Andy & Shannon's Trip of a Lifetime

Gallery: Torquay

shannon-andy — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 05:38:00 GMT

Fun in the sun!

Campers Spain/Portugal

shannon-andy — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 04:16:00 GMT

We arrived in Madrid and it was so Hot- 40degrees. We had a bit of jet lag so slept most of our first day and then went for a walk around town and organised to hire a campervan for a month. We picked up the campervan the next day and then drove straight to the coast (San Sebastian) which was about 5 hours.

Andy had to learn pretty quickly how to drive on the other side of the road and I had to learn how to navagate with Spanish road signs. We found an unreal camp site close to town and settled in for the night. We had a few drinks and then went to the pub in the camping ground. Met some great ozzies and Americans and invited them back to the van after the pub shut. Andy made his special Caprinas for everyone and then it got a bit messy. To make a long story short we ended up getting kicked out of the camping ground (along with the rest of people that were with us that night) and had 2 new American room mates for our camper.

After San Sebastian we went to Pamplona where the running of the bulls is held. We drove into the opening ceremony stone sober with the rest of the town off there head. Smashing bottles, pouring sangria over everyone, throwing flour and water of the balconies. We then went to a camping ground along with another 500 ozzies (from London). Everyone was smashed and it was a constant party 24/7 for the 3 days we were there.

Next stop was my great aunts house in Mungia (near Mundaka- famous surf spot). We met part of my family for the first time and they were so hospitable..lots of info on Spain and delicious meals. It was great to talk to them as they had great knowledge of Spain and its traditions.

We then continued to drive along the top of the coast of Spain stopping at beach carparks for the night and Andy got some great surfing in.

We went to the most western point of Spain and drove down the coast of Portugal. The tolls in Portugal were so expensive, we paid $60 for one that only went for 2 hours...im never complaining about the Harbour Bridge toll again.

There were heaps of beautiful beaches everywhere we went, even when we got lost we were discovering little beaches off dirt roads where we would camp up for the night.

We continued down the coast of Portugal and then back into Spain, the bottom of Spain had a very Morrocan/African feel as you can get a 40min ferry ride there.

When we got to the Mediterranian part of Spain there was no more surfing for andy. But there were some lovely beaches with really warm water.

We saw a bull fighting show in Valencia which was quite brutal. It would be great to see the bulls get there own back. I couldnt believe that they had butchers there waiting for the bulls to be carved up all within 5min of them being killed. They even had the truck with the coolroom outside the ring.

We also visited the Americas cup area but unfortunately we were 6 weeks too late.

We went to Barcelona which we loved, it is such a beautiful city. With lots of unique architecture and lots of history.

We then had to take the van back to madrid - which was quite sad after an awesome month. We then decided that we would buy one when we got to London so we can do the rest of Europe.

Gallery: London

shannon-andy — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 04:00:00 GMT

"you right"

Gallery: Campervan in Portugal

shannon-andy — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 20:16:00 GMT

Campers

Gallery: Campervan holiday Spain

shannon-andy — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 18:52:00 GMT

Campers

Gallery: Cornwell

shannon-andy — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 18:45:00 GMT

Newquey

Gallery: Brazil

shannon-andy — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 05:43:00 GMT

Gallery: Beunos Aires

shannon-andy — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 05:32:00 GMT

Gallery: Iguazu Falls

shannon-andy — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 05:20:00 GMT

Gallery: Uruguay

shannon-andy — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 05:04:00 GMT

Amazon

shannon-andy — Mon, 28 May 2007 06:54:00 GMT

The Amazon was really relaxing and HOT! We saw heaps of different animals like, iguanas, sloths, anacondas, snakes, pink dolphins, heaps of birds and caught and ate paranas and cat fish. We stayed in a jungle lodge and did treks through the jungle and got to meet alot of native people and see how they live.

It was a 3 hour boat ride down stream from Iquitos to where we stayed. There was lots of debris in the water like trees and logs. You have to really careful being in a small boat so that you dont hit anything. The reason that there is so much debris is that the banks are made of soft mud and are constantly being undermind so big sections of the river bank are constantly falling into the river so it is becoming wider and wider. The river runs at a constant 4-5 knots all the way through Bolivia and Brazil where it meets the Atlantic ocean.

We went paddling upstream in a typical cannoe which was really hard, you couldnt stop paddling otherwise you would go backwards.

We visited a local distillary that makes jungle rum out of sugar cane and visited the Jungle pub where we had taste testings and bought a bottle.

Our lodge had no electricity so early nights for us.

There were heaps of mosquitos so hopefully our malleria tablets worked, the guide we had said that he had malleria 13 times and didnt seemed to fased about it.

Machu Pichu

shannon-andy — Mon, 28 May 2007 06:47:00 GMT

We arrived at Machu Pichu for the sunrise but it was quite cloudy but the view was still breathtaking. The clouds come and go pretty quickly. We had a 2 hour tour with an excellent guide that explained the history behind Machu Pichu and then we were free for the rest of the day to do what we wanted.

