10 Argentinian Must Do's

1) MUST visit Iguassu Falls. This place is amazing. When you are there, in front of the falls, it doesn't quite seem real. A natural wonder for sure.


2) MUST go to a Tango show or lesson. You can get good packages which allow you to have a lesson, 3 course meal and sit down show. A fun and civilised evening out.


3) MUST eat the steak. The rumours are true! Steak really does taste different in Argentina! If you are a vegetarian very bad luck for you. You are missing out.... But you can get very good ice cream - i would recommend Volta.


4) MUST turn on the radio at 12am - At midnight all radio stations have to play Argentina's national anthem. Turn on the radio to find out.


5) MUST visit Palermo. This area of the city is very idyllic. Park areas and beautiful boutiques, cafes and restaurants. A great place to have a walk around even if you don't have much money to spend.


6) MUST visit El Caminito. Definitely a tourist hotspot but the streets are beautiful and vibrant. All the buildings are painted and you get tango dancers in the streets and bars. A good place to just sit down and take in your surroundings.


7) MUST experience the nightlife. Buenos Aires is renowned for it's nightlife. Things often don't kick off until about 2am, so prepare yourself for some wild nights....and try not to lose your purse.


8) MUST visit recoleta. Other than the famous cemetary where Evita rests, the surrounding areas give you much to do and explore in terms of eating, shopping and more.


9) MUST go to a football match. Not quite as rowdy as expected but still a buzzing atmosphere. The Argentinians love their football, and with the kind of weather they get it is a great way to spend the early evening hours.


10) MUST go shopping. Wherever you go in the city you will find places to shop. I had my spree on Florida Avenue. You can get good bargains, and of course, there are more expensive shops for those not backpacking.

Marking the half way point... Why i travel....

“Remember what Bilbo used to say: It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.””

When we travel we don't know where we are headed which can be the most exciting thing, but sometimes a little scary. Although we may have a plan in place, it's likely to change. Travel isn't a holiday, knowing where you will be for the coming week or two... It's a journey where no plans are fixed, you can't predict how things will flow and you can't imagine the characters you will meet and the things you will see. This is one of the reasons i love to travel, because nothing can be predicted. Unlike being at home where i know pretty much for sure where i will be from one day to the next, a period of travel is living in the opposite way.  Over the last month in South America my plans have changed numerous times, sometimes for good reasons and sometimes for not so good reasons. But those changes in plans often make the best stories.

“When you travel, remember that a foreign country is not designed to make you comfortable. It is designed to make its own people comfortable." - Clifton Fadiman

It's so important to realise you won't always feel comfortable when you travel. When you wake up alone in a place so different to home everything is intensified. Your senses work on overdrive and you can feel a little lost. It's these moments that help build your character and make you realise there is so much more to learn about the world and yourself and travel gives you the opportunity to do this.

“To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries.” - Aldous Huxley

Naturally we all hold stereotypes, and like the ones we hold towards people, the stereotype isn't proven wrong until we meet someone who changes it. Just like travelling we may have an idea in our heads about what a place will be like, but it's not until you are there, in a place that you truly get to know it. When you meet the people who make the country and they show you how they live their lives, that's when you discover often presumptions held by yourself or others are so very wrong.

The journey to Iguassu...and beyond.....

Surprisingly i pretty much enjoyed the 17 hour bus journey from Buenos Aires to Iguassu. On board the coach you were given a three course meal, wine and champagne, movies and it was peaceful... Little did i know the 24 hour bus journey i would be taking a few days later would be the worst bus journey of my life!


I arrived at Iguassu at around 12pm on the Friday and signed up for the moonlight tour. 5 days out of the month when there is a full moon 100 people at a time can go and view the waterfalls at night. Lucky for me i was there at the right dates, totally unexpected. The view at night was amazing. All the stars were out and the extreme sound of the water and view of the falls under the moonlight was very surreal.


I met a girl called Maeve that night and we decided to meet up the following day to explore the area....

On our way to Devils throat

On our walk to devils throat which is the biggest fall we saw tons of butterflies. We walked for quite a while instead of getting the train and it really felt like you were in jungle land. The view of devils throat by day was different to the night time view but just as beautiful......

