Top 10s

Top 10 things we did in South America :

1. Salkantay Trail
2. Galapagos Islands
3. Iguazu Falls
4. Floating Islands
5. Worlds Most Dangerous Road
6. Familia Zuccardi Bodega
7. Salt Flats and Lakes
8. Homestay on Amantani
9. La Serena Observatory
10. Dinner in La Cabera (Bueno Aires)

Santiago - Chile

We were treated to some beautiful scenery on our final Andes crossing (which we mostly slept through). Santiago is a massive city, but is way better than we expected and its almost a shame we only had 2 days there. We arrived in a pretty cool hostel (La Casa Roja), with a great sushi restaurant just next door and met up with brother and sister duo (Peter and Freya) and a Dutch guy with better english than everyone on the northside!!

We didnt do too much in Santiago, but took a cable car over the city, which provides some spectatular views and provides one the opportunity to travel on a funicular (otherwise known as "trains" by normal people). We also tried our best to round up people for some go karting, but alas only had 2 willing participants, but it was still great craic with the 4 of us even if Robert kicked everyones asses, but an honourable mention must go out to Orla for 2 successes in one day :

1. Winning the women`s go karting race !!

2. Getting a 2-1 in her masters (a far inferior achievement).

In celebration of Orlas multiple achievements, we went to a great restaurant (La Vacha Gordo) for some massive steaks and champers and even though Ronans credit card was declined 3 times, we manage to foot the 40e bill !!!! We then returned so Robert could inflict another defeat upon Ronan, this time in table tennis.

Tonight we fly to Auckland, were 13hours in the air but it takes 2 days!!!!! We hope its as good as South America.

Mendoza - Argentina

We enjoyed a nice change of temperature when we crossed the

Andes for our 6th time, everyday in Mendoza was glorious sunshine and between 20-30 degrees (basically our ideal weather). We stayed in a really cool hostel (Itaka), which had a great location right off one of the main streets beside some really nice restaurants and bars. The pool and table tennis tables were great ways to pass time while still enjoying a bit of competition!!! (Ro lost his first game of pool in South America with only 2 days left, hes not bitter Peter, not bitter at all).

We booked a bikes and wines tour around some nearby vineyards. Pardon me for a rant for the next 2 sentences!! Our group was pretty annoyed with the tour, they mislead us to believe that we were getting a guide and free tasting, in fact they just gave us a rubbish bike and crappy map and sent us off waterless. If in Mendoza get a public bus to Maipu and rent a bike yourself (you`ll save 50 pesos a head, which is enough for a great meal). But have to say the vineyards themselves were pretty cool and the tours we got were good (the vineyard tours are provided to anyone who steps through their door for free), you normally got 3/4 glasses to taste for about 10peso which was also quite reasonable.

One of the best places was a specialist in chocolates and liqours, we`d especially recommend the cafe chocolate shots. The region produces mostly red wine and we found it hard to drink alot of it in 30 degree heat so we were delighted to find a really tasty sparkling wine for 4e a bottle. We bought a bottle from the Tomasso vineyard which had the best tasting and was a small family run place. A little bit worse for wear we arrived back in the hostel to meet some friends from La Serena and Valparaiso, who joined us for some nice Argentinian steak, good wine, cocktails and lovely dessert (it was nice to pay with Argentinian peso again).

After the effort of cycling between the wineries we decided to pamper ourselves with a trip to Bodega Familia Zuccardi, which was a step up from the other vineyards. Along with Miguel and Larissa, we took a taxi out to the exclusive vineyard, not too sure what to expect. Upon our arrival we were treated to a lovely glass of champagne (well the sparkling Mendozan kind), which was a sign of things to come. After a great tour and some wine tasting we crossed the road and walked through some lovely vineyards to the Zuccardi restaurant for some lunch.

Lunch really was fantastic, the view of the gardens was amazing, the food was really tasty and the company, good. But best of all they never stopped refilling our wine glasses, with every

type of Zuccardi wine (and they make alot!!).

So after about 3 hours of enjoying our lunch and wine we retired to the courtyard for some port. Drunken Ronan invested in there gold medal winning red wine, which he now has to lug around and save for a special occassion!! Its hard to believe that this fantastic day was cheaper than the bikes and wines tour (because all wine was included). Have to say the hangover wasnt too bad, this must have been due to the quality of the wine.

