TravelStream™ news feed for member annamund on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/annamund en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Wed, 09 Jan 2008 19:05:14 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/annamund/latinamerica06/1194549660/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/annamund/latinamerica06/1194549660/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/annamund/latinamerica06/1194549660/tpod.html Wed, 09 Jan 2008 19:05:14 -0500 Mission Impossible? to learn Spanish, listen to new music, eat tasty food, meet good people, get into the great outdoors & most importantly NOT kill each other on the road

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Sydney, Australia

Good to see everyone, but Dublin calls in less than 2 weeks...!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/annamund/latinamerica06/1225841340/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/annamund/latinamerica06/1225841340/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/annamund/latinamerica06/1225841340/tpod.html Wed, 09 Jan 2008 19:03:25 -0500 Mission Impossible? to learn Spanish, listen to new music, eat tasty food, meet good people, get into the great outdoors & most importantly NOT kill each other on the road

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Hong Kong, China

Hong Kong airport is a dream airport.We find ourselves a cute little hotel in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong for a reasonable price. Our room even has a view of the harbour.The next day it's off to Macau to meet Gladys, a friend we met in Brazil. She works in one of the casinos there. She meets us at the ferry terminal and then takes us for Yum Cha (Dim Sum) at her casino, a tour of the old colonial Portuguese area, and then off to a restaurant for a hotpot. The hotpot are two boiling pans of soup where you dip and cook thinly sliced pieces of meat and seafood. We are joined by her two companions we also met in Brazil.We go for a night drive and get some great views of the harbours and bridges that span the various islands. Our last stop is the Venetian Casino, a copy of the Venetian in Los Vegas. Very impressive and lavish in an artifical way.Last day and I find a tailor on Nathan street for some bespoke business shirts.Back to the airport.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/annamund/latinamerica06/1192904160/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/annamund/latinamerica06/1192904160/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/annamund/latinamerica06/1192904160/tpod.html Wed, 09 Jan 2008 18:43:28 -0500 Mission Impossible? to learn Spanish, listen to new music, eat tasty food, meet good people, get into the great outdoors & most importantly NOT kill each other on the road

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Bristol, United Kingdom

Hello Bristol, our favourite city in England.Mike, Zoe, Jack and Molly: Thanks for having us stay and our first roast dinner for more than a year.Fraser: Great tagine, and relaxed chats. Prize for most interview friendly lounge room - I secured my contract in Ireland pacing around your leather sofa.Deb: Nice catchup over brekky.Nici and Maria: Hawkesbury Upton - a real English village and pub. Tasty casserole and good to catch up on your news - see you soon in Dublin. We enjoyed being the celebrity antipodeans in your local.John and Helen - As always, a pleasure to spend time with you in you Combe Dingle mansion!Neil and Jen: Looking forward to hearing more about your future plans. Delicious homemade chicken pie - you lucky man Bloodworth.Mike (Canadian): Stay cool brother.Fiona (Canadian): Hope things going well with your new flatmate - we miss our old apartment!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/annamund/latinamerica06/1192904100/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/annamund/latinamerica06/1192904100/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/annamund/latinamerica06/1192904100/tpod.html Wed, 09 Jan 2008 18:27:14 -0500 Mission Impossible? to learn Spanish, listen to new music, eat tasty food, meet good people, get into the great outdoors & most importantly NOT kill each other on the road

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London, United Kingdom

London again after a couple of years away:* Damn Heathrow is an ugly airport* Tube still fantastic despite a problem on the Picadilly line forcing us to take a detour.* Lots more Polish in service industries* London looks cleaner, better organised, better customer serviceGreat to see our favourite amiga Isabelle and thanks for having us to stay. We love your apartment, and realised how much we missed taking an autumn stroll in an English park beside a canal. Also good to catch up with Liz, Dunc and Isabella!Thanks to:Sanj, Sarita and Leyla for a yummy Vietnamese lunch - love the 2-year-old ordering off the menu. You guys are lookin' good!Rache and John: Wow, what a great house you have and thanks for the delicious vegetarian dinner.Linda, Mark, Ben and Izzy: You always look after us as if we're part of the family.Helena and Ralph: Great Wii and movie setup - thanks for the pop-culture update.Alison and Ross: Very cute, cool apartment. Thanks for a delicious curry. Good luck with the Arabic and Mandarin.Jenny and Allan: Wonderful to see your cosy new home and share a vino tinto.Chris and Karelyna: Great to meet you Karelyna and mmmmm... Indian food again.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/annamund/latinamerica06/1192903860/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/annamund/latinamerica06/1192903860/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/annamund/latinamerica06/1192903860/tpod.html Wed, 09 Jan 2008 18:22:54 -0500 Mission Impossible? to learn Spanish, listen to new music, eat tasty food, meet good people, get into the great outdoors & most importantly NOT kill each other on the road

