Trashy Tales By Tom

Mendoza

tom_lynar — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 18:02:00 GMT

When I finally booked my ticket to leave B.A I decided to go to Mendoza which is the wine country of Argentina. It is a great little city with a young population due to the unis there and it has lots of parks and beautiful sourrounds. I meet an Aussie guy at my hostel and 4 people from Denmark. We all went out to dinner and started to have some fun. Some people went whitewater rafting the next day but I was feeling sick so I didn't go. That night we all meet for dinner and the Danish people invited everyone from rafting so we had a group of about 20 backpackers around one table which was great fun. We decided to go the next day and cycle around the wineries. When we got there we hired bikes and cruised the lovely flat terrain going from tasting to tasting. There were about 10 wineries that we went to and a distilery. It was a lovley day, the sun was shining and we were getting exercise (which was the first time for me since the Inca trail!). When we finished we went to a nice wine bar in the city for a sparkling wine tastig.

The wine bar was owned by an American businessman whos hireing policy was that the staff had to speak english and be really good looking females (I dont think there is an anti discrimination policy in Argentina). It was really strange speaking to so many Argentinian people who could speak english! We had a good time and when we were leaving one of the girls asked us if we wanted to meet them for drinks later. We obviously said yes and got the details before heading out for dinner. When we got to the club they told us to go to we somehow managed to get into the VIP area and sat down with our drinks. I was looking around and noticed that they were serving free drinks to everyone... so we got stuck in. After we were sitting there for about 20 minutes feeling very out of place one of the girls from the wine bar came up and said she was glad we made it. We then realised that we had just conned our way into their staff party. oops. They were fine with it and the boss even came over to have a chat with us. It ended being one of the best nights that I have had in S.A because there were free drinks all night, proper intelligent conversation with good looking girls (not just me trying to understand spanish and not succeding) and the music and club were great! We made alot of friends who we went out with the next night to another great club.

So pretty much Mendoza has the best wine in Argentina combined with a great night life which means it is deffinently one of the best places in Argentina to go.

Buenos Aires

tom_lynar — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 23:29:00 GMT

I was forced to make a change in my trip to Buenos Aires (B.A) because I needed to go to the British Airways office to change my ticket so I could stay longer in South America. After a 20 hour bus trip I made it. The bus ride wasn't that bad because I took a "carma" seat which is like the next step up from the standard seat. Carma only has 3 seats per row on the bus so the seats are bigger and they recline further. They also serve food and wine. B.A is an amzing city and I feel in love with it straight away. I wanted to stay in a couple of hostels that I had heard were good but they were all full so instead I just wondered around with my friend Steve looking for a good hostel. I got very lucky and got a room in a hostel called the Urbano. It was on one of the two famous roads in the center of town so it was close to everything and it occupied the whole top floor of an old colonial building. The rooms were big and spacious but it was the people that made it like home. I ended getting stuck in B.A for a week longer then I wanted because it was so fun. The hostel was closing because the landlord had doubled the rent so it was party party party! There was a big rooftop terrace where everyone hung out and there was always someone there wanting me to drink with them or head out to go see the sites. I went to the cemetry where Eva Peron (Evita) is burried which is like a little city full of moussalems. It was great to walk around in but sad in some places where the tombs have fallen into disrepair. I saw one that looked like it had been firebombed. I also went to La Boca to watch a football game. Boca Jrs is the biggest team in Argentina and its fans are the wildest. They sing songs the whole game and get very roudy. We emptied our pockets of money and took all our jewlery off because we wanted to go into the fanatical section but when we got there tickets were sold out and the scalpers wanted 150 pesos which is so much money in Argentina. As the game started we were still trying to buy tickets at a good price and Boca scored 4 goals in the first 10 minutes so we could hear the croud going crazy. When the croud started singing the whole ground shook and it made us so jelous not to be involved. Another site I went and saw was the congresso building and its plaza. The building is based on capitol hill in the states and is very impressive but a bit boring to go on a tour through. There was a building opposite our hostel that was bassed on some of Dante's books so we took a tour through there which was beautiful but the guide was very boring. When we got to the top the view was spectacular because it is one of the tallest buildings in B.A. Just down the road from my hostel is the widest intersection in the world. The road is called Avenue 9 Julio and it has an amazing 14 lanes. The road is so big that it is hard to cross in one set of traffic lights and because of this it has road islands that make it even wider. It was fun when we went out to try to cross it both ways in one go but we realised that even sprinting you cant make it so eventually we gave up. After two weeks of non stop partying and site seeing I decided to book a bus to Mendoza and the wine country.

