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San Bartolo Originally uploaded by Road Trip

San Cristobal and Rosario (La Mina)

San Cristobal and Rosario (La Mina)
Originally uploaded by Road Trip

that small bit on the left is almost the whole town of Rosario, its a very small place

A few days back in Tegucigalpa

So after Lima I spent a few days back in Tegucigalpa visiting friends. It was nice to be back but I was still ready to get home. Its amazing how much of central america is still so far behind the rest of latin america. I spent a day in National Park "La Tigra" about an hour out of Teguc, stayed in a small town called Rosario or La Mina, its an old silver and gold mining camp. Mos of the buildings are old woode structures left after the mine was abandoned. Its also the site of the first telegraph and electricity of the whole country. Only a few hundred live there now but at the peak of the mine there were over 5000. It was an american mining company using it but they only brought in the essentials. A bar and a bowling alley being two of the things they couldn't live without. So after 5 days or so it was time to fly back from home, unfotuntely the first flight of my 3 flight itinerary was cancelled so I spent the next day and a half waiting in lines and for Taca employees to figure out what the best thing to do with me was. After standing around for about 6 hours in New York they finally just gave me 50 bucks to catch a bus down to Atlantic City and home. Dumb suckers didn't know it was only gonna cost 40.

Return to Lima

So after a couple harrowing days of travel north, including another strike that I had to take a plane to get passed, I ended back in Lima. I had about a week in the city and it was nice to get back to Wayruros, the hostel my friends own, my second home south of the equator. Most of them work working outside of the city but Nacho was there as well as a few friends I'd made last time I went through. The closer to home I get the less patience I have and more I realize Im ready to get back.

Cerro San Cristobal

Cerro San Cristobal
Originally uploaded by Road Trip

up top theres a big statue of the "Blessed Virgin Mary"

Santiago

Santiago
Originally uploaded by Road Trip

hard to tell from fotos but santiago is huge

up the hill by train

up the hill by train
Originally uploaded by Road Trip

there's a big hill in the middle of town called Cerro San Cristobal and from up top you get a good view of Santiago. I ended up taking a cable train up and the gondolas back down

Santiago, Chile

I was only able to get a few days in Santiago but with the help of all the good people I met in La Casa Roja it was a great time. Much bigger than I ever imagined and down in a bowl that traps all its smog Santiago has a great night life. I spent the days walking around or nursing hangovers and the nights out in Bella Vista in a variety of its tons of tiny bars and clubs. Both skiing and Valparaiso were cut from the itinerary because it was hard to leave the people I met while in there (plus skiing will be easy to come by in Colorado). I only regret not having more time in the city, it´s one I could see myself visiting again.

Puerto Montt

Puerto Montt Originally uploaded by Road Trip

ship carcass

ship carcass Originally uploaded by Road Trip

this boat hit a sand bar roughly 20 years ago and its still there rusting away

our bow

our bow Originally uploaded by Road Trip

big chess

big chess Originally uploaded by Road Trip

the rest of the passengers

the rest of the passengers Originally uploaded by Road Trip

some fellow passengers

some fellow passengers Originally uploaded by Road Trip

its hard to tell from a oicture but this was taken in some seriously high winds

some of the boat

some of the boat Originally uploaded by Road Trip

NAVIMAG

NAVIMAG Originally uploaded by Road Trip

Puerto Natales to Puerto Montt

NAVIMAG is a cargo business with shipping routes all along the coast of Chile. But its boats also have room for tourists travelling between the same points. The boat I was on carried a maximum of 170 people but at the time of year that I did it carries considerably less. Without counting a generous estimate would put it at a group of 15 not considering the crew. It took 4 days and 3 nights north and started out with the same perfect weather I had in Torres del Paine. The first day was spent outside watching the passing mountains and occasional seal and playing big chess up on the roof deck. The second day was fogged over and was a little less eventful until we got out to the open ocean and started getting tossed around. Quite a few peole lost there lunch and the wind up on deck was so strong that if you spread out your jacket you could really lean into it. After about an hour up there we were scolded by the biggest Chilean I have still yet seen and were told the gusts were up to 85 - 90 km per hour up there ands too dangerous to be up there. The third day too was clouded over but being back in the channel it was a much calmer one. Most of it was spent inside watching the movies they put up on the projector. We got into Puerto Montt the fourth day and a few of us were trying to get onto Santiago as quickly as possible but there was a strike blocking the roads and the only way to go about it was flying to Santiago to avoid the demonstration and shelling out about 100 bucks to do it. Between strikes and drug charges Chile turned out to be a very expensive couple of weeks.

