The Sharmagoo Odyssey

Hello people!

Apologies for the radio silence - you would think that New Zealand would have plentiful internet access but it turns out that free internet at every stop is a luxury that we left behind in South America...who'd have thought it?

We've been busy, and as I've been offline for a while I will make this succinct...Santiago is a lovely city, and travelling there from La Paz would make you swear you were on a different continent. From the second we left the airport we noticed the difference - gone were the plumes of black smoke behind every vehicle, the 2000 car horns per minute and the suicidal buses with 20 more people that is physicaly possible in them - instead, you are welcomed by well tarmaced roads being driven by seemingly sensible motorists! The differences didn't end there - Chile is much more expensive than Bolivia, and with 938 Pesos to the pound it's tricky to work out what you're spending! It feels far more like you're in Spain than South America, quite disorientating

As we only had two days, we spent a hectic time trying to see as much of the city as possible. The main square, the fish market, San Cristobel hill (up on a funicular railway, down on a cable car) and lots of walking! We even visited the stock exchange which wasn't quite the frenetic hive of activity one expects from a stock exchange....just one guy who I think may actually have passed away at his computer without anyone noticing and one chap jabbering on his mobile...that was it! All in all we concluded that Santiago is a pretty nice city and I think we will visit again.

After a manic few days, the time came to leave South America behind and head for NZ. It was actually quite pleasant arriving in a country where language is no longer a barrier - travelling with very bad Spanish in South America was pretty tiring after a while! We arrived in Auckland at stupid o'clock in the morning and sent a long day exploring the city before meeting up with Ursula for a few beverages (the Kiwi who used to live with me for those who don't know her!). Our second day saw us doing some more exploring of the suberbs - lots of trendy shops, markets and restaurants to be found. Day 3 was spent visiting places around the bay by boat - breakfast in a place called Devonport followed by some wine tasting on Waheke Island...this backpacking lark is tough, I tell you!

Day 4 saw us leaving Auckland behind in our new home - a campervan called Rabbit It's basically a toyota hi-ace with a teeny sink, cupboard and gas stove in the back as well as two bench seats and a table that convert into a bed. Our first stop in Rabbit was up north to a place called Paihia, which is the gateway town to both the far north and the Bay of Islands. On our route up there we passed one museum we decided to give a miss - Sheep world Even the sheep that had been dyed flourescent pink and sent to roam enticingly around the entrance couldn't convince us it was worth a visit!

And now I plan to leave you all on tenderhooks (well, maybe slightly less bored at work then you were before you logged on!) as my t'interweb pennies have run out and it's time for dinner!

Our next two stops are cities so we should be online again soon, until then I shall bid you Kia ora (that's Maori dontcha know, and has nothing to do with orange squash!) and sweet as Bro! Sue xxx

Hey All

Feels like it's been a while since we last posted but so much has been happening since then (apologies in advance, this could be a long post, but stick with it, we're interesting, honest ).

When we last left you we were about to head to the Salt Flats in Uyuni, so i guess thats a good place to start.

On Tuesday we rose early for a four hour bus ride with our grumpiest driver and shoddiest bus yet. We headed to Oruro (south of La Paz) where we would catch our train to Uyuni from. It's a 7 hour ride but we had comfy seats and The Shawshank Redemption in Spanish so who could complain?? We arrived in Uyuni about 10.30 and man was it cold!

Wednesday we checked out Uyuni (which took about 10 mins) and enjoyed some peace and quiet away from the streets of La Paz. Uyuni is quite flat and open and it's the winds that make it really cold. We booked a one day tour of the flats for Thursday and settled down to some pizza in a little place called MinuteMan that did the best pizza!

Thursday was amazing! The Salt Flats are so cool with some of the best scenary you could imagine. We started out in a place called the Train Cemetary which contained loads of old steam trains the Bolivians essentially retired when the electric train came into play (they like just shoving stuff out into barren land when they're done with it the Bolivians; the approach to La Paz airport fills you full of confidence!). Then we headed for the Fish Island which is near the middle. This has lots of funky cacti on it and at the top you gat a fantastic 360 view of the flats. It's this mass expanse of just white as far as you can see in all directions with the occassional moutain scattered here and there. We took some of those silly perspective photos on the flats before heading back to the outskirts for sunset (not before our guide stopped to show us the holes in the salt and chip away at some to show us how thin it really was to the water below!).

Friday we headed back to La Paz to book our trip on the Worlds Most Dangerous Road for Saturday. This is essentially mountain biking 64km down one of the most dangerous roads in the world, so as you can probably guess Sue and I were nicely relaxed on Friday night over dinner

Saturday we headed up the mountain (4750 meters above sea level at the top which is 15583 feet! Everest base camp is only 17000 feet!) before getting suited up and heading off. The first 30 km is on concrete so not too bad. Only thing to avoid here is the other people pelting it down, and the occassional bus and car that try their well reputed overtaking manoeuvers on blind corners etc. The next 34km is on dirt track that's about 3 meters wide, that twists and turns all over the place, and that has lorries, buses, and other such distractions along the way. The scenary is amazing, on both sides, and it's so hard to believe that this used to be the main route used to transport food, goods, and people! Once at the bottom we got food and some well earned drinks before, oh joy of joys, being told that we'd be going back up the road in the bus. This is probably one of the single most scariest things I have ever done. To give you a taste the road is no more then 2 foot wider than the bus at times, and the driver used his hopefully perfected hand in front of the eyes technique when the sun was shining at him! We did however make it up unscathed, and the stories we heard on the way up were amazing; of how people had come to fall, how many people had bounced off trees and made it, how the road used to be used etc. New found respect for the Bolivians after that

And how I've waffled enough so I'm going to sign off and hand you over to Sue to tell you about Santiago and the rest

Sharm

Hello All

So we left Cusco on the 21st and headed for Puno and Lake Titicaca. I had forgotten how much fun Peruvian bus rides can be; all that bouncing through potholes and swerving to avoid old women / stray dogs / other vehicles...oh how we laughed! Missed the tour of the reed islands (mainly due to our hotel receptionist miss informing us...can a backpacker get no service these days??), but met up with some friends for food and drinks.