The Iguazu Falls (Argentina)

tom_lynar — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 20:15:00 GMT

The Argentinian side of the Iguazu Falls is by far the best. It has 3 different walks to go on plus some other things to do such as boat rides into the falls. When you enter you get on a train that takes you to the park proper. We decided to stay on the train to go to the big lookout above the Garganta del Diablo (devils throat). When we got off the train we walked along the walkways that go above two of the rivers feeding into the falls. They are very impressive because they go for about 1km over water and end right on the edge of the devils throat so you can look over the edge. The sound and amount of water going under your feet is amazing and cannot be described. After all the photos were taken we headed back to check out the other walks. One goes down and under most of the other falls and the other goes over and along the cliff edge. They are each about 2km long through rainforest. There is lots of wildlife to look at and of course there are the falls. We were hoping to see tucans in the wild but didn't. The only flying things we saw were thousands of butterflys of all shapes, colours and sizes. It is amazing how butterflys affect people, everyone gets a huge smile on their face when one lands on them. They have these funny little tongues that really tickle when they lick you. On the bottom trail there is the boat ride which I took because they drive the boat under the second most powerful fall in the park. They start by driving up to the devils throat but have to keep their distance because it is so powerful. Then they took us down the river and under a little fall. The next stop was the big one and the driver floors the boat straight into the fall and the force of the water is so strong that the boat gets flung back about 10 meters. We loved it so much that we begged to go again so he lined us up and under we went again. It was so good and we got so wet but that didn't matter because it was so hot that I was dry in about 15 minutes. That is about all there is to it. The pictures speak better than I can so they can do the rest for me.

Paraguay (Ciudad Del Este)

tom_lynar — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 19:53:00 GMT

While in Florianopolis I was talking to people about the Iguazu falls and alot of people told me to go into Paraguay and see the city Ciudad del Este. It is ment to be one of the most corupt citys in South America and when you see it you can tell why. Paraguay has no tax on electronic goods, alcohol and cigarettes so alot of people from Brazil and Argentina go there to buy cheap goods. The border crossing is the most relaxed I have ever seen. I went there with an American and an other Australian who owned a brittish passport. We heard that Australians and Americans have to pay US$50 for a visa but everyone told us that you just walk in. When we got there there was a little imergration office on the side but everyone was just walking through so we did too. Inside it ws just mayhem. There are so so so many people walking across the border with suspicious black packages (there is alot of money laundering and smuggling). The city itself is just one big market. The main street is filled with street stands selling every thing from underwear to guns. The shops in buildings sell grog and electrical goods at very cheap prices. It was a fun day and we made sure we left before it started getting dark because it is ment to be pretty dangerous when the sun goes down. You will have to look at the photos to get an idea of what the markets were like so I´ll let them tell the rest of the story. After getting back we got on the bus to head into argentina and see the other side of the Falls. The boarder crossing into argentina was extremly strict compared to Paraguay. So in one day I went into 3 countrys which you don´t do every day.

The Iguazu Falls (Brazilian side)

tom_lynar — Sat, 24 Mar 2007 20:05:00 GMT

The Iguazu falls are one of the most impressive in the world. They consist of about 200 separate water falls spread out over about 1km. I got off the bus and found a hotel to stay in and got ready for the falls. When you go to Iguazu you can look at them from both the Brazilian and Argentian side. The Brazialian side is quite small compared to the Argentinian side so I was glad that I did it first. When I got there I paid and got on a bus which takes you to the falls. When I got off I started a walk that you can do which is about a kilometer long. When I first saw the falls I didn´t think it was that impressive but as I kept walking more and more came into view and eventually I was awestruck at the size and power of the falls. The biggest one is called Garganta del Diablo (the devils throat) and it is huge!!! At the end of the walk you can walk out over one of the falls so your looking straight at the devils throat and getting sprayed by water. It is impossible to describe the falls so I´ll let the photos do the explaning. The brazilian side of the falls took about 2 hours to do so we got back and started planning our trip into Paraguy and the most corupt city in South America.

