Dave & Sandy's trip

Argentina -Mendoza to Auckland (New Zealand)

2004-11-26T17:20:00.000-08:00

Day 95
Arrive in Mendoza at 7am. Good looking small city..tree lined streets.
Taxi to Finca Flichman bodega..we like their wine. Very friendly people and very good vino.
Then to La rural vineyard and museum. Argentina only started to produce good/fine wine in the last 10 to 15 years. Generally the best vineyards are foreign owned..like Flichman, Norton, Chandon, Terrazas, Etchart etc but Catena is Argentinian. Malbec is their distinctive grape variety..heavy like Cab Sauvignan..cracking wine...almost chewy if it is really good.
We suggest you head to the Gaucho grill in London and get lashed up...or even better..book a flight to Argentina...cheaper than eating in the Gaucho Grill.

Day 96
Slept in and relaxed in the beautiful park..English design..like cross of Regents and Hyde park.
Beef and wine. Sleep.

Day 97
Gaucho horseriding down south in the Tupungato Andes...where the good white wine comes from. Good thing we didn't do a 3 day trip as David turned out to be allergic to the horse...only flared up at the end of the day but he had a big red head and puffy eyes...like what he looks like with a hangover. Day slightly ruined by stupid English people fighting with the Gaucho guide..very bad form. We had a great day despite.

Day 98
Travelled by bus to the highest mountain in Argentina, Angongua (But right now I can't remember how high it is or how to spell it correctly) The journey took us into the Andes close to the Chillian border where we had breathtaking veiws of snow capped mountains and amazing rock formations. We saw many condors, beautiful and graceful when seen soaring over the mountains but ugly from close up. Aconcagua, spelt correctly is 6959 metres above sea level...This is correct as we took a photo of the sign and David just showed it too me.
Then to Puente del Inca..a very strange natural stone bridge that formed from the ice and sulphur deposits ..or something weird like that...looks cool and has natural hot springs underneath it. Inca legend is that an old Inca chief was ill and needed to cross the divide to get to the hot springs to get healed...as there was no bridge, the Incas linked together from 1 side to the other to allow him to cross above...when he did and looked back the Incas turned to rock and the bridge was formed...we like that legend better than the truth.

Day 99
Sandy bought 2 leather handbag..one for each arm.
Off to the Norton winery..no time for tour because some Germans booked it out (the swines !!) but walked through the vineyard and then to the Chandon bodegas to see how they make sparking wine and Champagne styles. Very interesting to see in practice what we studied. Chandon (as in Moet & Chandon) also have a vineyard in Australia. It was raining when we left the tour but the Chandon Accountant was driving back to the city and gave us a lift...it was fun speaking spanish to him. Really friendly guy..explained about all of mendozas wine industry..muchas gracias Angel.
Drank Argentinian Champagne in the evening...very good.

Day 100
Bus to Santiago (8 hours). Sandy sees Robbie Williams at the airport and he smiles at her. David is bouncing his ball, uninterested. RW is very small..like an umpaloompa.

Flight to Auckland..12 hours.

Day 101
Nov 25th...day doesn't exist for us as we passed the International Date line.

Day 102
Nov 26th. Arrive in Auckland and Anna collects us from the airport...fantastic but she gets there early and catches us eating breakfast at McDonalds...the shame of it!!
Thanks to Anna for getting up at 5am..she is the ultimate star kiwi.

Ireland beat South Africa in rugby...

2004-11-26T17:00:00.000-08:00

....David is very happy...trusts that the arrogant Sith Iffrickaaans were kicked out of Ireland immediately after the game. '...shoulder to shoulder...to answer Ireland's call !!!!'

Argentina -Bariloche Lake District

2004-11-26T16:53:00.000-08:00

Day 91
Arrived in the evening with the idea of not staying too long as wanted to head north and time running out. Beautiful town set at the foothills of the Andes and surrounded by lakes. Colder than London! Booked a few tours as could not book flight as office closed.

Day92
Tour of a couple of lakes by boat. David got to feel young again after his 30th, actually, he was most likely the youngest person there. We escaped German tourists in El Calafate only to be on the ultimate granny tour. If lunch was included it would probably have been meals on wheels! Was pretty gorgeous scenery and the Argentinians had a bit of a sing along on the boat. Flight office open on return only no flights north so another 19 hour bus ride to Mendoza. Had Mexican for dinner, beer, nachos and fajitas. Nice change and no old people.

Day 93
Tour of the seven lakes and the pretty town of St Martin de los Andes. It was painfully awful. Again, full of oldies and all Spanish speaking. The guide rambled on for hours with a microphone on full (I guess there was probably a few people with bad hearing) We had to buy earplugs!!Had bad pizza in St Martin and Sandy watched dogs shagging on the beach (David..being a good Catholic, looked the other way). Had a great parilla for dinner and spotted very cool leather jacket.

Day 94
Sandy bought very cool leather jacket and got on 19 hour long bus to Mendoza.

Chile -Torres del Paine National Park

2004-11-26T16:19:00.000-08:00

Day 88
Another early start..6am bus to Chile. Cloudy..so couldn't see the moutain peaks of Torres del Paine...the reason everyone comes here.
Needed to take an Ice Breaker ship to our first nights digs...a small refugio (treking hostel) at the end of a Lago Grey and another glacier..different to Moreno because on cloudy days the glaciers appear an intense blue and not off white...drank big whiskys with glacier ice and staggered off the ship to the refugio (big wooden house in the forest). This park is where all the serious trekkers and climbers come from all over..generally this means very dull Germans, Dutch, French and English IT professionals and their ugly half female partners (if they have one) wearing treking strides that can be zipped off into shorts. However, everyone was OK..needed to be...24 people sleeping in bunk beds (8 to a room). In our room..the 4 men snored throughout the night (not led by David but he did play a background part) while the 4 women repeatedly hit them to stop. Adios to crazy blonde curly headed Tomas, el jefe.

Day 89
Good breakfast but Chile is 3 times as expensive as Argentina..big rip off and a little disappointed from that perspective. Really enjoyed the refugio though and being isolated. It was possible to camp outside in a tent but those we talked to said they nearly froze to death even with all the proper sleeping bags (you would have to carry your backpack from campsite to campsite too..we could barely walk a mile with ours in the flat..forget about hiking -we ditched our backpacks at the main town and just took days packs for treks instead).
Felt sorry for people camping outside..met a few on the 3 and half hr trek to Lago Pehoe..our next refugio (very modern 60 bed monster...better but not as good fun as previous night). Further 3 hour hike to base camp of T del P. Clouds lifted and we luckily saw the mountain peaks..impressive but they disappeared half an hour later...met more people returning from higher camp grounds who had given up in the previous days clouds. The park is amazing. We liked experiencing the hiking lifestyle..but were happy to leave the next day.

