Saturday, 29 November 2008
Bolivia
We arrived in La Paz after a long bus journey from Peru. It was quite an interesting journey. At one point we watched as our coach crossed a lake on a tiny floating platform. We prayed that it made it to the otherside in one piece! On arrival into Laz Paz we saw pollution, heavy traffic and poverty. The hostel that we were staying in was next door to an English Pub called Olivers Travels so on our first night we tucked into bangers and mash!! It is in this pub that we met Stewart (from Holland) and his German girlfriend Recca. They become our companions throughout our stay in La Paz. Our first day was a bit of a write off as Emily wasn´t feeling well. So we relaxed for the day. The next day we arranged to go to the prison in Bolivia with Recca while Steward worked! Boring!!!
The prison was quite an experience. We were rather worried at first but then it became apparent that it was a small community. Prisoners can pay a small amount of money to have their wifes and children stay with them. It was bizarre to see small children playing in the prison grounds. The locals that are poor get themselves sent to prison as a cheaper way to take care of their family as the food in prison is free and they have no rent to pay!! It all got rather worrying when they took us into a small room in the prison and offered us cocaine, Obviously we declined!! On leaving the prison we went to book our tickets for Sucre for the next day.
The following day we had to check out at 10:30am. Steward and Recca were also checking out so we went to the park together. However for some reason it was closed. So we grabbed an Ice Cream and went to see the monument at the top of the hill. We got some brilliant photos of La Paz. We then all hit the pub to drink and play cards until we were due at the bus station.
At the bus station our first taste of the unorganisation of Bolivia stuck! We went to get our bus and the man that sold us our tickets suddenly decided that the bus wasn´t going to Sucre anymore. Tony nearly killed him. Luckily we got our money back and went to book our coach with a better company for the next day. To make matters worse Emily then realised that someone had knifed her bag in order to steal the contains. Luckily nothing was stolen.
Yet again we had to check out at 10:30 am and entertain ourselves for the day. Emily found a chocolate shop as she couldn´t find Dairy Milk in the supermarket. We went to the main square and sat in the sunshine. It is so hot in Bolivia. Emily has got a tan but thinks it makes her look dirty however do not worry, neither of us have turned into soap dodging hippies!!!
Our coach that evening was the most comfortable we could have got. The seats were huge and as we were travelling overnight this helped a lot. Unfortunately some fat bolivian woman snored like a chainsaw throughout the night so we couldn´t get much sleep - cowbox!! Tony didn´t mind as he got to watch Predator in Spanish and still loved it.
We arrived in Sucre to early to check in. So we went to get some breakfast. Emily ended up ordering fruit with ice cream instead of yogurt. Doh!!! We do have translation problems at times. Once we got to check in we went straight to sleep. When we had stopped being lazy we went for a walk around the main square. Again the weather was beautiful. Sucre is so different to La Paz. It is considered the most sophisicated city in Bolivia. The buildings are so well designed and just gorgeous. The young people are quite trendy and there are a lot of business people. We enjoyed our two days in Sucre. Plus Tony managed to get some sunglasses for two pound!!! Bargin!!
After Sucre we got a bus to Potosi where the silver mines are. The bus was the worse one in the world!! It was so hot and there was no space. Luckily it was only a 5 hour journey. On arrival in Potosi we were pestered by an old lady for money. We understand the poverty of these people and their desperatation however it is hard to feel empathy when they are hitting you. The old lady hit Tony a few times so he hit her back!!! She then moved on to Emily! After surviving the pestering we checked into our hostel and looked around the town. It is a lot colder in Potosi. We were freezing!! After getting our bearings and eating dinner we booked our excursion to the Silver mines.
The silver mines were amazing!! We had to get all these stupid clothes on which we both find extremely amusing. We took loads of silly photos of each other. We then went to the market to buy gifts for the miners. Much to Tony´s delight we were able to buy dyamite!!! We purchased the nitrate as well!!! Our guide informed us that the miners liked to drink 96% alcohol and let us try some. It was awful. It just tasted like the strongest Vodka ever!!! Shortly after purchasing our goods for the miners we went to see one of the guides let off some dyamite. Emily kept well back while some crazy people held it just as it was being lit. We walked backwards and the explosion was immerse and it was a lot louded than what we had expected.
Inside the mines it was dark, warm and extremely claustrophobic. At times there was so much dust that it was difficult to breath but what an experience! Boys as young as 13 worked in the mines and they only had a life expectency of 15 years! The mines were blinging!! Much to Emily´s delight. Tony told her to take some of the glitter of the walls of the mines. When she did the guide quickly informed us that it was abestos!!! Fool!!!!! The guide pointed out when the silver was present. We watched the miners while they worked and gave them the gifts we had brought. It is such a difficult job and the guide did an amazing job.
We left Potosi the next day for Uyuni. What a nightmare!!! There was only one cash point and it wasn´t working!!! Emily had got speaking to a girl from Belgium named Vanessa and she ended up paying for one of our excursions as we had no cash whatsoever. People only go to Uyuni for the salt flats excursion so we didn´t want to hang around. We told her we would pay her back in Chile. We wanted to head straight to Argentina but the tour meant it wasn´t possible. Therefore we planned to go to Argentina as soon as we could from Chile.
