The World's most Dangerous Road

What a day!!! After last night's food, Chris was suffering but he had sure he was going to complete this cycle.

At about 7:50 we headed off to the summit of the mountain to start our bike ride. We were fitted with our gear, bikes and shown how to use the bikes properly.
It was a lovely and misty morning so we couldn't see how big the drops were, but with the number of monuments on the side of the road, it was chilling. About 325 people died on the road every year before they built a new road to ease some of the traffic. 53 have died this year and our guide was making sure everyone was aware of the seriousness of the road and what we were doing.

It took a while, but after going through mud, under waterfalls and through rivers, we all got to the bottom of the road and had a snack and welcomed showers. The worst part of the trip was the bus journey back up the road and to say my heart was in my mouth was an understatement. I should have been like Chris and slept!

Our group of 10 went out for a Thai meal tonight with our new leader Daniella and the old members of the group were invited along too. We all had a lovely time but after a busy 48 hours with only about 9 hours sleep I was pleased to get back to the room - even if it was to pack again!!!

La Paz

Today is the last official day of the first half of our Southern Cross Trip. And after an unpleasant nights sleep on a lovely train - we were given blankets and pillows, we arrived into a place called Oruro. From here we got a 3 hour bus to La Paz and the culture shock which is this city.

It's the highest city of its size in the world and the altitude is only noticeable when you walk up the really steep hills. The city is set in a valley with houses built all around - similar to flavellas.

After an un-enthusiastic introduction to the city from our Tour leader, we went to book the Death Road. It sounds like it's going to be fun, but with a 7:45am start I'd love a lie in.

Ina and I took up the shopping bug again and had a lovely look around all the silver shops and we weren't disappointed. I bought a lovely alpaca jumper from a lovely old lady for about £5. When we decided to give up shopping for the day, the group all went out for their last meal together - minus the leaders who were nowhere to be seen. The option was an Indian restaurant which was known for its vindaloo and when were arrived, our leaders were half way through their meal! After spending over 3 weeks with these people, they acted like they diidn't know us and to say we were all disappointed is an understatement.

The meal was the funniest I think any of us ever experienced as 4 of the guys went for the vindaloo - with the promise that if they finished one they would get a t-shirt.

Chris has a vindaloo and the tears were streaming down hs cheeks with laughter as the other 3 tried to eat theirs.

Needless to say, no one finished theirs and we were told that due to the altitude, the chillie peppers are a lot more intense. Too true!!!!!

Salt Flat Excursion - Day 3

Chris tells me that we went to see the Sol de Manana (Geysers) and at 7am we arrived to where we were having breakfast. This place also had some hot springs, so we all came prepared and with people standing round in their fleeces, hats, gloves etc... we were in our swimming things and in the hot water. It was lovely, first hot water in about 2 days!

We visited the Laguna Verde - which is green due to the arsenic in it, but the place was magical. The reflection on the mountains were glorious, so breathtaking. The Valley of the Rocks was a great place too, with all the guys having fun climbing over the formations.

Leaving here were were on the home stretch - well, Uyuni stretch. We got snacks in a town called San Cristobal (which was relocated due to a Canadian oil company needing the ground) and at 6:30 we go back to Uyuni. Our train to La Paz didn't leave until midnight, so we had so much time to kill and with people being tired and little information being told, tempers were starting to go,. Roll on La Paz and some time to just relax.

Salt Flat Excursion - Day 2

Everyone had to be out or 7am this morning - but I don't think the drivers were told!! After leaving Bella Vista we headed to the Solar de Chiguana. It was a really windy day so it helped everyones sunburn.

From here, we headed some more kms to see the Ollague Volcano - well, we saw it from a distance - that and Chile! It's strange that one minute the mountains are Bolivian and the next Chilean.

At lunch where we stopped to see flamingos, we drove through the desert of Siloli and saw a rock which has been shaped by the wind into a tree among lots of other cool formations.

