RHIANNON'S JOURNAL

2004-01-03T20:54:00.000+11:00

Fish porridge!!!!

i'll explain my reference to fish porridge a bit later...but not that much later as i unfortunatly I really only saw the 4 walls of my hostel during my stay in singapore...very brightly coloured and interesting walls too i might add. So, basically i ate some bad rice again and on my second day in SG found myself getting very very sick...the end result...double vision from an injection in the bum...eating nothing but dry biscuits again and trying desperately to forget that i was infact wasting my days away in a hostel in singapore rather than seeing the sights. But on the shuttle bus to the airport this afternoon i did get to see a few of the sights on the esplande...even if it was from a great distance. The hostel onwners were wonderful though...basically carrying me to the doctors...feeding me toast stuck together with fresh cocnut puree and butter...delicous...and steaming hot milo. I didn't have the heart to tell them that the dr had said specifically for me NOT to have milo. Milo is HUGE over here...they love it...big tins of it are sold everywhere even if it is the only grocery item in the shop. Apparelty Mcdonalds even have it as a permanent item on their menu. I was supposed to check out at 11am this morning but standing was difficulty and i was allowed to saty in bed untilo i caught the bus to the airport. Now fish porridge comes in (i think) when the lwner of the hostel came in to chek on me this arvo...i was knocked out of drugs but am pretty sure she asked me if i wanted some fish porridge from down the street...she was more than happy to go and get it from me. I politely replied no then as soon as she left ran to the bathroom to throwup yet again. I mean really....thats disgusting.

So unfortunatly it's been a bummer of an end to one incredible adventure...but these things happen i guess so i'll just put it down to just one of shitty traveling things. It could have been worse...my hostel could not have had air con...i'd have melted otherwise

My lasting impression of singapore though will be the very average but amusing performance of an ELVIS impressionist at the air port...followed by cabaret girls in the full glittery, feathery getup miming and dancing to "it's raining men"...gerri haliwell version. Classy. Time for me to find a couch to crash out on. be seeing you all VERY soon XX

2004-01-01T11:42:00.000+11:00

2 days ago i was complaining about how cold i was...now i feel like the next few days i'll be whining about how hot and sticky it is. I just can't be pleased...although i must admit i must prefer to being too hot than wearing 5 lyers of clothing hence looking like an umpa lumpa and still being cold. So i'm assuming everyone realises that all this talk about changes in temp means i arrived in singapore safely. Ok flight but...i'm really sick of flying. Kind of over that stinging feeling in the eyes s i peel away the sleep patches from my eyes followed by falling into fellow passengers laps as i stumble my way down the airplane ailse to the bathroom after having fallen asleep for a pathetic i hr during a 13hr flight. I smiled ever so sweetly at the check in desk though and scored myself an alise seat which i was over the moon about.

Leaving london was not such a big deal...although i was very tempted to saty for new years as there was quite the gang of ex marys collegians in town whom i was enjoying very much catching up with. But at the same time...being so close to home i just decided to keep on going just in case i happened to get stuck there indefintely.

The general vibe as i got on the MRT from the changhi airport was incredibly friendly. Everyone just keep smiling at me...asking if i wanted help with my bags...wishing me a happy new year. A lovely introduction to yet another continent. I then headed to my hostel...in the hub of chinatown thinking that i would just crash rather than celebrate the countdown to the new year. seeing how lively and colorful and packed chinatown was that idea quickly escaped me. I ended up going to an oudoor live band/rave/voting of hunk and babe of the evening contdown party. There were about 5 throughout singapore with about 5000 at each one...it certainly was an experience and the 'pagaent' for hunk and babe of the hunt was classic. Lots of parading around in very little with lots of spakly eye makeup (male AND female) with a $10,000 check awarded at the end of the night for both winners...all the 'hunk' could say in response to the question "how do you feel right now?" was GREAT...in a very high pitched yet not really that excited tone of voice. It was fun but pretty tough being by myself as well...firewroks were pretty spesh and the street decorations are quite impressive as the chinese new year is reaching fever pitch here. lots of massive red lanterns and over sized monkeys (year of the monkey!)and dragons covered in sequins scattered about. It's really quite breath taking. Add that to the atmosphere of chinatown and it's quite an experience.

I'm not so sure about the whole boiled fish head dish that seems to be a specialty in the kitchens here...makes my stomach turn just thinking about it. There is certainly a much brighter and lighter feel to singapore than i felt in london...although visiting the holocaust exhibition at the imperial war museum as well as the cabinet war rooms in the few days before i left...combined with the drab weather rpob didn't help the whol feeling. Oh...i didn't get a white christmas day but the 2 days before i flew here there was a small amount of snow...unfortunatley i had to be told about the first days snow falling as it was so significant it had melted before i'd left the British museum ( after ahving been evacuated for a reason i'm still unsure of!!). Wonderful egyptian exhibit though...All through Sth A megs was slighly obsessed with seeing the mummies in the museums...generally we just forgot to go or they were disapointing. These ones however were incredible!

yikes...getting carried away...expensive! ta ta

2003-12-30T00:33:00.000+11:00

What a contrast...speaking to my cos olivia whom was wearing her christmas present...none other than a pair of bathers in preparation for a 31 degree day whilst i sat on a bed in london...shivering despite wearing 4 layers of clothing and a very thick doona. Not long now though and i'll be gladly soaking up the sun.

Ok, so as usual it was cold here over christmas but that didn't stop me and my new found pale friends from having a wonderful christmas day. Lou and Jane (lous housemate) slaved all morning to dish us up an absolutely delicous gourmet christmas feast...Turkey "hoisted on red onions" as lou liked to keep saying, roast pork with lashings of red onion gravy. Enough scrumptious roated vegetables...Jamie oliver style... to feed an entire army and the sole pain in the arse vegetarian (namely me) was even catered for with stuffed butternut pumpkin and halved peppers filled with garlic, cherry tomatoes and heavenly smelling herbs and spices. champagne, red wine, Home made mulled wine...oh...and smoked salmon with capers and squeezed lemon...and cheeses...and trifle and bachi cake and plum pudding with brandy sauce. Ok, i'm over talking about food...i'm sure you get the gist that these girls are VERY handy in the kitchen. Although it sounds like H and megs in Sth A also did very well for themselves in the christmas lunch department...yummo!

Christmas day was great really, lots of laughs...some funny moments and some very sleepy guests at the end of the day. time is nearly up on here though...gotta go brave the insane people trying to get bargains at the sales (still out of my price range!)...i just want to get to the tube but even that will take me 1/2 hr to walk 20m

2003-12-23T22:50:00.000+11:00

I just read over a little of my last journal entry...sorry if anyone bothered to read it...i was just in such a hurry that day!

Well, I'm still in the home of takeaway prepackaged sandwhichs (i know people are busy here but YUCK!!) and buckets of sickly sweet coffee...icy cold london, and it's only 2 more sleeps till christmas and only 11 days, i think, before this big 'journey' i've been on for the past months (i seriously hate that word) comes to a halt. Wow, it really has gone so quickly .But enough about that...I read an email from H the other day that basically started with "whats happening"?! looks like the tables have turned so that i'm the one now slacking off on my diary entries. I guess it's because although i'm really enjoying london I also feel that little of it is worth writing about as such because it's not all so out of the ordinary as Sth A was. I shouldn't compare i know, but i just can't help it...but i will give it a go and try to let you all know some of what i've been up to.

Nell was a wonderfulhost and had me zipping around all the well known sites from the moment she greeted me at the airport...it must have been a huge struggle for her coping with me the first few days as i was seriously jet lagged and just kept falling asleep wherever possible. As our guide was filling us in on the history of stonehenge i was failing miserably to keep my eyes open and kept hitting my head on the bus window (and most likely drooling) as i nodded off...it was only when he said something about mice dropping into peoples open mouths as they slept that i sat bolt upright looking very sheepish and feeling quite rude. Big mistake to sit up the front of the bus...hence right in front of him!! It was also incredibly handy to have nell basically hold my hand tilli understood the whole dreaded london tube a bit more. For a while there i was even announcing to various peoplethat the whole system was actuallyquite good...and that i couldn't understand why people complained about it so much...that was until yesterday. Apparently there was emergency engineering going on which meant i wanted at least an hr for trains that usually came every 4mins and itjust so happened that it was the one day i actually had to be somewhere at certain time. I am totally sympathetic now to those who actaully have to rely on the tube to get to work etc. The delays made everyone crazy...fights on the platform, policeman running upand down the platforms...kids on holidays creating havoc on their skateboards...it was far from pretty and even further from the jolly old christmas spirit i had been experiencing this past week.

Otherwise nell and i went to the worlds largest antique market on sat...ovbiously the brillant portobello market in notting hill. I absolutely loved it. although basically everything was still out of our price range it was wonderful just seeing such an extraordinary variety of antiques,clothes, collectables and foods. smelling the fresh cut christmas trees lining the streets and the spicey aroma of mulled wine floating by every now and again as we scoured over the tables and tablesof jewelry and funky clothes for all tastes and the most beautiful scarves i've seen yet. Of course we also hunted down "the travel bookshop"from the movie notting Hill and needless to say it was jam packed fullof people. I did have a laugh when an english lady parked outside the bookshop popped her head out of her parked car and asked very sincerely why it was everyone was taking photos of the shop...well dah!! talk about living in her own little world...I had two words for her "Hugh Grant". she looked mighty sheepish and disappeared quickly back into her car. The Tate modern museum was also a worth while day venture. It had an exhibition on called "the weather project"by olafur eliasson...it was created in the Turbine hall...a massive room with an incredibly high ceiling covered in mirrors. Basically we could walk behind a free floating 'sun' suspended high above the floor and to the back of the hall. The 'sun' creates this alluminated but errie feel to the room with mist floating around. But mostly visitors just want to lay on the floor and make shapes with there bodies and hence look at themselves in the mirrors above. It was wicked, although my discription of it dosn't do it justice at all.

