And the Winner is........

I have been long meaning to to this write a kind of best of and worst of list of my travels through the americas. So here it is...

Countries visited: Canada, United States of America, Costa Rica, Cuba, Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina.

Favourite Country: Well there is not answer to this really as I loved each and every country for different reasons, which I could go on about for a long time but I will not. Let me just say that I do have a soft spot for Bolivia, a country of dramatic scenery changes and very interesting people.






Favourite Big City: Again another tough one but I would have to say
- New York
- Buenos Aires

with some honerable mentions to Havana and Santiago.


Prettiest Country: Costa Rica with 1/3 of the country national park, it is green tropical lush and with some picture postcard beaches.












Ugliest City: San Jose, Costa Rica. Sure I lived there for 3 weeks with a lovely family. It is a well run city, that is a lot of fun and is full of great people. It just is not the prettiest place to be, maybe it is overshadowed by the surrounding beauty.

Country with the cutest boys: Go you Cubans! With Honerable mention to the Argentians (if only they would cut there hair)

Country with the sleaziest boys: Go you Cubans again! Hola linda (hello lovely), hissing, kissing sounds, dame un bessito (give me a little kiss) or simply lady you want a boyfriend being hollered at you all the time in the street it can be quite full on a times. Again a honeralbe mention to the Argentinans similar in a way to the Cubans but less strong and not the hissing.

Ladies I hope you see the catch 22 involved in the above two statements!












The cutest kids:
- Were some peruvian kids I met hiking in the andes, they were out herding sheep with their brothers.
- Also there was a super cute boy I met on an argentinian bus, he was very sweet and not old enough to understand I did not speak fluent spanish.

Best Hostel: Definately Hostal de Sammy in Santiago, Chile. It felt more like a home than a hostel. Great owners, free internet, free pool table tennis, free breakfast and a TV lounge with xbox, playstation and 700 DVD's to watch. Complete with a lovely dog called Sausage, a crazy puppy called Rompie, and a cat called Wyatt.



Best Meals:
- Mendoza winery tour lunch in Argentina.
- The little italian restaurant with homemade pasta in La Paz, Bolivia.
- Breakfasts at Casa Cecilas in Puerto Natales in Chile.
- Pavel's mums cooking in Santa Clara, Cuba.
- Senora Barbosa's home cooking in San Jose, Costa Rica.
- Pizza at Minuteman pizza in Uyuni, Bolivia


Worst Meals:
- Gritty rice and beans (I do not know how you could get it so wrong) in Santa Clara restaurant, Cuba.
- "Salad" consisting of a plate of sliced tomato again in Santa Clara, Cuba.
- There were also many a "vegetarian" options meals which were only rice and some shredded cabbage and tomato.

Meals that haunt you!
Well I only really had two bad episodes of food poisoning. The winner being ceviche in Peru. Yes, I know I should have know better than to eat raw fish in Peru but it is the national "specialty" and I thought I should give it a try. But after 5 days of diarrhoea, loosing about 3Kg in a week, fevers, sweats and debilitating cramps and two courses of anti-biotics I have learnt my lesson.

Most difficult country to be vegetarian in: With Argentina being the steak capital of the world and Chile's national food being a hot dog. These two being the most modern of countries you thought it might be easier but situations where people can not make you a ham and cheese sandwich without the ham can get kind of frustrating.

Easiest country to be vegetarian in: With all the hippies you would have to say Canada, and believe it or not Peru was not too bad, with each town managing to have a hari crishna restaurant.

Favourite new foods:
- Empanadas (pastry or bread dough pockets filled with cheese, tomato or vegie fillings), Chile and Argentina.
- Rice and beans, Costa rica and Cuba
- Plantanes, savoury bananas, well basically an unripe banana often sliced finely and fried like chips with salt and lemon they are soooo good, Costa Rica.
- Dulce de Leche, a sweet caramel like sauce used in chile and argentina to fill biscuits, cakes, ice cream or just to eat on your toast at breakfast time.
- Submarinos, hot milk with a chocolate bar put in to melt while you drink it. So simple, so good, Bolivia and Argentina
- Poutine sp? Chips served with gravy and cheese curds a heart attack waiting to happend but oh so good. Canada.

Best Toilets: Canada, everything is automatic, the flush, the soap, the tap the paper towel and always spotlessly clean.

Worst Toilets: Cuba no seat, no paper, no door, no flush, no water in the tap! And you have to pay a tip to the person sitting out the front or they do not let you in! Bolivia is a close second. You learn pretty quickly to always carry a roll of paper and baby wipes with you at all times.

Total flights taken so far: 15

Longest Flight: Melbourne to LA 17 hours.

Longst plane travel time: 28 hours to get from Melbourne to Vancouver.

Worst Airline: American Airlines, delayed planes, planes with holes in the engines, loosing my bags, and a 4 hour flight with no drink let alone food. Runner up British Airways, broken in-light entertainment system (staff where very nice though)

Best Airline: Qantas, runner up COPA (Panama's airline) both with nice staff, good food. Qantas I got cadbury ice cream mmmmm.

