TravelStream™ news feed for member roamingmonk on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/roamingmonk en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Mon, 26 Oct 2009 06:24:31 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/roamingmonk/roamingmonk/1254858226/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/roamingmonk/roamingmonk/1254858226/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/roamingmonk/roamingmonk/1254858226/tpod.html Mon, 26 Oct 2009 06:24:31 -0400 Brad and Karen's "Just Cos We Can" trip 2007-9

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Iguazu Falls, Argentina

Niagara Falls in US - great.  Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe - fantastic.  But Iguazu Falls - un-bloody-believable!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  What an absolutely awesome finale to South America, and probably the single most impressive natural sight we'd seen on the whole 2 year trip.After an 18 hour bus journey from Paraty, we stopped on the town on Brazilian side of the Falls (the falls straddle both Brazil and Argentina).  Given we didn't have a whole day on the day we arrived, we decided to go to the Itaipu Dam in Brazil.  This dam is the world's largest, 8km wide, 65 storeys high, and holds enough water for 4000 litres for every single person on the planet (now THAT'S a lot of water!).  A contraversial decision when the project was started in the 1970s (it took 16 years and 100,000 people to build), as it flooded a virgin rainforest valley and many tribal villages, though even seeing through the positive propoganda out there, they seemed to make a bifg effort to relocate many of the resident tribes, animals and plants at the time.OK, final stat.  This dam supplies enough clean hydroelectric energy to supply a quarter of all Brazil's electricity needs (that's 50 million people's worth) PLUS 90% of all of Paraguay's (the dam borders Paraguay as well).The structure is enormous, and while it is essentially a massive 200m thick concrete wall, the scale of such a large feat of engineering was damn impressive in itself.  That night we had our last Brazilian BBQ at this place famous for its delicious carved beef, and it sure didn't disappoint................God we're going to miss those BBQ restaurants1Next day we ventured to the falls proper on the Brazilian side.  Because of massive rains in the rainforests of Brazil, where the water for the falls originally comes from, the falls was experiencing 7 times its normal amount of water.  The Brazilian side is pretty low key, with fantastic views across to the Argentinian side of the falls, and a walkway that goes 2-300m out over the lip of the falls.  Beecause of the rains, the water level was just short of lapping over the walkway..........we hoped the foundations were pretty damn strong!  The centre of the falls themselves were absolutely awe inspiring (also inspiring us to take literally hundreds and hundreds of photos - thankfully we culled them for this entry!)Late afternoon we collected our packs from the guest house and crossed the border into Argentina.  Now Brazil is known for its high crime and general lawlessness, and we had to catch a public bus to the border, do our passport stuff, and nthen catch another bus the other side.  Little did we expect to be told that once we crossed the Brazilian side and were in No Mans Land, we were STRONGLY advised not to venture more than a few metres away from passport control as people were regularly mugged at knife/ gunpoint.  we had a dedicated security guard with us until the bus came.  Apparently, not only was one tourist killed relatively recently crossing the small ditance to the other border point, but a policewoman was mugged at gunpoint there only the week before.  Cripes!!!!!Anyway, Argentina generally is a lot safer, which always brings a sigh of relief!  Next day we got up early to see the falls from the other side, which couldn't have been more different.  Much more commercialised (bit like a low key Disneyland and way more tourists), but the views were unbelievable.  We even took a jetboat ride up the river right into the guts of the falls themselves - that really gave us the idea how massive these falls were.  Back on land, walkways had been erected right over the different falls until we got to the piece de resistance................the Devil's Throat, the massive 180 degree main part of the falls, where you can get up close and personal on a walkway right to the lip and look down into it.  Can't heap enough superlatives on this place, it was fantastic!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/roamingmonk/roamingmonk/1254341596/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/roamingmonk/roamingmonk/1254341596/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/roamingmonk/roamingmonk/1254341596/tpod.html Sat, 17 Oct 2009 05:32:22 -0400 Brad and Karen's "Just Cos We Can" trip 2007-9

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Rio de Janeiro, State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