sky in Torres

sky in Torres Originally uploaded by Road Trip

our lodge

our lodge Originally uploaded by Road Trip

Torres II

Torres II Originally uploaded by Road Trip

view from up in Valle de France

view from up in Valle de France Originally uploaded by Road Trip

some lonely footprints

some lonely footprints Originally uploaded by Road Trip

we got high enough up we were leaving the only footprints we could see. Meaning we were the only ones up that far since the last snowfall, but there were tons of animal tracks all over the place

small suspension bridge

small suspension bridge Originally uploaded by Road Trip

Torres

Torres Originally uploaded by Road Trip

Torres del Paine

Torres del Paine Originally uploaded by Road Trip

the locals

the locals Originally uploaded by Road Trip

the hike out

the hike out Originally uploaded by Road Trip

thats the german mother daughter team

Puerto Natales and Torres del Paine

Puerto Natales is a really small town far down south in Chile that other than an amazing setting doesn´t seem like it has much going on. But to be fair the little bit I saw only while running around paying illegal substance fines, after that headache was over I found out that my boat north had been postponed a day for problems with the loading cranes. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise though because it allowed me to spend an extra night in Torres del Paine. A huge national park in southern Chile that at this time of the year, because of the cold weather, is more or less empty. I really lucked out with 3 perfect days and a small but great group of people that were also out there bearing the cold. A few english, a kickass mother daughter team from Germany and a guy from New York who turned out to have done Peace Corps in the Maldeves. Most of the time he and I hiked together comparing stories. The park is gorgeous but to seeit well its all tough hikes, we hiked 5 hours in, 7 hours the second day to Valle Frances (great day, we were the only two on the trail that far up) and another five hours out. Perfect timing too because that last day I got in in time to catch the NAVIMAG boat north and my feet were in need of a few days rest.

they never give up

they never give up Originally uploaded by Road Trip

so unfortunately this is the only foto from the border crossing I was detained at. But the sign is a great statement for Argentina they officially los the Faulkland Islands (they call them the Malvinas) to england a secong time in the 80`s but this brand new sign shows that they`re still not over it.

Possible prison time

So after leaving Calafate I turned west and planned to cross over into Chile to get a few hikes in over there in a hightly recommended national park before getting on a cargo boat that takes people north. Unfortunately what I didn´t realize is that coca leaves which are legal in most of the other countries in south america are considered an illegal substance in Chile. I had been carrying a small bag since Bolivia and the crossing into Argentina had not been a problem. I ended up getting stopped and questioned about them and having to let my bus leave me at the border. At first I wasn´t too worried about it but when I was refused a minute outside to have a cigarette I realized I was being detained. Coca leaves even if chewed all day can only be compared to a mild caffeine buzz so I still I wasn´t too worried about it until the garbled voice coming over a cb giving instructions clearly reapeated the word ¨carcel¨ a few times (in spanish carcel means prison). The rest of the 4 hours I was detained in that room with 3 or 4 border officials weren´t so fun. After sweating it out for a while I ended up only having to sign a statement saying I was unaware of Chilean law and believed them to be more or less like those of surrounding countries and pay a fine of $220 for not declaring I was importing organic material. I hitchhiked into town, which was only about 20 minutes away, and payed the fine as quickly as I could in order to put the whole thing behind me. A fine is a hell of a lot better than a few days in a cell but at the time the $220 really hurt.

Perrito Moreno II

Perrito Moreno II Originally uploaded by Road Trip

its friggin` huge

300 yr old ice

300 yr old ice Originally uploaded by Road Trip

a snack on the glacier including some whiskey with 300 yr old ice

Glacier hike

Glacier hike Originally uploaded by Road Trip

Perrito Moreno

Perrito Moreno Originally uploaded by Road Trip

doll head

doll head Originally uploaded by Road Trip

Flamingos

Flamingos Originally uploaded by Road Trip

Emmanuel's ride

Emmanuel's ride Originally uploaded by Road Trip

Calafate and Perrito Moreno

So I ended up catching up with Baptista and Emmanuel in Calafate. From the few days I was there it seems like a nice place, probably a little too busy in the high season though. Its on the edge of a huge lake full of flamingos and surrounded by snow capped mountains. Probably the biggest attraction nearby is Perrito Moreno, a huge glacier and apparently one of only three that are still growing (supposedly the other two are in New Zealand). It really was an amazing thing to see, I got to put on crampons and hike on it as well as see a huge chunk break off while I was on the platform over looking it. The hostel ¨America del Sur¨ is a really nice place to stay but again probably a little much come high season.

