Carrie can keep New York.  I want to be a Porteño!  We flew into Buenos Aires Business Class daaaaaaaaaaaaaaarling, complete with legroom, champagne and a screaming baby.  Not everything is perfect!  I defy anyone not to fall in love with BA instantly.  A huge city with wide avenues (the longest and widest in the world according to the Porteños!) and more style than most European cities can dream of.  I might never leave! 

In my first few days I´ve been in some of the coolest bars and restaurants in Palermo, partied on top of a hair salon(?), seen Gustavo Ceratti in concert, met up with my old friend Nick who´s shown me the sights and sounds of this amazing place, partied in Crobar, watched a live band who John Lennon´s sister asked to tour Europe play, shopped till i dropped in Plaza Serrano hunting out one off designer pieces, wandered the Antique fair in San Telmo, danced the Tango, partied to La Bomba in a festival style place and still found time to eat and drink wonderful food and wine in beautiful cafes and restaurants.  It´s been a whirlwind!

So on that basis i need to do some serious blog updates of the past weeks and get some photos up here to prove i´m still alive and well.  But the question is will i ever find the time to do it in BA?! 

Valparisio is a wonderful beach town

I had envisioned Santiago to be somewhat like Moscow, not sure why i had the impression or what created it but it was there.  So, i was rather happily suprised to pull into a very green, developed city with lots of history and culture.  I liked it instantly and the feeling only grew as we explored more.  We checked into a wonderful hostel again and despite being rather tired decided to hit Bellavista and see how the Chileans party.  We started out in the Patio, a development set around a courtyard filled with cool bars and cafes.  We then went to find a bar called Constitution and along the way had our first experience of Chilean machoism.  Picture the scene, a sidewalk filled with tables and chairs and people out enjoying the night and drinking.  We realise that the tables are filled with just guys and as we walk past one table starts to clap and then all tables (around 20) start to join in and as Maggie and i walk past we had a round of applause worthy of an Oscar winner.  At first i thought maybe i had my dress caught in my knickers, maybe one of our dresses was not so well positioned but no.  It was just a normal activity.  Strange! We did finally make the bar and fortunatly we only had the odd "tst tst" and "i love you´s" as we walked by.  The bar was really cool and full of young hip Chileanos dancing to a mix of Reggaton, bad 80´s English music and a rather interesting mega mix.  They might be cool but their music choice might need some work!

The next day was a full on site seeing day and there is a lot to see in Santiago. 

It was good to get back to Salta and Hostel Centro, it felt like coming home.  Such a nice feeling to have when you´re so far from your actual home.  Pulling into the city on a Friday night was a smart move too as Salta parties at the weekend and we were ready to practice our reggaton moves!  That night we hit Belcarse street, it´s a tree lined long avenue filled with cool bars, clubs, restaurants and hundreds of people dressed to kill.  Outside tables buzzing with people, inside the bar live acts performing - one killer jazz singer who floored us with her voice - it was so different to home and such a cool environment.  We met up with my friend from La Paz Lisa and decided to branch outside of our Malbec drinking for the night and try their mojitos and we weren´t disappointed ... we danced until 6am so they definately did something right!

The next day slightly hungover we signed up to go to an Estancia and go horseriding.  We arrived to find our host was a gregarious Spanish Gaucho who was only happy when your glass was overflowing with wine.  Rather dangerous when you´re about to spend the afternoon on the back of a horse, but when in Argentina!!! The place was beautiful with rolling hills, mouintains in the bacjkground and fields for miles.  The horses were great too and it was a lovely ride through forests and a river.  That was until the rain came.  Now i´m not talking spitting or light rain, i´m talking big fat rain droplets worthy of an Indian Monsoon falling for over an hour and a half whilst we were riding.  I don´t think i´ve ever been so wet in my life!  I think my horse suffered too as his footing was pretty precarious ... or maybe he got a glass of the Gaucho´s vino?  I was very glad when it was over and we could go back to the hostel!