Mid afternoon saw us reach our stop for the night - the Laguna Colorada. The wind was so strong that we couldn't really go outside as it was freezing. The laguna is impressive - red in colour and vast, but our accommodation is the opposite. No running water and nothing more that a hostel. But when were leave at 4:30am, I don't think that many would be having showers!!!!

Salt Flat Excursion - Day 1

After a free morning we boarded our jeeps - land cruisers, and we were off.

Our first stop was the famous train cemetery and I thought it was great. The sheer number of rusting relics was unbelievable. I could have spent all day having a look among all the types of trains and the way they were constructed, but we took some good photos and got back into the jeeps to continue on into the Salt Flats.

En Route we stopped in a little village called Colchani and its inhabitants make a living from the salt they collect from the the flats. We were shown the process involved and it is hard work with very little money going to the workers. We had a look at the handicrafts on offer and I bought a lovely scarf. From here we drove to the illegal Salt Hotel. We got some funny, yet typical salt flat photos here, but we weren't to know it wasn't the main place for photos... that came after lunch.

For lunch we stopped at a place called Isla Incahuasi - which was a coral island raised up from the ocean bed and covered in tall cacti. It was an amazing place as it was in the middle of the whiteness of the flat and the views from the top were something else. When you drive on the flat, its similar to being on a conveyor belt, you are moving, but the surroundings don't seem to get any closer. Mindblowing really.

The next hour was taken with more silly photos and everyone got really sunburnt - even with factor 30 and 50!

Finally from here we took our final drive to our hotel - Bella Vista, and the views were lovely.
Once dinner was finished, we were entertained by some local musicians - 4 young boys who played the panpipes - although they were good, they needed more practice, but their hearts were in it.

Uyuni

We headed towards the salt flats today and the town of Uyuni. At noon we left Potosi and also the only tarmac road we would see for a few days! We bumped along alot of rocky roads with no air conditioning on the bus, and with one of our group feeling ill, we had quite a few stops (I'm glad my travel bands are really working!)

The bus covered a lot of ground and we passed through a lot of varied landscapes, including people washing their clothes in rivers and a number of herds of Llamas.

After about 6 hours, the bus went through the penultimate village which seemed to be deserted, there were a lot of ruins and some buildings built into the rocks encasing the town, but the fences and shrines were made out of car parts. All interesting to see and I'd love to know whether they were into using everything available, but it was strange.

We finally arrived into Uyuni and on first sight it was un-impressive. The outskirts seemed to be the land fill, only it was full of shredded plastic bags clinging to the shrubs from people dumping their waste. Not the prettiest of sights, but this place seems to be very quirky with our hotel being beside the army barracks.

Roll on our 3 day tour of the Salt Flats.


(one of the many monuments in Uyuni).

Potosi

After waiting for taxis to take us from our hotel in Sucre to Potosi, 3 hrs later we arrived into this city, with its altitude of 4,070m.

The taxi journey was certainly eventful with all 5 cabs jostling for prime position and fighting their way over the terribly constructed roads. It was livened up when one of the cabs stopped at the many check points, the driver ran into the office to process his papers, ran out and drove off leaving 3 of his 4 clients standing at the side of the road. Luckily our driver was able to make him aware that he needed to go back or else it would have been a tight squeeze!!!

Anyway, we arrived into Potosi and I couldn't believe the look of the place. The flight strip of the airport was a small flat section on an even part of the mountain and the houses near it didn't look fit for animals to live in, but the children playing outside them in the dirt looked happy. Just over the roof tops were the beautiful mountains and the crisp air.

With the altitude, it's difficult to catch a breath and it's cold! It makes a real change. Tonight there was a brilliant thunder and lightning storm which actually hit the main Cathedral, that was exciting.

The next day Chris and I met up with Ina and headed out to explore the city, its markets and some silver shops, but there weren't really any. Some of the other members of the group visited one of the silver mines but I didn't agree with it. None of the 90 Bolivianos the trip was charged would be going to the miners. Some of the other tour companies donate 15% of their fee to healthcare for the mine co-operatives, ours didn't.

