Leaving Buenos Aires, going loco in La Paz and experiencing beautiful Cuzco....

In my last post I was off to Uruguay, but for one reason or another I didn´t make it but instead spent a few days 6 hours south of Buenos Aires in Mar Del Plata. Despite it raining I had a really enjoyable few days relaxing with some Swedish friends I´d met along the way. We then all went back to the capital where I partied for a week more before finally dragging my heels and heading off!

So I finally got myself away from the nightlife, culture, food, climate and everything else that Buenos Aires has to offer by jumping on a bus to La Paz.

When I arrived at the bus terminal I was hoping for only a few things from the bus given that it was a 48 hour journey....air conditioning, reclinining chairs for a sleep and a little leg room. As the bus chugged in at 5pm making this thing look like royalty, I wasn´t hopeful. And my lack of hope was substantiated as I jumped on the bus for two days without air conditioning and the ability to get a decent nights kip. That said however, it wasn´t unbearable and with a couple of books and an appropriaetd pillow from the last hostel I managed to do the journey without much hassle....just.

Anyway, arriving into La Paz and the city is nothing like I´ve ever seen before. It literally takes your breath away (its highest point being 4058km above sea level) and once you manage to overcome the initial effects of the altitude what lays before you is certainly one of the most unique city´s you can come accross. It is sandwiched between two huge mountain faces and thousands upon thousands of houses cascade down these mountains eventually ending up with a flattish centre. It is almost like a supersized football stadium that has been turned into a city.

With not much time in La Paz I set myself a full itinery for the two days that I was there. Unsuprisingly the first days plans where in the bin after I got dragged out all night on my first night there. However, the second day was one I won´t forget.

The day started with a trip to the Coca Musuem. It is a small little building located just behind one of the main Plaza´s in La Paz. An educational and informative tour, it left me with a few suprising (or perhaps not) facts about the history of the Coca leaf. What many people don´t realise about the Coca Leaf is that it has been used for centuries by the Andean people as a method of curing a variety of ills and also improving prouductivity in the workforce.

A quick word on the eradication of the Coca leaf. America has lead the way for its eradication yet it is Western (including American scientists) who first developed its derivative Cocaine and also Coca Cola for years used the leaf as its secret ingredient. Ironically, a stat given in the museum states that America, which makes up 5% of the worlds population, consumes 50% of the total Cocaine intake each year.

Anyway, this isn´t a manifesto either way on the Coca leaf, but I think it is important to know some facts that aren´t always put forward.

So I wandered around La Paz for a bit and then made a trip to a place that I will never forget in a long time. Partially made famous by the book Marching Powder, San Pedro Prison is one of the strangest places I have ever been to. It is an unofficial tour of the "prison" and the way in is to approach a South African couple outside who seem to have used their entrepreneurial skills to set up a "tourist attraction". Anyway, after spending a significant amount of money to get in what I saw was simply unbelievable. We were assigned a guide and a few bodyguard inmates and to say I was shit scared when walking past the guards with automatic rifles is a huge understatement.

Anyway, we were given a tour of the place and it really is unique. It has a restaurant, bar, pool tables and many other amenities that would compliment a small town. Even stranger is the fact that different areas of the prison are referred to as mini boroughs - our guide would often say "this is a poor/rich area of the prison". Perhaps most strikingly though is that inmates wives and children are permitted to live with their husbands in their cells. When I say cells, it is doing their living quarters a disservice as included in what they have is cable TV where one of the young boys was watching Arsenal when I was wandering round. I sat down next to him, watched the second half and his mum brought us some cake to eat. As I said, it was bloody surreal. I´m actually laughing now as I type at how ridiculous the whole situation was. To top it off there are Coca Cola signs printed everywhere around the prison. I guess Capitalism knows no bounds. This link to an old BBC report gives a few pictures and a bit more info on the place (if you look at picture 4 you can see the Coca Cola signs I´m talking about).

Feeling slightly confused and with my eyes firmly open, I spent one more night in La Paz before heading to Cuzco in Peru. No hassles with border control this time (I´d learnt my lesson). On the way to the Cuzco I was actually thinking about how lucky I´d been not to have been ill this whole six months....sure enough after the first meal I eat I felt awful and for the next couple of days I felt pretty rough. Anyway, I spent it in this English pub watching all the weekends football and was well enough on the Monday to go and visit Machu Pichu. A really amazing place, where is is believe the Incas inhabited between 1460 and departed around 100 years later.

