Puerta Del Sol Barranquilla

... on the boat, and an excruciatingly strong need to pee prevented Angie from seeing a few of the latter species. When we finally got into port where a pay washroom was located, Ang jumped off the boat before it had even tied off, and ran faster than I´ve ever seen her go. (It´s funny now, but at the time I was in a LOT of discomfort! -AG) We spent the afternoon walking out to see an Inca Tern hangout, and ...

... gefahren. So eine coole Location habe ich selten gesehen. Direkt am Wasser waren unter Segeltuch chillige Sitzecken aufgebaut und in der Mitte gab es eine Tanzfläche im Sand. Die Musik war ziemlich abgefahren elektronisch (also eigentlich so garnicht meins), aber die Atmosphäre war einfach so geil, dass man nur gute Laune haben konnte. Wir haben die ganze Nacht barfuss im Sand getanzt, suuuper! Das war mal ein würdiger Abschluss für eine geniale Zeit beim karibischen Karneval in Barranquilla!

... manage to find a party so we spent a little while exploring the roofs of the tower block to find the perfect view of the city. In general, the carnival wasn't as big as I was expecting, with every street packed with people, but there were still lots of great parties out in the street, everyone was glad to see the gringos having a go and we had a wicked time. I left with diarrhea, a slight hangover, dirty feet and a lot of clothes covered in flour: everything you need to feel partied out.

... wave to them and have all your friends there at the same time, it's a lot better! A group of us rented a "mini-palco" (basically a small set of bleachers) for the grand price of 50,000 pesos (about 11 quid) for the 3 days. We started out in style on the Saturday, armed with suncream, a stripy hat (a gift from Pedro) and a little shot glass which you can wear around your neck (so you're always ready for the next drink) which I bought ...

... off, there was a very good chance that I would have missed this bus, and been REALLY screwed. Smiling at finally having some good fortune, I happily hopped aboard. If all things went well, I'd get to town with plenty of time to spare before the fireworks. Buying a cell phone a few days ago turned out to be a great move - I had called Ben earlier today and told him that I'd be arriving late, but not to worry about me, and to have dinner and meet me back ...

... went shopping for some gifts for my family and friends. For Vati, I thought it would be fun to go to the market, and buy something from the Natural Medicine kiosks. We found a kiosk with a short, stocky, old lady, wrapped in layers of clothes. This seems odd to me know, remembering the humid heat of the day. Also odd were the two people sitting in an area next to the kiosk, watching us, but not saying anything. The kiosk was right next to a ...

... of "It's the foreign girl!". So up come the paramedics, who take one look at me and start making suggestions about moving me to the hospital, which by that stage I was adamant I was not going to go. In the end we reached the agreement of one bag of saline and if I didn't improve, then I would have to go to the hospital. Luckily after a bag and several shots of anti-vomiting stuff I ...

A very quick and late note about Valparaiso: We arrive tired and weary from another long bus journey but happy in the thought that it was the last long trip of South America. We spent slightly more on the hostel then previous places (only a mere few pounds) but the difference struck us immediately when we arrived at the hostal Caracol. It felt like a proper home with a cosy living room and big farmhouse style kitchen leading to a sunny garden. We also ...

... summed up tourism in South America perfectly, by getting lost and being unable to keep up with us, to the point where we led her back to the car. A quick round of golf was thrown in and before you know it, we are at the airport in Santiago. After six months exploring just some of the wonders of South America, we are gearing up for the long flight back to Australia. What started as a curiosity about the cultures and landscapes of the continent has turned into an adventure we ...

... in to the "wrong neighbourhood" - a fact pointed out to us a mere hour or so later at the tourist info place - where the ramshacklness took on a whole new level with places built precariously perched on the hills, apparently held up by hope more than anything. Santiago, big city, pretty nice, excellent art museum - full of loads of 20th ...