Valparaiso

We heard some good things about Valparaiso so we decided to check it out, I have to say I didn't really like the place all that much and accomodation was really hard to find (if we didnt run into some friends we could have been looking for hours). There was nothing particulary wrong with the place, but the weather wasnt great and we couldnt find much to keep us entertained (apart from the Office christmas special on DVD), so after one night and a quick drinking game with some Drunken Irish, we headed to Mendoza.

La Serena

La Serena was much bigger than we expected, it reminded us of home and even had a shopping centre like Dundrum...we were shocked! Managed to find playing cards at last though. Checked into a great hostel (Marias Casa) and even bumped into some old friends from Salkantay (Hi Flo and Alex).

Treated ourselves to some nice food from the first Supermarket we have seen in ages, sushi, blue cheese and chorizo...mmm!!! Especially when washed down with some lovely (and cheap) Chilean wine!

We went to visit the observatory and it was amazing. Our guide was extremely enthuasiastic and knowledgeable ( he is saving to go to Memphis in 2017 for the next lunar eclipse!). The views were amazing.

San Pedro De Atacama and the Luna Valley

Wow - Chile is expensive, especially when coming from Bolivia, but apparently this town is the most expensive in Chile. Perception of expense does change when travelling though, we still got a dorm room between 5 of us for $10 ahead, we were all shocked having to pay that much!

Anyway San Pedro is HOT!! A lovely little town but as there is no beach or lake etc. it is just dry heat. Luckily Ronan managed to get the 2 rugby matches in a bar with lazyboys and a large screen...he was in heaven!

Another gas thing about San Pedro is that even though it was full of tourists none of the bank links were working! Mastercard did well out of us, we even met another Irish Girl (Siobhan) who showed a bit of ingenuity and waited at the petrol station and payed for peoples petrol with her visa until she had enough to pay for her hostel!!!Madness!

We booked a stargazing tour but alas it was cancelled due to a fire at the construction site of the worlds largest observatory which was due to open in 2012 (hopefully this hasnt delayed things by too much!).

On our last day we visited the Luna Valley which was HOT! Flip flops are not a good idea when one has to hike up the side of a massive sand dune in the desert! The views were amazing though and even though it felt like boiling water was being poured on our feet it was worth it! Next stop La Serena in search of a beach!

Uyuni and the Salt Flats

After a rather harrowing 12 hour bus journey (at one stage the bus actually jumped a few feet off the ground and woke anyone actually able to sleep) we arrived in Uyuni, lobbed our bags in a hostel and went to sort out a tour. After hearing the Salt Flat trips can be pretty dodgy we decided to pay a little more and go with a reputable firm...hahahaha!!Don´t book with Oasis Tours! We also found the best pizzeria in South America, Minute Man Pizza - dinner was soo good we even went for breakfast the next day... and loaded up our jeep with cold leftovers!

Day one with 6 of us squashed into the jeep we hit the desert (first we actually stopped at a train graveyard...exhilerating!!!) and stopped at the Salt Flats for as many prespective shots as we could think of. It was great fun altogether planning some of the shots! We stopped at the Isle de Pescado which was nice as we got to stretch our legs before our tasty lunch of cold vegetables!

It was about this time that our jeep decided to break down, just as we arrived at Cueva del Diablo (wasn´t too exciting and the graves full of skeletons were a little freaky when we were wondering whether we would be sleeping here!). After a little bit of wrenching around by the driver we headed off to our hostel in the smallest village we have seen so far. Here we found some local kids who invited us to partake in a football match (Bolivians v The Gringos!), needless to say the tiny children beat us soundly! Back in the hostel the same kids treated us to a well choreographed, much rehersed rendition of local song and dance...at one stage their "owner" asked them to sing and not screech...it was hilarious, especially Orla trying to break up some fights between the 3 year old boys.

After giving up drinking the most disgusting cans of beer ever we all had an earlyish night in preparation for a long drive! After finally getting the jeep started (and some cold showers) we headed towards the lagoons in search of some flamingos.

Numerous push starts later we firstly passed a stone tree (mind blowing???!!!) but have to say the lagoons and their amazing colours were well worth the bumpy bumpy drive! We saw loads of flamingos which were hard to photograph with their heads actually out of the water. The Lagoon Colorado was the most impressive with its amazing array of colours and thousands of flamingos.

