tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52187672405509150262024-03-05T16:57:39.515-08:00Travelling Central & S.AmericaWe will be updating this blog as and when we can depending on internet access and if we feel like comminicating to the outside world. Some will be brief, some will be in depth, some may be ramblings and others may be deep and meaningful. We are not exactly 100 percent when we will return, but Summer 2014 is looking likely.Hannah and Kyle travel S.Americahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15199881368072873571noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218767240550915026.post-33822731407020126112014-09-02T07:35:00.000-07:002014-09-03T06:34:54.321-07:00Final stop... Mexico<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_DkCYV7IAdJ9p8WfTyCK9vNLGnRvu5_LatwFl2ib1i7cJEag1nAg3A0Et9j24202XozVF_Hf7CA8Xw_9qDud5N8W-gnkZnjIf-a4cv00pxQV06L03l_qnGVEQcYH0c880ZWnpyY2bWQg/s1600/Mexico+6+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_DkCYV7IAdJ9p8WfTyCK9vNLGnRvu5_LatwFl2ib1i7cJEag1nAg3A0Et9j24202XozVF_Hf7CA8Xw_9qDud5N8W-gnkZnjIf-a4cv00pxQV06L03l_qnGVEQcYH0c880ZWnpyY2bWQg/s1600/Mexico+6+(1).jpg" height="298" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri;">We arrived in
Mexico in the afternoon on Saturday 26</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri;">th</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri;"> April. This was to be our last border crossing in Central
America. The Mexican immigration was big and modern. We’d heard stories that it
can get super busy however the place was virtually empty. Whilst the building
was impressive, the entrance stamp certainly wasn’t. They had appeared to have
run out of ink but were continuing to stamp passports producing the most
faintest of marks. Over the last 8 months I have become increasingly proud of
my stamps and enjoyed pouring over them every week or so. Border crossings
excited me greatly with the prospect of getting a snazzy new entrance or exit
stamp. You can therefore imagine my disappointment at this most pathetic of
stamps and Kyle had to wrestle my passport off me to stop me from tracing over
it. Not a good idea, he said.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri;">We got back on
the same chicken bus that had picked us up back in Belize City and drove
another 20 minutes to Chetumal. We gazed out the window, somehow not really
believing we were in Mexico! We noticed all the Spanish signs again and tried
to get our brains back into gear. After a short taxi ride to another bus
terminal we booked ourselves onto a 4 hour bus north east along the coast to
Tulum. At the check in desk we realised that we had gone forward an hour – it
would have been more useful to gain an hour on a travel day. We would now be
arriving in Tulum later; we hadn’t booked a hostel so didn’t really want to be
roaming the streets at night!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">This bus was
much more luxurious than that chicken bus we had been on. The air conditioning
seemed to be set at about -5. Brrrr….</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">We finally
arrived at The Weary Traveller hostel, very aptly named, not too late around
9pm. As we walked through the kitchen and common space area we spotted Anna,
our lovely friend who we’d first met back in February in Panama and then more
recently in Utila! What a small world! She was with some others who had also
been in Utila with her. We had a Utila contingent and began preaching to all
the other travellers who would listen about just how wonderful this little
island was!</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGQHwl_QavS96f2qm9oKBiYfv0mBlHH76urdiZ8VmjwsBREvitrw6878XwtNamyQbfC7UxZAAmZHX0GXCAOzH3HmDb086zigl8WmvVCFZR6izW9WPRvwAWIi1xDhdBpEFhfPWZEjECvqk/s1600/Mexico+4+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGQHwl_QavS96f2qm9oKBiYfv0mBlHH76urdiZ8VmjwsBREvitrw6878XwtNamyQbfC7UxZAAmZHX0GXCAOzH3HmDb086zigl8WmvVCFZR6izW9WPRvwAWIi1xDhdBpEFhfPWZEjECvqk/s1600/Mexico+4+(1).jpg" height="320" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kyle loved the 'walk in' freezer</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">We finished our
long day off with a fabulous Thai from a restaurant round the corner where we
drank Corona beer out of mugs and then had a cocktail on a swing whilst
watching a folk/gipsy band. We had arrived. Bliss.</span><span style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri;"> </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri;">Tulum sits on
the east side of the Yucatan peninsula, which separates the Caribbean Sea </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri;"> from the Gulf of Mexico </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri;">. The Peninsula comprises a significant proportion of
the ancient Maya sites.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri;">The indigenous Maya </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri;">make up a sizable portion of the region's population,
and Mayan languages </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri;"> are widely spoken there.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri;">We went to visit the Tulum ruins on the first day.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">Having recently visited the mighty
Tikal in Guatemala, Tulum certainly didn’t have the same grandiose structures
however the location is really quite special. The ruins sit right on the
cliffside, looking out over the beautiful turquoise Caribbean sea. It is
believed to have been an important port town during AD 1200 – 1521 and it was
one of Mexico’s last ancient cities to be abandoned about 75 years after the
Spanish conquest. It was fun to meet the only remaining inhabitants of these
ruins; lots and lots of iguanas, all shapes and sizes.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">It was a baking
hot day and all we wanted to do was dive into the very inviting looking water.
