Cuban Countryside

Cuba could well be the last place on earth where the first, second and third worlds coexist. Western affluence, remnants of the Soviet era, and the hardship and suffering of a third world existence can all be seen on the same street. Driving down the deserted highways, into the countryside, past the huge billboards advertising the revolution brings you face to face with the cold reality of Communism. It is very confronting indeed. In Havana we were caught up with the perceived beauty of the city and what it may have looked like in the past. You let your imagination run, but in the country it is stark reality.

Horses and buggies clip along the road at a steady pace, occasionally passed by an old car or sidecar. Pedalling a bicycle with no gears or brakes is hard work in the hot weather. A herd of cattle lumbers across the three lane highway. One hundred people wait under an overpass bridge for a ride to somewhere in the back of a government owned truck. Not enough buses to service the country and not enough oil. They might wait 5 minutes or 5 hours! Waiting is what Cubans do. Waiting in food queues, waiting for transport, waiting for Fidel to die. They say no man is an island, but Fidel is. Fidel owns everything! Even the mangos on the trees in the paddocks.

Trinidad, a UNESCO declared heritage town, on the south coast was our 3 day stopover, in a Cuban 'B&B'. It was one of the hottest places in Cuba and within 20 minutes of walking around town on the scorching cobblestones our white t-shirts were nearly see-through. Vivien runs an excellent B&B by Cuban standards, but the basics are missing – toilet seat, hot water, soap, and reasonable towels, but as tourists we are afforded the luxury of air conditioning. So many doors in the houses in Trinidad stand open, drawing whatever air is available into the hot rooms. People sleep in their rocking chairs in their tiny cells in front of their 12” televisions or play dominoes on their door steps. At night Vivien makes our special lobster dinner, again a luxury only permitted for tourists. If only they knew more about cuisine! To be kind we will say that maybe it was the type of lobster, but sweet and succulent are not words that belong in the same sentence as Cuban lobster! Vivien pays dearly for the right to run a small B&B. $200 per month per room, whether she has guests or not. If she fails to pay one month she loses her licence and can not reapply for 4 years.

The revolution has brought free health and free education to Cubans and many people are very well educated. Our tour guide is a pharmacist. The country has more doctors than you could point a stick at, but many are sent to other countries, such as Venezuela in exchange for oil or some other deal. At home one can’t get to see a specialist without ‘connections and money’ and where does the average Cuban get that! The revolution is over 50 years old now and since Russia pulled out in the early 90's there has been almost no income. The future for the aging population does not look bright either, because their income drops by 50% to a paltry $6 per month when they reach retirement age. We had expected to see the fields busy with workers producing food, but a lonesome farmer with an ox-driven plough that was surely surplus from the Middle Ages, was about all we saw of Cuban agriculture.

Cuba gives the outward sense of being stuck in time. It feels like a nation in limbo. It can’t move forward and it can’t move back. It just sits in the sun, slowly falling to bits. It’s been difficult being a tourist in Cuba but I wouldn’t have missed it for anything. Everyone should see Cuba before Fidel dies, because in my opinion there will never be the chance to see anything like it again.

And that brings my entries for this trip to a close.

Cuba - Opulence Amid the Ruins

Everywhere you look in Havana , grand colonial neighbourhoods are crumbling into dust. Most of the ruins are supported by scaffolding and wishful thinking! At first it was a shock. We thought we were in Kosovo, but then we did our walk through the old city. This is where the buildings have been renovated or are being renovated, and it is quite wonderful. Everywhere is the sound of jack hammers. There are magnificent squares surrounded by beautiful buildings with colonnades below, and half of the buildings are finished and others are almost empty shells, with no windows and usually no roof on the top floor, and the amazing thing is that people are living in them. There are cool dark patios, glimpsed through heavy sun bleached doors and it really doesn`t take much imagination to go back in time to how this city must have looked pre-revolution.

Barry is gobsmacked by the old cars. There appears to be literally hundreds of them, ranging from the late 30`s (very few) to the mid 50's, for example he believes he has seen more 50`s Customlines than he can remember in Melbourne. It is like a living transport museum, with sidecars, studebakers, pontiacs, dodges, chevvies, and he even saw a Mark V jag. They have probably been left to some Cuban when the rich families fled in 1958, and somehow they have kept them going. They are not the beautifully cared-for cars, lovingly buffed by their owners, but lumbering beetles, high, round, asthmatic and trundling along the roads with their home paint jobs.

Music is everywhere, and you can´t sit down for a coffee or a drink without being ambushed by some band (often 5 or 6 piece) appearing to play for you, for which you obviously pay. It is generally very enjoyable and the musicians are very talented. Some are really old and other quite young. One night we thought we we actually being entertained by the Buena Vista Social Club as 5 of the 8 band members were well in their 80´s. We were told that those members had been part of the top band in the country in 1948.

Cuba might be a Communist country but we have certainly had plenty of freedom for our visit. How the people live though is another matter, and every day we see some new and strange phenomenen. Many people stand or sit in doorways and we wonder whether Cubans are lazy or they actually have nothing to do! Some people, I call them the 'picturesqe people' dress up in clothes of the past and wander in the squares looking for tourists to take their photo. We saw many Carmen Mirandas, very old cigar ladies and old men with faces that appeared to be made up entirely of crinkles. There is such a scarcity of everything in Cuba, and we haven`t really had a good meal yet although we have sampled the famous 'mojito', a sort of sugary lime, teeth tingling rum concoction. We are about to go into the country for a few days which includes a home stay so that will be interesting.

Birding in Panama

It was a 6.30 am start and we were heading for Pipeline Road, a deeply rutted muddy road, only 45 minutes out of Panama City, considered to be one of the best spots for a bit of birdwatching. Seeing as Panama boasts nearly 1000 different bird species we were interested in seeing a few of them. Walking in the rainforest after the rain, and before the sun is fully up is a wonderful experience. It can be steaming hot, but you soon forget it when the blue morpho butterflies are flitting past, or the leaf-cutter ants are marching below, and you are surrounded by the waxing and waning of crickets and cicadas, and you hear the cries of birds and the roar of howler monkeys. We had a naturalist guide with us, complete with his 60X telescope on tripod, so it turned out to be much more than just a walk in the forest looking for a few birds. Mario was no ordinary guide either. He has written books and teaches people how to become birding guides.

He was fantastic at locating the birds. He would hear a bird and know exactly what bird it was, saying something like,¨"That´s the Broad Billed Mot Mot" . He would then show us a coloured picture of it, and then coax it out into the open area by doing its perfect bird call. When it rested on a branch we would get to look at it through the telescope. It was amazing! I have never cared much for the difference between the Crimson-backed tanager or the Slaty-tailed trogon, but this was a fascinating experience. We were actually creeping along the road after him trying not to make a sound. "Oh, this is a good one Mrs. Margaret" he would say.

We didn´t just look for birds, but any wildlife, and we were so fortunate to see a small anteater up very close, maybe only 6 ft away. He was hoovering up ants like nobody´s business. Also saw 2 sloths, and quite a few monkeys resting in the trees. The howler monkeys are one of the biggest species. They are black and when they howl it is terrifying. I thought a jaguar was going to leap out of the undergrowth and have us for breakfast. They howl as a group which is why it is so loud and sounds like a roar.


Well this may be my last entry for a while as we fly to Cuba and we have no idea how available the internet will be. So far it has always been available in the hotel for use of guests for free, but I don´t think we can assume that for Cuba. So don´t worry if you don´t hear anything for a while. I´ll definitely send something from Santiago as we start the trip back home, so you will know we are on our way.

Embera Drua - A jungle experience

The amazing thing about Panama City is that you can be standing on the 15th floor of your hotel surrounded by skyscrapers and within an hour you can be in dense rainforest.Today we had our 'light jungle experience'. I have never had any desire to go and spend 3 or 4 days in the Amazon jungle with all the creepy crawlies and climb into wet beds under mosquito nets, so being in Panama was a wonderful way to experience the jungle without having to live in it. We made a day trip up the Chagres River to Embera Drua, an Indian village.

