Dearest fans,
Finally we have our next instalment of this riveting blog (according to us).
This chapter of the trip involved the introduction of Kassie ¨the chunderer from down under¨ Alford and (Mum) Michelle ¨the GPS¨ Herskope.
After another decent bout of food poisining for Brett after a fun 16 hour bus ride from Nasca-Cusco (sensing a little theme going on here?) Gis and Brett were ready for the arrival of their guests.
As all the locals do waiting for the guests at the airport Giselle devised a sign with the name of our first guest to hold above her head. This was to help Kass distinguish her from the other dark hair, skin and eyed Peruvian taxi drivers. Kass struggled to see Gis´ blonde hair but did see her sign ¨Ms Señorita Alford¨ and after a quick emotional embrace was welcomed to Cusco! A set meal, coca tea and altitude head-ache later our next arrival was imminent and a similar gag was elicited at the airport.
Brett hence had assembled his harem of women and we were ready to begin trekking to Macchu Pichu via the famous Salkantay trek!
A bit of fun was to be had in the days before the trek to give Brett´s new harem some time to acclimatise and we completed a Peruvian cooking course making delicious Aji de Gallina and Pisco Sour (which Mum then developed an addiction to). A chocolate making course was next on the proverbial ¨menu¨ which entailed creating chocolate from the cacao bean all the way through to the real deal. Of course Brett´s harem thoroughly enjoyed the tasty delights and although Brett pretends not to love treats he was spotted hoeing in to his freshly made choccy.
Enter the Salkantay trek. A ¨gruelling¨ 5 day trek to Macchu Pichu. Guide, horseman and chef assembled, we started off with a nice 4.30am wake up and a mini van ride where sleep was planned and not achieved to Mollepampa. From here we were notified that there has been a land slide on part of the trek so we would need to ride in the back of a truck ¨much like cattle¨ to another starting point. Encountering more difficulties was a brilliant introduction to South America for Mum and Kass as we had to evacuate the truck as it slipped and slid across a dodgy pass and reversed down a hill to let another bigger (and hence assuming right of way down the single lane dirt road) truck.
Finally to begin the trek, wait, first we rushed to spray on repellent as attack of the sand flies was commencing. Ok. Listo (ready in spanish) which then became Kassie Listo (as 'casi listo' means almost ready which was the story of the trek!). As we were engulfed by nature everybody warmed to what would be a beautiful trek. Valley views, lush foliage and fresh mountainous air was being absorbed and was only a taste test for what would become a truly scenic experience.
Campsite 1: With an amazing view of snow-capped Humantay and Salkantay mountains we were spoilt to a 3 course lunch, tea, treats and an under cover campsite (really tough camping!) We then trekked up a steep hill to the base of Humantay and were treated to a gorgeous turqouise glacial lagoon where like 2 peas from the same pod Brett and Michelle could not help themselves and had to have a dip in to the freezing water.
Day two was a spectactular but also spectacularly difficult climb up to the Salkantay pass, the highest point of the trek at 4640m. Michelle ¨the GPS¨ as always had her Garmin watch on and corrected this to a height 4629m. It is very important to be accurate and be able to graph it on her computer! Celebratory high fives and photos were had as we then carried on with the descent onwards. Straight away the scenery changed and things became much greener, the temperature increased and snow capped mountains became a distant memory. Another 4 course lunch was had in our lunch tent (really roughing it) and we then entered a newer phase of the trek. Jungle, which meant heat, stripping off, sweating but still loving life we arrived at our next camp site just as dusk was falling. Perfect timing.
Day three held a new challenge for one of Brett´s harem, the chunderer from down under attained her nickname and spent the whole day chundering and marking her territory. With a brave face and a top attitude she valiantly strode on and almost as if sympathetically Giselle joined her, at least in her marking of territory. Luckily symptoms wore off and all were able to enjoy the brilliant hot springs in Santa Teresa that evening. At least the sickness was had beneath tumbling water falls, rushing rivers and sensational weather. Tragedy did strike however as Mum´s GPS ran out of battery and she couldn´t track 5km, no was it 6km, (oh so hard to know without the watch) of the trek.
Day four was the longest day, however was the most rewarding as we would arrive in Aguas Calientes (the village beneath Macchu Pichu) to a hotel and not a tent! Again the scenery changed vastly and we were witness to rolling green mountains, banana trees and beautifully coloured flora as we traversed next to the train tracks from the hydro-electric plant to a hot shower in the hotel. A little tease for the following days show piece was had as we trekked passed the back side of Macchu Pichu and saw some of the famous ruins in the distance.
Day five saw a 5.15am bus up to Macchu Pichu, excitement was building, a lovely sun had rised (earlier than the GPS had promised) and we stepped in to the show piece of Peru. Macchu Pichu. Getting there within the first few buses ensured an amazing half an hour of the incan ruins to ourselves. Postcard photos were taken, big smiles on all faces as we were guided around the ruins in awe of the sheer size and beauty of them. After we farewelled our guide we made the pilgrimage to the top of Huayna Pichu. A difficult one hour climb to the mountain at the back of the ruins which afforded marvellous views of Macchu Pichu and its surrounds. Without giving to much away, territory was marked on Huayna Pichu. A very funny event.
A train ride back to Cusco wasn´t without hilarity as Mum fell asleep and the bouncing of the train ensured that her cup of tea, unfinished, ended up all over her.
No rest for the wicked as we were up early the next morning to head to Puno on Lake Titicaca.
Puno, Peru doesnt really require much of a mention so we shall press on...
Our little putt-putt tour boat took us from the shores of Puno into the great lake that is Titi"HAHA" thankyou very much (not to be said TitiCACA cause that`s just plain incorrect!). First stop was the touristy and reedy Isla Flotantes. The island made solely out of layers and layers of think grass reeds did not fall short in amazing us and we were quickly met by the friendly locals for a cheeky taste of grass reed (not the type of grass you might be thinking, we mean the legitimate reeds!). From there we putt-putted over to our place of residence for the night, Isla Amantani. Treated to our own special homestay with Peruvian mother (so, this should freak out Luis, Tim and Base - it was the SAME FAMILY from the last time Brett was in South America, whaaaaat!), we were spoilt with a 3 course lunch on arrival. A quick steep trek up to the peak of the island afforded us wonderous views of Lake Titicaca, including shiny waters all the way to Bolivia. A second 3 course meal but this time for dinner, and then it was time to get suited up local-style! Now we know youve seen the photos on facebook with us girls in our pretty skirts and blouses, matched perfectly with our jeans and runners peaking out the bottom. Lets just get something clear...it was really freaking cold at night. Brett in his manly Peruvian poncho and his harem ready to take on the locals, we set off to a local dance. Lots of holding hands and dancing around in a circle with the local band and old ladies was a total treat.
Following our night in Isla Amantani we again putt-putted our way to nearby Isla Taquile for a quick peak at how the locals did things there and then were again on our putt-putty way back to Puno. Needless to say in true South American style the boat broke down. More than once.
We farewelled Puno and in turn said goodbye to Peru as we bussed our little hinies into La Paz, Bolivia. As if by initiation into the joy and chaos that is Bolivia the bus was not only late to pick us up in the morning, but also took almost 3 hours longer than supposed to. It was important for Kass and Michelle to fully understand these sorts of days. There were highs and lows, there were `delicious` plain crackers and probably a few empanadas.