Back at the hostel we had our first ASADO.  Now, the way Maggie and I love wine is nothing compared to the way Argentinans love meat.  An ASADO is an Argentinan BBQ with every type of meat you can imagine in abundance.  There were 10 people eating hunks of meat that made it look like the hostel had a slaughterhouse out back and couldn´t keep up with demand.  I´ve never seen anything like it.  I had a vegetarian version full of veggies which was heaven for me but looked rather paltry in comparison to the meat feast that was going on!  It was our last night in Salta and our last night with Michelle who i´ve travelled with since Quito so it was only fitting that we dance and drink the night away in the style we´d become accostomed to .... "1,2,3,4 You know you Want Me ......".  Bye bye Michelle, bye bye Salta and Mendoza here we come!

I feel it only right to dedicate a little passage to one of the most spectacular journies I´ve taken to date.  The road between Mendoza and Santiago is often whispered between travellers like a treasured secret and i now know why.  The road winds between spectacular Andes Peaks and snowcapped mountains and the 7 hours leave you sitting with your mouth open and your camera batteries faltering.  I´ll let the pictures do the talking .... beautiful!

The tasting tour continues and took Maggie and I to Mendoza.  After a wonderful cama overnight bus complete with non scary movies and bus bingo we arrived in Mendoza.  Having been flattened by and earthquake in the past it was redesigned with big wide avenues, trees on all streets and big plazas.  It´s a pretty city but for me lacked the charm of Salta.  We checked into a hostel worthy of being called "the worst hostel to date", cramped, dirty and smelly and for no extra cost workmen outside our window that started work at 7am each morning.  I don´t think they´re that dedicated anywhere else in the world! It was however in a very good location on Calle XXXXXXX where all the happening bars, restaurants and boutiques are.  We were in the right place!  We also met a lovely Aussie girl called Elise who joined us and made our twosome a temporary 3some. 

Our second day we decided to do what we do best and take bikes and go wine tasting.  This was no Cafayate though.  We cycled 20km (yep i really did say 20km!) from the centre of Mendoza to the wine area called Lujan.  Luckily the drivers here are calmer and the streets wider than in London as we had no helmets and a poor excuse of a map.  After an hour and a half of cycling i was happy to get to our first Bodega and get a glass of vino in me! I earnt it 20km´s over!!! We managed to visit 4 Bodegas as the distance was so great.  The wines were beautiful and some of the places were really pretty but it wasn´t as romantic or ristic as Cafayate and the experience felt more commercial somehow.  That night we decided that cycling back wasn´t as appealing as taking the bus so we caught the bus back to town and headed for a New York style Loft Bar called Decimo.  It´s an unassuming tower block full of offices but if you push lucky number ten in the lift you pop up into Decimo which has spectacular views of the city, a Mediterranean tasting plate and Rose Malbec to die for.  That´s more like it!

The lodge was located in another district and the only way to arrive there was by boat, sweet! But this wasn't the Amazon river. This was the Nanay one, an Amazon's affluent . The Nanay was wide though and the water was chocolate brown... It was so good being on a speed boat, so it was possible to feel some breeze. It was really hot, pfff. Anyway, you could enjoy a beautiful landscape. Everything was so green...

Afte 15min we arrived to our first stop: the Bora's Community. Bora is an Amazon tribe. They live in the Amazon region, but there's a small group San Andres, that tourist can visit. This group are used to have visitors and enjoy having them. Also it's a way to make some money for the tribe. We arrived to the island and we had to climb some staist. It was really muddy, so good I decided to wear tennis shoes. I saw a girl with high heels. OMG! Too much!

We started to walk and we could hear some voices getting louder. Then Golber stopped in front of a wood device, it looked like drums. Well, they were the local "bell". When you are visiting the Boras you have to hit the "manguare" to let them know you are coming. We were getting closer to the Bora's campsite. Along the path we could see some fields of yuca, bananas and pineapple, which they grow for their consumption and trade. Yuca and bananas are very important in the daily diet in the rainforest, they are considered the local bread.

