies onto another bus, at 3pm, to go to Rio Gallegas (we get in at 10am tomorrow, Monday). We will then head straight to El Calafate, about another 4 hours on. We`ll see if it all goes to plan...!
Hope everyone is ok in UK, will put up photos at some point soon.
Lots of love from us all,
Alice xxx
We safely arrived in BA and spent a day sorting ourselves out. We were more motivated this time due to the smelly room we were in (horrid), so only spent 2 nights in BA. We watched `Slumdog`at the cinema (half price on Wednesdays), - very very good. Finally got to see it! Went for a few drinks in the other `Milhouse`hostel across the road - very swish - only for one of my friends from uni to walk in, having just landed from the UK. Such a surprise (and a welcome one!) as haven`t seen him since June last year, and had completely forgotten he was travelling in South America. So was able to give him a few hints and tips, and one drink turned into 4... needless to say, not a very good idea as felt awful the next morning!
So got on a 20 hour bus to Puerto Madryn, on the eastern coast of Argentina. Dad mentioned that he had been there - I didn`t believe him initially - until he explained that he had a ship full of sick soldiers and had moored up there in the port during the Falklands war. Very random! We were late leaving on the bus as there was yet another demonstration outside the bus station, complete with firecrackers. Luckily we could enter the bus terminal from the other side, so were pretty safe. Just a hassle waiting around for a bus when feeling hungover!
Got to Puerto Madryn (the main port and city for Patagonia), and it is a lovely place. Calm, friendly, small enough to walk everywhere, and a pretty beach with 2 massive piers, that cruise ships and navy ships moor up in. The hostel, Posada del Catalejo is lovely. Very homey, with sofas (really miss having somewhere to relax and chill in hostels without them!), a TV (although cannot open the DVD player, even with a pen knife, big kitchen, comfy beds, it is generally clean, and we have met a lovely Australian and a great British couple here. The Australians, Dave and Laine, are very entertaining - Dave`s first marriage was by accident! He was in Gretna Green with his lady friend, travelling Europe, and a Scottish man told them that they had to do a `fake marriage`in Gretna Green, for the memory. So they did, and signed their names etc for their `keepsake` souvenir paperwork.... only to realise that it was real! Absolutely hilarious. They tried to make a go of it, but 6 weeks later Dave wanted to go to Morocco, and she didn`t, so they divorced under ìrreconcilable differences! Very very funny. His second wife, Laine, he married for a visa... luckily he does like her as well! So have had an entertaining time with them here.
Brilliant place to stay and recover after too much alcohol in Rosario and BA. Hayley and I have come down with colds, so feeling pretty manky. Think our bodies are protesting! Nevertheless, we dragged ourselves out to Punto Tombo yesterday, a national reserve 2.5 hours south of PM. We saw hundreds of thousands of penguins, so cute! some were moulting, and there were feathers everywhere. They waddle in a great fashion, and were sleeping standing up in many places, snoring gently with their beaks open. Lovely to see. Photos to follow at some point!
Also visited Gaiman, a Welsh town believe it or not, filled with tea houses and Welsh buildings. It is the best cup of tea that we have had in 5 months! Not quite Wales as we know it, but an Argentinian version. Very funny.
So today we are dragging our snotty bodies onto another bus, at 3pm, to go to Rio Gallegas (we get in at 10am tomorrow, Monday). We will then head straight to El Calafate, about another 4 hours on. We`ll see if it all goes to plan...!
Hope everyone is ok in UK, will put up photos at some point soon.
Lots of love from us all,
Alice xxx
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