Day 90
Ferry and bus to Puerto Nalales. Good beef and chicken feed and few bottles of average Chilean vino (1 bottle too many but hangovers are never as bad when you don't have to work the next day). Chile was good but really expensive (we paid 54USD to stay in a dorm but it would be 10USD in Argentina). We think the food and wine are definitely better in Argentina too...but we were in a national park and they always hike the prices up.

Day 91
5 hour bus ride to El Calafate again and then flight up north to Bariloche (the Lake District).

Moreno Glacier & David's 30th birthday

2004-11-26T15:19:00.000-08:00

Day 84
El Calafate. Cruise to 4 of the Glaciers..passed hundreds of icebergs on the lakes. Deep blue ice where the it is really compressed. Looks like Greenland/Antartic/Scandanavian fiords altogether...no need to take $4000 trip to Antartic when you can see this in Argentina. Incredible rivers of ice (lost Redsox and Boca Juniors caps somewhere..appears to be finders keepers attitude down south).

Day 85 -David's 30th birthday 9th November
Early hike to the Moreno Glacier -jewel in the crown of Glaciers. Unbelievable..like returning to the Ice Age. Sandy arranged for 30 Condors to fly overhead.
Need photographs to explain properly. David strips naked for brithday photoshoot at Moreno. Nipple action -damn cold..needed warm hat..see photo... scared a few Japanese tourists. Watched the glacier from the walkways. Moreno is rare in that it is expanding. After a certain time it dams the lake and the water pressure builds up until the inevitable ice-plosion. This happened 16 years ago and last in March 2004. The locals camped out for days waiting for it to blow up. It looks like the glacier is daming up again so they should only have a few years to hang around for the next time. The Ice cracks like a gunshot and then suddenly massive chunks fall off into the lake with a tremendous crash and big wave..compelling to watch as you don't know where it will happen along the 4km face of the glacier.

5 hour drive to El Chalten..home of Fitzroy mountain..big mountain climber base. Incredibly beautiful dusk drive through the black mountains of Fitzroy..clouds in the sky were red and pink and wine coloured at once. Arrived at 11pm -no dinner for birthday just a big bottle of ice cold Quilmes cervesa...well deserved. (David would like to point out that on Sandy's birthday on the hardest day of the Inca Trail - he handed her a bottle of Champagne at the summit of 'Dead Woman's Pass')

Day 86
7am start of hike to another Glacier. Thought this was a 6 hour hike..turned out to be 13 and half. 3 hours to base camp..cup of coffee..put on harness and fitted for crampons. Further 3 hour hike along the ridge of glacier lake. Crossed a river valley on a flying fox contraption (wire rope suspended across and tied to a big bolder on each side..good fun). Then scrambled up the cliffs to a forest on all 4's because it was dangerously steep (harder than Inca trail). The guides had to stand on the hardest parts in case we slide down the moutainside. Eventually reach the glacer...crampons on we treked easily across the surface over huge cracks in the ice to underground rivers flowing through the glacier. Reached a cliff and ice climbed up using the crampons and ice axes..only up about 10 metres but it was really tiring...but photos look cool.
Got new repect for ice climbers. Another gruelling 5 hour hike back..David had to make chit-chat with Germans to distract from the pain and tiredness in his legs ( he informed them that Jurgen Klinnsman spent his Spurs years down Old Compton street / that Rudi Voeller looked ridiculous with his mullet & moustache combo /and Bertie Voghts had to leave Scotland before the Scots killed him). Arrived back at hostel at 8pm..knackered. Managed to wash aching bodies and out for veal of bife in local very basic restaurant...all served by 10 yr old waiter..very professional..Sandy offered him a job but then remembered she didn't have a job. Big German shephard dog kept guard outside. No rest for the wicked...6am start next day.

Day 87
5.15am up to re-pack and force breakfast down..dazed on the battered bus back to El Calafate. Slept off tiredness and out for late-birthday dinner of..suprise suprise..bife de lomo Y Malbec vino...but the beef and wine are as good as anything anywhere. Sandy buys David very cool leather jacket for $120 US...leather is cheap as chips in Argentina. Massage. Life is good.

Argentina -Buenos Aires & Whales

2004-11-20T13:12:00.000-08:00

Buenos Aires
Day 74
Arrived tired from yet another overnight bus journey. Wandered aroundthe shops, great cheap leather. (Looking at handbags and leatherjackets, not very practical when living out of a backpack!) VeryEuropean feel to the city. Had a late lunch in one of the many traditional `parillas`. Ate great chunks of meat , a few intestines and livery bits and black pudding. Did not much else for the rest of the day until the evening. Sandy had her first taste of chardonnay in months (memories of the good old days of London with the girls) in a tiny wine bar, we were about the only customers. Felt bad for not giving money to a beggar for the first time ever. He was well dressed, Ron´s age and spoke perfect English (unlike aussie Ron !!). A lot of people lost their savings when the banks went bankrupt in the 90`s (see "Nine Queens" the argie movie..very good con act). Another bar and another better bottle of chardonnay later we were settling in to the town. As it`s hard to stop David once he is on a roll, we then had a bottle ofArgentinian Champagne, bloody good and cheaper than the chardonnay. Very drunk and no memory of getting home (like many a night in London) .

Day 75
Walked off our hangovers and visited Recoletta. Very similar to Knightsbridge, posh houses. The cemetary is like nothing seen before. Massive mousoleums, some like small churches, probably cost more than a small house. Saw ´Evita`s` burial place. David said she must have been a great soccer player like Batistuta or Maradona. David was singing "Don´t cry for me Tino -Argo" (inside joke for Miss Ellie). Walked through a beautiful rose garden looking for a racecourse which we never found. A fair and exhibition from all the immigrants to Argentina (including Ireland) was on show. So after Sandy bought a red leather handbag we returned to watch the dancing and eat some Iraqui shawarmas and Mexican taco`s. The Russian dancing was highlight. Wine was drunk in a very stylish and cool bar (like Home house in London)called Million. (Thanks Lisa in Sydney for the tip)

Day 76
Sunday. Headed to Boca as Boca Juniors were playing football that afternoon.
Missed a bus so decided to walk for hours. Good thing we did as passed a street filed with market stalls and antique shops. A young couple were dancing the dance of love ...Tango.. on the street and they were brilliant. Tango was created in Buenos Aires. We were planning on getting lessons until David decided he would need a ridiculous amount of alcohol to loosen up enough. It turned out to be a good idea as it looks really hard anyway. Afer a long walk we made it to Boca, the old port side of BA - little town full of colourful buildings and full of atmosphere. The drum beats started there by the little kids and continued through the football match. The stadium was packed and unbelieveably noisy. The fans sing throughout the game, stopping only for substitutes and half time. David particularly enjoyed the start of the game and half time as the `Bocatinis` did their lap dancing in G-strings, writhing around on the goalposts ( Kevin Smith requested photographs) The game ended with no goals, but plenty of near misses. The opposition had a player sent off in the first half and he had to be excorted with police shields protecting him from the Boca fans (excellent). Argie football was much more skillful than Brazil..probably because most of the good players are in Europe.