Our transport up the river was a 15 ft long dug-out canoe with an outboard motor. It was crewed by two handsome youths in loin cloths and bead necklaces who smiled and nodded at us. They spoke some Spanish but no English. The river was spectacular at this early hour (8.15 am). It wound around past towering old growth rainforest, and sometimes we would skim under low vine festooned trees close to the banks. The clouds were still low and there was the hum of cicadas whenever we stopped the engine, which we did periodically as we had to be poled over the shallow areas. There were some gentle rapids to make the heart beat faster, and every now and then a kingfisher or cormorant would skim low over the green water. Yellow and white butterflies danced around the prow of the dugout and it was a magical trip I never wanted to end.

After about 45 minutes we came around a big curve and there was the welcoming committee, complete with drums and flutes on the stony shore waiting for us. We climbed up some slippery steps to their village of thatched huts, elevated 10 ft off the ground and there they told us about themselves and their culture. They want their children to be educated, and the Government supplied two teachers, but they had to provide everything else, so they decided to welcome small groups of tourists for occasional day visits. For this they received payment and they could then buy books and pencils. They have built a school with two classrooms.

The people were most attractive, with straight black hair, brown eyes and coffee coloured skin. The women wore brightly coloured skirts, and both men and women adorned their bodies with beads and black body paint. We were taken on a 'botanical walk' and introduced to all the amazing plants that they have known about for years, eg lipstick plant, one for anaethetising, snake bite antidotes, murine plant for conjunctivitus etc. Then it was time for lunch. It came in a banana leaf and was fish and plantains. The fish was great. Our guide had brought a hand operated ice cream machine with him and the children went mad when they saw him. Apparently he does this each visit but some times his visits are 2 months apart. Even the adults were excited and they all lined up for their little cup with spoon. No fighting or pushing, just laughter and excitement.

The men are excellent carvers and the women make beautiful baskets with traditional geometric designs, with all dyes coming from natural sources. A couple of the men showed a great interest in Barry's fold up walking stick and collapsed it and reassembled it a couple of times. Our visit finished up with dancing and music, and then it was time to climb back into the dug-outs and make the river trip back to civilization.

Apart from our wonderful days in the Galapagos Island, this has been my favourite day so far. I had been worried it might be a bit commercial but it wasn´t.

Panama City - More than a Canal

Leaving Cartegena was a bit sad, but leaving Colombia itself to fly to Panama was not. At the airport every inch of our bags was searched and inspected, both carry on luggage and then checked-through luggage, and then we had the quick body search. We were actually glad to be finished with Colombia, not because it was unsafe or we didn't like the place, but because of the lack of English being spoken. We haven't had an English conversation with anyone other than guides for a week. To get on the plane and even hear announcements in English was something of a treat, and we immediately started to relax. We were welcomed to Panama City on 5 separate occasions within the first hour, so we began our visit here with a very positive feeling.

Panama City is a city of contrasts between rich and poor, old and modern, and the Latin American 'Manana life' and the Western 'Tomorrow life'.It is so different from other cities in South America, mainly because it has so many skyscrapers. Most cities near the Andes are subject to volcanoes or earthquakes so they do not build high rise buildings, but because the land is stable here they actually have a great skyline. They call it Panhattan as a joke! Many are probably condominiums and hotels but there are also over 100 different foreign banks. So while skyscrapers are changing the horizon in one place, the historical city which was founded in 1673 is being restored in another, and pockets of third world poverty exist in another.

We visited the canal of course, at the Miraflores Locks, and it was fascinating. I would love to have seen a huge cruise ship going through but had to settle for an empty oil tanker going to Venezuela. Still the process would be the same. It was a huge ship which scraped through with about 1" to spare on either side. The history of the canal is set out beautifully in a museum and there is a video (in English Hooray!!) about how it was built. Our tour was interrupted by a mid afternoon electrical storm and we had to drive back to the hotel through flooded streets. A daily occurence at this time of the year.

Cartagena- Pirates of the Caribbean

Barry held a baby sloth today! No we have not gone deep into the Amazon jungle, but are now in Cartagena, a modern city with over 1 million inhabitants. It is on the north coast of Colombia on the Caribbean and not far from the Panama Canal. It is a delightful city and we came here because it is said to be the best preserved colonial city in all of South America.

We are staying in the old part of the city and not much has changed in over 400 years. It still has the feel of pirates about it. It is a walled city and approximately 10km of towering old walls are still standing. The city has narrow, winding lanes, cobblestone streets, palaces, churches, monasteries, plazas and huge two storey mansions with overhanging balconies filled with flowers. It is filled with small but interesting details, There are huge wooden doors with ancient doorknobs and houses have old lanterns at their entrances. Street names are on the buildings and tiled. Church bells ring, and horses and buggies clip clop along the streets and there is a sweet smell of areqipe sold on street corners. It is just magical walking around such a place. The houses are all the colours of the rainbow and it is so perfect you could think you were on a film set.

Cartagena used to be the clearing house for all the treasure from the New World going back to Spain , gold from Ecuador, silver from Peru and emeralds from Colombia. No wonder pirates were so interested in it. Sir Francis Drake was one of the bad guys, and his cannons destroyed the cathedral when the people wouldn't pay him 400,000 ducats. They eventually paid about 180,000 ducats and he went away. Not quite the hero of our history books! The funniest story though was about the one-eyed, one-armed, one-legged general who defeated the English (Vernon) when he was seriously outnumbered. Unfortunately he lost his other leg in a battle three months later and died.

It is really hard to believe we are in Colombia here. It feels as if we are on an island somewhere in the Caribbean.The weather is hot and muggy all the time but we are used to it now. In the evenings we walk into the local squares and there is some sort of music or dancing going on. Only problem is that when you sit down for a drink you get bombarded by people selling things. In the course of one drink last night we were offered, T-shirts, beads, CD's, cigars, lollies, maracas, tortiose shell salad servers, paintings, carvings, a shoe shine, a hat that could be worn 45 different ways and someone wanted to sing for us. It is very entertaining I must say.

We did a day trip out to the Rosario Islands which are 25km off the coast. Some islands are large and others so small they have only one tree on them. The water was crystal clear and appeared turquoise. While there we visited an Oceanarium which had many, many fish, but it was the sharks which fascinated us. The guy who feeds them, had them trained so that they could come up and put their heads on the platform and then flap their tails. It was amazing. The people here don't have the fear of sharks that we do, obviously, because they are not subject to shark attacks. The sharks are so well fed in this area.

This town is the perfect stop for cruise ships. Apparently they come in for 7 hours and the place goes mad. I would like to see that. There don´t seem to be many tourists here at all, but then I have been told that there are plenty, but they are mostly South American tourists. They just don´t look like us! We feel we stand out a bit especially if we both wear our Panama hats! Also there is not much English spoken which can be quite a challenge some times.

And so off to Panama tomorrow.

Bogota - Salt Cathedral

This is just a brief entry to tell you about the underground Salt Cathedral which we visited this morning. About one hour`s drive north of Bogota is a large mountain made of salt, and inside they have carved out a cathedral which can accommodate 2000 worshipers. The mountain is still a working salt mine but people can visit the church part, and another area beside it for conferences or concerts. You pass by the 14 stations of the cross as you make your way along the tunnels to the main cathedral. You absolutely need a guide as it is a labyrinth. It is a very modern concept and much symbolism is used. The lighting is blue, yellow and purple. They even have a chamber called the Sistine Chapel where there is a circular, flat marble carving of Michaelangelo`s Creation of Man. It was done by a Colombian studying in Italy and then transported. The cathedral is not really down below ground level as such, but it is 140 mts below ground. The mountain is rising up above it!It was quite an amazing thing to see and unlikely to be replicated anywhere else in the world.

Some impressions of Bogota as we get ready to leave. It is a beautiful, exciting, sophisticated city and the people who live here feel very safe. The kidnappings have dropped by 60% since the current President was elected and they are mostly directed at rich Colombians (for money) or political figures (to get their friends out of jail) Any foreigners who are kidnapped have been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Most of the visible security is to stop robberies. We really think Colombia has a great deal to offer the tourist market, but people in the industry need to speak fluent English. Colombians are very friendly and go out of their way to help, but when they are giving you directions in Spanish it is usually not that helpful. Its young population will make it a dynamic country in the future, and you can feel that it is moving that way now.

Off to Cartegena tomorrow. We´ll be glad to get back to sea level and some warm weather.