Devils throat by day...

It took the entire day to go around the park and we saw the falls from the upper canopy where you felt like you could touch the falls...

View from the upper canopy

and the lower canopy where you get a more panoramic view....

Iguassu is one of the most amazing places i have visited in my life. It felt kind of surreal being stood there. Pictures just don't do justice. Unfortunately i didn't have time to view the falls from the Brazilian side which is meant to be a totally different experience. From there you are meant to get a better idea of how big the site is. The sounds and views at this place are definitely unforgettable.


Following this lovely experience i went on a 27 hour overland journey to Rio. The bus ride from hell! I was cooped up on a coach, surrounded by about 10 loud south american men for about 20 hours of it. Sleep was difficult although i did get some, and the state of the coach at the end of the journey was disgusting!


BUT.... I am very happy to have arrived in Rio safely to stay with my friend Renata :) This place is beautiful!

The bus from hell!

Arrived in Rio!!!!

Final Days in Buenos Aires............

So the intended three days in the big city tripled to a 9 day stay.


Over the last days i visited the La Boca area with the lovely Emily from Taunton. La Boca though made for tourists consists of two streets full of brightly coloured aligned buildings with tango dancers in the streets and cafes. Very Argentinian. We went to the area via subte (subway) and bus, and on the way got caught live on Argentinian television. There was some kind of protest going on at the tube station... Corruption.... was the only word we could grasp, but there were armed officers, army men and drummers all gathered around the station. We made it on the bus to La Boca...and being unable to drink because of the anti biotics had an alcohol free beer - tasted just like beer!...got a little sun and wondered the area. 

Monday was a happy day and someone had found my purse and contacted the hostel and contacted me through facebook... How nice! My cards were already cancelled by this point and the money that once lived in it was gone, but i still went to collect my wallet. Ruth and I misisoned through the streets trying to find the appartment...Both of us have rubbish sense of direction so we did get a little lost and what shouldnt have really taken us very long took us about 2 hours.

Due to wallet collection we were really late for the evening meal in the Palermo area where we ate at one of the best steak houses La Cabrera. 7 girls got through 1 x 800g sirloin steak, and 2 x 600g rib eyes. Deliciouso! I will be cliche and agree with the rumours admitting Argentina really does have the best steak i have ever come across. Places like these really make me glad i am not a vegetarian!

Tuesday morning i went to visit the tourist police to declare my wallet lost and found. It was much easier than expected and in the afternoon returned to Palermo for some sun. Palermo is the chic part of town with little boutiques and small independent cafes and restaurants. Very pretty place. A peruvian dinner and pancakes with Dulce de leche followed....and Wednesday followed for farewells....

I spent the 9 days in Buenos Aires with a lovely group - Ruth, Emily, Charlotte and of course was reunited with lovely lazy llamas Hannah and Laura. Had an amazing time in the city. I think BA is my favourite city after London which is a second home to me....Ruth left for Peru in the early afternoon, and Emily Charlotte and i went for amazing Volta ice cream before they saw me off in a cab. Despite having to visit the hospital, police and losing my purse the highs of Buenos Aires outweighed the lows. Definitely somewhere to return later in life.............

Lost purse continuoso..... Boca Juniors Futbol match!

Luckily i had met a nice few guys from the hostel in the club and they made sure i got back to the hostel. It was about 8.30am when we got back and my first action was to contact home. Mum was amazing and helped me cancel all the cards. I still had my credit card so not completely lost. Did put a real downer on the day though. Not only that but i thought i had lost my anti biotics....and made numero 2 journey to the hospital to get more tablets later to discover they had been in my room all along. The staff at Millhouse were so helpful and made sure i got all the help i needed.


In the afternoon a massive group from the hostel were taken to La Boca for pre football BBQ and drinks. I wasn´t drinking. We were all under the impression that Boca Juniors would win the game but they lost 4-1! Not what we expected. The match was really good... and the crowd were much more chilled than expected. I was stood in the ´hooligan´section just behind the goal with the away fans in the tier above. Drums and music that resembled a marching band continued throughout the match. Boca Juniors had no control over the game, a ridiculous amount of missed opportunities and it was fare to say the other team deserved to win! The one goal that was scored did set off a good atmosphere and we tried to mime along with the Boca songs.