Last night nell and i headed down to the globe theatre for some vodka cranberry shots in ice shot glasses at the ice bar...the perfect chaser afterwards was some very warming mulled wine. Last night was absolutly freezing so it was the perfect thing to do really. H,you will fully be abletopicture what i say next...I had this habit in sth A of having to'touch everything i came across at the markets etc...i love texture...anyway, i decided to pick up the ice shot glasses excpet they were incredibly slippery and soi just kept dropping them which in turn crested an domino affect that i just couldn't stop...thankfully none broke but it was VERY embarassing! Nell took me out on the town sat night with a few of her work friends...I just love a good cosy pub! expect I got very tired of hearing "so, how does it feel to be a loser!"...Can't they just shutup about the world cup already...like i could care less!!!!! after the pub we went on to a club called revival...kind of tacky but loads of fun as it only plays 80s music...nell and i were singing our lungs out to "summer of 69"...totally hamming it up. The club had disco balls and rubix cube lights hanging everywhere...complete with a revolving dance floor...classy it wasn't... but entertaining and fun it was. A pretty big downer was put on the night though when we had to wait in line for over an hr to get a taxi...it was beyond freezing to the point where i was only able to stutter...i kid you not...it was absolutly FREEZING. I was already pretty annoyed that the all the venues closed at 1am anyway...i was just getting started!

Sushi in Harrods was pretty delicous too the other day followed by gourmet sweets for me and donuts for janelle. Only my second time using chop sticks though...the first being at a sushi bar in santa monica with megan...i managed to get more in my moth than all over me this time than i did with megan (whom i provided endless entertainment for) I couldn't believe the setup of Harrods though. I was actually scared to touch anything! A home cooked meal at a work friend of nells the other night was another highlight. It was wonderful just being in a house surrounded by young children again who were all so incredibly excited about there only being 4 sleeps till santa came. Hearing the english accent on an adoreable 4yr old with beautiful blonde hair...especially when she said "mummy" was too cute for words. Made me realise how much i miss not having my cousins nina, yolande and liv around each day though...kids laughter and excitement...especially this time of year is just so infectious! well, i think i'm even boring myself now with all this...time to sign off with a huge Merry Christmas for all...Hopefully it's full it exciting presents, scrumptious food, laughter and beautiful memories for all. Just think of me as i freeze my butt off over here...will be seeing you all soon XXXXX

2003-12-19T03:51:00.000+11:00

too much to write and just too little time! well, i'm in london now and staying with gorgeous nell out in northwood. it's a bit of a trek back into london but then town is lovely and i enjoy being out of london at such a busy time of year.

Mostly we have been doing the usual tourist sites...Buckingham palace, the 20 xmas tree in trafalguar square that doens't actually look that big because of all the huge buildings surrounding it, Big Ben, tower bridge and so on and so on. I'm sure all of you know what it is i'm seeing with alot of those reading this having seen them before me. We did take a day trip to bath and sailsbury though to see stonehenge and the roman baths for ourselves. I really loved bath, it ws beautiful...the english countryside even looked exactly how i pictured it...green fields that do on forever enclosed by wooden plank fences and hedges. Even the occasional castle seen in the distance. Nell thinks i bought the good weather with me as i have been lucky enough to have not one single day of rain...just wait till tomorrow though. I've probably jinxed myself! I am officially freezing though and trying to keep my complaining to a minumum. I keep getting all these emails from people back home telling me how hot it is...37degrees i've heard...it's between 2 and 5 over here. I'd cry but i think my tears would just freeze. But, other than the cold and the fact thats it's so expensive here...i really do like london.

I particularly love the winter fashion...long divine coats...toasty wooly but colourful scarves...everyone just looks so cosy and suave. guys over here even wear scarves and look gorgeous in them. i still find myself giggling though as policeman walk by in those ridiculous hats...one last thing before my time runs out on this! the buskers in london are so completly upper class it's ridiculous as they don't just have empty tin cans and a couple of dogs howling along to "how much is that doggy in the window" as the ones in swanston street do. Instead they are all flogging their own CDs and have there guitars and microphones plugged in to massive amplifiers ( i seriously need to go back to uni so i know how to use the spelling part of my brain again) but the main difference is they are actually worth listening too and i want to give them money for that reason rather than because i feel sorry for them.

the christmas spirit here is incredible as well and beautiful decorations everywhere...makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside

2003-12-12T02:50:00.000+11:00

Well it's adios South America and hello darlings of Los angeles; city of angels...but to be more precise, west Hollywood as megans groovy one bedroom apartment (with a really impressivly huge, flat screen T.V) is nestled between santa Monica and hollywood boulevards...it's all very surreal but FANTASTIC! However i do feel that if i lived here it might seem alot less appealing. This place is gigantic and has a very pathetic bus system for those who don't have a car to get around.

First impressions have been surprisingly good and everyone is 'super' friendly to the point sometimes were i feel quite ill. people are just so incredibly poilte and upbeat despite the fact that the majority live their incredibly busy lives eating pre packaged foods. Now i knew this fact already but walking around supermarkets here really bought it home. Everything can be bought in a packet...from liquid eggs or there more technical name being cholestrol free, fat free, low calorie, pasteurized, refrigerated egg 'product'. to pump spray butter. But i really laughed aloud when i picked up a jar of powdered guacamole...just add advocados (i'm surprised they weren't dehydrated IN the jar already!). Now i have no talent in the kitchen at all but even i was able to whip up some guacamole dip for my going away party and Dave even said it was quite edible! Also the obsession here with fat free, lowest calorie possible foods is...how should i put it...mental! but the sushi is delicous and home delivered and i'm well and truly getting my desperately needed hits of good coffee. Coffee chains, a.k.a starbucks plus other ones are everywhere and the smallest coffee size available is grande...literally a bucket of coffee and every person that i walk past is drinking from one...many using a straw to drink from it. I've never understood this concept and i refuse to sucumb to peer pressure and become one of the masses...at least in terms of drinking coffee out of a straw anyway.

Back to the 'friendly' american comment...so many people that have gone out of there way to give me directions etc said something about 'connections' meaning they felt a connection with me and thats why they stopped to help out. OK...weird...creepy...flattering if i don't think about it too much. Including one guy...one very hot 25yr old guy to be exact from baltimore who raced out of his shop to introduce himself and give me his cell number. Proceeding to ask if i'd also felt the connection...i smiled and nodded because i didn't want to explain to him that i was simply checking him out, hence the long stare...he just happened to look up and catch my eye. i could get used to this whole 'connection' thing. Feeling very safe, actually invisible here as from what i've been told and can see for myself...this area of west Hollywood has a very large proportion of gay men. toned stomachs in crop tops and getting around in very flashy cars is everywhere...certainly not missing the constant kissing noises from creepy spainish men at all... this anonymity thing is blissful!

The day after i arrived i went for a walk around the farmers market... a very expensive version of the queen Victoria market in melbourne. One of the shops/stalls was entirely devoted to spicey sauces...shelved according to their heat factor...i high tailed it out of there though as soon as the lady started to bring taste samples around though. Feared it may burn my skin even just by picking it up. I'm SUCH a woss! What i don't get though is their insistence on everything being flavoured cinamon. It's a fact that red lollies in Aust and even Sth A are THE best...the ones that everyone fights over...yet here red ones here are positively evil and make me gag. Not impressed! It's no wonder that america is described as an obese nation because it is so much more expensive to eat healthy here. Fruit and veg prices are sky high everywhere...takeway or 'junk' food is a much cheaper option. Mind you, i haven't seen one over weight person in this part of town...lots of over weight hair styles though...lots of blonde dos that wouldn't even budge if a hurricane came through...it's facinating to see all this first hand. Big four wheel drive cars everywhere...moving at a snalis pace during peak hour. From the air the huge number of freeways overlapping each other looked like a massive labrynth at an amusement park that would take weeks to get yourself out of. Ovbiously the thing that stuck me first about L.A was the size if it...absolutely HUGE...every few seconds airplanes were landing and taking of...22 international terminals compared to Australias 1!

Weirdest thing the other day...i was walking back from the farmers market when i walked past three guys who looked incredibly familiar... i decided that i couldn't be this far away from home and just walk right past someone who i thought could be from melbourne. It worked out that we did know each other...my first line to him was..."um, this may sound strange but, you don't happen to work at the melb uni gym do you? before long the four of us were having coffee and i was helping them out on where they should go in Sth A as they were flying there in two days time. It really is a small world! Hey, they said something about there being floods in Melbourne...um, guys, what's THAT all about?!? I've also had another coincidence whilst i've been here. Megan has loaned me her mobile for the week... anyway, her phone rang and assuming it would be her i answered...but it wasn't her it was jess smith and it was such an awesome surprise because i haven't talked to her for ages...not even before i went away. In true jess style she said um, where are you? which was hilerous seeing she had called L.A for megan! she was a bit confused thinking i was on my way back to australia having already stayed at megans a while ago. So there we were chatting on megans mobile...in different continents. She was just as surprised as i was but it was wonderful catching up with her.

Well it's time for me to shower and start my day...megan headed to work at 6am this morning...shes over worked and tired but i'm very impressed as she is (somehow) still passionate about her job. Also... i am under the impression that she is making a very good impression upon the more senior partners and is quickly moving up in the food chain of goldman sachs. It's just been so wonderful to hang out with her again and get to see where she lives etc etc, although it's been ages since i saw her last... now we are seeing each other each day it doesn't really feel as though it's been nearly 2yrs (i think)

off to hollywood blvd today for a bit of star watching and general glitz of this place...i'm assuming it will just be another world entirely over there. i'll keep that glass of water handy Rach...

2003-12-08T10:53:00.000+11:00

i have to make this reasonably quick as i'm at the airport and it's mega expensive...but when theres internet around and i have nothing better to do i may as well spend my last paseos connecting with you lovely people!

feeling quite strange at present because i can't really remember feeling this way before...a feeling of saness and excitement. All day i just wandered about satiago trying to put off the ineviatble packing thing... something that i've come to dread each time we move to another destintion. Except this time i'm not just moving into the town or even the next country. This time it's too the big flashing lights of L.A and a city that i'm sure will shock me so much more than santiago did with it's 'westernized' ways.

Leaving Santiago on a sunday was a stroke of luck though as the city itself is quite different. It slows down about a thousand paces and the gorgeous parks about the city fill up with families devoting the entire day to lazing on the grass...eating even MORE icecream than usual and cleaning fairy floss of their childrens/siblings faces. I also learnt from roaming through the park that the copious amounts of pigeons here have as much difficulty flying as chileans do walking. Either that or they just don't like me very much at all! They are also the fattest and happiest pigeons i have come across...i put this down to the fact that there is always peoplein the parks just sitting on a park bench and throwing food into the masses of pigeons. They kind of waddle, thus being frightingly similar to ducks.

