Blog That Waited

So this was written just as we got to New Zealand and was supposed to go up as we left Auckland which was half way through our trip, but we've been too busy which is of course a good thing. Anyway, we thought it was time for a few points of general reflection ...

1. Being together whenever - to the many who thought the idea of spending 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for 6 months was crazy - not so. Beyond the need for further explanation, why would I not want to spend every waking minute with an intelligent, open minded, sexy, gorgeous man? Admittedly I wouldn´t want to spend that amount of time with me, but fortunately for me Steve doesn´t seem to see it that way. But you should know I don´t take for granted how lucky I am.

2. Homesickness - not going to happen. We really miss people and look forward to seeing them a.s.a.p., wishing they were here (and of course until New Zealand, Steve was of course missing his cereal) but otherwise we have absolutely no desire to go home and time is passing way too quickly. Not entirely sure why this is so emphatically the case, but perhaps partly due to the following 2 points.

3. Style - we´re travelling in relative luxury. The travelling we´ve done in smaller chunks over the last 7 years has included some seriously out of comfort zone moments, especially on mountains. We could never even aspire to Doug Scott levels, but for our aspirations we´ve certainly been challenged at times. This will no doubt happen again when we get to Nepal, but thus far, its been a breeze in comparison.

4. UK - every new place we visit shows me another reason why the UK sucks (Steve thinks this is too harsh, but he´s nicer than me). Ok I'll put it a nicer way. Everywhere we've been does/has at least one thing better than the UK does/has the same.

5. Patriotism - we have managed to come up with a list of 3 things that count as current, justifiable prides of Britain - the BBC (web and world only) music, (and as we're emphasising "current", music only just makes it!) and the fact that we and most of Europe are signed up to the Mine Ban Treaty (Ottawa convention) - shame on the US, India, China, Russia and the other 35 countries yet to sign.

6. Learning - I had a huge list here of things we've learnt and it has got even longer since I wrote it in New Zealand, so suffice to say we've learnt a LOT.

7. Change - this trip won´t change us. We both already changed through travelling, particularly with our first trip to Nepal which really (and surprisingly) affected us. I guess some might say that will make this trip less of an experience, but I disagree. I think it makes us better able to appreciate what we're doing and to take advantage of the opportunities that present themselves. The more places we visit, the more we are able to see a place in its global context, the more interrelations we see in development and, both heartening and frustrating, the more commonalities between cultures, characters, beliefs. Hence, perhaps, comes the expression "travel broadens the mind" (sorry Giles) - I will always believe this to be true, but I am not a little biaised! It is probably fair to say this trip has however, pushed us further down paths we had already started to follow.

8. Granny chair collection expansion. Apologies to those who know me well who've heard this many times. I figure that if I am fortunate enough to live to a grand old age (so 90+ before my dear friends start thinking down the "you already have" lines!) and still have my faculties, then there will come a time when at the very best, my eyesight will be too bad to watch TV and the opportunities for discussion will be limited and I'll be left with my memories and thoughts. (I must add I don't think this is a negative or depressing thought, but a realistic reminder that makes me appreciate every passing day!)

I don't believe at this time that my thoughts will turn to cars I've driven, houses I've lived in, clothes I've worn, gadgets I've owned etc etc, even if I win the lottery between now and then and can buy the most expensive version of everything - I'm pretty sure those thoughts will instead turn to the people I've loved and admired and the things I've seen and done. I've already been incredibly lucky with the people in my life and had some amazing memories that I can go to in my mind: walking through the sique to get that first glimpse of Petra's treasury, being waltzed through the streets of Florence in the pouring rain by Steve singing "That's Amore", standing on top of Mera Peak looking over at Chomolongma (Mount Everest). This trip has provided some incredible additions to that collection and even if I'm not fortunate enough to reach that grand old age, I can certainly say I've certainly been filling the unforgiving minutes I've had! Priceless.

Mandi

Before The Weekend

Well this is it, our last week in South America. On Friday, we board a late night flight to New Zealand and don´t get off the plane again until it touches down in Aukland on Sunday - the weekends are just flying by these days (bada boom). Unfortunatley that means that we have only a few days left until this weekend to enjoy on this continent, a continent that it has been a fantastic experience to explore - the rest of our trip now has a lot to live up to!