Lucky for us there were steps down to a beach. The sea was jam packed with
tourists so we joined the masses. Crowded but undeniably refreshing! There were
some funny sights!</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri;">After visiting
the park we headed down the road to the public beach. Tulum has a very long
stretch of pristine white sandy beach. We bought a few Coronas and ended up
listening to a fat American truck driver talk to us about his alternative
theories of the Mayans; actually quite fascinating!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvDs-VJg_UebrzcHlV9_SQATLXzUyhjf3qk2onkeTRtEWibROgjX1fZ25mcOWPJZ_0er_zvFpQHss1Y0Pv6fII6y6LA7N6syZxpE9aeTEJhDpGfOED1rz3JEVCLVQezIirJ8xw13dQJ4A/s1600/Mexico+253.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvDs-VJg_UebrzcHlV9_SQATLXzUyhjf3qk2onkeTRtEWibROgjX1fZ25mcOWPJZ_0er_zvFpQHss1Y0Pv6fII6y6LA7N6syZxpE9aeTEJhDpGfOED1rz3JEVCLVQezIirJ8xw13dQJ4A/s1600/Mexico+253.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A police bike!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTesj1N7Tfb5ze06CAIBgEJpeGfj-k5XLr2W858Ovbdf4iVEGZEtTSmeWDVgD70bmVq7OQpq2wJ9dDcpu2wC9MQHETpug97WLz9C6qtlvXfrXZgd3Gd1IjakR1BB6eod-B2hPY-CEFOkY/s1600/Mexico+41.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTesj1N7Tfb5ze06CAIBgEJpeGfj-k5XLr2W858Ovbdf4iVEGZEtTSmeWDVgD70bmVq7OQpq2wJ9dDcpu2wC9MQHETpug97WLz9C6qtlvXfrXZgd3Gd1IjakR1BB6eod-B2hPY-CEFOkY/s1600/Mexico+41.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of our favourite meals in a restaurant...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy5dQ67RT6y3OL3ORvUwl6wiT8g6QXXX6zr_B27jVPVfpswjX3Qxs7iBHucvO-sDUaYkvXWbcyzhram-tU5yndJRvN8swrvOvxBcYOn0RxGvZrJhQHTezjtjINJh-6KgPuzgW34D3LcI4/s1600/Mexico+3+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy5dQ67RT6y3OL3ORvUwl6wiT8g6QXXX6zr_B27jVPVfpswjX3Qxs7iBHucvO-sDUaYkvXWbcyzhram-tU5yndJRvN8swrvOvxBcYOn0RxGvZrJhQHTezjtjINJh-6KgPuzgW34D3LcI4/s1600/Mexico+3+(1).jpg" height="320" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our worst traditional breakfast in a hostel.. <br />
note the armpit tortilla wraps!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzWE15EWXlWL2zuLJdOilK9at0jIJHbNw6B7dogX8btD0z5MWlxp_h3IhnH58xl_tFDZMXkwMfIQi_v2JQPOxkynvuM_Mvyo5P6162jcrcRkGOMrM-y_qmNiuTjGurb9A8KbTAw_fgHUc/s1600/Mexico+40.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzWE15EWXlWL2zuLJdOilK9at0jIJHbNw6B7dogX8btD0z5MWlxp_h3IhnH58xl_tFDZMXkwMfIQi_v2JQPOxkynvuM_Mvyo5P6162jcrcRkGOMrM-y_qmNiuTjGurb9A8KbTAw_fgHUc/s1600/Mexico+40.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chillies and multiple Mojitos</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri;">That evening we
had a delicious Mexican platter; enchiladas, quesadillas and the like… This
made us excited to eat lots more authentic Mexican cuisine. Unfortunately
though, our subsequent experiences of the local food throughout the country was
not altogether positive. We actually grew to strongly dislike the Mexican
tortillas. We both agreed that they smelt of armpits.. and tasted worse! We
were most disappointed to discover that the shell for tacos aren’t actually
crunchy chips, but these horrible limp armpit wraps. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri;">Additionally, maybe
because we have seen and eaten enough refried beans in the last 3 months to
sink a battleship, we felt we had really reached our limit!</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9ZPjzzq8zDylTTKoHl-My3Hmap7R-0OvMLiuZ3LTGayM4AIyNHg1jzTGLmSjjdZ4vw2MBbf66aXXR3b9BzrJz2juvA6xG7E9vU525QY5OQulU2wg9UrDrQLpjSLnav86OrXnJwVua1-Y/s1600/Mexico+241.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9ZPjzzq8zDylTTKoHl-My3Hmap7R-0OvMLiuZ3LTGayM4AIyNHg1jzTGLmSjjdZ4vw2MBbf66aXXR3b9BzrJz2juvA6xG7E9vU525QY5OQulU2wg9UrDrQLpjSLnav86OrXnJwVua1-Y/s1600/Mexico+241.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri;">The whole of
the Yucatán Peninsula is an unconfined flat lying karst</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri;"> landscape made up almost entirely of limestone. There are many
‘cenotes’ which are natural fresh water sinkholes caused by the collapse of the limestone bedrock</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri;"> to expose the groundwater</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri;"> underneath. Certain cenotes were used by the ancient Maya</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri;"> for sacrificial offerings. They also drank from other
ones, not realizing that all the water was connected. They wondered why they
got sick…</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtn0rOevQp2QEYjmLaxIUnkcqlXfLhJekhJgFzxZFqR3kVIwPheL3FwvXc21G9QXp2nCcSQIkorzm4pdxd1_n4UNLVvZt1gNmwUzzfRyplj4XUW5bc1I_tfdQWQAiY9UH_iSf5wVAB4JQ/s1600/Mexico+254.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtn0rOevQp2QEYjmLaxIUnkcqlXfLhJekhJgFzxZFqR3kVIwPheL3FwvXc21G9QXp2nCcSQIkorzm4pdxd1_n4UNLVvZt1gNmwUzzfRyplj4XUW5bc1I_tfdQWQAiY9UH_iSf5wVAB4JQ/s1600/Mexico+254.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">We visited a
few of these stunning natural sinkholes one of which is probably one of the
most famous; Cenote Ikil. This cenote is open to the sky with the water level
about 26 metres below ground level. There is a carved stairway down to a
swimming platform. The cenote is about 60 metres in diameter and about 40
metres deep. There are vines which reach from the opening all the way down to
the water along with small waterfalls. We were swimming amongst lots of black
catfish which we didn’t even realize until Kyle started taking underwater
pictures. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCPHa4xsTMPL_RJA8MJqp2bQxflGtg6sd-PCKfUtP_GZIc6j9anOXeBLSgwpUYCSAKwoK8Ao3y6fmPBTDt4mzWT0jSpmGGA9eJiJrwRvM-9shJwpIMfdx9hugMHcpA8s10Y_rYwxcKQmg/s1600/Mexico+43.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCPHa4xsTMPL_RJA8MJqp2bQxflGtg6sd-PCKfUtP_GZIc6j9anOXeBLSgwpUYCSAKwoK8Ao3y6fmPBTDt4mzWT0jSpmGGA9eJiJrwRvM-9shJwpIMfdx9hugMHcpA8s10Y_rYwxcKQmg/s1600/Mexico+43.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5nlk6L9_0nMo09WJgBo63xhaat9fNAofzm8Is-HNkOj5vsCp7wk5zuxJDmGYCorpUdneLeav99A6r8EI0F70d2wd_rVg3UzRcrL5IRDQQPCPVvqt0KsUvJZXUAQRmkiHfgl2M3wIGTIQ/s1600/Mexico+42.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5nlk6L9_0nMo09WJgBo63xhaat9fNAofzm8Is-HNkOj5vsCp7wk5zuxJDmGYCorpUdneLeav99A6r8EI0F70d2wd_rVg3UzRcrL5IRDQQPCPVvqt0KsUvJZXUAQRmkiHfgl2M3wIGTIQ/s1600/Mexico+42.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEy7HEpPUkOnAmVMAp9Swbep7GNVH1TRCGDMJzzriUz25hvprqgBk87IeeU_e8EZKZNnV9vNjlVOAV7lFzHzZDtZ9ooNT2WSPS0clLrmQcyYrgUH-Eol8h_kEc9ogPoPYFjmpGXAaDPIE/s1600/Mexico+44.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEy7HEpPUkOnAmVMAp9Swbep7GNVH1TRCGDMJzzriUz25hvprqgBk87IeeU_e8EZKZNnV9vNjlVOAV7lFzHzZDtZ9ooNT2WSPS0clLrmQcyYrgUH-Eol8h_kEc9ogPoPYFjmpGXAaDPIE/s1600/Mexico+44.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">We swam around and treaded water for 15/20 minutes or so until we got