The salt flats was an excellent excursion. It showed the true beauty of Bolivia. Although we loved Peru because of the Inca Trail it is fair to say that Bolivia probably beats it. Bolivia is so rich in natural beauty it tops the list as the best country!! We were all put in a 4x4 and travelled for three days to see different natural sights. We walked across the salt flats and we were literally in the middle of nowhere! It was beautiful. You can see from the photos that it just looks like ice. It was so hot that day as well. On the tour we also saw various beautiful lagunas (one was full of flamingos!!). As you can see from the photo above, Jordan decided to put on Emily´s pink fleece and pose as a flamingo. in addition we saw active volcanos and geesers - we could see the lava boiling on the ground and we got to jump into the hot springs!! The people on the tour was really good company. As well as Vanessa, we had Jordan and Austin also from Belgium. Rolf from Germany and Eddie from Hong Kong. We were lucky to have them as they all (except Eddie) spoke fluent Spanish. Our guide didn´t speak English so they would translate for us.
We have now left Bolivia and our next blog will be from Argentina!!
The prison was quite an experience. We were rather worried at first but then it became apparent that it was a small community. Prisoners can pay a small amount of money to have their wifes and children stay with them. It was bizarre to see small children playing in the prison grounds. The locals that are poor get themselves sent to prison as a cheaper way to take care of their family as the food in prison is free and they have no rent to pay!! It all got rather worrying when they took us into a small room in the prison and offered us cocaine, Obviously we declined!! On leaving the prison we went to book our tickets for Sucre for the next day.
The following day we had to check out at 10:30am. Steward and Recca were also checking out so we went to the park together. However for some reason it was closed. So we grabbed an Ice Cream and went to see the monument at the top of the hill. We got some brilliant photos of La Paz. We then all hit the pub to drink and play cards until we were due at the bus station.
At the bus station our first taste of the unorganisation of Bolivia stuck! We went to get our bus and the man that sold us our tickets suddenly decided that the bus wasn´t going to Sucre anymore. Tony nearly killed him. Luckily we got our money back and went to book our coach with a better company for the next day. To make matters worse Emily then realised that someone had knifed her bag in order to steal the contains. Luckily nothing was stolen.
Yet again we had to check out at 10:30 am and entertain ourselves for the day. Emily found a chocolate shop as she couldn´t find Dairy Milk in the supermarket. We went to the main square and sat in the sunshine. It is so hot in Bolivia. Emily has got a tan but thinks it makes her look dirty however do not worry, neither of us have turned into soap dodging hippies!!!
Our coach that evening was the most comfortable we could have got. The seats were huge and as we were travelling overnight this helped a lot. Unfortunately some fat bolivian woman snored like a chainsaw throughout the night so we couldn´t get much sleep - cowbox!! Tony didn´t mind as he got to watch Predator in Spanish and still loved it.
We arrived in Sucre to early to check in. So we went to get some breakfast. Emily ended up ordering fruit with ice cream instead of yogurt. Doh!!! We do have translation problems at times. Once we got to check in we went straight to sleep. When we had stopped being lazy we went for a walk around the main square. Again the weather was beautiful. Sucre is so different to La Paz. It is considered the most sophisicated city in Bolivia. The buildings are so well designed and just gorgeous. The young people are quite trendy and there are a lot of business people. We enjoyed our two days in Sucre. Plus Tony managed to get some sunglasses for two pound!!! Bargin!!
After Sucre we got a bus to Potosi where the silver mines are. The bus was the worse one in the world!! It was so hot and there was no space. Luckily it was only a 5 hour journey. On arrival in Potosi we were pestered by an old lady for money. We understand the poverty of these people and their desperatation however it is hard to feel empathy when they are hitting you. The old lady hit Tony a few times so he hit her back!!! She then moved on to Emily! After surviving the pestering we checked into our hostel and looked around the town. It is a lot colder in Potosi. We were freezing!! After getting our bearings and eating dinner we booked our excursion to the Silver mines.
The silver mines were amazing!! We had to get all these stupid clothes on which we both find extremely amusing. We took loads of silly photos of each other. We then went to the market to buy gifts for the miners. Much to Tony´s delight we were able to buy dyamite!!! We purchased the nitrate as well!!! Our guide informed us that the miners liked to drink 96% alcohol and let us try some. It was awful. It just tasted like the strongest Vodka ever!!! Shortly after purchasing our goods for the miners we went to see one of the guides let off some dyamite. Emily kept well back while some crazy people held it just as it was being lit. We walked backwards and the explosion was immerse and it was a lot louded than what we had expected.
Inside the mines it was dark, warm and extremely claustrophobic. At times there was so much dust that it was difficult to breath but what an experience! Boys as young as 13 worked in the mines and they only had a life expectency of 15 years! The mines were blinging!! Much to Emily´s delight. Tony told her to take some of the glitter of the walls of the mines. When she did the guide quickly informed us that it was abestos!!! Fool!!!!! The guide pointed out when the silver was present. We watched the miners while they worked and gave them the gifts we had brought. It is such a difficult job and the guide did an amazing job.