La Paz showed us a good time with our first full day there being spent completing the WORLDS MOST DANGEROUS BIKE RIDE a few hours outside of the city. For those of you unaware of what this road is, we suggest you google "Worlds most dangerous bike ride" and then you will understand how bad ass it is! 64km (ok, incorrect according the "the GPS" however it was the number of km`s quoted on all the tour agency posters, we wonder who is more accurate?) of downhill road on bmx bikes, fully kitted out with fluro vests and all we hooned (ok, Giselle didnt necessarily hoon but it was really scary alright!) our way down to the finish line. Picture gravel road, as narrow as 3 metres in some points, SHEER SHEER cliff fall to one side and crumbly mountain to the other, waterfalls flowing freely into any oncomers face, heavy rain downpour followed by burn-your-face-off sun, crazy fellow cyclists NOT using the courteous "passing on your right" comment, and pebbles as big as your face...and that about sums up the journey down. We were gratefully spoilt with hot showers and all-you-can-eat lunch at our end point, a lovely animal sanctuary equipped with monkeys and all.
We managed to squeeze in a `rest day` full of shopping and leather jacket buying ($60.00 for custom made, yep it was that cheap!) before jumping on Kass and Michelle`s first "overnight bus" experience of splendor and comfort to Uyuni (the great home of the Salt Flats). Given we spent the night bouncing around head butting each other and attempting to sleep at the same time we were feeling a little less than well rested, you could say. A quick one-two-throw-up-on-your-shoes and the "Chunderer" was back on the tummy-bug band wagon. Luckily it was an isolated event this time and our dear Kass again soldiered on through the day. We piled into our 4WD and began making our way into the mysterious and magnificant Salar de Uyuni. First stop an old train graveyard, showcasing a series of old trains dumped in the middle of the desert. For those of you who are Nick Cage fans, think the deserty airport in "Con Air" - "I told you to put the bunny back in the box!". Onwards to the only Salt Hotel found in the actual salt flats and we respecting resisted the urge to lick the walls. And table. And window sills. And chairs. Seriously they were all made of salt.
Our next stop was the middle of friggin nowhere for the famous "Perspective shots". You`ll just have to come over and visit us when we return to see how hilarious and clever we are. We moved onto another area in the middle of friggin nowhere which was actually a cactus island in the middle of friggin nowhere. This was of course followed by the most ridiculously spectacular sunset we`d ever seen.
Our second day in this other worldy experience, included places like, a dead lake, fields of petrified coral rocks, huge lava-tube rocks, a lake with an outrageous number of flamengoes, and to end the day - the strange and cool red lake, also equipped with an outrageous number of flamengoes. Needless to say when we lay our heads down to sleep that night, we were all left wondering "where the bloody hell are we!".
The final day provided us with again magnificent views of a different lake, this one famously green normally, just not when we were there unfortunately. A quick six hour drive back to town and our tour was finished. Phew, it certainly was a place to be remembered!
We tentatively boarded the small plane which appeared slightly questionable, which turned out to actually be super safe and fine and quickly found ourselves back in the `normality` of La Paz. It was but a quick turnover as we squeezed into a local colectivo bus (furthering Michelle and Kass`s authentic experience in South America) and bounced our way to the pretty and quaint Coroico.
A few days in what seemed a 4 star resort (for next to nothing in cost $15 a night) to recharge the batteries and poor Michelle was finally able to put up her feet after a mad 3 weeks scouring the moutains in Peru and Bolivia.
Sunday the 4th of November we devastatingly bid farewell to our dear Michelle as she boarded a plane back to good old Oz. It was a sad day to say the least, but we certainly have some crazy, funny and joyous memories, so a huge thanks to "The GPS" for joining us on this spectacular adventure. We miss you!
As if in sympathy, we decided our next stop would be the beautiful beaches on north coast of CHILE.
We arrived in Arica with altitude ready lungs and the higher concentration of oxygen was easily recognisable as simple sets of stairs no longer took our breath away! Lying on the beach next to the desert was the order of the day. As was Chilean wine and getting a crook guts again. This time Brett and Gis. So while we hung out and waited for the next bug to pass Kass went to a surfing lesson. This surfing lesson was with a man named YoYo. A very credible surf teachers name. He began with presurf yoga, an aloe vera face massage and some outlandish stories about surf rescues and the like. Lunch involved YoYo alone getting stoned, post lunch yoga and some more ripping surf. Kass managed to ride 2 waves with Kelly Slater like style and speed. Rumour is she got barreled and pulled some wicked top turns.
The next incident started out of thin air. All of a sudden Brett complained of a sore back. Pretty standard that Brett has a niggling injury so neither he nor the remainder of his harem took much notice.
Cue horrific bus ride. Brett´s back pain continued to advance and a 4hr bus ride to our next destination Iquique. This included Brett passing in and out of pain induced consciousness as Gis and Kass sipped on complimentary coca cola poured in plastic cups by the ticket inspector. Very odd, but refreshing.
Iquique consisted of much of the same. Beach, coffee, good food and even better vibes. Except for Brett who was slowly leaving the earth in pain. Until Brett couldn´t stand up without needing to lie down or he would faint did we decide to go hospital (and on the advice of the worriers back in Melbourne).A diagnosis of a long standing intestinal infection led to heavy pain killers, heavier antibiotics and Giselle playing physio/nurse/girlfriend/personal carer/masseuse etc etc did Brett slowly but recover from his altered consciousness and become human again! He had serious man flu.
A final coffee and beach session (a Kass specialty) saw us see her off in style and she departed back to Australia leaving Brett´s harem in complete tatters. We miss you too Kass!
Status quo has been regained. Brett and Gis are back on the road! Next stop Caldera.
Peace and Love!
Thursday, 22 November 2012
Saturday, 13 October 2012
Just a couple of sea lions pashing
The cheeky Kicker Rock that Giselle got into a head on with
Battle scars
Good old sea lions lounging around in San Cristobal
Strike a pose you sexy iguana, work it!
I always wanted to have red shoes but I'm stuck with these blue booties
Brett having a "good face" day
Just the first of many summits we shall conquer
Wowsa, we promise it's not photoshopped!
Brett enjoying Giselle's "crappy" misfortune (Day 3 Santa Cruz trek)
Brett in the glacial lagoon after a surge of testosterone
Just another terrible view
Blue footed boobies and all
If we recall correctly we left u a hop skip and a jump ago somewhere in the middle of Colombia. Since then geez we guess you could say a lot has happened (as per usual though right?)
So after the charming tale of Brett versus dog in Capurgana and a few days spent waiting for rabies injections in Medellin (just to be sure Brett didn't turn into a Werewolf), we made our way to the
Melbourne-esque Bogota. Filled with trendy cafes, alternative city folk and some tasty delights we slipped right into the Bogota way of life. We managed to find ourselves in town while a world cup qualifier
between Colombia and Uruguay was playing. With the city streaked with the red blue and yellow Colombian colours and some diehard soccer fans, we joined in the festivities in a local pub and we're quickly accepted as some of Colombia's own. Of course it being such a small world and all we stumbled into our new Texan friends we met in the Northeast coast of Colombia, random!
