Ok so just landed in Ecuador, and the hotel has internet YAY!
So where was I....
Oh yea the Amazon. I think I forgot to mention aswel that our last day in the sacred Valley we all went out to lunch for.... Guinea Pig!!!!! They roast it up and it crackles on the outside like pork, but there is very little meat on it. The herbs and spices they stuff it with are actually grosss! and eating it was a messy affair, they give you the option if you want it served whole or chopped up. I went with chopped up, but i do have a few pictures of it whole!
Anyway, The Amazon was amazing! we saw monkeys all the time, a tarantula (i was hiding at this point) and there was that massive spider in our room eating its mate. We saw maccaws (the bird, I cant spell it.....) eco lodge was amazing, river boat amazing, saw sunrise and sunset absolutely mint place.
Must dash!!!
Anyway must dash!!!
Monday, 29 March 2010
Sunday, 28 March 2010
hey all, so its been a while since i updted as not had any internet access and if we did it was pretty rubbish!!!
So back in Lima now and absolutely shattered, we head out to Ecuador tomorrow. So here is what we been doing.
We flew out to Puno, which is the highest city in Peru, at just under 4000m above sea level. And boy does altitude make you sick! banging headache, constant nausea and breathlessness. At that altitude its the equivalent of only having one lung working. Just to put it into perspective, 4000m is about 14000ft, and you jump out of planes at 10,000 ft.
In Puno we visted the Funeral Towers, which the Incas used for burring the important surrounded by offerings like Cocoa leaves etc. Our first inca site, was good, but everyone felt rough from the altitude!!
In Puno we were advised to drink Cocoa leaves, which really does help with the altitude, and they dont make you high at all, (Cocoa leaves as in cocaine leaves). So we pretty much lived on cocoa in Peru, as most of the place is very high.
Our second day we took a boat out on lake Titicaca, the weather was cold, but beautiful clear day. We went to one of the islands and met the locals. They all still wear traditional dress, and keep ceremonies, its like a trip back in time really. We ate a wicked grilled fish lunch (cost peanuts) and then went onto another island. Most of the food in Peru consists of Corn and potatoes (they have 400 different types of spud!) and thats what you eat alot.
We stayed on a homestay that night on one of the islands on lake Titicaca, with Rachel and Armando, and their three children. In the afternoon we played football, tough at that altitude, and then returned for dinner. The courses were corn soup (tastes better than it sounds) rice and veg, with a fresh picked mint tea (which i politely passed on). That night we went to a local community dance type thing, where you wear traditional dress, coloured skirt, a top with an intricately woven pattern, (all the men do the sewing here, its like a right of passage, when a man can sew, he is ready to find a wife) and a shawl headscarf thing. Then we had to dance! and at altitude, thats tough! its was a bit like the hokey cokey but with intricate leg movements, I was rubbish, but Dave and Rachel seemed to be having a whale of a time!!!!
That night was pretty tough, the house had no electricity, the bathroom was outside, and a look but you poured water down it to flush it. The bed was the most uncomfy thing in the world, and id my back in, but as ever Dave slept fine!!
The following day we visited the floating Islands of the lake. They are made with mud tethered together, reeds and almost a criss cross thatch of reeds. And they actually float around the lake. That was amazing, walking on a floating island, and they have to use boats to get anywhere!
When we got back to Puno I soon realised I had missed my hands with the suncream, not good. At altitude, on a clear day with teh water reflecting the sun, I had 2nd degree burns on both hands, which were now so swollen and blistered they were about twice the size! (but fear not, due to some Auzzie Savlon, our first aid bandages and gauze and some very careful looking after they are not bad anymore, red but no scars!)
We then took a bus from Puno to Cuzco, which took about 6 hours. Although, public buses in peru a really good, even dave had enough leg room! Cuzco is lower than Puno, and was far easier to breathe, the altitude is not so bad. When we arrive we stumbled upon a ceremony for St Don Bosco, whose remains were in Cuzco Cathedral that night. They walked his body through the streets followed by children in traditional dress, and some in conquistador outfits, Spanish face masks with the lighter skin and big noses, and holding alcohol bottles, and dancing a dance that resembles a drunk!!! (they dont like the Spanish too much out here).