Hospital at 11am, lunch at 4pm, dinner and ice cream at 12am, Pacha at 2am, lost wallet and anti-biotics by 8am!

Because i was still feeling unwell on Saturday and having been ill for over a week it was time to pay the hospital a visit. Hannah and i went to the hospital at 11am and left at 2.30pm. We had a horrendous wait, got shouted at, and were just glad we went together. I was prescribed anti biotics being diagnosed with an intestine/bowel infection...the language barrier between myself and Gabriel the doctor was a bit of a problem but the tablets seem to be working so he must have understood something i said.

In the evening the girls invited me to meet up with some Argentinians that they had met in Mexico and we had an absolutely amazing meal in China town, got driven round the city and ate the BEST ice cream i have tasted in my life. It really makes a difference when you're travelling and with locals because you get to see the real city and get taken off the tourist track, eating in tried and tested restaurants. We got to back to their hostel around 2am and i walked across the massive Avenue planning of going to sleep but the plan changed as soon as i walked into Millhouse.....

Pacha had their opening night so it seemed only right to go along. Another new friend from the hostel Jo and i waited for the transport and went with the Millhouse gang to the club. It wasn't quite as big as i expected but it was good to have a dance to some good music. By about 5am Jo and i had lost each other and i was with some others from the hostel. When the sun rose i thought it was time to head back but when i looked in my bag to get my wallet in order to make my way back it was gone! After a long look around the club we stepped out into the day light... Jet planes taking off above me and the realisation i'd lost my purse sunk in. Panic time for Zea....



To be continued......

Tango Reunion....

Friday i was reunited with the lovely Laura and Hannah who experienced the Inca Trail with me in Peru...

To celebrate their arrival in Buenos Aires we went straight to Florida Avenue and went for a shop. I left them for one hour and came back and they had an array of bags full of new clothes. This city is a bit lethal for the shopper!

At 7pm we were taken to a tango lesson where the male to female ratio was well out of balance. There were about 25 girls and five men... all the men were quite old and the majority with their other half and all us girls felt like we were at a school dance waiting to be asked forward...but this time no fanciful crushes were involved.

The lesson was followed by a three course meal.. Another amazing Argentinian steak and chocolate brownies with ice cream and strawberry sauce. Back at Millhouse the music was playing, people were dancing, drinks were flowing, and it was very clear that nights in Buenos Aires don't start till very late...and end very early in the morning....

Buenos Aires .... Buenos Dias .... Buenos Noches....

After the final hard days in Peru, being ill and having to endure two long 6-8 hour night bus journeys to Puno brought the Peruvian part of the adventure to a weak end. In the last few days i was unable to eat and on the floating island tour at beautiful lake Titicaca i spent more money paying for the toilet than enjoying the views. It seemed my trousers had got to big and my stomach and appetite shrunk for all the wrong reasons.

But onward and upward i reached Argentina... Hola Buenos Aires!

I flew out of Lima at 11.25pm and landed in BA at 6am. I had been up for almost 24 hours at this point and went to get the coach transfer to Millhouse hostel. Over the past two weeks Shelley and i had heard loads about this place...and when i arrived the stories were confirmed. This was the party hostel. I arrived at 8am but couldn´t check in to a room until 2pm so a few hours were there to be killed. First impressions weren´t all that when i had a bunch of Aussie guys asking all sorts of silly questions and talking about Bristol cities...

But within the hour i met a few girls and ended up going for coffee and a wonder through the big city. It was nice to be somewhere bustling again and i felt quite excited about this place. There are tons of beautiful, old, colonial style buildings towering the streets, with trees nicely aligned and the noise of traffic that fills any major city. Last night i ended up in some amazing student accomodation where i had been invited by a couple of girls who would be studying spanish there for a month. They snuck me and another British girl into the building as non spanish students aren´t allowed in. It was nice to be somewhere quiet and have a home cooked meal of pasta and cheese. The hallways were very grand with chandelliers hanging, and although the rooms felt quite dark there was a nice feel about the place. It beat my dorm which was home to myself, and a few young boys for the next few nights. After the food, a big beer and a Cuba Libre at the bar it was time for me to head to bed. I think my lack of food over the few days and sleep meant i was still in a bit of a bad way and i was sick...again! ´