We left Potosi the next day for Uyuni. What a nightmare!!! There was only one cash point and it wasn´t working!!! Emily had got speaking to a girl from Belgium named Vanessa and she ended up paying for one of our excursions as we had no cash whatsoever. People only go to Uyuni for the salt flats excursion so we didn´t want to hang around. We told her we would pay her back in Chile. We wanted to head straight to Argentina but the tour meant it wasn´t possible. Therefore we planned to go to Argentina as soon as we could from Chile.
The salt flats was an excellent excursion. It showed the true beauty of Bolivia. Although we loved Peru because of the Inca Trail it is fair to say that Bolivia probably beats it. Bolivia is so rich in natural beauty it tops the list as the best country!! We were all put in a 4x4 and travelled for three days to see different natural sights. We walked across the salt flats and we were literally in the middle of nowhere! It was beautiful. You can see from the photos that it just looks like ice. It was so hot that day as well. On the tour we also saw various beautiful lagunas (one was full of flamingos!!). As you can see from the photo above, Jordan decided to put on Emily´s pink fleece and pose as a flamingo. in addition we saw active volcanos and geesers - we could see the lava boiling on the ground and we got to jump into the hot springs!! The people on the tour was really good company. As well as Vanessa, we had Jordan and Austin also from Belgium. Rolf from Germany and Eddie from Hong Kong. We were lucky to have them as they all (except Eddie) spoke fluent Spanish. Our guide didn´t speak English so they would translate for us.
We have now left Bolivia and our next blog will be from Argentina!!
Thursday, 20 November 2008
Thursday, 13 November 2008
Peru
We arrived in Peru on the 4th November. It was a long journey. It consisted of three connecting flights and Emily panicked the whole time. Looking back it was all pretty painless and our bags were the first out!! Unlike bloody Air Canada!
We were so tired as we had travelled throughout the night and our hostel was a bit of a diappointment! The showers were cold. The windows didn´t shut which meant it let all the cold air in at night and there was a hole in the roof of the girls shower. Conviently there were builders working above!
Our first day wasn´t bad. On arrival in Lima we realised that nobody spoke English. Therefore we walked around Lima trying to find a shop that sold Spanish/English phase books. Fortunately we got lucky.
Generally Lima ia awful. It is heavy polluted, lots of traffic and the constant beeping of the cars makes it extremely noisy! Whenever we were in a cab Emily got car sick. It was bumpy and as it was hot the drivers constantly kept their windows open - blowing the pollution into our faces!
Our hostel was made bearable by the people we met. Lucas from Switzerland, Pacca from Mexico and Bacco from Ecqudor. We also met two American guys who were not very nice. They weren´t interested in talking to people and they were very rude. We thought that one of them looked identical to the fat guy in superbad. It was only a few days later that despite the fact we all come from different countries Lucas, Pacca and Bacco had been thinking exactly the same thing and couldn´t stop laughing when we mentioned it.
We took a flight to Iquitos as we had to get out of Lima!! Iquitos is where the Amazon is and it was absolutely beautiful. We arrived in 35 degrees heat and surprising it wasn´t raining. A guide in our hotel named Louis offered to take us around the city. We visited the main square, the first ever church in Iquitos and we took a tut tut to a place where we got overlook the Amazon. It was amazing. Louis offered to take us out on the boat the next day so we didn´t have to pay a lot of money for a tour company.
He collected us the next day at 07;00!! He got us some breakfast and the best smoothie we have ever tasted. On the boat Louis took us to a tribe who lived on the bank of the Amazon. What a crazy experience!!! We honestly thought they were going to kill us!! We had to bang a drum to let them know we had arrived and then they did this crazy dance. These people live completely different lives. Everything evolves around the tribe! They wanted ten soles out of us and then we had a problem! All we had was a 50 sole note and they said they didn´t have change! Out of that we needed to pay the boat man 25 soles so they all stood around in a circle discussing what they would do with us. We just took one look at their bows and arrows and prayed for Louis get us out of this!
I don´t know what Louis said but suddenly they had change!! Funny that! He then took us to see the animals of the Amazon. This was one of the best parts! A monkey came running straight for us but we were reassured that it was friendly. He took Tony by the hand (and tail) and tried to show him off to the other monkeys. One monkey tried to get inside our bag while another one thought it was amusing to pull down Emily´s top. Tony thought it was the funniest thing! Emily soon got her own back when a baby crocodille nearly bit half Tony´s hand off. We saw Lazy monkeys as well. They were funny looking things that hardly moved (hence the name). We saw and held snakes and turtorises as well.
Once back in Lima we decided we would leave early. We spent our last day tying up loose ends. By night Bacco and Pacca attempted to teach Emily Spanish. They loved teasing her for her strong English accent and did impressions of her for most of the evening.
We left Lima for Cusco and what a contrast. Cusco is a beautiful place. There is brillant architecture and all the people are very friendly. Everything is extremely slow paced here which is probably to do with the heat and the altitude.
On arrival we both felt so ill. Tony felt worse as he was dizzy and just wanted to lie down. Emily suffered gradually instead. The altitude is an experience. We would walk up three steps and would have to stop because we are unable to breath. To make matters worse our hostel was even worse than the one in Lima. The beds were uncomfortable, there was constant noise and it was a million miles away. Thankfully Emily got talking to Laura on a park bench. Laura was from the US and she told us where she was staying so we left our hostel for hers. It was a god send. Her hostel only cost us 3 pound each per night with free breakfast and hot showers. It also had cable TV and a lounge and kitchen.