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Madrid, Spain

A brief stop in Madrid. It's not my first time here, but looking through the goggles of 12 months in Latin America makes us notice different things.A few random observations:* Consume, consume, buy, buy, buy - no me gusta (I don't like it).* Safe to walk the streets at night without a second thought.* Tapas and vino tinto, mmmmmm...* Spanish cheese and ham on proper bread, mmmmmm...* Prado Museum (7 hours) - my favourite art museum in the whole wide world.* Wow, we can understand the Madrid accent without too many problems and they seem to be able to understand us!Moving on to London.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/annamund/latinamerica06/1192558140/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/annamund/latinamerica06/1192558140/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/annamund/latinamerica06/1192558140/tpod.html Wed, 09 Jan 2008 18:20:59 -0500 Mission Impossible? to learn Spanish, listen to new music, eat tasty food, meet good people, get into the great outdoors & most importantly NOT kill each other on the road

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Bogota, Colombia

Bogotá rates as one of the most pleasant Latin American cities we've visited -&nbsp;more spacious, clean and a little&nbsp;less frenetic. Yet again, even in the city, the friendliness of Colombians shines through.The Museo de Oro (Gold Museum)&nbsp;is fantastic. From gold masks, spindles, bells,&nbsp;wooden cylinders for printing, figurines, and body ornamention. My favourite is a tiny stylized gold shark -&nbsp;one of the photos included with this entry.We have a special dinner to celebrate and commiserate our last night in Colombia, South America, and the end of our adventure. Tomorrow we'll be flying to familiar Madrid!They're mixed feelings that leave us wondering whether to laugh or cry:In one way we're happy to be "going back to normality". Towards the end of the trip with a departure date fast approaching, it's difficult to live as carefree or "in the moment". Thoughts necessarily turn to making post-trip plans, ensuring remaining time is used efficiently, and worrying that your luck has been too good to hold out!In another way, we're also sad to leave. Our routine has paradoxically become one of non-routine.&nbsp;&nbsp;It's a&nbsp;way of life and a culture that has become familiar yet retained its newness.We've become addicted to the daily challenge of new people, places and situations. This is why I think travel is one of the greatest teachers. Not just because you're <i>seeing new places, people and culture.&nbsp;It's&nbsp;because you're&nbsp;learning how to cope with and adapt to continuously changing circumstances.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/annamund/latinamerica06/1192035420/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/annamund/latinamerica06/1192035420/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/annamund/latinamerica06/1192035420/tpod.html Wed, 09 Jan 2008 18:17:50 -0500 Mission Impossible? to learn Spanish, listen to new music, eat tasty food, meet good people, get into the great outdoors & most importantly NOT kill each other on the road