Day 77
Tango show in `Cafe Tortoni` the oldest tango in town. Almost as good as the couple on the street. David nearly saw a boob (the joys of a front row seat) . Played some pool and David kicked Sandy`s ass, her mind still tangiong. Bife de Lomo and Malbec for dinner. The biggest and tenderest fillet steakever....for under $5..don´t think life gets much better.

Day 78
Expensive trip for a stamp in our passports to Uraguay on the ferry. Didn`t read the guide to find out that it was a public holiday and most of the city of Montivideo was closed. The woman in the tourist office was very upset to find out that we were only visiting for 5hours, however she gave us advice on how to fill the day. Went to the beach. Not quite Rio, everyone drinking `matte` A sort of tea which is drunk from a bong looking device and requires carrying a thermos of hot water around with you which they and the Argentinians all do...teenagers and old folks...beats smoking. Last stop was a huge market full of parillas which were unfortunatley all closing so drank ice cold beers until ferry back. Uraguaians very excited about their new Socialist goverment..they´ve had a few severe regimes in their not so distant past. Good luck to them.

Day 79
Flew to Peninsula Valdes (Could not face any more busses after Brazil). Cheapest hotel yet, under $10 for two....who needs crappy hostels full of smelly backpackers talking bollocks about their travels..couldn´t care less.

Day 80
The Southern right whale (Ballena Francal Austral in Spanish) is amassive and impressive whale which is in the waters of the Valdes peninsula at this time to have their calves. Even more impressive is watching them only feet away with their tails in the air, spurtingwater from their spouts and swimming under the boat. The first whale we laid our eyes on we thought was dead, tail in the air and no movement for ages until she went under and right next to the boat rolled over so that her eye was out of the water to ´ave a butchers´ at us. She was almost twice the size of the boat. All across the water in almost every direction was a tail up or a spout spurting or an entire whale jumping or just splashing around. Back on shore we watched a few playing from the bar. Parilla for dinner, best joint in town. Bife do Lomo and a Vacio, juicy flank cut....and a few compulsory bottles of malbec to keep our hearts healthy.

Day 81
Back for more Whales..couldn´t resist...but only saw 5..not as good as day before but they are temperamental fellas. Long drive to see big"gordo bastardo" ugly elephant seals and sealions..all lying on the beach sunning themselves. This is where the Killer whales come right up the the shoreline and nab a seal for brekkie and then thrash about trying not to beach themselves...saw that on Blue Planet though -no killer action today unfortunately.

Day 82
Off early on speedboat to see little black and white dolphins. Chased them and then they chased us -jumping like nutcases in the wake of the boat. Very hard to photo..quick little buggers. Good laugh.Very bad roads to Punta Tombo -a reserve for a million odd Penguins (and they are very odd). Sandy was pissing herself laughing at them walking (to and from the penguin pub -it was friday afterall). All minding eggs. Saw 1 hatch. Penguins all over ..you walk besidethem..don´t think they´d allow it in Aus or Europe.David said "seen 1 penguin..seen ´em all". Visited an old Welch colonial village called Gaiman (they came in 1850´s and built stone cottages and little welch villages..very strange to see). Fantastic afternoon tea of cakes and black tea. David ate 10 cakes -Sandy 2. The words "gordo bastardo" springs to mind. We were the old people in the tea room -backpackers couldn´t afford it eventhough it only cost $3 (we heard a few deciding how many slices of bread to permit themselves..weirdos). Couldn´t eat anything after the cakes.

Day 83 November 7th -David´s mams anniversary.
Called Dublin and talked to everyone -they sang happy birthday down the line (30th birthday on 9th Nov).

Flight down further south to El Calafate..close to Parque National Los Glaciares.
PATAGONIA.
Checked into an uber hostel with under floor heating..

In Mendoza typing this now retrospectively...tired from typing..off to wine bar for further tasting.
Take care
Chau
Butch and Sundance

Interesting Facts about Brazilians

2004-11-01T08:20:00.000-08:00

1. The men grab their balls ALL THE TIME...not in a suggestive ´Michael Jackson´ way..simply to adjust...not like London.
2. They lose their virginity in ´Love motels´ Every city has a hotel of love where rooms are available by the minute.
3. Their undies are like their bikinis, half way between pants and a g-string.
4. They dance at any and every opportunity; Young or old. Drop a knife and fork on the floor of a restaurant and half the people will start dancing. They have routines for songs and the men gather into boyband groups and shake their stuff.
5. Rich Brazilians live in houses and apartments with high fences and gates and security guards. They seem to not notice the poor. The poorest of poor live in cubby houses made with walls of black bin liners. We saw thousands of these beside the road in central Brazil.
6. They are always snogging.
7. They never fight or raise their voices. If you get angry..you will lose the argument.
8. It´s OK to kill someone and tell everyone. There is no stigma attached. You just get forgiven in confession (so said an old German guide). If there is a death in the favelas their body is dumped out in the street near a police station.
9. One in ten has braces on their teeth. Adults, not just teenagers. (Sandy wishes they were this trendy in her teenage years)
10. One in ten has had a boob job (no complaints from David)
11. A visit to the shopping centre requires make up, stilletos, earings and your best skimpiest clothes. Snogging more than shopping takes place here.
12. They speak Portuguese which is an impossible language.
13. Brazilians love to be in groups to enjoy themselves..fiestas, football, carnival etc.
14. In general, the meat is bad..except chicken.
15. They love drinking çoconuts (green not brown -çoca verde)...very refreshing.

Argentina -Iguazu Falls & Buenos Aires

2004-11-01T07:44:00.000-08:00

Day 69
Arrived in Puerto Iguazu just before a massive thunder storm

Day 70
Viewed falls from Argentina side...walkways along the top to ´Devil´s Throat´ which is the biggest single waterfall (there is a curve of maybe 50 waterfalls...almost unbelieveable)..soaked by the rising spray. Great speedboat trip under the falls afterwards...completely drenched. Saw Tucan birds (black and white with big orange beak..David likes tucans) as we floated down the river. Thousands of butterflies of all sizes and colours swarmed around the Falls..Sandy said it was better than Melbourne zoo.