"When my baby smiles at me I go to Riiiooo......de Janeiro"  And you wouldn´t blame Peter Allen for that................this place absolutely rocks!!  Without doubt Rio was our No1 bestest city in the whole wide world (and that´s a big call from us!)  The place has it all, the fantastic beaches of Ipanema and Copacabana in the middle of the city (not to mention hundreds just outside of town), Sugarloaf Mountain, "Christ the Redeemer" statue on Mount Corcovado, the old "trole" tram up to Sata Teresa, nightlife, awesome cocktails plus plus plus............................Staying in Rio is pretty up there pricewise, and a double room in a backpackers will cost you almost A$100.  We thought that was a bit of a rip off, but what´s really good is that with a little bit of pre-organisation, we got an awesome apartment in Ipanema (the No1 address in Rio) on the 16th floor with a kitchen, overlooking the beach, Lake Rodrigo and the mountains behind - for the same price!!   We sat there after a busy day of sightseeing, windows open, watching the sun go down, home-made caiparhinas (the best cocktail in the world), cool tunes on............just the best.  Actually, we did better the caiparhinas with our own variant - the "Rio-rana" :  Muddle the limes (gotta love em at < A$2/kilo, a slight improvement on the rip off prices in Australia) and sugar, add ice and the cachaca (Brazilian sugar cane spirit)....and then top up with guarana (famous Brazilian drink made from an Amazonian fruit), mix and indulge!  Yum!So, what did we get up to :  Well, a walk along Ipanema Beach in the morning (is a caiparhina at a beach shack at 10am too early?  We thought not) watching surfers, volleyball players and women in "fio dental" (literally dental floss - the Portuguese name for the tiny, oh yes, so so tiny, bikinis), then Copacabana, for another relaxing cocktail of choice and going up Sugarloaf Mountain, with a beer on the sea wall of nearby Urca at sunset, looking back across the bay..............all on Day 1.We also managed to get last minute tickets to Lily Allen, who we read in the in flight magazine on the flight into Rio, was playing.  Although she played to a small crowd (1,500 - 2,000) at one of the arenas (am sure she packs out much bigger venues in UK), and it was a relatively short set, it was great.  After a few drinks (her, not us), she had the Brazilian flag draped over herself, and saying she was only wearing it until the World Cup "cos we, the English, invented the game", so she was definitely ready to rev the crowd up.  Part of her persona................  We met a young Cariocan (ie. guy from Rio) on the bus on the way there, Rafael, who was also going to the concert.  Really nice guy, who also gave us heaps of tips about Rio, and we met up with him again a few nights later and he introduced us to a famous local bevvy (which up to then we always assumed was the caiprahina!), "Acai".  This is a deep purple berry that only grows in the Amazon, and it gets frozen and blended with banana or strawberry, and the top gets sprinkled with crunchy muesli, and is supposed to be a great stimulant, warding off hangovers and every ailment under the sun.  Naturally this became our daily ritual for breakfast.......it was bloody lovely!  Unfortunately because we were running around seeing so much cool stuff in Rio, we didn´t get a chance to catch up with Rafael again, but he´s someone we´ll make sure we keep in touch with.Next day we had arranged to go hangliding off 510m high Mt Pedro Bonita, landing on Pepino Beach below.........way down in the distance.  It essentially involves being hooked onto the hanglider with an instructor, and both of you running like all hell down a wooden slope until you just drop off the end...........into thin air.  Totally exhilerating, and a million times more fun than the paragliding we´d done the week before in Colombia.  We went with a Brazilian guy named Paulo (www.justfly.com.br to anyone reading this who may be going there), who was such a nice guy and had been doing it for 25 years.  He even offered us a free flight if the wind and weather was right over the next few days.  Unfortunately a cold front kicked in and we never got to go up again, but couldn´t recommend him highly enough.  If there´s one place you wanna try hanggliding, it has to be Rio.  