Finally we arrived to the Bora's campsite. Some houses were surrounding a central one, which was the "auditorium". The Bora's chief came out to welcome us. The "auditorium" was big without furniture, except from a long log where we could sit down. The chief gave a speech about his tribe, both in Spanish and in Bora's dialect. He explained some of their customes. There were other women and men. Not many children, since they were at school.

Then they all performed a couple of dances and sang. The songs weren't that nice, at least for me. It was fun though and for their last dance they invited some of us to join them. No, I didn't dance, ufffff. After the dance we had some free time to check out the place and all what they were showing there, such as handicraft, clothing, everything made by them. Most of them are a bit shy and the language barrier don't allow you to talk to them much. Although smiling is international.

Boras live from the agriculture and tourism. Even though they don't make much money from the tourism, this is important for their support. Golber told us that buying something there wasn't a must, but you felt you should buy something from them. At least I felt so and got a little something. It's a shame that this is turning in something so commercial. Oh well, it happens with many things around the whole world...  Maybe not all of the Boras speak Spanish, but they can certainly negotiate a price and even be pushy... ufff. Well, but it was good to be able to help them somehow and see how they live. Anyway they are kind people and it's nice to see one of the local tribes' customs. It was a good start of the adventure.

Because of the heat, although there was a/c, I woke up early... tried to take a shower, but here was no hot water, grrr. Oh well, just cold water shouldn't be so bad since it was so hot, pffff. Golber would come at 9:30am, so there was plenty of time but I preferred to leave my backpack ready before leaving the hotel.

Breakfast wasn't included in the rate. Actually this would work better for the eating monsters, hahaha. It was shortly past 7am when we left the hotel. Why did we leave so early? Well, it wasn't that hot at that time... It was early for eating, but not for doing some sightseeing and walk along the jetty. Yesterday we walked around this area, but was at night. During the day it was different, so quiet and you could see the river and houses. The Main Square and Cathedral looked so different too.

Oh well, it was time for breakfast. We should go back to the hotel at 9am. Where to go? There was a restaurant which was recommended by all the tourists. We decided to give it a try and it was a good idea. This place was cool! and so his owner, an American guy who moved from Texas and decorated this little place with souvenirs from the USA. Actually we ended up here, because of the waitress who were wearing Texas Longhorn Cheerleaders uniforms! American football is not popular in Peru, how bizarre! hahaha.

The restaurant had some tables outdoors, which was perfect since it was hot... The waitress brought the menu which was big! This place is open 24 / 7 so they offer breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, drinks and even a special diet for the "Ayahuasca" - a ceremony performed by a shaman with hallucinogens powers.  Therefore checking the menu can take quite a long time. But to make things easier menu are both in Spanish and in English.

Then I found something that I'd like: Vegetarian breakfast. It had juice, coffee, fruit salad. It was good, but I was expecting a better fruit salad since I was in the rainforest... While Shawn got the regional one, which had cecina - a local smoked ham, patacones - fried pieces of plantain, coffee and juice... Too much for me. I prefer a light breakfast. At the restaurant we met the guy who was sit next to us at the plane, hahaha. Shawn was chatting to him, while I was taking pics of the place. This guy introduced us to the owner who has built a bar next door and invited us to stop by there before flying back to Lima. Ok, we'll do it. He said it was an American style bar. We'll see.

It was 9 when we started walking back to the hotel. Iquitos has a heavy traffic, but don't expect to see many cars. City is full with moto taxis! And they drive like crazies! Actually there are a lot of accidents because of them. If you are crossing and the light turn from red to green, do not expect them to stop. Pfff. By this time, it was really sunny and hot, pffff. A couple of minutes later Golber arrived to the hotel. We left, picked up 6 other people from a different hotel and went to the river harbor.