Mandi has already covered the Salar de Uyuni and Bolivia part of our trip which was absolutely amazing, especially the three hours on the Salar. However, despite coming close, it still hasn´t knocked Easter Island off my top spot of experiences so far. I therefore won´t go back over our experience on the Salar in this blog entry, but will quickly cover the area in Northern Chile which we used as our base for the trip into Bolivia and enjoyed a fun few days on the edge of the Atacama desert.

San Pedro de Atacama is a great place to visit - with its adobe homes and intermittent electricity supply, it has the initial appearence of somewhere that is completely off the beaten track. That is until you notice all the buildings are being used to house either internet cafes, restaurants or places offering tours around the local natural wonders - oh, all the people walking the streets in backpacks also gives things away a bit! But, despite being on the well trodden backpacker route across this part of the continent, there is a good reason it is so well visited and it isn´t only its proximity to Bolivia (which is probably easier to travel through coming from Peru). This part of Chile is blessed with such natural wonders as geysers, volcanos, amazing rock formations, a salt lake of its own (although not as big as the Salar de Uyuni), lots of high altitude lakes and an abundance of wild life from the wild vicuñas to the gentle flamingos and the tame llamas. The Atacama desert is also one of the best places in the world for looking at the night sky and is the location for a current project to build the worlds largest telescope.

We only had a limited number of days to explore this area (2 days before leaving for Uyuni and 2 more when we came back) so we had to be a bit picky about what we were going to see. As Bolivia would provide us with more than enough volcanos, salt lakes and wildlife, we went for a visit to the geyers at Taito, a sunset at the valle de la luna (an area of rock which has a huge sand dune and massively changing colours) and an evening star gazing with a local astronomer.

The geysers were a lot of fun - we had an early start to be at them by sunrise, but it was great to learn about them and wander around as huge pockets of steam erupted form the ground nearby. We also had a great breakfast which included a hot chocolate made from geyser heated milk - beats the Starbucks steaming machine any day!

The valle de la luna was also a great experience, but unfortunately the star gazing had to be cancelled as the oncoming clouds of the wet season meant that we never got a clear night sky every night we were there (despite some wonderfully clear mornings). But overall, it was nice to visit that part of Chile and there is definitely more to do there than we managed in our visit (the same could be said for much of Chile and definitiely for South America as a whole).

So now we are back in Santiago and soon will be catching a flight for the next stage of our trip in New Zealand. We´ll then begin to see if the rest of our journey can live up to the high expectations that the wonderful and diverse South American continent has set.

Steve

Beyond These Words

Never mind struggling for superlatives, there are just no words to describe our latest experience - I think it would have been a challenge even for Shakespeare! We´ve seen loads of photos of the Bolivian altiplano and Salar de Uyuni and none of them have come close to capturing what it is to be there so ours don´t have a hope. Therefore as any description is beyond these words all we can say is go and see it for yourself!

Still, I have to try to give some idea of our experience with the inadequate words at my disposal so here goes. Even the first stop on the five day tour, Laguna Blanca, had us at a loss for words - the best efforts were surreal, ethereal, unwordly, translucent - a combination of all of these. It felt like if I reached my hand out in front of me, the entire view would ripple like water.The colours of the landscape are beautifully subtle pinks, beiges, silvers and whites, added to by the flamingos on the lake. It was a landscape version of Cinderella´s ball dress in "The Slipper and the Rose" (only girls who watched that film as I did at age 8 - before cynicism set in! - will appreciate how beautiful that could be!).

We had arrived one week into the rainy season which in some ways is unlucky - we had to change our route and couldn´t spend a night in a salt hotel. Plus they aren´t kidding when they say the roads get washed away in the rain which meant some interesting manoeuvres for the jeep. But our Bolivian driver, David, was brilliant and handled all manner of obstacles. No complaints from us though, as we had hoped to see the salar (salt flat) with water on it having heard amazing things about it. In the end we only had 3 hours on the salar, in order to leave enough time to face the washed out roads to get to our next refugio. But for me they were the best 3 hours of our travels so far hands down.

We did get to visit a salt hotel in the middle of the salar that people no longer stay in - and rightly so as the associated sanitation issues are damaging to such a fragile environment (the new salt hotels are now being built on the edges of the salar). It was cool to see walls, chairs, tables, everything made out of blocks of salt - but rubbing chips on the walls is not allowed.