Day 71
Another day on the Argentinian side...you never get bored looking at the waterfalls

Day 72
Bus to Brazilian side of the waterfalls...probably the best overall view...got soaked again.
Iguazu Falls are mesmerising...extremely beautiful...a definite highlight of the trip. Downside -overrun with big tour groups of old Septics, Frogs and Krauts staying in Marriot and Sheraton hotels inside the National Park.

Evening bus to Posadas, Argentina.

Day 73
Trip to 3 Jesuit Mission sites surrounding Posadas...San Ignasio was best preserved. Practiced spanish with our taxi driver Luis. Jesuits built large settlements to grow food and educate the locals -see the movie The Mission with Robert de Niro. The Spanish didn´t like it because Jesuits were on the indigenous peoples side.... so the Spanish destroyed the missions in the end. Sun bathed on a river beach and drank cervesas..muy tranquilo.

Night bus to Buenos Aires
Day 74
BA is Paris with friendly people. Very cultural and civilised. Unfortunately there are many poor people on the streets..well educated..speak english but the economy dived a few years back and not everyone got back on their feet.

We like. Sandy likes the Tango...they dance on the old streets at the antique market...the dance of love.
David likes Boca Juniors and River Plate football.

Seeya lata Alligatas

BOSTON RED SOX win World Series

2004-11-01T07:28:00.000-08:00

Sandy and David break the curse (Sox havn´t won World Series in 86 years..last time they won they sold Babe Ruth to the NY Yankees...who proceeded to win everything forever...hence the curse).
We went to Fenway Park, Boston with Kevin Smith to see the Redsox play in April 2004. Saw a spectator get smacked in the side of head by a stray drive...excellent. Sandy bought the baseball cap and since wore it all over the world to break the curse. Job done..Kev owes us big time....POOF!!

Saw all the series games live on ESPN en espanol in Argentina.
Kevin Smith last seen drunk on a street corner shouting ´´I BELIEVE´´.

GO SOX

Brazil -Porto Seguro to Iguazu Falls (Part 1)

2004-11-01T07:20:00.000-08:00

Day 65 (notes temporarily misplaced)
3 days on the beach. David wins thrilling ping pong contest...4:3. Sandy chokes under severe pressure.

Day 68
Flight to Sao Paulo (via Salvador)
Night bus to Puerto Iguazu Falls (incredible series of waterfalls on the Brazil/ Argentina / Paraguay border.

Day 69
Arrive in Puerto Iguazu, Argentina

Brazil -Salvador /Olinda /Porto Seguro

2004-11-01T06:42:00.000-08:00

Day 59 -Salvador contd
Lighthouse museum and thousands of people on the city beaches in Barra. Evening back to crazy city to see a band called "Olodum"..an Afro-Brazilian big drum-based band...excellent..mix between Stomp and tribal African music but better...could barely hear afterwards. Hundreds of people jumping around. Public holiday..everyone out on the streets afterwards for a fiesta(along with the mugger/beggars). First fights of holiday with each other for a few hours...actually wanted to kill each other. We were on edge in Salvador because of bad stories we´d heard..never really relaxed eventhough the nightlife was incredible. The pousada was a sh*thole too..claustraphobic and hot...but surrounded by small concerts in the gardens at the back. Stopped fighting.

Salvador is black brazil, there is music everywhere and all the time...raw pounding drums...got to be experienced to feel it through your veins. It is supposed to be the best city for Carnival but dangerous. It isn´t safe..kids will come up to you and grab your arm and beg/mug all the time in the historic part. At night it feels like a hundred eyes on you, checking to see if you´re a good setup. Re Carnival -heard people go really crazy, killing each other and anyone because off their heads. Don´t know. Aside from the hassles..very cool, beautiful old colonial architecture...and nothing happened to us.

Day 60
Off to Receife (Olinda)

Day 61
Olinda is the older colonial part of Receife..north of Salvador. Very friendly locals & town almost deserted..beautiful ( muy precioso) colonial architecture better preserved than Salvador. Hot but peaceful walking the streets and markets. There are great views from the hilltown churches over the beaches of Receife. Strange but we noticed that all the restaurants and hotels had plain-clothes security guards outside...the favelos are 10 minutes away..obviously they get trouble now and then.

Day 62
Local bus to close beach..no gringos but very safe..not very clean beach though. Walked for a hour up the coast to inlet..turned out to be a massive shallow bay full of locals fishing and collecting mussles and cockles things..and us sunbathing. Tide went out a long way and turned very quickly..like where those Chinese got killed in England.We had no idea where we wear at this stage...but friendly locals gave us a lift in a VW Kombi van back to bus. Sleepy Olinda woke up that night..there was a religious procession around the town (Friday night)..hundreds of people and stalls selling Capirinhas and suspect meat. Completely different to the night before. 6 Capirinhas (extra forte) later from the street stalls..we woke up the next day not sure what happened. Checked the camera to see...gradually remembered..good night...few photos of Sandy flashing her Brazilian knickers by the pool etc etc. Badly hungover -ventured into modern Receife but nearly died in the heat...had to hunt down McDonalds. Overnight bus back to Salvador.

Day 63
Salvador to Ilheus -David selected bad hotel from guide..Sandy got electrocuted in the shower but fortunately was wearing her rubber Havaienas (survived but few more grey hairs) /ants in the sugar bowl at breakfast etc. Hotel by the port which was having a Sunday night session of live samba music..about 1000 people of all ages shaking their ass. Hotel was right underneath...extremely loud..not sure when it ended but great to see. Crashed in bed. Realised that Brazilians really are different to the rest of the world.

Day 64
Walked along deserted Ilheus beach and then took Bus to Porto Seguro ( beautiful beach town south)...and splurged on proper hotel with Swimming pool, pool tables and table tennis...let the games begin.
---------------
David is retrospectively writing this in Buenos Aires..surrounded by street kids on the internet & ´99 red balloons´ on the radio...very strange.

Brazil -Bonito

2004-10-21T11:48:00.000-07:00

Day 54 -Bonito
Trip to underground blue lake in the morning and then the highlight -drift snorkeling down the Rio Sakuru (Anaconda river). The current was incredibly strong..flew down the river with loads of strange big fish eyeballing us. Excellent.

Day 55 -back to Rio on the bus.
Day 56 -afternoon on Ipanema beach and met up with David´s aunt ´Sister Helen´. Drank coco verdes on Copacabana beach, ate good food and walked all the beaches..ending up at the Copacabana Palace Hotel where Helen had to meet up with some Scottish/Irish friends having a party. One of the most beautiful hotels I´ve ever seen. Great fun with sister Helen..thanks for travelling up from Sao Paulo to see us.

Day 57 -hard day on Ipanema beach...cheap late flight to Savlador at 2.30am.