Toughest Customs:
- Definately cuba, 2 1/2 hours of questioning by 3 different people.
- Runner up the USA, long lines, finger prints, photos. Men with porno moustaches.

Easiest Customs:
- Costa Rica, I could not find them, they were all hanging out the back having coffee, and when I did find them they said (in spanish) "hello lovely, just leave your form on the table there"

Total number of long distance bus rides: Approximately 47

Longest bus ride: 26 hours Salta to Iguazu, Argentina.












Best Long distance Buses: Argentina, almost fully reclining chairs (think a bus full of jason recliners), food and drink service, movies, blanket and pillows. It is like business class on a bus. Chilian buses very similar. And in Argentina there was a bus company named after my old cat "fletcha"

Worst Long distance Buses:
- Hands down Bolivia, no suspension, broken seats, no toilets, crazy sleep deprived drivers, people standing in the isles and then you bag sits procariously on top of the bus roof.
- Second is Costa Rica, only for the fact it is so hot and you are in a crappy old bus with no airconditioning, makes you want to pass out!

Most memorable moments: I could potentially go on here for ages and ages but some definate highlights for me were.











- Learning to snowboard in Canada.
- Dog sledding in Canada
- Zip lining through pristine Costa Rican rain forest.











- Lounging on perfect cuban beaches.
- Hiking in the Peruvian andes.
- Macchu Picchu.











- Bolivan salt planes.
- Mountain biking the worlds most dangerous road.












- The moai statues of easter island.
- Hiking in the empty torres del paine national park and standing naked in front of a glacier!











- Visiting the spectacular blue moreno glacier in Argentina.
- The Spectauclar Iquazu Falls.

London

Well this is a little late, but it is time I wrote a blog post of my time in London.

I arrived early in the morning after a very dull flight with little sleep and a broken in-flight entertainment system. After a bit of confusion and waiting at heathrow for 4 hours Danny came and picked me up and we headed to his place.

















Later that night we headed into central london and walked around soho. We got some vietnamese food which I was dying for after South America. Then we walked to Picadilly Circus, watched some great buskers, then to trafalgar square. Then just random wandering around getting slightly lost and ending up in the homosexual part of town.
















The next day I woke up feeling like I was hit by a bus with some Jetlag. I pulled myself together and headed into town and got a phone (which I did not want but is necessary for work) and some work clothes.





Then I visited Trafalgar Square again where I took some photos, then on to Downing st, Big ben and Wesminster Abby.












The next day up early to go visit the Queen and that I did. I headed to Buckingham palace to see the changing of the guard, it was kind of cool a lot of red and marching. But I did get to see the Queen well I think I did. Just before the ceremony the gates opened and two bentleys drove out with a police escort. The nearby crowd started applauding. All I got to see really was her hat but I thought it was pretty cool.

















That afternoon was spent trying to sort a bank account for about 3 hours which proved very unsucessfull.






Afterwards I headed to the tower of london which was actally really interesting, I got to see the crown jewels which was cool.










That evening I caught up with Angie from my old band who is living as a nanny in a very fancy part of town where the rich and famous live. So we walked around and then headed to camden town which is a very cool alternative area where we had dinner and some drinks. It was great to see her again, she seems really happy there.

The next day I tried with no avail to shop for some work clothes in the morning. But spent most of my time at Danny's house which is a small house that is full of 9 Aussies and Kiwis which is pretty crazy, it is in the real aussie part of town too called shepherd's bush, where there is an "Australian" pub but it is kind of crazy and really multicultural which I liked.

The afternoon after an almost 2 hour tube trip (I now know why everyone hates the tube) I met up with my friend Matt from Ireland, whom I met in Argentina. We spent the afternoon eating ice-cream and enjoying the plesant English weather (plesant for me is what is described as "hot" here). That night I went to a party where there were about 20 other Australians, after being only able to stand it for 1 hour I left and caught up with Matt and Suzanne a lovely couple whom I met snowboarding in Argentina for a few drinks.

The next morning up at 5am so I could get to the airport in time for my flight to Scotland. Where I am now in the city of Dundee working.

Buenos Aires

Well, well, well where do you start with a city like BA?

I spent nearly 8 days in the city and it really is a fantiastic place. I was staying in quite a party hostel, however nearly all of them are party hostels in BA. The thing I liked about mine was that the bedrooms were upstairs away from the noise so if you needed a sleep, it was possible.

I arrived after a delayed flight so my first night involved a short walk around, town filling in documents for work the UK and going out to a Thai restaurant which was quite a treat after travelling all over South America without it.





The next day off to the very working class area of La Boca (the mouth or lips in spanish) it is a very colourful neighbourhood where all the houses are painted bright colours by the original Italian immigrants. It is the birthplace of the Tango which originated as a dance between sailors and prostitutes.




Today despite being a tourist attraction with street tango shows, it still maintains its working class roots and it is home to Boca Juniors one of the biggest football teams in Argentina home to national hero and hand of god Diego Maradona.

















The next day a complete change of scenery with a trip to Recoleta, home to the rich and affluent. It is the flashiest part of town complete with french styled arcitecture, designer stores and hotels. It was probably the only part of Argentina not to feel the brunt of the economy collapse in 2001.