We went out for dinner that evening and Dave ate Alpaca metballs!!!! Eurgh!!!!
The following day we went off with our guide Demas and went off to the Sacred Valley, and saw some inca ruins, I bought an alpaca sweater for 25 soles (4 to the pound so bargain). We staying an an awesome hotel that night, which was like shangrila, with waterfalls and lodges, we had a fireplace in our room!ANd then we begain the Lares trek.
The Lares trek is absolutely beautiful. We began at the hot baths, which were Rank to be honest. But after that, the Andes are stunning. It was quite hard going at first, the altitude and pretty steep hills. Alot of the paths you usually use have been washed away in the flooding. Words cant describe the waterfalls, and scenery of the trek. Although if you have seen the episode of top gear in bolivia on the death road, that was pretty much what the bus ride into the valley was like!!
The trek gives you a wicked 2 course lunch, which is always soup and then the main is rice and potatoes and then something else. One of the people on the trek had a calorie counter and he said he burnt 4000 calories on the first day. Its mental. YOu get tea, which is popcorn and toast, and then dinner which is three courses, soup your carbs and pud. Pretty good.
The second day fo teh trek was the hardest by far, you climb up almost a shear face to 4700m and then its soo cold, and the air is so thin its tough to breathe. And with our luck it begain to piss with rain, so even harder. We all got soaked. That night it was minus 5 and we pitched our tents next to a mountain with snow all over it. We used our bottles to fill up with boiliung water and used them as hot water bottles to keep warm, even then it was freezing.
The next day we staggered on to the final stretch of the trek, downhill through rolling hills waterfall crossings and the most stunning lakes ever. Peru is possibly the most beautiful country in the world for scenery!
At this point we would usually got to matchu pitchu, but because of the slides, WHich our gide was trekking through, it was closed. He said he walked past the dead argentinian girl who was covered in her tent as she slept, and the dead tour leader who was washed in a slide as he guided a group. He was stuck in Ollyantaytambo for 5 days, as only those who could pay thousands of dollars were getting airlifted, and he had to take his group across a bridge which was soon after washed away. Mental. The destruction is still evident, entire communities around cuzco are just mud now, no houses. As you drive around the destruction is plain to see. And apparently the Peruvian government is more concerned with the helping CHilie in its earthquake (a far richer country) that loads of aid is not going to the poorest out here.
Anyway, we went to another site in teh sacred vally instead which was amazing. and that night we stayed in Ollyantytambo.
Following day we went to some more sites and them back to Cuzco. Cuzco is amazing, the shopping the markets the cafes, its mint!!! We went out and bought CDS from a local market, then hit some cocktail bars. We playe dour CDs in the bar, and tried loads of local drinks Pisco made from chilies which was hotter than the sun, and pisco from purple wheat. The drinks were wicked!
After recovering from our trek in relaxing Cuzco we flew out to Puerto Maldonaldo, which is in the amazon. ANd believe me, JUNGLE IS MASSIVE! all you can see is trees and brids and stuff. Oh and BUGS!!! We had to take a moterized canoe and then a jungle walk to our lodge whcih was wicked. All on wooden stilts and no electricity just candles. The rooms had beds and hammocks and no window on one side, just jungle. we could see monkeys eating from our room. We went on a trek to the treetop tower so you can see above the tree canopy and look out. We went on a 4am night trek to a lake to see birds and wildlife. We had a mating spider in our bathroom whcih then when we got back was eating its mate! Even the lodge guy we got to come kill it was scared of it! and Dave made friends with a cat!
OK Have to dash will finish up later. Possibly no internet in Ecuador as on a boat so will speak soon!!
So back in Lima now and absolutely shattered, we head out to Ecuador tomorrow. So here is what we been doing.
We flew out to Puno, which is the highest city in Peru, at just under 4000m above sea level. And boy does altitude make you sick! banging headache, constant nausea and breathlessness. At that altitude its the equivalent of only having one lung working. Just to put it into perspective, 4000m is about 14000ft, and you jump out of planes at 10,000 ft.