fox

fox Originally uploaded by Road Trip

these guys are all over the place but apparently not a native species

The Desdemona

The Desdemona Originally uploaded by Road Trip

mail at the end of the world

mail at the end of the world Originally uploaded by Road Trip

you can`t read it but it does say on the sign that this is where mail is dropped off

in the park II

in the park II Originally uploaded by Road Trip

in the park

in the park Originally uploaded by Road Trip

only a little less than 18,000km to Alaska

only a little less than 18,000km to Alaska Originally uploaded by Road Trip

Baptista, Emmanuel and Me

Baptista, Emmanuel and Me Originally uploaded by Road Trip

out trying and failing to see the marshall glacier

our bus on a ferry to Tierra del Fuego

our bus on a ferry to Tierra del Fuego Originally uploaded by Road Trip

Earth of Fire

Which is roughly what Tierra del Fuego translates to. So about 40 hours by bus out of Bariloche, and a night spent in Rio Gallegos which is really a town only worth going to on your way through and I`m at the end of it. Ushuaia billed as the ¨The Southern Most City in the World¨ is full of cattle, eagles and other birds, foxes, guanaco (a relative of the llama), beautiful views and ice capped mountains. Durring the quietest part of low season there are very few people down here. The city can probably only really be called that when its full. A lot of bars and hotels sit closed for lack of tourism, meaning even the seasonal residents have long since gone. It´s blisteringly quiet, so one thing about the long bus ride I`m grateful for is allowing me to meet a bunch of the small group of tourists that were going to be down here with me. We actually had a good group out til late last night, including 2 french guys, 2 portugese, an English, an Irish and a guy from Brazil. It`s actually nice that this kind of mix happens so often while travelling, you get used to the different accents and laughing at the the small things, often bits of the humor, that get lost in translation (which of course makes it all the better to be able to laugh at it). Unfortunately you also get used to the ephemeral friendships, as soon you start getting comfortable enough in them to fully enjoy them, one, both or all of you are on your way, most often in different directions. The two french guys, Baptista and Emmanuel, turned out to be really cool. We went hiking the first day up to see the Marshall Glacier not knowing that it would be covered in snow. Still a good day hiking through the snow which when bad choices were made sometimes came up to mid thigh. The next two days we rented a car, which between the three of us it was pretty cheap. The first we went out to the national park, quiet enough that most often we were the only people on the trails. The second we made it out to Cabo San Pablo where there`s a shipwerch on the beach that you can walk out to on low tides. The Desdemona was still in good enough shape to convince Baptista and I to try and cross a small stream in order to get to her. I don`t know what serious lack of judgement allowed us to think that taking off out shoes to cross a stream on the furthest south land mass other than antartica to be a good idea but it did. This was honestly the single most stupid decision I`ve ever made. Which says quite a bit. Only being maybe 30 meters wide it felt like it took forever to cross. My feet were completely numb after second of putting them in the water, the second half of the cross, made up of small stones that would have usually hurt, was crossed moving as fast as I could while still keeping my balance. The numbness was quickly passed by onto a pain that felt like it was inside your brain. Emmanuel had planned on doing the same but seeing our faces and hearing our screams kept him out of the water. After reaching the other side and having our shoes and socks back on didn`t stop the pain either, it probably took another half of an hour to get any feeling back what so ever. It took so long to get back any sensation other than pain we honestly both expressed fear of losing toes. If the water hadn`t been moving so fast it would probably have been frozen solid. At about the same time we got to the ship we were able to walk more or less normally. It had a huge whole in the side and you were able to get up into it and walk around, ladders led up two levels to the top deck but the rust was so bad that you could see through the floor in places making walking around up there a slow and nerve racking experience. The image of falling through was so strong a few times I opted to grab something covered in bird shit just to keep a hand on something solid. Frankly the whole experience was a little dulled because of the fear of having to cross through the stream again to get back to the car. Luckily form the deck of the boat you could see a path that looked like it might avoid the problem. It turned out to lead to a road with a bridges that we surely would have found if we had not been so impatient to get to the boat durring low tide and had looked around a bit more with the car. When we finally got back to Emmanuel he was talking to probably the only person living out near the beach. He was an old fisherman and was sporting about a twelve inch blade tucked into the back of his belt. We had parked at and abandoned old hotel and after realizing he was being watched while looking around in it and seeing the blade after starting up a conversation Emmanuel said he really felt for a while he was caught in the middle of a horror flick. Best we can tell though we was just a nice old guy living out there by himself looking for someone to talk to that had a need for a twelve inch blade. Anyway right now, I`m still well hungover, and all the new friends have gone and I`m at the end of a very slow slow day. All I want out of days like these is a bed, a television, and aome crappy movies but that didn`t out. So I thought maybe I`ll just go and write stuff on the internet. But it`s late now and I`m tired, so I`m going to bed. Have a goodnight.