But enough about the bird life here...i'm desperately trying to take mymind of leaving this stunningly amazing continent. I think what i will miss alot from my time here is not constantly bumbing into the same travellers time and time again as we all head down the gringo trail. A few will visit me in Aust early next year but it just is difficult to take in that my time here is up. Its certainly not all doom and gloom though guys as i'm pretty excited about the next phase of my trip and almost bursting about seeing megan in 16 hrs or so. I will do my best to not ramble on about how sad i am about not being in sth A anymore because it's remarkable for me to even think that i was here for as long (or relatively short time in the scheme of things) as i was...when i was sick i very nearly went back home. All i can say is i'm so thrilled that i stuck it out.

Yikes, gotta go

more from L.A

2003-12-02T08:22:00.000+11:00

I'll try not to get all mushy and sentimental but it's going to be quite difficult...H and megs left santiago this afternoon for southern chile...leaving me all lonesome in this huge busy city. Ok, that was majorly pathetic of me...santiago is big but it's really not that scary. I'm just feeling sad that i'll no longer have H beautiful smiley face around me everyday. disapointed that i won't get to experience anymore of sth A with them. But, everything must come to an end as they say...or at least a change of direction and experiences as i'd prefer to look at it. I have still just over a month to travel and some freinds to meet up with along the way that i'm so excited about seeing i could nearly burst...only 6 more days megs!!!!!

I decided to take my mind off H and megs departure by heading into the centre of santiago...a place that is so busy i knew i'd be able to occupy my mind elsewhere. It's kind of driving me slightly crazy that the general population in santiago cannot walk. Or at the very least they are only able to walk in one straight line. They choose a path and direction in which they want to walk and NOTHING will make them move off it. I'll have bruised shoulders by the time i leave here because they just will not move out of my way...i try to dodge but they seem to come from every direction. They remind me of SOME women with baby prams (no offence mothers with pram age children here!) who seem to feel they have the right of way regardless and so basically steam roll you with the pram leaving swollen ankles all over the place. Personally i think it's because they are concentrating too hard on eating their ice creams...EVERY person i walked pass was either eating an ice cream or queing up for miles to buy one.

I was walking past a cafe today when i felt the urge for a decent coffee...i looked in and saw it was packed with men...all standing up sipping their coffees and chatting to the waitresses. Now this may not seem news worthy except that their were ONLY men in there and all the 'waitresses' were wearing the tinest and tightest little maids outfits i've ever seen. high heels, too muchy bad makeup and a lot of attitude. I really wanted a coffee and had heard it was brillant so i thought stuff the fact that i wasn't a male, i wanted a coffee. I didn't get nearly as much attention as the men did (thank god)...except from the men themselves but the coffee was wonderful! watching the waitress interacting with the men was fascinating...talking about the lamest conversations ever...what was in the news paper and so on. lots of smoozing, random touching of the hands and way too much fake laughter followed by exaggerated flicking of the hair. I couldn't help but stare. I was kind of miffed when i went to use the bathroom and found that they only had one for males though! females arn't banned from this massive coffee franchise, they just don't seem to go, don't blame them really, it was really quite sad to watch. However some of the men just seemed to be craving attention and conversation so i couldn't help but feel sorry for them. I passed various others on my wandering of the city...one the waitresses wore one piece, grey body suit dresses (hideous) and the other one...bikinis. These places were absolutely packed with men willing to pass up their siesta for a coffee!!??...

Well, not much more to report...not that exciting as santiago is just another city really...H if youre reading this...make sure you try and keep up to date on your blog...i want lots of description so i can at least feel some connection to down sth. It was wonderful travelling with you...i'll really miss it (and you). coffee date in degraves st when i see you next baby! XXXXX

2003-11-28T07:57:00.000+11:00

Medoza, argentina...an incredible bus drive through the andean mountains from santiago bought us into yet another country in so few days that my head felt as though it was spinning out of control. But it's now resting nicely with only a slight rock from side to side motion occasionally as we instantly relaxed with the tranquil beauty of this place. Mendoza is basically a very modern city (because it was completly destroyed by earthquakes and fire not too long ago) with luciously grand trees lining the wide streets and creating a beautiful canopy for us to walk under. We literally walked around here on our first afternoon with our mouths hanging open just gawking at the hundreds of clothes shops and a mall that we still haven't found the end of after three days here. thankfully argentina is really cheap now after the economy crahsed a few years ago, before this it used to be on a par with Australia.

Argentina...where leather is gorgeous and cheap and where a whole dead cow is put on a plate (more like platter actually) and called 'a' steak. It's crazy the slabs of meet dished out here and unlucky for me i'm travelling with a major steak lover (megan, not H) who salivates at the simple mention of the word. Argentina is know throughout all of sth A for the suculience of it's steak...with means every argentinian we have talked to and will meet has been grilled on the best place to eat steakm at. Just as well the wine here is divine or i'd be going crazy at meal times. tough being a vegie here...even meals said to be vegetarian on the menu have ham and bacon in them...simply becasue it's not considered meat as such!

Mendosa is also home to many university students so literally every few steps we are confronted with tall, thin, tanned and very well dressed spainsh girls. they have the most perfect skin and cheekbones...straight shiny gorgeous hair...feeling like a bit of a slob in my travel clothes. The fashion is quite different from melb but mostly it's great. shoe shops everywhere but a few too many spotty tops. The young guys here are not just good looking, they are beautiful...all of them have long hair (that borders on a mullet) but looks so sexy that it's very difficult to stop from staring at them. We asked our ''pool boy" (yep, we have a pool at our bed and breakfast and a hot pool guy to wait on our beck and call...seriously this place is wonderful) why all the guys have jesus style hair and he simply replied "because the ladies love it of course...don't you?" should have know bedcause we can't walk 10m without having this hideous kissing sound made at us, cat calls, guys hanging out of cars and hollering at us. Spainish guys here seem to have a radar for anyone western and female with two legs. Actually i think it would still happen even if we had 6 legs. Theres also an abundance of really young pregnant women looking as though they are about to pop...but see them from behind in their teeny weenis tops and you wouldn't even know they are pregnant... bizarre. Basically every night is considered going out on the town night with bars everywhere. It doesn't get dark here till about 8:30pm which is wonderful...it gets to 10pm usually before we even consider going for dinner...although everything shuts here between 2pm and 5pm because the afternoon seista is taken VERY seriously! gotta love this life style.

Today we were picked up from our B & B and chauffered to the chandon winery just out of mendosa (thanks to H wonderful contacts) and treated to a wonderful day of wine tasting and tours of the winery. we now know the ins and outs of tasting wine and the wine making process. It was a really interesting day and everyone went out of their way to give us a friendly and private tour for the day. Even if we were all severly hung ovver and sleep deprived. I literally had to throw things at H and megs and shake them senseless to wake them up this morning. Racing up and down the stairs and apologising to our driver. It was hilerous though watching them try to get ready in 10sec. I got really excited at one stage when i went into our room and megs wasn't on her bed...but i looked over and she had gotten up to use the bathroom and just plonked herself down on my bed. All comfy and cosy and snuggling into my handbag!??!! H was so out of it she farted whilst the vineyard manager (calos) was giving us a speel about how the whole farming of grapes works. She tried to be all mature about it by saying..."pardon me...carry on" but megs and i just lost it and started giggling like school girls...it summed up the whole crazy morning really. Carlos handled it very well just saying to megs and i "it´s over now girls" because we just couldn't control ourselves (by the way, i had Hs' permission to put this on written record".

well, thats enough for now...i could go on and on and on about how amanzing beautiful, hot, relaxing and spledid this gem of a city is...How delicous and good sparkling wine tastes whilst sitting by the pool... but then that would be teasing...ciao ciao

2003-11-25T08:01:00.000+11:00

I think i left this as we were going onto the salt flats (solar de uyuni) from uyuni in bloivia...i can't seem to work this stupid computer (it will prob crash on me now because i just verbally abused it) so all my journal entries look as they they have been typed on an ant size computer...i need more SPAINISH!!!! so forgive any repitition

Ok, well we went on a really cruddy bus for 15hrs from La Paz to uyuni...it was this huge, old rust bucket thing with seats that just decided to colapse for the hell of it. The windows were held together by rubber bands (very thick strong ones mind you) so they couldn't be opened...which meant we had to breath in the stench of what smelt like dead llama as well as sweat that had piled up under the locals armpits for months i reckon (ok, too much information, sorry). Further, I decided that our driver felt like being creative this particular night and so chose to drive through paddocks and rivers to make his otherwise dull journey much more interesting. The main road literlly was a very bumpy dirt track so there was no sleep had that night. we arrived in uyuni at the ungodly hour of 4:30am and it was absolutely freezing... i was chilled to the bone. Not much to say about uyuni except it's in the middle of the desert and has one muesum...which just happened to be shut. why you would close the one thing to do in the town i have no idea.

Not the most pleasant start but all of this was forgotten as we started the 3day tour of solar de uyuni. There could not possibly be any better way to travel over the border from bolivia to chile. the scenery just blew me away with it's beauty, vastness and variety. we were even lucky enough to see two of the low soaring magnificant condors away from their usual stomping ground, the culca canyon. Just gliding, diving and flapping thier impressive wings just above us.

The salt flats were literally just that...1200 sq kms of salt plains with ramdom small mountains piled up in various spots to be collected and exported. Basically the salt is the only form of agriculture for the people of uyuni as nothing else will grow there. seeing the pure while flats stretching on forever with a back drop of blusih coloured mountains was breathtaking. the mountains reminded me of torn paper...as though they had been put their purely for our benefit. in the middle of these salt flats was an island covered by thousands of huge furry cacti. apparently a cactus 1cm tall was 1 yr old...the ones that were 12m were 1200yrs old...useless fact but pretty spectacular when you see them up close.

We also came across a hostal made out of salt...A soft salt floor...salt tables and chairs...you name it. pity the owner was such a raving looney...demanding that we buy something from his overpriced candy selection before we took a photo. kind of strange that a business that relies totally on toursits has the reputaion for making people feel like dirt and thus willing to pass on a photo rather than give the guy what he wants...salt on the brain and too much solitude has made him a little crazy!