While we wandered the city hail started to fall, and it definitely came down. It was actually really, really cold!

Tonight the group went out to celebrate Mick's birthday and we'd all a great time, but outside the doors of the restaurant there were 4 children begging. The little girl with them was only 5 - just over a year older than our niece and she was out on a busy street at midnight. The children did nothing but smile through the windows at us. It's tough seeing the children begging on streets, but they even hold their hands out for money when you're passing them on a bus. It's certainly another country.

Sucre - 2790m above sea level

Our internal flight to Sucre was delayed by 1 hour, but on leaving the terminal to board the plane we were all given little paper bags with 2 buns in them... strange, but nice! The best bit was the the flight only took 25mins and if you went by road, it would take 16 hours. That says a lot for the conditions of the road and the height we're up. It felt strange gaining height all the time to land on top of a mountain!

We checked into the hotel and my friend Ina and I went for a walk around the city. It's vast and although the temperature is a lot lower than what we've had, the air is cleaner and the sun is so much stronger.

Today (23rd Oct) Chris and I had separate days. He wanted to go mountain biking and I fancied exploring the city a lot more. So Chris headed off at 9am and I met up with Ina at 10:15, jumped into a taxi and went to the Parque Cretacico, a place where a concrete quarry discovered a vast number of Dinosaur footprints and in the past 2 years, this park has opened to show people this phenomenon. We knew Chris' bike tour was taking him to this place, but we arrived at the same time as his group, so we were able to join them.

From this picture you can see some of the footprints in the background. Due to the plates moving on the earths floor, the originally flat land was pushed into this vertical wall. The ridges you can see are not footprints, but they are all around the wall.

From here Ina and I just wandered around the city again and enjoyed window shopping but it was sometimes difficult ignoring the children in the streets and the old women begging for money.

There are so many indigenous people in this city and also those who are very cosmopolitan. It's strange and I need to know more about the history of the place to comment properly, but from the number of people begging and working in the markets, you wonder where their culture is heading and what the future holds for them. Their goods are all sold worldwide, but what percentage actually goes to those who need it most?

We're leaving Sucre to head to Potosi, where there is still a lot of silver mining and we've heard mixed reports about the place, so I'll be interested to see what the people and conditions are like.

Santa Cruz - night time

The main plaza in Santa ruz. It's surrounded by trees, so you can't get a complete shot.

Press conferences Santa Cruz style. It's of a government official, but we don't have a proper translation of his role.

Chris giving the dinosaur something to drink!

24 hours in Santa Cruz

At about 9am, the night train (2 carriages long) arrived into Santa Cruz. This is Bolivia's largest city and we've had a free day to spend at our leisure. After going through emails and updating parts of the blog, Chris and I set off to explore the city and see what we could get for our 12 bolivianos to the £1.

We had a lovely afternoon looking around the streets and we came across a lake with some pedalos on them, so we just had to have a go.

On the way back though, we could not find the hotel, but after a while some sights and shops started to look familiar and we finally made it back.

Tomorrow we're getting our first internal flight to Sucre, and according to our guide book, we'll be landing in the highest airport in the world. (but, according to google it's not!!!) In Sucre we should be able to Mountain bike down the most dangerous road in the world and also go and see the famous Silver mines. The mountain biking will either bring Chris and I home, or we'll have some good photos!!!! Just found out this is in La Paz, so another week to wait.

The Madness Continues !!!

It´s our fourth country I think and so far, this is the strangest.

Our fellow traveller Dan (from Somerset) wasn´t given his yellow fever certificate, so when we went through passport \ border control, he was thinking he´d have to go to a local doctor and pay for a new card. But as this is Bolivia, he got in by buying the 3 guards a 2.5 ltr bottle of Sprite. We´ve all had to pay for the vaccine at home and he paid 12 Bolivianos (about one pound) to get into the country. Those are my kind of bribes!!!

