Where one journey ends another begins!

Brasil

katieburns — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 11:50:00 GMT

Iguazu on the Brazil side is equally as spectacular and gives you an overeall view of the entire waterfalls. A trip highlight for me!

We decided to hit the beach and head straight to Florianapolis. We spent one week a few party nights, beach days and a lot of chilling out. For me though, one week of chilling out is enough I needed to move on. So I left my buddies Alanna and Meg and hit Paraty a gorgeous colonial town on the coast 4 hours south of Rio.

We wandered around the town ate great food and every night there was something happening on stage in the main square. Reggae, rock, Samba and plenty of dancing and drinking in the streets it had a great vibe about it and I loved every minute. After 5 nights, one amazing boat cruise later, a slide down a natural rock waterslide and a delcious lunch on the beach of Trindade (surrounded by lush green mountains) it was time for RIO!

We hit Rio with a bang! A night out in Lapa (club and bar district), a silent disco, some Ipanema beach time and hang gliding with the most amazing scenery, white sandy beaches, rain forest, mountains - Rio was looking the goods. An incedible scenic city from above.

Alanna arrived and there was certainly plenty more to see. We went to a football match which was really fantastic even if the crowd was not at its full capacity. The costumes and drums and singing was awesome.

We took a tour of the biggest favela Rocinha which was an eye opener to how some people live and the good and bad things that go on there. Too much to write about but walking past 20 something year olds with guns, hand grenades and not feeling threatened what so ever was an interesting experience.

A stroll through the botanical gardens and streets of LeBlon and Ipanema make for a pleasant and lazy day. Copacobana is the more touristy but at dusk with a coney pizza (perhaps one of the greatest novelty foods I have ever come across - yes its pizza in a cone and the cone is a pizza base - first discovered in Florianapolis), corn on a cob, or a Coconut is a pefect way to end the day!

We took a city tour to check out some more areas of the city including the giant Cristo Statue, incredibly large which also gave an amazing view of Rio. Ate in some more lovely restaurants and celebrated Australia day on the beach with a good crew.

My last night was checking out the Sambadromo where the carnival parade takes place. 4 Samba schools were rehearsing and the stands were packed and the atmosphere was mad and wonderful and I can only imagine how fantastic the real thing will be.

My time in Brazil was amazing and I would love to return one day so much more to see.

Argentina, vino y mas!

katieburns — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 04:08:00 GMT

Our first city from the border was Salta. We stayed a couple of nights here where we wandered the streets, checked out the plazas and it was all very european. Italian being a very popular choice and well of course meat! Argentina was certainly like entering a different world coming from Bolivia so there is always a good vibe among the travellers.

We really experienced the nightlife in Salta and paid for it the next day with extreme tiredness. However, it was absolutely necessary to start getting into the way of life here. Eating dinner at 11pm, start dancing at 2am and finish around 8am! We just have to work out fitting in an afternoon siesta next time!

After a very luxurious bus ride where the night cap was a glass of champaign we knew we weren´t in Kansas anymore! Although somewhat more expensive than Peru or Bolivia the buses in this country are amazing!

Mendoza was the next destination and the one I have been looking forward to most! The wine played a role in that but Mendoza is a city with so much more. Fell inlove with it almost instantly and was very happy that we managed to stay just over one week.

We sampled many delicous dishes in many fine restaurants, wandered the streets, shopped in the boutiques and it is virtually impossible not to aquire a love for Malbec! Even managed to get the running gear on a few times!

We spent one day riding on old school bikes through the Mapiu wine region of Mendoza. Took a long lazy delicious lunch in a gorgeous garden setting. Finished with a formal tour of the Trapiche winery (may have seen it on the shelves at Dans) for more sampling before making our way back.

We took another day to go the an aqua park which was something very different than the old Wet and Wild. Set in the foot of the rugged mountains the locals come in masses to cook a BBQ lunch (the quantity of meat on the BBQ itself, I had never seen anything quite like it) and get wet in the various rocky pools. It is summer now so the days have been full of sun and blue skies, maybe another reason why it has been hard to leave. All in all Mendoza 12/10 everyone needs to go!