Sugarloaf Mountain in the background, Christ the Redeemer off to the side, and miles and miles of white sand beaches and glistening waters..........even landing on the beach was cool in itself. Another classic Brazilian experience (apart from hanging around Karen for hours on end as she perused the THOUSANDS of Havaiana shops!!!!!!) is the Brazilian BBQ.  Brad´s meat nirvana heaven, succulent cuts of steak are basted with salt and meat juices, cooked on massive skewers over hot coals, and are brought to your table, where they slice off as much as you want.................again and again and again until you can eat no more.  Combine that with a beautiful buffet and great sushi, and you are guaranteed not to want to eat for a week - or in Brad's case, the next lunchtime).  They usually serve at least a dozen cuts, plus some other corkers such as the local delicacy of chicken hearts ("fantastic" thought Brad, "yes tried it but only the once", thought Karen!) and the ultimate ´different´ food of the night, turkey testicles - gobble, gobble, gobble!  Bit like scrambled egg in fact ("tried it but only once", thought Brad, "you´ve got to be joking" thought Karen!)Now, if you want to top all that, the ultimate Rio experience has to be to watch a football game at the famous Maracana stadium (home of Pele and heaps of other Brazilian greats).  But earlier in the afternoon, a few hours before the match we were going to see, we detoured to a weekend feria (kind of food, drink and band arena), for some more first rate BBQ action, and then settled down at a bar run by a guy who had obviously been a minor pop star in Brazil years ago, but was now a crazy cocktail maker with his own bar called Tobias' Caiprahina Show.  This involved him (Tobias of self-promotion fame) rapping along to some reggaeton type Brazilian music with a head mike while free pouring cocktails (mostly over himself), and getting completely smashed in the process.  The guy was a legend, and as we found out, was now over 70!!!!  Hope we´ve still got that kind of lust for life when we hit that age!   On to the stadium after the strongest drinks we´d ever had with our main man Tobias, and the place was absolutely packed when we arrived an hour or so before the match, but Karen batted her eyelids until she found someone who spoke English and asked how we got tickets.  Well, you just jump in the queue with someone you´ve just met who speaks English of course.  He helped us get tickets and asked us whether we wanted to go to a quiet area, or the area with all the atmosphere (where he was going).  Of course, the latter for us.  We came up into the stadium right in the middle of the most fanatical supporters (just like the area we saw in the match we watched in Bogota and went "thank God we´re not in that bit!").  But it was great.  Our team, Flamengo, thrashed the opposition 4-2, and the passion and excitement in the crowd was the absolute ultimate!Rio was everything we imagined it to be.  The most fantastic views from Christ the Redeemer, the sparkling water, awesome beaches, and hot looking people.  As anyone who´s spent any reasonable amount of time there will tell you though, there are some massive poverty problems and crime really is rampant.  There are many dangerous areas, not only the favelas (shanty towns) where even the cops don´t venture, but also Copacabana and Santa Teresa where you´re plain crazy if you go on the beach with a camera and more money than you´re prepared to lose (both day and especially night).  We´d heard from locals of many tourists who had been held up by violent criminals with knives or guns (whichever is their weapon of choice), and a few who had been stabbed when they had not handed their valuables straight over.  Still, we´re pretty sensible people and we used common sense (and only carried one hidden camera with a new camera card in it and no others in case it got taken, but we suffered nothing worse than a few mild hangovers after nights out on the town.Rio quite simply was the best fun we´d ever had in a city and we will DEFINITELY be coming back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/roamingmonk/roamingmonk/1254341782/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/roamingmonk/roamingmonk/1254341782/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/roamingmonk/roamingmonk/1254341782/tpod.html Sat, 17 Oct 2009 05:21:37 -0400 Brad and Karen's "Just Cos We Can" trip 2007-9