So, we´re off to Santa Cruz on an overnight train. This should be fun but with plenty to occupy us, we´ll not be bored. We´re the Brackens with all their gadgets and every days the group want to see what else we´ve brought.

Until later xx

The Pantanal

After leaving Bonito, we travelled along a dirt track for about 6 hours and arrived into the Pantanal. This place is mind blowing.
On our way to our accommodation of hammocks in a large barn, we stopped to watch otters swimming and eating the fish they had been throwing to each other, caiman laying by the side of the water, the 2nd largest storks in the world and numerous other mammals milling about the pond.

Where we are staying, 3,000 hectars in size, they have their own caimans, horses, maccaws, parakeets and other bits of wildlife.

We are loving seeing the wild toucans flying around - Chris says they are like big blackbirds with bananas in their mouths!! But seeing them outside a bird park and when you´re relaxing in hammocks is something else.

After a morning spend on horse back - and after cooling off (it´s about 30 degrees at 9am) the group went Paranha fishing! It was so much fun! I don´t know how many Chris caught, but I got three and one other fish but that got thrown back in.

Picture it, we're standing in a swamp with lilypads growing through the murky water and 9 idiots standing in a row with bamboo rods trying to catch piranhas without getting bitten, oh and did I mention there were caiman in there too!!!! Chris and I fairly ran when one was coming towards us then disappeared under the water!!! (if you look closely, there's one in the photo between us!) But the piranhas were our dinner and they tasted really good.

We have really enjoyed our time in the Pantanal and tonight Chris held a caiman. The guide also liked Chris' head torch!!!

We have seen so many things that we would never have imagined. It´s really hot and humid and with no fans, air con or fridges it´s really back to nature - and the noises are really loud when there´s only electricity for a few hours in the morning and night. It makes you appreciate the silence.

On our morning walk before leaving to get the train to Bolivia, we saw 2 howler monkeys in the trees. You watch these animals on nature programmes and now you see them in reality. And it's even better through binoculars!

Next stop - Bolivia.

Iguaçu and beyond

So... we were in Iguaçu Falls, both the Brazillian and Argentinian side. The next day we travelled to a massive power station called Itaipu Dam and to say is was large is an understatement. From what our guide was saying, it seems to have its own independent country, with everything going 50/50 between Brazil and Paraguay including management and employees.

It all seemed too happy a place!

From there we headed across the border in Paraguay and it was great fun. I have never seen so many electronic shops and people trying to sell you everything you can imagine. I ended up buying a knife for Africa in one of the shops for $3 - bargain.

This photos says it all - the streets we full of this type of truck and in some of the shops you could buy underwear and socks by bulk.

Anyway, from there we headed on another night bus - 3 in total as the first one broke down to Bonito. This place had the best downpour we have ever experienced - it was more like a tropical storm. So in true Chris and Jude style, we had to go and play in it. Soon after a tree down the street collapsed and the power went out.

In Bonito we did some rafting along a very muddy river (due to the rain) where we saw some wild toucans and a howler monkey). In the afternoon, Chris & I hired some bikes and cycled to the local municipal lake (6kms each way) and relaxed with the many Dourados fish. They are about 1.5 ft long and the swim freely in the lake. It took some getting used to!

For dinner we went to a restaurant which sold the 'game' of the area, so we had caiman, capivara and queixada. They were lovely.

Next stop - the Pantanal

The Wonders of Nature

Have spent the past two days at the Iguassu falls and massive is an understatement. Years ago, on seeing the falls Eleanor Roosevelt said 'Poor Niagara'. Niagara is nothing in comparison Monday was spent on the Brazilian side, not bad, a great overview of the area and a trip to a bird park with loads of parakeets and strange South American birds, some of them as big as ostriches. Today, Tuesday was a hop into Argentina to visit their side of the falls. Unbelievable. The wildlife was again spectacular, loads of butterflies, birds, the odd cayman and tortoise but it was the close up encounter with several of the 275 waterfalls in Iguassu that just made you appreciate the size and power or mother nature. A boat trip into the falls got everyone soaked and then a torrential downpour and a walk to within meters of another waterfall made the afternoon cool, enjoyable and really pleasant (compared to 38 degrees earlier in the day).