The next day I set off for Lima on what was supposed to be a relatively easy 20 hour journey. Things started well when the bus turned up and looked pretty good. I spent the first few hours watching a couple of films before nodding off to sleep at around 9pm. Anyway, I woke up at 2am to a load of shouting and commotion and not being in the mood to get involved went back to sleep. Imagine my suprise when I woke up at 11am to find we were still in EXACTLY the same place. Apparently the bus had broken down during the night and the next bus was to come pick us up at 7pm that evening. An enjoyable 19 hour delay ensued in the middle of nowhere. That said the view was amazing and I took a load of pictures to remind myself. However, beautiful scenery can only pass so much time on a 19 hour delay.

So I´m in Lima now, feeling slightly better but taking it easy. I have a flight to Medallin in Colombia tomorrow and I am seriously excited. It´s meant to be an extroadinary place and everyone I´ve spoke to says I´m in for a treat.

By the way, if you´re looking for something to read over xmas I´ve just finished this book on Medallin´s most famous son, Pablo Escobar. It will amaze you at the state of the place between the mid 80´s and early 90´s when he was king.

Anyway, I hope everyone is well back home and looking forward to Xmas.

Take care and I´ll be in touch soon!

Like a boomerang.....

I´m back in Buenos Aires...haha!!

Only for a couple of days I think. Next stop Uruguay!!

Speak soon.

Buenos Aires continues to thrill and getting deported from Brazil was quite interesting as well.....

So I´m still here in Beunos Aires!

There´s a well worn saying in travelling circles that amounts to "Don´t get stuck in one place...make sure you see more." The most common place this happens is Sydney. People go there straight from England, love it so much, cant see past the Harbour Bridge or Opera House and what was meant to be a year travelling Oz turns into a year in Sydney.

Whilst this hasn´t quite happened to me yet I´ve been in Buenos Aires for almost 3 weeks now and it´s probably time to leave.

However, the last two weeks have been fun, challenging, thrilling and unique. What´s more, there have been one or two unfortunate moments which I´ll come on to but that hasn´t diminished any of the affection I have for this wonderful city.

So last time I checked in I was going to meet my two mates Ed and James in Florianopolis. Before doing this I decided to take a bus up to Puerto Iguazu and see the world famous Iguazu Falls. By the way, the buses in Argentina and South America as a whole are big business. You can get 1st, 2nd and 3rd class busses with 1st class offering you a full bed, meals, wine and a waiter for the journey. A bit OTT but it makes 18 hour journeys a whole lot easier.

Anyway, I arrived in Puerto Iguazu and saw the imposing and quite special collection of waterfalls that this Argentinian landmark has to offer. Especially striking was La Gargenta del Diablo which roughly translates into "The Devils Throat".

So with my fill of waterfalls I crossed the border by local bus into Brazil. A smooth transition through immigration where I got my exit stamp from Argentina. Worryingly though there was no Brazilian immigration to give me an entrance stamp....more to come later!!

Having moved into Brazil I got on to another bus where I made the overnight journey to Florianopolis. There I met James and Ed and it was really great to see a few friendly faces. Having been away for so long without seeing people from home it was nice to spend a bit of time in the company of friends where conversation is easy and forcing conversation is not necessary.

Ammusingly though, it rained for 3 days straight. The lads had come from horrible, dark and murky weather back home in London and had arrived in Brazil to be greeted by the more of the same. So we decided to move our flights forward and leave the next day.

The journey was simple. Florianopolis to Coritiba and the Coritiba to Buenos Aires arriving at around 4pm. The first leg was navigated without hassle. The second leg was not. As we went through immigration in Coritiba the Federal Police had a quick scan through my passport and asked for my ¨Entry Card". Bollocks!! The lack of immigration in Puerto Iguazu was beginning to hurt me. After trying to explain why I didn´t have one, the guys were not impressed and it didn´t help either that the two friends I was with, Ed and James, had the necessary documents. The Federal Police didn´t seem bothered by my explanation that they had come from London and I from Puerto Iguazu.

Anyway, after much discussion in English, Portugese and Spanish, I managed to decipher that I wasn´t going anywhere and would have to fly the next day. James, Ed and I agreed it would be best for them to carry on and I would meet them tomorrow.

So an hour later I was in the interrogation room of the Brazilian Federal Police being told that I had to pay 300 pounds to leave the country. In my head I wanted to tell them to "F*** Off¨". But not having the bottle and also worrying that I would probably excalate the situation, I simply said ¨No¨. After going backwards and forwards for a while and me politely correcting them that no, it isn´t the case that if a Brazilian man was without documentation in England he would be put in prison for 10 years, we finally reached a compromise. I was to leave tomorrow but if I ever wanted to come back to Brazil I would have to pay the fine.

I was partially content but for reasons unbenown to me I decided to kick up a mighty fuss and demand that I leave that night. So quite amazingly I had managed to side step the fine that the Police were imposing, albeit temporarily, and had got them and the airline running around looking for a way out for me that night. I managed to do it as well and an hour later I was on a flight bound for Sao Paolo with a connection on to Buenos Aires. I arrived in Beunos Aires at 12am, met the lads and had one almighty session on the beers with them.