In Puno we visted the Funeral Towers, which the Incas used for burring the important surrounded by offerings like Cocoa leaves etc. Our first inca site, was good, but everyone felt rough from the altitude!!
In Puno we were advised to drink Cocoa leaves, which really does help with the altitude, and they dont make you high at all, (Cocoa leaves as in cocaine leaves). So we pretty much lived on cocoa in Peru, as most of the place is very high.
Our second day we took a boat out on lake Titicaca, the weather was cold, but beautiful clear day. We went to one of the islands and met the locals. They all still wear traditional dress, and keep ceremonies, its like a trip back in time really. We ate a wicked grilled fish lunch (cost peanuts) and then went onto another island. Most of the food in Peru consists of Corn and potatoes (they have 400 different types of spud!) and thats what you eat alot.
We stayed on a homestay that night on one of the islands on lake Titicaca, with Rachel and Armando, and their three children. In the afternoon we played football, tough at that altitude, and then returned for dinner. The courses were corn soup (tastes better than it sounds) rice and veg, with a fresh picked mint tea (which i politely passed on). That night we went to a local community dance type thing, where you wear traditional dress, coloured skirt, a top with an intricately woven pattern, (all the men do the sewing here, its like a right of passage, when a man can sew, he is ready to find a wife) and a shawl headscarf thing. Then we had to dance! and at altitude, thats tough! its was a bit like the hokey cokey but with intricate leg movements, I was rubbish, but Dave and Rachel seemed to be having a whale of a time!!!!
That night was pretty tough, the house had no electricity, the bathroom was outside, and a look but you poured water down it to flush it. The bed was the most uncomfy thing in the world, and id my back in, but as ever Dave slept fine!!
The following day we visited the floating Islands of the lake. They are made with mud tethered together, reeds and almost a criss cross thatch of reeds. And they actually float around the lake. That was amazing, walking on a floating island, and they have to use boats to get anywhere!
When we got back to Puno I soon realised I had missed my hands with the suncream, not good. At altitude, on a clear day with teh water reflecting the sun, I had 2nd degree burns on both hands, which were now so swollen and blistered they were about twice the size! (but fear not, due to some Auzzie Savlon, our first aid bandages and gauze and some very careful looking after they are not bad anymore, red but no scars!)
We then took a bus from Puno to Cuzco, which took about 6 hours. Although, public buses in peru a really good, even dave had enough leg room! Cuzco is lower than Puno, and was far easier to breathe, the altitude is not so bad. When we arrive we stumbled upon a ceremony for St Don Bosco, whose remains were in Cuzco Cathedral that night. They walked his body through the streets followed by children in traditional dress, and some in conquistador outfits, Spanish face masks with the lighter skin and big noses, and holding alcohol bottles, and dancing a dance that resembles a drunk!!! (they dont like the Spanish too much out here).
We went out for dinner that evening and Dave ate Alpaca metballs!!!! Eurgh!!!!
The following day we went off with our guide Demas and went off to the Sacred Valley, and saw some inca ruins, I bought an alpaca sweater for 25 soles (4 to the pound so bargain). We staying an an awesome hotel that night, which was like shangrila, with waterfalls and lodges, we had a fireplace in our room!ANd then we begain the Lares trek.
The Lares trek is absolutely beautiful. We began at the hot baths, which were Rank to be honest. But after that, the Andes are stunning. It was quite hard going at first, the altitude and pretty steep hills. Alot of the paths you usually use have been washed away in the flooding. Words cant describe the waterfalls, and scenery of the trek. Although if you have seen the episode of top gear in bolivia on the death road, that was pretty much what the bus ride into the valley was like!!
The trek gives you a wicked 2 course lunch, which is always soup and then the main is rice and potatoes and then something else. One of the people on the trek had a calorie counter and he said he burnt 4000 calories on the first day. Its mental. YOu get tea, which is popcorn and toast, and then dinner which is three courses, soup your carbs and pud. Pretty good.