The following day we headed for Copacabana and the Isla Del Sol (Island of the Sun for the uneducated among us). We met a fellow Brit on the way over, and good job too as we discovered we didn´t have enough cash on us to pay for a hostal (let alone a hotel...how ghastly!). The border crossing is an interesting affair. Three buildings, two forms, and one stop sign later and we´re 7 people in a 6 man campervan heading for our destination.

The Sun Island is amazing though, so quiet (only 2000 residents and no vehicles), water all around, and just the friendliest people. We were sorry to say goodbye.

The following day we caught a bus to La Paz (which actually stopped on the way due to the steepness of the hill!). Finally made it into La Paz and the approach is stunning. You come in from high and descend into the city, which is saying something when it stands at 3800 metres above sea level. It´s huge, with these stunning snow capped mountains in the background.

On ground level it´s manic! So much hustle and bustle going on that you don´t know whether to stand and watch or get out of the way! We´ve wandered through the Witches Market (where you can buy Llama Foetus´among other shopping essentials), been to a a fake english bar called Oliver´s Travels, and visited to the Coca Museum (Cocaine was all the Westerners fault don´t you know).

Tomorrow we´re off to the salt flats for 3 days. Be glad to get out of La Paz for a little while, it´s so busy!

So that´s about it. Catch you next time people.

Sharm

I'm traumatised. Not from

-the proposal - (Machews, that one's for you!)

that was lovely and we're both still smiling but the rollercoaster that is travelling in South America lead to our first (albeit mild) issue of the trip. We decided to do some laundry but as they don't have central heating in Cusco our washing wasn't drying at all so we thought we'd take advantage of a local laundry service instead. We found one proudly boast a 2 hour service, dropped off our washing and were invited to collect it 8 hours later (bless the Peruvians). When we came to collect they were still drying our stuff, and I noticed that a few bits seemed to be missing. Being the fuss-bag that I am I then insisted on counting everything, only to discover that I was missing 5 pairs of pants and 4 pairs of socks. Hmm. I explained this in my ropey Spanish and all bar one pair of pants were recovered. I pointed out that a pair was still missing which was met with the universal gesture of a shrug, the return of our change and the movement to serve someone else. I suppose for 1 pound 50 one can't complain, but when you're only carrying 7 pairs the loss of one is quite significant! I can only hope that whatever Peruvian ended up with them is enjoying my pair of M&S finest

Hey ho, trauma aside we've been having an absolutely fab time. Got back from trekking the Inca Trail yesterday and we're both still a little achey. You only cover 49KM over 4 days, but what I don't think we appreciated before starting is just how many of those KM are vertical! Still, we were rewarded with some stunning views, great company in our group and the most amazing food cooked for us along the way. Those who have done the trail will know what it's like - you are basically waited on hand and foot by the porters in your group. While you are wheezing your way uphill in your fancy walking shoes carrying little more that some sun cream and a bottle of water, they are legging it on ahead, carrying up to 25kg of stuff and wearing sandles in order to ensure that by the time you get your sweaty, sunburned self to camp there is a tent waiting for you, a bowl of hot water for you to wash in and a 3 course meal for you to enjoy...unbelieveable. They also break camp down for you so all you have to do in the morning is eat breakfast and go. 5 star camping, if you will

Macchu Pichu was a sight to behold - quite how the Incans put it together in the middle of a jungle 2500M above sea level is beyond me, but making it to Sun Gate after 3 and a half days of hard trekking was absolutely amazing. Sadly a few hours later the place was teeming with tourists which seemed a little surreal after spending the preceeding 3 days in relative isolation, strolling around cliff edge ruins with 10 other people and trekking up mountains and through jungle seemingly alone...but it's a popular place and I think we both walked around the site with more of a sense of achievement than those who'd got the bus there would have felt. We smelled worse, too

We're off to Puno tomorrow to check out the floating islands of Lake Titicaca, then on to Copacobana (which is clearly not north of Havana I have to point out...) and La Paz. We'll write more soon!

Hope all is well back in Blighty/France/Canada/Australia* (*delete as appropriate!)
Sue xxx

Alright people

So we landed in Cusco after another thrilling 9 1/2 bus ride. 6a.m and we´re standing in the middle of a yard in the rain waiting for our bags and not having a clue where we were (sounds about right!).

Will miss Arequipa, the place where I found my first Peruvian Liverpool fan, a green Santa, and discovered the wonders of deep fried Guinea Pig (which looked a little too much like A.L.F for my liking!).

Cusco is pretty cool. Nice and busy if not a little touristy. Even though we´re really high up we haven´t been suffering from altitude sickness too much (although i´ve found out that even a couple of beers can have a nasty effect in the morning ). Lots to see here if you get out of the centre, including an amazing market, churches galore, and lots of stunning views.

On the 13th it was our 3 year anniversary so we booked a nice little restaurant overlooking the main square in Cusco. And yep, most of you were right, I proposed and luckily Sue said yes (could have been an awkward 13 weeks otherwise!). So close the sweepstake (hopefully i´ve made a killing) and worryingly talk has already started on the where and when of the big day

Tomorrow we start the Inca Trail which we´re really looking forward to. Four days trekking and then back to Cusco for some well earned rest. Weather is playing nice so hopefully it´ll hold.

Right, enough said. Till next time. Hope all is well with you and yours.

Sharm