Our hostel was grand (even if it was a squish putting 6 of us and all our bags into one small room) but our table nearby the fire was brilliant so we played a couple of games of cards and warmed ourselves up with a good few bottles of wine in preparation for the cold night ahead and the early rise!!

Next morning we left the hostel in the dark and discovered that our driver failed to demist the windscreen, with no deicer or warm water to hand, he did the next best thing...opened his car door, stuck his head out and drove through the rubble in the dark!!!! We visited the geyser fields but it was soo cold we didn´t hang around for long!

We headed towards some less touristy hot springs where we all hopped in for a quick wash...despite the green algae and strange red insects determined to stick to us! It was then our cook announced she had no matches to light the gas for breakfast!!!!What kind of cook has no fire!!!

After breakfast (we eventually borrowed some "fire" off a passing jeep!) we headed to the Green Lake which was spectacular especially with the clear reflection of the mountains in the water. After an eventful border crossing involving a stand off between us and some annoying tour group with the rudest guide we have ever met (Tolcan Tours never darken our doorstep again!!!) we made it safe and soundly to San Pedro De Atacama...Chile!!!When we saw the tarmac road we were only chuffed with ourselves!

Anyway despite all of the trouble we had with the jeep, the crappy food, bumpy roads and lack of promised hot showers, we really enjoyed the sights and it is definately worth the uncomfortable travel because the scenery is amazing. Next time maybe try Esmeralda Travel as we have heard good things and better prices.

The Worlds Most Dangerous Road

Everyone in La Paz told us to book with Gravity as they were supposedly the best, but they were also the most expensive and we found a locally owned company that looked just as good (they used new trek 4500s) and so instead we booked with Barro biking, who were absolutly brilliant. Our front suspension bikes suited us well and none of us had sore limbs at the end. 5 of us booked together and it turned out it was just the 5 of us on the road. Our guide was very helpful and completely set us at ease, and we were constantly followed by the minibus which was very spacious for us all.

So we began at 9am at a height of 4800m and descended 1200m over the space of 60k and it only took us 3 hours. The first bit was smooth tarmac and a joy to fly down, with all 5 of us making it in no time, it was also our first time cycling through clouds!! Unfortunately Orla had a stomach bug and had to opt for the bus on the more dangerous bits. After the nice begining, we had to skip the uphill bit due to time constraints (we had a bus to catch to Uyuni), but watching other people struggle on that stretch this wasnt such a bad thing!!!!!

As for the gravelly road, it was more testing and we all kept our fingers very close to the breaks, but despite the speed you cant avoid gaining and all the rocks we all managed to stay on our bikes all the way through. It was a little unnerving to pass memorials of previous bikers, who met untimly ends, but apparently most of these were reckless and in my opinion its as dangerous as you make it. Our guide was always ready with the camera and we got some great videos of us going through waterfalls, it was amazing to see him taking a video while descending rocky paths really fast and look completely unfazed. We were all treated to a nice snack during the bike ride and a lovely lunch after in a nice hostal with showers and a pool. I have to say the traffic we met were very considerate and our driver was excellent and safe (according to Orla, who spent most time in the bus!!). A thoroughly enjoyable experience.

La Paz

Early in our trip we were recommended the Loke hostel in La Paz (owned by very sound Irish guys) and after about 6 weeks we finally made it there. I have to say it was superb, but hard to have an early night!!! We were treated to a roast chicken dinner on the day we arrived and there was an 80s night on Saturday, which everyone went to alot of trouble for (see pics).

To be honest in 4 nights we didnt see an awful lot of La Paz but spent a few days wandering the markets and bought a bagload of stuff (which is currently in transit to Ireland). Not only new purchases but also our guide book (oops) luckily we only have 2 weeks left. Other than La Paz seemed a busy place but not dangerous and we enjoyed a lovely asian restaurant on our last night for a tenner a head. We then prepared ourselvs for the "Worlds Most Dangerous Road" on Monday before a bus to Uyuni.

Copacabana and Isla Del Sol (The Bolivian Side)

We heard from other travellers that Isla del Sol was the best thing to see on Lago Titicaca so we arrived to Copacabana with high expectations after a couple of great days on the Peruvian side. We dropped our bags in a nice hostal (Emperador) and ran to the port to organise a half day trip.