We decided to climb Wanapichu which was a very steep climb for an hour but it was well worth the view from the top.

We then did another trek for a couple of hours which we saw Machu Pichu from another angle and got some great photos.

The place is so amazing, you could just stand there looking at it all day. The terraces were made to make the land more stable and to make more room for farming. God knows why they made their town so high, they say it was becuase it was safer to be above the ground and not down under the hills as there was many land slides and earthquakes.

We were so exhausted after the day and caught a train with a clear glass roof back to Cusco.

This was definiely one of the highlights of our trip so far.

Gallery: Amazon River

shannon-andy — Mon, 28 May 2007 05:15:00 GMT

Iquitos

Gallery: Machu Pichu

shannon-andy — Mon, 28 May 2007 01:50:00 GMT

Tour

First stop of tour

shannon-andy — Wed, 23 May 2007 11:58:00 GMT

We arrived at Puno which is the city centre near Lake Titicaca. It was a cute little town and the following morning we boarded a boat to tour the lake.

The lake is the highest in the world and is absolutely massive. The altitude was really noticable as we both found it hard to breath but the hotel provided coca leaves which were great to help with the altitude sickness. You can just put them in hot water, chew them on their own or you can even get biscuits made out of them.

The floating islands are amazing and it is quite hard to believe that hundreds of people live there. In own of the houses there was even a t.v as they had solar power.

We stopped at another island for lunch which reminded me of what Greece would look like..big hills and crystal clear water.

Starting our tour in Peru

shannon-andy — Wed, 23 May 2007 11:50:00 GMT

We arrived in Lima in Peru and the weather was warm. We drove past the surf but the water looked pretty dirty to swim in (we later found out that it was due to excavation for a new highway right on the coast).

We checking in to our hotel, very excited to be staying in a hotel (very spoilt with a king size bed). We met with our tour group who were very nice. They were mainly from Canada and the states. Our tour guide was from Columbia and it was her first time looking after a group on her own.

We went out to dinner with everyone (15 people including us) which helped to get to know each other.

Gallery: Lake Titicaca

shannon-andy — Sun, 20 May 2007 05:14:00 GMT

Tour group

The desert

shannon-andy — Sun, 13 May 2007 07:18:00 GMT

We decided to go to the desert as some backpackers were talking about their stories of the north of Chile and we saw some great photos.

We landed in Calama and then got a bus for 2 hours to San Pedro which is a little town filled with dirt roads, tourists, dogs and with with open air bars with fire pits and live traditional music.

We met Marie a girl on the bus on the way there who lives in the US. We ended up staying with us for 3 night she could also speak fluent spanish and was able to answer all our questions and explain things.

It was great to finally feel some sunshine and warmth but it was still very cold at night.

One morning we woke up to see the Geysiers at 4am and it was -10 (ive never been so cold). The geysiers are water streams flowing underneath which hits hot rock and rises to the surface causing steem.

The altitude at one point was 5000m above sea level and you can definitely notice the difference in the air. You only have to walk fast and you are out of breath.

We ended up doing an awesome observatory night tour and the guide new so much about astronomy, he was a crazy frenchman who had set up the business with his wife. Theyhad the perfect spot as the place in San Pedro is nearlythe clearest sky in the world for viewing the stars. We got to see Saturn, Mars, and other galaxies. He also explained all the constilations. We will now be looking at the sky at night very differently.

We also went to the salt flats in which a pink flamingo colony live. We watched the sunset there which was fantastic. The salt lake we saw was the only one that rises vertically and was more than 400m in depth.

Travelling with Em & Benny

shannon-andy — Sun, 13 May 2007 07:10:00 GMT

We met Em & Benny in Santiago and then travelled 6 hours on a bus to Mendoza, Argentina. The bus ride was a crazy as you wind up through the Andes.We had a great time and it was good to catch up on our travel stories so far. We had many big nights together and had one of Ems friends travelling with us who lives in Santiago, she can speak fluent Spanish so getting around was really easy.

Mendoza is a lovely place with wide streets and lots of restaurants and bars. You dont eat dinner until 10.30 at night and then go out after that which usually means that you dont get home till daylight.

We went horse riding one day through the mountains which was really lovely and saw some beautiful scenery and drunk Marta (traditional drink) which is like green tea but i think made with Cocoa leaves. Andy showed his talent on the horse and started galloping while i was too scared to canter.

Valpo

shannon-andy — Sun, 13 May 2007 07:01:00 GMT

Valparaiso is a sea side port about 1 1/2 hours bus ride from Santiago. We stayed in a lovely hostel for 2 nights which had a cute little balcony that over-looked the street. The locals live on a big hill that surrounds the town in a horseshoe shape. All the houses are painted multi-coloured which looks great from a distance.

We went on a boat ride around the harbour the first day along with 50 other spanish people on a little boat. We looked like boat people. We got to see some seals in the harbour and they lived on boats and big boeys. They were really stinky!

We went to Vin Del Mar the following day which is a town north. It is a bit more upper-class. It looked like the Chilian version of the Gold Coast.