The second day fo teh trek was the hardest by far, you climb up almost a shear face to 4700m and then its soo cold, and the air is so thin its tough to breathe. And with our luck it begain to piss with rain, so even harder. We all got soaked. That night it was minus 5 and we pitched our tents next to a mountain with snow all over it. We used our bottles to fill up with boiliung water and used them as hot water bottles to keep warm, even then it was freezing.
The next day we staggered on to the final stretch of the trek, downhill through rolling hills waterfall crossings and the most stunning lakes ever. Peru is possibly the most beautiful country in the world for scenery!
At this point we would usually got to matchu pitchu, but because of the slides, WHich our gide was trekking through, it was closed. He said he walked past the dead argentinian girl who was covered in her tent as she slept, and the dead tour leader who was washed in a slide as he guided a group. He was stuck in Ollyantaytambo for 5 days, as only those who could pay thousands of dollars were getting airlifted, and he had to take his group across a bridge which was soon after washed away. Mental. The destruction is still evident, entire communities around cuzco are just mud now, no houses. As you drive around the destruction is plain to see. And apparently the Peruvian government is more concerned with the helping CHilie in its earthquake (a far richer country) that loads of aid is not going to the poorest out here.
Anyway, we went to another site in teh sacred vally instead which was amazing. and that night we stayed in Ollyantytambo.
Following day we went to some more sites and them back to Cuzco. Cuzco is amazing, the shopping the markets the cafes, its mint!!! We went out and bought CDS from a local market, then hit some cocktail bars. We playe dour CDs in the bar, and tried loads of local drinks Pisco made from chilies which was hotter than the sun, and pisco from purple wheat. The drinks were wicked!
After recovering from our trek in relaxing Cuzco we flew out to Puerto Maldonaldo, which is in the amazon. ANd believe me, JUNGLE IS MASSIVE! all you can see is trees and brids and stuff. Oh and BUGS!!! We had to take a moterized canoe and then a jungle walk to our lodge whcih was wicked. All on wooden stilts and no electricity just candles. The rooms had beds and hammocks and no window on one side, just jungle. we could see monkeys eating from our room. We went on a trek to the treetop tower so you can see above the tree canopy and look out. We went on a 4am night trek to a lake to see birds and wildlife. We had a mating spider in our bathroom whcih then when we got back was eating its mate! Even the lodge guy we got to come kill it was scared of it! and Dave made friends with a cat!
OK Have to dash will finish up later. Possibly no internet in Ecuador as on a boat so will speak soon!!
Monday, 15 March 2010
End of Rio beginning of a messy journey!
Ola! I'm finally in Peru now.
My last day in Rio was great fun, we braved the bus amid all the warnings about pickpockets and scoundrels and we got to the Corcovado, or to us English the way to the Christ the Redeemer statue that overlooks Rio.
To get there you get on this old tram system which is the most random thing, its built all like a theme park entrance at the bottom (I half expected to be on the tidal wave when I sat down). Anyhoot, so you jump on that, and its a 30 Degree hill this little tram thing climbs and you go up this mountain, going away from all the houses and hustle and bustle of Rio. Steadily you get into rainforest which encases the entire bottom of the mountain which the statue is on. As you go up the mountain hoewever it has stops! One called Englishman's hill, which aside from the sign with the name, is literally a slab on concrete in the middle of a forest, random! But as we went up you steadily go through this forest and all of a sudden there will be houses! no road leading to them, just this tram going past. You also get the kids that jump on the side of the tram for a free ride, (like on the trains in India) and then they jump off as its oing full pelt, rather them than me with a shear drop into jungle if they let go!
When you get to the top you climb a few stairs (don't worry, there are lifts an escalators for the Americans) and you are facing the backside of Jesus, Dave promptly took a photo of this.
Unfortunately he is covered in scaffolding at the moment, but the views from up there are pretty spectacular. Although we found it was quite hazy, but this only happens before heavy thunderstorms as there was that evening. But it would be a fantastic view on a clear day, and a very different view to the ones you get from the sugar loaf mountain.