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Tolu, Colombia

Waking bleary-eyed on an overnight bus from Medellin to Tolu, I was surprised to feel like I'd had a decent sleep. There's always a slight moment of panic when you're half-asleep and the driver tells you that you've arrived. We quickly stuff our sleeping bags into their covers, pick up our day-pack and go for the big day-packs out of the luggage hold. Ed looks like a real catch -&nbsp;hair sticking up at all angles, unshaven&nbsp;and his sleeping mask dangling under his chin.Still, in this state we make a run for shelter as the intense humidity (a shock after the air-conditioned bus) has made for an impressive downpour. What we can make out through the rain is some impressive tropical greenery along the busy highway and our saviour in the form of a fit young black guy riding a tricycle-taxi. His skinny legs were certainly stronger than we anticipated as he powered us and our 30 kilos of luggage smoothly into the village manouevering around the potholes with precision.We breakfasted as the rain eased up - Ed 'Iron Guts' Germain on fish soup, me on my usual scrambled eggs with fresh juice. This set us up for a quick bus ride to the next village on the coast, Corveñas reputed to be a decent beach. If a crowded, fairly dirty&nbsp;beach with various sound systems blaring among the rubbish is a decent beach, then I guess it was!Still, nothing could take the shine off our next assignment - bathing in a mud volcano. One mini-bus later and 2 motorbike taxis and we were there. Great fun roaring along on the highway on motorbikes of complete strangers, but it was only later in the short journey we thought about our lack of helmets and long trousers.The entrance to the mud volcano had a shabby sign on the highway, we walked up the dusty track in the blazing sun, paid our pittance of an entrance fee and stripped off to our swimmers. The mud volcano is a flat, large pool of mud with a helpful rope across to middle and amatuerish stairs carved into the more solid mud for access.Putting one cautious toe in, I realised how delicious this experience was going to be. The mud looked like a thick chocolate cake mix, it smelled vaguely organic but not unpleasant. The real surprise was that it was cooler than the temperature outside, more like our own body temperature - very refreshing.You know that feeling you had as a child when you ran around barefoot in mud? The scrummy feeling of the mud between your toes? Imagine that magnified ten-fold and covering your whole body.Incredible!Once we stopped giggling, we took to the serious business of making sure we were covered in mud from head to toe, including our faces and all through our hair. Then, we took part in some races half-swimming, half-crawling through the neck-deep substance. Fully reclined and 'floated' on our backs. To add to our delight, we had the whole place to ourselves for about half-an-hour.&nbsp;&nbsp;After our blissful time, one of the employees jumped in the mud and did a few practiced&nbsp;laps - making sure the mud was well-mixed for the bus-load of school-teachers and young kids who descended on our tranquil location. Time for us to get out, but we did hang around for a bit listening to the yells, squeals and tears from the mixed bunch. Some of the little kids covered in mud blubbering away when they'd had enough - &nbsp;looked hilarious.Next stop - outside, commual showers. Ed felt hands plucking vigorously&nbsp;at his swim-shorts to help release any trapped mud and assumed it was me. I was having the same experience wondering who the hell it was while&nbsp;my eyes were shut. The determined fingers belonged to&nbsp;two enterprising teenage girls&nbsp;seeking tips for helping us rinse off.&nbsp;We decided it was easier to give in than fight it. Kind of weird though, being in your swimmers having some strangers hands all over you unexpectedly!The whole experience was unique for us. We enjoyed it immensely and would have travelled miles further for the opportunity to experience&nbsp;such brilliant fun.Islas de San BernardoTolu is a nice-enough little town but a key reason to go there is to visit the handy San Bernardo&nbsp;islands seated in the shallow tropical sea. It suited us with our few days left to take&nbsp;a day trip with a few other people to experience as much as we could in a short time.Despite us uptight Anglos being punctual, the boat left vey late (Latino time) which annoyed us as it was sweltering waiting in the boat. As soon as we got going, the fresh breeze from whipping along in our&nbsp;motorboats was a huge relief. In typical, friendly Colombian style we got no further than the first island before being adopted by a family because we were 'alone.' The family consisted of Mum Marta, husband, parents, sister-in-law and twenty-something kids, Italia and an extremely theatrical actor son, David. Isla Palma, first stop. As the name suggests, typical picture-book Caribbean island in some ways with the white sandy beaches and swaying trees. However, the locals had also taken it upon themselves to open up a zoological park and a cheesey Pirate-type experience. The animals looked healthy, happy and well-housed. There were sea turtles, flamingos, macaws, monkeys, fish, dolphins and lobsters.The lowlight were seeing the dolphins scooting around in their small enclosure, strange because all other animal enclosures seemed&nbsp;well-accomodated&nbsp;in comparison; and seeing some of the less ecologically-minded locals feeding the animals.The highlight for me was watching Ed get close to the bars of the monkey cage to take a photo. Imagine his surprise when his subject became the aggressor and shot out a skinny yet incredibly strong arm and grabbed and shook his camera! The shock on Ed's face was priceless and the whole tour group were laughing. When I thought of all the places we'd been careful with the camera and then the most serious theft attempt came from a monkey all of&nbsp;thirty centimetres high.Departing this island, we circled&nbsp;through the turquoise waters past another tiny island named La Islote. Six hundred metres in diameter with around one thousand people living on it. They have built out over the beaches and the water, up a couple of storeys, there are alleyways rather than streets and I think I saw one tree. Apparently it is the most densely populated place in the world and I am inclined to believe it. It prompts the question, why don't some of them just move somewhere else? I presume they can't afford to or simply don't want to.Last stop, Isla Múcura. Snorkelling in the bathwater temperature sea was pleasant, but we were shocked that most of the coral was dead and there were very few fish. The locals told us it was due to a big storm, but it could have been dynamite fishing in the past.&nbsp;We also found the local guys very hands-on during the snorkelling - if they&nbsp;found something under the water, they didn't just look at it - they pulled it up to the surface to hand it around. Not our style of tourism at all.On the plus side, we had a gorgeous grilled fish lunch and splashed out on some decent lobster too. The Colombian family from Medellin were entertaining and the cold beer under the palms tasted just right.We really enjoyed spending time in a local Colombian tourist destination and didn't spot any Gringos in our time here.The Medellin crew were so warm and almost convinced us to head back to their city and stay - but we had our hearts set on the isolated town of Mompos...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/annamund/latinamerica06/1192298640/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/annamund/latinamerica06/1192298640/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/annamund/latinamerica06/1192298640/tpod.html Wed, 09 Jan 2008 16:58:32 -0500 Mission Impossible? to learn Spanish, listen to new music, eat tasty food, meet good people, get into the great outdoors & most importantly NOT kill each other on the road