nice houses in Bariloche

nice houses in Bariloche Originally uploaded by Road Trip

tons of really nice houses around this area, not to mention different than any others I`ve seen in Latin America

Bariloche

Bariloche Originally uploaded by Road Trip

volcanic ash

volcanic ash Originally uploaded by Road Trip

when I first showed up everything was covered in ash

the bus for the rich

the bus for the rich Originally uploaded by Road Trip this bus was so nice even the two kids and a baby in front of me, as loud as they were, couldn`t ruin it for me

Losing lunch in Bariloche

So my 19 hour bus ride out of Buenos Aires was pretty lujo, fully reclining seats and foot rests that pop up so you can lay completely horizontal, plus wine, champagne and steak dinner. They`re called Super-cama (super bed) and, although it costs a bit more, I figured I should at least try them once before I go. My first couple of days in Bariloche were nice its a real pretty place, lakes, mountians and great views. It was a little less than clear because it had been hit by the clouds of ash from the eruption of Chaiten in Chile a few days before I got there (ash was on everything) but beautiful nonetheless. I even somehow managed to meet some people who were nice enough that after knowing me for only a day to go get an icecream cake, throw in some candles, and sing me happy birthday on the 11th (I got into the how old are you game with the woman that worked there and it slipped out, of course she then proceded to tell everyone else there) . But unfortunately the next 24 hours were spent bowing to the porcelain god trying to keep my head from exploding. A few other people in the hostel had gotten it and they were kind enough to pass it on to me. The following day was spent in front of the television with absolutely no energy. The next I did manage to get in a very easy 2 or 3 hour hike but was still pretty shaky, and the following is was pissing down rain. Apparently it rains for about a full month and a half in Bariloche befor the snow comes and once it starts it doesn`t stop. So that was is it for me and Bariloche. I was gone the next day. Apparently the 7 lakes road passes, obviously, 7 different lakes that apparently with clear calm weather perfectly reflect everything around them. I was even considering covering it on a nice long bike ride but the illness and then rain made it was just about impossible.

River Plate v. San Lorenzo

River Plate v. San Lorenzo Originally uploaded by Road Trip

right before River took the field

a little bit of Honduras wherever I go

a little bit of Honduras wherever I go Originally uploaded by Road Trip

Atineo

Atineo Originally uploaded by Road Trip

this was a theatre years ago but its been converted into a huge bookstore. they even encourage you to grab a book and a cup of coffee and spend a few hours. it`s a cool place

Recoleta II

Recoleta II Originally uploaded by Road Trip

Recoleta

Recoleta Originally uploaded by Road Trip

its amazing how much money people would spend on tombs they would never even see

cranes

cranes Originally uploaded by Road Trip

in Puerto Madero, a Buenos Aires port. There was some cool stuff. I like how this foto turned out.