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Paraty, State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Quick stop for the day at Paraty, on the mainland close to Ilha Grande, an absolutely idyllic and laid back cobblestoned, whitewashed village by the sea, with beautiful beaches around, little restaurants and bars, and brightly painted schooners that take people out for the day around the coast.  Yep, tick this place too for our next short trip with Ilha Grande and Rio for sure.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/roamingmonk/roamingmonk/1254341675/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/roamingmonk/roamingmonk/1254341675/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/roamingmonk/roamingmonk/1254341675/tpod.html Sat, 17 Oct 2009 05:20:40 -0400 Brad and Karen's "Just Cos We Can" trip 2007-9

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Ilha Grande, State of Minas Gerais, Brazil

Ilha Grande is an absolutely stunning island only a 2 hr bus ride and hour and a half ferry from Rio, and by rights should therefore be packed out.  After all, the island has 102 beaches (yes, not a misprint!), no roads, with only a cop and fire truck on the island.  Transport is by old fashioned schooner or by foot over dirt trails.  There is one small village on the island, a handful of lovely little pousadas (guesthouses) and bars, and the whole place is covered in virgin rainforest.  I mean, really, what else could you want.  There were only a few tourists around, and while the place (apparently) seems to be picking up greater numbers of visitors, its still very low key, especially during the week, and in low season, when we were there.  We were lucky to find a lovely little room with a kitchen and moved our gas cooker out onto the balcony, put the stereo on, mixed up caipharinas, (and another new cocktail sensation we invented - essentially a caipharina with fresh passionfruit pulp mixed in - soooo good!), and cook thai curries with the sound of the ocean in the background.One day we hiked 3 hours to this unbelievable 3km long beach of Playa Lopez Mendes (voted No4 beach in the world), and only 20 or 30 people along its whole length, and then took a schooner back at sunset.  Next day we took a speedboat trip (only 6 of us in all) for the day around the island to some fantastic little coves and beaches, swum in blue and green lagoons, and snorkelled around an old helicopter wreck (11m down, Brad's new free diving record).  Fantastic day out.We loved Ilha Grande, and as with Rio have vowed to come back.  Absolutely perfect to go for a few weeks anual leave type holiday combined with Rio again (see, we're planning our next trip already, and we haven't even finished this one!)  
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/roamingmonk/roamingmonk/1254338792/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/roamingmonk/roamingmonk/1254338792/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/roamingmonk/roamingmonk/1254338792/tpod.html Fri, 16 Oct 2009 11:50:34 -0400 Brad and Karen's "Just Cos We Can" trip 2007-9

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Bogota, Colombia

Unlike its old reputation, Bogota was no less safe than anywhere else in South America (in fact, it felt way safer than..................cities with b*stard bag slashers like Quito).&nbsp; We stayed in the Old Town, an area of narrow streets, students and bohemian hangouts.&nbsp; Our main aim was to get a visa for Brazil, which according to the much maligned (of late) Lonely Planet states : <i>"In most embassies and consulates, visas can be processed within 24 hours, and in many embassies it takes only a couple of hours if you go in person (it´s instant in some places)" So we arrive on Wed night, even though we´re not flying til Sunday night, so we have 2 full working days to get it sorted.&nbsp; Err, wrong Mr Guidebook writer, try minimum 4 days not including weekends.&nbsp; And also not included is a description of what has to be the world´s most arrogant, officious, beaurocratic w*nker, who works&nbsp;at the Brazilian Embassy in Bogota.&nbsp;&nbsp;Lets just call him.....Bernado (cos that´s his name!)&nbsp; We went to the embassy on Thursday morning, and he told us to get some back up information to say we were flying on Sunday and bring it back to him before 1pm (with the implication that he would see what he could do).&nbsp;&nbsp;After running around like headless chooks printing ticket confirmations etc off the internet, we got back before 1pm to find out he´d gone to lunch, and does not process visas in the aftenoons (or even accept applications).