Melbourne-esque Bogota. Filled with trendy cafes, alternative city folk and some tasty delights we slipped right into the Bogota way of life. We managed to find ourselves in town while a world cup qualifier
between Colombia and Uruguay was playing. With the city streaked with the red blue and yellow Colombian colours and some diehard soccer fans, we joined in the festivities in a local pub and we're quickly accepted as some of Colombia's own. Of course it being such a small world and all we stumbled into our new Texan friends we met in the Northeast coast of Colombia, random!
Later in the evening we wormed our way into an exclusive rooftop pre-party for German DJs Tiefschwartz who were later playing in a nearby club. A few friendly drinks later we cruised into Salon Continetal (nightclub) somewhere after midnight and upon entry asked a local when Tiefschwartz was to come on, to which he replied "they're on now, this is some serious german techa". We were certain the skinny girl behind the decks at that time was NOT 2 manly German dj's, but how would we know?
Post Bogota we scooted on down to Cali and paid a visit to our special Colombian mother (Luis' mum) and were spoilt rotten with tasty dinner, good company and great spanish practice! We were of course sad to leave but alas the Galapagos Islands were awaiting!!
So after realising our budget was going swimmingly we decided to dip our feet in the cool waters of the Galapagos Islands. And what better way to spend a few extra pennies than being surrounded for a week by the largest abundance of wildlife one could imagine! We landed in San Cristobal and in our first afternoon found ourselves overwhelmed with hundreds of sea lions and marine iguanas of every size! Our second day involved a day trip to a few places nearby which included, swimming with sea lions (kinda looks like a shark when it comes at you all of a sudden!! Ok, I'm exaggerating but it is kinda frightening at first), searching for reef sharks, and giant tortoise spotting. Crazy currents and huge above and underwater volcanic rock (named Kicker Rock) and Giselle decided to take the situation head on...literally. While
snorkelling and attempting to make space for the other people in the water and trying to avoid being carried out to sea by the current, Giselle decided she would show Kicker Rock a taste of its own medicine
and gave it a good old headbutt (it was some serious WWF moves believe us). A few squirts of iodine to the skull and shoulder and she was back in the water again chasing the fish and showing them whose boss!
snorkelling and attempting to make space for the other people in the water and trying to avoid being carried out to sea by the current, Giselle decided she would show Kicker Rock a taste of its own medicine
and gave it a good old headbutt (it was some serious WWF moves believe us). A few squirts of iodine to the skull and shoulder and she was back in the water again chasing the fish and showing them whose boss!
The following day a little drizzle couldn't hold us back as we hired bikes to ride to the middle of the island where stunning lagoon views and giant land tortoises were the objective of the day. Of course it was Brett and Giselle on bicycles and we all know what that means by now right? Shocking brakes and gears, relentless rain and HILL after HILL for 25 odd kilometres (Giselle is seriously starting to notice a pattern here, Brett should just tell her if he thinks she needs the exercise!). On the up side we managed to check out some awesome wildlife and the return journey home was all downhill, phew! After a few days checking out the scenery on San Cristobal we fast-boated over to Santa Cruz.
Santa Cruz did not disappoint and included trekking through lava tunnels (they're like, huge!) much more wildlife (including the token blue footed boobies), reef sharks by the pier, a day trip to nearby Island Floreana and bumping into our Texan friends again! Brett managed to squeeze in 2 dives (this time minus a dog bite) and scored himself upclose views of a hammerhead shark, rays, and thousands of barracuda. To say he was thrilled would be an understatement!
We were fortunate enough to experience all this without being on a tour and in turn also saved a few more pennies than we were expecting. Doing the islands independently seems to be on the rise and there was
certainly enough to keep us entertained for the week we were there.
We sadly departed the islands and bussed into the quaint and chilled out town of Cuenca, Ecuador. Set up nicely staying in the home of a lovely Ecuadorian lady, we began another week of spanish classes.
Mornings spent grilling ourselves in class (but enjoying it immensely) and afternoons eating tasty local delicacies at the many markets and we were pretty content. Getting to practice our spanish in the
evenings meant a lot of mental exhaustion but also some satisfying improvements with our knowledge and ability to converse in Spanish!
Mornings spent grilling ourselves in class (but enjoying it immensely) and afternoons eating tasty local delicacies at the many markets and we were pretty content. Getting to practice our spanish in the
evenings meant a lot of mental exhaustion but also some satisfying improvements with our knowledge and ability to converse in Spanish!
At the end of the week we bid farewell to our Ecuadorian mother and hoofed it by bus alllllllll the way to Huaraz, Peru. (And we mean hooooofed it! 40 hours straight, 3 different buses makes Brett and
Giselle rather wacky we've since discovered.) Of course we cannot omit the joys of border crossing between Ecuador and Peru. Our lowsy bus dropped us in the middle of a town called Huaquillas Ecuador, and left us to fend for ourselves to get across the border (despite being promised by that same bus company to be dropped off and picked up again at immigration). We managed to get ourselves to immigration however were then greeted by a 5 hour wait for the next bus that would take us into Peru. (This all being at about 10pm at night mind you, great times!) Nevertheless we arrived in the wee hours of the morning in Huaraz and passed out quickly in a comfy bed in an attempt to recover from the lack of sleep.
Giselle rather wacky we've since discovered.) Of course we cannot omit the joys of border crossing between Ecuador and Peru. Our lowsy bus dropped us in the middle of a town called Huaquillas Ecuador, and left us to fend for ourselves to get across the border (despite being promised by that same bus company to be dropped off and picked up again at immigration). We managed to get ourselves to immigration however were then greeted by a 5 hour wait for the next bus that would take us into Peru. (This all being at about 10pm at night mind you, great times!) Nevertheless we arrived in the wee hours of the morning in Huaraz and passed out quickly in a comfy bed in an attempt to recover from the lack of sleep.
We were kindly rewarded for our long transit with ridiculous views of snow capped mountains from our rooftop terrace, being able to basque in the morning sun with free breakfast at our hostel, and for the
first time in months - HOT SHOWERS! Never underestimate the power of a hot shower. We took a day or 2 to acclimatise to the 3000m height of Huaraz and organised a 4 day trek to Santa Cruz in the nearby
Cordillera Blanca mountain ranges.
Full of excitement and optimism we began our hike with 6 others and little by little covered 50kms including a pass of 4750m. We were spoilt rotten with 360 degree views of snow capped mountains, jaggered mountain sides, many many glaciers, silly lamas just being funny in general, picture perfect natural waterways, tiny rural towns with friendly locals, truly diverse landscapes every hour and crazy torquoise lagoons in the middle of the mountains. Despite all this Giselle thought it necessary to give herself the ultimate test and see if she could trek for 21kms (roughly 8 hrs) with a friendly case of food poisoning on the third day. She would be lying if she said she was chipper and in good spirits for the whole of that day but can honestly say there was a smile and a laugh for the majority of the day. And hey, she was just leaving her mark and getting back to nature and all that jazz right?
We returned to Huaraz feeling humbled and relaxed (ok and keen for a shower) and chilled out for a few days before embarking on the next set of mammoth transits.