In the three days we came across thousands of pink flamingoes on various lagoons...bright red and lucious green lagoons filled with minerals that make the flamigoes the colour pink. I had no idea thast flamigoes were naturally white and that it was what they fed on that changed their colour. I've always found them such a tacky bird...i guess because i've only ever seem them in the plastic form and used as garden ornaments. they really are bizarre but pretty birds though. The whole three days we were driven aroun in 4 wheel drives which was pretty cool...our driver making up his own roads because it was either open salt flats or desert the whole time.

The last morning we were taken to laguna blanca to the thermal baths...our first reaction was absolute disgust as the first bit of the lagoon we saw was frozen over and underneath was just slime...but a little walk led us to a beautiful thermal bath which really was hot (still a bit slimy thoug) such a perfect back drop for those game enough to strip off at 4800MT and slip into the bath. Mountains all around in rich reds, browns and whites all meshing into one. Before this we were up at 4:30am to see the sun rise over the geysers. An area were hot water explodes out of the ground sending off hot steam and the most awful rotten egg smell (sulphur) you could imagine. one guy felt this gave him the perfect cover to fart without others knowing...pity i walked up beside him as he did so. he was so embarassed especially as i couldn't stop laughing.

It was then only a 1 hr drive from our meeting point to San pedro in chile, just like that we were in another country. It was rather a drawn out process at immigration though as we were informed bolivia has foot and mouth disease (?!?!). We had to step off the bus straight into a mushy, spongy disenfectant bowl then present all our other shoes for inspection...as well as our bags all being checked throughly.

San Pedro...VERY very hot and dusty
It's in the middle of the desert but strangely has really green trees
Constant water shortages yet shop owners ALWAYs seem to be watering the dirt roads to stop the dust flying up (dah!)
Locals just seem to Â´hang' in the square and look very sketchy
Gringos get drunk and stoned because the dust is so depressing I guess
We stayed 1 night
Woke up at 4:30am to watch Aust in the world cup and were out numbered by the english gang
Thankfully we left before 1 of them split his head open whilst dancing on a table...

H and i actually had our first night in a long while by ourself as we went to catch our flight from calama in nth chile to santiago...our last flight together. I think this really bought home to us that the first part of our journey together is very quickly coming to an end...we head our seperate ways in a week. So, i'm feeling a bit strange...a bit all over the place because the challenges of new countires will soon be upon me. Plus i'm disapointed i won't be flying down sth with H and megs. I'm so thankful she has someone to travel with now though.
Oh, i'm starting to get all sad about it so i'd best be moving on. We have found a wonderful hostel in santiago to stay in and run by an australian. The biggest kitchen i have ever seen in any hostel and the best showers in sth america...Being back in santiago is a real head spinner when i think back to our perceptions of it the first day we were in sth america. It's basically like being in a city in Aust but i'm feeling really daunted by it after having been in ecuador, peru and bolivia. It's much more expensive, fashion is ovbiously a big thing here and besically everything is one offer...give me back peru!!! It has sushi though!

ciao

2003-11-17T10:43:00.000+11:00

Um...we are actually inLa Paz bolivia at the moment...It's so exciting....totally a last min decsion as the border opened up again after a couple of months and we just COULDN'T pass it up...so here we are, Phew!!

but let me back track a bit, lots has been going on before thisbecausewe are in such amad rush to do as much as we possibly can. firstly we left cuso for puno on a 10 hr train ride...a train that we almost didn't catch because of a big nite on the town and somje very woozy heads. But we made it and so found ourselves arriving in Puno on lake titicaca at sunset...the sky just over the mountains looked asthough it was on fire....absolutely spectactular. More than enough to awaken even the wooziest of heads from the train seats. Somehow we managed to wangle our way into a US$25 per nite hostel for only 15soles (AUS $6) smack bang inthe hustle and bustle of Puno. Puno was such an incredibly busy place, people everywhere with an absolute abundance of food stalls...delicous fruit of every variety and hundreds and thousands of home made bread stalls...just as well i lovebread. particularly good for travellers on the go like us...a bit of bread...a tiny wee sweet banana mashed in the middle and before you know it...breakfast on the run. The meat market was also quite interesting...whole carcus' of sheep and god knows what else...minus the head...sheep and llama hoofs...skinned sheep heads and the longest, fatest and ugliest tongues i've ever seen. Apparently there were llama heads hanging up in thereas well...which megan insisted we go in search of...lucky for me they had all been sold for that nights dinner..mmmmmm!

The following day we took an over night tour to the uros floating island wherethe people you live there chose to seperate themselves from the those on the mainland of puno. This island was literally floating on the roots and soil from a special type of reed.so special that it can be peeled back like a banana and eaten (tastes kind of like celery)... dried and used to make their huts as well as these massive canoes that get them to and from their neighbouring floating islands. Oh...the surface ofthe island is also layed thinkly with these reeds so it{s kindof squishy...the uros people replace these every month so they don't fall through the island i guess. It was an incredible experience even if it was quite bizarre...VERY touristy...stuffed birds of different varieties were even placed about for our benefit,ewwwwwwwwww!

The sky was an incredible blue and the clouds just beautiful...i love just staring up at the skyin sth america...perfect squishy balls of cotton wool. one of the islands even had a tiny little tipee as a post office...what a cack!

Our pathetic excuse for a speed spot then snail paced it 4 hrs to anonther island where we stayed the night with two to each family. this was both a unique and weird experience. it was pretty incredible being invited tosee first hand how these self sufficent families lived...where they slept and prepared their food. Except they didn't talk to us bar telling us our lunch, dinner or breakfast was ready. my understanding was they have tourists stay with them everyday and so just want to keep to themselves. Also they speak a dialect of spainish called Quitcheoa so even our lame attempts at spainsh would have fallen on dumb ears. It was sad seeing them eating by themselves in a tiny dark cook room with no windows as we sat and ate in a little guest room thewy had set up for us...we ate with spoons whilst theyused their hands as the guniea pigs ran about their feet. knowing this as we ate made us feel quote awkward. they were very shy but also very polite. the island had no electricity so I nearly broke my ankle numerous times as they walked us back to their homeafter watching the worst sunset ever (our guide managed to talk right through the sunset he had specfically walked us up the mountian to see as we froze our butts of and couldn't understand a word he saidbecause he started the sentence in spainish and finished it in english...total moron and thats being too kind!)

We then spent one more night in puno and speed off to cococabana...crossing the border into bolivia was the easiest wehave done so far. we actually started to breath after this because we just cannot believe we are here. we had resolved ourselves to not seeing bolivia at all because of all the political upset and now look at us. cococabana (although haunted by barry manilow)was a beautiful town right on lake titicaca (which is more like an ocean as it is so huge!) thelake is spectacular, the montains in the distance a pastel blueand the watercrystal clear. it{s unfortunate the entire bay is covered with those annoying paddle boats though. the view down the main street of Coco and onto the lake was glorious...couldn't have asked for more really. the town just had a beautiful feel to it...relaxed and fun. i wish we could havespent more than 1 night there though. BUT we have 6 days to get to northern chile for our flight in calama. we are really under the hammer but still have a 4 day tour of the salt flats in uyuni to do.

We walked up to the top of the highest mountain just beside the townto watch another glorios sunset. from that hight and looking out of lake titicaca was so peaceful and beautiful. the pinks and oranges were so bright and just got better the further the sun went down...oh...i really have to go, so much more to write but i have to re enrol in uni (yikes...can't believe i'm going back!"!!!!) and get ready to leave la paz tomorrow after only one night. i hate feeling so rushed. so sorry ifthe emails are abit scarce...i hope everyone iswell and will bein touch soon. keep those emails coming though

2003-11-12T05:30:00.000+11:00

hey all...iÂ´ve been doing the inca trek for the past 4 days...can you believe it! i actually got to Machu Picchu. itÂ´s really hard to believe that we are already back from it and apart from being really difficult and exhausting it was superb. Certainly the high light of my trip thus far. ItÂ´s difficult to know where to start writing about it so just bare with me if this is all over the place. All the days seem to be moulding into one but basically the first days walking was the easiest, a kind of stroll i guess you could say through a beautiful national park with 10 other trekkers and 14 porters. our group of 11 ended up being a wonderful gentle and friendly group to share this amazing experience with...a couple from london and a group of three mates also from london but originally from india as well as the six of us. but i must tell you about the porters...as it is cumpolusory to do the inca trail now with a guide to help preserve the trail we had a small army to take care of us. basically our porters carried everything from our tents and food for the whole 4 days. these guys can only be described as mini superman. i say Â´mini because they have the tinest little frames, stick thin legs that look as if they will snap under all the weight they carry. yet they are as strong as oxes and a lot cuter. Although my big pack back does absolutely reek of our porters sweat...ewwwwwwwww!! lots of airing out and spraying of deodrant for the thing. many of the porters we chatted to were carrying about 30 to 40 kgs...one even informed us that he had come fourth in the annual porters machu picchu marathon in a time of 3HRS AND 42MINS, the winner did it in 3HRS AND 20MINS. Let me tell you that is absolutely incredible and i found it hard to believe at first because itÂ´s 42km approx of huge steep steps and bone grinding descents. the first day alone we walked for 6hrs (at a fast pace we were told by our guide) then 6hrs the following day; day 3 was 8hrs and the last day was 2hrs. Somehow they just manage to keep on chugging and actually run from camp site to camp site to have everything perfect for when we trudge in exhausted and sweaty. there ages vary from 16yrs to in ther 40s. iÂ´m in awe of them and even sacrificed all my lolly stash to keep there energy levels up to which they were much appreciative for.

Bowls of hot water with soap awaited us at each break as well as a wake up call of hot tea or coffee at 6am every morning. talk about luxury camping! three course meals and loads of pop corn to snack on kept our engines going (just barely) for our last 2hr climb to machu picchu at 3:40am on the fourth day. we were the first group to go through the gates and H and i were particularly determined to be he first ones up to the sun gate to see the sun rise over machu picchu. the last lot of steps i thought both of us would have heart attacks because this fitness freak of a blonde guy behind us was trying to steal our glory. he was rapidly steaming up behind us but there was NO WAY he was going to pass us. so H and i walked through the sun gate first and made the most of our brief seconds of silence as we had a perfectly clear view of machu picchu. this is such a rare occurence because it is burried deep in the valley and often shrouded in cloud. we were escatic, it was so impressive and even more so as the son gradually spread itÂ´s first mornings rays over the incredible city.