All was good until a few days later when I had my wallet stolen on the tube. Bollocks! It happened so quickly and the guy was off in a flash that before I could do anything I had no cash, no card and no ID apart from my passport. Not good. Anyway, one way or another I managed to sort myself out but it was certainly a lesson learnt.

The lads and I then embarked on a feeding and drinking frenzy lasting a good 5 days. We ate in some great restaurants, had steaks the size of our heads and it got to the stage where rather than being mocked by taxi drivers for going home early as I was when I first arrived, they were rather impressed when we were asking to be taken to more bars after the clubs had closed at 7am. True Porteños!!

So the boys have gone now and I´m planning my exit too. I suppose I´ve loved this place so much that I´m worried things wont compare to it. I´ve almost carved a micro life for myself here where I know waiters, travellers, barman and locals. I know the roads, good places to eat, the tube and the best places to go drinking on different nights of the week. However, someone said you should always leave a place wanting more!

And so I´ll probably be out of here by Wednesday (or Thursday, or perhaps next Wednesday...just kidding) at the latest but I will definately be back.

Next stop is the University City of Cordoba. Apparently Cordoba prides itself on being bigger, better and offering harder partying than Buenos Aires. If that´s the case then the next blog could offer more suprises than this one!

Until then.......

People, Culture, Fiestas and Passion....Buenos Aires just doesn´t disappoint!

So I very nearly didn´t make it to Buenos Aires. After touching down in Santiago de Chile I enquired as to when the check in for my Aeriolinas Argentinas flight to BA was. In mixed Spanglish I understood that the Airline has a relatively relaxed attitude to check in and that I should simply listen out for the call around an hour before take off.

As it was 12pm and my flight was at 6pm, I naturally gravitated towards the bar for a bit of food, a drink and a few hours of reading my book. Anyway, I got chatting to some Kiwis who had got off the same flight as me and a few hours later I was feeling a bit hammered. For some reason they had taken a shine to me and decided to provide an endless supply of beer whilst I was waiting for my flight. I wasn´t complaining and as it reached 4 o´clock I decided to go for a quick toilet break. On my way I saw a young Air Argentina hostess and asked her when check in for my flight was. She took me to the check in desk and said "Ahhh, yis, Señor, we av been waiting for yu. Yu are late Señor, your flight will leave in 20 minutes". So quite reasonably the hostess was suggesting that because no one had told me my flight was cancelled and the only service to BA was at 4.30 I had made the error and should be adequately embarresed at my mistake. Anyway, with no time to complain, I said bye to the Kiwis, finished my beer (still had time to do that) and boarded the plane.

And to be honest the last week in Buenos Aires has been as hectic and frantic as my first encounter with the Air Argentina hostess. I must admit I was a bit worried that Buenos Aires wouldn´t live up to its reputation partly because I´d put it on such a pedastal and partly because generally most things you wish for generally don´t.

However, I need not have worried as the place is simply fantastic. The mix of French architecture, a relaxed European approach to life and the added Latino spice and passion provides for a wonderfully unique city.

My first two days and nights were just a blur. I arrived and walked into a huge party at the hostel and from Thursday until Sunday morning I didn´t stop. The term "24 hour city" could not have been more appropriate. Also amusing was how the taxi driver was giving me shit at 6am on the Friday for, and I quote, "going home early". Haha!

In between the partying of that first weekend I managed to explore the city and spend time in some places where you cant help but walk around with a smile on your face. I spent the day in San Telmo (the oldest neighbourhood in Buenos Aires) walking amongst the various artists, market sellers and street performers while also taking in impromptu Tango dances by the locals. I drank wine and beer with the Porteños (people from BA) in the chic Palermo area and I strolled around the many streets that are permeated with beautiful European architecture. I even went to a US election party full of Argentinians, Americans and anyone else who wanted to see a truly unique piece of history being made.

The rest of the week I began my Spanish classes and continued to fall in love with the City. I haven´t done any of the traditional tourist attractions yet as after feeling a little too touristy in New Zealand (jump of the bus, take a pic and move on) I want to really get a feel for the city. At this point I´m really thinking of spending a bit of time here, perhaps a month or so. I´ve no plans as to what I´ll do here for that month but there seems to be a force pulling me to the City and until that stops I´ll continue to stay.

As for the immediate future, I´ll be leaving for Iguazu Falls in Northern Argentina tomorrow and then the day after I´m heading to Florianopolis in Brazil to meet James and Ed, my great friends from home. We´ll spend a week on the beaches in Floripa before all heading back to Buenos Aires to continue where I left off and to show Ed and James what this great city has to offer.