Finally a bit of Sun !

Our arrival in Paraty, after a 90 minute public bus journey (interesting driving again) was marred by threatening clouds Everywhere just seems dull and dreary when it rains (think of Newcastle or Portrush on a wet day). An old colonial town with narrow cobbled streets (when I say cobbled,, the brickies through rocks in the road and hoped for the best.) Cars, bikes, horse and cart all struggle along the 'roads' in the old part of town which by day looks awful but at night, in low light with the restaraunts buzzing the place comes alive.

We visited a cachaca (Ka-sha-sa) bar to partake in the local tipple. Many varieties and flavours at 40% proof upwards. The picture shows three different 'flavours.' Cobra, Adder and Crab. The Adder had a meaty taste to it, once the burning sensation in your mouth died down.

Today we managed a boat trip around some of the islands The sun was out, blue skies and the whole town changed. Everybody was on the water as it was the first good day in a long time. A bit of a swim, some sunbathing and a giant pastie dinner on our return meant a great last day in Paraty. We may be out of range for a few days while traveling to Iguazua falls but in this country, nobody knows what facilities might or might not be available.

Heavy Rain with Sunny Spells to Follow

The weather over the past few days has been fairly bad. Escaping a wet Rio, the first stop on our Southern Cross lead us to Ilha Grande. An Island off the coast of Rio, picturesque, lots of wildlife, beautiful mountain walks, magnificent beeches, lots of rain.


We cancelled our boat trip and took a hike across a small section of the island instead. Through the mist and the heavy downpours (it was warm) there was some lovely scenery, an old prison and a few beaches to explore.

We had a couple of nice days with a local cooking a barbeque complete with Caparinhas. (Local firewater with lime, sugar and ice). Our biggest problem was getting our clothes dry in the humid & cool hotel (?) rooms but it turned really sunny the day we left the island for the seaside town of Paraty..

Through the mist....

Another day in Paradise - or at least it would be if the sun shone!!!
With some blue skies over head we decided to head to the pinacle of Rio symbolism - the Cristo Redentor Statue and typical for us, the journey took so long that once we were at the top, the statue had disappeared under thick cloud. (See photo!!!)
But, with patience and not a lot else on our schedule for today, we waited for the clouds to break, and they did!!!

I'll not say I was disappointed with the statue... but I thought it and its surroundings would have been a lot larger. We've seen it on tv, in books and one other pieces of information, but the reality of it was that it is not that imposing a statue. You really need to search for it when you're out in the streets and even then it's difficult to see.

Enough of those ramblings.... tonight saw the commencement of our 'Southern Cross' trip.
We met the other nine individuals and the two tour leaders who are going to suffer us for the next number of weeks and we're certainly a mixed bunch. Two Southern Irish people, 4 English, 1 German and 2 Canadians. Chris and I are one of 2 married couples and I'm pleased that we're not the only one.

Everyone went out for a buffet meal and it was good - you just weren't too sure of what you were being given, but the Chicken hearts were quite nice!!!
We're now packing our bags once again and heading onto the Ilha Grande where there are supposedly no main roads!!! It will be interesting.

I don't know how I'd summarise Rio de Janeiro. I was taking it over with someone tonight and although we felt quite safe in Sao Paulo, Rio is a different story. The areas are not clearly defined and there are a lot of homeless people on the streets. The rich are walking over the poor and the darkness of the areas makes you feel very wary. With Sao Paulo, the more graffiti and run down housing, the more you were able to read about where you were likely to head... here, it seems to be all around you.
The people are helpful and it would be good to come back with some guaranteed sunshine to grace the lovely beaches, but there are other places to visit first!!!

We'll try to update this when we're on the road, and there are some internet places en-route. So please be patient.
Love from us xx

Copa....Copacabana....la, la, la lala lala something something everywhere.....

