Red hot CHILE peppers

Hello blog fans.

First of all thanks for keeping up with us! We've had over 1600 views as of last week, which we were amazed at. So..we have been spurred on to try keep bringing you the latest on our travels. Any more tips of what you guys want let us know. Last feedback via Vic was for more pics of our beautiful selves, which we gave you with out last blog. We aim to please!

Our last stop was San Pedro in Chile! We originally planned to pass through in one day on our way to Salta, but hearing some good things about this small Chilean town, we left ourselves open to play it by ear. So here came our second border crossing, this time Leaving Bolivia. There was so much emphasis from the guides and bus drivers not to take anything from Bolivia to Chile, we ended up declaring Nikki and Rich's entire medical bag, and Mike declared our Machu Picchu soil! I got so worried I darent take my rock of Bolivian salt through and ditched it in panic. Anything to avoid any probing! It turned out all was fine, in fact I think they were laughing at our declarations, and so panic over we drove into San Pedro. A small dusty town with a laid back vibe.

With no lodgings booked this time we took the lonely planets guidance and went to find Eden hostel of the Atacama. Hammocks, small but decent rooms and bright sunshine won us over straight away, and within minutes we were all sun creamed up swinging in the hammocks, reading books, beard blogging and generally relaxing after our intense few days in the desert. It had been really cold in the desert, and now having our first taste of the scorching sun was a real delight. That night we had a stroll up to the Plaza looking for some good grub. It wasn't the best steak but luckily the lashings of pepper sauce and extreme hunger meant it went down a treat. We later went to a bar with another open fire and ordered another bottle of red. After some more lingual break downs we got our bottle from the loveliest waiter. He reminded us all of Martin Bott in looks and mannerisms and made us feel very welcome.

The next day we chilled again in the hammocks, nursing a few delicate heads, with a plan to go sand boarding later in the day. Off we went at 4:00 giving the intense sun time to cool off. We pile into a van with a few Brazilians, Brits and Scotts, and head to some sand dunes. After a quick measurement, and brief instruction from our Belgium guide we were off. Slowly at first we rolled down. Sand getting into just about every crevis it could. The boys soon got confident and went from higher up to pick up more pace, while Nikki and i carried on gliding down with more style than speed!!! ;-) it was great fun. I think the pic of Mike on FB has already done the rounds. Next they took us on walk through moon valley to watch the sun set. Excited we set off, until I saw the vertical side of the mountain we had to climb to get up there. We slowly work our way up, driven on slightly by the promise of a Pisco Sour when we got there. It was lovely..not the best sunset in the world but definitley the best setting for it. All I could think about was how were we getting down? Assured in my mind there would be a longer route back less steep, we stayed a while and soaked in the view, and second Pisco Sours. Off we go back down, and unfortunately I was wrong. We WERE going back down the way we came. Literally on my bottom, rock by rock we decend. Now I know why they give us a few drinks at the top! Back in the van, we have another unexpected stop. This time to some salt caves. I had taken my head torch as instructed, but the others had missed this valuable piece of information and so one torch between the four of us it was. In the pitch black, apart from my guiding light, we walk through the middle of the desert salt caves, weaving in and out of the salt rocks. It soon gets very cramped and clostraphobia was close by. It was ace to be there and another experience we won't forget. We eventually climbed out the caves and laid on the rocks looking up at a million stars. We stayed there until we saw a shooting star which didn't take long. The clear jet black blanket was scattered with millions of twinklie lights that looked so close. One of the Brits pointed out the milky way and jupiter to us, and a few other constellations I couldn't make out. Back in the van we head back to San Pedro and stop at a tiny chicken take away for pollo and Chips. It was a culinary delight, eaten back at hostel Eden under the guidance of the head torch wrapped around the parasol.