In hindsight a half day was definately not enough, we only got to see a small part of the island and our guide didnt bring us to the promised ruins of the Temple of the Sun. So all in all it was our most disapointing tour of the holiday and wed always recommend the Peruvian side ahead of the Bolivian. We left at 4 but the lake was too rough to land at the jetty to get to the ruins, not Ronans favourite boat journey!!

That said the town of Copacabana itself was quiet nice and we met some sound paddys and went for dinner and a few drinks, but as we are running short of time we would happily have given it a miss.

Puno and Lago Titicaca (the Peruvian side)

With little knowledge and no expectations we boarded our boat at 8 which brought us an hour away to Los Uros (The Floating Islands). Quite simply, these were mindblowing, its difficult to describe the simplicity and practiciality of being able to, quite literally "build and island"...which is what these locals do.

Basically the islands are constructed of 1 meter of reed roots paved with 1 meter of reeds. You may think this would be unstable but they felt grand, even if Ronan was a little unnerved. We even got a lesson from a local on how to make one (see picture). Believe it or not, people actually live on these permanently. We were then treated to a reed boat journey (in appearance similar to a viking longboat) to a nearby island which even had a reed shop, cafe and hostel.

We then headed off to our homestay island of Amantani where we were greeted by a local parade. Having bumped into a friend from Galapagos and her friend, the four of us grouped together and headed to our homes for the night. We were surprised at the quality of our home (we felt we were cheating), the only thing to bring us to reality was avoiding the two donkeys infront of our outdoor toilet.

Quick lunch and then out the door for a hike up to another ancient temple where our previous treking really came in handy as altitude wasn´t a problem (even at 4,200m). After a beer in the Plaza and a dinner back in our new home we got dressed up for a local dance. It felt like Halloween, the outfits were fantastic fun, even if a little hot. Each Peruvian song really lasts a long time and so we were all knackered and headed home for a comfortable nights sleep.

By the way the weather was amazing (as you´ll see from our red noses in the photos!) and we have to say that the family we stayed with were absolutely brilliant. Life is so simple there, they were so welcoming, as were their 2 youngest children who were great fun to play with (Ro made a new best friend with Franklin over a game of football!).

Early rise for breakfast and a boat trip over to Taquille where we had another hike and a nice lunch overlooking the lake. View alone was worth the price of the lunch! Then a 3 hour boat back to Puno where we organised tomorrows adventure to Copacabana and the Bolivian side of Lago Titicaca.

Arequipa and the Colca Canyon

After Cusco, we followed the tourist trail to Aerquipa, mainly to see the Colca Canyon and Condors. Our hostel was very nice (The colonial house Inn) with rooftop breakfast other than that there wasn´t an awful lot in Arequipa.

We were a bit disapointed by the choice of tours, on offer was an excruciating two day trek (the trek mightened have been too bad but 2 days of 2am starts and treking in the dark for hours just didn´t tempt us!) and so we settled for a (lazy) two day bus tour.

The tour was grand and we stopped a lot on the way for kodak moments of the vacuiñas, llamas and alpacas (all looking fairly similar and we´d seen them many times before!). We stayed in a town called Chivay which was small enough to walk around in a few minutes but big enough to have an Irish Bar!!!

Did a quick hike up to some andean graves and then went to some thermal baths, which were hot but nothing to write home about (especially after Santa Teresa on the Salkantay trail). Local restaurant for dinner with our group and enjoyed the traditional dancing (Ro even joined in!).

Early 5am rise to drive 2 hours alongside the canyon to the Condor Crossing in hope of seeing the worlds largest birds in action. We were disappointed to find another 500 gringos also condor watching. We waited patiently but alas only saw 3 birds in 2 hours which were quite far away so difficult to see, let alone photo!

On the way back we stopped in a couple of towns where the local children seem to dance constantly for the tourists (while Orla worried about their schooling!). Ro even got a falcon on his shoulder and head. All in all it was a grand trip but not something we´d recommend to others if time is an issue. But here are a couple of scenery shots.

Back to Arequipa for a few beers with our fellow hostellers before another rise for the Fiji v South Africa match (only Ro´s 3rd live match of the World Cup) and then boarded our bus to Puno.