Even before you get onto the salar, as you drive towards it from Uyuni, you can see the surroundings reflected in it, and where the islands rise out of the salt flat, it just looks like there are hills floating in the sky. Then as you drive out into the middle the horizon gets totally lost. Watching the local bus drive seemingly into the sky was the most surreal moment! If there is such a place as heaven it must look like the Salar de Uyuni in rainy season. And I stress again, our photos don´t even come close. We want to come back and see it when it is dry as it is supposed to be stunning then too, in a different way, but with water on it is a truly magical place.
There is so much else to see on the tour but it does get overshadowed by the salar. We went in hot springs at 4500m, played hide and seek in the Dali-esque rocks around "the rock tree" (getting very out of breathe in the process as it at nearly 5000m), saw the fumaroles at Sol de Mañana, watched Laguna Verde change from a sheet of glass to a deep turquoise as the sun came onto it and saw thousands upon thousands of beautiful flamingos among the reds, greens, whites and blues of Laguna Colorado.

We also climbed most of Volcan Licancabur where we really did feel the brunt of being there in rainy season as it snowed heavily the night we went up, and not having our gear for snow with us (as we were told Licancabur very rarely has more than a dusting of snow!) and not being acclimatised above 5000m (Licancabur is 5920m), we were massively slowed down and as more bad weather came in we had to turn round 200m from the top (first time our adherence to the "safety before summit" principle has truly been tested - it was a tough decision!). Consequently we didn´t see the lake in the crater where NASA have been experimenting, but some people ahead of us who did go to the summit didn´t see it either because of the weather! So rain, snow, sunshine - it was an incredible trip and we wouldn´t have had the weather any other way because those 3 hours on the salt lake were so beyond words.

P.S. My shoes are still covered in salt from walking in the water on the salar and I´m determined to keep them that way for as long as possible. How determined was demonstrated on our return when we were caught in a full on tropical storm in San Pedro de Atacama centre. I ran back to our hotel through the stones, mud and don´t want to think about what else, barefoot, with my shoes in a plastic bag to protect them - I think Steve would say my craziness is beyond words too!

Mandi

Bloody Trekking Weather!

When I was describing our trek in the Torres Del Paine national park, I mentioned how we experienced many different types of weather, but the predominant one was definitely the amount of wind. Well if Torres was the windy trek, the Inca Trail was definitely the wettest trek.

We should have known what was to come from the first day we spent in Cusco - the Andean city which is the base for all visitors to Machu Picchu. After arriving and checking into our hotel, we went out to explore the city and found that the warm sunlight of an hour before had been replaced by grey clouds and impending rain. The following day, we walked up to Sacsayhuaman (pronounce it "Sexy Woman" but with a hint of a Spanish accent and you aren´t far off) which is an old inca ruin overlooking the city, and whilst taking photos, the clouds rolled in again and we got caught in a rainstorm on our way down. Finally, on our last day in Cusco we went on the sacred valley tour to visit several other inca ruins, and whilst at Ollantaytambo, had a slight downpour. So we can´t say we didn´t have any warning! Luckily, Cusco and the surrounding area is a lovely part of Peru, and even without perfect weather is a wonderful place to visit. However, the reason we were there was not Cusco, but the Inca Trail and its conclusion at the old Inca city of Machu Picchu, and so at four in the morning on New Years eve, we boarded a tour bus with the rest of our group and began the drive into the sacred valley and the beginning of the four day trek.

I´ve just re-read that last paragraph, and I´m concerned that if I´m not careful this post may end up sounding like one big moan about the rain (I suppose the title of the blog hasn´t helped either!) so I´ll get that over with now. It rained, every day, for hours, whilst we were walking, and I don´t think I got everything completely dry until two days after we finished. There, I´ll try not to mention it again. The thing is, despite the rain, Mandi and I had a fantastic time. We were lucky enough to be with a great group of travellers (Matt, Claire, Oli, Joel, Amy and Lee) who were all really nice people and who we learned loads from - we had a great time talking to them over meals and on the trail and their company and conversation helped the rain become more unnoticable (last time I mention rain, promise).