Bogota- Fashion and Culture

Colombia really has an image problem. Murders and kidnappings just make better news stories than progress and promise. We arrived with some apprehension about what was waiting for us, but have found the place to be exciting, enchanting and so far, safe. Bogota certainly has an edge to it though. It is a vast city of 8 million sitting at an altitude of 8,800 ft. and is a city of chaos, energy, insecurity, violence and creativity. 50% of the population are under 18 years of age. In fact to us, as we walked around it seemed that about 85% were under the age of 35!

Security is in your face. Our hotel is in the Zona Rosa which is a very chic neighbourhood to the north. We came past armed guards into our hotel and our room key (which is like a credit card) had 027 on it. This was a code for room 702! At the entrance to the shopping mall there was a bag search, and all buildings have private security (with dogs). There are armed police on all street corners. If fact we feel perfectly safe. The local people walk about their business, carefree and happy. They are obviously used to and feel comfortable with the security.

This area Zona Rosa is wonderful. It is a shopping mecca and the shops here are as good as the best in Milan, Paris or New York. This place is SO sophisticated and stylish. The young people are very well dressed and the girls wear tailored jeans and high heeled boots and carry handbags that look as if they cost the price of an airline ticket to London! Clothing(Fashion) is one of Colombia's major exports, along with oil, flowers and bananas.

We hired a guide to take us on a tour of the old part of the city known as La Candelaria which dates from well over 300 years ago. It is really a living monument for everyone to enjoy and some of the best restaurants and coffee shops are located in the area. It has fantastic architecture, a certain squalid charm and a vibrant bar scene thanks to the number of students and artists living and working there. There are eight universities in quite a small area. It is also home to some wonderful old churches with wood carving and sumptuous gold altars. The squares are very pretty and artefacts are sold in small markets under the trees while entertainers play music or mime. We visited the Botero Gallery. He is Colombia`s most famous artist and recently one of his paintings sold at Sotherbys for US $3million.

The Gold Museum is one of the top attractions in the city and houses over 8000 gold pieces pertaining to the different indiegous cultures. Thank goodness the Spaniards didn`t find all the burial sites. On the third floor of the museum you enter through thick doors into pitch black, and the room gradually comes to life with all the gold. It is an amazing sight which makes you gasp.

Tonight we are eating at a typical Colombian restaurant. Another adventure. We will take our Spanish Dictionary because there is very little English spoken.

Galapagos Islands - Ecuador´s Crown Jewels

Well what a unique travel experience the Galapagos Islands has been! Apart from no television, radio, internet or telephone for one week which is rare in itself, we were able to enjoy wildlife and stand in awe at its beauty and resourcefulness. To see it all before you in harmony with no intervention by man to spoil it, is truly uplifting.

The islands themselves are jagged and volcanic and not particularly beautiful. Vegetation is often quite different on each one, saltbush, candelabra cactus, rainforest.Mangroves ring lagoons. Many are nothing more than volcanic rock. They sit right on the Equator, 1000km from the coast of Ecuador.We knew the animals were tame, but we weren´t realise they can be downright inquisitive. Mockingbirds land on your shoulder or daypack looking for water, sea lion pups sniff your shoelaces. It takes a great deal of self control not to pat them, as they look so sweet. However touching or feeding them is strictly taboo. No closer to any bird or animal that 6 feet. They of course can come close to you. It is so strange how they don´t run or fly away. There is not a shred of fear of people. They are unafraid of close encounters!

The birds are simply wonderful. Being there in May meant we were witness to much courtship and mating. The Blue footed Boobies were our favourite birds. They are quite large white birds with speckled chest and brown wings, and the most amazing bright blue webbed feet. The females select their mate, and if a female lands near a male he immediately goes into his dance, which is walking up and down, lifting his feet high and pointing his beak to the sky¨."Look at my beautiful blue feet, dahling!" She watches impassively and then if interested joins in the dance, otherwise flies off to look for someone with better feet, I presume. Other birds have similar courtship routines.The frigate has a red pouch at its throat which it inflates to the size of a large red balloon, and when the female comes past he flaps his wings and nearly has a seizure trying to get her to notice him. If they do become a couple you can often see them sitting with one of the birds with his wing around the other.So cute! Other birds were pelicans (brown) nesting, diving, flying overhead in squadrons, albatrosses launching themselves off the cliff at "Albatross Airport" because they are too heavy to lift off the ground directly, penguins, much like our fairy penguins but a little larger. They come up from the south in the cold Humbolt current , flightless cormorants, and many more and all so fascinating.

The marine iguanas are like something out of Jurassic Park. They lies motionless on the rocks and you can almost step on them. We were thinking "This is David Attenborough country" when lo and behold there he was with a film crew shooting his latest documentary called "Life in Cold Blood". At a later stage we actually spoke to him for 5 minutes, which was quite exciting. He even asked us where we were going. Nice person, but looks much older and walks with a heavy limp. I must mention that the Ecuadorian guides were marvellous. They have such a deep love and knowledge of the wildlife. Our guide kept talking about "Welcome Flash" and we couldn´t work out what she meant. Took a couple of days before we realised she was saying "well camouflaged".

The land tortoises are as big as large wheelbarrows and weigh up to 250 kg. They have faces like ET and feet like an elephant. Lonesome George is the last of his particular species and at the age of 80 he should be girl crazy but shows no inclination even when they put all these lovely young females with him. We though we might see history in the making when he "chased" one of the females around the pool, but nothing came of it.

We have seen so many more things, sharks, golden manta rays, green turtles, huge angel fish. All helping to create a treasure chest of memories, which I have hopefully captured on film. Re-entering mainland culture again was hard. This afternoon we fly off to Bogota in Colombia, so my next post will be from there.

Cuenca - Home of the Panama Hat

We have now ridden on the top of a train!! I don´t think that was ever on my list of things to do, but when the opportunity presents itself you may as well try it. We were travelling to Cuenca, a city of 350,000 and in the mountains not far from the Peruvian border. It took two days to get here, but not all of that was on the train. Sitting on top of a train at 6.30 am at an altitude of almost 10,000 ft is a very cold experience. A couple of Americans rushed to get the front seats and I think they were sorry afterwards as they took more wind than the rest of us. Their parkas were blown up like Michelin men. Anyway it was great fun after the sun came out and the countryside was wonderful. We were actually coming down what is called the Valley of the Volcanoes. Some of them are up to 21,000 ft and are snow covered by most were cloud covered for us. We did see a couple though which was good. We went up as high as 12,600 ft.

Cuenca is a lovely colonial city. The people here who live in old colonial homes do not have to pay taxes for 10 years if they restore their houses. What a clever concept and it is working. Some of the homes date from the 1550´s. They even offer prize money. Some of the best have been turned into gorgeous boutique style hotels filled with antique furniture and paintings. It is such a treat to stay in one. There are many wonderful old churches here also.

We visited the Panama Hat factory and of course both came out with one. They come in so many different styles and some are so fine they can be rolled up and threaded through a wedding ring. Those ones can cost up to $200. Needless to say ours doesn´t do that! Watching the process was interesting. The same American lady who rushed to the front of the train was disappointed that they didn´t have any red ones. It seems that the hats were always made in Cuenca and then shipped to Panama for the men working on the canal and that´s how they got that name.

One of the most interesting things about travelling in Ecuador is trying to recognize where the different Indians come from. Their particular style of costume tells you, and also what type of hat they wear. Those with white hats and short gathered skirts come from around Cuenca, those with gold beads and long black skirts comes from Otavalo and so on. We have also tried quite a few local dishes. Mostly very good but today I had a soup with sherry in it which was a bit too different! The top item in the best hotels is guinea pig, which comes whole with its head in tact and a red cherry in its mouth. Couldn`t even be tempted!

Quito a World Cultural Heritage Site

Well we had a bad start to the trip when Qantas decided to divert us to Santiago through Los Angeles because our plane was delayed. Whoops!! Wrong country! Wrong Continent! WRONG HEMISPHERE!! It turned out to be 30 hours before we saw a bed. Not Happy Qantas! However there is always someone worse off than yourself and we met this poor soul in Los Angeles - an Aussie who was travelling with his friend, a 65 year old Aussie and they were on their way to join a Peregrine Tour in Buenos Airies. The companion though got frogmarched away by the Security Police in the LA Immigration area, and no contact was allowed. Apparently there was something wrong with his finger prints. He finally made it to the plane 4 hours later though accompanied by two wallopers to make sure he actually got on the plane. Hey he didn´t even want to be in America! None of us did for that matter! It turned out to be a case of mistaken identity he thinks but there was no apology forthcoming. It was so worrying from the friend.