My room at the hostel has two balconies overlooking the main road. The noise from the traffic woke me about 9.30am ... longest lie in yet! In the afternoon i went to the ´Cementario de la Recoleta´ which is the cemetary where Evita is buried. I haven´t seen a burial site like this before. Rather than people being buried in the ground there are grand tombs for people. You are able to see the coffins and it is almost like a village of the dead. Some of the statues and tombs were unbelievable. Quite a moving place even though a little morbid.

This evening i had my first Argentinian steak which was delicioso and i couldn´t quite finish it. The only unfortunate event was that whilst myself and two other girls finished up our  dinner a group of kids came over wanting our left overs. They weren´t very nice and actually grabbed the food from the plates. Tomorrow i have a busy day planned with shopping in the Palermo area and a graffiti tour....

"The core of mans' spirit comes from new experiences."

It´s so funny how you can dream of travelling to far off lands and get there and think of home. It´s silly really because when you leave your comfort zone you actually experience who you are. You test your character and see, smell, hear and generally sense a world that is new to you. Perhaps that is why when you leave for a trip so far from home your emotions can be topsy turvy... but although you feel a little lost it´s only a matter if time before you find yourself again. I´ve been going through the waves this week. But i think they are becoming less choppy and much more settled.

How i know i am not alone with this feeling:

"well when i first got to london and my parents first left me i cried so hard, thought it was going to be the hardest thing ever, to live in a foreign country on my own at 18 and then i realised the hardest thing i ever did was when i had to leave london after uni but i knew deep down id be back aaand here i am.. 5 years in england and never looked back" - Caitlin Marie Knight

Peruvian dream or Peruvian Nightmare????

Although there has been sunburn, peely faces, heads, backs, arms, masseuse popped blisters, swollen ankles, aching muscles, delayed flights, technical faults on planes, angry naked german men, slow service, unpredictable weather, bites, bad bellies and bloody manicures.... It has to be said the actual Inca Trail to Machu Picchu was a lifelong memory.

It´s one of those places that until you see it in reality is unimaginable. I will never forget being sat with Shelley on the top of a rock - sat on one poncho with another over our heads, rain pouring and us thinking ´come on then fog, clear away´...and as it did clear in little snippets it almost felt like a tease until it was there in front of us... Machu Picchu with all it´s mystery and character. A moment i will never forget.

I am now in Lima where i have been waiting for the last 12 hours with two more hours to go until i can head to the airport. I hate waiting! It can make you feel insane sometimes! It´s the first point on the trip where i am alone. Missing Shelley already. I went to the beach today but it was not a pretty beach. I then got approached by a short man with dreds who i had seen with Shelley the previous day - he was trying to sell me cocaine. I don´t rate Lima all that much. Adios Peru! A truly unforgettable two weeks..... Full of highs and a few lows...

Buenos Aires here i come!!!

10 Peruvian Don´t do´s

1) DON´T trust taxi drivers... Check fares as you could be ripped off. If you ask to go to the airport expect to end up at the bus station. If you ask to go to the bus station expect to end up at the airport

2) DON´T drink to much on your first day in high altitude - likelihood of being sick, getting a headache and being in bed at 6.30pm for 12 hours

3) DON´T think the trail will be easy - the Inca Trail is one hell of an achievement! Your legs will hurt, you may struggle, but it will be worth it

4) DON´T rely on one type of  weather - The sun will shine, but not always on your face, and the wind will blow, but not always upon your back. The rain will fall heavily, and hit you everywhere

5) DON´T trust ´KILLA massage´ with sunburn - As Shelley experienced... a massage after sunburn can be the most painful thing ever! Blisters and masseuse are not amigos

6) DON´T get a manicure - once again a Shelley nightmare. Excited about getting a manicure she went to a place in Cusco... But instead of getting pretty nails her cuticles got pushed so far back there was blood!