Day three in this sleepy village we decided to rent bikes, and head off early into a devils gorge. A track we'd been told about and seeking some more adventure after our action packed day previously, we head off sun creamed up. It wasn't a particularly difficult ride, but was made slightly longer with a wrong turn, snack stops and a rather dramatic fall by myself at the feet of some Chilean men. Mental note...don't try go up ramps then change mind mid course. Second mental note bikes don't go backward easily! Devils gorge was cool, a windy pathway carved through the rocks than had us ducking and weaving round dusty cave corners. It seemed to go on forever. We finally reached what we think was the end and turned back. We stopped for some 'action shots' which is when i had my second accident of the day. I have the scab on my shoulder to proove it, but the bump on my head never really materialized to what I thought it would be. Every one else injury free we are back at the hostel in no time. Time for some showers and bevies, we head to Export bar for our last night there. Recommended by a few locals, we had high hopes. We were not disappointed, with a lively atmosphere and good food, we were joined later by our Danish friend Maria who had been on our Bolivian tour with us. It was a great night to finish off a great visit to this funky little place where we recharged our batteries and started off some tans. The next morning took the chilled out vibe away from us as we had a mad rush to the bus stop. Nikki looked like our mule as we scrambled up the mainstreet loaded with our ever increasing bag count. We made it..as per usual the bus was 40mins late. We need to stop taking south American timetables with any certainty! So off we go...in 11hrs time we hit our first Argentinean city.

Lots of love
Caz and crew

P.S nikki's pink socks and burnt nose pick is her valiant attempt to eat all our fruit before our border crossing! Teeheeehee.

unBOLIVIAble

So we were set for our first marathon journey and we weren't upset about leaving Puno, the two hours on the lake and pizza were all we needed. The first leg of the journey was pretty amazing, going around the lake and involved us taking a ferry across it at one point, well us the passengers on one ferry and the coach on another. We got into La Paz only a couple hours late (good for SA) and, learning our lesson from before we booked our tickets for the overnight bus trip in the bus station. This left us a couple of hours after our arrival before we were due to leave down to Uyuni in the south of Bolivia. That gave us chance to get some supplies and for Mike and Caz to Skype home and pass on the good news to the rest of the Cawoods and Websters and most importantly put Mr Cawood out of his misery of having to keep it a secret for so long! Also it gave us a treat of seeing the Websters in their Onesy's must-have nightwear.

The overnight bus was as crazy as expected with no obvious rules for the road out of La Paz and then 'roads' entering Uyuni which gave us the bumpiest ride into the town imaginable. This seems to be the cause of Mike's neck aging 30 years during the trip and causing him to develop a paracetamol and ibuprofen habit to get him through the remaining bus trips and shoddy

Uyuni was just a dust town and we managed to book our trip to the salt flats the next day.

The first day of our 3 day tour of Bolivia, by visiting the train graveyard. Quite an eerie place. Rusted old trains that used to deliver the gold and silver from the mines to the pacific coast. Rich did his usual and climbed anything he could. We then headed to the salt flats to see the salt factories and museums. The salt flats cover a whopping 12,000 sq km. This explains why they are so heavy on flavoring food with salt! The day then peaked when we took perspective photos and even made a film involving a pringles tube. We could have stayed here for hours and hours. Oscar our guide, then took us to Inca Island- a small island made up from volcanic black basalt covered in coral (as it was once, many years ago under the sea) with ancient cacti (more than 4300 in total). Our tour group (which consisted of us 4 and 2 Danish girls) piled back into the Jeep to head towards our hotel. On the way we stopped off to watch the sunset over the mountains and take some silhouette Karate photos. We stopped overnight in a salt hotel- walls, floors and even beds were made up of salt. Suprisingly it was quite warm, the salt acting like an igloo. An UnBOLIVIAble day.

The next day would need to be good to beat the first, which some members of the group felt was better than Machu Picchu (tut, tut). We saw masses of wild flamingoes and different coloured lagoons, but the highlight had to be our first taste of South American police. We got pulled over by another Jeep in the middle of the desert and then came face to face with four stocky Bolivians all with semi-automatic guns pointed at out jeep. Our guide seemed to figure out they were narcotics police fairly quicky but failed to pass on this gem of wisdom and so my previously successful ploy of getting 3 days worth of wear out of my limited supply of boxer shorts went out the window! After a few unrecognizable demands in Spanish and points of an AK47 we were out of the jeep and doing our best to prove we were nothing more than very scared tourists. Thankfully without too much searching they agreed with this and let us on our way. The rest of the day seemed fairly mundane after this but involved seeing the Tree Rock (you guessed it a rock which had been eroded into looking like a tree) and staying in the coldest hostel we have been in so far, but made easier with extra blankets, water bottles and some Bolivian rum. Although the paper thin walls did nothing to stop everyone hearing Nikki balking at the state of the toilets.