&nbsp; Despite much (and we mean much) polite pleading with the front desk, the best we could hope for was to&nbsp;come back the next morning when the embassy opened.&nbsp; So the following morning we met Bernado with a smile and a good morning.&nbsp; "How did you get my name?" he shouted from the other side of the bulletproof glass.&nbsp; From your colleague, we said. "Una puta!" he replied.&nbsp; This means whore or prostitute in Spanish - a real act of professional polite&nbsp;conduct in an embassy we thought.&nbsp; He said no way was he going to process our visa that day, we would have to change our flights.&nbsp; Pleading (and in Karen´s case, a good dose of crying worthy of&nbsp;A Gold Logie!) did no good, as we weren´t going to get our visa til the next Tuesday!&nbsp; As we´d paid almost as much for&nbsp;our one way flight from Bogota to Rio (via Lima and Sao Paolo overnight - the cheapest option)&nbsp;as we´d paid for&nbsp;our whole return flight&nbsp;from London to Buenos Aires (!!!), the prospect of more fees to change the bloody thing was not one we relished.&nbsp; Well, at least we had time to craft a stunning email of complaint to the Brazilian Ambassador.&nbsp; Oh, it was a corker, hope the guy really gets in the shit!It gave a us a few extra days in Bogota though.&nbsp; We met up with a friend of Karen´s (from Adelaide)´s&nbsp;cousins, Michael, who has been living there for 5 years in a great part of town, living a great ex pat lifestyle.&nbsp; We ended up staying at his place for a couple of days, went to an awesome football game (one of the big Derbys of the season).&nbsp; We got the flash seats up the top, with the mountains of Bogota in the background, the crowd going nuts as the teams came on to the ground at sunset, and it was fantastic.&nbsp; Passion like we´ve never seen at a football match :&nbsp;big samba drums (a full orchestras worth), team coloured flares, fireworks every time a goal was scored, and the whole stand shaking with thousands of people jumping up and down and chanting team anthems.....................and Colombia´s supposed to be reserved by South American standards??&nbsp; Our team, the Millionairios, werent worth their title on the night, and weren´t quite a match for their opposition, but we didn´t care.&nbsp; In an atmosphere like that, the more goals the better!&nbsp; And what made it even better was that unlike English and other European football teams, there was no agro (even in a mixed crowd without barriers), no fights, no violence.&nbsp;The presence of about 2,000 Robo-Cop riot police (seriously, with the bodybuilder shaped breastplates, cod pieces and wrap around headgear they were dead ringers) might have helped though.&nbsp; It was all good natured stuff, even in the ´fanatics´ stand, where there was crowd surfing, mosh pit type activities, and&nbsp;more flares than the 70s, though on good advice, glad we didn´t end up there, just in case.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Michael showed us a few bars (one ex pat run place - the BBC or Bogotan Beer Company, brewed the most amazing beer!), cooked us a roast one night (bloody wonderful - we hadn´t had a good home cooked meal like that in forever) and we cooked a wicked curry and had a few bottles of wine&nbsp;- amazing what you miss.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Oh, and Brad decided that now his hair´s completely grey he would have a crack at dyeing it brown again to see what it looked like...............and it turned out about 50 shades redder than it should have done.&nbsp; Oh, the "Blood Nut" and "Fanta Pants"&nbsp;jokes came thick and fast from both Karen and Michael.&nbsp; No sympathy whatsoever!&nbsp; B*stards!With crossed fingers (and with a couple of knuckledusters as backup!) we got our visas and went virtually straight to the airport with our newly altered tickets, two days behind schedule, but full of excitement about our first Brazilian destination..................Riiiioooooooooo!Colombia had been one of our top places in South America - it had had the friendliest people by far that we´d met, and we´d seen some great places, in a safe environment.&nbsp; The place is poised to go off as a major tourist destination - we´re just glad we´d seen it&nbsp;before it´s boom.&nbsp; Five stars.&nbsp;
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/roamingmonk/roamingmonk/1253628088/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/roamingmonk/roamingmonk/1253628088/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/roamingmonk/roamingmonk/1253628088/tpod.html Fri, 16 Oct 2009 11:49:24 -0400 Brad and Karen's "Just Cos We Can" trip 2007-9

