Wow…Bolivia has been so beautiful and different and cheap.  The salt flats were immense and fascinating.  Then we went to Potosi and I went into a silver/zinc mine which was less scary than I anticipated.  We blew up some dynamite on a hillside…I will make that into a video.  Potosi used to make most of the coins for many countries around the world.  They have a great Money/Mint Museum that even had mummies!  We toured the old cathedral that is being renovated and the guide let us ring the bells…Potosi was a nice town.

Driving into La Paz was stunning…you don´t realize that the city is actually below you in a valley.    We had our last Dragoman group dinner at the top of our hotel with the city lights in front of us.  Overall, the trip was full of good times.

The next day, Friday, I walked to the main plaza of La Paz and down the main street (literally).  It is easy to find your way in the city…my hotel is up one side of the valley, the main street is at the bottom and the main plaza is up the other side of the valley.

The next day the group moved on with their next leg of their trip.  I stayed in La Paz and went on the famous bike ride on the “Death Road” with a guy from the group, Simon.  It was a 64 km ride but completely downhill!  We started out on pavement for about 45 minutes and then transported in a van up to the top of the dirt road.  It too about 3 more hours to go down the dirt/gravel road which at times was only 9 feet wide.  The trip is the cliff that is always right next to you…it is so steep that if you go over, you will definitely DIE!  It’s weird how you quickly forget that and simply enjoy the amazing scenery and FUN.

Early Sunday morning I took the public tourist class bus up to Copacabana, at Lake Titicaca.  It took about 4 hours.  I found a cheap but fancy hotel, El Miradore, and got a room with an amazing view of the lake for less than $9/night.  I didn’t feel like staying at the hotel where the Dragoman group was since I had already said my goodbyes.  I did end up running into some of the girls and we had a nice night out in Copacabana.

I took a 2 hour boat ride out to Isla del Sol in Lake Titicaca.  I got off ont he north end of the island and walked 12km to the south end.  I walked along the beaches, villages and farms with only one other gringo around.  Teh views of the Andes int he distance and the blue lake were beautiful.  That night I again ate lake trout in one of the many stalls along the lake front for a whopping $2.50!  The prices of everything in Bolivia continue to amaze me.

On Tuesday I took the afternoon bus back to La Paz and checked back into the same hotel I was in before, the Estrella Andina.  I walked to the local plaza looking for the bus I wanted to take the next morning…no luck but the city is very lively with night markets.  I got an hour massage for $11….why not?

Wed. I found the right bus and went out to Valle de Luna (Valley of the Moon).  At the southern end of town there is an area that is eroded and moonscape-like.  It was pretty and odd to be so close to town.  I took a minivan back to town but it didn’t really take to where I had hoped.  I wandered until I got back on my map…remember, I just walked uphill!  I slipped into a local restaurant and had a great bowl of soup for 85 cents.  I went to the National Art Museum and the National Ethnographic and Folk Museum.  I had another hour massage but this time it was only $9…why not?

My taxi is set for 4 am and my flight is at 6:30 am.  Time to wrap it up!

A few days ago we finally drove out of Argentina for the last time (I have SO many Arg. stamps in my passport, I will have to get new pages when I get home.)  We drove through the corner of Chile for about 140 km and then finally into Bolivia….let me tell you, the border is incredibly remote and rough…dirt roads immediately (and so far exclusively!)

We climbed slow and hard all day and the altitude was really a killer.  I had a terrible headache and was feeling really sick.  We went over 16500 feet high…ouch!  We slept in a place called Refugio at that altitude and  I was on dinner and breakfast duty…suffering for sure.  I took half a Diamox and that seemed to help.  They keep telling us to drink LOTS of water.

The next day we all felt much better just by going down  10,000 feet.   We drove through the most amazing scenery…we saw green, white, red, and blue salt lakes, geysers, fumaroles , etc.  They keep saying it looks like the moon.  We stopped for lunch along a creek that had flamingos…cool.  In the afternoon, we hit a roadblock set up ona bridge.  Some miners were striking by trying to draw attention to their plight.  There were trucks that had been there a couple of days so our leaders went up and told them they had a passenger with chest pains and had to get through to the hospital…guess who had to play the sick one????  They put an oxygen tank and mask on me…they really only picked me because I happened to be sitting in the seat next to the front door.  Well the strikers just shrugged and didn´t care at all.  The blocked road was only one hour from our destination.