Ok so next day is our departure (we finally have a room to ourselves yay!) So we book our taxi for 7am as our flight is due out at 9, and we double check our reservations online. This all goes fine, the taxi is early we get to the airport and its........ deserted. Not a soul. So we wander over to the LAN desk and ask errr wheres check in for our flight. To which we are told that due to the earthquake in Chile (we change there for Lima, Peru) our flight was cancelled. Apparently they tried to contact us, not via the preferred method i.e email or even the online booking system that we checked the night before which said the flight was confirmed no they rang Devon when we had flown out to Rio. Genius.
So we book onto the next flight at 2.30 which means we will miss our connection, so that too gets pushed back till the following day, and they promise to provide us with a hotel when we get to Santiago as we are one world customers (Being part of a group of the best airlines in the world I think helped us there). So we wait, and naturally our flight is delayed, and as we watch the boards they seem to cancel flights out of hand, one min they will be there the next they are canceled.
When we get to Santiago we have a nightmare with immigration, as naturally we are suppose to be transfers but are actually having to stay the night, then we finally find a LAN person, who cant be bothered to help us as he gets off his shift in 10 mins. Luckily the next people are more helpful and offer to take us to the people who can get us a room. (this is about 10pm now) so we go through customs, who dont like the look of something in my bag and this big ugly geezer demands we open it up (it was a slow night, we were the last people in the airport and he was bored) so I open it up and he rifles through my undies which i snatch off him saying I dont think there is food or liquid in there! and after pulling apart all my stuff which was neatly packed he decides I was right and stomps off.
So then we get dragged outside through the airport whcih only half of has electricity or even a roof! (our flight was sllightly delayed landing also because they had a power cut). We go into a tent, through another tent and realize this is departures and Check in! we finally find someone who takes us to another bloke who thank god, books us a room in a hotel in Santiago. We sort out transfers for the morning, our paperwork said the flight was at 6.50 theirs said 7.50 but we still asked for the transfer to be at 5am to be on the safe side. (11pm by now) we hop on a taxi courtesy of Lan and get to the Crown Plaza Hotel!!! they booked us into a 5* hotel!!!!(there must have been a mistake or something, but we didnt say a word!) Its almost 12am by now, we have to be up at 4.30 for our transfer, but we did enjoy the room, that bed was HUGE!!! and had a wicked view of the whole city! So we slept for 4.5 hours, and got our taxi in the morning, which was delayed leaving because he was using his taxi to push another taxi to jump start it, (just what you need at 5am) rushed through the airport to find our flight was actually at 7.50 but by the time we got through the tent check in, the immigration desks and the scanners (only two working for the whole airport so you can imagine the que) we got through in time for boarding.
Aside from the nightmare we had, I have to say the organisation in Santiago was amazing, the carpark was now basically a departures and check in terminal, and the bridges which had sustained damage were temporarily fixed using all sorts of methods so they were passable. For a city whose airport is almost all off limits due to earthquake damage, they have done very well indeed, i dread to think of the state heathrow would be in if it sustained that much damage!!!
Anyway we finally got to Lima, and I now sit at the comp in the hotel, which is quite a a quirkly little place. We went for a walk, and they have a really good shopping mall overlooking the cliffs and the beach below, nice use of surroundings in architecture there!
Right, that's my rant for the day, My body clock is all messed up afetr lack of sleep and different timezones, so I am in desperate need of sleep.
C ya!!!
My last day in Rio was great fun, we braved the bus amid all the warnings about pickpockets and scoundrels and we got to the Corcovado, or to us English the way to the Christ the Redeemer statue that overlooks Rio.
To get there you get on this old tram system which is the most random thing, its built all like a theme park entrance at the bottom (I half expected to be on the tidal wave when I sat down). Anyhoot, so you jump on that, and its a 30 Degree hill this little tram thing climbs and you go up this mountain, going away from all the houses and hustle and bustle of Rio. Steadily you get into rainforest which encases the entire bottom of the mountain which the statue is on. As you go up the mountain hoewever it has stops! One called Englishman's hill, which aside from the sign with the name, is literally a slab on concrete in the middle of a forest, random! But as we went up you steadily go through this forest and all of a sudden there will be houses! no road leading to them, just this tram going past. You also get the kids that jump on the side of the tram for a free ride, (like on the trains in India) and then they jump off as its oing full pelt, rather them than me with a shear drop into jungle if they let go!