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Villa de Leyva, Colombia

Heading south towards the capital, Bogota, we stopped in a cobbled village called Villa De Leyva, all old adobe buildings and narrow lanes.&nbsp; And while nowhere in Colombia we´d been could be described as touristy, given the relatively low number of tourists that come here, it is&nbsp;a popular getaway for Bogotanos at the weekends.&nbsp; So&nbsp;we were pleased we´d timed it to be there mid week so it would be a bit quieter.&nbsp; Well, that was an understatement.&nbsp; Not sure if it was because it was Monday, but virtually every restaurant was shut.&nbsp; Well, we wanted authentic.............and we got it!&nbsp; We did walk an hour out of town to a giant fossiled Kronosaurus (a complete 12m long crocodile like dinosaur) and checked out some other massive fossils.&nbsp; The village itself was really nice, and made a great stop over on the way south.&nbsp; Next stop, Bogota.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/roamingmonk/roamingmonk/1253624883/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/roamingmonk/roamingmonk/1253624883/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/roamingmonk/roamingmonk/1253624883/tpod.html Fri, 16 Oct 2009 11:48:47 -0400 Brad and Karen's "Just Cos We Can" trip 2007-9

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San Gil, Vichada, Colombia

San Gil, the adventure sport capital of Colombia, and half an hour from the beautifully preserved village of Barichara.&nbsp; We found a great little place to stay inj San Gil&nbsp;(we´d virtually given up on the Lonely Planet recommendations), a mid sized town about 20 hours by bus from the San Bernado Islands.&nbsp;We took a local bus out to&nbsp; Barichara early in the morning before the place woke up, and got some lovely early light photos of empty streets (but got to love the occasional nun walking down the cobbled alleys to complete the picture).&nbsp; The village is set in picturesque hills and we took a path built hundreds of years ago out of the local stone&nbsp;from the area, which was essentially fossilised shells (pretty cool) for a couple of hours to the next, even tinier and more picturesque village for a mosey down the streets and a few ¨Buenos Dias´s¨to the locals as we went.&nbsp; Interestingly, the foundations of the village are mostly made up of giant ammonites and other&nbsp;fossils - some as much as a metre and a half across.&nbsp; The church even used them to make its garden wall.&nbsp; Back in Barichara, Brad´s continuing penchant for all food of the weird variety continued, as we went for lunch at a restaurant called, El color de ¨Hormigas, or The Colour of Ants.&nbsp; The specialty of the resturant, and of the local region, is the use of ¨fat bottomed ants¨ (isn´t that a ZZ Top song???)&nbsp;in their dishes.&nbsp; These huge bed bug looking beasts are fried and then added whole, or ground up and used in sauces.&nbsp; We had the most fantastic steak we´d probably had in the whole of South America, in this lovely balcony setting in the sunshine, with a cold beer or two and some crunchy (but actually quite good!) ants on top for good measure.We based ourselves in San Gil as we also wanted to have a crack at paragliding (ie. strapped in a harness with an instructor attached to a parachute off the top of a big hill).&nbsp; The spot in San Gil where you can do it is really picturesque, over tobacco fields and coffee plantations, with Colombia´s deepest canyon in the distance.&nbsp; We booked with the most reputable agency in San Gil (well, its all relative really!) given we were giving our lives over to someone else dangling several hundred metres in the air.&nbsp; We got picked up by an old guy in a clapped out old car, which we figured was the agencies driver that was going to take us to the launch site and the instructor.&nbsp; We wound up this crappy dirt road for ages until we got to the top of this hill, and it became clear that this guy was the farmer on whose land we were using to take off.&nbsp; He then introduced us to his 17 year old son,who was unravelling a parachute..................and was in fact also&nbsp;our pilot!!!!&nbsp; Well, no going back now!&nbsp; He proceeded to just sit on the grass with his&nbsp;14 year old&nbsp;brother (the take off assistant no less) without saying a word.&nbsp; We just stood there for 5 minutes (it took us this long to conclude this was the entire ´launch team´ and that no other pilot was coming)&nbsp;and then asked him what was happening.&nbsp; ¨Too windy now, we wait¨was the gist of it.Finally, Karen got to have a crack first.&nbsp; She shot off into the distance and straight into death defying spins, swoops and dives for about 15 mins (think of the Spitfires in the old WWII movies and you get the picture!), and then came back looking greener than the pilot´s experience!&nbsp; ¨Oh my God¨¨, she said, ¨I had to keep my eyes shut for the last 5 mins to stop myself chucking all over him¨!!!!&nbsp; Brad went next with repeated requests to do it slowwwwwwly, pleeeeeeaase!!!! while Karen stood watching him, chucking into the bushes at the same time!&nbsp; Ha! What an experience.&nbsp; Awesome scenery, but not a form of transport we´re keen to try again soon!!!!!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/roamingmonk/roamingmonk/1253625079/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/roamingmonk/roamingmonk/1253625079/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/roamingmonk/roamingmonk/1253625079/tpod.html Thu, 01 Oct 2009 08:38:59 -0400 Brad and Karen's "Just Cos We Can" trip 2007-9

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San Bernado, Sucre, Colombia

We stopped at the town of Tolu on the coast, a typical Colombian beach holiday town, where the local tourists hired 4 wheel tricycles (quadricycles??) to meander around the streets, and where there the esplanade is full of seafood restaurants.&nbsp; It was interesting to see how Colombians took their holidays, though being the low season (not sure how a low season works when the weather is exactly the same all year round, sunny, hot and humid, but still), most of everything was shut up.&nbsp; Didn´t really matter to us though, as the main reason we came here was to take a boat trip for the day out to the Islands of San Bernado off the coast.&nbsp; We had a beautiful day, hopping from one tiny idyllic island to the other, stopping on one that had a few shacks on it for a lunch of freshly caught fish and coconut juice out of the coconuts, relaxing on the beach and swimming in the clear blue waters and then cruising back.................our last look at the Caribbean before we headed east and inland to our next destination, the towns of San Gil and Barichara.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/roamingmonk/roamingmonk/1251569089/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/roamingmonk/roamingmonk/1251569089/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/roamingmonk/roamingmonk/1251569089/tpod.html Thu, 01 Oct 2009 08:37:09 -0400 Brad and Karen's "Just Cos We Can" trip 2007-9