During the first few days of Cusco we just walked around the town trying to get used to the altitude but then we got brave. We decided to climb up a mountain with Esther (a Swiss woman we met in the hostel). Emily was breathless straight away!! We were concerned for the Inca Trail!!!
The Inca Trail - The most exhusting, energy sapping, most difficult challenge we have ever been faced with. In our group we had the Irish, Americans, New Zealanders and the Aussies and they practically run the trek!!! We honestly don´t know how they did it. The first day was easy enough. The only problem Tony had was going to sleep that night. This was a regular occurence for him. Unfortunately on the first night our neighbour was a cockrel.
The second day was terrible. It was uphill for 6 hours climbing up uneven steps until you were 3800 metres high!!! It didn´t get any better once you hit the top! You had to get back down. The steps going down to the campsite were terrible. Once at the campsite we set up camp and it was such a cold night. Again Tony suffered because his sleeping bag was so bad. He was freezing for much of the night. Emily slept like a log!
The third day of the trek was the worse! Uphill and downhill but then downhill for hours. It sounds unbelieveable but downhill is a lot worse. It completely kills your knees. We were trekking on this day from 07:00 until 17:00! However this was the last full day. We were now only hours away from Macchu Picchu! Plus this campsite was where everyone stopped and it had hot showers and a bar. We all headed to the bar!! Emily went to bed with the rest of the group that night but Tony decided to stay near the bar before he headed back to the tent. Unfortunatley Tony lost his head torch and had to make his way back to the tent in the darkness. Unable to see Tony found a tent. He unzipped the tent only to find some girl that wasn´t Emily!!! He panicked, apologized and hurried away. Evenually he found the right tent only to find Emily fast alseep having taken up all the room and having left the dirty laundry bag by his head!
Wow Macchu Picchu. How amazing. The village was so perfect. Each building made out of perfectly shaped rocks. It was only discovered in the 1900´s and the Inca´s left in the 1500´s. The Incas knew the Spanish were coming and didn´t want them to ruin their homes so they fled. Every Inca that was found was decapitated by the Spanish. Nice!! The Incas also had the good sense to hide all their gold and it still has not been discovered! Lucky Peruvians! Macchu Picchu is beyond words.
The Inca Trail in all was tough but amazing. Peru Treks really looked after us. The porters were unbelievable running past you with all the weight on their backs. In addition the food was the best we had eaten since travelling. We had fresh fruit, pancakes and toast for breakfast and for both lunch and dinner we were given rice, noodles, chicken, beef, veg and they even made us a cake on the last night - Emily´s dream come true!
Once we arrived back in Cusco we only stayed a day longer as we were eager to move on. Therefore we took a bus to Puno. Puno is the home of Lake Titicaca. On this lake there are several floating lakes made completely of reeds! People live on these islands and it was so surreal to see. We took a boat to the Island and it was amazing to see their houses also built of reeds. The local people took us out in their boat (guess what that was made of?) and we sailed along the lake. It was beautiful as there were blue skies and it was so warm. One of the little children on the Island took a liking to Tony and couldn´t stop chasing after him and trying to hold his hand.
Our time in Peru is now over. The next blog will be Bolivia!!!! Oh and hi to Paul - See I told you I would give you a mention!
We were so tired as we had travelled throughout the night and our hostel was a bit of a diappointment! The showers were cold. The windows didn´t shut which meant it let all the cold air in at night and there was a hole in the roof of the girls shower. Conviently there were builders working above!
Our first day wasn´t bad. On arrival in Lima we realised that nobody spoke English. Therefore we walked around Lima trying to find a shop that sold Spanish/English phase books. Fortunately we got lucky.
Generally Lima ia awful. It is heavy polluted, lots of traffic and the constant beeping of the cars makes it extremely noisy! Whenever we were in a cab Emily got car sick. It was bumpy and as it was hot the drivers constantly kept their windows open - blowing the pollution into our faces!
Our hostel was made bearable by the people we met. Lucas from Switzerland, Pacca from Mexico and Bacco from Ecqudor. We also met two American guys who were not very nice. They weren´t interested in talking to people and they were very rude. We thought that one of them looked identical to the fat guy in superbad. It was only a few days later that despite the fact we all come from different countries Lucas, Pacca and Bacco had been thinking exactly the same thing and couldn´t stop laughing when we mentioned it.
We took a flight to Iquitos as we had to get out of Lima!! Iquitos is where the Amazon is and it was absolutely beautiful. We arrived in 35 degrees heat and surprising it wasn´t raining. A guide in our hotel named Louis offered to take us around the city. We visited the main square, the first ever church in Iquitos and we took a tut tut to a place where we got overlook the Amazon. It was amazing. Louis offered to take us out on the boat the next day so we didn´t have to pay a lot of money for a tour company.