Golber was so happy our luggage was just about 2 backpacks, hahaha. There were some people with heavy suitcases, pfff. There was more than 1 guide. Well it turned to be that each group had a private guide, how cool! Ok, the speedboat arrived. Time to get on board and start the adventure, yay!

It was almost 1pm when we arrived to Callao, well to the place where we were recommended to catch the right bus to go to Downtown Callao. The airport is located in Callao, so I assumed going there from Downtown would take 5min. Furthermore, I was thinking the flight was scheduled to leave at 4:50pm.

The drive with the 2nd bus was fast. First thing I could notice: people weren't as friendly as before and it didn't look that safe either - as a result I didn't take my camera out, just in case. Well, a harbor is a harbor no matter where you are. It reminded me a bit of Guayaquil. Finally we arrived to Callao downtown. It took a long time since the minute I left home, but it was so cheap... Anyway, I wouldn't have done it if I wouldn't have had that much time and almost no luggage.

It was sunny, yay! Callao downtown looked very beautiful. Buildings and squares were restored. We'd walk around after lunch. We were too hungry to wait hahaha. There were 2 recommendations in the guide. One was the oldest restaurant. It wasn't that easy to find it, since there were no signs. But we could find it. The place was full with locals. We were watching the menu writen on a board and an old waiter/administrator came out and said very loud: "come in!". It sounded more like a command. I said we were just checking the menu and he shouted: "so, what are you doing here?". How rude!

Well, better let's go to the place that was the writer recommendation. We tried with the oldest place, because of the tradition, but after that experience of rudeness no way I'd ever go back there. At least when we were looking for it, we did some sightseeing. So it wasn't a complete lost of time after all. The other place had 2 locations very close to each other. After picking the most traditional one, we went inside. This place was small and charming. It was full of locals who worked in Customs or the harbor, good sign. How lucky! There was a free table.

While I was waiting for the menu, decided to check the flight ticket. So good I did it! Flight's departure was at 4pm! We couldn't afford loosing much more time... What to order? We were sure we wanted a cebiche, but the guide recommended to try the "pejerrey" (silverside fish).  Ok, we'd have that for appetizer. In the meanwhile, he brought complimentary toasted corn and I took some pictures of this cool small restaurant.

A few minutes later the waiter brought our order: "enrollado de pejerrey". The dish looked very good and its flavor was great too. It was about shrimp wrapped with silverfish and fried. We couldn't waist time, so we ordered for the main dish, not without asking the waiter for some explanations, hahaha. He had a lot of patience. This is the way how a waiter should behave!

Our main dish came next. It was the classic cebiche. It was fresh and good, although I don't think I'd go all the way back to Callao just for it, but might do it for the pejerrey, hahaha. Seriously, if I'm nearby, I'd drive there, but driving 1 hr just for it is too much... sorry. This was a great experience, having such fresh and good fish at the harbor in a restaurant, which is a tradition among the locals, cool! It was impossible to find a tourist here, hehehe.

I'd have liked to stay here longer, but it was getting late. By the time we took a cab, it was around 2:45pm. Oh well, I was expecting we'd arrive to the airport at 3pm, as was requested by the airline. Oh oh! Downtown Callao was further than expected... and there was some traffic too, pfff.

We arrived at 3:15pm. There was no line at the counter, how lucky! oh oh! There was nobody because we were the last ones! So, we weren't able to pick up seats... The girl told us to go straight to the gate. Ok, ok, first of all paying the airport fee, then security and finally the gate. Then I saw it... the flight was delayed, grrrr. Usually I don't fly this airline, but wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt... well, so far the experience hasn't been that great. Well, it was too early to give a final veredict.

Flight left around 5pm, one hour later... just before boarding I noticed my seat was in the 1st row. Was one of the last to board, but would be the first to leave the plane, hehe. 