So we went to Plan B.  We backed up and turned off the dirt road and just headed across the desert.   We had special guide with us because Bolivian High Altiplano has just dirt tracks, no actual roads.  He would tell our drivers which tracks to take.  We drove over the most beautiful deserts that kept changing.  Sometimes there were absolutely NO plants or grass of any sort and other times there was just scrub grass.  The mountains in the distance were stunning and kept changing too.   We got stuck in dry riverbeds and soft dirt a couple of times and we all had to get out and dig and push, etc.  It was fun because we knew we would get out.  It ended up taking us about 7 hours to get to Uyuni, our destination.  It was dark but once we could see city lights in the distance, we were happy.  It was a very long afternoon but absolutely a fantastic journey!

We arrived at a very nice hotel in Uyuni with a great pizza restaurant attached.  A very nice change from empanadas.

Today we went in Toyota Landcruisers out to the Uyuni de Salar…the world´s biggest salt flats….that is putting it mildly!  They are over 12,000 square kilometers.  It took us 2 hours to get out to an island near the center…driving straight across the salt.   The island was made of ancient coral and covered in giant ancient cactus…like 900 years old!  We took crazy pictures out on the salt because with endless white, the perspective does strange things when you line up the camera to have something close and then people far away to make it look like you are standing on a beer can, for instance.  People spent hours fooling around with it.  The salt flats were very interesting and beautiful….and special for sure!

Hanging in the town of Uyuni tonight…driving up to Potosi tomorrow…hopefully no more roadblocks but I guess that is not uncommon here in Bolivia.

Just a quicky update …two full days in Salta. Saw some museums, hiked to the top of the local mountian without the aid of the gondola. Eating my fair share of baked empanadas. Heading to Bolivia in a day or so and worried about the predicted gastro sickness.

I spent two days riding a beautiful horse across Estancia Los Poteros. They raise beef in the form of big black cows. I was proud that I was able to walk after all that riding! We are now headed north to Salta and covering a lot of countryside to get there. The truck is fairly comfortable and the people all nice. Setting up and taking down the tent is messy but we don´t have too many more days of camping.

well all I know is that I felt an earthquake in my third floor Santiago hotel that already had big cracks in the walls from the last big earthquake…. amazingly, I went right back to sleep.

On Sunday I went with a group from the big group to Valpariso on the coast of Chile.  It was supposed to be 1.5 hrs on the bus and it took almost 2.  We walked all over taking feniculars up and then walking down the old streets.  We did walk up a giant set of stairs where one fenicular was shut.   It is supposed to be one of the best port cities in South America…not so sure about that.  The trip home was a traffic jam and took 2.5 hours but the bus was nice.

Yesterday we had a long day in the truck.  The border guards held us up for an extra 4 hours..not sure why but eventually we made it through.  The drive over the Andes was amazing.  There were NO tress, just dry scrub.  LOTS of switchbacks and slow going but smooth enough.  I slept in the back of the truck because I had a headache from the altitude and a cold.

We got to Mendoza, Argentina last night and are staying in a hostel that is pretty good.

Today I walked around the city and saw the main plazas.  It is a city full of trees..very pretty.  On a whim, I decided to go paragliding.  It was less than $70USD…so cheap.  We drove to the mountians over the city where there are radio towers.  I was put into a loose harness with Dado the pilot behind me.  I had to run until I lifted off. The conditions were ideal…great thermals and we gained even more altitude.  We were in the air about 15 minutes but it was actually long enough.  It was a little tough on my stomach when we did some acrobatics coming down but really fun.

Tomorrow will be another long day in the truck with bush camping at night… so no internet…btw..bush camping means no toilets…  nothing…. 

Ilha Grande had a beautiful beach that was a 45 boat ride away from the town. Megan hiked it through the jungle 2 hours each way and I took the boat…worked out perfectly! A long shuttle to Rio and we had to find accommodation. Finally found a cute new guesthouse/hostel and made it our home for 4 nights. We walked a lot in Rio…we were warned that buses were not safe but then ended up using them quite a bit even though they were very confusing.

We took the cable car to the top of Sugarloaf mountain for great views and then walked the entire length of Copacabana Beach and Ipanema Beach. The rest of the afternoon we hung out at a kiosk on the Ipanema boardwalk drinking beer and watching the people. It was not too crowded…we are just after the high season so it perfect. Megan and I are now tan enough to be the girls from Ipanema!