It was actually only the last 20 0r so kms that was the original inca trail and this was the part i found to be most beautiful. we walked around the very edge of montain after mountain and stared down into the deepest valley you could imagine. snow capped peaks could be seen in various directions and beautifully coloured hummigbirds greeted us aroung many a corner. tiny coboalt blue ones and bigger gorgeous green and yellow ones flapped there little wings at a hundred miles an our just centimetres from our heads. cobble stones and steps still made up the majority of the path with the occasional tunnel made from massive rocks adding some excitement to the walk. i was actually really surprised that the walk to machu picchu was so glorious...i was expecting the final day to be the big WOW factor in the journey. but i was blown away by the amazing landscape so much so that at various times my hands tingled with the anticipation of getting to see the city. Various Ã¡rchelogial sites' as our annoying guide liked to call them...he was anal in correcting our calling them ruins...were visited along the way and it was wonderful to have there history explained to us and their relationship to machu picchu. even if i was trying to desperately capture my breath after a strenous climb. Some of them were really in tact which made it so much easier to imagine how they would have looked at their best. the masonary and designs of these ruins were so clever and in places i wish we had of had more time to explore them fully. Apparently there are many sites further past machu picchu than can be gotten to if the right guide can be found. there is even a tribe of spainsh speaking westerners about 82km on that have been there for hundreds of years. seeing machu picchu has opened my eyes to so many possibilities yet to be discovered. Also the fact that perivians arnÂ´t very good at taking care of there ruins means that we were able to feel the textures and wander wherever we wanted. not good for its sustainability but lucky for us i guess

IÂ´m sure most of you have heard that massive steps make up the inca trail ...so picture us trying to climb these one after another up to three different passes (the higest points of the climb) some of them literally came up to my hips...really hard work but well worth it. certainly wonÂ´t catch me doing it again though. i was so impressed by many of the people doing the trek...in particular a 70yr old grandma...she was wonderful. the feeling after reaching the top of the pass was exhilerating with all of us cheering each other on. the views once up there made you forget for a second how much pain i was in. the altude added into this mad it a killer. And there is nothing you can do about it if you donÂ´t cope very well. i had good and bad days but generally iÂ´m very lucky...i just speed up them.

Walking into machu picchu was the best reward we could have asked for...llamas frolicked around us and it was all so green. the city is massive and beautifu but a bugger for all itÂ´s steps. all of us were totally exhausted and fading very quickly. itÂ´s a shame that we arnÂ´t given a two day pass so we could rest in the nearby town and explore it again the next day. getting train tickets back to cusco was also a bitch. they couldnÂ´t be reserved or bought without the person standing there. i eneded bribing the guy with a pizza...which he never got...to get us all on the last night train. it was so corrupt there like you couldnÂ´t believe. so, all of us were sprinting down the railway line with 3 mins to catch the train...i thought i would burst...the locals thought it was quite comical though. thank god...one more night and i think we all would have cracked into a thousand pieces.

Now iÂ´ll leave you with a list of crazy brand names iÂ´ve been collecting since my first day in sth america...i even have the evidence...perfect for ROVES Â´What the? segment. so laugh out loud as we do everytime we see these over here

Fanny Tuna...mmmm fishy
Fanny jam
hornimans tea
ego toilet paper
bon bon bum loolipops
choco bum biscuits
plop lollipops
snob jam

2003-11-03T09:30:00.000+11:00

Arrived in Lima expecting the worst...mostly we had been told it was a place simply visited so that one could fly to cusco. we had been told endless stories of gringos being mugged, beaten and generally cheated out of anything they carried of any worth...i was elated as we drove through the city of lima and just had this feeling within me that we would become very attached to lima...seeing a huge ripleys department store looming up in front of us just cemented the feeling. i actually got to put on my fav perfume...note to self; must pack perfume next trip!!

Being the travel smart tourists that we are we chose to stay in a much nicer area of lima by the beach. I didnÂ´t even venture for a glimpse of sea though as i could already see the grey haze stretching on forever so that there wasnÂ´t even a horizon. anyway a short trip into nearby mira flores opened our eyes to a very attractive and modern city. although a shock initially it was quite comforting to be in a large city with everything we could want at our disposal. for almost 2 months now we have done our very best to avoid the big cities by making the most of the incredible landscapes. H and megs made a b-line for mcDonalds whilst i kept going back to a groovy little cafe for delicous chai tea mmmmmmmm!!! we stumbled across this cafe whilst wandering aimlessly for a breakfast feast...it was an absolute gem. the coffee beans smelt divine and the decor was pretty cool. lots of wrought iron low and high stools and couches with stuffed hesian bags as cushions. a really great atmosphere...finally a decent coffee. perfect start after a long night bus trip

The following night we headed to pisco, our group parting ways for this one night for the first time in weeks. thats the beauty of who we are travelling with at present...each of us get along so easlily and willing to compromise plans so we can travel together for a long as possible. HOWEVER we also feel secure enough to branch out if need be...making for a group of very happy campers! we chose to visit the ballestas islands from pisco. H and i were both keen to check out some of the wildlife having missed the (very pricey) but incredibly wonderous galapogas islands. we sped out across the waves, crunching our necks and laughing at those sitting at the very back being completly drenched by the back wash to a cluster of islands. these islands were home to literally hundreds of (very noisy) sea lions, blue footed boobies, vultures and penguins. it was quite incredible seeing them in their natural habitat and the sheer number of sea lions was astounding. it didnÂ´t smell particularly nice though and it was also pretty hit and miss with the bird poo as well.

the next night we went to meet the others in ica for some serious adreanlin pumping fun. the hostal we stayed in was literally in the middle of an oasis. we were surrounded by gigantic and perfectly formed sand dunes. It took us a good half hr to climb the one directly behind our hostel to see the sunset. my calf muscles burned and my chest ached but seeing the sunset and the view from all direstcions at the top was well worth it. the highlight of theses days though was the sand boarding and dune buggy ride. our first sand boradingÂ´practiceÂ´run was down this enourmous sand dune that i just stood and stared at for quite a while before even picking up my board. i gave it a few goes but it proved not to be my thing...i found running down these dunes at break neck speed to be more my idea of fun. all of us eneded up looking like we had been completly burried in the sand and after emptying my shoes and underwear i realised iÂ´d bought a whole dune back with me to the hostal. i still seem to be finding sand everywhere despite numerous showers. The dune buggy was absolutly WICKED fun...we sped up and down dunes so fast that we were airborn a few times. it was kinda like a roller coaster ride but much better, going side ways and over dips...all of us were screaming our heads off but loving every minute. finger marks left in each others legs and hands turned purple they were squeezed so much. IT WAS AMAZING!!...we then sat three buggies ina row and watched the sun set over the dunes. it was the most beautiful sun seti've seen, the sun was a glorious pinky red and it was huge...it was perfect really

we flew into cusco today all very tired and quite grumpy after a VERY early flight and a few very exhausting days. At least taking a punt and changing our plans paid off though. First look at cusco has been very positive. cobble stones lining narrow but beautiful streets (like tuscany apparently) with a beautiful open space being the paza de armas. spectacualr balcony views from many cafes and resturants, particularly the patio at our hostal. BUT...the children who hound you trying to sell sweets and boot a shining service are driving me crazy. I hate that children so young have been tought to act so pathically by whining and nagging us constantly...one look at the adults surrounding them doin it exactly the same way shows you why thoguh. itÂ´s really sad and so frustraing because they just wonÂ´t leave us alone. ItÂ´s strange being in cusco now though because it was one of the main reasons we came to south america for. ..also it was our first flight since we arrived here and i can remember H and i way back at the start reassuring ourselves with this flight...we were basically trying to convince each other that if we made it this far we were doing ok...that flying would mean we were getting somewhere. i really didnÂ´t picture myself to be travelling with 4 other people or to be as positive about it as iÂ´m feeling now. so...fingers crossed. i canÂ´t believe i have less than a month here to go!

2003-10-28T05:30:00.000+11:00

i've had a few really wonderful days...i think i may be really starting to LOVE this travel thing...

a couple of days ago i went on a day trek to lake churup with a lovely english guy to keep me company. before we even left Huraz we sat waiting in a mini bus for 1hr, waiting fo it to fill up enough so we could start our day.the driver offered to leave sooner if we paid 10sols rather than 1...yet as soon as we agreed a handful of people jumped onboard, yet again we were scammed! For some reason we couldn't find any willing taxi drivers to take us to the base of the mountain (possibly because they had heard the taxi H and the others were in days previously had broken down trying to get to that point!) so we had to walk in the scorching heat for an extra 1hr and 1/2, complaing to each other that we hadn't worn shorts. But we did get to walk to some really beautiful countryside and chatted to the locals as they herded their cows, sheep and donkeys up and down the path. over here they seem to tie the cows to long ropes rather than actually put up fences...i see it as harsh and lazy but who knows how they didvide up land over here. it makes me think of the way they avoid paying takes on their houses. basically they leave all these metal prongs sticking out of their house walls, thus it looks unfinished and houses that are unfinished don't need to have taxes paid on them...sorry, getting off track

At the start of the climb to the lake we watched 3 spainish guys warming up...yep, they were about to run all the way up to the lake of which we were dreading the prospect of just WALKING. it took them just half an hr to run and they hadn't even broken a sweat...they even paused to have a conversation with us. Meanwhile we reached the bottom 3hrs later, exhausted and weather beaten. the walk up was really difficult... but spectacular. i was still feeling quite lethargic from being sick but i was also determined to have a trek to talk about when the others got back that arvo from santa cruz. Phil must have gotten so sick of me asking if the top was just over the next rise. There were times i considered turning back but when i saw a tour group of french climbers in their 60 and70s there was no way i wouldn't be finishing it. i was incredibly impressed with them even attempting the climb as it one of the most difficult treks in huraz and 4700ft... by the end i had a massive headache from the altitude, my legs felt like lead and i was incredibly windblown. i even had a very close shave with a cliff edge but phil managed to catch me and put me back on track.

the lake was beautiful as expected...the water clear and motionless...not quite as impressive as lagona 69 but still well worth pushing through the pain barrier. our time up there however was cut short as we looked back over our shoulders and could see only rumbling black and angry clouds...seeing that made us move the quickest we had all day. overall a beautiful walk with wonderful company and the excitement of a hot shower and getting to see H and the others back at the hostel. that night a big group of us headed out for a night of drinking and dancing in the clubs of Huraz...strong cocktails, the exhileration of completing some hard days trekking, great company and a very excitable argentinian celebrating his birthday made for a very memorable night on many accounts. all of us girls had very saw back muscles as the birthday boy twirled and swirled us around the dance floor...it certainly is all about the male taking the lead...he even made me look good! sore heads were had all round the next day as the dancing didn't stop till 5am even if it was to pretty corny music. they sure do love madonna and kylie...althought hey did play some midnight oil.

tonight we head to lima...another long bus ride but i'm feeling very excited about getting to cusco...once again we are all heading off together...the hostal won't know what to do when we leave.