Casa Rosada

Casa Rosada Originally uploaded by Road Trip

their pink house is our white house

Buenos Aires

So I just finished two and a half weeks in Buenos Aires. Its a seriously amazing city. Argentinians go out to eat at 10, go to a bar at 1 or 2 and then onto a club at 2 or 3 until 7 or 8 in the morning. Sometimes they continue on to after hour places until 2 in the after noon. It`s completely insane and trying to get used to it was hard, I think that being trained on out at 11 and back in by 2 or 3 made it impossible. I was lucky enough to get a suggestion from a fellow traveler about staying at the Chill House in Palermo. It was probably the best hostel I`ve stayed in on the trip, both the employees and guests were equally likely to sit around in the eveing in the common room sharing a beer and bullshitting about whatever. It was also a great staging event for anything you`re looking to do in the city. I was there for 3 mondays ad went each night to Bomba El Tiempo, a local percussion show that would have a different guest musician each week. It was an amazing crowd, full of energy and the beats the group put out were impressive, made it hard not to get into it. I`d be going again if I stayed for an additional monday. I also tried to get into the Boca vs. River football game but it didn`t really work out. Its supposedly one of the 3 biggest games in the world because of the insane Boca fans and theri tendency to break out into riots. It sounded like fun. A few of us paid 80 pesos (25 bucks, more or less) to get passed the first checkpoint. We were pretty amazed because everyone else was paying 450 - 500 pesos. At first it looked promising, we were hoping they were using electronic tickets because noone else had any tickets in their hands. So we waited in numerous lines, actually more mobs than lines, and passed maybe 3 more checkpoints. Of course when we got to the last one all the legitimate fans finally pulled out their legitimate tickets. Apparently what they do is the fans without tickets wait outside the stadium building up a crowd and then charge the guards trying to overwhelm them. This was the plan until we got up to the front and saw how the police were handling it, they were seperating the crowd into three seperate lines, single filing down walks seperated by guard rails. This pretty much made the plan useless. At this point we were right outside the stadium and could already feel the fans shaking the ground so we still had to try. Going first I pulled out my subway pass hoping that somesort of piece of paper in the hand would be better than nothing. The guy didn`t buy it and asked me for the real one and before I could tell the guy I payed outside (playing dumb) he literally tossed me to the next guy who literally tossed me out of the fenced in area. We ended up watching the game at a bar with a few beers. The day didn`t go exactly as planned but it was exciting, I`d call it a successful failure. I ended up staying a few extra days in the city to go see a River game. It was for the Copa Libertadores but they were playing San Lorenzo another local team so it was another heated rivalry. It was an amazing game, complete with crazy fans (we saw a kid of about 3 or 4 going nuts and calling the aposing team putas) and an insane fireworks display set off by the fans when River took the field. It ended up a tie, San Lorenzo scoring their 2 goals under handed 9 to 11. There were honeslty more penalty card in this game than I had ever seen (maybe 10 yellows and 3 reds). There were also a few very near full on brawls between the teams. So the 2-2 tie put River out of the cup because of their previous match with San Lorenzo and they went nuts, in between tears they were ripping apart the seats and throwing the pieces on the field. Lorenzo fans were doing it too but they were throwing their debris down on the River fans below them. Because teams are so heated down here the control let the San Lorenzo fans leave first to ensure their safety; they were away and therfore a lot less in number. So me and Henrich, the Danish guy who went to the game with me, were stuck in the stadium for an hour after the match was over. It was a hell of a good time. Other highlights of Buenos Aires were, street artists tango-ing in the streets, Recoleta cemetary and some of the crazy people I met in the hostel. As of today I`m in Bariloche (the northern part of Patogonia), and on into the cold. I`m just moving further south so I hope all the cheap winter stuff I got in BA will be enough.

Home of Che

Home of Che Originally uploaded by Road Trip

hamburgers fighting back

hamburgers fighting back Originally uploaded by Road Trip

A little culture

A little culture Originally uploaded by Road Trip

Monumento de la Bandera

Monumento de la Bandera Originally uploaded by Road Trip

Rosario and Couchsurfing

So I spent a week in Rasario, where I tried out couch couchsurfing for the first time. For those of you that don`t know it`s a program that allows you, once you`re a member, to contact other people in the group around the world. I deally they put you up while you`re in the area but sometimes if they don`t have accomodations they will meet you out for coffe or a drink. The first guy I contacted was studying for an exam so he couldn`t help me out but he said I should contact agirl named Piru. Piru turned out to be an awesome girl who put me up for about a week, she was studyng too but she gave me good suggestions as to what parts of the city I should see and also a few names of people I shoudl try to meet up with while I was there. I ended up meeting a bunch of couchsurfing people out there and they were all very cool. It seems like a great program and from what I`ve seen has been set up pretty well (which is why Im going to lengths to exlpain it now). I definately plan on trying it out some more. As for Rosario itself, it`s a really cool town, a little over a million people but it doesn`t feel that big. It`s the birth place of Che Guevara and there are a good number of art and natural history museums. The city stretches along the river and there are tons of great parks and cafes all up and down it. Spent quite a few hours lying down in the parks to read which seemed alway seemed to turn into long naps.