really tired; it definitely wasn’t salt water! It certainly was beautiful; we
just had to blank out all the other tourists there. It certainly was a popular
stop for the tour bus companies. It was very tourist ready with lockers,
showers and changing rooms, gift shop and restaurant; all this unfortunately
spoilt it a bit. Ikil is perhaps even more well known in recent years due to
the </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Bull_Cliff_Diving_World_Series"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Red Bull Cliff
Diving World Series</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;"> in 2010
and 2011. That would have been spectacular to see!</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfaWgJjn6_Gx_T9LpLi262LYXyxbyI7zL64vZZejjJYgAcA7lXzGKkirOfT1mCmJZg8cqMdyMa_BicHhjAVE1gsgnWtAXISMQAFrerw_Ij0hDkRdkxmmk8yAKhUui5wVXKEWzZrHKIjCw/s1600/Mexico+242.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfaWgJjn6_Gx_T9LpLi262LYXyxbyI7zL64vZZejjJYgAcA7lXzGKkirOfT1mCmJZg8cqMdyMa_BicHhjAVE1gsgnWtAXISMQAFrerw_Ij0hDkRdkxmmk8yAKhUui5wVXKEWzZrHKIjCw/s1600/Mexico+242.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQm04oLwcPEXIjGobaNP8WmwjWtXJX21MHu1qqi_Lqs5Rn0c08-ewSpRfhgaT2Dr2QsSkSDtqh0KkCxSuANkvAKPC2BLzTYfBTJ4Kxx9DZBYWa9aOhZ2iv6IANb4FcHF60Ry7HCGusdDc/s1600/Mexico+238.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQm04oLwcPEXIjGobaNP8WmwjWtXJX21MHu1qqi_Lqs5Rn0c08-ewSpRfhgaT2Dr2QsSkSDtqh0KkCxSuANkvAKPC2BLzTYfBTJ4Kxx9DZBYWa9aOhZ2iv6IANb4FcHF60Ry7HCGusdDc/s1600/Mexico+238.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">Not only did we
swim in a cenote but we wet scuba diving in one! We were joined by our Utila
buddies; Anna and Sophie, who obviously because they went to Utila are mad keen
on diving. What was really odd, before we even got into the water, was being <i>driven</i>
to our dive location rather than getting on a boat! We were taken to ‘The Pit’;
a cenote where we were to do a deep dive of 30m. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijxu421QtlscLfv1qu6H2ROFWLnrFzd5Pq5CH8t3JKF0BQ4rpvxIkPPluZ0Pz8OVXdn73Fj5GXQeNuwFStudmv9Sghu1VvToqAezg_T8WBxh1D8wX6lUki6MnOSXtqm1Y6FR3V9NpI180/s1600/Mexico+239.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijxu421QtlscLfv1qu6H2ROFWLnrFzd5Pq5CH8t3JKF0BQ4rpvxIkPPluZ0Pz8OVXdn73Fj5GXQeNuwFStudmv9Sghu1VvToqAezg_T8WBxh1D8wX6lUki6MnOSXtqm1Y6FR3V9NpI180/s1600/Mexico+239.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-jFafFRWxNHSmuMk_2hL9nX1GvXwbR5zIxV8F1vFOQX7zer3T3PcroKA7gIoFxjs40b_sMBc1afVDwAd_Sc0iP7BjocH1OgRo1VyTnMs_MjSlIgRWt_5A_ecYYqgHrGZVuK1hXw5s1F8/s1600/Mexico+47.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-jFafFRWxNHSmuMk_2hL9nX1GvXwbR5zIxV8F1vFOQX7zer3T3PcroKA7gIoFxjs40b_sMBc1afVDwAd_Sc0iP7BjocH1OgRo1VyTnMs_MjSlIgRWt_5A_ecYYqgHrGZVuK1hXw5s1F8/s1600/Mexico+47.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Divers air bubbles rising to the surface... if you see big bubbles... don't jump! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc7Nlg862wZKGjrcGBYNWkghq1OAW92HDjIJQy3WLTVd-Dv8DKV5r127VBlVhOgoaVimxpFtJHOQpy4QABcDfmci1ut6zE18orWOt979S2Se6zwDVfMd0ZxQyOgRwRsmjKfxM1lOFMV1k/s1600/Mexico+240.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc7Nlg862wZKGjrcGBYNWkghq1OAW92HDjIJQy3WLTVd-Dv8DKV5r127VBlVhOgoaVimxpFtJHOQpy4QABcDfmci1ut6zE18orWOt979S2Se6zwDVfMd0ZxQyOgRwRsmjKfxM1lOFMV1k/s1600/Mexico+240.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLQkh8raOcakTjjEHa6KI_Me-uptRZG33zJw_OUOn8erPDqn0KcuHjDTn74naUHR4_38IJhLrI0P0SgZah1_4qcZv2g0SOnNoR6G3P6Jd_mX2RpP6tBtCiXBglaJLC0kj4yxnn0VPChYA/s1600/Mexico+48.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLQkh8raOcakTjjEHa6KI_Me-uptRZG33zJw_OUOn8erPDqn0KcuHjDTn74naUHR4_38IJhLrI0P0SgZah1_4qcZv2g0SOnNoR6G3P6Jd_mX2RpP6tBtCiXBglaJLC0kj4yxnn0VPChYA/s1600/Mexico+48.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">We all jumped into the water
from a 6m platform; Anna, Sophie and myself all getting a bit panicky and
hysterical in the anticipation of it but wanting to do it again as soon as we
hit the water. Then we all geared up and got in again.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">Our descent was
crazy. From the surface, the water was crystal clear but when we hit about
10-15m, things started to get blurry. It felt like I was going blind. Kyle and
I stayed close, watching each other and he just started to disappear from my
vision. It was like my eyes had gone completely out of focus. I could see light
but couldn’t distinguish shapes. I certainly wasn’t able to read my gauge for
that period! This is called the 'Halocline' was where the fresh water met the salt water. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #161616; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">Because they have different densities, the freshwater
and saltwater layers stratify, much like olive oil and vinegar. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">Once a few more metres down and into the salt water; our
vision cleared immediately! It felt like being sobered up very quickly! </span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/dHn80f3lAUs?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe><span style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; text-align: start;">This 1min vid with David Attenborough describes and shows it very well...</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE3aJCq1CbI5OoMlnSTuk5OdYl9WKo6W2i8TGViUwBK0cYZVlx8sE8Dfru-2tjURjLa96WBy20uWl5DLOfjoDRHR5Jnc-gsEkvkIiiZ4pv5BZLKoH9c2P1qmSleQA_xIz-ToQeS0MUCFk/s1600/Mexico+49.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE3aJCq1CbI5OoMlnSTuk5OdYl9WKo6W2i8TGViUwBK0cYZVlx8sE8Dfru-2tjURjLa96WBy20uWl5DLOfjoDRHR5Jnc-gsEkvkIiiZ4pv5BZLKoH9c2P1qmSleQA_xIz-ToQeS0MUCFk/s1600/Mexico+49.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri;">We popped back
out into crystal clear water. We had torches and gazed around at the amazing
rock formations. There was no marine life at all apart from a few small fish.