We had a big day of clouds and rain so we made the best of it by visiting the central part of town called Lapa and Sta. Teresa. We took the antique train up into the old neighborhood and walked all the way back down. It´s great to discover cool stuff just by asking a stranger for directions.

Thursday morning it was finally clear enough to attempt to the go Corcovado with the Cristo on the mountain top. I went with an english couple while Megan went off to hike around the big local lake. We easily enough got there via bus but coming back we were on the wrong bus and ended up having to catch a taxi back to the hostel…oh well. The statue is covered by scaffolding for a renovation,,,,supposedly to be refaced so it white again. The statue itself was not particularly impressive but the views were AMAZING…Truly a beautiful city from that vantage point.

That afternoon we took a walking tour of a favela. We only decided to do this after much discussion…we didn´t want it to be a “human zoo”. The favelas are the giant slums built way up the sides of the hills of the city. We were taken to the top and then walked down the “shortcuts” though it all. We visited a school where the kids were doing capoeria..brazilian dance fighting. It was very good and we felt safe with our guides.

Then to top off our stay in Rio, Megan and I went back to Lapa and went dancing in the clubs and had a blast. Megan loved watching me dance the Samba!! who knew it could be so easy…just FEEL the music!

Megan and I took a taxi to the airport and her flight was much earlier than mine but it was so much easier to do it that way. She is off to BA to do her 1000km Patagonia bike ride and I flew over the Andes to Santiago, Chile. I arrived late last night and easily got a shuttle to my central hotel. There are some big cracks in the walls of my room from the recent earthquake.

This evening I meet the Dragoman group…met a few at breakfast and I think it will be around 20 people!!! yikes. I have two full days to explore Santiago…I thought it would only be 1 day so I am happy to relax and catch up….Let the adventure continue!

Megan and I have traveled overland from Argentina to Brazil.  The waterfalls were just as amazing as I remembered but lots more people now.  We took a 10 hour overnight bus to Curitiba, Brazil and there caught the Serra Verde Scenic train that took 3 hours through fantastic jungle mountains full of flowers and butterflies.  GREAT scenery.  We then packed into a local bus for another hour to the port of Parangua where we took the small ferry for 2 hours to the surfer´s island of Ilha do Mel (Honey Island).  We easily found a beachfront place and have already enjoyed a great seafood dinner…Now this is really the  life!!! We are not sure how long we will stay…. ???????

Megan and I had a great wet day at Iguasu Falls, Argentina side.   We even went back to the farthest point to once again experience the Gargantua del Diablo (Devil´s throat).  We understand the concept of RAIN forest…but luckily dealt with the water from all directions very well. Tomorrow we head to Brazil and have nothing else booked so we are going to have to really wing it. We are planning on taking an overnight bus towards the coast then hope to catch a train, then another bus, then a ferry…you get the idea!  We are trying to get to Ilha do Mel (Honey Island).  We are told things are much more expensive in Brazil…it´s been moderate here.

I was able to carry all my luggage onto the flights…yeah!  American Airlines was running behind schedule and that can be challenging when the connection is very tight….but with 60 people on board connecting in Miami, I could only hope they would hold my plane.  And of course the two gates were at opposite ends of a very long terminal.  I was lucky enough to get 2.5 seats to stretch out over and I was able to get some sleep.

Passport control was rather slow but not too  bad since I was ready to pay my $131 entrance fee to Argentina….plenty of grumbling from the crowd.  Got money from a machine…$15 AR fee…a bit steep.  Convinced the bus company girl that they really do go to my accommodation and caught the  bus straight away.  Megan was sitting on the front stoop!

We took the bus to La Boca, the colorful part of old B.A. and watched Tango shows in various restaurants.  We found a cute place to stay in San Telmo when we come back in a couple of days.  We took the  subway back to Palermo during rush hour…happy to report we did not get groped or pick pocketed.

Went to a nice restaurant for a late dinner…steak for me, red wine for Megan.

We  caught the noon ferry to Colonia, Uruguay…about 1.5 hours across the river from B.A.  Perfect weather so far.  We walked every cobblestone street and enjoyed this old port town.

Almost packed and hoping they let me carry on the big backpack. Beyond that, I think everything is under control! I will try to blog here but never sure how the internet access is going to be….First stop Buenos Aires!