Cusco, Peru

Our Peruvian experience started as we flew over the snow capped Andes mountains, it was breathtaking.

We arrived in the town of Cusco which is 3,999 metres above sea-level in the Andes, that's 3,968 metres higher than Melbourne! It is amazing how going up 10 stairs can feel like you've been running for 10 minutes.

On our first day we took a city tour which was great until Erica discovered the full affects of altitude. After walking about 400 metres up hill to view Incan ruins Erica was not feeling at all well and fainted! I was there to catch her luckily and the tour guide made Erica lie on the ground, hold her feet in the air and eat a sweet. Many (un)helpful onlookers enquired after her health. In a few minutes she was all better and walked to the bottom with some advise from the tour guide: drink coca cola and eat chocolate before strenuous activities. Need I say Erica didn't have to be told twice ;)

We ate the local traditional cuisine, guinea pig and alpaca! The guinea pig was a bit hard to stomach but the alpaca was yummy. Erica complained because I called the guinea pig Franklin before we started eating it! We have since discovered that the guinea pig houses are located either under or next to the wood over to keep them warm.

The second day we toured the Sacred Valley which consisted of a selection of ruins and small villages. The highlight was a weaving house where the locals showed us how they hand spun and dyed the yarn from the llama and alpaca using ancient techniques and natural dyes. The most interesting was the red dye which is made from the cochanil bug and is cured to the yarn using urine of children under 15, because after that they start drinking alcohol and it's not pure! Some of the other colours use salt or sulphuric acid.

The next day we travelled to Machu Pichu which was one of the highlights of our trip so far. The mountainous scenery on the train ride was spectacular and it is amazing to see where the Incans located such a large city - on the top of a mountain! We saw examples of Incan houses, temples and crop growing areas. To this day the people still grow crops on the side of steep mountains. It was eye opening to learn all about the Incan culture and see the beautiful views and we could easily have spent another day exploring all the ruins.

Buenos Aires - take 2

After our visit to Iguazu Falls we arrived back into Buenos Aires for a few more days.
On the first morning we took ourselves on a walk around town and found a craft market, which unfornuately had lots of wooden souveniers (which are difficult to get through customs) and jewellery.
In the evening we headed to a soccer match! Riverplate vs Indepente! What an atmosphere, the crowd were all jumping, chanting and drumming. The game itself was one sided the home team winning 3-0. It was interesting that the opposition had to sit in a reserved area fenced off with a 6 ft barbed wired fence and a ditch that separated it from the other stands! The fans spent a lot of the game rudely taunting each other and we learnt some new gestures. At the end of the match the oppostition fans lit several small fires with their rubbish before they left! We then had to wait for half an hour while the opposition fans were taken by bus over 6 kms away to safety. A call is then made back to the stadium and everyone is allowed to leave. It was an exciting experience to see the locals worship their team like a religious cult.
Don Silvado was a gaucho (a type of cowboy/farmer) ranch where we spent the next day. Farmer Robert was our host for the day. We enjoyed horse riding, gaucho horse riding stunts and a huge bbq lunch with an endless supply of red wine from Mendosa. Farmer Robert also entertained us with local songs and dances from Argentina, his voice was like Pavorotti it was spectacular. He even sang Waltz Sing Matilda for us!
On Monday we left Argentina for the day and caught a ferry over to Uraguay to a lovely quaint town called Colonia. It had beautiful cobbled streets and flowering trees growing around the door ways. Although there was not a great deal to do it was a pleasant day. In the evening we headed out for dinner in Palema an upper class area of Buenos Aires which felt like Lygon St meets Brunswick St.
We had planned to do some shopping in the morning, luckily Rhys checked our departure time and discoved that we were being picked up at 3.35am not 3.35pm the next day. Ooopsie!

Ola 5A

Hello 5A,

Thank you for your comments, it's lovely to hear from you.

I am really enjoying my trip it has been a wonderful experience. I am looking forward to coming home and working with you all. I hope you have been super awesome for Mrs Jones.

I  have seen some new animals the coati is a squirral/numbat type rodent. There were some pictures of him at Iguazu, he was rather cheeky stealing a sandwich from the table where people were eating! Lots of lizards and birds too.

If you have any questions I will do my best to answer them.

See you soon

Mrs Andersen

Comments

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Iguazu Falls

We thought that the falls were going to be one of the highlights of our trip and they didn't disappoint. It is difficult to describe the sheer size, noise and power of the falls in particular the Devil's Throat. There are over 2 kms of waterfalls which make Niagra Falls look like a trickle. On the first day we spent a full eight hours on the Argentine side of the falls appreciating the natural beauty. We also took a boat ride for what the locals call a shower and got soaked by the spray of the falls.

Our hotel is beautiful and in the evening we hit the swimming pool and put the swim up bar to good use. You can do the math: 3 hours sleep because of delayed flight + full day walking in the sun + cocktails & spirits + no dinner = lol.

The Brazilian side of the falls was equally impressive with wonderful panoramic views.