Below us, it was all hazy and smoky from the reaction of all the debris from
outside. It looked very eerie and atmospheric with one lone branch poking up
out of the smoke. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri;">Our next two dives were cave dives at a site called ‘Dos Ojos’ </span><i style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri;">(Two Eyes)</i><span style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri;">. The natural light on the water made it incredibly blue. We entered the water, at the opening of the cave and from there, there were two directions you could go in. We followed the ‘Barbie Line’ – there for us not to get lost. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri;">Parts of the line were like a passageway; stalactites and stalagmites either side of us and looking up, you could see the roof; where the water went right up to it. No room for us to panic and come up to the surface…literally no room! It was a little bit of a tight squeeze in places.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">These dives the
water was a cooler 24 degrees, (sounds balmy but trust me, that’s fresh!) Kyle
wore a very tight waterproof balaclava for the last dive and had us girls in
fits because he couldn’t hear anything in our pre dive briefing at the surface.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">During the last
dive, we surfaced in a bat cave and just floated in silence for a while, gazing
up at the sleeping bats. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">Once finished,
our Dive Master led us around the site outside to show us our route; our
bearings were thoroughly confused. It’s so hard to keep track of where you’ve
been and where your heading under water; particularly in a cave!</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">As always after
a dive, we were pretty hungry so we finished off our day eating plenty…Chinese
food, ice cream, nachos and of course, drinking Coronas!</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri;">Another day we
visited one of the new 7 Wonders of the World; Chichen Itza. When it’s a
‘wonder of the world’ you know it’s going to be touristy… We prepared
ourselves. In fact we threw ourselves into the tourist spirit and opted to be
part of a tour group. 8 months or so into travelling and we thought what the
hell…none of this independence lark - lets jump on that tour bus!! Ok, a little
bit of sarcasm there; we do generally hate all that. But it did prove to be a
lot easier for ourselves; an air conditioned direct bus, being chivied around
rather than having to organize our own way there and back.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">Chichen Itza is
a well restored large scale Mayan site and my word is it impressive. Our guide
was great and it was interesting to gain a little more insight and background
to the Mayas.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri;">El Castillo was
the highlight; the poster image- a striking castle pyramid. It was designed to
represent the Mayan calendar in stone. The four stairways have 91 steps each,
add the top platform and the total is 365, the number of days in a year. As a
group we all stood directly in front of it and clapped our hands in unison. The
acoustics were amazing; in between the claps we could hear the sound of a
quetzal bird! It’s also famous for the moving serpent illusion on the
staircase which is visible during the Spring and Autumn equinoxes. The Mayans really were amazingly intelligent! </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">We also saw the
Great Ball Court; where they played an ancient form of basketball! We couldn’t
really get our head around the practicalities though..for starters the ball
apparently was concrete?! And the hoops were adjacent to the floor rather than
parallel and it seemed you weren’t able to get that close to them. Hmm….</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-R3RX7npbsxkNcRSpY_JA0KMQ6Mhyphenhyphenlfve0XOLp9vXEWidecMS9V4muZp5DWBVixF0DK1eKkQVspt4HubmGywYiT0ml9Sz-MmsmRamBlttrSfNlCfmmAJIu7vacU6GGAiNFhtrCQqrcIk/s1600/Mexico+181.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-R3RX7npbsxkNcRSpY_JA0KMQ6Mhyphenhyphenlfve0XOLp9vXEWidecMS9V4muZp5DWBVixF0DK1eKkQVspt4HubmGywYiT0ml9Sz-MmsmRamBlttrSfNlCfmmAJIu7vacU6GGAiNFhtrCQqrcIk/s1600/Mexico+181.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">We were
enlightened a bit more about the Mexican perception of death, which steamed
from the Mayas but is still a modern belief now. Death is something to be
celebrated rather than feared. We saw stone carvings in Chichen Itza and
everywhere else we went in Mexico we saw skulls, smiling skulls, a symbol that
is part of their national identity. One of their biggest national holidays is
El Dia de Muertos -<i>the Day of the Dead</i>.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp7CR5E50XXhgpOkWxzwgGm9T9sDn5zncpZwFo3kGvv-6NfTYwzkQoPskD9AHNucyBBJrDWtQGkuEg27KcjoBK3jkPtpzsmjrfn2iPWT6CoOk-t0Smmzo4cVBmkPbNh1xYWpzTiNoN26I/s1600/Mexico+90.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp7CR5E50XXhgpOkWxzwgGm9T9sDn5zncpZwFo3kGvv-6NfTYwzkQoPskD9AHNucyBBJrDWtQGkuEg27KcjoBK3jkPtpzsmjrfn2iPWT6CoOk-t0Smmzo4cVBmkPbNh1xYWpzTiNoN26I/s1600/Mexico+90.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri;">Our next stop
was Merida, ‘the cultural capital of the Yucatan peninsula’. We arrived late
afternoon to torrential rain, and in our relaxed traveler state, with no hostel
booking. We finally checked in, drenched through, to more of a hotel then a
hostel. We had a double bed each in our room!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">In this city we
met a few very friendly locals that had all the time in the world for us,
wanting to show us around – not because they wanted our money, but because they
just wanted to help us so we could experience their city and their country at
its best (and practice their English a little bit too!) There was one guy who
was flyering for a local restaurant and we got chatting. The next thing we
know, he was guiding us to the main square, sitting us on a park bench
discussing in detail our proposed plan and itinerary for the next few weeks and
telling us what he thinks our best plan of action was....It was a really useful
conversation actually!</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">Even though we
had been travelling a long time, stereotypically, being British, we were still
amazed at these welcoming and kind people. We felt ashamed that our immediate
response was suspicion. I could not help but judge an old, disheveled toothless
man that approached me… ‘is he drunk and being weird or is he just genuinely a
friendly person that would like to engage in a bit of polite conversation…?!
