Month: March 2011

Salta pt. 2

Have explored most of Salta now – a very pleasant city alternately peaceful and hectic depending on time of day. Decided not to leave on the 5.30 bus to Bolivia this morning as we’re too tired. Having a lazy day seeing the rest of the sights here …

Have explored most of Salta now – a very pleasant city alternately
peaceful and hectic depending on time of day. Decided not to leave on the
5.30 bus to Bolivia this morning as we’re too tired. Having a lazy day
seeing the rest of the sights here (museum, gallery, church), and
hopefully tomorrow join a tour to see the canyons and hills around
Cafayate to the south. Then it really will have to be the morning bus
north to catch the only train that day into Bolivia!

24 Hours to Salta

Arrived in Salta this morning — Northwest Argentina. The landsape has changed from hot, humid and thundery rainforest through flat pasturelands and forest plantations finally up into mountains and brilliant cloudless sky. First experience of long…

Arrived in Salta this morning — Northwest Argentina. The landsape has changed from hot, humid and thundery rainforest through flat pasturelands and forest plantations finally up into mountains and brilliant cloudless sky. First experience of long haul bus travel was not too bad. We opted for “cama” seating – fully reclining comfy seats. Very nice, with food and drink included (slightly less enthusiastic about the vegetarian options…) Katy was very efficient foraging for pizza at our night stopover in Corrientes – I am really not confident at all with the Spanish! Today we will ascend the Cerro San Bernardo – up by cable car, down on foot, and then see what Salta has to offer in its centre.

Cataratus Iguazu

Today, inspite of incoming storms, we explored the Argentinian side of the falls.A walk through the rainforest to a 20m falls, encountering giant spiders, butterflies and Tropical downpours – very refreshing. A train ride through the forest then b…

Today, inspite of incoming storms, we explored the Argentinian side of the falls.A walk through the rainforest to a 20m falls, encountering giant spiders, butterflies and Tropical downpours – very refreshing.

Next up – a coach journey across the north of Argentina to Salta. Updates in a few days!

Day One

It is hot and humid in Puerto Iguazu. A late start meant a change in plans and so diverted our visit to the Iguazu Falls via Brazil! Just popping over the border via local buses and no Brazillian cuirrency was interesting – but the Falls were wort…

It is hot and humid in Puerto Iguazu. A late start meant a change in plans and so diverted our visit to the Iguazu Falls via Brazil! Just popping over the border via local buses and no Brazillian cuirrency was interesting – but the Falls were worth every minute of getting here. Cannot describe the feeling of standing so close to millions of litres of water thundering past you blasting spray in your face – and the falls are immense and go on for kilometers. Pictures to follow, of waterfalls, butterflies, rainbows and racoons. Tomorrow may be more interesting still – storms are forecast and the sky has been lighting up with sheet lightning…

The Condor has Landed

Finally, I ?m on another continent! After interesting times with tickets and planes, plus my luggage not arriving on the same plane as me, I ?ve made it to Argentina and met up with Katy. However, all the travelling has taken it ?s toll and I ?m n…

Finally, I??m on another continent! After interesting times with tickets
and planes, plus my luggage not arriving on the same plane as me, I??ve
made it to Argentina and met up with Katy. However, all the travelling has
taken it??s toll and I??m now off in search of dinner, and then some sleep.
Keep watching this space!

What’s all this then?

This blog will be an attempt to record my travels in South America this year. I’m spending 6 weeks in Argentina, Bolivia and Peru – finishing with a trek to Machu Picchu. This will be the furthest I’ve flown, but I will be met by a friendly face -…

This blog will be an attempt to record my travels in South America this year. I’m spending 6 weeks in Argentina, Bolivia and Peru – finishing with a trek to Machu Picchu. This will be the furthest I’ve flown, but I will be met by a friendly face – because Katy’s already out there! We’ll be travelling together before we part company in Lima and she flies on to Colombia.

What am I looking forward to? Jungle, desert, surf, salt flats, volcanoes, glaciers and Inca ruins. And probably a few llamas. Hosteling will be a new experience too (I imagine it’s a bit different from the Lake District YHA experiences of my teens…) Also trekking, trains, long-distance buses and reed boats. I’ll be going up high too – the Salar de Uyuni salt flats are 3650 meters above sea level, and Apacheta pass in the Andes is at 4590m. I hope we’re both fit enough for the challenge!

Just as a taster – here’s someone else’s pictures of the places we aim to visit

I can’t wait! (Now all I’ve got to do is pack…)