Anyway things have picked up since then and we are in this amazing city which was declared a World Heritage Cultural Site by UNESCO in 1987. We are staying in the old city which has cobbled narrow streets and chaotic traffic, but there is heaps of character. Beautiful plazas surrounded on all sides by colonial buildings and through eveydoor way you see an inner courtyard. We have been to the Equator and had the inevitable photo taken with us on either side of the line, Barry in one hemishpere and me in the other. We have also enjoyed some superb Ecuadorian food - they are big on potatoes, seafood, avocadoes, corn, bananas. In fact they grow everything here because of the amazing climate. Small country though, about half the size of Victoria, yet it has jungles, desert, mountains up to 21,000 feet and more. They also have their own oil so petrol is less than $1 a litre. In Peru it is nearly $4 per litre. They grow and export roses too and you can buy 25 blooms for $1.

We are accessing our normal email address whilst away, so should anyone like to send a comment please do so through my email rather than the comments section in the blog.

La Paz - City of Contrasts

My final post from overseas. It`s hard to believe it is time to leave, but to be truthful we are looking forward to getting on the plane homeward bound.Thanks so much to everyone who took the time to leave a comment. It meant a lot to us as we were travelling around so far from home.

La Paz is a great city in which to finish. In fact Bolivia has been the stand out surprise of the trip. We had expected to be stepping back in time, but it has been quite the opposite.The entry to the city is awesome. You drive through the poverty plagued sprawl of El Alto which is a city of 800,000 clinging to the lip of this huge crater and next thing you are staring into this basin shape 1000 mt deep which is just covered with houses coming up the sides and many sky-scrapers filling in the bottom.The altitude of the city is 3632 m which is about 11,800 ft I think. At the end of the crater stands Illimani which is always snow covered being about 22,000 ft.

The traffic is chaotic and the street names keep changing, but they do have a lovely avenue through the downtown area which has gardens betweens the traffic directions. The pedestrian traffic ranges from campesenos (farmers and their wives in traditional dress) humping huge loads on their backs, to men dressed in fashionable suits speaking on mobile phones. The contrast in young women is noticeable too with office workers wearing modern dress and eye make-up. Another great contrast is in the buildings. La Paz was founded in 1548 so there are plenty of old colonial buildings, and there are modern glass structures right next door. Our morning tour took us from north to south and in the south it was like driving around Toorak. We couldn`t believe it. There were Toorak Tractors everywhere! That is the car which signifies wealth now. Out with the Mercedes! We then went to the north side and saw how the other half lives. Not so well, but everyone in Bolivia eats well. Food is very plentiful and cheap. Bolivia has over 50% of the population that are full blood Aymara Indians.

We visited the famous Witches Market which is a fascinating collection of remedies, good luck charms, trinkets, spells, potions and stuffed animals. We were offered a dried llama foetus to protect our house against evil spirits! No thanks! Dried frogs bring you more money, armadillos prevent thieves entering your house, an amulet of a naked couple improves your sex life- hmmmmmm. So many choices I couldn`t decide what to pick, so passed on the lot!

We are still travelling with the couple we met from Melbourne, John and Dianna, and tonight we are going out to a Bolivian Show for our final night in SA. David Herbert may have heard of John Kirkcook who owned Dianne Ferrari shoes. (He has just sold out to Colorado)It promises to be a good night and very colourful for photography. So that's it folks. A wonderful sight in La Paz is when you are standing on the 16th floor of your hotel and you find yourself looking up at the lights of the city, not down. Amazing! It is time to wrap up. Just want to say I hope Steph is on the mend now, and also Pepi. He must be so frustrated having to have a bucket on his head! Sarah, our plane arrives in Melbourne about 11am on Friday 8. I expect we will go through customs in Sydney.
Bye now. See you soon

Lake Titicaca - the good, the bad

Well we are finally in La Paz in a 5 star hotel and we have really earned it! We went from Cusco to Puno on the train, a full day trip.It is called the Andean Explorer and is owned by The Orient Express line. It was very luxurious on board. We each had our own arm chair and we shared a table with another couple from Melbourne who did all their booking through the same agent. (First Melbournians we have met on the trip!)There were large picture windows, and the interior of the carriage was in wood panelling with brass luggage racks. Very olde worldy. At the end of the train there was a bar and an observation car with an open end. The trip was wonderful, especially when we were about half way through and at the highest point where the snowcapped mountains were quite close to our train line. There were llamas and alpacas everywhere, and of course all the people wearing tradional dress, which for the ladies is gathered skirts, many petticoats, Inca shawls and bowler hats. We had a beautiful lunch on board and whatever it cost us was worth it.

At the end of the trip as it was approaching 5.00pm we came to Juliaca and Puno. Puno is actually on Lake Titicaca. I have never seen 2 worse cities in my life. Muddy steets, litter, pigs, collapsing buildings. Added to that our first glimpse of Lake Titicaca was of green algae and soft drink bottles floating in it. All sewerage and waste finishes up in the lake. It was really disgusting. We did a trip out to the Uros Islands to see how the people live on them. It is a bit touristy now, but still interesting. They actually make their island out of the reeds that grow in the lake, and anchor it to the bottom. It is like walking on a spongy surface. They also make reed boats, however all we really wanted was to get out on the place and on the way to Bolivia. If Peru could be like that, what would Bolivia be like!! We felt sure it would be worse! Barry has told me I should remember how wonderful Peru was in Cusco and Machu Pichu. True!

Well we crossed the border and it was a completely different story. Bolivia is so far ahead of Peru in sanitation, conservation, environment and general well being. Most of the roads are made. The lake is gorgeous, a deep cobalt blue the first time we saw it, and we saw it many other shades as well. We went by boat straight across to the Isla del Sol where we stayed the night. It was truly beautiful. Snow capped peaks in the distance of course. The one hour walk to our hotel was really difficult for me and they had to give me oxygen, but I was soon okay again. The island is like an untouched paradise and we have enjoyed our stay there. And so we went from there, by boat and then car to La Paz arriving this afternoon.

Lovely to hear from you Jenny. I usually get onto the internet in the hotel after dinner when it is quiet for about half an hour. Thanks Sarah for all the news. I can`t remember our arrival time, but we have our car at the airport so no problems.
Love to all

Machu Pichu -Unparalleled Beauty

Our trip to MP was by train and we moved from the high Andes of Cusco to the tropical jungle Andes 4000 ft lower. We passed snow capped peaks and as we drew closer to MP the mountains were wonderful. They just towered up and up. The Urabamba River was rushing alongside and the vegetation was beautiful. We then went up the MP mountain by bus - 13 extreme switchbacks for one vehicle only. And then you find yourself looking at this amazing sight. Mist swirling around and the whole mountain looped by the river below. It is truly breathtaking. Words simply cannot do it justice because of the incredible location of the site - a whole city perched on top of a mountain. It is something one has to experience for themselves.

Just a little about the Incas themselves. The citadel is a stupendous achievement in urban planning, architecture, civil engineering and stone masonry by a civilization that knew nothing of the wheel or had a written language. However they built an empire that stretched 3680 km. It is just incredible that such a talented and intelligent people could be annihilated by 200 Spaniards who destroyed this civilzation of thousands. (Spaniards had guns!) They melted all the gold down and there is nothing to show of the Incas' existence now except their amazing stone work. On the mountain there are 3 distinct sections - urban, religious and agricultural. The religious section had the best stonework - intricate and perfect. No mortar, but stones fitted so closely together you could not put a knife blade between them. It really defies understanding. It has been there for at least 500 years and all that is needed to bring it to life now is thatch on the roofs. In fact at any moment you could imagine a gold encrusted and befeathered Inca warrior might materialize. There were 7 resident llamas including a baby one so that made for some lovely photos.

We made a visit to the Sacred Valley prior to the trip to MP but I was not up to walking or climbing, but I know Barry loved it. Ollantaytambo was an interesting site with many terraces and a Temple of the Sun at the top. He was very impressed. I only saw the town and it seemed to be in a time warp. Donkeys walking through the street, children playing everywhere, roosters crowing.