An early rise for our last day in Bolivia- 4am. We headed up to 5000m altitude, to the geysers in the crater of a volcano. It felt like we were on another planet. Having to watch every step we took as the earth was very temperamental and it could set off a blast of steam 200 degrees hot. With puddles of bubbling hot mud you would think this place was at least warm, it was quite the opposite, we were unable to feel our feet. Oscar then took us to and eventually convinced at least us 4 to strip off and get into the thermal bath at 7am. It was the best thing ever. Not only were we warm, our feet thawed out and the landscape was beautiful. A visit to the white lagoon and the green lake , which looked emerald green but was toxic due to the amount of arsenic in it finished our tour and time in Bolivia. We had a fabulous tour which was made by our guide and driver from Red Planet tours.

We were dropped off and had to cross border control into Chile.

Love N & R
X

Beard Blog Pt II

Well it's been a while punters but you'll all be pleased to know the beard is progressing nicely. The altitude training it has been subjected to along with some mineral rich hot springs has seen somewhat of a second week boom. There has been some competition from beards we have passed along the way, but I reckon come 22nd of December and our flight home I'll be buying some white hair dye and taking bookings for St. Nic.
Hope all is well back home beard lovers
Doc x

Poo-no!

Adios Cusco... Today was an early rise. We had to be at the bus station for 7am and since there was no hot water the previous evening in our hostel, we had to all quickly jump in to a very hot shower at 6am. Once again we packed our belongings that seemed to have somehow multiplied. Sitting on top of the bag helps but all will be lost if this zip ever breaks.
The taxi took us down the now familiar cobbled, maze like streets of Cusco which was already bustling. After arriving at our bus operator we saw on our printed tickets that the bus trip to Puno should have cost just 25 Soles each but the previous day we had paid 50 Soles each through an independent travel operator. So that was a lesson learnt. From now on we will be buying bus tickets on the day of departure and at the bus terminal.
The bus journey was 5 hours and we had been diligent enough to arrive at the recommended 30 mins before the departure time. This was the second lesson of the day, time has little importance in South America. It serves as a rough timeline for the days. It wasn't until 8:30am that we finally got on the road.
The bus route seemed to follow the train line route which had been a more expensive option of traveling from Cusco to Puno. We were pleased with our decision as not only where the views spectacular from the 2nd level of the bus but the seats were very large and comfortable. Tour Peru was the operator recommended to us and they didn't disappoint.
We passed through many small villages and some big towns. One town in particular we were pleased wasn't Puno. It was a mad melay of cars, busses, scooters, rickshaw styled taxis and bikes that seemed to have little regard for traffic laws should have any existed. Compared with Lima and Cusco this town was really undeveloped and it was our first glimpse of a more poverished Peru. Many of it's sprawling roads were just dirt roads lined with stray dogs, food vendors and peruvians with no clear purpose other than to sit and watch the traffic pass by. Many buildings were merely hashed together roughly with brick and motar. Almost all were unfinished which we had been told was a way to not have to pay property taxes.. Sneaky!
Eventually we caught our first glimpses of lake Titicacca. It looked like an Oasis against the baron brown land that surrounded it. The lake is regarded as the worlds highest altitude lake at 3808m above sea level and 8400 sq kilometers. Puno was built around the lake and passing by the Marina towards the bus terminal it's easy to see how the lake serves the city with fresh fish being caught daily. One of the reasons we chose to come to Puno was to see the Islands of Uros (other than Uros Puno is rubbish! For any future travelers go to the islands via cochacabana not Puno) Which were man made floating islands a few miles from the shore of Puno. A large community of 65 islands made up Uros and people are still inhabiting them even today.
Even though we had missed the official tours of these islands, we managed to get onboard a boat that was still taking tourists out to them. In hindsight we felt this was a stroke of luck as by the time we arrived, the islands we absent of the tourist rush and we felt we saw the communities in a more natural state. We disembarked on one such island and was greeted by the president of that particular island. He was called Orlando and even though he was a pretty large man he spoke to us in a warm and soft manner. He explained that the Islands had been in existence for over 185 years and even had a small model of how the islands were constructed. It was 2m of earth with reads that grew on the lake strewn across the top. The ground was soft under foot and it was quite surreal to think that these two materials were allowing a community to survive upon them.
Aside from fishing and hunting, tourism now served as the major income for this community and they were quick to show us the haberdashery and crafts they wished to sell in order to supplement their incomes. We didn't buy anything but felt comfortable knowing that a portion of our boat fare would be paid to Orlando for the convenience of disembarking onto his island. We then went across to main island which was much larger and more developed. It had a mini-market, bar and restaurants all made of wood and reeds. A touch of modern living had infultrated this island as they had solar panels that provided electricity and the now needed light as it had turning quite dark.
It was time to leave and we were glad that we had managed to make our way out to see these islands. But now we were ravenous as we had eaten little all day. The boat took us back to Puno and how it didn't collide with the other small fishing boats, I'll never know. It was not equipped with any lights and so we traveled back under the guidance of the city lights in the far distance. In all it was another typically random day in Peru. The nights are rather cold in Peru (and probably most of South America) so we bundled in to the nearest taxi and headed for the first busy looking restaurant which happened to be pizza restaurant.. Yum :) We haven't been brave enough to eat grilled guinee pig which is a Peruvian dish. Perhaps if it had been added to a curry it would have been more appealing but they seem to want to serve it in a way that kind of resembles road kill. Flattened with it's legs and arms sprawled either side. Hmmm haiwaian pizza it was then!
Tomorrow we have another early rise and longish bus journey to La Paz, Bolivia. This will be our first border crossing. Peru has been a great host and we have enjoyed our time here very much. The people have been very friendly and welcoming. We have gotten by with broken English and Rich who used his Spanish GCSE education to get us by when English wasn't an option. So listen up in Spanish kids as it can be a matter of eating guinee pig or pizza out here...