We were also lucky enough to have a great guide in Flavio - who was full of information on everything from the inca history to modern South American politics - and a great cook and porters behind him who were always smiling whatever the weather (damn it! OK, that was the last time) and who gave us a great New Years Eve party on the first night of the trek.

So after 3 days and nights on the Inca Trail we finally arrived at our destination along with the other 300 or so fellow trekkers, and unfortunately a few thousand people who had stayed overnight at nearby Aguas Calientes and got the bus up that morning. I don´t want to harp on about this so will get it out the way now, but it was a bit disappointing to see just how crowded the city was. I realise that the tourism industry is important to Peru, and I´m glad that people can get to the city without having to do the 4 day walk that we did so everyone can enjoy it. However, it felt as though there needed to be some tighter restrictions on the number of people who were allowed in each day and perhaps where they could walk once there to help reduce the wear and tear on this excellent site.

The city itself is great to see. We walked to it in yet another downpour (cr*p - I am trying, honest), but half an hour after entering the city, the clouds and rain cleared away and we were left with some wonderful views over the old city and the peak of Huayna Picchu behind. Flavio gave us a great tour around the city buildings and pointed out the numerous points of interest until finally we had an hour or so in the sun to wander around and get some last photos and memories before heading for the combined bus and train journey that would be our much easier route back to Cusco.

Overall, Mandi and I had a great time on the trek. Not only did we see some great places, but I doubt there could have been a better group on the trail to share it with (although if any of them are reading - sorry if I went on about American Football too much, once you get me started on that subject....!). Flavio was a brilliant guide, and the whole group got on really well and were interesting and fun to talk to. Plus we got to learn yet another fun card game (thanks Oli)! It was great to see Machu Picchu (and despite my moaning about the weather, it cleared for that day which was the most important part of the trek so shouldn´t really complain), and was nice to be back walking in the mountains for a few days. After returning to Cusco we were able to have one final meal with our group before going our seperate ways and Mandi and I began our two day bus journey away from Cusco and Peru and back into Chile. Our next destination being the Atacama desert in Northern Chile where there are some weather stations that have never recorded a drop of rain.....

Steve

Back To Wine

Since entering Argentina over a month ago, Mandi has gradually been getting more addicted to the South American wine. First it was the Argentinian variety that she loved, but then as we moved into Chile, she found that the wine from that country was even more to her liking. However, on Easter Island, she found that it wasn´t as easily available and instead was forced to revert to her second favourite Chilean drink - Pisco Sour. Therefore, although sad to leave Easter Island, she was very happy upon our arrival in Santiago to once again indulge her new found love of the local vineyard products. Admittedly, this is a pretty poor introductory paragraph to our Santiago section of the trip, but I couldn´t think of anything else to fit BTW - I´m blaming my recent lack of sleep.

If I could only use one word to describe Santiago, it would have to be "huge", or maybe "enormous" or any other word that describes something really, really big (I don´t have a thesaurus to hand). The city is home to 90% of the Chilean population and when flying in or out, all you can see below is city stretching out in every direction until it reaches the rock walls of the snow capped Andes mountain range. The city itself is nice. It is modern, has several large parks, many nice buildings and of course has the benefit of being very close to the Andes and so is surrounded by wonderful natural scenery.

On our first day in the city we went to the Cerro San Cristobal, a large park near the centre of the city that contains an 800 metre mountain on top of which sits a statue of the Virgin Mary. The park is easy to get to and, thanks to a funicular railway, is also easy to get to the top of! From just near the statue it is possible to get fantastic views back over the city and a quick cable car ride across the park takes you to a fantatsic swimming pool - something that was very welcome in Santiago´s 30+ degree temperatures.

The rest of our time in the city was spent organising ourselves, initially for our trip to Easter Island, and then on our return, for our trip to Peru and Northern Chile. We did manage to walk around the city a little bit, taking in the Provedencia and Barrio Bellavista sections of the city along with the centre itself, but unfortunately never had time to explore much further. Santiago is, however, definitely a place we would like to return to in the future and see more of, and it is a shame we haven´t had chance to do so on this trip. We will, however, have one further day in the city when we return from northern Chile and hopefully we will be able to see one or two more things before our flight to New Zealand. I think a tour of the local vineyards is already top of Mandi´s agenda...

Steve