Tomorrow we take the train to Puno - a full day trip across the altiplano. I am still not myself and have problems breathing but there are only 4 days to go so we are nearly at the end. Love to all

Cusco - Inca Enchantment

Well after the setback we are getting back on track again and so I will tell you a little about Cusco. It is the oldest continuously inhabited city in all of SA. It is a city of 300,000, full of cobbled streets and plazas. It is as attractive as Lima was unattractive! As we arrived here on Good Friday we ran into the middle of a procession outside our accommodation. We had a balcony window in our room so were able to look down on all the action. It was quite exciting.
The Plaza de Armas is the centre of the city and is surrounded by colonial arcades on two sides and cathedrals on the other two. It contains a central fountain, cobblestone paths, numerous benches and beds of flowers making it a delightful spot to sit and people watch. However one has to cope with the myriads of street vendors, shoe shine boys, touts women selling trinkets and woven goods, etc. My favourites were the ones walking around with briefcases who jump out in front of you, springing the hinges and reveal they are carrying a walking camera accessories shop of films, batteries, memory cards and even cameras. These people are the fabric of Cusco life so there is no point in beiong upset by them. They are not too pushy.
You might be interested to know that Roast Guinea Pig is the most expensive dish on the menu in the best of restaurants, coming completely intact, spread-eagled on the plate and a red chilli pepper in its mounth. No we didn´t order it!!!

The main Cathedral is the city´s greatest repository of colonial art, most of it being religious European paintings copied by the local Cuscenos in the 1570's onwards. Richly carved altars are covered in gold leaf and choir stalls are carved with amazing detail. One certainly feels angry that the Spanish melted down all of the Inca heritage. There is virtually nothing to show now except the incredible walls they built which were designed to withstand earthquakes. The Spanish buildings all fell down during the earthquakes and had to be rebuilt, so I guess that is some compensation for the Inca descendants. The stone work of the Incas is extremely interesting and one comes to admire their skills and genius.

Margot , congratulations on your new grand daughter. Hope Emma is coping well as a mother. No I haven´t had time to miss bridge. You would have been very proud of my Spanish efforts in the hospital when I said "Tengo un dolor en mi cabeza". I'll leave you to work it out. Jorge´s lessons came in handy.

Bye for now. We have been to Machu Pichu but I will write about it tomorrow.

Cusco -Hospital Stopover

Well we have had an unscheduled stop on our itinerary - a hospital in Cusco. You are probably immediately thinking that something has happened to Barry, but I was the one admitted. I just couldn´t stop vomiting from 3.00 am. after arriving in Cusco at 1.00pm and resting the whole afternoon. I did all the right things to avoid altitude sickness but it really hit me. They gave me oxygen at the hotel for 10 minutes but that didn´t help so a doctor was called at 9.00 am and he said I needed to go to the hospital for some tests because he thought it was more than altitude sickness.

Subsequent tests showed that I had a severe stomach infection (bacterial) which could have been picked up anywhere, as well as I was verging on dehydration, so I was a bit of a mess. Anyway I was put on the drip and antibiotics and lots more oxygen and after 48 hours was allowed to leave. But boy, was I weak. Peruvian hospital food is something else! However the care and attention was excellent. I was put in a private room, with ensuite, TV and a lovely view and also a spare bed for Barry to sleep over. The nurses were lovely and even though they didn't speak English we communicated somehow. The doctor was 35, handsome and spoke perfect English .He had studied in America. Unfortunately we had to miss a day of our trip. We had built in a couple of free days in Cusco so we were able to switch things around a little. I have now been out of hospital for 3 days and am finally starting to feel a bit better, however we have Bolivia ahead of us and that is higher than Cusco. I am taking special tablets for altitude so I hope I can see it out to the end. In fact I will get through it somehow or other. Barry has been fantastic.
Thanks for the comment Mum. You did well to work out how to do it. Maybe you will try again. Sounds like you had a busy Easter Ruth, but a fun one. Hope to hear from you Daniel. We wonder what you are doing at present! I will send another email about Machu Pichu later.
Love to all and hope you all had a happy Easter.

Lima - Heartbreaking

We have had our Pisco Sours and ceviche, it is Thursday, so it must be Peru!

We are on the final part of the trip now with only a couple of weeks to go. We arrived in Lima last night about midnight and even in the dark the city looked shabby. We are back in the heat again. Lima is the same latitude as Darwin. It is not a pretty city and seems to lack charm in spite of the many colonial buildings from the 1500's. This is mostly because Lima is a city with barely 3" rainfall per year. It is dry and dusty and has a thick misty fog coming in from the sea, which blankets everything in a mist. There are very few trees. Of the 8 million population, five million live in shanty towns on the outskirts of the city. There appears to be no planning. Many homes are unfinished in order to avoid the tax payable on completed buildings (like in Turkey). There are some beggars on the streets and children come up to the cars when they are stopped at traffic lights trying to sell things.

That said, we have managed to find a better side of the city. Our guide Sylvia was delightful and took us to some really interesting places. We visited 3 churches, wandered around the Plaza de Armas which is magnificent because most of the buildings have been restored. Many of the buildings have wonderful wooden balconies which is a moorish influence. The cathedral dates from 1540. The buildings have been restored many times due to earthquakes. The last major one was in 1974.
Because we couldn´t visit the catacombs (being Easter) Sylvia took us to a very, very old monastery which still has 8 resident monks. It has 400 works of art including a Murillo and an El Greco. It was such an old place and we saw the Refectory (dining room) and the wine making cellar. It all dates from 1595. Amazing and very unique.

The Gold Museum was filled with pre Inca artifacts. One tends to think of the Incas as the original people of Peru, but there were 5 civilizations dating back to 1800 BC before them. There were some Inca ones though, but the Spaniards managed to melt down just about everything.

Such a shame we have not been able to catch up with Sarah Armstrong here. She has gone away for the Easter break. Barry is very upset about all the problems he sees in this country, because solutions are nigh impossible. However, we are pleased we had the day here as it has been an experience.

Lakes Crossing

Bus-boat-bus-boat-bus-overnight stop-bus-boat-bus-overnight stop. This is a 2 day endurance test we have just survived doing the Lakes Crossing. Although the scenery is jaw-dropping neither of us would ever do it again! Our exhaustion nearly cancelled our exhilaration! However once is a must, and there is no other way to cross the Andes from Argentina to Chile at this latitude.

The scenery is tree-blanketed glacial mountains coming right down to the shores of the lakes, emerald green and pale green lakes due to the glacial melt, snow-capped peaks (Mt. Tronador 11,000 ft) and volcanoes (Orsono 8,900 ft,and Calbuco). In between connections of bus and boat there was usually a long wait with time to take a forest trail to see very old trees (1500 years) and waterfalls. Wild fuschias were abundant along these trails.Walking was delightful because the air was so fresh and pristine. If you could remove the 5-6 hours of waiting time over the 2 days it would be perfect. Most of the waiting time was due to making connections from the Argentina end and the Chile end. One interesting activity at the overnight stop of Puella was the ¨Canopy Tour¨which is basically a series of flying fox trips through the tree tops from platform to platform. We didn´t do it, but enjoyed watching those who did - mostly the young, athletic ones. I did managed to film some of it though.

Puerto Varas is our overnight stop on the second night. It is a very quaint, historical town on the shores of a large lake with much olde world charm. It has German origins. From our hotel window we have a view of the majestic Orsono volcano and Cabuco volcano with the peak of Mt. Tronador in the background. They appear to levitate above the water.

A final point worth mentioning is that both Chile and Argentina are very conscious about conservation and protecting their environment. For example they have a 'catch and release' policy for fishing. At certain times of the year' fishermen are allowed to keep one salmon or one trout. This afternoon we fly to Lima to begin the Peru part of the trip.

It was lovely to have such a nice long comment from you Sarah. Leo sound like he is keeping you running all day! But a few laughs along the way help you keep your sanity. Thanks to Daniel for updating Nancy with all the posts. Trust you are in your apartment by now Dan! We should catch up with you before you go to New Zealand D&R. Love to all.