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Santa Marta, Colombia

Apparently, it was an environmental disaster. They built the coast road between Baranquilla and Santa Marta cutting off the tidal lakes from the sea. As we pass by in a bus the area still looks beautiful apart from the slums on the edges of towns, spilling rubbish into the water.Santa Marta is a town on the Carribean a little dirty especially since half the roads are ripped up, and the town suffers from mini floods anytime it rains. Our negotiation skills are getting sharper. We name our price at a hotel and they are unprepared to budge so we walk. Thirty seconds later there's the patter of feet and "Señor, señor". Maybe they thought we were bluffing given it was dark.Breakfast at Restaurant Merkabar, calle 11 from memory. Fantastic value, especially the litre jug of fresh juice. England verses Estonia&nbsp;(football) is on TV and a few washed-out, hungover poms are monopolising the TV, yawn.Santa Marta is essentially base camp for Parque Nacional Tayrona, so we spend half an hour digging round for some info. Unfortunately the tourist office is closed because it's a long weekend.&nbsp;We check out accomodation with Aviatour, the parks booking agent&nbsp;and they have cabins for $150... mmm, a bit much for our budget.There's a line of locals for the bus. Strangely they're only taking as many people as seats - maybe because the buses get checked by police on exit from the town. Thirty-five minutes later we're at the park entrance having our bags searched for alcohol. An old chevy takes us into the park for a couple of dollars, then it's a 45 minute walk along a muddy, horse-churned track, winding through rainforest to the beach. It's dirty, which matches my general impression of Carribean beaches. Dirty in that there are plastic bottles and cans, and rubbish floating in the water. I have a swim and it's warm, like bathwater.We walk on to Cabo, a camping spot on the beach. The've hit the bonanza - it's a long weekend, and every latino and their dog has rolled into town. We have the option of paying an inflated price for a hammock or walking. We walk and again get a "discount".But I have to say, that this spot is beautiful, lush jungle down to white sandy beaches, blue water, and our hammocks in a small rotunda on a point overlooking the sea. The beach is cleaner, but there is still the odd bottle, and plenty of cigarette butts and ring pulls in the sand. Am I a being a typical Ozzie claiming that there's no beach like home? I hope not as I would be the first to say that the beaches in Cornwall, Wales, Scotland are of equal beauty and cleanliness to any in Australia (though not as warm)!They also have a restaurant here where we get some local food. This is not the first time we've experienced the Latino's idea of how to enjoy the great outdoors - essentially bring your own music and have a noisy party! Gross generalisation, but I think we're entitled to make it after travelling for a year. We sleep brilliantly in the hammocks with the washing of the waves and stars for company.Next day we explore more of the park including a small indigenous settlement, a tough climb involving some rock scrambling in the excessive humidity. Lots of leaf-cutter ants, bats, and giant grasshoppers (6 inches long), as well as providing assistance to some local ladies having trouble&nbsp;climbing the large rocks.We walk back along the beach to Arecifes and are treated to a rose-coloured sunset, followed by a tropical storm with soaking rain and lightning illuminating the whole sky.Tonight we're staying in another open-air hamaceria with numerous white hammocks draped in mosquito netting suspended from the roof. It almost looks like the mother alien&nbsp;nest! Our hammock neighbours are Oscar and Marta-Lucia, and their friend José. Lovely people with deadpan senses of humour, who invite us for dinner for the following evening when we leave the park.The arrangement to rendezvous at the park entrance almost goes awry, but at the last moment as we're climbing in a collectivo, we see them driving out in their old Ford Laser. They have a modern 13th floor apartment in Santa Marta overlooking the sea, and we watch the last of the sunset drinking a glass of vino tinto. Marta-Lucia cooks some spare ribs and myself and composer Oscar play some soulful jazzy tunes till late. When I'm playing a flamenco rhythm, Oscar suddenly breaks out in a passable imitation of an anguished&nbsp;flamenco wail. Very funny if you were there.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/annamund/latinamerica06/1192125660/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/annamund/latinamerica06/1192125660/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/annamund/latinamerica06/1192125660/tpod.html Tue, 08 Jan 2008 18:59:14 -0500 Mission Impossible? to learn Spanish, listen to new music, eat tasty food, meet good people, get into the great outdoors & most importantly NOT kill each other on the road