2 buses and around 16 hours later we scrambled into our hotel room in Nazca, Peru - home of the famous Incan Nazca Lines. Fortunately there were no major hiccups and we boarded the small 6 seater plane the following day and viewed those outrageous and mysterious lines that are on most peoples South American agendas. The lines did not disappoint and after a quick 30minutes in the air the fun was over,
and we returned to our hotel to wait out the 10 hours until our next 15 hour transit-from-hell. Once on the bus, unluckily for Brett his body decided he was only allowed a few hours sleep and Giselle's body decided she fancied motion sickness which all together made for a fun journey! (Not!)
Finally we arrived in Cusco which will be our home for the next few days while we excitedly await Brett's mum Michelle and Giselle's friend Kassie's arrivals. Brett being image conscious felt that a burst of food poisoning might help his figure before his mum arrives. Luckily he managed to chuck up in a plastic bag this time -much to Giselle's disappointment of not getting to clean up vomit from the floor again!
Highlights:
1) Returning to our hostel each evening in San Cristobal, Galapagos only to find sea lions had taken over the town. They were found lounging on the steps, along the boulevard in hoardes and seated on the park benches, there were honestly more sean lions than people!
1) Returning to our hostel each evening in San Cristobal, Galapagos only to find sea lions had taken over the town. They were found lounging on the steps, along the boulevard in hoardes and seated on the park benches, there were honestly more sean lions than people!
2) Waking up to gorgeous mountains views, sounds of nature and coca tea while trekking near Huaraz, a truly magnificent part of the world.
3) Brett (on the Huaraz trek) deciding that just admiring the glacial lagoons from the edge was simply not enough and having a quick dip in the icy water(approx 7 degrees in the water)!
Tuesday, 4 September 2012
R.I.P Demons shorts (Caribbean cost of Colombia)
Thanks for joining again, particularly our little fan club from Russia.
The final beach chapter (for a little while) has just been completed. After a month in the Amazon we were keen to get to the Carribean coast of Colombia.
We arrived in Cartagena, a beautiful colonial town, this quick visit consisted of a long walk sampling tropical fruit, tropical ice cream and tropical juice. Brett also went for an amazing sunset run on and around the city walls and got his Parkour on. This was followed by self catering a real Michelle Herskope style chicken salad with kiwi fruit. Nothing like some home cooked comfort food once in awhile!
Next destination was back to school, in Taganga. Here we spent a week learning Spanish in the mornings, followed by beaching, and eating freshly grilled fish in the afternoons. Aside from the threats from the local fisherman of flesh eating sharks patrolling the waters Brett would swim the 1km back from the quieter beach to Taganga main beach in the late afternoon. Of course Giselle the Watchman, would scour the cliffs alongside the water making sure Brett wasn't hit by the much more threatening speed boats. There were no sharks. The fisherman just didn't like Brett 'Trespassing' in their fishing spots. An ominous signal for the future perhaps? Or definitely? Yep, definitely. But hold on to your horses, we shall return to that later.
The following destination was a definite highlight...La Guajira.
Ah, this magical peninsula is situated at the northern most point of the continent. An area in which indigenous Colombians called 'Wayyu Indians' still reign supreme. They were the only Indians who won the battle against the Spanish and were left alone. A fiercely proud people in a fierce rugged desert flanked by turquoise Caribbean waters. We slept in hammocks under a tin roof right on the beach, ate fish cooked by the local family and walked along beaches. In utter isolation from the world. It was quite a strange feeling to know we were so isolated that the world could end and we wouldn't know. We were hundreds of kilometres out in the desert in the middle of nowhere. It was absolutely fantastic. There were more goats, grass hopper type insects that were as big as your forearm!! and snakes than people in the area and then us swinging in our hammocks by the sea.
The journey to this region was made even better when over 400 4x4 bikes and 4WDs arrived in town for a "Rally Raid". Before we knew it we found ourselves on the back of 2 bikes of our new made friends Diego and his son Juan Diego (no seriously that was their names) hooning around the desert. Diego and his friends had no hesitations in sharing their 'Ron' (which is rum, not Giselle's dad) and whisky as we watched the sun set on a deserted beach.
We followed this spectacular part of our trip with the beautiful Parque Tayrona. Finally after Brett carrying the tent for 3.5 months we broke it out of its plastic! Parque Tayrona is an amazing national park, just imagine boulder strewn picture perfect Caribbean beaches with dense tropical rainforest as a back drop. An exciting find in the middle of the park was a bakery with fresh out of the oven Pan au Chocolate (which Parisian bakeries could only dream of making). This and a nudist beach, Brett took full advantage of, of course.
After a bone rattling 12 hour bus ride we arrived in the aptly named Turbo (you just want to get the hell out of there!). A transit hub where we caught the boat on route to Capurgana/Sapzurro which lie in the Darien Gap on the border with Panama.
These two places still have little kids fishing, old women selling coconut icecream, and older men walking aimlessly at a snails pace or sitting around playing checkers. Jungle walks to rickety lookout points, sitting by the shore watching turtles, walking across the border to Panama to swim in even more isolated beaches and a couple of scuba dives were the order of the day.
Or was it. No. There was more. Sapzurro had the most action it had had in years. Whilst walking from Sapzurro to Capurgana Brett missed the trail. As there were no fences, ('Trespassing' is not really a thing that exists in places like that) Brett decided to walk past a house toward the track. Boom, out of nowhere a huge dog came barging down the stairs, barking its head off, furiously chasing Brett. Unable to out it, it leapt at Brett and chomped down on his thigh. Meanwhile the owner came screaming and sent the dog elsewhere. In an ill attempt to protect himself, Brett threw a water bottle at the dog. And missed. Didn't really deter it. Luckily Brett had had his pre rabies vaccinations. Supposedly the dog didn't have rabies, however what it did do was tear Brett's demons shorts into tatters. For those of you who are not acquainted with these shorts, they have accompanied him on every overseas journey and had represented 'good luck'. RIP. So it was big news, in an attempt to justify the guard dogs behaviour, the owner claimed Brett was 'trespassing', only for the whole army (which patrols Sapzurro as it is a border town with Panama) to basically tell her where to go shove it. Turns out Brett was the 4th victim of Valenton, the dogs name, which roughly translates to 'Brave'. A tetanus jab in the bum and some post bite injections later the wounds are healing up! Luckily, this ordeal didn't sour the memory of another place off the Gringo trail which truly delivered the goods.
Brett's highlight: Nudie swimming in the cool turqoise Carribean waters of Parque Tayrona.
Giselle's highlight: Being able to half string together a sentence in Spanish.
The final beach chapter (for a little while) has just been completed. After a month in the Amazon we were keen to get to the Carribean coast of Colombia.
We arrived in Cartagena, a beautiful colonial town, this quick visit consisted of a long walk sampling tropical fruit, tropical ice cream and tropical juice. Brett also went for an amazing sunset run on and around the city walls and got his Parkour on. This was followed by self catering a real Michelle Herskope style chicken salad with kiwi fruit. Nothing like some home cooked comfort food once in awhile!
Next destination was back to school, in Taganga. Here we spent a week learning Spanish in the mornings, followed by beaching, and eating freshly grilled fish in the afternoons. Aside from the threats from the local fisherman of flesh eating sharks patrolling the waters Brett would swim the 1km back from the quieter beach to Taganga main beach in the late afternoon. Of course Giselle the Watchman, would scour the cliffs alongside the water making sure Brett wasn't hit by the much more threatening speed boats. There were no sharks. The fisherman just didn't like Brett 'Trespassing' in their fishing spots. An ominous signal for the future perhaps? Or definitely? Yep, definitely. But hold on to your horses, we shall return to that later.