He collected us the next day at 07;00!! He got us some breakfast and the best smoothie we have ever tasted. On the boat Louis took us to a tribe who lived on the bank of the Amazon. What a crazy experience!!! We honestly thought they were going to kill us!! We had to bang a drum to let them know we had arrived and then they did this crazy dance. These people live completely different lives. Everything evolves around the tribe! They wanted ten soles out of us and then we had a problem! All we had was a 50 sole note and they said they didn´t have change! Out of that we needed to pay the boat man 25 soles so they all stood around in a circle discussing what they would do with us. We just took one look at their bows and arrows and prayed for Louis get us out of this!
I don´t know what Louis said but suddenly they had change!! Funny that! He then took us to see the animals of the Amazon. This was one of the best parts! A monkey came running straight for us but we were reassured that it was friendly. He took Tony by the hand (and tail) and tried to show him off to the other monkeys. One monkey tried to get inside our bag while another one thought it was amusing to pull down Emily´s top. Tony thought it was the funniest thing! Emily soon got her own back when a baby crocodille nearly bit half Tony´s hand off. We saw Lazy monkeys as well. They were funny looking things that hardly moved (hence the name). We saw and held snakes and turtorises as well.
Once back in Lima we decided we would leave early. We spent our last day tying up loose ends. By night Bacco and Pacca attempted to teach Emily Spanish. They loved teasing her for her strong English accent and did impressions of her for most of the evening.
We left Lima for Cusco and what a contrast. Cusco is a beautiful place. There is brillant architecture and all the people are very friendly. Everything is extremely slow paced here which is probably to do with the heat and the altitude.
On arrival we both felt so ill. Tony felt worse as he was dizzy and just wanted to lie down. Emily suffered gradually instead. The altitude is an experience. We would walk up three steps and would have to stop because we are unable to breath. To make matters worse our hostel was even worse than the one in Lima. The beds were uncomfortable, there was constant noise and it was a million miles away. Thankfully Emily got talking to Laura on a park bench. Laura was from the US and she told us where she was staying so we left our hostel for hers. It was a god send. Her hostel only cost us 3 pound each per night with free breakfast and hot showers. It also had cable TV and a lounge and kitchen.
During the first few days of Cusco we just walked around the town trying to get used to the altitude but then we got brave. We decided to climb up a mountain with Esther (a Swiss woman we met in the hostel). Emily was breathless straight away!! We were concerned for the Inca Trail!!!
The Inca Trail - The most exhusting, energy sapping, most difficult challenge we have ever been faced with. In our group we had the Irish, Americans, New Zealanders and the Aussies and they practically run the trek!!! We honestly don´t know how they did it. The first day was easy enough. The only problem Tony had was going to sleep that night. This was a regular occurence for him. Unfortunately on the first night our neighbour was a cockrel.
The second day was terrible. It was uphill for 6 hours climbing up uneven steps until you were 3800 metres high!!! It didn´t get any better once you hit the top! You had to get back down. The steps going down to the campsite were terrible. Once at the campsite we set up camp and it was such a cold night. Again Tony suffered because his sleeping bag was so bad. He was freezing for much of the night. Emily slept like a log!
The third day of the trek was the worse! Uphill and downhill but then downhill for hours. It sounds unbelieveable but downhill is a lot worse. It completely kills your knees. We were trekking on this day from 07:00 until 17:00! However this was the last full day. We were now only hours away from Macchu Picchu! Plus this campsite was where everyone stopped and it had hot showers and a bar. We all headed to the bar!! Emily went to bed with the rest of the group that night but Tony decided to stay near the bar before he headed back to the tent. Unfortunatley Tony lost his head torch and had to make his way back to the tent in the darkness. Unable to see Tony found a tent. He unzipped the tent only to find some girl that wasn´t Emily!!! He panicked, apologized and hurried away. Evenually he found the right tent only to find Emily fast alseep having taken up all the room and having left the dirty laundry bag by his head!
Wow Macchu Picchu. How amazing. The village was so perfect. Each building made out of perfectly shaped rocks. It was only discovered in the 1900´s and the Inca´s left in the 1500´s. The Incas knew the Spanish were coming and didn´t want them to ruin their homes so they fled. Every Inca that was found was decapitated by the Spanish. Nice!! The Incas also had the good sense to hide all their gold and it still has not been discovered! Lucky Peruvians! Macchu Picchu is beyond words.
The Inca Trail in all was tough but amazing. Peru Treks really looked after us. The porters were unbelievable running past you with all the weight on their backs. In addition the food was the best we had eaten since travelling. We had fresh fruit, pancakes and toast for breakfast and for both lunch and dinner we were given rice, noodles, chicken, beef, veg and they even made us a cake on the last night - Emily´s dream come true!
Once we arrived back in Cusco we only stayed a day longer as we were eager to move on. Therefore we took a bus to Puno. Puno is the home of Lake Titicaca. On this lake there are several floating lakes made completely of reeds! People live on these islands and it was so surreal to see. We took a boat to the Island and it was amazing to see their houses also built of reeds. The local people took us out in their boat (guess what that was made of?) and we sailed along the lake. It was beautiful as there were blue skies and it was so warm. One of the little children on the Island took a liking to Tony and couldn´t stop chasing after him and trying to hold his hand.
Our time in Peru is now over. The next blog will be Bolivia!!!! Oh and hi to Paul - See I told you I would give you a mention!