Day 58 -Salvador (northern brazil..dominated by African slave descendants..5 million africans were shipped to brazil as slaves). Ended up in a rather dodgy hotel in the centre...potentially a knocking shop but we were knackered from the flight and needed somewhere sharpish to sleep. Afternoon walk around the incredible colonial architecture but the city is overrun with extremely dodgy characters and children begging. Escaped being mugged and decided it get out of the centre..splurged on a posh dinner and traditonal show of Bahian dance and capoeira (a form of martial arts developed by the slaves to protect themselves..like kick boxing). What David got on Ipanema beach -Sandy got watching these guys. Drums and singing and girls with white painted nipples. Completely different side of brazilian culture.

Update later
bye

Brazil -The Pantanal

2004-10-14T14:05:00.000-07:00

Day 49 Arrived in Campo Grande..bus ride not bad -slept better than in some hotels.

Day 50 -Brazilian Pantanal (First Day) On the 4WD, saw alligators, oversized guinea pigs, racoon things, pink flamingos, lauraketes. Drank capirinhas under the stars and slept in hammocks..Sandy instructed the rest of the group on how to sleep (diagonally). David's mossie paranoia kicked in again..net just in case. Oversized bugs with bright green eyes (big fire flies) lit up the sky. Big frogs like cane toads all over the camp. Very noisy jungle all night.

Day 51 -Pantanal (Second Day) Rough night in the hammocks for David..no problem for Sandy. No reported bites from David & Sandy. Others not so lucky. Up at 5.30am to trek through the Pantanal plains and bush. Red and blue maccaws, white tailed deer, vultures, kiwi and emu type birds, monkeys etc..but no anteater. Frisbee in the afternoon with Ricardo and Andy -followed by siesta. There were four realy cute puppies in the camp keeping guard outside our hammocks...until today when one died -the 3rd dead dog on our travels.

Day 52 -Pantanal (Third Day) Piranha fishing -waded into a lake half naked...a little nervous. Chucked the bait out..bites immediately...feeding frenzy..not hungry enough to eat us but very close...would eat from your hands. We caught 4 and ate them that night..tasty but not much meat on them. However the alligatas we fed the scraps to in the afternoon liked them -we swam with the alligators while they were distracted by the guide feeding them. Good photos...scaredy cat Sandy took a lot of coaxing to swim but made it in the end. Alligators apparently not man-eaters unlike the aussie croc. Pity as Sandy was looking forward to feeding David to them (she got this particular clause inserted into the travel insurance). ..tensions in the camp. Horseriding in the evening. David again assuming the role of the man with no name..Clint. Sandy´s horse ate lots of grass and did big shits all the time...strange coincidence. David´s donkey was slow and lazy and had to be whipped before moving....and it farted....coincidence???? Sandy finds a snake in the camp -not poisonous but David didn't believe her...she got everyone to hold it in the end...even David (first time he held a snake not his own..boom boom). Drank a few capirinhas to numb the arse fatigue from horses.

Day 53 Headed off to Bonito south of the Pantanal, means 'pretty'. tired..more to follow

Good-by Sandy the Snake-Charmer & Clint

Brazil / Rio

2004-10-01T13:08:00.000-07:00

Day 42
Strolled down Ipanema beach. Wow. Boys playing beach volleyball and football, skinny girls in skimpy bikinis and us. Havaianas purchased immediately to fit in (these cool flip-flops cost 20 pounds in London but 2 in rio). Went to the sugar Loaf mountain on cable cars...incredible views of copacabana to the corcavado (massive statue of Jesus on the other side of Rio).

Day 43
Morning on Ipanema beach. David closely studied the bikini fashions to help Sandy buy later. His eyes were killing him but a man´s got to do...turns out Sunday is the day everyone hits the beach (the good, the bad and virtually naked bikini birds).

Day 44
caught local rollercoaster bus to Corcavado to see the awesome statue of Christ the redeemer...up in the clouds...we were right underneath but could hardly see the statue half the time as the clouds rolled up and over the summit....then suddenly it would clear and the sculpture would appear right in front of us..very impressive.
Afternoon bikini shopping for Sandy...she tried on the smallest bikini bottoms ever and the shop assistant pulled at them and advised on a SMALLER size...streuth !! Now she knows why Brazilians have ´brazilians´. Looking hot in her stripy red and white bikini...well as soon as her white arse goes brown...boom..boom.
Walked to Copacabana in the evening and were offered every drug under the rio sun...well dodgy. Ipanema beach is much cooler..less seedy and full of prossies than Copa.

Day 45
Test run of new bikini and Havaianas...supercool sandy struts her stuff. David repeatedly slapped in the head by Sandy for looking at the other girls on the beach. He got sunburnt again..should have been looking at his own skin rather than theirs. Great fun diving into the strong waves and getting dumped.
Evening game of football at the Maracana stadium..holds 110,000 but only 10,000 at the game..although you´d never tell by the amount of noise they made with their drums and whistles....talk about fanatical..religous..good fun.

Day 46
Breakfast TV had video footage of a couple taking a kickin from a group of kids on copacabana yesterday in broad daylight...even robbed their clothes...little worrying. Headed up to Buzios (trendy beach resort north of rio). Good town...capirinhas cocktails.

Day 47
No hangover...only joking..really bad hangover..felt sick as dogs. It was raining for the first time in weeks. Back to bed to sleep off headache. Mcdonald´s for lunch...lifesaving.

Day 48
Back to rio...decided to head into the jungle because still raining.
22 hour bus ride to Campo Grande in the Pantanal starts in an hour. Yes, I did type 22..oh my god...22 hours beside each other...it could end in violence and/or tears. Pantanal is supposed to be the best wildlife area in all of south america..will see. Next is Iguazu falls on the border with argentina and Paraguay and back to Rio to meet David´s aunt (sister Helen) who has been a missionary nun in Sao Paulo for the last 40 odd years.