When you get to the top you climb a few stairs (don't worry, there are lifts an escalators for the Americans) and you are facing the backside of Jesus, Dave promptly took a photo of this.
Unfortunately he is covered in scaffolding at the moment, but the views from up there are pretty spectacular. Although we found it was quite hazy, but this only happens before heavy thunderstorms as there was that evening. But it would be a fantastic view on a clear day, and a very different view to the ones you get from the sugar loaf mountain.
Ok so next day is our departure (we finally have a room to ourselves yay!) So we book our taxi for 7am as our flight is due out at 9, and we double check our reservations online. This all goes fine, the taxi is early we get to the airport and its........ deserted. Not a soul. So we wander over to the LAN desk and ask errr wheres check in for our flight. To which we are told that due to the earthquake in Chile (we change there for Lima, Peru) our flight was cancelled. Apparently they tried to contact us, not via the preferred method i.e email or even the online booking system that we checked the night before which said the flight was confirmed no they rang Devon when we had flown out to Rio. Genius.
So we book onto the next flight at 2.30 which means we will miss our connection, so that too gets pushed back till the following day, and they promise to provide us with a hotel when we get to Santiago as we are one world customers (Being part of a group of the best airlines in the world I think helped us there). So we wait, and naturally our flight is delayed, and as we watch the boards they seem to cancel flights out of hand, one min they will be there the next they are canceled.
When we get to Santiago we have a nightmare with immigration, as naturally we are suppose to be transfers but are actually having to stay the night, then we finally find a LAN person, who cant be bothered to help us as he gets off his shift in 10 mins. Luckily the next people are more helpful and offer to take us to the people who can get us a room. (this is about 10pm now) so we go through customs, who dont like the look of something in my bag and this big ugly geezer demands we open it up (it was a slow night, we were the last people in the airport and he was bored) so I open it up and he rifles through my undies which i snatch off him saying I dont think there is food or liquid in there! and after pulling apart all my stuff which was neatly packed he decides I was right and stomps off.
So then we get dragged outside through the airport whcih only half of has electricity or even a roof! (our flight was sllightly delayed landing also because they had a power cut). We go into a tent, through another tent and realize this is departures and Check in! we finally find someone who takes us to another bloke who thank god, books us a room in a hotel in Santiago. We sort out transfers for the morning, our paperwork said the flight was at 6.50 theirs said 7.50 but we still asked for the transfer to be at 5am to be on the safe side. (11pm by now) we hop on a taxi courtesy of Lan and get to the Crown Plaza Hotel!!! they booked us into a 5* hotel!!!!(there must have been a mistake or something, but we didnt say a word!) Its almost 12am by now, we have to be up at 4.30 for our transfer, but we did enjoy the room, that bed was HUGE!!! and had a wicked view of the whole city! So we slept for 4.5 hours, and got our taxi in the morning, which was delayed leaving because he was using his taxi to push another taxi to jump start it, (just what you need at 5am) rushed through the airport to find our flight was actually at 7.50 but by the time we got through the tent check in, the immigration desks and the scanners (only two working for the whole airport so you can imagine the que) we got through in time for boarding.
Aside from the nightmare we had, I have to say the organisation in Santiago was amazing, the carpark was now basically a departures and check in terminal, and the bridges which had sustained damage were temporarily fixed using all sorts of methods so they were passable. For a city whose airport is almost all off limits due to earthquake damage, they have done very well indeed, i dread to think of the state heathrow would be in if it sustained that much damage!!!
Anyway we finally got to Lima, and I now sit at the comp in the hotel, which is quite a a quirkly little place. We went for a walk, and they have a really good shopping mall overlooking the cliffs and the beach below, nice use of surroundings in architecture there!
Right, that's my rant for the day, My body clock is all messed up afetr lack of sleep and different timezones, so I am in desperate need of sleep.
C ya!!!