The following destination was a definite highlight...La Guajira.
Ah, this magical peninsula is situated at the northern most point of the continent. An area in which indigenous Colombians called 'Wayyu Indians' still reign supreme. They were the only Indians who won the battle against the Spanish and were left alone. A fiercely proud people in a fierce rugged desert flanked by turquoise Caribbean waters. We slept in hammocks under a tin roof right on the beach, ate fish cooked by the local family and walked along beaches. In utter isolation from the world. It was quite a strange feeling to know we were so isolated that the world could end and we wouldn't know. We were hundreds of kilometres out in the desert in the middle of nowhere. It was absolutely fantastic. There were more goats, grass hopper type insects that were as big as your forearm!! and snakes than people in the area and then us swinging in our hammocks by the sea.
The journey to this region was made even better when over 400 4x4 bikes and 4WDs arrived in town for a "Rally Raid". Before we knew it we found ourselves on the back of 2 bikes of our new made friends Diego and his son Juan Diego (no seriously that was their names) hooning around the desert. Diego and his friends had no hesitations in sharing their 'Ron' (which is rum, not Giselle's dad) and whisky as we watched the sun set on a deserted beach.
We followed this spectacular part of our trip with the beautiful Parque Tayrona. Finally after Brett carrying the tent for 3.5 months we broke it out of its plastic! Parque Tayrona is an amazing national park, just imagine boulder strewn picture perfect Caribbean beaches with dense tropical rainforest as a back drop. An exciting find in the middle of the park was a bakery with fresh out of the oven Pan au Chocolate (which Parisian bakeries could only dream of making). This and a nudist beach, Brett took full advantage of, of course.
After a bone rattling 12 hour bus ride we arrived in the aptly named Turbo (you just want to get the hell out of there!). A transit hub where we caught the boat on route to Capurgana/Sapzurro which lie in the Darien Gap on the border with Panama.
These two places still have little kids fishing, old women selling coconut icecream, and older men walking aimlessly at a snails pace or sitting around playing checkers. Jungle walks to rickety lookout points, sitting by the shore watching turtles, walking across the border to Panama to swim in even more isolated beaches and a couple of scuba dives were the order of the day.
Or was it. No. There was more. Sapzurro had the most action it had had in years. Whilst walking from Sapzurro to Capurgana Brett missed the trail. As there were no fences, ('Trespassing' is not really a thing that exists in places like that) Brett decided to walk past a house toward the track. Boom, out of nowhere a huge dog came barging down the stairs, barking its head off, furiously chasing Brett. Unable to out it, it leapt at Brett and chomped down on his thigh. Meanwhile the owner came screaming and sent the dog elsewhere. In an ill attempt to protect himself, Brett threw a water bottle at the dog. And missed. Didn't really deter it. Luckily Brett had had his pre rabies vaccinations. Supposedly the dog didn't have rabies, however what it did do was tear Brett's demons shorts into tatters. For those of you who are not acquainted with these shorts, they have accompanied him on every overseas journey and had represented 'good luck'. RIP. So it was big news, in an attempt to justify the guard dogs behaviour, the owner claimed Brett was 'trespassing', only for the whole army (which patrols Sapzurro as it is a border town with Panama) to basically tell her where to go shove it. Turns out Brett was the 4th victim of Valenton, the dogs name, which roughly translates to 'Brave'. A tetanus jab in the bum and some post bite injections later the wounds are healing up! Luckily, this ordeal didn't sour the memory of another place off the Gringo trail which truly delivered the goods.
Brett's highlight: Nudie swimming in the cool turqoise Carribean waters of Parque Tayrona.
Giselle's highlight: Being able to half string together a sentence in Spanish.
Monday, 6 August 2012
George, George, George of the Jungle!
Thanks for joining.
This is Brett and Gisy reporting for the final time from Brasil.
So last time we left you was ages ago in Sao Luis.
What a journey since.
We arrived in Belem at the mouth of the Amazon full of anticipation.
Belem, Para - is the culinary heart of North Brasil and did not fail to disappoint. Home to the most famous food market in Brasil and arguably in South America called the Mercado-Ver-o-Peso. We indulged in freshly cooked Amazonian fish, drank unusual but delicious Amazonian fruit juice, snacked on freshly cracked Brasil Nuts, even sampled Amazonian herbal medicines and last of all sat and had a beer as the sun set over the mighty river.
Ilha de Marajo, Para - 3hrs by ferry to an island the size of Switzerland sitting inside the mouth of the Amazon was our next destination. We stayed in a little village called 'Joanes' which was the smallest of 3 villages on the Southeast of the island with a beautiful Amazon beach. We decided to hire bikes and ride 13km's to the next village, as we have figured out Brasilians have no concept of time and distance and a friendly girl told us it would take 7hrs. Well it didn't. As expected it took just about an hour. As always when we hire bikes it decided to rain, we also got chased by dogs and the bikes tires were pretty much flat. Nothing too out of the ordinary really.
So we arrived in Salvaterra (after an hour) and this Brasilian man at the cafe took a liking to us and wouldn't settle until we went to his house so he could give us presents. Better judgement told us that this was a bit odd but he was friendly enough and we made sure we had an escape route the whole time. Turns out he just wanted to give us (rather force us to take) 2 mugs and 2 glasses with the emblem of the football team he supports printed in them. This followed by hugs, kisses on the cheek and thanking god we made the hour cycle back to Joanes. Again in the rain!
Ilha de Marajo is also home to countless buffalo and is famous for its buffalo cheese. We discovered banana and buffalo cheese in a french style roll. Delicious.
Algadoal, Para - so we got a bus out of Belem out of the Amazon to a town called Maruda and then caught a small boat to Algadoal. An absolutely beautiful island off the north coast of Brasil. The only way to get around is by horse, boat or foot. With sand streets, sweeping views and huge expanses of sand the key to a week there was sun, sand, sea and Acai! The only stressful decision you have to make in Algadoal is what time do you want to go to/from the beach and what do you want to eat? Tough life.
Ok so you're probably wondering when we go to the Amazon proper. Well. Now.
The only mode of transport up river in to the jungle, its towns and villages is by plane ($$$) or by boat. So we decided boat. This involves stringing your hammock up next to 7 million other Brasilians with absolutely no personal space and spending 2-14 days on the river depending on your destination. However, the scenery, the sun setting over the river while river dolphins play and the friendly waves of people living in the middle of nowhere on the side of the river made this trip truly unique.
We were breaking up a 5 day boat trip to Manaus in Monte Alegre followed by Alter do Chao.
Monte Alegre, Para - of the few tourists on the boat we were the only ones to get off here. Much to the surprise of the locals getting off as well. Ominous? Regardless we had our reasons. Monte Alegre is the only piece of high land in the Amazon region. With spectacular views over the river and jungle as well as recently discovered indigenous art on rocky out crops in the forest Monte Alegre was an amazing day trip.
Except that that night Brett was a bit ill and decided to not make it to the bathroom and projectile vomit all over the floor and the bed. Poor Giselle was on her hands and knees cleaning it up as Brett was laying there like a helpless animal. Good times.
Alter do Chao, Para - a morning boat took us to Santarem, which we swiftly exited to Alter do Chao. A piece of the Caribbean in the Amazon.