Not sure when will update next.
You can e-mail us at david.mccaffrey@gmail.com or I think you can add comments on this website. Congratulations to Nicole on having a new baby boy Jay and Sam´s new baby Lulu.
..and cormac and mary who got cash and carried in Rome..fantastic.

adios amigos
sandy and david

Inca Trail (Part 2)

2004-09-26T18:47:00.001-07:00

Day 36
An easier day than the previous with spectacular views. Snow cappedmountains and thick rainforests. We started on the original Inca path today that curved at great heights around mountain ridges, through tunnells and valleys. Exodus Trip Note -Day 3 of the Trail "An easier climb, past the Inca constructions of Runquracau takes us over the Pass (3939m). From now on the Inca Trail becomes a clearly defined path made of flat boulders. We pass the Inca site of Sayacmarca and suddenly enter rainforest; the Trail goes at one point through an Inca tunnel before crossing onto the Amazon side of the continental divide. Descend to Winay Wayna. From the ridge we embark on the infamous Inca Steps; a 2 km stone staircase taking us down hill amid a panorama of overwhelming immensity, the peaks of the Vilabamba range above, and the river thousands of metres below". Incredible views & the real Inca path was breathtaking as it weaved along the side of the mountain often hidden by trees and tunnels through the rock face. For the first time it really felt like walking in the Incas footsteps. Very tiring day...trail never appeared to end. Few people took a fall today but nothing serious. Rained for last 15 minutes of trek (about 8 hours walking altogether -otherwise beautiful sunshine). Miserable in the tent but rained stopped shortly after -time for booze and first shower in 3 days. Sandy got a cold shower & David got a hot shower. Yippee. Said goodbye to the Porters (they have to walk for 8 hours to get home to their villages the next day high above Ollantayambo). The trip was with http://www.andeandiscoveries.com/ -the only Peruvian owned tour company for the Inca trail. Great lads. Good faces. Very honest. Early night. Next morning we trek to Machu Picchu...

Day 37 - MACHU PICHU

Woke at 3,45am to be the first group to the Sun gate of Machu Pichu in the morning.
If we had of looked at a map or read up on the sun Gate we would not have been in such a hurry as it looks over Machu Pichu and is not at it.
We did however make plans of tripping over people with our sticks, using someone fat to block the path (David was the fattest so no good) and ran like the clappers for an hour over rocky paths and steep steps in our fleeces and jackets. (We could not take them off for fear of being overtaken)
We arrived at the sun gate and saw the beautiful view of Machu Pichu for the first time. More exhausted than but before other treckers. Our excitement was short lived as we saw dozens of busses heading up the mountain, obviously carrying all the fat, lazy, cleanshaven, showered, make-up wearing, white gloved Jap tourists that were there all day.
First view was very impressive but no real sunrise. Walked down to the ruins which are on the summit of a mountain but surrounded by higher peaks -all stonework buildings with agricultural terracing on all sides. Decided to climb to the mountain behind. 45 minutes and a couple of buckets of sweat later we had climbed an incredible path scraped into the mountain side, through caves and over massive boulders to reach this higher summit -exhausted but exhilerated. The Incas built a religious settlement up here. View was literally unbelieveable. Machu Picchu opened up and we could see exactly the expanse of what the Incas intended (view from Sun Gate is too narrow). Like looking at architect´s plans. Only Sandy, David, Tim, Anna, Hannah and Jonathan made it -the rest of the group piked it. Returned back down the slippery mountain to Inca ruins -now swamped by Jap, Septics and old Australians on their last legs. Saw 1 group of very fat Yank women meditating behind a small Neil Diamond-type grey haired geezer -chanting into the Valley (mental note taken for future career).

Back to base camp for finest and most expensive cervesa of the trip -but worth it. Down to small town of Agua Caliente (Note: Machu Picchu is not visible from the ground which is one reason why the Spaniards never discovered it. It is on the top of a mountain, surrounded by other higher mountains in the middle of nowhere. Few cervesas grandes plus tard with Jonathan, Tor and the others -took train back to Ollayantambo for sleep.

Day 38
Drive in truck back to Cusco. By chance the Peru stage of the World Rally was driving into town. We jumped off the truck at a hair-pin bend with Tim and Anna and kicked our heels with the locals and not 1 dead dog but 2. The second dog was alive until Sandy looked at it..then it keeled over and the owner of the bar got a blue bag and dumped the dog in it and moved it round the back of the bar (close to the kitchen -no joking). Anna, the vet, didn't help much apart from the accurate diagnosis that the dog was dead and not sleeping. Decided not to eat there but Sandy and Anna were starvin and bought eggs, chips and rice from an old woman at the side of the road for something like 15p -amazingly no vomit action was reported within 48 hours. The rally cars arrived at dusk, photos taken, back to Cusco for food and checked out cool bar called Fallen Angel for cocktails etc.

Day 39
Flight from Cusco to Lima for KFC (like a prophet, David did foretell this in his dreams the night before). Bye to Hannah off to the jungle and then Guatemala -seeya in Melbourne maybe if the natives let you leave.

Day 40 24th Sept
Adios Exodus People. Thanks to Alison for being silly and giving David the small deck of cards (very useful on the long flight to Rio). Chau Jonathan and Tor -the coolest and funniest couple on tour, to Yeti-gloved Tim and Anna (incredibly she slept on the truck while bouncing 2 ft in the air), Pete ('What?' -wet hearing aids don't work too good)...and all the others. Good luck.

Day 41 25th Sept
RIO BABY.....more later..Sandy got to by new bikini for Ipanema beach.

Exit David & SandyTake care

Cusco & Inca Trail (Part 1)

2004-09-26T18:47:00.000-07:00

Day 30 14th Sept
RIP Peter McCaffrey. David´s uncle and friend in New York. A fantastic man. Bad day.
Sympathies to all.

Day 31 15th Sept
Arrived in Cusco and drank hard.

Day 32 16th Sept
Briefing on Inca Trail and then out to cool Blueberry Lounge chillout bar/rest.
David orders Massaman curry and then decides to leave for the hotel = puke. Sandy stayed drinking vino with Tim and Anna. David shivered in bed. Sandy drinks more vino..playing catch up for previous illness. David happy for a break from Sandy.

Day 33 17th Sept

Tour of Sacred Valley including Saqsaywoman (hunderds of kids practicing for a festival of the children on the Inca battle grounds.Very impressed. Next to Ollantayambo for further Inca ruins on the side of a mountain. Bought sticks and rain ponchos for trek.

Day 34 18th Sept
Start of Inca Trail...Peruvian flat (fairly gentle walk along theUrubamba river and train line looking down on the rapids. Camping atHuayllabamba (3000m). Cards turned aggressive in the tent that evening with Jonathan falling off his chair trying to grab a teabag...I can´t explain but suffice it to say it was a great laugh...unlike the toilets that stank unbelieveably..both before and particularly after Sandy´s frequent visits. Bed early in tent at 45 degree angle. Rain and thunder. Can see the nipple of ´´Dead Woman´s pass´´....could see Sandy´s though because it was freezin.

Day 35 19th Sept
Sandy´s Birthday...Trip Note "This is the longest and most difficult day. A steeper climb takes us first through an area of cloud forest to the meadows of Llulluchapampa, and then a strenuous push across theWarmihuanusca (Dead Woman) pass, at 4150m the highest point on the trek. After an even steeper descent we camp in the valley of the Pacamayo River (3600m)".