Friday, 12 March 2010
hey all. So Im in Rio atm. Its pretty darn hot! Flight over was immense, 12 hours is not comfy in a big old tin flying through the air, altho god bless british airways movies! 2012 was rubbish, But i watched Vera Drake which was good and then napped for 5 hours, Dave enjoyed dammed united and then got bored and made his own playlist on the music channels on the plane. Anyhoot, got to airport in Rio and got baggage ok. Then hopped on a bus local style! only to get off at the wrong stop, the difference between Copacobana palace, and copacobana plaza hotel seemed to be lost in translation.
We did find ourselves on the map with some help from a local who advised us to avoid the drug dealers on the way, (just what you want to hear your first day in a new country!) Found our hostel only to find some idiot had taken our deposit but not booked us in, bugger. So we are currently room hopping from doorm to doorm (so much for the private ensuite room we booked) and lugging our baggage to check in and out everyday, not that impressed! Altho it does have an open air bit with chairs and that, and on our fist day the local monkeys fancied our breakfast bannanas, (that god i got that rabies shot!!)
But Rio is lovely, Copacobana beach is massive as we found when we decided to walk it, and down to Ipanema 6 miles later we crashed back at the hostel. May not sound far, but in 35 degree heat plus, not so comfy.
Yesterday we went to the sugar loaf mountain, and of course trying to save money decided to walk to it, and taking the scenic route, (i.e walking all the way along the beach to find a mountain blocking our way and having to turn around) we did get there. We took the cable car up the first leg of the journey, deciding that at 22R$ a stop each, we would save some cash. The views were spectacular, you could see almost the whole coastline and the Christ the Redeemer statue, which is covered in scaffolding...... The airport is set on its own island, pretty amazing. (photos to follow when I remember to bring the handy little device mum bought me down to the comps!)
Today we walked all the way round this random lake, thinking we could get to the Botanical Gardens, but it took way longer than we anticipated, (the guide book map is rubbish!!) and never would have made it in there and out before dark. We did however find the posh part of Ipanema, with all the expensive shops, and book shops (Dave dragged me away a few times) And we made it back to the hostel to check into yet another different dorm (yay), all in all a 12mile round trip in the heat. (at least we will be ready for the hike in Peru, at this rate would be able to run it!)
Anyway, I should get on, I promised dave a game of snooker, so off to the rubbish tables we go!
xxxx
Sorry its rubbish, internet here is sketchy at best!!!
We did find ourselves on the map with some help from a local who advised us to avoid the drug dealers on the way, (just what you want to hear your first day in a new country!) Found our hostel only to find some idiot had taken our deposit but not booked us in, bugger. So we are currently room hopping from doorm to doorm (so much for the private ensuite room we booked) and lugging our baggage to check in and out everyday, not that impressed! Altho it does have an open air bit with chairs and that, and on our fist day the local monkeys fancied our breakfast bannanas, (that god i got that rabies shot!!)
But Rio is lovely, Copacobana beach is massive as we found when we decided to walk it, and down to Ipanema 6 miles later we crashed back at the hostel. May not sound far, but in 35 degree heat plus, not so comfy.
Yesterday we went to the sugar loaf mountain, and of course trying to save money decided to walk to it, and taking the scenic route, (i.e walking all the way along the beach to find a mountain blocking our way and having to turn around) we did get there. We took the cable car up the first leg of the journey, deciding that at 22R$ a stop each, we would save some cash. The views were spectacular, you could see almost the whole coastline and the Christ the Redeemer statue, which is covered in scaffolding...... The airport is set on its own island, pretty amazing. (photos to follow when I remember to bring the handy little device mum bought me down to the comps!)
Today we walked all the way round this random lake, thinking we could get to the Botanical Gardens, but it took way longer than we anticipated, (the guide book map is rubbish!!) and never would have made it in there and out before dark. We did however find the posh part of Ipanema, with all the expensive shops, and book shops (Dave dragged me away a few times) And we made it back to the hostel to check into yet another different dorm (yay), all in all a 12mile round trip in the heat. (at least we will be ready for the hike in Peru, at this rate would be able to run it!)
Anyway, I should get on, I promised dave a game of snooker, so off to the rubbish tables we go!
xxxx
Sorry its rubbish, internet here is sketchy at best!!!
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