big toad

big toad Originally uploaded by Road Trip

Yavi

Yavi Originally uploaded by Road Trip

small town still pretty untouched by tourism, had some amazing landscapes and cave paintings

local transport

local transport Originally uploaded by Road Trip

the first 2-3 hours was interesting the last 5 or 6 dragged on a bit, just a bit though

fun with dynamite and coca leaves

fun with dynamite and coca leaves Originally uploaded by Road Trip

Potosi miners

Potosi miners Originally uploaded by Road Trip

Maria, Leon and Me

Maria, Leon and Me Originally uploaded by Road Trip

Potosi and back into northern Argentina

Potosi is the highest city of its size in the world and at 4060 meters you`re first day you get winded just getting out of bed. At one time apparently it was one of the richest in the world being bigger that Paris. It`s a town based solely on its silver mine located in the moutain overlooking the town, unfortunately its said that in 20 years the mine`ll be dry, which puts most of the town out of work. Tourism is helping a little but you have to wonder what will happen to this town when the metals stop coming out of the earth. We were able to go an a tour of the mine which was extremely eye opening, 2 hours down there breathing the dust and the pumped in oxygen, sometimes walking, sometimes crawling and you`re exhausted. Yet you meet miners down there that have been doing it since thirteen years old, sometime for 24 hour shifts. Needless to say 25 year olds look 40, and 40 years olds already half severe health problems. To cheer us up at the end of the tour they let prepare and blow up our own dynamite, all in all a pretty depressingly surreal day. After Potosi is was back into Argentina, which included 8 hours in the back of a small flatbed on a dusty roadwith at times 30+ bolivians, Yavi, getting caught for a few more days in Salta (I love that place), weird experiences in Tucuman, Cordoba and the beginning of my march to Buenos Aires and then Tierra del Fuego.

local beauty contest

local beauty contest Originally uploaded by Road Trip

so our last night on the tour Maria, Leon and I passed by the colseo, there was a big crowd gathered for what we thought was a volleyball tournament. we had the desire to do somthing local so we stepped in. we got there just in time for them to take the nets down and have underage girls parade around in bakini´s. it proved a little too bizarre watching kids chant for their favorite half naked 7th grader so we left pretty soon after sitting down.

outside Tupiza

outside Tupiza Originally uploaded by Road Trip

small toad

small toad Originally uploaded by Road Trip

San Vincente

San Vincente Originally uploaded by Road Trip

this is the church in the cewnter of the town where Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid were killed afew days after robbing theri last bank a few hours a way, I had no clue they made it this far south

flamingo and vacuna tracks

flamingo and vacuna tracks Originally uploaded by Road Trip

vicunas are wild llama type animals, apparently thwy`re protected now because they`re prized for their fur

snow and flamingos ¿who new?

snow and flamingos ¿who new? Originally uploaded by Road Trip

quinoa

quinoa Originally uploaded by Road Trip

local grain

salt hotel

salt hotel Originally uploaded by Road Trip

a little more expensive than we were able, but there were a number of hotels made out of salt

mud brick hoops

mud brick hoops Originally uploaded by Road Trip

first night on the tour had a local court

an ocean of salt

an ocean of salt Originally uploaded by Road Trip

perspective games

perspective games Originally uploaded by Road Trip

because of the infinite horizon you can play a lot with your fotos and perspective. like jumping off the planet for example. Leon, Maria and I played with it a bunch (they were oin the tour with me). Leon is the one pretending to be a terradactyl

Uyuni Salt Flats

Uyuni Salt Flats Originally uploaded by Road Trip

crazy

My car

My car Originally uploaded by Road Trip

about 9 hours later it pulled into Uyuni

Bolivian train yard

Bolivian train yard Originally uploaded by Road Trip

so my first day in Bolivia and I walked through the train yard to find out the schedule for the following day. Apparently in Bolivia (or at least so I`ve been told) the roads are so bad that when a train is available you take it. While walking through all I could think of is how quickly I`d have been arrested in the US for just being there.