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Capurgana, Choco, Colombia

We decided to head west to the border with Panama to the little villages of Capurgana and Sapzurro. Because of the difficulty of getting there, very few tourists make it this far, but it does have a reputation for isolated beaches (we were so hanging out for one of those as we had hardly spent any time doing beach stuff since we´d been in South America) and it's rainforest backdrop.&nbsp; As a great bonus, the place has no cars,&nbsp;in fact no motorised transport at all, with streets just for pedestrians and the occasional cyclist or horse and cart.&nbsp;Early start, a 6 hour bus journey plus another 6 in a 4WD minibus over dirt road to a dive of a town called Turbo for the night, then the early morning boat for three hours (small boat, packed with locals, and our backpacks in very necessary plastic bags against the spray), stopping off at little beach hamlets until we got to Capurgana. As is the case in pretty much all of Colombia, there are soldiers everywhere, and while the country is now safe (despite what Brad´s Mum might think - one old doco on kidnapping and she´s an expert), the soldiers add another sense of security. Most of them are 18 or 19 year olds on their National Service, and are really friendly, despite having AK47´s and boxes of spare clips on them. Capurgana is no different, and the soldiers inspected all our bags, passport etc before we could land. We ended up staying at one of the best places we´ve found so far. There´s not a huge array of reasonable accommodation, but we found Norman, a Colombian guy in his late 60s (though you´d never know it), who had a wooden house by the beach, and rents out a few rooms in it with hammocks and balconies overlooking the sea, complete with housekeeper who cooked great, freshly caught fish. Even on his own property he has lush gardens, and even his own Botanical Jungle (as you do!), plus a lovely swimming pool overlooking the sea, and was a really great, friendly guy. Two Colombian friends of his (William and Jeanette) were arriving the same day, so he said he´d show us all the area. So, first day we walked to the next hamlet on the beach further round, where some of the local soldiers said they´d accompany/ escort us (makes for great photos). We hung out at one of Norman´s other friends house right on the beach (between William, an ex-Army Captain who spent years around there protecting the border, and Norman, they seemed to know absolutely everyone here), lazing in their hammocks, snorkeling and eating a fantastic lunch (snapper and tuna - got to love that!) by the shore. All washed down with a beer or two, Colombian style, called a Michelada - beer with lime in a glass rimmed with salt, and admiring the view. Another one of those "travelling highs" moments. Next day we caught a boat to Sapzurro and walked over the hill into Panama (just leaving our names and passport numbers with the soldiers at the top of the hill - now that´s a laid back border crossing). Down the other side is a beautiful beach, including regulation postcard palm trees bending over the beach, one beach bar and a woman that sold awesome marinated sea snails in coconut sauce. Bit of laying, bit of snorkeling, bit of coconut shucking and mango picking, plus a few beers, and another great day was had by all. Day 3, Norman said he would show us his Botanical Gardens (complete with butterfly enclosure) and we walked up through the rainforest for a few hours, wading across small rivers to some natural swimming holes for a swim and cool off. By the time we got back at 5-ish, it was time for another cold beer and a swim in the pool, and some more fantastic fish for dinner. The next day was the piece de resistance. Norman said he had a friend who was a member of a traditional tribal village in Panama, and between us we could hire a local boatman to take us there. So off we left early in the morning, trawling for tuna on the way (Brad caught five, so enough for lunch), stopping at a checkpoint village in the next bay to get other ingredients to cook up with the fish, and then on to Panama. We were so, so far off the tourist radar here - the kids just stopped and stared, then smiled and waved, and the village people, most in traditional dress with gold rings through their noses, were so friendly and hospitable. We macheted coconuts full of juice before paddling up the river there, through jungle scenery, and coming back for our lunch of tuna. So good! We spent time wandering around, and met the chief, who was so interested to know what we thought of his beautiful, tidy village with its round bamboo huts, fruit trees and smiling kids. What a fantastic experience, and all thanks to Norman! He even caught a tuna on the way back, which we had as cerviche with our dinner. As Norman's son pointed out to us, we had the best guide in the whole of Colombia! We had planned to spend another couple of nights there and squeeze in a visit to the more touristed Tayrona National Park further east.&nbsp; It is supposed to have nice beaches (though the thought of staying in little tents - the only budget option except open air hammocks - wasn´t as appealing as lazing around Norman´s, having a dip in the pool with a beer, or walking to the lovely local beach or back across to the one in Panama).&nbsp; Norman´s place won hands down and we ended up spending another 5 nights for some well needed relaxation a world away from long bus&nbsp;journeys,&nbsp;the bustle of bus stations, and changing accommodation every second night.&nbsp; This was the first real beach time we´d had in 7 months in South America, and we just couldn´t face using most of the beach time we had left, to&nbsp;travel to the other end of the coast of Colombia for a&nbsp;beach and hospitality&nbsp;not as good as&nbsp;what we had on tap.&nbsp; Just couldn´t beat snorkelling 10m off shore directly in front of where we were staying, or sipping a beer in the pool, watching toucans and&nbsp;parrots in the trees around us.Really one of the highlights of Colombia for us.&nbsp;(For anyone reading this, and interested in staying there, Norman´s website is&nbsp;www.capurgana.net)&nbsp;
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/roamingmonk/roamingmonk/1251568246/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/roamingmonk/roamingmonk/1251568246/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/roamingmonk/roamingmonk/1251568246/tpod.html Thu, 01 Oct 2009 08:35:52 -0400 Brad and Karen's "Just Cos We Can" trip 2007-9