Saturday, 8 November 2008
San Francisco
As we couldn´t check into our hostel until 2pm we wondered around San Francisco with Lauren and Kara until the afternoon. In this time we managed to find Halloween outfits. Tony got the scream outfit and Emily brought a witches hat and nose. How imaginative!!! To get into the Halloween spirit when we finally checked into the hostel, we watched The Ring in the hostel theatre! After being knackered for ages Emily found that now she couldn´t sleep!!!!
The first day in San Fran was just a day of exploring and going around the town in a cable car but night time was something else - it was halloween. All the children piled into shops were shop keepers gave out free sweets. Emily was quite disappointed when they wouldn´t give her any!!!
The hostel organised a pub crawl and we bumped into Sis who we met in Seattle! Unfortunately Lauren and Kara couldn´t come out with us as they are only 19 which means they are underage by US standards. They went to crash some house party!! Instead we took our new room mates with us. Mez and Laura who were also English. The whole hostel headed out for drinks but it seemed like we were walking for ages and hadn´t gone into any pubs!!! Then they took us to the tube station. Therefore we decided with Mez and Laura that we would go elsewhere. We also managed to persuade Sis to come with us! We ended up in a Irish pub and it was amazing. People were dressed up as everything and anything. We had mermaids, tooth fairies, little red riding hood, Marilyn Monroe etc. We meet some guys on a stag do from Dublin and some America guys on a business course - random!! In all it was a brillaint night with our entertainment being two men on a piano who would play and sing whichever song you requested for a dollar. If anyone decided they didn´t like the song you could end it for two dollars.
The weather was awful the next day and we got soaked. We decided to go to Alcatraz but as we queued they had sold out!!! So we brought tickets for the next day. As Tony wanted to keep Emily happy he agreed to go to the Wax muesum. It was brilliant. Emily loved the wax of Eminem and the horror section. However the best one that both of us loved was the Steve Erwin Wax pissing off a crocodile while Sylvester Stallone was getting ready to fight it in the background.
Alcatraz was brillant. It was a sunny day so the boat ride across was great. We had a audio tour of the whole building and learn´t about the great escape and stood inside the cells where the guards had been kept as hostages. We also learnt about the escape of two brothers. They escaped by the Shawshank method - amazing. They have never been seen since.
We wondered around the Island and saw where the guards and their familes used to live as well as the prison warden.
Our last day in San Fran consisted of getting soaked again!! We checked out at 11am and our flight wasn´t until half past midnight!! All day - to get soaked without shelter! We took a bus with Kara and Lauren to Golden Gate Park and from there we made our way to the bridge.
We walked along the bridge looking across at the sights and back at the city. We were so glad we got to do it. It was on the way back that the rain started!! We ended up getting a bus back to the town and spending all day in the pub!! Much to Tony´s delight!!!
Peru here we come!!!!
The first day in San Fran was just a day of exploring and going around the town in a cable car but night time was something else - it was halloween. All the children piled into shops were shop keepers gave out free sweets. Emily was quite disappointed when they wouldn´t give her any!!!
The hostel organised a pub crawl and we bumped into Sis who we met in Seattle! Unfortunately Lauren and Kara couldn´t come out with us as they are only 19 which means they are underage by US standards. They went to crash some house party!! Instead we took our new room mates with us. Mez and Laura who were also English. The whole hostel headed out for drinks but it seemed like we were walking for ages and hadn´t gone into any pubs!!! Then they took us to the tube station. Therefore we decided with Mez and Laura that we would go elsewhere. We also managed to persuade Sis to come with us! We ended up in a Irish pub and it was amazing. People were dressed up as everything and anything. We had mermaids, tooth fairies, little red riding hood, Marilyn Monroe etc. We meet some guys on a stag do from Dublin and some America guys on a business course - random!! In all it was a brillaint night with our entertainment being two men on a piano who would play and sing whichever song you requested for a dollar. If anyone decided they didn´t like the song you could end it for two dollars.
The weather was awful the next day and we got soaked. We decided to go to Alcatraz but as we queued they had sold out!!! So we brought tickets for the next day. As Tony wanted to keep Emily happy he agreed to go to the Wax muesum. It was brilliant. Emily loved the wax of Eminem and the horror section. However the best one that both of us loved was the Steve Erwin Wax pissing off a crocodile while Sylvester Stallone was getting ready to fight it in the background.
Alcatraz was brillant. It was a sunny day so the boat ride across was great. We had a audio tour of the whole building and learn´t about the great escape and stood inside the cells where the guards had been kept as hostages. We also learnt about the escape of two brothers. They escaped by the Shawshank method - amazing. They have never been seen since.
We wondered around the Island and saw where the guards and their familes used to live as well as the prison warden.
Our last day in San Fran consisted of getting soaked again!! We checked out at 11am and our flight wasn´t until half past midnight!! All day - to get soaked without shelter! We took a bus with Kara and Lauren to Golden Gate Park and from there we made our way to the bridge.
We walked along the bridge looking across at the sights and back at the city. We were so glad we got to do it. It was on the way back that the rain started!! We ended up getting a bus back to the town and spending all day in the pub!! Much to Tony´s delight!!!
Peru here we come!!!!