Love Mike et al xx

Long overdue!

We're back down to earth!!! This might be a long one on this occasion but we'll try keep it short and sweet.
Sorry for the long delay in writing! No wifi in the desert. We left our blog fans when we were at the airport, on our way to Cuzco. This was the start of our Inca Discovery trek, which took us to over 3000m above sea level. We met up with some Aussies, some Brits and kiwis. The altitude sickness hit us hard, feeling light headed and panting after walking two flights of stairs, headaches, tingly feet from the anti altitude tablets and generally feeling very strange. We woke up the next morning with an early start on the coach heading higher to Ollyantambo. First stop was a little inca village, stop at little food hub, local markets then we had a small intro to some inca ruins and had tea all together, starting to get to know everyone better. A lovely bunch, getting on with the Brits best!!!
So the next day the trek begins. No idea what is ahead of us, we meet loads of Inca's in their amazing traditional outfits, some horses and a few llamas. They load up the animals with all the equipment, then slightly bemused we start walking into the mountains ahead with glorious sunshine. We met a few inca children, the most amazing people you've ever met. Full of smiles, rosie cheeks, chapped lips and black feet. We gave them fruit as we met them, one little girl didn't know how to eat a banana and ate the skin. They loved cameras and were amazed when they saw their pics on the screen. It's so humbeling. We got to go into a traditional house along the way. It was in the middle of no where and the size of a garage at home. Mud bricks, thatched roof, patchy wood door about 4feet tall. We were greeted by 4 little boys, a 2 yr old little girl, and there mum. The dad was working the fields so we didn't meet him. We crammed into this house, unbelievable they live there but they are the happiest people with so little. There were guinnea pigs running around the floor, and we asked where everyone sleeps. Mum and dad sleep on a bunk (we couldnt make it out as there is no electricity) and the kids sleep on the floor with the animals. The eldest boy wanted to sing us a song he had learnt at school which was sweet. We gave them fruit and a few crayons Matt had taken which they were so pleased with. Not sure they had paper but they will no doubt find a use for them. The children here have the best imagination with only sticks and the outdoors. It was raining outside and snug inside so we were happy to be there. As we left the little girl was fascinated by Nikkis plastic poncho, she nearly had to give it up!
So on we go. As lunch approached so did the grey clouds, followed by rain, hail and snow! Fernando told us it never snows..typical. The trek was treacherous, hills..no mountains..like we've never had to walk up before, made worse by the altitude and weather. Each massive uphill brought the next into sight. It felt it was never going to end. On the edge of throwing a paddy and literally gasping for breath each step, Fernando our leader was way ahead, though we were at the front half of the group the whole way we'd like to point out..we were the first girls to summit :-). In two days we climbed to 4610m above sea level and treked 40km. It was the hardest thing we've ever done, but so proud of ourselves when we hit the top and it was downhill for the last day. Made easier with the relentless crew who raced ahead each day, put up our tents, cooked us three course meals and made us tea or coffee in our tents as wake up calls each morning. I had a tummy bug, Nikki had bouts of it too, and us all getting headaches. Our lowest point having a poo in the field but it was our only option. What happens on the mountain...! We entertained ourselves on the night with cards and wink mafia. A frisbee game went down well with the boys on the second night. When we finally got to the finish point, the boys had a footy game - Peru vs the rest of the world..still not sure who won, but it was the perfect end (plus there was an actual toilet).
We arrived in Agues Calientes on Friday via the most scenic train journey ever, and showered for the firls time in three days. We felt amazing, though still slightly sick, but decided to go to the local hot springs with the other brits, then out for dinner. We woke at 3:30am to start to cue for the bus to Macchu Picchu. "Fernando always wins". We arrived at Machu Picchu at 6am, the first through the gates (2000 people go a day!) Fernando warned us not to take any pics till he said, so he runs us up the rocks to the classic viewpoint. Our photos do not do it justice. Mesmerisingly beautiful and breathtaking. Difficult to comprehend how they built the sacred city so high and in such unforgiving land. We had a tour by Fernando then we had our own time to wander.