We were supposed to arrive to Iquitos at 6pm - hopefully on time for the sunset, which looks amazing in the rain forest. But due to the delay of the flight, we didn't arrive there until it was dark... The flight was really long, not only because of the delay but also because of a stopover in Tarapoto, pfff. Just remember why I don't fly with this airline, hahaha.

Before landing the flight attendants told us to fasten our seatbelts due to the weather conditions. What? I didn't feel turbulence, but saw clouds surrounding us. Pfff, that looks cool, but the greatest was a thunder! Awesome! If I had hopes about seeing something during the landing, bad luck. The only thing I could see were clouds, hahaha.

The plan was to spend a night in the city and then to go to a lodge. I called the lodge to confirm where they could pick us next morning, but they surprised me when they asked for my flight details. They would send a transfer, even when the tour would start the next morning, sweet! And this was even better, since it was raining in Iquitos.

Leaving the building I saw a man holding a shield with my name. This guy would be our guide starting tomorrow. His name was "Golber". First time I heard that name. I was expecting a cab, but there was a SUV for us, sweet! Golber was very friendly, introduced himself and we did the same. During the drive to the hotel, which lasted just a bit more than 5min he was explaining things about Iquitos, the lodge and also giving some tips.

We arrived to the hotel and agreed to meet Golber next morning. He'd come with the others who would go to the lodge. The hotel was well located and was bigger than expected, although the rooms were disappointing. Oh well, we'd stay here just 1 night... no way I'd spend another night here. At least the room had air conditioning, yeah! I think the thing I like the most at the hotel was the fact that it was located just in front of a great ice cream shop. When I was in Tarapoto a couple of years ago, I went to this ice cream shop and promised myself to go back, hahaha.

It was dinner time, but before going to look for a restaurant, we'd stop at the ice cream shop. Better having dessert first, just in case we wouldn't have room for it after the meal, hehehe. They had the traditional flavors, but also some regional. So good! I didn't know to try any new flavor. I knew exactly what I wanted: Camu-camu (a sour fruit from the rain forest). It was as good as I remembered. Yummy!

There were a couple of recommended restaurants which we'd like to try. But first it was time to do a bit sightseeing in the Main Square. It looked nice at night time. I remembered a restaurant where I went when I was in Iquitos for business, but I couldn't remember the name. So we arrived to one that seemed to be it, but it was almost empty... thanks to the ice cream we could wait a bit longer to find a nice place to eat... We kept on walking along the jetty, which is popular due to its bars and some restaurants.

Finally we decided to one located there, which was also recommended. The other restaurants nearby were small and more local. This one had a nicer decoration, bit modern, and was also part of the best restaurants in the country! The only one in Iquitos, yeah! This restaurant serves the typical dishes, but a bit gourmet. This was the perfect introduction to the local food.

No alcohol tonight, instead some local juice - camu camu again, hehehe. The appetizer were the traditional tacachos (fried mashed plantain and yuca with some pork). Usually they are big, but here they served "tacachitos" which were a small version of the original. Shawn didn't like them very much, but I loved them! Usually tacachos are too big for me, so this size was perfect! Also the spicy they serve was really good.

Now time for the main dish. The variety of meat they serve in the rainforest is wide, but we'd save them for other day. I really like the chonta (heart of palm tree) and here they have a chonta souffle - first time I've ever seen something like that. OMG! It was delicious! I loved the small clay pot where it was served, so cute!!! Shawn got the patarashca. I recommended him to try it. I had it before in Tarapoto and liked it. It was grilled fish wrapped on banana leaves. My recommendation was perfect, hahaha.

Pfff, now we were full and it was raining again. So going back to the hotel was a good idea. The lodge adventure would start tomorrow and wanted to wake up early. First night in the rainforest was over...

Aqui estou em em BH nesta cidade massa, capital mineira qua tanto gosto. O que me deixa mais em casa é a receptividade deste povo mineiro e a forma simples que todos vivem sem muita nove horas.