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Cartagena, Colombia

We long hauled it on a 23 hour bus journey from the Coffee Region to the jewel of Colombia, and one of the most beautiful towns of South America, Cartagena. Founded in 1533, it became a supremely fortified town used for storing plundered treasures from the region until they could be shipped to Spain, and was regularly attacked by pirates and buccaneers, and even those dastardly English in the 1700s. Historically, it was also one of South America´s first towns to declare independence from the Spanish in 1810. It´s also hot............... very hot. After the mid range temperatures we´d had in Ecuador and Galapagos, the fierce sun and humidity announced to us that we had definitely arrived in the tropics and our first taste of the Caribbean on this trip..................and we loved it! Also with the hot and humid weather came an abundance of delicious tropical fruit, which means only 1 thing............awesome fruit juices, including blackberry, 3 different types of passionfruit, mango, soursop, custard apple, papaya, zapote, feijoa and guava.&nbsp; Actually the hot and humid weather means 2&nbsp; things.......a close following of the Caribbean fashion for the ladies, which means the fatter you are, the tighter, smaller and more lurid the lycra you must wear!&nbsp; Obviously these ladies are not making the most of the abundance of fruit, but are following the Colombian fast food mantra of if it's not deep fried and dripping in oil or covered in sugar, or both, then it's not on the menu!&nbsp; In fact most snack food is made from maize flour, a food specifically engineered to absorb at least 10 times it's weight in oil!We´d arranged to meet our friends Sanjima and Leon (he of the shortened intestines after his emergency surgery in Cuzco, Peru) there for their last night before they returned home to UK. We spent the day wandering round the Old Town, through lanes with beautiful old houses and classic bougainvillea filled plazas, all surrounded by an enormous fortified stone wall 13km long. Our nearest description of the place would be a colonial Venice with horse and cart transport instead of gondolas. We arranged to meet Sanjima and Leon that night for a night on a "Chiva Bus". These are the old traditional local open side buses with bench seats, painted up with bright colours, with a traditional band on board (accordion, cheesegrater and maracas), plus a guy with a microphone getting everyone in the mood, being assisted ably by the free local rum and coke that kept getting passed back. It was a great mixture of locals, domestic and South American tourists, plus a few token gringos, and it finished up dropping us off at a club (where we continued the rum theme by buying a bottle and dancing away til at least 4.30am, when some locals we´d met walked us home). Sanjima and Leon got all of 3 hours sleep before heading off to the airport...........at least they´d sleep well on the plane. Apart from our wanderings around the Old Town, we organized to go to the Volcan de Totumo. Nine years ago a small mud volcano had erupted, and formed a conical mud mound 28 metres high, which is still filled with warm, thick, bubbling mud, the consistency of thick cream. A bizarre experience - not one we´d tried before............Active Volcano Mud Bathing? There are people in there that move you around (as well as giving you a mud massage while you´re in) - it´s so thick you can´t swim around in it or move around too much, and you only sink down to your stomach it´s so buoyant. We asked one of the massagers how deep it was and would we be able to touch the bottom, but he told us it was 2300m deep...................so, probably not then! The mud was that thick, that even getting out was an adventure. It weighted down Karen's bathers that much that the bottoms slipped straight off and she had to try and hold her strapless top up as well! There was slippery muddy boobs and bum everywhere, and everyone certainly got an eyeful! The experience finished off with a dip in the nearby lake where old women made you strip naked and washed you down with buckets of murky water. All in all, an hilarious adventure.
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