We went to the famous cemetary and saw Evita's grave and although she was for the working class she ended up burried here as she was the illigitimate daughter of a very distinguished man.









Thursday involved coffee and ice cream (dulce de leche flavour) with the two lovely aussie girls in my room Lyndall (a true aussie complete with crass slang and a great laugh to boot) and Kate (the super sweetie) this was of course followed by some shopping. That night was party night in the hostel followed with a trip to Club 69. A somewhat wild club complete with a drag queen show.

It is hard to describe the lifestyle of this city dinner is had at around 10-11pm, to which after you have a few drinks and then you head to the club at around 1:30-2am and would not dare to go any earlier. This is followed by returning home the next day usually around 10am or even later. So the partyness can take a toll and had not helped me get over my cold at all.

The next day involved some sulking around and us nursing our hangovers. A walk around town and then dinner and a quite night.

















Sat was a super shopping day hitting Palermo Hollywood I guess the Soho of BA. As a female repressed from shopping for 7 months it was a true delight. I got to by shoes and some nice clothes that I can wear in the UK. I spent a lot but the value for money here is incredible for what you get. Trendy local designer stuff for 20-30 dollars.

That night dressed in my new duds, it was off to meet a local my mum set me up with. We had dinner and met up with Lyndall and Jemma (a super super sweet english girl who has the worst spanish pronaounciation I have ever heard!) then went to a bar and then a kind of rock club. Again a big night and that left for a quiet sunday. Where I had a lovely dinner with an Irish friend, again I ate pasta while I watched him eat steak!!!

















Monday was more like my last day so the girls and I spent it wandering around some of the beautiful parks and gardens of BA. After coffee I took myself to the hospital as the cold I have had for 10 days had reached a point of being terrible (I do not think the partying helped) so I saw a doctor who has given me some meds and I think I am on the mend.

That night was hard for me as I had to come to a realisation that one dream of mine to travel in Central and South America has come to an end. I felt very overwhealmed by the places I have been to, the people I have met and the goals I have achieved along the way. I found it difficult to leave as I have adapted to the way of life here so easily.

I love it here and this whole continent holds a place in my heart which I find hard to let go. I am somewhat scared by what lies ahead of me in the UK. But now I have some dreams to return to South America and maybe call it home for a while (sorry to scare you again mum).

Iguazu

Well after a record long 26 hour bus ride, I arrived in Puerto Iguazu in the morning. I checked into my hostel and then headed straight to the national park as I only had one day there before heading to Buenos Aires.

















Iguazu is famous for the Iguazu falls, which are composed of 250 seperate cascades and is spread over the boarder between Argentina and Brazil. They are surrounded by a tropical rainforest.

















The most spectacular is the Garganta del Diablo or Devil´s throat in English which is a semi-circular waterfull which is extremely large and powerfull. The photos do not seem to do the falls justice but I took a great little film with my camera to show how awesome they are.

















I spent the whole day at the falls and national park then headed back to my hostel which was really cool and had another late and sociable night. Now I am headed for the capitol Buenos Aires!

Salta and the Gaucho life

Well Tom and I have parted ways, him to Buenas Aires and me to Salta. It was probably a good thing as we were starting to get on each others nerves very much.

I took and overnight bus to Salta, and arrived at this pretty cool hostel. I spent the rest of the day walking around town. It is a very pretty town much more of a rural atmosphere than the other places I have been to. I rode up a gondala to the top of a mountain where you got a great view of the city, then I walked to the plaza and through the streets. The buildings here a beautiful colonial styled with mosaic tiles. That night i met a cool chick from Hawaii who lives in New York. A fellow vegetarian so we went out for dinner together.

















The next day was spectacular. I went horse riding with a true Argentinan gaucho called Enrique. I rode a lovely horse called Nochilla (girl of the night, not a hooker!) and I had to ride Gaucho style. That is no helmet, with leather chaps on and riding with only one hand, apparently I had to keep the other one free in case I needed to use a lasoo!!

















We rode through farmland and town (a tiny town in the middle of no-where) in the morning, we then stopped for lunch and to watch the argentina game on the TV but Enrique could not get the game on his TV so we drove to town and watched it with half the towns people in a cafe. I have great footage of them celebrating their goal but, I did not want take photos when they were all crying after their loss.

Afterwards we went back and I had a huge lunch accompanied with a lot of red wine. Then it was back on the horses, half drunk and full of food I actually rode a lot better as I was more relaxed. Although I think we had every dog in town chasing us at one stage. We rode around the coutry side and I went for a bit of a canter, my riding improving with some help from Enrique. Back to the ranch there was cake and tea.

















I had such a great day and Enrique was super cool and a true gaucho gentleman. I got a ride back to Salta and it seemed as if the whole country was in mourning after their world cup defeat (they lost in a penalty shoot out to Germany)

I am not sure the world cup is being followed as religiously back home as it is here. But here it is 24 hour coverage and very biased. You see every Argentinian goal repeated 20 times. Now that all my favourite teams are out Australia, Argentina and England. Vamos Francia. I am going to France I was happy to see them beat Brasil and hope they beat Italy and ladies Henry is very pleasing on the eye.