Minha viagem foi muito tranquila e o primeiro voo foi simplesmente uma ride to the clouds (viagem nas nuvens) que Deus me proporcionou. Fazia tempo que nao via nuvens daquela forma, o piloto fez questao de sobrevoar o litoral paulista por alguns minutos e quando olhei para baixo uma vista e tanto. E entao subiu um pouco mais sobrevoando as nuvens e o sol.  Foi coisa de cinema...

Agora estou com velhos amigos aproveitando cada segundo antes de continuar minha viagem pra "casa". Mau posso esperar pra ver mom and dad.

To morrendo de saudade (dos que ficou e dos que estao por vir).

Amo voces...

Just the night before I came back from the highlands. I woke up early today and after repacked my stuff, was ready to travel again. I was so excited with the idea of traveling again, but Gunther wasn't so happy ... poor thing.

The destination was Iquitos, which is the biggest city in the Peruvian rainforest. I've been there before, but just for 2 days and it was a business trip, so I didn't have chance to explore the rainforest or even the city itself. I was always procastinating this trip, decided to visit other places before this one, but finally did it! Mission accomplished! The easiest way to reach Iquitos is by plain. Iquitos is like a big island - no highways - so the idea of driving a bus and then take a 2days boat wasn't that appealing, specially because I didn't have much time.

Back to the story, usually when I go to the airport I take a cab. I have never taken a minibus there, I consider it a bit unsafe specially if you have luggage and the bus drive can take a looong time.  But this time would be different. I had just a backpack with me, flight was leaving in the afternoon and I wasn't alone. Shawn would join me, so I'd have a bodyguard, hahaha. One of our main concerns was: lunch! hahaha. Yes, we both were thinking about where to have lunch. At the airport sounded so dull...

We caught a minibus which would drive us to Callao. The only thing I was sure is that I wanted to go to ther, didn't care much about the exact destination, hahaha. At the bus I asked the driver if he could let us know when we were the closest to where I could reach Callao downtown. Yay!

I have been collecting some brochures with touristy info about Peru, got the "Iquitos" one and also the "Callao" one. This brochure recommended some restaurants and the airport is located in Callao, yay! Now we had a plan. We'd stop in Callao for lunch and then take a cab to the airport. Adventure was getting started :)

$70 a week, $250 a month, 2 weeks at least

If trying the local cuisine might help you understanding better a region or city, trying the street food will definitely do so. And Huancayo is not the exception. You don't need to go somewhere in particular to find some food stalls. There are everywhere! They all have different kind of snacks. What can you find here? Ok here are the most common things: Beverages -juices: there are lots of fruit stands offering refreshing juices. Salty snacks: -chicharron a: pieces of deep friend pork. Served with some toasted corn and onions. -chicharron b: They cooked the whole pig at same time and slice some pieces in front of you. They serve it with onion and pepper. -papa rellena: stuffed potato. Potato stuffed with grounded beef. It's very good, specially when it's warm. -quail egg: never tried it, but seemed to be very popular and cheap sweet: -fresh fruit: nothing is better than a refreshing slice of watermelon or pineapple. So tasty! -cachanga: squash pasty deep fried. It's big and round... didn't try it but was popular among the locals. -warm ice cream: usually it's cold here, so this "ice cream" is basically whipped egg white with sugar Do not miss the chance to try some of the local street food, but be careful. Avoid the sauces like mayonnaise - don't trust the storage conditions and prefer the cooked things. If you find a papa rellena, try it!

Down here for Natal Luz, big thing in Brazil but not much know elsewhere. Quaint Country Inn ,,, rustic decoration, lots of wood and stone, good room facilities (TV, fridge, tea / coffee facilities, good bed linen and towels). Very clean and comfortable. Good breakfast. They have gardens, garden chess, pool table, games etc and thankfully Wi-Fi