2003-10-25T04:30:00.000+10:00

hey guys...

iknow it's been a while but i've had an intestional infection/salomenalla (??) for the past 2 weeks almost so i've been able to basically nothing...but am starting to feel stronger and hopefully will be able to be doing whatever takes my fancy very soon. so, i've had a trip to the hospital with H and I trying to muddle through as much as possible with minimal medical specific spainish. But we had a bit of luck in that the dr i had seen previuosly had referred us to a dr in the intensive care unit and he was able to see me stright away. walking through the corridors was an experience in itself. the hospital was clean but also vastly different to hospitals in australia...people seemed to be waiting in the most random places...including just sitting in the middle of the corridors whilst heaps of people wandered around trying to sell lollypops and cigarettes.

the most bizarre thing over here is that to get the antibiotics i was prescribed (or any for that matter) you don't actully need a prescription. as long as you know the name of what you want you just ask for it over the counter ad specify how many it is you need. the only problem being they don't give instructions with the medication...but the majority of people just seem to wing it and pop a few as soon as they have symptoms...i'd like to be a little more cautious than that! chemists are also quite weird here and it takes so much effort just to buy shampoo. First i went to the counter and pointed to the shampoo i wanted... the assistant writes it on a docket and directs you to the register. i then had to pass the docket through this tiny little window and pay for the shampoo. the cashier then gives me another docket which i take to another small window. the clerk scrutinzes the docket before handing me my shampoo. Now...for a country that hands prescription drugs over the counter as though they are lollies this whole exhausting process REALLY baffled me.

anyway...H is at the moment on a five day trek, the santa cruz of which takes up 4 days and the other day was the lagona 69. i was desperate to give the trek a go seeing i hadn't been able to do any of the day trips previously so i decided to go. basically i did the first day and night but then was really sick that night so came back the following days. leaving behind the 12 others with much reluctance and a huge feeling of disapointment. But...at least i got to see the magnificantly beautiful lagoon. basically we walked up and up for 6hrs taking in huge gulps of air because of the altitude. we actually started walking at 4600ft but i'm lucky in that i seem to not be very affected by the high altitude which was just as well seeing i hadn't done any climbs previously to prepare myself. the last 20m of the climb i felt likfe crawling on all fours, it was exhausting and painful but all of a sudden..."give me a home amongst the gum trees, with lots of plum trees, a sheep or two, a kangaroo...etc" just popped into my head. i was so disturbed that i was actually singing this song to myself that before i knew it i was at the top. staring at this amazingly electiric blue lagoon with a beautiful waterful just appearing from nowhere out of the massive cliff face and cascading into the lagoon below. then, i looked slighted up and was confronted with this stark white glacier that we actually heard crack and move. it was just beautiful...i felt so incribly lucky to be seeing what i was. Tom came up not to far behind me and just gave me the biggest hug...we were just elated to have made it especially seeing two days ago it didn't look like even a one day trek would be possible for me. the pain and exhaustion just kinda slipped away when i saw what it was we had come for.

so...i headed back the next day on a nightmare bus ride where i was the only gringo and so was stared at as though i was an alien. The whole time i was constantly on edge thinking someone would surely try to rob me because i was a female travelling alone...sure enough i had most of the money i had on me stolen...i just couldn't look in twenty directions at once and all these guys kinda surrounded me...trying to make converstaion (supposedly). but, i was fine. plus the bus broke down so what should have taken me 4hrs to get back took about 8...when i got back to the hostel i was the only one staying there cause all the others were on the trek.

but, last night a english/aus couple and the girls brother that i'd been to dinner with a while ago came back so now i have some company (thank god!) but despite all this crappy stuff and being sick i had a really lovely experience yesterday that i felt priveledged to have had. i was walking down the st and was approached by a guy on his biycle trying to get me to go on a trek with his company. anyway, he spoke a tiny bit of english and so with my minimal spainish we hung out for the rest of the afternoon...he took me around the markets and then said he wanted to take me for an icecream...i went to pay but he insisted on him paying. the entire time i was being really cautious and just kept thinking that there had to be something in it for him so i was quite the reluctant tag along...then he said he would dink me on his bike back to my hostel. although sitting on the iron bar was quite uncomfertable it was also really fun riding through the sts of huraz with a local...both of us being stared at and constant wolf whistles. but i just had a grin on my face the whole time and realised i wouldn't have been able to have this simple but delightful experience had i been on the trek with the others. when we got to the hostel...he must have been so completly exhausted after the uphill cycle...he just kissed me on the cheek and said in spainsh "it was beautiful to have met you" then cycled back down the way we had come.

i felt guity because it wasn't until he had left that i realised he was harmless...i just didn't trust him or feel comfertable the whole time i was with him. but then i also realised that it's only because of previous experiences and the stories from other travellers who haven't been so lucky that i needed to be wary. otherwise i would have been pissed off with myself for being in a situation i couldn't have handled. i was just fortunate that mine was a good one this time despite my inability to relax throughout it. the majority of people we've met have been geniunie but i'm too far from my comfort zone to rely on others looking out for me. there is just so much luck...(or bad luck) involved. just ask megan...a girl we met in cuenca who had her camera, sunglasses, torch..., etc stolen as she sleeped on a bus and the couple traveling with a chilean guy who cleaned out their bank accounts as well as 3 other peoples along his travel route.

well...time for one of those delicous orange juices...now that i can finally eat something other than plain rice and bread!! chao

2003-10-18T10:03:00.000+10:00

in Huraz, peru now...we will be here for maybe a week depending on what treks we decide to do and how quickly we get used to the change in altitude. feeling pissed off because i found out that 100 soles i withdrew from the ATM in pirua was fake, so round about $45 AuS just gone with nothing to show but a dodgy note. theres nothing i can do about it...also we cant withdraw money from the bank tellers inside unless we have their specific bank card so we just have to keep our fingers crossed and hope we dont lose too much money whilst here. on top of that im still sick...cant even have a glass of wine to drown my sorrows...

2003-10-16T07:58:00.000+10:00

2003-10-16T06:35:00.000+10:00

it seems like so long since i've written that i'm quite daunted about updating everyone to where i'm at and what i've been up to. I guess it hasn't really been that long, it's just that sooo much has happened since then. sorry it's going to be quite long so skip bits, skim read...whatever you feel like.

My last blog mentioned Vilcabamba...we ended up staying there for four nights. It was at a blissfully peaceful hostel/paradise run by a german family (Peter and Dieter, bizarre) it was called Izhcayluma (meaning two hills) and was the perfect way to spend our last days in ecuador before moving into peru. basically it was decked out with a beautiful swimming pool...including pool side bar as well as hammocks outside our rooms to laze in and gorgeous flowergardens. the flowers in this garden were some of the most beautiful i have seen so far, the colours were incredible and so varied. vibrant reds, soft pinks, purple, yellow and some even rainbow in colour...just glorious. the view from where we ate breakfast wads spectacular...lush green hills towering above the town of vilcabamba. the vegetation was almost tropical and is renowned for it's relaxed, tranquil lifestyle.

despite this reputation for tranquilty a church opposite the hostel had just started it's annual 2 week fiesta so really bad music was balring all night including a guy singing who had the worst voice i've ever heard. also they randomly fired smoke bombs into the air to let people all around know the party had started. we had a quick look and just saw yound boys doind weird dances in womens costumes as well as lots of shotting cheap crappy cask wine. a few passed out men who we had to glance at twice to make sure they were still breathing. they had hand made fireworks that were the dodgest contraptions i've ever seen and little boys were HOLDING ONTO THEM!! many spun into the crowd and others left a shower of flames all about the tents. YIKES!!

anyway, after 1 night at two hills we went on a two day horse ride with Caballos Gavilan, a 50yr old guy from new zealand who we immediately thought was a bit of a character. He took us into podocarpus nationaL park...into the cloud forest. up and down steep hills and winding around sheer cliff faces. I think what i was most scared about the horse riding was that i wasn't in control...i felt like my life was in the hands of a very powerful animal that had gone wrong too many times before. To say i was terrified would be an understatement! i've been one horses before but can't say i'm even an average rider...plus i've had some pretty bad falls back on the farm so i was petrified. Basically i need to feel i'm in control (even if it is a false form of control) The 2 days riding ended out being wonderful, truly exhilerating. particularly as we galloped and cantered most of the way back into town. it was the most incredible feeling and the horses were so well trained that i didn't feel the least bit scared. Although the horse i had the first day (star) was a feisty little bugger who kept trying to gallop out in front...he had spunk though and was quick and zippy...but also took care of me.

It would have been a perfect few days, incredible views...including the loo with a view that was at the cabin we stayed in overnight...except our guide got really scary and left me feeling really scared. H and i were the only ones on the tour...basically he got incredibly drunk and stoned. we had drunk a bit but not enough to continue laughing along with him. I lay awake all night, as did H just waiting for him to come into our room. everytime i heard the horses outside i initially thought it was him...I just couldn't relax. I was so pissed off the next day because it was incredibly unprofessional of him and i didn't quite know how to handle the situation. basically i chose to focus on the horse riding and try to forget it even happened...i think he was sorry for the way he acted. we found out later that he has a reputaion for drinking too much and getting out of hand. we were both fine though so thats the main thing.

after the horse ride we both had a 1hr full body (and i mean FULL BODY...whoa!) massage at our hostel...we decided these few days we would treat ourselves to a little luxury. it was beautiful but she needs to work on her music selection...more like motivation chariots of fire style than relaxtion mode...but for $13 not too bad at all. the hostel had a full moon party in the bar that night...we danced tillbout 5am. fire dancers performed...1 in particular was amazing as well as belly dancers and the cocktails went down a treat. the local boys were more than keen to help us to learn salsa dancing. pretty tricky but loads of fun. also the boys (Kris, marty and Chris) ended up joining us so we are back travelling together again. it was a beautiful clear night so the moon looked incredible. at one stage it had this huge ring of cloud in a perfect circle encompassing it. it was magical.

left Vil in the back of a taxi ute...H, nicola and I sat in the back with the packs...sitting backwards and staring up at the thousands of stars as Vil faded into the background. moments like these make the missing home, down days worth while. it was beautiful! 45mins flew by as we prepared mentally for a marathon bus ride across the peru boarder. 22hrs later we arrived in Huanchaco beach, a coastal town in peru...our group number having risen to 7 after meeting to lovely girls, both called nicola. 1 from sydney the other england.