After settling into to a brand new pousada in town we made friends with the owners and began our quest for the perfect jungle experience. We waited in anticipation with a pair of charming french men to chat to a local guide from one of the nearby rural villages. The man known as "Bata" approached wearing a crocodile dundee hat and animal tooth hanging from his neck, with his only advertising material being a laminated photo of himself holding a cayman and we were instantly hooked!
Bata, the 51 year old local, lives in a small village (of about 103 people) called Jamaraqua in amongst the primary protected rain forest "Floresta de Tapajos" or FLONA, 3 hrs along the river from Alter do Chao, with his wife and family of 14 children! (Ages from 1 year old to 30 years old). His resume includes 6 years spent living alone in the heart of the jungle when he was 20 years old and hence a ridiculous knowledge of the forest that is literally his backyard.
So, clearly we were going to go with this guy, right? Uh-huh!
We embarked upon a 6 day adventure into the jungle proper, complete with: sleeping under an open air thatched roof in hammocks, eating home cooked food, canoeing through and swimming in a 'flooded forest', nighttime cayman hunting, Sumauma searching (like a really really massive tree native to the Amazon - you know the big one from Avatar?), tarantula/monkey/sloth/cobra watching, and jungle trekking.
And that was just the first three days.
The second 3 days included:
Bush bashing without a track to locate our own camp spot, gathering large ferns and creating our own shelter, swimming in a natural igarape (small creek), slinging our hammocks up between the trees (while praying it doesn't rain which would mean a sleepless night huddled under the shelter with our 5 other friends on the trip), making a fire to cook our freshly hunted agouti (large "rodent" from the guinea pig family, sounds small but it fed 7, brains and all. Nothing goes to waste in the Amazon), boiled bark from a local tree to make tea (tasted a lot like clove, yum!), observed our dear Bata while he skinned, gutted, salted and smoked our dinner, and really the list goes on...including waking up to the growl of a jaguar which was only a stones throw away. Quite a unique alarm. Brett turned 25 somewhere in the middle of that and was still spoilt with a surprise party, cake and was sung happy birthday in 3 different languages.
Post our jungle fix we went back to Alter do Chao and recharged the batteries on the river beach town before the next 2.5 days of boat travel to Manaus. Was a repeat of the first boat. Many Brasilians in many hammocks and many wonderful riverscapes.
Manaus, Amazonas - apart from being the largest city in the Amazon region and therefore a huge transport hub, Manaus provided us with more culinary delights (Acai, Bolo de Leite, Caldeirada de Peixe and more Tapioca with ) and we completed our Brasilian chapter with an all-you-can-eat meat fest for the crazy price of AU$17(a very Brasilian dinner)! A few days chilled out eating and watching the Olympics and we departed Brasil! Sort of........we flew from Manaus to Tabatinga which is on the triple frontier of Brasil, Colombia and Peru. So we walked from Brasil in to Colombia and arrived in to an area isolated from everywhere.
Leticia, Colombia. As soon as you walk the border there is an extremely sudden change in everything. Language, food, people, music etc etc. There is no such thing as a fusion of culture. We were in Colombia. Salsa music, old men sitting in old cafe's sipping tintos (short blacks) and typical Colombian patriotism. Everything is painted blue, yellow and red!
Our Amazon experience was wrapping up but not quite.
We spent a day swinging from 35m trees in the jungle. And then Giselle spent a night with the toilet bowl (But Brett remains in the lead on the food poisoning talley surprisingly). This was followed by a 60km trip up river to an isolated town called Puerto Narino.
There we stayed with a family, marvelled at the infamous Pink Dolphins of the Amazon, went Piranha fishing (successfully, and followed by eating our catch. Who eats who now Piranhas?), trekked to a local community and generally lazed around with the locals and the brightly coloured Macaws and Parrots. We should mention that while we did successfully catch our own fish, one fish did actually jump on to our boat itself. No rod required sometimes.
Brett's highlight: having a spike in testosterone and wading in to the Amazonian lake in the dark with Bata to hunt for Caymans. Neck deep in the dark in a lake full of Alligators the adrenaline wore thinner and I started to shit myself! Luckily I was with the jungle guru Bata who told me I was the first tourist (idiot) to go in with him.
Giselle's highlight: obviously there were many the past few weeks, one of the most recent was catching a piranha, getting so excited that I ripped the rod out of the water, only to have the piranha let go of the bait, go flying into the air, over the top of the boat and back into the water on the other side of the boat, doh!
Next stop North Colombia.
This is Brett and Gisy reporting for the final time from Brasil.
So last time we left you was ages ago in Sao Luis.
What a journey since.
We arrived in Belem at the mouth of the Amazon full of anticipation.
Belem, Para - is the culinary heart of North Brasil and did not fail to disappoint. Home to the most famous food market in Brasil and arguably in South America called the Mercado-Ver-o-Peso. We indulged in freshly cooked Amazonian fish, drank unusual but delicious Amazonian fruit juice, snacked on freshly cracked Brasil Nuts, even sampled Amazonian herbal medicines and last of all sat and had a beer as the sun set over the mighty river.
Ilha de Marajo, Para - 3hrs by ferry to an island the size of Switzerland sitting inside the mouth of the Amazon was our next destination. We stayed in a little village called 'Joanes' which was the smallest of 3 villages on the Southeast of the island with a beautiful Amazon beach. We decided to hire bikes and ride 13km's to the next village, as we have figured out Brasilians have no concept of time and distance and a friendly girl told us it would take 7hrs. Well it didn't. As expected it took just about an hour. As always when we hire bikes it decided to rain, we also got chased by dogs and the bikes tires were pretty much flat. Nothing too out of the ordinary really.
So we arrived in Salvaterra (after an hour) and this Brasilian man at the cafe took a liking to us and wouldn't settle until we went to his house so he could give us presents. Better judgement told us that this was a bit odd but he was friendly enough and we made sure we had an escape route the whole time. Turns out he just wanted to give us (rather force us to take) 2 mugs and 2 glasses with the emblem of the football team he supports printed in them. This followed by hugs, kisses on the cheek and thanking god we made the hour cycle back to Joanes. Again in the rain!
Ilha de Marajo is also home to countless buffalo and is famous for its buffalo cheese. We discovered banana and buffalo cheese in a french style roll. Delicious.
Algadoal, Para - so we got a bus out of Belem out of the Amazon to a town called Maruda and then caught a small boat to Algadoal. An absolutely beautiful island off the north coast of Brasil. The only way to get around is by horse, boat or foot. With sand streets, sweeping views and huge expanses of sand the key to a week there was sun, sand, sea and Acai! The only stressful decision you have to make in Algadoal is what time do you want to go to/from the beach and what do you want to eat? Tough life.
Ok so you're probably wondering when we go to the Amazon proper. Well. Now.
The only mode of transport up river in to the jungle, its towns and villages is by plane ($$$) or by boat. So we decided boat. This involves stringing your hammock up next to 7 million other Brasilians with absolutely no personal space and spending 2-14 days on the river depending on your destination. However, the scenery, the sun setting over the river while river dolphins play and the friendly waves of people living in the middle of nowhere on the side of the river made this trip truly unique.
We were breaking up a 5 day boat trip to Manaus in Monte Alegre followed by Alter do Chao.