Bariloche - Chocolate Heaven

We have now come north a couple of hours flying from the southern depths of South America, and are in Bariloche. (lat = Launceston). Our arrival last evening was in heavy rain and cloud and we could not see any of the beautiful scenery for which this placed is noted. Just mountain outlines and a space where the lake would be. Today the Weather Gods were smiling again and the sun came out, but the cold and wind remained and the temperature felt about 8, colder than in El Calafate in fact. Barry has resorted to wearing a beanie. So why did we come here!

Well Bariloche is the gateway to the Lakes District, and we will soon be making the 2 day crossing through the Andes back into Chile. Bariloche is an oasis of scenery in northern Partagonia´s wastelands and is the main tourist centre for Argentinians who can still afford to travel despite their economic problems. It is an alpine resort but tourism goes for 12 months a year. In winter the population swells from 100,000 to 500,000 when the rich Brazilians come to ski. The locals then call their town Braziloche! The mountains (snow capped in winter) come right down to the water´s edge and the lake is ringed with tasteful Swiss style chalets. Even the public buildings in the town centre are made of log and stone so it has a distinct Swiss feel about it. They even have St. Bernard dogs which you can pose with, for a price!

We took a 60km drive around the area including a ride in a chair lift to the top of a mountain. There was 270 degrees of magnificent scenery but the wind was so strong it nearly blew us off the mountain and it was impossible to hold the camera steady. As a continuation of the Swiss theme, chocolate production is the other main activity in the area. They produce 3000 tons of exquisite chocolate per year. The town centre is a honeypot of chocolate shops, restaurants, cafes and bars catering to the tourists. The aroma of chocolate as you walk along the street is overwhelming. There are chocolate shops as big as supermarkets here. The window displays are gorgeous as they make use of fairy tale characters. Chocolate shops almost outnumber other shops two to one. It is impossible not to indulge and we sampled some Mamouska chocolate, which is one of the best brands we are told.Yummy!! I wish I could bring it home with me. Restaurants specialize in chocolate dishes such as fondues, and the cakes and desserts almost harden your arteries just looking at them. I do wonder why the locals aren't fatter than they are.

Lovely to hear from you Helen and good news about the knee!

LOVE TO ALL.

Glaciers and Icebergs

We are now in El Calafate which is 50 degrees S. This is so far south there are no trees! Just rolling brown hills, rocks and saltbush. It feels like the end of the earth and it nearly is! The temperature on arrival at midday was 11 degrees, so this makes quite a change from the over 30 degree days we have had every day since arriving in Santiago. El Calafate is really here for the tourists, and it looks like a ski resort with lots of A frame houses. Our hotel is like a luxurious ski lodge. The shops all have verandahs over the footpaths and log cabin type facades. It is really rather cute and the restaurants are very cosy and intimate. There are even a few trees in the main street and a patch of lawn with a rope around it!
Today we went to visit the Perito Moreno Glacier. We were lucky enough to have a perfect day so saw the glacier in all its glory. The National Park of the Glaciers has over 300 glaciers, but Perito is the most important because it has a unique ´breaking´feature. First sight is breathtaking. It is like an enormous meringue with many, many sharp peaks, squeezed between two snow capped mountains. It is a dazzling blue and white and at the base is the brilliant turquoise green waters of Lake Argentino. It is not only a visual experience, but an aural one as well as the ice continually cracks, groans, moans and creaks. Sometimes it sounds as if a cannon has fired, or a whip cracked or even an explosion somewhere. Sometimes nothing appears to be happening and then suddenly there is a thunderous roar and a huge piece of ice breaks off and crashes into the lake causing a mini tidal wave. Ice pieces float away. It is very difficult to photograph because it is so unpredictable and it has such a long front to keep your eye on. It has a 5 km front in 3 faces and is about 60-80m above the water (and 100m below) There are excellent walkways and viewing platforms to watch from, and also boats which take you up close to the ice (winthin 100m) Once again, this is another of nature´s major phenomena, but it differs from Igassu Falls in that the falls are constant activity, but the glacier requires patience and watchfulness.

The next day our tour was in much the same area but to see 3 other interesting glaciers. It was a 7.15 am pick-up and it was drizzling rain and it was very cold. We went right up to the face of Spegazzini which is the highest glacier and still growing. It was so cold my fingers were almost frozen and I could barely work the camera. We went on up a different arm of the lake to see the Onelli Glacier. We had to leave the boat and take a short walk through the most gorgeous beech forest. There was lichen and moss on all the stumps and Spanish moss hanging from the trees. It was warming up a bit by now and the sun was trying to come through and then suddenly through the clearing ahead we saw Lake Onelli and it was filled with mini icebergs. It was so beautiful and unexpected it really took our breath away. People were posing with bits of ice and a couple of South Koreans took off their shirts to pose bare chested against the icy background.
Our third glacier was called Upsala and it is the biggest in the park. We had to travel quite a bit further up the north arm. What made this so special was the huge icebergs all the way. These were pieces that had broken off the glaciers months or years ago and were still floating on the lake. Our boat was 33m long and the icebergs just dwarfed it. It was an extraordinary trip, made much more pleasant because the sun was shining properly now and we could also see the wonderful jagged, snowy peaks of the Andes. Most of the mountains are between 8000-10000 ft in this area. We saw condors flying around but up so high it was not worth photographing, but then we had the most amazing luck. Our boat pulled over near one of the cliffs and about 20 ft above us on a ledge was a young condor. It was so easy to see and film. We watched him for a while and then he flew off. He had about an 8 ft wing span. It was very exciting. And so that was the end of what must rank as our best or second best day of our trip (Iguassu Falls being the other top day).
Dan, we hope you are back in your unit by now. Do drop us a comment soon. Thanks again Ruth. Glad you are enjoying the stories. Hope everyone else is well. More news please Sarah!!

Buenos Aires - Sunday afternoons

Sunday in BA is a day to get out of the aprtments in which they all live and enjoy markets, tango, cafes and parks. We have been lucky to be here on a Sunday to see this.The suburbs are so individual so I will tell you a little about some of them. Recolta is a chic, plush neighbourhood. Armani and Chanel country! Right in the middle of it is a very strange place - a cemetery. It is an extensive mini-city of statues, detailed marble facades, mausoleums and earthy smelling sarcophagi, all ABOVE ground. There are streets and streets of them, but only Argentina's elite can rest here in all this ornate spendour - past presidents, military men or the very, very wealthy. The cost is a minimum $10,000 (US) for a plot and then a monthly rental fee. La Boca, by contrast is the old port area - poor but very colourful as local residents have painted their pressed tin houses a rainbow of colours. Local artists display their brightly coloured paintings adding to the vibrant ambience. It is really a bit touristy these days, with men and women dressed as tango dancers so you can have your photo taken with them. An interesting place but very kitsch. San Telmo is a picturesque old neighbourhood with cobbled streets, aging mansions and low rents. It is full of character and has the richest tango culture in BA. In the main square is a most remarkable antiques market - not as you might imagine but with anything and everything that is at least 40 years old and up to maybe 100+ years. - photographs, books, toy soldiers, HMV gramaphones with trumpet, soda fountains, jewelery, fob watches, 1908 copper milk churns etc.With the city being founded in the 1570´s some things can be very old. There was nothing we wanted to buy, but it was fascinating to browse. In a corner of the sqaure there was tango dancing. Tango is sultry, passionate, amazing to watch and looks very, very difficult to do. In fact tango is the heartbeat of BA, you hear it in the stores, on the street, the TV, at restaurants. Pictures, posters, murals and plaques of historical tango celebrities are everywhere. It is really in your face, but is not offensive or overbearing. There were several other performers in the square and nearby streets - an excellent guitarist (we bought his CD) a pianist who wheeled his piano along the cobbled streets, then took off the front and with his mate on the squeeze box they entertained us with tango and jazz. We happily put money in the hat. There was also a skilful puppeteer with a marionette of a drunken man, whose movements and gestures were so lifelike he seemed to exude genuine emotion.Once again, happy to put into the hat. Cafes completely surround the square but with so many people we had trouble getting a table, still we eventually did and sat for an hour watching people and eating our empanadas (little pastie-like snacks. Very good) The cafe culture here is quite unique and worthy of mention. It is not a street cafe scene as in Melbourne, with small intimate cafes being popular. Here many of the cafes are old and extremely large and they have an olde worlde atmosphere like going back into the 1920´s. Cafe Tortoni was one we visited. It has been operating in the same palce since 1856 and is the size of a mini beer hall.It has 16' ceilings, marble columns, wood paneling, bevilled saloon mirrors, old paintings, marble floor, stain glass ceiling, old, old lamps, waiters in dinner suits, tango music (of course) and a bar with old soda syphons and beer taps. The ambience was incredible. What makes them so special is that the cafes in BA are the place where you meet your friends for a drink, whether it be coffee, wine or beer or for a meal, be it a snack or a 3 course dinner. They seem to be like cafes, pubs and restaurants all rolled into one. There are no cafe machines on view yet the coffee is wonderful - best so far in SA. There are up market restaurants for fancy nights out usually in wonderful old mansions. One final comment before I finish off the BA section is to tell you about the dog walkers. In the posh Recoleta area it is quite common to see a dogwalker walking up to 10 canines at the same time. These dogs are all beautiful pedigreed animals and belong to the wealthy people in the apartments. A dogwalker gets paid about 100 pesos a month per dog, which makes them more well paid than doctors. The average Argentinian worker earns about 400 pesos per month. Another comment is about our visit to the Art Gallery. It was a huge surprise to find it full of Impressionists - maybe 60 or 80 paintings by all the well known artists. Also quite a lot of art from the 1400-1500 and plenty of Rembrants, Rubens, Hals, etc. Most of it had been left by donors, so there were obviously some extraordinarily weathy people in BA at some point in time. And it was free admission! We leave tomorrow to fly south to El Calafate and I doubt I will have internet access for at least 3 days. Lovely to hear from you Sarah and know you are enjoying the house and Leo sounds so cute. We are missing him. Everytime I see a baby I say, Oh he´s a bit bigger (or smaller) than Leo. Thanks Mary for the reply. It's really fun keeping this site and I will have it when I get home. I expect it brings back a few memories for you as I know you have been here. We both find BA a wonderfully easy city to settle into. It would be a lovely place to live if you could speak Spanish and had a good income.