Florianopolis

tom_lynar — Sat, 24 Mar 2007 19:47:00 GMT

After carnival I decided to leave Rio and head to florianopolis for some detox and relaxation on the beach. Florianopolis is an island just off the south coast of Brazil which is beautiful and filled with surf beaches. After the 18 hour bus ride I started to try to find somewhere to stay when I met a guy (Steve) who lives in Manly Vale. He had a hostel organised so I headed off with him. We went right down to the southern end of the island which is the least populated area to a nice hostel which had steps going down to the beach. I spent the whole week swimming, sun bathing and hanging out with Steve, a Sweedish couple and a crazy Welsh guy. It was just what the doctor ordered and by the end of the week I was feeling refreshed and ready to take on the Iguazu Falls which are on the border of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguy. It was a shame to leave because it is the kind of place I would love to live if I had enough money. So after the week was over I jumped on a bus for the 14 hour drive to the falls.

Carnival

tom_lynar — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 21:40:00 GMT

After I finished my tour I said my goodbyes which were sad and headed to the airport to fly to Rio for carnival. The flight was terrible because I had to wait 7 and a half hours in Santiago, Chile before getting my connecting flight. I stayed at a hostel called Walk on the Beach in Rio and the atmosphere was great. As soon as I arrived I was told that I had to come out to a bar which I thought would be fairly quite but I should have realised that nothing is quite during carnival! Out of 6 nights i got to bed before 6:30am once so I´m exausted! There were lots of blocos (street partys) going on at all hours of the day which were really fun, they usualy have an organised start time then people start playing drums and singing. There are usually a couple of hundred people at minimum and a few thousand at maximum and they all parade through the streets causing havoc with the traffic till they stop in a square or at the beach and the party just keeps going till most people have had enough. I went and watched a soccer match on wednesday in the stadium which is the biggest in the world and seats 110 000 people which was great fun. It was a grudge match between two traditional rivals so the energy was amazing. On thursday I went and saw christ the redemer (the huge statue of jesus on the hill) which was impressive but maybe a bit boring cause it is ages away and there is nothing else to do there. I went to the samba drome on sunday to watch the main parade of carnival where the different samba schools get an hour and a bit to dance and parade with a float like in mardi gras. It was very impressive and the costumes were amazing! It is hard to describe it all so i´ll wack up some photos when i get to a better internet conection. I´m about to catch a bus down to Florianopolis which is 18 hours south of Rio to chill out for a week or so on the beach. One of the guys from my hostel lives down there and it sounds great.

The Beach and Desert

tom_lynar — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 21:08:00 GMT

After leaving Ariquipa we headed of the the little beach called porta inca which was the main port during inca times. We camped on the beach which was fun and made a huge fire and a huge bucket of punch and had a great beach party. The next day we headed of to Nazca to see the amazing lines in the desert and the 200 - 300 year old mummies (check out the photos they are freaky!) No one knows who made the nazca lines or what they were used for but they are huge pictures made into the desert floor that can only be seen from a plane. We went up in these little 6 seat planes which were very rough due to the hot thermal winds coming from the desert. It was a real rush when the pilot thought he would impress the ladys by doing some dives and tight corners. (I dont think the girls were impressed) luckly no one was sick but we all felt a bit funny in the tummy afterwards. The next day we left Nazca to go to Huacachina which is an oasis in the desert that has been expanded to form a big lake which is quite surreal to look at. From here we jumped into some dune buggys and headed out for a day of sandboarding and dune buggying. This was some of the best fun so far on the trip. We would take the buggys up to the top of these huge sand dunes which were probabaly 200-300 meters high then jump on sand boards and go flying down them so fast that your eyes watered. You could not help screaming which meant that you coped a mouthfull of sand if you went over a jump or lump in the sand. We did this until the sun started to go down then we did one last sand board into our camp for the night. The people who do the dune buggy tours then made us pisco sours (the worst and most alcoholic drink in the world) and a bbq then we all went to sleep under the stars. It was a great feeling looking up at all the stars without any light polution to ruin them. The next day we started our final leg of the tour towards Lima.