Monte Alegre, Para - of the few tourists on the boat we were the only ones to get off here. Much to the surprise of the locals getting off as well. Ominous? Regardless we had our reasons. Monte Alegre is the only piece of high land in the Amazon region. With spectacular views over the river and jungle as well as recently discovered indigenous art on rocky out crops in the forest Monte Alegre was an amazing day trip.
Except that that night Brett was a bit ill and decided to not make it to the bathroom and projectile vomit all over the floor and the bed. Poor Giselle was on her hands and knees cleaning it up as Brett was laying there like a helpless animal. Good times.
Alter do Chao, Para - a morning boat took us to Santarem, which we swiftly exited to Alter do Chao. A piece of the Caribbean in the Amazon.
After settling into to a brand new pousada in town we made friends with the owners and began our quest for the perfect jungle experience. We waited in anticipation with a pair of charming french men to chat to a local guide from one of the nearby rural villages. The man known as "Bata" approached wearing a crocodile dundee hat and animal tooth hanging from his neck, with his only advertising material being a laminated photo of himself holding a cayman and we were instantly hooked!
Bata, the 51 year old local, lives in a small village (of about 103 people) called Jamaraqua in amongst the primary protected rain forest "Floresta de Tapajos" or FLONA, 3 hrs along the river from Alter do Chao, with his wife and family of 14 children! (Ages from 1 year old to 30 years old). His resume includes 6 years spent living alone in the heart of the jungle when he was 20 years old and hence a ridiculous knowledge of the forest that is literally his backyard.
So, clearly we were going to go with this guy, right? Uh-huh!
We embarked upon a 6 day adventure into the jungle proper, complete with: sleeping under an open air thatched roof in hammocks, eating home cooked food, canoeing through and swimming in a 'flooded forest', nighttime cayman hunting, Sumauma searching (like a really really massive tree native to the Amazon - you know the big one from Avatar?), tarantula/monkey/sloth/cobra watching, and jungle trekking.
And that was just the first three days.
The second 3 days included:
Bush bashing without a track to locate our own camp spot, gathering large ferns and creating our own shelter, swimming in a natural igarape (small creek), slinging our hammocks up between the trees (while praying it doesn't rain which would mean a sleepless night huddled under the shelter with our 5 other friends on the trip), making a fire to cook our freshly hunted agouti (large "rodent" from the guinea pig family, sounds small but it fed 7, brains and all. Nothing goes to waste in the Amazon), boiled bark from a local tree to make tea (tasted a lot like clove, yum!), observed our dear Bata while he skinned, gutted, salted and smoked our dinner, and really the list goes on...including waking up to the growl of a jaguar which was only a stones throw away. Quite a unique alarm. Brett turned 25 somewhere in the middle of that and was still spoilt with a surprise party, cake and was sung happy birthday in 3 different languages.
Post our jungle fix we went back to Alter do Chao and recharged the batteries on the river beach town before the next 2.5 days of boat travel to Manaus. Was a repeat of the first boat. Many Brasilians in many hammocks and many wonderful riverscapes.
Manaus, Amazonas - apart from being the largest city in the Amazon region and therefore a huge transport hub, Manaus provided us with more culinary delights (Acai, Bolo de Leite, Caldeirada de Peixe and more Tapioca with ) and we completed our Brasilian chapter with an all-you-can-eat meat fest for the crazy price of AU$17(a very Brasilian dinner)! A few days chilled out eating and watching the Olympics and we departed Brasil! Sort of........we flew from Manaus to Tabatinga which is on the triple frontier of Brasil, Colombia and Peru. So we walked from Brasil in to Colombia and arrived in to an area isolated from everywhere.
Leticia, Colombia. As soon as you walk the border there is an extremely sudden change in everything. Language, food, people, music etc etc. There is no such thing as a fusion of culture. We were in Colombia. Salsa music, old men sitting in old cafe's sipping tintos (short blacks) and typical Colombian patriotism. Everything is painted blue, yellow and red!
Our Amazon experience was wrapping up but not quite.
We spent a day swinging from 35m trees in the jungle. And then Giselle spent a night with the toilet bowl (But Brett remains in the lead on the food poisoning talley surprisingly). This was followed by a 60km trip up river to an isolated town called Puerto Narino.
There we stayed with a family, marvelled at the infamous Pink Dolphins of the Amazon, went Piranha fishing (successfully, and followed by eating our catch. Who eats who now Piranhas?), trekked to a local community and generally lazed around with the locals and the brightly coloured Macaws and Parrots. We should mention that while we did successfully catch our own fish, one fish did actually jump on to our boat itself. No rod required sometimes.
Brett's highlight: having a spike in testosterone and wading in to the Amazonian lake in the dark with Bata to hunt for Caymans. Neck deep in the dark in a lake full of Alligators the adrenaline wore thinner and I started to shit myself! Luckily I was with the jungle guru Bata who told me I was the first tourist (idiot) to go in with him.
Giselle's highlight: obviously there were many the past few weeks, one of the most recent was catching a piranha, getting so excited that I ripped the rod out of the water, only to have the piranha let go of the bait, go flying into the air, over the top of the boat and back into the water on the other side of the boat, doh!
Next stop North Colombia.
Saturday, 7 July 2012
Hit My Bull
We are now entering the final phase of our Brazilliant adventure. The Amazon.
Here is a quick run down of where, what, who and why we have been.
Jericoacoara, Ceara: Set in almost complete isolation. Jeri has sand streets, beach surrounded by awe inspiring sand dunes and a multi cultural cuisine. We easily lost a week there not doing much. One highlight was Giselle standing up surfing on her 2nd wave ever. This was quickly followed by a low light as Brett was holding the camera to get sick shots of Giselle getting barreled, the camera cord got caught on the leg rope.
The camera cord snapped and the camera dropped to the bottom of the ocean. This was followed by Brett frantically searching for the camera underwater, while Giselle stood still like an idiot to mark the spot, and as if it was fate, it got dark and stormed hard for 15 minutes pending the camera to infinite doom.
We did have the genius idea of waking up at 12.55am to go search for it on the low tide with flashlights. As you could imagine. Negative findings.
Jeri was however brilliant.
Jeri-Camocim-Parnaiba-Tutoia-Paulino Neves-Barrerinhas.
This was the route that was required to get to our next destination of Barrerinhas.
Most of the time we just go to the rodoviaria (bus station) pay for a bus and go. As Jeri is the definition of isolated, we had to share a jeep with an elderly Brazilian couple who took a liking to Bretch (as Brett is pronounced in Portuguese) and Giselle (Giselle).
This jeep had to make water crossings, drive along the beach and use the road. Nothing like some scenic off road driving until the Paulino Neves-Barrerinhas leg. Signs were ominous as our driver let the tyres down to handle the terrain. 40km in 3hrs we were told. That's quite slow we both thought. HMMM.......
If you have ever been on the ride at a carnival called the zipper then you will know what we went through for the next not 3 but 4 hours. For those of you who don't know the zipper, try diving down a set of steps for fun!
Again, the scenery was out of this world and the 'trail' shall we call it, which we passed, including, dense forest, rolling sand dunes and remote villages was really special.