Hmmmm…. There were both cases of course so maybe it is safer to have your guard
up still…!</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNm72aNigg9UxAwlTLoCIgDu7FkUEusfZANUkyZupUoAmzBYbFz3bcU0FbOA7zYsT09YmV766hIb4UY7_3cjLan280BOj4JLrgTOnVygTLYbCjptVQhAwiJnAIFBthyshgJOtdoans1_A/s1600/Mexico+201.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNm72aNigg9UxAwlTLoCIgDu7FkUEusfZANUkyZupUoAmzBYbFz3bcU0FbOA7zYsT09YmV766hIb4UY7_3cjLan280BOj4JLrgTOnVygTLYbCjptVQhAwiJnAIFBthyshgJOtdoans1_A/s1600/Mexico+201.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lovely hammocks</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEQlqiHwteLHALjZ4ciSj9ASFgFwpJKWFjdIyZYwNdqRtnzln79Cec8Bgi1WIAv40EwET5j-wuLSuXc-ShOjFKELxpAqXnQMh1QLAcpsWYxFZ8Zxl18Wzk3tOjFlIfY4j7tnro4K17wsU/s1600/Mexico+59.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEQlqiHwteLHALjZ4ciSj9ASFgFwpJKWFjdIyZYwNdqRtnzln79Cec8Bgi1WIAv40EwET5j-wuLSuXc-ShOjFKELxpAqXnQMh1QLAcpsWYxFZ8Zxl18Wzk3tOjFlIfY4j7tnro4K17wsU/s1600/Mexico+59.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">We timed our
presence well in this city with a local holiday celebration. One evening we
went along to a free outdoor concert, luckily the weather behaved itself. We
watched some traditional Mayan dancing which was great. One number involved
some men and women balancing trays with glasses of water on their heads whilst
stamping, clapping and doing lots of twirling..pretty impressive! There was
music and even a monologue which unfortunately we couldn’t understand but we
enjoyed the dramatisation of it!</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSz7QHYmtasO4UvEykgCHRYYrO3MSV3LovU8IGNUduYxJQdxP2KwW17IJqjiVEHJKYtY1p05CuqjKX4E79a9tNNdM1wsf2gadOyszNC4ABlcjK4ZUibWOzWRe9qYmLTCI7UxL7SqwNBFA/s1600/Mexico+202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSz7QHYmtasO4UvEykgCHRYYrO3MSV3LovU8IGNUduYxJQdxP2KwW17IJqjiVEHJKYtY1p05CuqjKX4E79a9tNNdM1wsf2gadOyszNC4ABlcjK4ZUibWOzWRe9qYmLTCI7UxL7SqwNBFA/s1600/Mexico+202.jpg" height="400" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mezcal - from the Oaxaca state</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">On the advice
of our very friendly Yucatan man, we left Merida going South West and went via
Uxmal to see the ruins there. Unlike the hugely popular, large scale Tikal
and Chichen Itza, Uxmal is less famous and smaller so there were a lot less
people and it was more relaxed. This was nice as you were able to explore a bit
closer and lose yourself more; pretend you were an ancient Mayan person(!) or
some ancient king and queen (maybe just us…)- it was still very impressive.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">We then caught
a bus, 3 hours further south to Campeche to spend the late afternoon and
evening before a night bus. After storing our bags at a different bus terminal we head into the town to chill on the sea front, wander a bit,
visit the main plaza and go inside the cathedral for a peek. We ate, drank, played Yatzee, battleships and Kyle photographed a few more VW’s for his Beetle project.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH9rOQkZMEKXRTzSTitBjHMVNhWHU2nnZEjHZcBMFBUqiaOLgctx7CLGKFDrcn8xREVz0cXgCrhQvUztKO6MwQ0TG0yYqt2rusa4faCIE7FDJ8KqLoWW8WNuCx09gWBSIgb7rZgnEx_KU/s1600/Mexico+189.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH9rOQkZMEKXRTzSTitBjHMVNhWHU2nnZEjHZcBMFBUqiaOLgctx7CLGKFDrcn8xREVz0cXgCrhQvUztKO6MwQ0TG0yYqt2rusa4faCIE7FDJ8KqLoWW8WNuCx09gWBSIgb7rZgnEx_KU/s1600/Mexico+189.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggPDTDFfW8jjoXHwz9C6VIwWKQfM_xIq9f3pMIuGF6Tf9KQPZToKmRDDCzSnjyrjtf1fzYAsl7-TaixH_Z8uXbJk8Hs8Rg5fnVAshYtX3AhZTdO96NQhEi1TQ7_xRDDU0G42zGUr_Ilvg/s1600/Mexico+163.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggPDTDFfW8jjoXHwz9C6VIwWKQfM_xIq9f3pMIuGF6Tf9KQPZToKmRDDCzSnjyrjtf1fzYAsl7-TaixH_Z8uXbJk8Hs8Rg5fnVAshYtX3AhZTdO96NQhEi1TQ7_xRDDU0G42zGUr_Ilvg/s1600/Mexico+163.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a><span style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri;">A very uncomfortable 13 hour night bus later we arrived in San Cristobal de las Casas (part of the Chiapas state). We found it instantly to be reminiscent of Cuzco, all those months back in Peru. Set in a gorgeous highland valley, with a cooler climate, this colonial city seemed bohemian with colourful buildings and narrow streets. We quickly liked it a lot, there was a buzz in the air; we could see why it was a popular backpackers stop. Typically we had no hostel sorted again but Kyle got chatting to a local pitching his hostel to backpackers and they would even pay for a cab there. We arrived and quickly checked into this cheap but nice hostel called Planet Hostel and then went out for food. We discovered a lovely restaurant which we were to subsequently return to over the next few days, working our way through the extensive and very reasonable menu!</span> </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoG_fqA6YNXDZtlxWRoqT47_G5yHxVsH7f9jF4YrQjsF9lFQVU4fI_B_rypPWi8BdZK3NCR-nJqTKJUYen9uqHDtmUA4sbzHzvT4sxJ7YQQRqbCzzQNwtltN85IwCGocfg2ftr8gC7l7w/s1600/Mexico+164.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoG_fqA6YNXDZtlxWRoqT47_G5yHxVsH7f9jF4YrQjsF9lFQVU4fI_B_rypPWi8BdZK3NCR-nJqTKJUYen9uqHDtmUA4sbzHzvT4sxJ7YQQRqbCzzQNwtltN85IwCGocfg2ftr8gC7l7w/s1600/Mexico+164.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yatzee!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri;">It was only in
San Cristobal that we had our very first tequilas of Mexico. About time really and in celebration of our friend Lyle's birthday back home!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri;">Unfortunately
for Kyle, his experience of San Cristobal was pretty limited to this day and
the next…by the end of the second day, he was bound to our room being extremely
ill for around 10 hours, his muscles were systematically cramping from his mouth and hands down to his ankles. Poor thing. He can never look at a Shawarma (a Lebanese wrap) in the same way again…(they
weren’t from that nice restaurant I hasten to add!). </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">San Cristobal
is surrounded by dozens of traditional Tzotzil and Tzeltal villages;
descendents from the ancient Maya culture. I went on a tour and visited the
villages of San Lorenzo Zinacantan and San Juan Chamula. The inhabitants of