Iglesia de Los Capuchinos

Ctedral de Cordoba Originally uploaded by Road Trip

7 cascadas

7 cascadas
Originally uploaded by Road Trip

one of the few day trips I was able to do outside of Cordoba. mainly just stayed in town and drank too much. Baluch Backpackers hostel made it too easy. Deck a hilarious irish guy (other guy in the picture) and Nick and Edd didn`t help the situation either

Cordoba arches

Cordoba arches
Originally uploaded by Road Trip

Cordoba Catedral

Chiuch in the Plaza Originally uploaded by Road Trip

Shrooms

Shrooms
Originally uploaded by Road Trip

these aren`t the ones that make you see jesus

Bolivia and the Salar de Uyuni

So besides than being incredibly cheap, Bolivia also happens to be gorgous and full of frienly people. If any of you get down to Uyuni, spoend the extra coin to do a 4 day tour rather than 3. The roads outside of Tupiza are just as impressive as the salt flats themselves. I`ll only put on a few but I have what would be equivolent of probably about 6 rolls, if you kiss my ass nice enough when I get home Ill show em to you.

Well that was easy

So after all the worry and confusion a half of an hour and one hundred dollars later I`m in Bolivia. The visa is good for 5 years, for 3 months a years with 3 exits and re-entries. It was just about the easiest border I`ve ever done. They never even asked me what were in my bags, I got in with an apple and a small bag of coca leaves.

Humahuaca

Humahuaca Originally uploaded by Road Trip

the last town I spent the night in before heading to Bolivia

streets in San Isidro

streets in San Isidro Originally uploaded by Road Trip

it was about 3 hours there and 2 and a half back

gnarly cactus

gnarly cactus Originally uploaded by Road Trip

Path to San Isidro

Path to San Isidro Originally uploaded by Road Trip

Iruya

Iruya Originally uploaded by Road Trip

bus stop

bus stop Originally uploaded by Road Trip

hey look at my feet

hey look at my feet Originally uploaded by Road Trip

salt pools cut for salt harvesting

salt pools cut for salt harvesting Originally uploaded by Road Trip

Salinas Grande

Salinas Grande Originally uploaded by Road Trip

Road to Salinas

Road to Salinas Originally uploaded by Road Trip

home away from home

home away from home Originally uploaded by Road Trip

where I stayed in Pumamarca

Pumamarca

Pumamarca Originally uploaded by Road Trip

road ro Cachi

road ro Cachi Originally uploaded by Road Trip

pre-columbian ruins (old wall)

pre-columbian ruins (old wall) Originally uploaded by Road Trip

poor little fella drank too much

poor little fella drank too much Originally uploaded by Road Trip

tons of peppers are grown and the dried in the area

tons of peppers are grown and the dried in the area Originally uploaded by Road Trip

surprisingly sweet though

the rental car and her other passengers

the rental car and her other passengers Originally uploaded by Road Trip

Cafayate - Cachi

Cafayate - Cachi Originally uploaded by Road Trip

a few trqavellers and I rented a car between these 2 towns in Northern Argentina, cool mountainous desert

Still up north

Northern Argentina has some amazing sights not to mention people and towns. I ended up dragging 2 days out into a week in Salta (Including a quick roadtrip to Cafayate and Cachi with the help of Hattie, Chessie and Phoebie). I also had a few days to check out Purmamarca, Salinas Grande, Humamarca, Iruya and San Isidro, not that means much to any of you but at least you can look at them on a map if you wanted to. Everything I`ve seen up here has honestly been some of the most impressive terrain I`ve ever seen. I`ll let most of the piuctures do the rest of the explaining. After a lot of differing accounts of the Bolivian Visa issue (US citizens need a Visa for Bolivia stating this past January) I`ve decided to give it a try. Because of my tendancy to stay in one place longer than expected I`m not sure Bolivia will be reached at the end of my trip. Therefore while I´m up here and so close I figured I`d jump over for a few days and at least see the Salar de Uyuni, the worlds largest salt flat. It was something I had planned on for my last trip that was a little prematurely terminated, so it`s been something I`ve been itching to do for a while. I`ll let you know how the border goes.