7) DON´T think just because you weren´t ill on the Inca Trail you won´t be ill after - When the Inca Trail came to an end i got super sick. Unable to eat for a couple of days and having to endure two night buses and visit Lake Titicaca was not to pretty!

8) DON´T talk outside peoples hotel rooms in the early hours of the morning - as Shelley found you may get flashed some German sausage!

9) DON´T expect things to happen quickly - whether you are waiting for a drink, food, transport or anything for that matter. Expect to wait... Nothing happens quickly in this country

10) DON´T book with Peruvian airlines - It´s either our luck or.... There´s a likelihood your plane will have a technical fault and you´ll have to switch flights... or you will get delayed for hours. Both our journeys with Peruvian airlines were meant to take around and hour and took between 5 and 7 hours!

The Mission to Machu Picchu

The Sacred Valley Of The Inca´sThe tour of the Sacred Valley of the Inca´s was the taster of what was going to happen to us over the coming few days. Visiting two Inca sites and getting acquinted with our group and wonderful guide ´Dimas´ was what this day was all about.Once again we found it a bit of a struggle climbing up ruins in our poncho´s in high altitude, but these ruins were NOTHING!!! compared to what we would be faced with, these little sites were like a skip in the park on a nice summers days. Of course we didn´t quite know how hard the trek was going to be.

 

Having seen some sites, visited traditional grounds where Peruvians showed us how they tailored garments and survived the first of a rickety bus ride we came to our first resting point. The little town of Ollantaytambo was right in the middle of the mountains. This was probably the first time i felt i was moving far away from civilisation. We went for some drinks and ate a very nice meal and spent the last night in a comfy bed... The last comfy bed and shower we would experience for a couple of days.

The pains of Day 1How on earth we got through this day i really don´t know. All i can say is thank goodness for Shelley, Laura and Shah... The slow ones at the back of the trek tribe. I wasn´t alone!

The trek begins!

 
The begining of the day didn´t seem so bad. We arrived at the entry point and got our passport stamps on Inca trail entry, crossed the river and hiked out of civilisation. Before lunch there was one high peak, but it was after the amazingly made porter lunch that the hard work began. It was about a 3 hour up hill hike to the campsite but the last hour of steps took their toll. Shelley, Laura and I hung at the back praying that as we turned another corner there wouldn´t be another staircase waiting for us... But surprise surprise they didn´t seem to stop.The comedy moment of Shelley grabbing Laura´s boob when she thought she had her arm broke the climbing tension into laughter. 

Booby moment

The last to reach the campsite... we could relax! We did trek through some amazing scenery, but the pain of that walk took it´s toll on all of us! We camped just below Dead Woman´s Pass that night getting prepared for another 5am wake up call.

We survived day 1!

The Dead women crossing Dead Woman´s Pass on Day 2
As soon as we left the campsite i felt out of breathe! This was the moment we had been dreading the most. Dead Woman´s Pass! This is the highest point of the Inca Trail being some 4200 meters (or 13650 feet) above sea level. Lucky for us it was dry in the morning and after the the awful step climbing from Day 1 this didn´t seem quite so bad. The views were beautiful from the top peak, but as we headed back down the rain started.



Dead woman´s pass up there!


After climbing up and down another couple of high passes where the views were unappreciated because of the fog we reached our second campsite - the cloud forest. One of the most beautiful places i have spent the night in my life. We were literally camping in the clouds. This night made all the hard work seem worth it. Breathe taking scenery and the highest pass conquered.

The cloud Forest

The downhill of Day 3
Day three was all downhill. Because of the time of year and mudslides we has to hike to the town closest to Machu Picchu, having hiked the majority uphill for two days you would think going down would be a breeze, but it is hard on the legs. Not following the traditional trail we had to walk across the train tracks... Jumping aside when trains came and continuing to force our little hard done by legs to keep on going. The porters were incredible and carried so much stuff on their backs at a speed so much faster than ours.

 After lunch by the train track we made it in one painful peice to our hotel for the night. The shower and bed were much appreciated. Farewells were given between trekkers and porters and everything seemed pretty good....That was until Shelley came to the room after her massage. She had been sunburnt so badly that her neck had blistered and the massuese at ´Killa Massage´hadn´t been gentle and popped her burnt back! It was awful. So much for the well deserved comfy sleep.