Saturday, 1 November 2008
Seattle & Portland
We finally arrived in Seattle after a pleasant four hour coach journey from Vancouver. When going through customs in America we were asked loads of questions. Apparently our trip resembled a young guy's journey who had just gone through customs before us. Emily decided to go over and talk to him. It turned out he was staying in the same hostel as us with his friend. Therefore the four of us shared a taxi to the hostel.
As we got into Seattle at around 19:30 we went straight out for dinner where Tony got his prize steak. After dinner we met up with the two guys from the coach (Neil and Ross) and went down the pub. As Tony thought the beer tasted like syrup he stuck to Bud Light and he was particularly unimpressed about being asked for ID!!!!
Our first full day in Seattle was a bright sunny day and consisted of lots of walking around the city. We walked to the space needle but it was $20 dollars to go up and as we had already done the CN tower in Toronto we thought we would give it a miss. We ended up going to the Science Fiction Museum. This was more for Tony's benefit because Emily hates it. She also had to subject herself to learning about the history of Grunge music and the rise of Nirvana and Pearl Jam but Tony enjoyed it so that was the main thing. Plus Emily got to go to the Gold Rush museum which told the history of how people travelling through Seattle during the Gold Rush.
That afternoon we met up with Neil and Ross so we could get down the pub for happy hour!! This was where they do snacks for $3 each so we could order three snacks each instead of paying out for dinner (or having to cook it ourselves!!). After we had eaten Tony went to buy beer and we headed back to the hostel. One of the guys in the hostel had made Sangria which was really strong. He was giving it out to everyone so of course Tony took full advantage!!! It was once Tony had necked the majority of the Sangria that he met Tim who was also heading to Portland next. However Tony didn't remember him the next day!!!!
We met up with Neil and Ross for breakfast this morning and went to the greyhound bus station together. However we were not going to the same places. Neil and Ross were going back to Vancouver as they are both PT teachers and crazy about sport. They didn't want to miss the skiing season. Tony and Emily were off to Portland. However the sodding bus was an hour and 45 minutes late!!!!
When we arrived in Portland we saw Tim again. After a slightly embarrassing moment where Tony openly admitted that he didn't remember talking to him in Seattle we invited him out to dinner with us. Tim went straight back to the hostel after dinner whereas we wanted to head to a typical American bar so we ended up in Tony's Tavern!!!
Portland is an amazing city. One of the best places we have visited so far. I can imagine it would be a perfect place to live. The people are friendly and the city is beautiful. We went down to the market on our first day and walked along the riverbank learning about the history of Portland. We walked into China town and visited a Chinese garden which was smaller than expected. After dinner that evening we sat up and chatted to Tim and our room mate Deano. Deano is a fascinating man. He is in his forties and he used to live in Portland before deciding to move to Israel as he is Jewish. He is staying in the hostel as he has decided to move back to Portland and is currently looking for a job and an apartment. He is such a funny guy he talks forever!!! even more than Emily. He was forever making jokes that Tony was obviously responsible for Emily's black eye and that Tony must be a wife beater!
It was another bright sunny day in Portland so we went to Washington park to explore the rose gardens. It was beautiful particularly the yellow roses which smelt really fresh. We moved onto the Japanese Garden after and got there in time for a free tour. The tour described the characteristics of a Japanese garden which consisted of rock,water and plant. It was about the contrasts between man made and natural, colour and what is hidden and what is revealed. It was a brilliant tour. After this we then walked about two miles to the zoo only to find out that it had closed for the day!!! After admitting defeat we went to the supermarket to buy dinner. We found out that we couldn't buy our Malaria tablets without prescription when you can get them over the counter anywhere else in the world. Plus they want $50 dollars each just to see a doctor to write the prescription. Therefore we are going to try in South America.
After dinner we met Jenny who is another room mate. We sat with her and Deano again and then had the privilege to met Jonathon who has just come back from living in Australia. He is in his forties and in the same position as Deano - looking to move to Portland. Jonathan is also full of stories and he is such a nice person. When we left Portland he told us that we could come back and stay with him at any time. He said that we were two special people and he is fussy when it comes to people!!!
Guess what - another sunny day in Portland!!! We went to the Zoo which had pretty much every single animal in there apart from lions and tigers!! It was massive, we especially liked the penguins. We were there for 4 hours!!! We also managed to squeeze in enough time to visit the Vietnam memorial garden.
We spent our last night with our usual crowd plus Megan and another American guy whose name I can't remember. Megan is a make up artist from LA. The drinking got started and Megan made Tony's day by bringing out a gallon of Sangria!!!! As it was our last night we made the most of it and got told off by the lady that works in the hostel 5 times. We are not allowed to drink after 10pm but telling Tony not to drink is like telling him not to breath so he hid the alcohol under the table. She knew full well what he was up too!
Obviously Tony woke up with a sore head the next day and we had a long journey ahead of us. San Francisco!!!! We were getting a train that would take 18 hours!!!! Tim was also getting the same train so we had some dinner and went to get the train together. Emily got talking to two girls from Essex in the queue for the train and they were making the same journey and staying at the same hostel as us. Unfortunately Tim wasn't staying at our hostel.
The train journey was awful after boarding at 14:30 we arrived in San Francisco at 8:30am the next day!! We had no sleep and we were wreaked. Too make things worse we got to our hostel at 09:00 and they said we couldn't check in until 2pm!!! Therefore we went to look for Halloween outfits with Lauren and Kara (the girls from Essex).