BUT, before this we had a very scary 'welcome to peru' experience. after having had to thump on the immigration office door to wake up the Visa guy we headed a little way into peru. the bus stopped suddenly as a barricade of trees, rocks and wooden crates was blocking our way. a guy made to get off the bus and remove the debris but was yelled at by many locals on the bus to not get off. we couldn't understand what was going on but from the scared reactions of locals it didn't seem good. a motorbike approached the bus and yelled at the driver in spainish and next thing we were turning around back to the border crossing. we found out moments later that 5 guys just past the blockade were waiting to stop the bus and were demanding money for us to pass. if we didn't pay they were threatening to shoot us and the driver. after waiting an hour we headed back into peru with a few military guys on board armed with machine guys to act as cover for the bandits. It was a really scary experience and was the first real threat we have been faced with. all this was happening at 4/5am in the morning so looking back on it now seems so surreal. I feel greatful that such a large group of us were travelling together so we could between us work out what was being said and act as support.

Peru has a completly different feel to it, I don't feel comfertable and feel quite unsafe. people are much more willing to rip you off. we have already been given many fake notes and coins. it's rife here and money changers hasseled us the moment we got into piura to change our $US. H and Kris all lost a decent amount of money through the confusion and their quick hands. we need to check every coin and note we are given...it's really hard as there are some amazingly good fakes. also the scenery so far is vastly different. no more rooling green hills...more like barren desert...very boring so thankfully we slept through a bit of it on the night bus. the town we are in now, although right on the beach has a constant haze over it...it's always overcast but it's much prettier than the town of Trujillo 15km away where we were origanally planning to stay.

being close to the coast all of us thought it would be ok to try some peruvian seafood dishes...the first night was fine but...yikes I was so sick today i felt like i was going to die. electric shock like pains in my stomach...throwing up...the works. i was in so much pain i just wanted to scream...but the others were out fishing so a guy working in the hostel was so wonderful. feed me tea and found some pills to ease the pain. thank god for him because it was excuricating. peru is not going to be easy...lots more care will need to be taken in every aspect. so, peru here we are...can't say i'm too impressed so far but i've heard it's wonderful...just have to keep on marching forward.

I came off my malaria medication today about a week and a half early. i've had a really really bad reaction to the medication. apparently a side affect can be skin sensitivity to heat/light. for the last copuple of weeks my hands have been in unbearable pain everytime i'm in the sun...they burn, swell and the veins all stick out. very ugly and incredibly painful and they have been stopping me from doing some things so i'm going to stop taking them and hope for the best. Kris had the same reaction to them last time he took them...they are starting to blister so it just isn't worth it. if i have malaris sypmtoms then i'll start to worry...i knew when it was about to rain though cause they started to tingle then have stabbing pain so that came useful at times...:(

2003-10-09T00:48:00.000+10:00

feeling a bit strange today, sad i guess...H and i just parted ways with Kristen, chris and marty. it's been really great having a group of people to travel with and we prob would never have made it into the national park had we not been able to go with them. they had all the gear...so, i guess guys can be useful SOMETMES. it's really hard to believe that all of a sudden we had meet with a group of people who we felt comfertable enough with to share this amazing south american experience. ok, so it was a bit annoying having to wait at times for all of us to meet up again at times but the benefits far ouweighed the egos that at times clashed.

I still find it hard to believe i'm here...even though it's nearly been a month now. still hard to believe it's actually my eyes and ears that are experiencing the things i am. ....What do you know, Kristen just popped his head into the internet cafe...mayvbe we will keep bumping into them...just thinking back to quito seems like soooo long ago. time seems to be going quickly and slowly at the same time. i guess time only goes quickly in hindsight, hopefully as the tough times fade the good ones will overide everything else. just at the time...it certainly is another story.

there are so many policeman in Loja....everywhere we see some form of security i feel like laughing because they look like they are in costume. Huge batons, rifles and swords...seriously, massive swords. full on army gear, hard hats...the works ok so initially it really freaked me out but now...ridiculous really.

both of us are feeling a bit exhausted, a bit sick and missing people and comforts form home alot...so we are treating ourselves to a $7 (yep, thats expensive guys) mini paradise accomdation to chill out and pull our heads together in vilcabamba.
talk soon

2003-10-07T08:59:00.000+10:00

H and I went to the cajas national park for a couple of days...just a short picturesque bus ride from cuenca. finding where to catch the bus was very tricky though and seeing it left (supposedly) at 6am the five of us were VERY blury eyed. anyway...it actually left at 6:30am about 4 or 5block pst and to the right of where the lonely planet had specified. for all those looking to travel in the near future...do not buy the lonely planet. the prices in it are all wrong...resturants and bus terminals marked in it don't exist...basically it sucks. ok, so it's supposed to be used as a GUIDE...we know that...but it's so frustraing.

but finally we were on our way after having lasked various locals as to the REAL wherabouts to catch the bus. Cajas is about 3800m above sea level so it was absolutely freezing up there...especially at night. i do not handle the cold at all! we slept in a refuge which was a hut with 4 walls (thankfully) and a VERY hard wooden floor. H and i actually layed grass down as our matress to lessen the bruises on out hips. i had at least 6 layers on and still i feltlike i would snap in half. But, putting the feezing weather conditions aside it was a beutiful couple of days. just every so often it brillant to get out of the city and have a bit of space to just chill out. and what vetter place to do it than around a camp fire and with some pina colada to make us sleepy.

Mostly we had the park to ourselves so it was so incredibly peaceful...we went for really long walks up and down then up and up some more. ocassionally we came across these random forests that had floors of soft lucious green moss. these forests reminded me of Enid Blytons story books like the enchanted wood...i kept expecting faries to whiz past me. they were so beautiful and scattered with the smallest, cutest but bizarre flowers i've ever seen.

the boys sought out a couple of places to rock climb and even let H and i have a go. I actually surprised myself (and the boys) and got to a respectable height. apparently they think i should take up rock climbing. maybe i'd consider it if i didn't get so cold. i just don't understand how they do it...it's so incredibly painful grabbing onto sharp rocks when you can barely bend your fingers. adrenalin junkies i think.

went for a day drip to ingapirca today to see some inca ruins...interesting but not that spesh...lots of llamas though. they are such strange looking animals up close...kind of like a horse and a hare together. love to pose for a photo too.

off to loja or Vilcabamba tomorrow... LOOOONG bus ride

must dash

2003-10-03T07:28:00.000+10:00

2003-10-03T05:56:00.000+10:00

well, it's been a little while since i've written anything. i actually wrote one about our adventures in the jungle but it didn't save. so i was incredibly annoyed and just didn't have the time to rewrite it. i'll do my best to get you all up to speed without it turning into a thesis.

about a week or so ago we arrived in a gorgeous town called banos...deep in a lush green valley so we were surrounded by hills with waterfalls scattered about and a beautiful blue sky above us. basically it was tourist central but in a fantastic way...my favourite town thus far. the econmy there was ovbiously much better than other places in ecuador thus we stumbled upon many great little cafes with REAL coffee and a really warm and inviting atmosphere. we stayed at a hostel with heaps of other backpackers and thus quickly made various friends...including a hanfdful of aussies to hang out with and enjoy a glass of wine over dinner. banos is a place H and i could have gladly stayed for a while. but peru is calling us so we did a tour into the jungle then moved on.

the jungle...absolutly beautiful. Paradise really. lots of walking deeper and deeper into the jungle to seek out hidden waterfalls. swimming below these waterfalls will be with me forever...i could have stayed swimming or just lying on the rocks listening to the gushing water and birds forever. it must have been wonderful considering how much i hate wearing bathers and usually freeze when swimming almost instantly. billions of photos will never do these waterfalls justice. our guide was fantastic...he spoke english, french and spainish(ovbiously) fluently; was gentle and considerate as well as knowing where various plants were in the jungle to cure upset stomachs...headaches and "womens pain" as he so eleoquently put it". very gorgeous to look at too...always a bonus. He was more than happy to let us know if a mosquito was around which leaves larvae growing under the skin...or if the flys that like to bite your ears were hovering around us. he reckoned he could smell a snake at one stage...i was very skeptical but when the one of the guys on the tour nearly stepped on one i was much more willing to listen to him.

after leaving banos..feeling kind of sad...we headed to riobamba. a place visited only to ride the devils nose train to alausi. basically we sat on top of the train for seven hours nd just took in the spectacular landscape...it was actually quite barren and dry but still amazing. it seems every corner we turn is even more impressive...there really is something incredibly special about ecuador. the train only came off the tracks once and only a few rockes feel from the massive cliffs surrounding us. it was really fun.

now we are in cuenca...3rd largest city in ecuador and absolutely beautiful. the loveliset city so far. pollution is minimal and it's so well organised. quite european in a way so we have settled in quite quickly. we went for a few drinks last night...H and i now have some travel companions. 2 guys (kristen and chris) from the UK and marty who is from sydney. we all seem to get along really well and are heading in the same direction. they are a really fun bunch and both of us feel much more comfertable walking about at night. last night as we all stood on a street corner feeling very lost a local in ecuador for 5yrs (he's origanally from colombia) felt sorry for us so stopped to help. now he's hanging out and showing us the ropes. really lovely guy and he's a student here so knows where to relax for a few drinks at the end of the day.