In such a short time we have taken over 1,000 photos of the falls (both side included). It was extremly difficult to choose a selection for you to view.

We write this at the aeropuerto as our flight back to Buenos Aires has been delayed 4hrs *sigh*.

Looking forward to an Argentine steak for dinner mmmm.

Fernando de Noronha

Bom Dia!

Wow! What a beautiful island! Noronha is a popular get away place for Brazillians that is a marine national park allowing only 700 visitors at any one time. Our accommodation is basic with our hosts speaking no English, or really anyone on the island! There are lizards everywhere on the island and on the first night when we climbed into bed Rhys got a fright from an uninvited visitor.

On our first day we took a boat ride along the beautiful coast line and watched dolphins play alongside our boat. On the way back we stopped for a swim to snorkel off the boat with many colourful fish.

The beaches here are magnificent crystal clear waters and white sandy beaches. We have spent many hours soaking up the atmosphere. We were able to hire snorkel gear and swim with a sea turtle (he was awesome) just off the shore, and I even saw a baby shark in the shallows!

On the beach, I should have brought a bikini! Brazillian women of all shapes and sizes are very comfortable flaunting their bodies. All though there are a few models walking around with their buff men! :-) One buff nut was even doing crunches in the sand in the 35 degree heat.

Rhys and I hired a dune buggy for the day and we travelled from one end of the island to the other. Our first destination was Dolphin Bay where we sat on the bluff watching the dolphins frollick in the water below. Nearby several sea turtles were floating in the waves and were not fazed by the large shark swimming around them. We also saw heaps of lizards, some field mice and other mammals we can't name.

In the evening Rhys got me to drive (I forgot to mention that its left side drive, and it was dark and I wasn't wearing my glasses!) it was awesome I drive stick rather well. I stopped to pick up a friendly local and gave him a ride across the island. The trip was full of laughter although he was rather relieved to get out!

We leave feeling relaxed and happy and while it would have helped to learn a little Portugese before going we wouldn't have had so much fun "talking" to the locals!

Favela Photos

Hi all, I've finally had a chance to add the photos of the Favela!

See the album for more!

Please leave us comments, we love to hear from you.

xxx

Rio

Rio de Janiero, meaning January river as the Portugese people arrived in January and believed the bay to be a river. We stayed in Copacabana which is like Surfers Paradise but not as clean. People tend to sunbake on the beach but not swim perhaps this is because the favela sewerage gets washed into the bay.

On our first morning we went to sugarloaf mountain which can only be reached by catching two cable cars. The views looking over the bay Copacabana and Ipanema beaches is amazing.

In the afternoon we went to the summit of Corcovoda to see the Christo Redentor.  It is truly breathtaking after seeing it in many movies you appreciate the size of it once you get up close. To reach the top we caught a train, a elevator and an escalator!

The evening brought us to our samba experience with the Beija Flor school who are reigning carnival champions. The people are as passionate about their samba school as they are about their football! Imagine an outdoor arena with 1,000 people performing samba and just as many people dancing and spectating, plus another 1,000 on the street drinking beer and dancing! It was louco! The samba school was rehearsing for this year's carnivale and so we saw a sneak peek of their routine.

After only three hours sleep we jumped into an open top jeep to tour the largest favela (slum) in Rio. The close concrete quarters make a rabbit warren to navigate through fused with shops and raw sewerage flowing down the canal. The views however are amazing and in any other country would be the site of upmarket hotels and mansions but here the people have access to free running water and electricity, and if people squat in a dwelling for five years it becomes legally theirs.

For lunch we sat opposite the beach and ate a Brazilian barbeque that included chicken, beef, pork, sausage, rice and french fries. We ate so much we did not even bother with dinner!

Rio is a city like no other with the Zona Sul (south zone) providing tourists with everything they could desire while the Zona Norte is a thriving mass of people trying to make their way in the world, for example selling water in the middle of a four lane freeway!

Buenos Aires - City Tour & Tango

Today we took a 3hr city tour of Buenos Aires, we visited the upper class areas and the lower class areas. The bright coloured houses were in La Boca home of the Tango and the Boca Juniors Football. After lunch we went to Recoleta Cemetery - burial place of many famous Argentinians including Eva Peron, the cemetery is huge full of beautiful mausoleums. In the evening we went to a Tango show which included a Tango lesson, 3 course meal and a show. The pretty girls all enjoyed dancing with Rhys, he hardly had a minute to himself! Buenos Aires is beautiful and the people are freindly and helpful especialy when we don't speak any Spanish. For now its adios to Buenos Aires and Ola to Rio!

We're Here!

Hola!

We have arrived safely in Buenos Aires.  We've had a lovely dinner at a street side cafe. Its 9.40pm.

Adios

Rhys & Erica

Thanks Zac for the great picture! I am getting very excited about our trip now! Only a few hours left til we leave! :-)

Welcome family and friends. We hope that you will enjoy sharing in our South American experience. We are very much looking forward to leaving in two days!