Killa Massage!

The beauty of Day 4
We did it - We made it to Machu Picchu...Tired but alive we were able to take in the beauty of Machu Picchu!!! An amazing trek but one of the hardest things i have ever done in my life... It took a good couple of hours before we saw the ruins because the fog was so heavy and the rain came down, but when Machu Picchu did appear it was amazing and the rain stopped. My advise would be do some training before you go!

Climatising in Cusco

Having landed safely in Cusco we had a couple of days to explore the city before the Inca Trail would begin. As soon as we got off the plane the altitude hit us. It was Austrailia day so there was a big BBQ at the hostel on our arrival, we had some food and some drinks. The drinks being our downfall meant we were asleep by 6.30pm and didn´t rise until 6am the following day. It would seem altitude and alcohol aren´t the best of friends.

 
We explored Cusco over the next few days bartering for Peruvian jumpers and eating three course meals for the equivalent of 1 pound and 23 pence. A guided city tour seemed like a bad idea to begin with as our guide ´Carlos´ had the chore of keeping us entertained. We started in a museum looking at Inca rocks and the tour soon improved as we embarked on a little trail to some ruins. This was the point where both Shelley and i did become a bit worried. Huffing and puffing up a slightly inclined hill was hard enough work and left us out of breath. How on earth would we manage the Inca Trail?

Our final day before the trail saw us arrive at the Prisma Hotel. There were hot showers and nice beds - luxury! Definitely a step up from the previous day where we had both experienced one of the coldest showers the world has to offerç. We met with our 12 other fellow trek members that evening, and being worried about our clothes getting wet in the duffle bags we were provided with we went on a mission to find plastic bags. What should have taken only a few minutes turned into a shop, dinner and Shelley gaining blisters (walking round town without socks in walking boots).... Sleep time and a 6am wake up - the Inca Trail begins!

Landed in Lima....

Shelley and I landed on Peruvian land late Monday night. We were expecting a transfer from the airport to our hostel and looked out for signs but surprise surprise no-one came to collect us. Back packed to the max we walked out of the airport greeted with the constant ´taxi? taxi?´ cries and chose a taxi man to take us to The Point hostel. We reached our hostel in Barranco (Lima) for a hefty price, and it didn´t take long to realise we had been ripped off. When we got chatting to some of the other people who were staying at the hostel we found they had paid between 45 and 70 sol to get there....we, on the other hand paid 105 sol - no wonder the taxi man seemed so friendly.
 

 
After a sleep we woke up to a ´continental breakfast´ which consisted of bread, jam and tea-coffee. We still aren´t quite sure what continent that breakfast comes from. Not only that but we had the pleasure of some insane italian man (who had apparently been up snorting Peru´s finest for 5 days) keeping us company. He was singing ´Mamma Mia´...shouting Ábra Kadabra´and pulling out all sorts of Karate moves....He sounded more like an animal than a man and despite being Italian kept speaking in French. We decided to go for a walk and on our return the Peruvian police were there trying to get him out. After some effort they carried him out of the hostel but it wasn´t quite the end of him. Still feeling jet lagged at around 5pm we went to try and have a little nap - but the sound of his voice and his growls came back into the hostel. Appearently the police in Peru don´t like arresting tourists because it is to much hassle - don´t quite no how much of that is true. It took about 10 men to get him out of the hostel again, and when we stepped out to go for dinner he was sprawled out at the entrance. By the time we left the following morning he was gone. Who know´s what happened to Miguel.

 
Besides being ripped off and being exposed to one of Barranco´s most insane tourists we did see some nice things in Lima. The architecture was as expected and everything was vibrant, with so many colours. Classic beetles drove round the streets and waves on the beach were huge. With limited time before needing to reach Cusco it was time to leave on an early flight. We boarded a Peruvian Airlines flight at 9.30am and as it picked up speed down the runway it suddenly came to a stop. Some technical fault had occurred which meant out 2 hour journey took 7 hours. Shelley was great and kicked up a fuss ensuring we got on the first flight out of there!

We are now is Cusco where there is less oxygen and the rain has been falling heavily...Inca Trail starts tomorrow!