Brasil: Togs, Togs, Undies, Undies

Written on 09 November 2010 and posted to the blog on 20 November 2010.

Bom dia amigos! We spent two and a half weeks skimming the surface of what Brasil has to offer. Our brief taste was enough to leave us wanting more – with the football world cup in 2014 and the Olympics in 2016, why not? Our destinations included Corumba, the Pantanal, Campo Grande, Bonito, Foz de Iguasu, Rio de Janeiro and Isla Grande.



RIVER SNORKELLING IN BONITO: After a less than smooth border crossing into Brasil, we eventually made it through the vast Pantanal and down into Bonito. Bonito’s snorkelling was first class – floating down clear water rivers with massive fish unafraid of swimming up very close.



SHOWERING AT FOZ DE IGUASU: With 275 waterfalls crashing down 80 metres into the Rio Iguasu, we figured that we may get wet at some stage so we wore our togs (with other clothes of course). We visited both the Brasilian and Argentinean sides of the falls over two days and took more than our fair share of waterfall photos while managing to avoid the hordes of elderly ladies on bus tours. We couldn’t really complain about the regular dousing of water we received given the high temperatures we were encountering.



PEOPLE WATCHING RIO STYLES: We spent just over a week in the Rio de Janeiro region and would like to specially thank Dale ‘Smit Dog’ Smith and Raphael ‘Rafa’ Bonventi for hosting us for the majority of that time. The boys’ house proved to be a very social hangout in Ipanema and we really enjoyed the company of many of their Brasilian and ex pat friends while ‘funky dancing’ (aka booty dancing), drinking beer and sitting on the beach. We also put our best dancing skills to use while wearing headphones at a silent disco. This concept may initially seem a little antisocial but the absence of loud music actually makes conversation easier once the headphones are removed. The hang gliding scene is also a great social point of Rio and while we didn’t hang glide ourselves, we enjoyed watching Dale and Rafa from the take off point (with amazing views), as well as the landing beach.



The best place to people watch in Rio would have to be Ipanema Beach. Divided into three sections: gay, family and ‘good looking people’ we of course hung out in the latter section. We more than likely stood out as gringos from a mile away: fair hair and blue eyes, Rodney’s board shorts as opposed to little Speedos and a bikini that covered most of Kirsty’s bottom rather than a skimpy g-string. We also enjoyed more of the beaches by catching a three hour bus and one and a half hour boat ride to beautiful island of Isla Grande. Trekking through jungle in hot temperatures was hard work but the serene beach and cooling swim was well worth it.



More sobering was our tour of two of the city’s favellas, or slums. While the level of poverty is immediately noticeable, what is also apparent is the strong community feeling. Built on what was formerly public land, the favellas have million dollar views; rather than expanding outwards each dwelling is simply added to by attaching another level to the roof with each new generation.

A visit to Rio is not complete without visiting two of the most famous icons in the city: Cristo Rendentor (Christ the Redeemer) and Sugar Loaf Mountain. We were fortunate to have a really stunning Rio day to visit these viewpoints which provide a spectacular take of the city.

We are now in Valpraiso, Chile and will spend the next six weeks zipping between Argentina and Chile and into Patagonia.

Adeus!!!!!
Amor Rodney and Kirsty.

High up in Bolivia

Written on 24 October 2010 and due to having too much fun in Brazil, only posted to the blog on 6 November 2010.

Buenos Dias! We have just spent three weeks in Bolivia and most of that time was spent between three and five thousand metres above sea level. Favourite spots included Copacabana and the Isla de Sol on Lake Titicaca, La Paz, Rurrenbaque , Chalalan Lodge deep in the Amazon Jungle, Tupiza, In and around Salar de Uyuni, Potosi, Sucre and Santa Cruz.



ROW ROW ROW YOUR BOAT: Why to things the easy way? A common theme to our travels this year has been taking the more physical and less travelled ways of doing things. Visiting Isla la Sol on Lake Titicaca from Copacabana was no exception. As other backpackers were climbing abroad motorboats for a quick ride, we were starting what ended up being a day long mission to get to the same location. We started with a scenic walk to the channel between the mainland and the island which ended up being 22kms, although we were told 15kms. We then entered into negotiations with the local elderly boat men to cross the channel. This concluded with us jumping in a dubious looking rowboat for a journey which was promised to be 40 minutes. An hour and a half later we arrived at Isla de Sol cold, wet, cold, surprised that our oarsman had not had a heart attack and that we hadn’t been required to swim. Despite our woes, it was all worth it; the beautiful views of the Cordillera Real mountain ranges and the scenic island walk making it a very picturesque area of the world.