So the South American leg really has started with a bang. Long may it continue.

Until then.....

..Site Maintenance

Thought I'd give the blog a bit of a spring clean.

May change back in a few days if I think it's crap. To be honest, I'm feeling that excited I'm just finding things to do to waste away the time until tomorrow's flight....

Cutting down on walks + partying more + climbing a glacier = Finishing New Zealand on a high!

So it's been a really enjoyable last 10 days in New Zealand which consisted of, as the title of the post suggests, a few less walks and a bit more partying!

Moving down through Westport on the West Coast there was some really beautiful landscapes of valleys, lakes and mountains. Our first stop on the way down though consisted of a themed party at a pub which is almost as old as the owner (Age of Pub - 95, Age of Les the Owner - 84). The theme was "Anything beginning with P" and so with a tight little affro, a sheepskin coat, some outlandish black and white trousers and a daring purple top I went as a Pimp! Unfortunately I didn't win the competition as best dressed, that went to the Parrot with the lad who came as a Prostitute a close second.

With a slight hangover we made the journey down to the Franz Josef glaciers where we went on a day long hike up the glacial mountain. It wasn't the toughest treck I've done but it was probably the most fun as we were scaling walls and trying to fit our bodies through impossibly tight cravasses.

From there we had an unevenftul stop over at Wanaka before hitting the party town of Queenstown. Not much sleep and plenty of booze was had as this was the last place before the people on our bus went there seperate ways. A cool little town and a fitting way to end the Kiwi Adventure.

Through a mixture of bus and plane I'm now back in Auckland with loads of great memories to take away. The people are friendly, the scenery is jaw dropping and the activities get your blood pumping.

So now I'm waiting for tomorrow evenings flight to Argentina and I honestly can't wait. South America is a place rich with history, culture, music and by all accounts is one of the best continents to visit in the world.

And with that I bid "E noho ra" (Goodbye in Maori) to New Zealand and "Hola!" to Argentina.

Speak soon!!

Landscapes, walking and lots and lots and lots of sheep - Welcome to New Zealand

So after taking the scenic route travelling to Auckland (Cairns-Sydney-Auckland, when the much shorter Cairns to Auckland would have sufficed) I arrived in the country that has a ratio of 10 sheep to every one person (that's not a lie: 40 million sheep and 4 million people!)

Now with such a big country and so few people I made a mental note to approach the next few weeks as an opportunity to take stock, slow down on the beers and get a few nice picturesalong the way. 

Having spent a couple of days in Auckland without much to write home about, I jumped on the Kiwi Experience bus and set off on a 17 day trip through the North Island, over the sea and around the South Island. 

First stop was a small place called Mercury Bay. There we embarked on what I would later find out to be the first of many walks along New Zealand's rich parks and landscapes. It was a relaxing day and my body was thankful for the brief interlude in beer drinking and injection of exercise.

From there we made the short journey down to a place called Rotarua and the place absolutely stunk...literally. Now Wikipedia will have you believe that it is due to the geothermal activity in Roturua and the strong presence of Sulphur in the region. I will tell you that it smells like the population have been living off too many egg sandwiches and have let off a huge collective fart! Anyway, despite it's bad smell I went to a traditional Maori night which was good fun and also refreshing to see a country embracing it's indigenous past rather than shunning it.

Having survived the smell we moved on down to Waitomo - Population 40! I stayed one night went for a LONG walk in the morning and then moved on. 

The next stop was a place called Taopo which offered the first glimpse of a township or city since Auckland. In Taopo I had a lot of fun going Zorbing and Luging and even managed to have a few beers and a party in the evening. 

The Kiwi gods must have sensed I was having too much fun and meeting too many people as the next stop was a place called River Valley - Population: Us! Seriously, the hostel was in the middle of nowhere with the next town, people or shops 35 minutes away. The reason we went there though was to go White Water Rafting, which I did do and which I must say was a lot of fun. Amazingly as well, I managed to catch the Arsenal game at this hostel which considering we were in the arse end of nowhere was a huge surprise. 

And so I rushed through Wellington, Nelson and have now arrived in Westport for a night. Population - Not many. However, this is only a stopover before the South Island really comes alive with the Franz Josef Glaciers (which are rumoured to be stunning) and then Queenstown where you can do the highest bungy in the world (134metres = pretty high). You can also do this....not sure about that one yet!!!

Anyway, despite my cheap and unfunny jokes about the sheep and population, New Zealand truly is a stunning place. It is rich in mountains, hills, volcanoes, lakes and rivers which consistently provides awe inspiring scenery.

So with many miles clocked up walking and some brilliant postcard photos, I look forward to the South Island which by all accounts offers a good mixture of adrenaline, scenery and of course....walks. 

Speak soon!!