Barrerinhas, Maranhao: Picturesquely set on the bend of a river, Barrerinhas was the perfect place to visit Nacional Parque Lencois Maranhenses. This was another fantastic part of Brazil. The park is set in a desert with massive sand dunes and natural lagoons forming rivers and lakes between the sand dunes. Giselle thought she was in Aladdin. Clearly Brett was Aladdin and Giselle was Jasmine and we rode a carpet (a truck) out to the dunes and swam in one of the lakes, followed by an outrageous sunset. Very special (thanks Bruce, as Giselle called Bretch as that was the only adjective he had in his vocabulary that afternoon).
Sao Luis, Maranhao: We were fortunate enough to time our expedition up the north coast of Brazil to see a truly unique festival. A smaller version of Carnaval celebrating the rebirth of a bull called 'Bumba Meu Boi'. This translates to hit my bull. We weren't sure what that had to with anything though. For the last couple of weeks of June there are huge street parties with various stages displaying 'bois' which are big groups who dance and sing. They wear extravagant traditional costumes all celebrating the rebirth of the bull. Lots of drinking, dancing and eating was had as we slowly but surely are learning to move our hips like true latin americans.
Now we are in Belem, Para: At the mouth of the Amazon.
Ready for a month stint cruising up the river and visiting small towns and remote communities. Giselle has been training hard in case of a run in with an anaconda or two.
Brett's highlight: Bumping in to the old couple from the jeep a few days later after hearing Antonia (the lovely old lady) shout "BRETTTCCCHHHHH!!!!!!!!!" from across the street. Also working out in a very very local gym (called Xclusive) in Barrerinhas with substitute Luis's.
Giselle's highlight: Standing up while surfing on her second wave ever! She is definitely a bit of a Layne Beachely in the making. Without the bogan accent.
Here is a quick run down of where, what, who and why we have been.
Jericoacoara, Ceara: Set in almost complete isolation. Jeri has sand streets, beach surrounded by awe inspiring sand dunes and a multi cultural cuisine. We easily lost a week there not doing much. One highlight was Giselle standing up surfing on her 2nd wave ever. This was quickly followed by a low light as Brett was holding the camera to get sick shots of Giselle getting barreled, the camera cord got caught on the leg rope.
The camera cord snapped and the camera dropped to the bottom of the ocean. This was followed by Brett frantically searching for the camera underwater, while Giselle stood still like an idiot to mark the spot, and as if it was fate, it got dark and stormed hard for 15 minutes pending the camera to infinite doom.
We did have the genius idea of waking up at 12.55am to go search for it on the low tide with flashlights. As you could imagine. Negative findings.
Jeri was however brilliant.
Jeri-Camocim-Parnaiba-Tutoia-Paulino Neves-Barrerinhas.
This was the route that was required to get to our next destination of Barrerinhas.
Most of the time we just go to the rodoviaria (bus station) pay for a bus and go. As Jeri is the definition of isolated, we had to share a jeep with an elderly Brazilian couple who took a liking to Bretch (as Brett is pronounced in Portuguese) and Giselle (Giselle).
This jeep had to make water crossings, drive along the beach and use the road. Nothing like some scenic off road driving until the Paulino Neves-Barrerinhas leg. Signs were ominous as our driver let the tyres down to handle the terrain. 40km in 3hrs we were told. That's quite slow we both thought. HMMM.......
If you have ever been on the ride at a carnival called the zipper then you will know what we went through for the next not 3 but 4 hours. For those of you who don't know the zipper, try diving down a set of steps for fun!
Again, the scenery was out of this world and the 'trail' shall we call it, which we passed, including, dense forest, rolling sand dunes and remote villages was really special.
Barrerinhas, Maranhao: Picturesquely set on the bend of a river, Barrerinhas was the perfect place to visit Nacional Parque Lencois Maranhenses. This was another fantastic part of Brazil. The park is set in a desert with massive sand dunes and natural lagoons forming rivers and lakes between the sand dunes. Giselle thought she was in Aladdin. Clearly Brett was Aladdin and Giselle was Jasmine and we rode a carpet (a truck) out to the dunes and swam in one of the lakes, followed by an outrageous sunset. Very special (thanks Bruce, as Giselle called Bretch as that was the only adjective he had in his vocabulary that afternoon).
Sao Luis, Maranhao: We were fortunate enough to time our expedition up the north coast of Brazil to see a truly unique festival. A smaller version of Carnaval celebrating the rebirth of a bull called 'Bumba Meu Boi'. This translates to hit my bull. We weren't sure what that had to with anything though. For the last couple of weeks of June there are huge street parties with various stages displaying 'bois' which are big groups who dance and sing. They wear extravagant traditional costumes all celebrating the rebirth of the bull. Lots of drinking, dancing and eating was had as we slowly but surely are learning to move our hips like true latin americans.
Now we are in Belem, Para: At the mouth of the Amazon.
Ready for a month stint cruising up the river and visiting small towns and remote communities. Giselle has been training hard in case of a run in with an anaconda or two.
Brett's highlight: Bumping in to the old couple from the jeep a few days later after hearing Antonia (the lovely old lady) shout "BRETTTCCCHHHHH!!!!!!!!!" from across the street. Also working out in a very very local gym (called Xclusive) in Barrerinhas with substitute Luis's.
Giselle's highlight: Standing up while surfing on her second wave ever! She is definitely a bit of a Layne Beachely in the making. Without the bogan accent.
Tuesday, 19 June 2012
VW GOLFINHOS
Here is a quick summary of where and what!
Aracaju, Sergipe: Picture a kilometre of sand before you can even see the water, lots of surfers, coconut sellers and teenage girls taking self portraits which we assume were heading straight to facebook....... That was Aracaju.
Oh also, the day before we left whilst commenting on how safe and clean the city felt we picked up the newspaper and read "316 murders in the last 5 months in Sergipe" - Time to go !
Maceio, Alagoas: A bit of a city, however the main charm was turquoise waters in which you sail out to natural rock pools 2km´s out to sea on a picturesque (jangada) mini sailboat. We were fortunate enough to be on board with 3 pastors from Nth Brasil and a toothless captain. Upon exchanging names the pastors exclaimed "ahhhh Giselle Bitch" we assumed Giselle Bundchen?
We also saw Men in Black 3.
Jacuma, Paraiba: Managed to score ourselves a condo type room right on the beach. It included sunbeds, an exquisite breakfast and 4 days of crook guts for Brett. Lots of book reading and trips to the toilet. Found ourselves in the middle of a local community party which closely resembled a Bar Mitzvah. There was even a lady who sang the local song while we all line danced. If you are lucky one day Brett will give you his rendition of the song!
Praia Da Pipa, Rio Grande Do Norte: To sum Pipa up if you walk 10 minutes away from the main beach you get to a pristine beach equipped with noone else around, clear water, arid red cliffs and.....................
DOLPHINS !! ("Golfinhos" in portuguese) No futher than 10 metres out from shore, at hip depth, along side us as we swam. This happened multiple times on 3 different days. Jealous? They were close enough to hear the water being blown out of their blow hole. Giselle was pretty much Ariel and Brett was clearly Eric.
Did we mention there were dolphins?
Fortaleza, Ceara: What to do with one day in Fortaleza? Go the equivalent of "wet and wild". That was all.
The highlights this time are a little treat for you.
Ignore all the ads, scroll half way down the page and then hit download to the right and above the thumbnail of Brett with the play sign on his face.
http://videobam.com/PbQTy
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