Sandy wakes at 6am, very early and no presents!! Met the 25 porters that carry 20+kg on their backs as they run up and down the mountains to get to the campsites before us and set up and cook us meals. There was 20 of us on the trek so you can imagine how much stuff they carried.The porters all sang happy birthday in spanish as the rest of the group sang in English. Never had anyone sing happy birthday before 7am ever... and nearly 50 people in two languages was pretty special.The climb that day was just as hard as the trip notes stated. David hurried ahead as he needed to be first to prove his manhood (Ed. not true says David). It was bizarre to be walking at the height of the clouds, almost like being in an airplane. Occasionally the clouds would roll over the mountains like a puff of smoke. Sandy managed to reach dead womans pass after cursing David for leaving her to walk/crawl on her own after a grouling three and a half hours. She had to take back all her bad words as David came running down the path with a bottle of champage!!!!! Saved that for later in the evening and stuffed face with chocolate for energy. (Ed. David was first to summit with Anna..a 21yr old -not bad for 29 yr old..30 on Nov 9th).
Went to bed at 8pm again after trying to keep warm by dancing and drinking the only other available alcohol, ´"RON" rum straight from the bottle. Great birthdayDay.

Seeya

Peru - Arequipa to Puno (Lake Titicaca)

2004-09-14T15:45:00.000-07:00

Day 28
Exodus Trip Note - the hardest part of the trip as we climb onto the altiplano. The route takes us straight up into the hills over appalling dirt roads, which reach well over 4500ms in places. This difficult drive is rewarded by spectacular views and reach our hotel in Chivay ready for a dip in the hot volcanic springs".

Sandy gets Altitude sickness at 3500m while relieving herself on an alpaca -nearly faints and then lands on a prickly bush -David chewing coca leaves at the time and therefore unconcerned...quite funny really. 8 hours on the truck on dirt single roads over cliff edges. Alpacas and Llamas all over the mountains. Gave a lift to local women selling Alpaca gloves, hats, socks, G-strings etc bought everything to placate Sandy and her illness. Hot springs good but didn´t help Sandy -10pm "Superpuke Sandy" chunders her way into the record books witnessed by David unconcerned chewing Coca leaves...quite phenomenal puking.

Day 29
Sandy still ill but no puke. Up at 5am to head to Colca valley for Condors. After 45 minutes and sores arses from sitting on the cliff edge..nada..nothing..only a couple of eagles and sparrow. Then, suddenly and gracefully they appeared from the bottom of the gorge soaring on the morning thermal winds rising up...massive..no mistaking a Condor. Saw 5 Condors in the next half hour..impressed.
7 hour truck journey to Puno on the shores of Lake Titicaca. Sandy sees the Southern Cross stars for the first time and feels home sick on top of lessening Altitude sickness. David continues to chew coca leaves with no Altitude sickness...rubs it in to Sandy by knocking back the cervesas in the evening.

Day 30
Miami Vice on TV for breakfast - a classic episode where the villan is attacked by a puma at the end.
Cycle rickshaws to the shore of Lake Titicaca -cruiser to first floating Islands made of reeds. Ridiculously touristy but cool to be on a floating Island. Short boat ride on reed boat -similar to a gondola but incredibly stable. Next 3 hour cruise to outer island to see real locals and sleep in their house -possibly play frisbee if permitted. Sandy talking the hinde legs of a Llama. No frisbee due to adverse wind conditions. Huffed and puffed our way to the top of the Island at 4150m. Knackered. Stayed night with locals after traditional dancing in costume -David needed a few looseners to dance but good fun...he looked like Clint Eastwood in his poncho..Sandy looked like an alpaca. Practiced spanish with kids and managed not to freeze to death in the house. Stars were amazing. No lights (no electricity -only candles). David never seen so many stars..Sandy not since Ayers rock when she was 15.

Heading to Cusco..HQ of the Incas (Sandy´s birthday on 19th -turns out to be the hardest day of the Inca Trail).

Off to restarant in Puno now.
Byebye
Clint & Superpuke Sandy.

Peru -Lima to Arequipa

2004-09-10T15:32:00.000-07:00

Day 23

Left Lima very disappointed because not mugged. David asked every Taxi driver if they had a pistola..nada. Very Poor. Exodus truck from Lima to Paracas. 18 others. No comments yet.
Paracas cliffs at sunset were impressive as were the Condors flying over our heads (very disappointed when our guide Jose laughed when I said this...they were large birds but not Condors..possibly black crows).

Day 24
Speedboat to Ballestas Islands..and say the "mysterious candelabra" -a 50m Pre Columbian petroglyph on the cliff face (what? google it). Then around the nature reserve island with stinking bird crap (called guana -expensive fertiliser shipped to Europe..load of crap Sandy reckons). Not interesting but fact. Other Boobie birds, penguins and sealions..we are boring ourselves with this. Drove to oasis in desert for dune buggy rides and sand boarding. Then to Nazca to see the "mysterious drawings" in the desert -big so got to view from a plane.
Drove through Pisco town (maker of national spirit). Power cut in hotel. Candles and stars.

Day 25
Early flight over Nazca -David very close to heaving as pilot spiralled around the line to get the best views of a monkey/snake/condor/hummingbird/Space man -looked like Tony Hart´s Morph to me/ etc. Impressed but Sandy thinks it is a farce. Pilots are all ex drug runners from Columbia and Ryanair Dublin-London route.
Dizzy for few hours but no puke. Recovered by tanning by swimming pool. Sunshine.
Afternoon drive to Puero Inca beach resort. Dodgy-ish food but soon forgotten at the beach bonfire with mulled wine (ingredients = crap Peruvian vino, 3 bottles of rum, cloves, coca leaves and whatever Jose could find in the Farmacie). Blow your head off...good stuff. Sandy dreamt of clubbing in London. David dream of naked women -it is a recurring dream.

Day 26
Long drive along the Peruvian coast to Arequipa. First signs of altitude..at 2300m...little light headed but possible from truck ride. Stopped at beach to see huge waves..found out later caused by an earth tremor. TV in hotel..heard of Australian embassy attack in Indonesia and Russian kids. Terrible.

Day 27
Museums, Churches and frozen Inca female sacrifices in Arequipa. Beautiful town square but highlight was the food market. It stank but the variety of meat and vegetables was amazing ranging from Guinea pigs to cows heads and a few thousand chickens. Witches selling herbs and chica. No real ale like Borough though. No fridges like civilised world..just warming meat. Told we´d be mugged but lucked out again. David skins head.

Off out boozing tonight to check out altitude drinking.
Meant to be heading to Puno town tomorrow but apparently they just killed the mayor by tying a rope round his neck and attaching the rope to the back of fast car. Possible diversion.