these villages have a really interesting mix of Catholicism and more ancient
traditions and customs. They even have their own laws; one of which was if you
were to take a photograph inside their churches, you could go to prison! The
camera stayed firmly in my pocket! The churches were quite a spectacle; there
was a mixture of hundreds of beautiful bouquets of flowers and twinkling
candles displayed all around the interior – it looked absolutely stunning but
juxtaposed with vile tacky cheap statues and garish colourful Christmas lights.
The locals take enormous pride in the up keep of the interior of the church.
Apparently the flowers are always fresh, constantly being replaced; this is to
keep the saints (represented by the statues) happy…If they were to get angry
that could mean devastating repercussions...<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri;">We learnt about
the Mexican’s general view of ‘native’ people and the prejudices that they
hold, even though many Mexicans actually have native roots! The guide used the
example; if a native person entered a coffee shop, it would often be assumed by
the Mexican owner that they wanted to sell you something rather than buy a
coffee.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjwebGJSvQ0OkCmDt_5hfqwd0vQexBM6pvSVlenOmO6kmxsg4laJgwbwfNvtHxToV6bZX1-0UEILeVaKKTjqmFVQf2jYiTT9XzXnU0qhBSF223kNVbdH7ySQu_xDgtZSjWZh-Piqhj2zo/s1600/Mexico+161.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjwebGJSvQ0OkCmDt_5hfqwd0vQexBM6pvSVlenOmO6kmxsg4laJgwbwfNvtHxToV6bZX1-0UEILeVaKKTjqmFVQf2jYiTT9XzXnU0qhBSF223kNVbdH7ySQu_xDgtZSjWZh-Piqhj2zo/s1600/Mexico+161.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">Probably one of
the most bizarre experiences was visiting Chamula’s main church. As well as a
church, it seemed to be also used as some kind of alternative hospital. People
come with medical problems, having had no success with doctors or hospitals
previous. They believe that the reason why they are sick therefore is because
they have done something to displease the saints and their soul has been taken.
What they must do is come to the church with lots of candles (different colours
represent different things – I didn’t really understand but I got the gist that
the more colours the worse and more complicated the case was!). They also need a
whistle, drinks (better to have fizzy sugary drinks!?!), various plants, oh-
and a live chicken… You know what’s coming don’t you?!...Yep – a chicken sacrifice.
I witnessed it…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">There was a
mother and grandmother together with two children – one of which was the ‘sick’
child. They were all sat down in a group in the middle of the church, set up
camp with their candles on the floor. There was a lot of chanting and brushing
of some green plant on the child. I tried to be inconspicuous by the side,
taking in the church whilst sneaking surreptitious glances. There were other
groups of people, carrying out their own ceremonies, lots dressed in big black
wooly coats and skirts. Luckily I think I missed the deed of them actually
breaking the chicken’s neck so for a while I felt confused as to why the
chicken was being hung upside down and making funny twitchy movements until
eventually it stopped. Did it die from a sudden rush of blood to the head?? No
Hannah…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">The belief is
that through this process, the illness is transferred to the chicken and then
by killing the chicken, the illness is destroyed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">Later, whilst
reporting all this back to ill Kyle in bed, clutching his sick bin made me
think; do I need to purchase a chicken..?!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">Besides nursing
the invalid, I experienced San Cristobal for the both of us; spending an
extended period of time in the local markets (because I could!), browsing
through the book exchange shop, climbing up to the view point and even going to
a contemporary dance class. All of course, wasn’t the same without my beloved
companion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmCeuqNeguQS_4Ltpf9z2M98YGpxmzUTYj5VcxZ18kKeTHytEfKdR8cMToJo-Bvr-SoSx4KJFi7ZTdi3bi7Y9BsJLE3f8HUtufQC9NgsqVAcUs81xzAwiY2deAzvwLU33WXzqSmp27KPA/s1600/Mexico+107.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmCeuqNeguQS_4Ltpf9z2M98YGpxmzUTYj5VcxZ18kKeTHytEfKdR8cMToJo-Bvr-SoSx4KJFi7ZTdi3bi7Y9BsJLE3f8HUtufQC9NgsqVAcUs81xzAwiY2deAzvwLU33WXzqSmp27KPA/s1600/Mexico+107.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Climbing steps at altitude again...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC45aSEePcLt7pghVUNtbJpV8iDdYJj1eqKh4imObx-_Onf4FUZYQKlwFl5VxhM9O2DPwHEbi7X7AvAQ-AhB3wTCgT-QbEDS9NOH10z7UXKd0ve74B1hvgnMXNR2f20At0FmoEkhyphenhyphenEal8/s1600/Mexico+2+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC45aSEePcLt7pghVUNtbJpV8iDdYJj1eqKh4imObx-_Onf4FUZYQKlwFl5VxhM9O2DPwHEbi7X7AvAQ-AhB3wTCgT-QbEDS9NOH10z7UXKd0ve74B1hvgnMXNR2f20At0FmoEkhyphenhyphenEal8/s1600/Mexico+2+(1).jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; font-size: small; text-align: start;">Final afternoon in San Cristobal caught in the rain!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri;">Just as Kyle
was starting to feel better, we were leaving San Cristobal. Unfortunately we
were on a tight time frame; with our flight out of Mexico City in one week,
there was no time to extend our stay any further. </span><span style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri;"> </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">It was another
night bus to</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"> Potutla, 12
hours followed by a 20 minute collectivo to our final destination </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">Mazunte. We were dumped in this small beach town on the
Pacific coast in the state of Oaxaca around 7am. Again, with no accommodation
booked, we found ourselves wondering the deserted streets, whilst I was semi
stressing out about the fact that my Lonely Planet no longer covered the area
of Mexico we were now in! We were on our own! Kyle thought that it would be a
good idea to walk towards the beach… ‘there must be some hostels by the sea-
that’s where we want to be after all’. Good plan. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">As we were