I've had that song (or bits of it) stuck in my head for the past 3 days. It didn't help when we took a walk along the infamous Copacabana Beech today. Very long, very clean and very wet. It is spring time in Brazil and the weather is about 25 celcius, day and night and currently with lots of rain. Very like home but a lot hotter. The Sun will hopefully come out tomorrow (Tuesday) as we want to go up Corcovado to see O Cristo Redentor (Christ the redeemer - The big statue of Jesus with his arms out.) We could only see it a few times today when the mist lifted so decided to leave it hoping tomorrow is better. It was a good day for walking the beaches and sorting ourselves out. (yes Mummy Bracken I have now clean underwear - No Mummy Boyd your daughter did not have to wash them). Still have to sort out the website, when we do, It will be posted here.

Formula 1 In Rio

The concentration on the face of the drivers, waiting fo the red light to go out. A glance either side, checking on the competition and it's a go, go, go. 1st gear, 2nd gear, 3rd. Swerve to block the overtake, line up for the corner, brake hard, down shift and acceleate through feeding the wheel just the right amount to get the maximum speed. Avoid the pedestrians on the crossing, veer accross three lanes and back again to get ahead of a truck and stop at the red light in a position that will certainly allow our Taxi to be the first away, even if there are 4 cars in front. All of them thinking the same thing.

Driving in Brazil is an art form. I'm not suprised this country has had several formula 1 supremo's. They all drive like maniacs, and the Bikers ! If there is a gap they will go for it. Horns honking to make sure Barrichello or Massa in the car in front knows they are coming through, gap or not. And for the pedestrians. Don't even bother trying to cross anywhere but at the lights. It's not worth the risk of 'person' racer (everyone from little boy to Big women are racers here,) maybe coming round the corner.

We took the 6 hour bus journey to Rio today. Executivo style, reclining seats, air con, snacks, plastic wrapped pillow and blanket, It was comfy but my word, taking a pee at 70 mile an hour while swerving through traffic is tricky. The F1 Brazilian Grand Prix is at the end of the month, unfortunately we shall be in Bolivia by then.

The long walk

We are having a very lazy day today as yesterday... we decided to have a wander around the streets of Sao Paulo. In many of our guide books they give some helpful options for what to do if you only have a certain amount of time on one place - no such luck with this city and due to its sheer size, I now know why!

So... with plenty of water and the travely book in our bag, we went walking. We headed towards to MASP (Museum of Art, Sao Paulo) and discovered a lovely Park opposite, so we ventured in. It was the stangest place with really tall trees which seemed to cast a very calming auru onto the place. The seats were all carved from lovely dark wood and the place was so quiet despite just being off one of the main Avenues.

From there we grabbed some lunch - hot dogs with everything on them (and I mean everything) and started wandering back along the street in the direction of the main Park in SP. After about an hour we reached our destination... a massive park in the city with 3 lakes, a planetarium and numerous running tracks. From there we discovered we weren't too far from one of the main shopping malls - and one of the 2 Tiffanys in SP. We headed in that direction and an hour later we got to the mall!!! We were shattered... and after walking past a Louis Vitton shop and other extremely expensive places... we headed for the exit and a bus a home... but we didn't know where to get the bus, so we walked home!!!! In total we did over 10 miles and hopefully this link will work... the long walk. We got to see lovely parts of SP, but they were all hidden behind electric fences. Just one more Tiffanys to find here and that's me until Sydney.

I'm going to sit in the sun now - even though the clouds have gathered. xx

Sao Paulo - Arrived but only just

Long story, put short we had ticket problems, volunteered our seat but ended up in Sao Paulo at 05:30 in the morning. Eventually got our room in the hotel (6 hours early was a bit much to ask) but have had some sleep and are heading for food. We hope to update more later.

So long and thanks for all the fish!

After only 4 hours sleep, we had packed the house and the bags. Finally reaady for the off.