As we got into Seattle at around 19:30 we went straight out for dinner where Tony got his prize steak. After dinner we met up with the two guys from the coach (Neil and Ross) and went down the pub. As Tony thought the beer tasted like syrup he stuck to Bud Light and he was particularly unimpressed about being asked for ID!!!!
Our first full day in Seattle was a bright sunny day and consisted of lots of walking around the city. We walked to the space needle but it was $20 dollars to go up and as we had already done the CN tower in Toronto we thought we would give it a miss. We ended up going to the Science Fiction Museum. This was more for Tony's benefit because Emily hates it. She also had to subject herself to learning about the history of Grunge music and the rise of Nirvana and Pearl Jam but Tony enjoyed it so that was the main thing. Plus Emily got to go to the Gold Rush museum which told the history of how people travelling through Seattle during the Gold Rush.
That afternoon we met up with Neil and Ross so we could get down the pub for happy hour!! This was where they do snacks for $3 each so we could order three snacks each instead of paying out for dinner (or having to cook it ourselves!!). After we had eaten Tony went to buy beer and we headed back to the hostel. One of the guys in the hostel had made Sangria which was really strong. He was giving it out to everyone so of course Tony took full advantage!!! It was once Tony had necked the majority of the Sangria that he met Tim who was also heading to Portland next. However Tony didn't remember him the next day!!!!
We met up with Neil and Ross for breakfast this morning and went to the greyhound bus station together. However we were not going to the same places. Neil and Ross were going back to Vancouver as they are both PT teachers and crazy about sport. They didn't want to miss the skiing season. Tony and Emily were off to Portland. However the sodding bus was an hour and 45 minutes late!!!!
When we arrived in Portland we saw Tim again. After a slightly embarrassing moment where Tony openly admitted that he didn't remember talking to him in Seattle we invited him out to dinner with us. Tim went straight back to the hostel after dinner whereas we wanted to head to a typical American bar so we ended up in Tony's Tavern!!!
Portland is an amazing city. One of the best places we have visited so far. I can imagine it would be a perfect place to live. The people are friendly and the city is beautiful. We went down to the market on our first day and walked along the riverbank learning about the history of Portland. We walked into China town and visited a Chinese garden which was smaller than expected. After dinner that evening we sat up and chatted to Tim and our room mate Deano. Deano is a fascinating man. He is in his forties and he used to live in Portland before deciding to move to Israel as he is Jewish. He is staying in the hostel as he has decided to move back to Portland and is currently looking for a job and an apartment. He is such a funny guy he talks forever!!! even more than Emily. He was forever making jokes that Tony was obviously responsible for Emily's black eye and that Tony must be a wife beater!
It was another bright sunny day in Portland so we went to Washington park to explore the rose gardens. It was beautiful particularly the yellow roses which smelt really fresh. We moved onto the Japanese Garden after and got there in time for a free tour. The tour described the characteristics of a Japanese garden which consisted of rock,water and plant. It was about the contrasts between man made and natural, colour and what is hidden and what is revealed. It was a brilliant tour. After this we then walked about two miles to the zoo only to find out that it had closed for the day!!! After admitting defeat we went to the supermarket to buy dinner. We found out that we couldn't buy our Malaria tablets without prescription when you can get them over the counter anywhere else in the world. Plus they want $50 dollars each just to see a doctor to write the prescription. Therefore we are going to try in South America.
After dinner we met Jenny who is another room mate. We sat with her and Deano again and then had the privilege to met Jonathon who has just come back from living in Australia. He is in his forties and in the same position as Deano - looking to move to Portland. Jonathan is also full of stories and he is such a nice person. When we left Portland he told us that we could come back and stay with him at any time. He said that we were two special people and he is fussy when it comes to people!!!
Guess what - another sunny day in Portland!!! We went to the Zoo which had pretty much every single animal in there apart from lions and tigers!! It was massive, we especially liked the penguins. We were there for 4 hours!!! We also managed to squeeze in enough time to visit the Vietnam memorial garden.
We spent our last night with our usual crowd plus Megan and another American guy whose name I can't remember. Megan is a make up artist from LA. The drinking got started and Megan made Tony's day by bringing out a gallon of Sangria!!!! As it was our last night we made the most of it and got told off by the lady that works in the hostel 5 times. We are not allowed to drink after 10pm but telling Tony not to drink is like telling him not to breath so he hid the alcohol under the table. She knew full well what he was up too!
Obviously Tony woke up with a sore head the next day and we had a long journey ahead of us. San Francisco!!!! We were getting a train that would take 18 hours!!!! Tim was also getting the same train so we had some dinner and went to get the train together. Emily got talking to two girls from Essex in the queue for the train and they were making the same journey and staying at the same hostel as us. Unfortunately Tim wasn't staying at our hostel.
The train journey was awful after boarding at 14:30 we arrived in San Francisco at 8:30am the next day!! We had no sleep and we were wreaked. Too make things worse we got to our hostel at 09:00 and they said we couldn't check in until 2pm!!! Therefore we went to look for Halloween outfits with Lauren and Kara (the girls from Essex).
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