heading down the street leading to the beach we came across the first sign of
life; a topless local man on a motorbike, riding towards us. He stopped for a
chat. We told him we were English; he spoke good English. He introduced himself
as Juan. We told him we were looking for a place to stay. Juan tells us that he
is leaving later that day to head to a different state to see his mother (for Mother’s Day) – ‘you can stay at my house if you like..’ Easy as that. We
love travelling, for moments exactly like this… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">So that was
that; for the equivalent of about £5 a night we were to stay in Juan’s home for
3 nights. Within a few minutes of meeting him, I handed over my heavy backpack
which he put on his legs and in between his arms. He slowly drove off on his bike with us curiously following behind to his house ‘round the corner’. Sure enough, there
it was; a little community of basic bungalows. His home was modest – a thatched
hut, just one room, with a bed and little kitchen area consisting of a camping stove
and a fridge, an outside area with hammocks. Perfect. A bucket flush toilet and water mains shower were
separate and used by all the residents. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">He made us some
tea and we met the gorgeous animals that lived in the community. Juan then
showed us the beach and pointed out where was safe to swim. He went back to
clean up the house and we had breakfast overlooking the crashing waves served
by a crazy drunk waiter who had not been to sleep yet which was quite amusing, if not a little to much to handle given our mostly sleepless night also.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimcve5vA6F4zhL23kN3n4cMbTxl_cymbxwipURzVlVbWtnHEowQVXIzsz6HgLjTlFBGS6O_e2x8IJqGaYhYpcagzmpDG5Zji1yXIGz7sTQ1aNY37ezRZ46bHNtMqCgaFj5buH-1idKjq8/s1600/Mexico+141.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimcve5vA6F4zhL23kN3n4cMbTxl_cymbxwipURzVlVbWtnHEowQVXIzsz6HgLjTlFBGS6O_e2x8IJqGaYhYpcagzmpDG5Zji1yXIGz7sTQ1aNY37ezRZ46bHNtMqCgaFj5buH-1idKjq8/s1600/Mexico+141.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri;">After a swim in the great
Pacific (it had been a while – Nicaragua was the last time), we returned to Juan’s
house, which he had spruced up and prepared delicious fresh watermelon for us.
We chatted away on his porch getting to know each other. For a living, Juan
works as a tour guide, both on the ocean doing wildlife eco tours, swimming
and also in the mangroves – crocodile spotting. He offered for us to go on a
free tour of the crocs that afternoon! We were utterly bowled over by his
generosity and openness.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">Around
lunchtime we got picked up in Juan’s friends car and the three of us jumped in.
Juan had invited some other new friends of his to come along too. We were driven
along the coast to a stunning deserted beach that stretched as far as the
eye could see. The reason why it was deserted was because the black sand was SO
hot! It was also magnetic which was demonstrated to us by our guide with a
magnet! Juan wasn’t working that day, he just came along for the ride.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcGJ2FFDepgLhAK3fa8M4MjMonj_bT9i4FOJ4n2KHqJwyRkhlTJ-SMjSqqm9tukBBJ9TIlMvQw5lAhmOofFWtOqdagA9kKPonEpNo94GTIHE_t7dhXTG7W2TTr8QBuiKBGRERw3SXXwMM/s1600/Mexico+166.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcGJ2FFDepgLhAK3fa8M4MjMonj_bT9i4FOJ4n2KHqJwyRkhlTJ-SMjSqqm9tukBBJ9TIlMvQw5lAhmOofFWtOqdagA9kKPonEpNo94GTIHE_t7dhXTG7W2TTr8QBuiKBGRERw3SXXwMM/s1600/Mexico+166.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No sandels... ops!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD7L-YxvroLc-7ruQIKX2f4ihiLwuhQSYuKyTdTAy6pBUy3EAswhDfM43Y2zd57tkO5nSBcdZjCrB3sV4gxipeSgKS6SNM06UzcEyoVaOOQuOs-9gaRp0GX0vwV_G07ptyEqTHkFP2ixQ/s1600/Mexico+165.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD7L-YxvroLc-7ruQIKX2f4ihiLwuhQSYuKyTdTAy6pBUy3EAswhDfM43Y2zd57tkO5nSBcdZjCrB3sV4gxipeSgKS6SNM06UzcEyoVaOOQuOs-9gaRp0GX0vwV_G07ptyEqTHkFP2ixQ/s1600/Mexico+165.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">MAGNETIC SAND!!</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">After walking
up the beach a short distance, with shoes definitely on(!) we headed inland to a
lagoon area. Straight away we saw two crocodiles! Apparently one had buried her
eggs close to where we were standing and she was guarding the area. She showed
us her teeth and opened her mouth wide! Gulp! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">We boarded a
small paddle boat, which the guide steered. There had been a bad storm a few
years previous and destroyed about 80% of this area. They are slowly still
trying to clean up without disturbing the wildlife. We saw beautiful birds in
their nests, more crocs lurking and an absolute ton of iguanas. We got
seriously close to these fascinating dinosaur like creatures. Never again, do I
think we will get this close… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">We enjoyed a
coconut after the tour, drinking the water and then mixing the coconut flesh with lime
and eating it…mmmmm…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">We were dropped
back at Juan’s and he soon made tracks for Puebla – where his mother lives,
leaving these 2 strangers in his home! To Kyle’s delight he said that we could
use his motorbike…this is SERIOUS TRUST. Kyle picked up the bike from his mates with Juan and drove him back to test drive, Juan could tell he'd driven lots in the past and was not concerned at all. Would you offer this same level of
kindness, generosity and above all trust to 2 foreign tourists you’d only just
met?!!</span> </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9dFyW3jl0aPbWMOx_SX1wG34vXdQu6KM5twfRJAA8A9Wlywx-YZp-9ttPdQ3m_DqDWGsf7QoC0QyTO4myrSoxGD80XnfkCrfQjrU3CEuYmftMYMLvnAlj18jPwCU0hFVUNjilnlIAmN0/s1600/Mexico+140.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9dFyW3jl0aPbWMOx_SX1wG34vXdQu6KM5twfRJAA8A9Wlywx-YZp-9ttPdQ3m_DqDWGsf7QoC0QyTO4myrSoxGD80XnfkCrfQjrU3CEuYmftMYMLvnAlj18jPwCU0hFVUNjilnlIAmN0/s1600/Mexico+140.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Juan leaving us in his home!</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">We were sad to
see Juan go but we planned to meet up again in a few days time in Mexico City.