Buenos Aires -Sophisticated and Melancholy

Well here we are in Buenos Aires (BA) home to 14 million people (Portenos) Latitude = Sydney. It is a sophisticated, appealing city with a European feel to it. Some call it the ¨

"Paris of the South". It has many lovely tree-lined, wide avenues named after dates, and is filled with beautiful elegant old buildings. Some of these buildings are now embassies and beautiful private hotels in what is the best part of town, and others are found squeezed between glass-sheathed skyscrapers in the downtown area. Even after only a day here it has become obvious to both of us that BA is a city with a soul. By contrast Rio is a city with a pulse, and both are wonderful in their own way.

To give you some idea about Argentina, imagine your mortgage and all of your loans quadrupled, your salary decreased in real terms by over 30% and the government preventing you from withdrawing any of your savings from the banks. That is what the people went through only 12-18 months ago when the country´s currency collapsed to just 35% of its former worth. Argentina would take the record in having 6 presidents in 2 weeks! Yet one doesn´t feel the people are poor. They are impeccably dressed, chatting into mobile phones and chilling out in atmospheric cafes, but there is a melancholy about the city. One feels that BA has had a glorious past. But now the beautiful buildings and monuments are scarred with graffiti in places and footpaths and fountains are in need of upkeep, but there is no money to spend. My heart goes out to this city. I hope that one day they will have the money again and that the beauty of the city will be revealed once more.

One delightful place we visited was the world class Opera House opened in 1908.The magnificent old building was designed by an Italian and all the interior marble was shipped from Italy and Portugal. Inside it seats 2500 people in plush red velvet seats surrounded by 7 tiers of gilded balconies and boxes. The chandelier is a monstrous 7m across. It would be just magical to see any performance here. We went down into the bowels of the building which are 3 basements going under the street. Here we saw the rehearsal rooms for performaces, (ballerinas were practising) the vast area given over to scenery production, which is nailed to the floor and spray painted, and then nailed to either wooden or iron frames, different departments for wig production, footwear, and costume and makeup. They have kept every costume made since 1908 in humidity and dust free rooms and they are leased out around the world to other opera companies. Over 1300 people work in the Opera House. At the end of the tour a young man dressed in Rococco costume gave us a short flute recital. It was a fascinating tour.

One haunting place we visited was the Plaza de Mayo, a lovely square surrounded by beautiful old buildings including the Pink Presidential Palace with the famous balcony where Evita energized the adoring crowd during her heyday on the 1940´s. In the centre of the square is a fountain around which the ¨Mothers of the Disappeared¨ walk every Thursday. They are now so old they have to be helped. The story about this goes that during the Dirty War (1976-83) 30,000 young intellectuals, mostly middle class youth, disappeared off the streets in black Ford falcons, never to be seen again. It was quite indiscriminate. They were detained, tortured and killed without proper legal process, by the army. These mothers walk to keep the memory of their sons in the public view.

On to a happier topic. We took a subway ride on one of the old trains. It was like a ride on an Edwardian roller coaster. Wooden windows, all down, and wooden doors you had to open yourself, hanging straps, and carriages that leaned and flexed as we flew around corners. It reminded us of the old red rattlers of Melbourne (1950) which I travelled on to school each day. They do have a couple of underground lines with modern trains as well.

Well we are having a ball. So many new experiences, things to do, places to go and then at the end of the day discussing our reflections and writing them up on the website to share with you all. We have 2 more days in Argentina and then way down south. Looking forward to having a comment from you Mum. Hope you are enjoying the posts. Also Sarah. I know you are busy with the new house, but remember this is my only form of contact now. Email not working. Thanks R &C for comments. Glad you are enjoying them. This is a wonderful place. You just have to come here one day.

Iguassu Falls - Unbelievable

Iguassu Falls only exists on English maps. Over here it is known as Foz do Iguaçu (Foz-dig-wah-zoo). Even if you are speaking in English to someone it is still called Foz do Iguaçu. Barry started calling it Fosdick. He would! On arrival we were met by Wilson Wagner, not a very Latin sounding name, but he was born in Argentina and was a very laid back sort of a chap, who wore a leather cowboy hat. We nicknamed him Indiana Jones. He settled us into the Hotel de Catarates which is the same hotel I stayed in 40 years ago, still with some of the same beautiful salons with the leather chesterfields, mirrors, heavy lamps and antique sideboards. It has had a few extentions since of course, but the atmosphere is still the same - olde world.
Our first glimpse of the falls in front of the hotel was very exciting, but as we started to walk along the trail more and more falls came into view. The falls are basically in an "S" shape with a 3 Km front and 275 falls in total. Every corner we came around revealed more falls, bigger, better, wider. After 1.2km we reached the section known as "The Devil's Throat". Spray was falling on us by now and the noise was so thunderous we couldn't hear ourselves speak. We went out onto a walkway to get a closer look and we found ourselves almost totally surrounded by waterfalls. To say it was truly awesome doesn´t do it justice. Nothing in the world of water compares to it.
The next morning we decided to have breakfast on the patio overlooking the falls, but had to rescue our breakfast from a marauding raccoon which jumped right up onto our table and stole the yoghurt. We had to move indoors, and later came to realise they were not cute at all, but were a pest. We saw at least 40 of them around the hotel. Wilson arrived at 7.30 am and took us to the Argentinian side.It seemed like an early start but was a wise move due to the heat. We took a small train to the furthest point and then walked 1.1km along a walkway above a river which was to become the falls. Obviously a very wide river! At the end you are literally 1m from the top of the falls. Water was thundering down into this valley of mist. We were getting soaked and loving it. Everyone was smiling and I think I heard the words for beautiful in 10 different languages. We then did a similar walk across another section of the falls. We couldn´t say any one particular view was better than another. They all complemented each other.
By this time it was 37 degrees and very humid. We were totally exhausted so had a rest in an air conditioned area for a couple of hours and then tackled the final walk which took us to the base of some of the falls. There were great views in all directions, above, below, around, in your face. We kept going in spite of the heat, past gorgeous falls spilling 80 mts into lovely ponds and I wasn't even filming! Ho..hum...YAWN!!! We were fosdicked out!!! Iguassu just dwarfs Victoria Falls and makes Niagara look like a childrens' water slide! We sat in the Sheraton Hotel for another couple of hours recovering, and then went to the Bird Park back on the Brazilian side.
This park is a corner of rare beauty set in tropical rainforest. An English couple set it up as a place to tend to and protect the exotic birds which were captured by smugglers. They also took on endangered species and it has grown into something wonderful today. There are hundreds of species of birds, reptiles and butterflies. Macaws, rheas, parrots and toucans live in harmony with exotics such as the crested crane and the cassawary. The scarlet ibis was our favourite. We see so many white ones down on the Mornington Peninsula it is totally amazing to see one that is the colour of a very intense water melon red - no brighter than that! When we think of this park in the future we will remember colour, colour , colour! Hope everyone is well. I am looking forward to some more comments and news. Love to all.