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Cartagena, Colombia

I love Cartagena! The colourful colonial buildings, cobbled streets, sticky tropical heat&nbsp;and Latino-Carribean feel. It totally excedes my expectations - straight to the top of my list of colonial gems. A great walking city, with friendly people, we meet two of its inhabitants on the first night. José is excited to tell us that he has just graduated from a year-long English course. His wife stands on looking slightly embarrased.Three great discoveries were La Creperie (Plaza de Bolívar), our hotel (Hostal Baluarte, Calle Media Luna No 10-81, Getsemaní, ph 6642208), and the Cuban bar just across the road from the hotel with live salsa band, great for a late night caipariñha or mojito.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/annamund/latinamerica06/1191985800/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/annamund/latinamerica06/1191985800/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/annamund/latinamerica06/1191985800/tpod.html Tue, 08 Jan 2008 18:28:47 -0500 Mission Impossible? to learn Spanish, listen to new music, eat tasty food, meet good people, get into the great outdoors & most importantly NOT kill each other on the road

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Mompos, Colombia

We've passed the night for 30 pesos in Sincelejo&nbsp;in a good value hotel called Hotel Casa Blanca (details below). Had a brief wander through the lively streets last night. Sat on stools in the street watching the world go by while munching on arepas with queso (savoury corn cakes with cheese cooked on a grill). Amazing how 3 or 4 vendors all selling the same product can work amicably side by side. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (with Johnny Depp) is on, so we make use of our TV before bed.This morning we strike out for Mompos via the town plaza. We meet a guy who says he can get us a direct bus to Mompos if we wait 20 minutes and are kept company by a woman friend of his who has a cute baby girl. We wait for a short time, but it feels a bit fishy so move on to the place where the collectivos leave from. We negotiate a shared taxi and surprise, surprise, our man shows up and also pays a fare to Mompos. Typical scam, harmless but annoying - he has obviously tried for the last 20 minutes to negotiate a price with a taxi so he can contract the service to us for much more. In this case, easy to avoid,&nbsp;but sometimes not so simple because you don't realise that you're not buying from source!The shared taxi drops us at a market by the river in Magangué where the boats leave for La Bodega. We're immediately assailed by sellers wanting to know where we're going. The market is buzzing with fresh fish stalls, fruit and vegetables, and lottery tickets. Half an hour later we're in a lunch heading up river, then through a gap in a wall of watery vegetation onto what seems a different river, and finally arrive at our destination. Another shared taxi ride along a paved but potholey road and we're deposited in the main plaza of Mompos.It's immediately evident why Mompos is&nbsp;a popular place&nbsp;(though time-consuming to reach). It looks beautifully preserved, clean and tranquil. It's also stinking hot! The accomodation options on the main street have risen in price markedly since the guidebook was updated. I find a great value place near the cemetary called La Cuarta (details below) for $25 pesos a night. By late afternoon, we've each sunk 3 fresh icy-cold juices. We finish the night at a cosy corner by the river, listening to salsa and watching birds hitching a free ride on the islands of vegetation floating with the current.Next day is memorable on a couple of counts.The first is Alfredo, a larger-than-life camp English-language teacher from the local school. He's enlisted the kids to go forth and capture all english-speaking tourists and bring them back to his classroom. When he hears we're from Australia and New Zealand -&nbsp;"But you don't speak English there!" Maybe the rest of the world wouldn't call "ostrayan" english, but it does have vague similarities. We expected to be paraded bafore the class for question-time, but no, we think we have been enlisted in his propaganda war to prove to the head teacher that he speaks good English (i.e. can converse freely with foreigners). Later that night after a quick tour of the town on a three-wheel taxi bike including a tipple at the local wine company, he treats us to a plate of tripe soup.The second memorable event is watching some teenage boys swimming in the river and doing somersaults off the retaining wall. Well, not so much this, but observing as they walk away a pistol changing hands - something to briefly balance the absolute safety and tranquility you feel in this environment.Hotel Casa Blanca, Calle 22, No 18-53 ph 282 0306La Cuarta, Carrera 4, No 18-57, ph 6840127
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