Saludos amigos
Inca Cola and Pisco Sours

Venezuela -Orinoco Delta & Los Roques

2004-09-05T14:44:00.000-07:00

Day 5 continued
Orinoco at highest in August resulting in bucket loads of Sapora fish being caught in Ciudad Bolivar by the shifty locals. Thousands of people gather by the river in the evening selling/drinking cheap BOOZE and food that would turn your stomach even looking at it..no risks tonight..scarpered back up through the Colonian town buildings to the hotel. Heard later from an english bird that they were advised not to see the fish-fiesta....whatever.
Mixed grill of assorted dogs and cats for supper...and very tasty dogs they were.

Day 6
Our long distance taxi driver, George, and his 11 yr old daughter woke us at 6.30am (the cheeky Venezeulans ) to take us across the Orinoco river to the jungle at Boca Oracoa. Problem..only 1 bridge across the river..and it is a long river. George the local decided to head for the ferry port. 5 hours of queuing later -we crossed. 5 hours in a car with hundreds of other cars in the stinking heat with vendors wandering around selling drinks, sunglasses, mobile charges, pistacioes, Y-fronts and live baby monkeys. George explained Venezuela´s political and social issues and we improved his daughter´s english and learnt a few bad words.
On the other side of the river, drove across very bad potholes to rendezvous with speedboat to take us to the Orinoco Delta Jungle lodge. Arrived and a parrot flew onto Sandy´s shoulder. Saw Toucans, Woodpeckers and snakes hiding in the trees. Watched sunset drinking Cuba Libras with the dolphins in the distance from the speedboat. Good food with a visit from a Tarantula as big as your hand -didn´t think about that -were more worried about mosquitos until then.

Day 7
Slept badly but protected in Mozzie nets in cool cabin. Jungle was noisier than a friday night in Covent Garden. The pet jaguar was crying like a bastard for half the night..apparently screaming for the man-jaguar to sort her out (man Jag ate 30 pigs a few weeks back for a laugh). 6.30am fishing for pirhanas in a traditional wobbly canoe. Not 1 bite for us or them unfortunately. Spent rest of the day travelling through the orinoco tributories deep in the jungle..stopped for a trek in the jungle with gumboots (wellies) and were shown many medicinal uses for the plants by a Warao Indian geezer. Very impressed when he machettied a general tall plant and started drinking water from it..tasted good. Then visited a Warao Indian village on stilts and saw hundreds of little warao kids running around. Very very simple life but they were laughing and shooting toy arrows. The little girls were daring each other to touch Sandy..I knew how they felt...she does look funny..only joking...just got a chinese burn for that comment.
Cool kids. They live all along the river banks. The houses have no walls just a roof and they sing, play and fish for piranhas all day. We´d pass them on the speedboat and they´d run out and wave like mad....in London they´d tell you to f-off. Can´t describe what it was like to see such a remote culture but took incredible photographs.

Day 8
Travelling by speedboat, car, big plane & small plane to Los Roques ( the Venezuelan Caribbean). David deleted all the photos from the jungle by accident and feels very depressed.
Sandy doesn´t punch David in the head..although she wants to.

Day 9
Los Roques is a group of around 100 tiny beach islands surrounding only 1 inhabited Island (Gran Roque) where everyone stays in peoples old houses called posadas. The Venezuelan Carribbean before the Caribbean was overrun with yanks and air conditioning. Basically very basic accomodation (but good fresh fish) with stunning islands to visit each day. Downside..overrun with Italians..99% of tourists. We nickednamed it "Los Wogs".
Sandy applied spray on suntan lotion to David´s back badly-resulting in blotchy red and white patches all over. Sandy´s revenge for deletion of photographs? Surely not.

Day 10
Hang around Gran Roque because "it is a good idea to stay out of the sun for awhile" -as repeated by David even more times that Sandy tells her standard stories.

Day 11-20
Days of leisure on the stunning white beaches and torquise sea of Los Roques. Did Advanced Scuba course and learnt to windsurf. Drink and fish etc etc (will update this part of trip later).
In short - Dogs in the Disco /Irish birds and Aussie geezer /hangover recoveries on the beach etc.

Day 21
Early flight from Los Roques to Lima, Peru.

Day 22
Gold & National museums and highlight was San Franciscan church and catacombs.
Very excentric taxi drivers...no guns yet.
Head off on 3 week trip of Peru early tomorrow morning.

Seeya later
Take Care
McCaffrey & Red

Week 1 : venezeula

2004-08-19T13:33:00.000-07:00

Venezuela

Day 1-Gunshots in Caracas to celebrate the election result from 4am to 5am. Sandy and David have difficulty sleeping...will a ricochet hit the window? Fortunately no. Chavez wins to dismay of USA and middle/upper classes. The poor in the flavelas love him. Pizza and a few illegal cervesas (drinking banned on election days). Exchanged us dollars for bolivars on the mercado negro..much better price than banks...but potential for kickin.

Day 2-Plane to waterfall lagoon at Canaima. Slept in hammocks and walked behind and on top of a waterfall. Could see nothing walking in the waterfall..just had to hold on to a rope and pray. Incredible feeling. It is the rainy season..scorching hot days and without fail, torrential rain every evening. Caught in a heavy thunder storm (la tormenta) on the return from the waterfall. Good warm rain. Hammocks are cool..like cocoons lined up around the camp. Pollo Y arroz (chicken and rice).

Day 3- early start -4 hours on Yamaha engine stretch-canoe to base camp of Angel Falls.
Through rapids upstream...we thought it would be easy. The canoe hit the rocks frequently and we almost turned over twice. Everyone got drenched and a few people were really scared..even more than us. White-knuckled, shaking and sored arsed..we eventually reached the base camp. Then there was an immediate 1 hour trek high up through the jungle to the highest waterfall in world (Salto Angel)... unbelieveable. Storm hit us on the descent but stopped when we reached the camp. We went swimming in the river and then ate a bbq Pollo Y Arroz in the evening in the camp (no electricity in the jungle..just candles and very noisy insects, frogs, rats, snakes, dinosaurs, boogie men, elephants and giraffes).

Day 4 -canoed downstream in half the time. Not as scary but still soaked. played frisbee with Venezeulan kids who taught us to count to 100 on the beach by the palm trees. Blinded locals when David took shirt off. Spagetti Bolognese with the multitude of Italians that love it here (Venezeula is italian for "little venice" cos houses on stilts on the coast). Drank beers and watched a thunder storm over the waterfalls. Slept in a bed.

Day 5- breakfast, parrot eat´s Sandy´s toast. Sandy tries to kill parrot.
THE dodgiest 4 seater cestna plane to Ciudad Bolivar by Orinoco. Pilot had a moustache.Chicken and rice for lunch. Internet cafe.

In deep jungle for next 2 days. We will update website. downloaded photos to xdrive for tim to sort.

take care
regards from the Orinoco

Saludos muchachos
McCaffrey&RED