the local flying rats

the local flying rats Originally uploaded by Road Trip

Pigeons have been replace by small green parrots down here. They swarmed in after grain fell off a truck. Apparently they are a huge pest for farmers here. Somthing else thats been replaced down here is cockroaches. Crickets are what you find on scraps of food down here. I never had a problem with them in the states but here I feel like they might be some crazy biting south american strain

Canadian issues

So I have issues with being a Canadian, when people ask me about the country I have no clue as to what the answers are. Like what is Canada famous for or what`s the most famous musical group to come out of there. Not to mention just about any political questions. Up till now I`ve just been making up complete bullshit, but I think I`m gonna do a little basic research and then tell people I moved to the US after high school, at least then I`ll still be canadian and all questions about life after 96 I`ll be able to answer truthfully. But if anyone asks, I grew up in and all my immediate family is from Halifax, Novia Scotia.

nice spools

nice spools Originally uploaded by Road Trip

if any of the supporters of the Gin and Tonic porch want to open another one, I know where to find the parts

breakfast

breakfast Originally uploaded by Road Trip

I don`t know about you guys but the first thing I go for in the morning is a nice cold refreshing glass of Ades

unidentified monkeys

unidentified monkeys Originally uploaded by Road Trip

weird animals

weird animals Originally uploaded by Road Trip

here they call them Carpinche

Cayman

Cayman Originally uploaded by Road Trip

Capibarra

Capibarra Originally uploaded by Road Trip

behold the world's largest rodent

Changing Nationalities

So in Pousada I decided to change my background a bit. Thanks to our fearless idiot of a leader, noone really likes us down here all that much. So after a few conversations that went south once people found out where I was from, I`ve decided that I`m going to start telling people I`m from Canada. Screw the Americans, eh. Friggin´ hosers

Paraguay from afar

Paraguay from afar Originally uploaded by Road Trip

this photo was taken from Pousada which is right on the other side of the river form a similar sized town in Paraguay, but this is the closest I plan on getting

Hitchhiking Argentina

So After the falls I decided to give hitchhiking a try while I`m in the north of Argentina. It`s been going alright but it`s no where near as easy as in Central America. A bunch of samller towns so far but I also got to check out the Esteros del Ibera (I`m not sure what Esteros mean but it was more or less a huge wetland) the area is so well protected that all the wildlife lets you come right up on them. If anyone ever gets down here its worth the trip.

dos hermanos

dos hermanos Originally uploaded by Road Trip

These are the only 2 brothers I know that don`t make pizza

the little rascals

the little rascals Originally uploaded by Road Trip

these guys were all over the place, I think they`re Coatamundis in english, but who knows I could be wrong

some kind of jay

some kind of jay Originally uploaded by Road Trip

Falling Water

Falling Water Originally uploaded by Road Trip

lizards, lizards everywhere

lizards, lizards everywhere Originally uploaded by Road Trip

nose to tail this guy is probably about 2 and a half feet long

Da Foz

P2261268 Originally uploaded by Road Trip

the argentinian side

Falling Water

Falling Water Originally uploaded by Road Trip

This is the best view from the Brazil side, "The Devil´s Throat " is the biggest part of the falls.

Foz de Iguazu

As my last stop in the overly expensive Brazil I went to see the Iguazu Falls. They might be the second biggest in the world only to Victoria falls in Africa but who really knows, I´ve heard so many differsent things. I can tell you one thing though Argentin´s side is much more impressive. I don`t mean to bore you with too many pictures of waterfalls but the place is so damn amazing that I`m going to.

Cunha

Cunha Originally uploaded by Road Trip

this is the town I was hiking to. Other than a bit while I was sleeping under the tarp it hadn`t rained the whole hike up unitl the last half hour. When it rains it pours, I was drenched through after the first 5 minutes.

and down the other side

and down the other side Originally uploaded by Road Trip

the downhill was along pavement which is hell on the feet but I did get some great scenery

my digs

my digs Originally uploaded by Road Trip

a hammock with a tarp overhead works pretty well. unfortunately the mosquito net attatched to the hammock had a small rip in it and when I woke up in the middle of the night it turned out I was catching mosquitos rather than keeping them out. Thankfully the problem has been taken care of.

parati

parati Originally uploaded by Road Trip

its hard to see but down near the water is wher I started the hike, this is about where I camped for the night