H and i have realised that we are really quite young to be travelling in South america...basically most are in their late 20's and 30's so we are feeling quite proud of ourselves about that. kind cool really...

oh the biggest differnce i realised between banos and the other places we have been is that i actually saw children playing...as they should. rather than being covered in dirt and begging for money at such a young age they are playing soccer, riding their bikes and drawing pictures in chalk on the sidewalks. it was such a relief to see that some children here arne't being denied their childhoods. for the first time since being here i felt myself smiling rather than feeling a twinge in my heart because so many people over here lead such hard lives.

one more thing...my list of animals that i hate has now grown to cats and roosters. for some reason anywhere we are staying has a rooster that crows ALL NIGHT!! some actually sound quite sick. the family in the jungle even had them...i can't escape the evil things. so, sleazy cats and evil sick roosters...who knows what will be added next...stay tuned

2003-09-25T08:55:00.000+10:00

yesterday was a very boring day as we decided to hang around latacunga for thier fiesta that was supposed to start...after hrs of nothing interesting at all happening we decided to give up on that idea and started to wander...and wouldn't you know it but we actually stumbled upon it. it consisted of a LOT of ecuadoran people dancing in very sparkly, bright coloured costumes to the same brass band tune over and over and OVER again (over it completly). The high light was various men and boys carrying MASSIVE sculpture thingys with offerings of smoked pig, chook, rats and cuy as well as countless bottles of alcohol, fruit and sweets. Really bizarre. basically the whole shabang was an excuse for locals young and old to get extemly drunk...whilstle a bit and dance alot. Very entertaining and the colours were beautiful but ended out being kinda lame. The fireworks were more like a big bang than a beautiful lit up sky but it was great to see so many locals getting a kick out of it all. i even got grabbed on the arse by a weird and quite scary looking white bird mascot...took me by surprise but at least no one understood the cursing that I yelled in response!

today was spectaculer (excuse the overuse of this word but i have run out of ways to express how beautiful and varied the landscape here is) We headed to quilotoa...a volcano that errupted way back and created a huge crater. the 2hr drive there was like postcard images one after the other. the hills looked like patchworks quilts with dots of pink, purple and green as men and women worked in their crops. Herds of lamas, pigs, sheep and donkeys trotted along the sides of the roads and paddocks. straw thatched humpies were even dotted through the hills. the destination was beautiful. we even walked right down to the bottom of it and back up again. the option of riding back up on donkeys would have been the smart option (even more exhausting than cotopaxi) but being head strong we declined. we toured with a lovely couple from the states who are now our new best frineds. They are a wealth of knowledge having already travelled were we are heading...will quiz them more over dinner tonight.

2003-09-23T07:38:00.000+10:00

left quito behind on sunday for latacunga, ecuador...just a 1 1/2 bus ride from quito. i was VERY happy to be leaving the pollution of quito behind...i felt kind of suffocated in a way during my week or so in quito. from the beginning of the bus trip i had a good feeling about latacunga. The entire landscape was such a lush green and strangely enough their were ecucalyptus trees scattered everywhere. there was so much to take in on the trip. My first impression of latacunga was an adoreable, peaceful and beautiful little town. such a change from qutio. it was mostly deserted being a sunday so we took our time to scope out the place. it's just gorgeous. also the hotel we are staying in has hot showers anytime of the day and pillows that don't feel like flat cement (I miss my bed so much).

today we made a day trip to cotopaxi...a 4800m volcano that has lain dormant since about 1950. the day started off pretty dismally; it was raining...our drivers four wheel drive didnt have a radio and he drove 60km an hr on the highway. he must be the ONLY driver in ecuador who drives UNDER the speed limit!! H and i thought we would die of carbon minoxide posioning before we even reached cotopaxi...the exhaust left a lot to be desired. it made the air at such a high altidude as we were climbing cotopaxi seem pathetic in comparison.

the weather was terrible so we couldn't see the volcano at all but the climb up was magnificent...and exhausting. it snowed the entire way up but was so cold i had to fight back tears because my fingers were in so much pain. the highlight was standing on the glacier when we reached just 30m from the very top. it was so beautiful...i've never seen anything like it. i was hanging out to get back to the warmth of the car though...regardless of the carbon minoxide. despite the fog around us it was a pretty amazing day...most certainly a once in a life time oppurtunity. just one more thing...all you mountain climbers out there...you need your heads read :)

2003-09-21T08:04:00.000+10:00

H and I Headed off to Otalavo, north of quito early this morning to check out their markets...ovbiously a place that most, if not all tourists up this way visit at some stage. I was very keen to get out and do something besides going to school and studying...desperate to see what lay outside of quito. The bus ride down was incredible in itself...i found myself wondering how awesome the grand canyon must be because what we could see on either side of us was incredible, but small in comparison. Rolling hills were either side of us and had various houses or shacks scattered throughout that looked as though they would blow over if you blew on them. some of them looked like green, blue and pink cardboard cutouts...hard to believe people live in them. When I looked just beyond I saw mist slowly drifting over the top of the montains...it was beautiful as i'm sure you can imagine. I was so taken in by the landscape that i was only aware that a bus was coming for us head on when i heard hannah gasp...i'm sure you have noticed a pattern in my journals/emails that i still can't get over the traffic thing over here...but our bus driver didn't flinch or slow down...used to it i guess.

when we reached otalavo we stumbled on the live stock section by accident...not overly impressed...each way i looked their were whole cooked pigs and huge chunks of meat everywhere. my stomach was churning. it also didn't help seeing the cages and cages full of cute little guinea pigs knowing that they would be someones dinner (guniea pigs or cuy is a common dish over here) the sound of kittens meowing in sacks slung over womens shoulders was pretty upsetting for hannah...it was sad...especially seeing how adoreable they were but then kittens turn into cats and i hate cats. But there were some beautiful puppies for sale for just $1. it was an interesting start to the day but i was glad to move onto the souviner stuff.

We walked up and down street after street of beautiful scarfs, rugs, jewellry, artwork...you name it. i could have bought sooo much but was restricted by luggage. it was fun bargaining for lower prices...hannah was a natural. the colours were glorious and the alpaca fabrics so soft and beautiful. and yes there were tourists everywhere so we were glad we got there earlier than most so missed the worst of it. But there were really mangy looking dogs wandering everywhere...really sick looking.Locals just whacked them with umbrellas...scared me as much as the dogs i think. We had been warned to be really wary of theives and bag slashers but we had no problems.

So... whole cooked pigs, crossing into the northern hemisphere and back again, averted a bus crash and some beautiful gifts to take back with us...pretty successful day really. Chao

2003-09-19T08:29:00.000+10:00

i only have one day left of spainish lessons which will be a relief for a few reasons. firstly my tutor, tomas, although a mostly gentle and lovely professor...has a glass eye. combine this with his large stature and beard he can actually be quite scary looking at times. you would think after a few days working with him that i'd be at least a little bit used to this misty bulging glass eye staring back at me. but i'm not. I still have to stop myself from jumping back from fright everytime i look at him. another hitch was that he doesn't speak a word of english. now if i was an incredibly positive and upbeat person i'd be telling myself this would be the best way to learn spainsh...but i'm not and so it proved to be incredibly frustrating for both of us and left me feeling quite stupid. having him mutter in spainsh under his breath also didn't help. alot of the time i had to guess what the meaning of the word in english that he had just written down through a bit of luck and him acting them out. but i think i might just be starting to understand the language just a little. i'm beginning to recognise a couple of words as our host maria talks to hannah rather than staring with a blank look on my face.

something that i've really enjoyed about going to 'school' each day has been the satisfaction of catching a bus to and from the school. anyone who knows of the transport situation over hear will understand what a feat this is. As H and i were waiting for a bus today we saw this boy, about 9 or 10 doing handstands, walkovers and cartwheels in the middle of an intersection infront of cars waiting to go. COMPLETLY INSANE thing to do because no one really bothers about traffic lights (more for show i think)just so he could earn some money. but i must say he was pretty good at it.

it rained a bit this afternoon, otherwise the weather has been a perfect 28/30. not muggy at all like i thought it would be but the sun is really intense...we both got sun burnt the first day we were here.

i just looked up from my computer and saw the sun setting over the montains directly infront of me. so incredibly beautiful...it's so bizarre the landscape that lies just beyond the city. I wish i{d bought my camera, well...i'm sure i'll see plenty of others.

2003-09-17T08:27:00.001+10:00

ok, here goes. i´m going to try and attempt to give you guys an idea of what travelling over here is like...sometimes it's not going to be very pretty

H and i arrived in Quito 3 days ago...i actually had a really comfertable flight because i was bumped up to business...it was wonderful seeing the previous 18hrs of flying was so depressing and uncomfertable. downside...H didn't get to come up front with me. i did offer to stay in tourist clas with her but being the gorgeous friend she is she wouldn't. but enough about planes.

i was really looking forward to being picked up at the airport by those organising the lang school, but as a lady travelling in S.A said the day before...nothing ever goes to plan in south america. so there was no one there to meet us. plus none of the public phones were working (found this out AFTER having bought a phone card) which meant we had all these men coming up to us wanting to drive us to our hostel...it was about 9pm and we were extremly tired so the whole situation was a bit overwhelming. but eventually we made it to our hotal unscathed but realing how differnet a feel quito has to it compared to santiago. santiago although still full on has a greater european influence than qutio.

i guess thats what has been hard here...quito although a rich country...many of it{s people are extremly poor. when we walked around the old city we were confronted with piles of rotting rubbish in the streets, tiny children running in front of cars covered in dirt and men urinating into bins and gutters. the stench made me want to vomit. i felt a bit ashamed that i was marveling at the beautiful landscapes and churches whilst people all around me were eating food scraps and unable to even wash their kids. But, i guess it has made me really appreciate how lucky i am to live in a counrty like australia.

it's so cheap over here...i think most people know how much i love cereal, well over here it{s only $1.80 US...and 25c for a bus fare. beautiful fresh bunches of long stemmed roses are only $1.50. it{s really hard to believe. yet H and i find ourselves saying..."i'm not paying $3 for that!" so i guess thats one thing we have caught onto pretty quickly. but if i have to eat another sweet bread roll i{ll scream...bread, bread, bread and our host, maria LOVES them. YUCK! dry bread a bit of cheese and milk is all we have for dinner :(

i'm rambling...this must be so boring. time to visit a place thats keeping us both sane...the mall...it's clean and reminds us of home. sad i know

2003-09-17T08:27:00.000+10:00

2003-09-16T16:22:00.000+10:00

I am so not Rhiannon.
Hey Michael here.