The Crash

tom_lynar — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 17:39:00 GMT

Warning this story contains me in some perilous situations!

Well, on our way from Cusco to Chivay i was extremely tired and was sleeping on the bus. We were at an altitude of around 4000m and it started snowing, I found all this out later but all i remember is waking up mid air as the bus we were in was going sideways over the gutter then skidding back to end up smashing into a cliff. It was a scary experience but we were lucky we had a good driver cause no one got hurt. We all piled out of the bus to look at our situation (which wasent good). We were in the middle of nowhere about 8 hours from cusco and 3 and a bit hours from chivay which is a small town with a completly writen off bus... and it was raining and there was lightning crashing around us. We all pitched in though and got a tent up for us all and a gas stove with coffe on the boil. Our tour leader went to a nearby town to get help and we all just sat around to see what was going to happen. When Liz got back she told us all that another bus was on its way to pick us up but it would be a good 4 hours till it got to us. Just after the crash, like little angels, a whole road work crew complete with hard hats piled out of the coach behind us and proceded to try to whinch the bus onto the side of the road. We got the bus hooked up to a big truck that was behind the other coach and towed the bus to saftey (the bus was sitting on the wrong side of the road on a blind corner) Once that was all sorted we started to play cards in the tent while outside it started to snow. it was lucky that we were on the cheap tour and were going to be going camping so we had all the camping gear. If we were to have only stayed in hotels we would have been in the snow with no cover or hot drinks. When we were all comfortable we got out some rum and had a few drinks to settle the nerves and dug in for the wait. We had to cancel our trip to chivay and we headed to Ariquipa instead. When we got there we were offered a free day trip the the colca canyon (which is right next to Chivay and the reason we were going there) which was good but it was a 12 hour round trip with only 2 hours looking at the canyon and spotting condors. The whole thing worked out fine but it was still an interesting experience that i had to share with everyone.

The next blog will be our time at the beach and the desert when i can be bothered to do more typing. Photos of the crash will be posted soon.

Speak to you all soon

Inca Trail

tom_lynar — Mon, 5 Feb 2007 22:10:00 GMT

OK Just finished the Inca trail which is a 4 day hike ending in Machu Piccu the lost city of the incas. It was a great hike except for the fact that 9 out of 12 of us got violently ill and were spewing and pooing whilst walking. It starts just outside of Cusco at about 2700m above sea level. The first day was a nice walk for about 4 hours through a valley with a breif climb near the end. We then camped and went to bed early because the next day is the hardest. Day 2 consists of 3 and a half hours of slogging up hill from 2700m above sea level (masl) to a pass in the mountains at 4200masl! which was realy hard going followed by an hour down hill to camp. I made it to the top very well but as i started going down i started spewing my guts up. Instead of an hour walk to camp it took me 2. Everyone was nice to me but i could tell they all thought i was weak till they all started getting sick over the next 3 hours. Luckly I was the first to get sick cause i recovered the quickest and could walk fine the next day unlike everyone else. The next day was the longest but not that hard. It was 4 hours before lunch followed by 2 hours after lunch. When we finished we all (those of us who could) went for beers at a little bar they have set up in the campsite followed by an early bed cause we had to wake up at 4am to do the last hours hike in to machu piccu to watch the sun come up. Day 4 arrived and it was raining which sucked! We slogged out the last hour to the Sun Gate where your ment to see machu in the distance but it was so foggy and wet thet we couldn´t see a thing. We went straight to the coffee shop to warm up and wait for the rain to stop which it eventuly did but the fog was still hanging around. Our guide then gave us a 2 hour tour of the city and by the end the fog had cleared and i managed to get some good photos. It was then off to the hot springs in the town down the hill for a soak then onto the train for the trip back to cusco.

When we got back to cusco most of us took the machu piccu 24 hour challange where we had to stay out till 4am cause we woke up at 4am (obviously). We had a huge night and i managed the machu piccu 41 hour challange and didn´t go to bed till 9pm the next night. Cusco deffenently knows how to party.

Well thats all ive got at the moment so ill try to put some photos up now and ill write more soon.

Love to all