THE WORLD’S MOST DANGEROUS: Many of you will be aware that our anticipated highlight in La Paz, the world’s highest capital, was to have been riding a mountain bike down the world’s most dangerous road. Unfortunately, our visit coincided with a government crackdown on dodgy coca leaf farmers (think cocaine), who responded by blockading the road and consequently making it impossible to pass. Rodney responded by hunting out another world’s most dangerous activity, this time at a famous La Paz curry house. The challenge? To eat the world’s most dangerous curry, containing over 40 chillies. While Rodney loves hot food, this Vindaloo was a true test of his capabilities. With the assistance of a lassi (yoghurt drink) Rodney happily completed the challenge and was awarded a t-shirt for his efforts. Happy would probably not be a word that either of us would use to describe some of the hours which followed.



THE MIGHTY AMAZON: We journeyed 5 hours upriver by boat from Rurrenbaque deep into the Amazon Jungle. Staying at the community run Chalalan Lodge for 4 nights, we ventured out into the jungle during both day and night time and we were accompanied by a host of weird and wonderful creatures including tarantulas, caymans, macaws, a huge variety of monkeys, insects and snakes. Importantly, Rodney finally catching his first ever fish – and by hand reel! This was no ordinary fish either but a sharp toothed paranha! Not to be outdone, half an hour later Kirsty caught a massive piranha at least four times the size of Rodney’s.



WHAM BAM THANK YOU MA’AM: On returning to La Paz, we were unable to get in to our previous hostel. As it was already dark we needed to find a room promptly and were told about a hotel which would definitely have space. On arrival we noticed an hourly room rate charge and interestingly positioned mirrors in the rooms (i.e. on the ceiling). However, given that the room was clean and secure and the hour was late, we checked in. Our initial suspicions were confirmed an hour or so later when sounds of pleasure were heard coming from the room next door, which was then quickly vacated. Clearly their hour was up.



GEOLOGICAL WONDERLAND: Tupiza is the location where Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid met their death. It was therefore appropriate that we combined seeing the huge, worn away rock cliffs with donning cowboy / girl hats and jumping on a horse. Our horse handling skills could probably do with a bit of improvement, although the slow speed and disobedience of our horses is surely more to do with the age of Rodney’s horse and the weight of Kirsty’s. Deciding to switch transport, we jumped in a jeep and travelled over 1000kms during a 4 day period in and around Salar de Uyuni (Salt Flats), where we were consistently at altitudes of between three and five thousand metres. While seeing some amazing wildlife which included multitudes of llamas and flamingos, the geology of the region was most impressive, whether it be the strangely coloured lagoons, hot springs, active / non active volcanoes, the cacti island and of course the massive salt lakes.



THE JOB FROM HELL: Potosi is the world’s highest city; its mines originally funding
the Spanish colonial empire as silver flowed out its gates. Given this year’s mining story in Chile and upon hearing of the potential health risks, we decided not to go and see the miners while they were working away at their ‘job from hell’. Instead, we checked out other aspects of the miners’ lives which included having opportunities to buy coca leaves, the miners’ drink of choice – a 97% alcoholic drink, as well as purchase 4 sticks of dynamite with a fuse thrown in for less than NZ$10. We did ask whether there are many incidental cases of dynamite explosions in the city given the ease with which the explosive is available and were told that people are ‘mostly’ sensible.



WANTED - FULTON HOGAN: We were warned about Bolivia’s roads and buses before we arrived and unfortunately we were not warned without reason. The roads themselves are seldom tar sealed and usually have enough hair pin corners to make even the most experienced rally car driver nervous. The buses themselves are unlikely to pass a WOF back home and are more often than not extremely full, as aisle ‘spots’ are sold once the seats have gone. All part of the travel experience, although we could have done without the loud chair shaking locals at first light towards the end of a 17 hour journey.

After a long overnight train, we have just crossed the infamous Bolivia / Brazil border renowned for cocaine smuggling. We keep our heads down, tried not to look at the copious number of dodgy activities occurring and will now safely start our Brazilian adventure. All of our Peru and Bolivia photos are now on flickr if you want to check them out http://www.flickr.com/photos/rodneykirsty/sets/

Ciao Ciao!
Love Rodney and Kirsty.