So...this is how it happened. Nikki and Rich left (apparently needing the loo) so mike and i had a little walk. Mike and I sat down in a quiet spot looking over the mountains. It was beautiful. Quiet, inspiring, but tummies rumbling mike said he had skittles. Brilliant! Especially after limited home comforts up to this point. I turn to see him, and out pops a ring box. OMG! Was this it? Mike shaking slightly, I started crying. After some beautiful words, mike explained inside the box was a travel ring for me to wear on our trip. Just at the crucial moment some new friends Matt, Sarah, Joe and Becky all walked around the corner, giving us banter about where we'd sloped off to. Sun glasses quickly go on to cover the wet eyes, mike told them they'd just walked in to witness him asking me to marry him. They danced around then scurried off. Mike asked me again (in privacy) and I said yes! We stayed there a bit, tried to take in the magical moment, then went on the hunt for Nik and doc. They were waiting at the top of Machu Picchu, so we hugged, had a moment, the fake ring took out a third of rich's arm, then rich popped the Peruvian champers. By 11am we were falling asleep in the sun on the mountain side, almost trodden on by llamas. An incredible day and it wasn't even lunch time.

Don't really need to go on about it. You get the picture. We slowly headed back down, and headed to Cuzco over the next day. We were delirious with exhaustion and have pottered around Cuzco for the last two days. Did some laundry, had lots of coffee, went to the inca museum, cocoa museum, and currently watching Peru v Chile in the bar next to the hostel. Random doesn't even explain this bar but the Peruvian people are all so lovely. Sad to leave tomorrow but looking forward to our next stop..Lake Titicaca (floating islands) then leaving Peru and onto Bolivia!
We hope Mrs Flemmings class are enjoying our blog. We hope one day you get to come to South America too.
Lots of love..
Caz, Nikki, Rich and Mike xxxx
P.S beard blog to follow

Day 4 today - the beginning of the little trek to Machu Pichu Day 3- central Lima

After Rich and I went for a "rest" at 7pm the night before, prior to meeting for dinner and managing a 14 hour nap,sleeping through our dinner arrangements we had some apologies to make to the Canson party on the morning of Day3. No love was lost and the 4 of us headed (in true Garnett style- ie 3 hrs after meeting for breakfast) in to what has only been described as the hull of South America! -central Lima!

The hotel receptionist tried to sell us a tour bus guide for $28 each but we decided to brave it and take the bus. After yesterday's antics of rich deciding that the compass was wrong, mike suggesting that you might need a different compass for the north and south hemispheres and then Caz and I stupidly following these wise men- this may not have been the best of ideas. (sorry dad I know this will make you want to disown us!).

Anyway, after a little hitch trying to buy the equivalent of an oyster card in London and a little help from a White peruvian we managed to find ourselves in the pretty squares of PlazaSan Martin and Plazade Armas. We then got a little too confident and crossed the river (river Humber puts this river to shame) towards the shanty town. At this point some annoying 'securi dad' ruined our fun and escorted us back over the river which we later found out was because 'it's too dangerous"- whoops!

After having our first 'Ceviche' (raw seafood marinated in lime juice, onions and specs)- delicious, we headed back to our hotel for the first meeting with Gap adventures about our trek ahead. Machu Picchu!! Panic set in when we told it gets to -8 degrees at night - plan A in Cuzco - buy warmer clothes. Had a quick bite to eat- mike has now started a food blog alongside rich's beard blog and we were early to bed!

Day 4
Lima to Cuzco
Just sat in the airport about to embark our flight to Machu Pichu..... More stories to follow.

Love to all,

Nikki and the rest of Canbrough crew X