Next was Buenos Aires! Amazing city, very European but something very special about it if you have the time. We were very lucky as it turns out we had time and spent 2 weeks in total. One week in the Bohemian district of San Telmo, and one in Palermo the very stylish district.

Christmas - with a very generous and kind family in a Boutique hotel was unforgetable and very special.

New years - Lovely dinner with great friends then clubbing - very long night.

New years day - learning about the Dakar Rally in the Red Bull marquee, a lovely unexpected surprise!

Tango Show - A fantastic night out

Shopping - Brilliant but time spent can get away from you!

Retiro cemetary/Aristocratic bike tour - Awesome and educational

La Boca - Completely different from other districts. Much tango and another dance I cant remember the name of. Also amazing colourful buildings and murals (not good to wander too far from the main tourist attractions though).

Can spend many days wandering the streets of Buenos Aires just taking it all in!

Iguazu falls Argentina- amazing, amazing, spectacular, boat ride under the falls itself was just 100% pure fun!

Not so good this time around my blog but it gives you an idea of where I have been and what I am up to. Argentina is one of my top 5 favourite countries visited in my life thus far!

Bolivia un pais de muchas cosas

katieburns — Fri, 4 Dec 2009 09:12:00 GMT

After 2 nights in Buenos Aires, one being at ´La Bomba´ (an awesome spectacle of drumming and large beers) I flew to La Paz to continue where I had left off. This time I met my two friends Alanna and Meg. After 2 nights in a party hostel, nanna Katie was ready for some relaxing time in Las Pampas but not before the downhill bike ride along the death road, which was rather easy when you ride like a nanna.

Las Pampas was amazing, I have never cruised down a river both during the day and night with so many animals, caymen and aligators where everywhere, Capybaras(largest rodent in the world, kind of looks like a wombat with longer legs). Toucans and many other birds but unfortunately no anaconda. We stayed at an Eco lodge which was pretty basic but a step up from camping, loved it all. The entire 3 days were so peaceful and we finished off with some piranha fishing. I caught a very small one but it jumped straight back into the water so I can´t really count it, but I will. One reason I chose to hit the jungle was the chance of seeing pink dolphins. We had a wonderful afternoon in the boat watching the dolphins come up and out of the water, never long enough for a good photo mind you, but it was certainly a highlight for me.

After La Paz it was off to Sucre where we could find some nice restuarants and chill out while elections were happening. Coming straight from La Paz it felt so different form the Bolivia I knew thus far. The main plaza had a slight european influence(mas o menos). Unfortunately, I was not well so I missed out on a few activities. All in all it was a great city to eat a variety of foods and we certainly welcomed the large supermarket with many items much missed!

After Sucre we headed to Uyuni to check out the salt flats which were rather incredible. We just took a one day tour but got a real feel for the sheer expanse of them. The best challenge was taking the photos, with no depth perception (I think thats it?) we came up with some great prop photos! Uyuni itself felt in the middle of nowehere but one night was all we were after as Tupiza was next on the list.

Just like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid we rode horses through the canyons and dessert of Tupiza. It was spectacular and probably a highlight of mine in Bolivia (thanks for the tip Farah!). I did say I would never get on a horse again mum but it was well worth it and my horse was happy to be the leader, so that suited me fine!

From Tupiza we took an uneasy bus ride to cross the border into Argentina. I enjoyed all that I did in Bolivia it is a country with such diverse landscape etc... It has a lot to offer but it is the tougher of all Sth American countries (that I have been to) to travel through so Argentina here I come!

Gallery: Cusco

katieburns — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 14:35:00 GMT

Gallery: Andes of Ecuador

katieburns — Sat, 4 Jul 2009 08:23:00 GMT

Gallery: santa teresa

katieburns — Fri, 29 May 2009 05:36:00 GMT

Gallery: The arrivada!

katieburns — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 05:38:00 GMT

Gallery: Ostional

katieburns — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 12:52:00 GMT

Turtle Conservation

Gallery: San Jose

katieburns — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 10:50:00 GMT

The city