Parati - Enchanting colonial town 1700

For the past three days we have been in Parati - 260 km SW of Rio on the coast, and it has been wonderful.It is about the latitude of Rockhampton. We made the 5 hour trip in a mercedes people mover and 11 of us were squashed in like sardines. With Ruben Barracello at the wheel we flew through the street and tunnels, with samba music playing, which was probably to make us feel happy and I think we were.After the halfway point we were the only two passengers , all the others having been dropped off at various Sanctuary Cove style resorts along the way.

In Parati we stayed at the Pousada do Sandi which was a delightful inn. If I say we felt as if we were in a Gauguin painting you will get the idea of the bright colours and simplicity of the decor. It was just charming. The building had once been an old theatre and still had the heavy old, solidly carved staircase. We had our own wrought iron balcony overlooking a garden and pool.

Parati was founded in about 1600 and by 1650 many Portuguese settlers were building houses. Slaves were brought from Portuguese colonies in Africa.The town grew and pirates were a constant threat. Parati had 7 forts, and even the churches had slit windows to enable it to serve as a fort for firing weapons.. I will have to revisit Pirates of the Carribean`again to check for similarities! The town grew wealthy during the gold rush of the C18th and reached 16,000 pop, and was the second most important port in all of Brasil, but declined to only 600 when the railway was put through from Sao Paulo to Rio. It revived again with the coffee boom of the C19th and today it thrives on tourism. The old houses are being done up and the town would be about 75% fully restored now.

We did a walking tour with Annalyse, a local who spoke excellent English. She made the town come alive with her stories of the past and her explanations of the markings and decorations on the houses, ie. the pineapple in the wrought iron decoration is the welcome sign. The houses are all typical C17th-C18th Portuguese style which is white with coloured wooden shutters, doors and window sills. French Freemasons also had an impact on the architecture adding special stonework.

The other interesting thing we did was go on a 45'ketch for a trip around the area. Rinaldo was the skipper.He was Brasilian and a Sean Connery look-a-like. I couldn believe my luck! His wife Bernadette was German and both of them were particularly nice. There are 65 islands in the immediate area and 300 secluded beaches, so there was plenty to see. It reminded us a little of the Whitsunday Passage, but there were many more islands and the tropical rainforest hung into the water in places. The whole area is called the Green Coast because the vegetation is so green and the water is emerald. It was just magic.

Thanks so much for your comments. Sarah, I am unable to access my email via alphalink, so you will have to use this site to make contact.Please tell me something about the new house. Alberta, I have loved Rio. I have had the Caiparhinas as suggested. Very nice but quite strong!! We certainly do see the other side of Rio but I prefer not to say too much about that to folks back at home. Couldńt make it to Marius because I got my travel bug again on the 4th -5th days and today we came back to Rio and Barry didn feel like a big meal.Ruth asked more about the cuisine. Well we are not venturing too far from what we know but we had a lovely Brasilian meal in Parati of black beans and rice. We have been having heart of palm a few times also. Chile was the home of salmon, mashed potato and avocado. The fruit is all pretty much the same as we find at home but it is so much sweeter and juicier, as it would be in far north Queensland. The fruit is always fresh. The fresh fruit juices are lovely.

Rio Beaches and Cariocas

Rio is a city of 6 million people, mostly Cariocas which is the name given to people born in Rio. Their dress code and body language shows they are carefree, happy and fun loving and going to the beach is a way of life for them. Every class, colour and creed in all shapes and sizes gather at the beach daily. Skin tone ranges from very black through dark brown, coffee, caramel, olive to light. There are mestizos which are Portuguese/Negro and mulattos which are Portugeuse/Indian. On our attractiveness scale the Cariocas rate about 1 in 8.

Our hotel is right across from Copacabana and we have a room facing the water. It is marvellous and we have spent quite a bit of time perving on the people on the beach through our binoculars. This is basically because we were advised not to go on the beach per se before we left home, but the advice here is that it is okay now because the police patrol the beach on motor buggies and by helicopter. We certainly saw this yesterday when the beach was packed being Sunday.

On the beachthere are radios blaring, musicians, impromptu sports games , vendors selling everything from cold drinks to beads and of course all the beautiful people. There are the posers, the muscle guys and the girls who seem to wear costumes made of dental floss!! They totally ignore the guys. The beach seems to play a critical role in the social cohesion of the city. With such high density living in apartments and favellas, the beach is like everybodys' garden. The rich and poor mingle and play sport together. Everyone looks similar, everyone is welcome and the beach is a great equalizer from that perspective. It has a wonderful feel about it even to mere observers like us.

We went up Corcavado , a 20 minute cog railway trip. To call Corcavado a mountain isn't quite correct. It is a rock cliff that rises vertically for 710m.On the top is the huge statue of Christ with his arms outstretched blessing or protecting all of Rio. It gives one a touch of vertigo just looking up at it.The clouds were swirling around when we arrived but soon cleared and gave us a spectacular panorama of both the north and south zones.The trip up was though quite dense tropical jungle and we couldnt help but notice how one could travel from the concrete jungle of Copacabana to the tropical jungle of Tijuca Park in only 15 minutes. A rapid and dramatic contrast not found elsewhere I would think.

Just a bit about safety here.It is a bit over dramatised at home. We have had nothing happen to us so far, but we can recognize where trouble is coming from and avoid it. We are very vigilant. But there are people walking around wearing jewellery and watches with TOURIST virtually written all over them, making themselves targets.

Rio -The Most Beautiful City

The Weather Gods are smiling on us! According to Cecilia our guide, Rio has been having 2-3 weeks of storms and overcast weather and the sun came out when we arrived. She said we must have had it in our suitcases! It gave us the opportunity to view the city from the top of Sugarloaf and what a view it was. The Lonely Planet says Rio is the most beautiful city in the World, and we could only agree. The view is almost beyond words. Getting to the top of Sugarloaf is a two stage affair, with the cable car taking you firstly to the top of Urca (500 ft) and then on up to the top of Sugarloaf (1200 ft) above the city. The ride is very exciting because of the views and for the thought that the only support for the car is at the two ends of the ride. When I was here in 1965 I was too scared to take the ride but the cable car was replaced in 1972. The old one (1912) is still there on display today and now I don't feel such a chicken when I can see what it was like.

The views are north, south, east and west . Old and new including a 14km bridge, an airport , several beautiful beaches and skyscrapers and favellas (shantytowns) The mountains that soar up near the shore are stunningly goegeous. Some of the beaches are Copacabana (4.5km) Ipanema (2km) Botefoga, Leblon, Leme, and several others.
We went to the downtown area and saw some of the beautiful old squares with colonial buildings all around them, we also saw where they hold `carnival´ with seating for 100,000 people including corporate boxes. On to Maracana stadium which can hold 178,000 people. I didn´t think anything could beat the MCG. Also stopped off at the San Sebastian Cathedral which is shaped like an enormous beehive. It can hold 5000 people. Everything here is built to house large audiences! Whilst in the Floriana area (downtown) Cecelia said we would stop if there were police on duty. There weren't but the square seemed fairly empty (being Sunday morning) so we hopped out of the car, took some photos and within 2 minutes our driver tooted to warn of 2 suspicious looking characters approaching. So into the car lickety split.
We wandered around the Hippie Market in Ipanema for an hour and saw many lovely things but didn´t buy anything. Still too early in our travels I think, and then very bravely caught a local bus back to our hotel. No problems.
Tomorrow we go to the top of Corcovado, so we are hoping the weather remains clear.