In the mean time…we made ourselves at home! We spent the days chilling in the
hammocks, playing with the resident kittens, reading, writing, playing cards,
enjoying beach time and we even found a local Chinese restaurant!</span> </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI1H4GrttvcePgc1drNbI6OCz0w4l_3bUF5MbDYW8whyRcZQW7BbWrbW-t7WFckljdePUkUQCV1r9xq6EO0cjKjB3guKDat03l4ouldqzsBhmLrTmnFVDHqLlc5RlbguVLpzb6sBL-gmw/s1600/Mexico+155.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI1H4GrttvcePgc1drNbI6OCz0w4l_3bUF5MbDYW8whyRcZQW7BbWrbW-t7WFckljdePUkUQCV1r9xq6EO0cjKjB3guKDat03l4ouldqzsBhmLrTmnFVDHqLlc5RlbguVLpzb6sBL-gmw/s1600/Mexico+155.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Weeds' growing in the 'garden' behind our house</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdeN9FTmhqcjcNMR3DUXM-XPZdqmIPxFaE4rfY5ib9eR7P5G_AjDxf6XeQANfgkTQoGB942C9RuA_HmCAGS3Ab8xUkykGip8F6Dq9VFz0eAOCHJeKUOJOdZiEGH5i2KFGR3gihKStDdoI/s1600/Mexico+23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdeN9FTmhqcjcNMR3DUXM-XPZdqmIPxFaE4rfY5ib9eR7P5G_AjDxf6XeQANfgkTQoGB942C9RuA_HmCAGS3Ab8xUkykGip8F6Dq9VFz0eAOCHJeKUOJOdZiEGH5i2KFGR3gihKStDdoI/s1600/Mexico+23.jpg" height="266" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">3 minute stroll to the beach </td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrkAf8SV3VZs7gJzOhVHjhMPLSS8u0mg_soOypnRGJJ2FeidDIVj0wxy5pcV7UtyWgoRTgdLS3VowqEZgO0slb9gb0YO4QsNUT-4nt9ApS6v1d6fKYDtnUjwL6X9VLKswnszqihRpA-2Y/s1600/Mexico+138.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrkAf8SV3VZs7gJzOhVHjhMPLSS8u0mg_soOypnRGJJ2FeidDIVj0wxy5pcV7UtyWgoRTgdLS3VowqEZgO0slb9gb0YO4QsNUT-4nt9ApS6v1d6fKYDtnUjwL6X9VLKswnszqihRpA-2Y/s1600/Mexico+138.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigfmmgEk047PYBfkPUGO8u93iKeAqNcMJBMRoiHRfnU6DFQP_0kkP7L1BtfGYB5vpxv_SvFC3Szd6YMlqGYjoAnAurQJRBMPpKZuoSIYrpeXyEN30mn8EPDfdb6_c1wLl5MGTgLH7qx-w/s1600/Mexico+137.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigfmmgEk047PYBfkPUGO8u93iKeAqNcMJBMRoiHRfnU6DFQP_0kkP7L1BtfGYB5vpxv_SvFC3Szd6YMlqGYjoAnAurQJRBMPpKZuoSIYrpeXyEN30mn8EPDfdb6_c1wLl5MGTgLH7qx-w/s1600/Mexico+137.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCppyvKmBqylpFcL1zHZ_gyXON6NK_vnvO0L3VHycsqTOpvxtBOP0uDgT3bAj_Tc2xL4t4d3x54yU-tyCnVQhWwPb04aGBaSLOXx9YwkoVumlA_J1CMBn34eq0jGc91S13e_pExL_2Yuk/s1600/Mexico+152.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCppyvKmBqylpFcL1zHZ_gyXON6NK_vnvO0L3VHycsqTOpvxtBOP0uDgT3bAj_Tc2xL4t4d3x54yU-tyCnVQhWwPb04aGBaSLOXx9YwkoVumlA_J1CMBn34eq0jGc91S13e_pExL_2Yuk/s1600/Mexico+152.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj10SGZE7dMU1mjLF05Ap3jwqOP0UmTh43-y4xSxKYjmeBoSn86-s5Fjbg-PwOc7SA3QGWC4P63Zf1h0sDpUNcLybgkBlKvAyj-6eAIqc-JmTLV9mtyEZ5tsD54-DxK47FXNHjq3QpBDXs/s1600/Mexico+11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj10SGZE7dMU1mjLF05Ap3jwqOP0UmTh43-y4xSxKYjmeBoSn86-s5Fjbg-PwOc7SA3QGWC4P63Zf1h0sDpUNcLybgkBlKvAyj-6eAIqc-JmTLV9mtyEZ5tsD54-DxK47FXNHjq3QpBDXs/s1600/Mexico+11.jpg" height="400" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Secretly taken... promise</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri;">We visited the
Tortuga (turtle) Centre across the road, which had lots of different kinds of
turtles. We had mixed feelings seeing the state of some of the pens and just
the very fact of observing them in captivity made us uneasy. However it appeared
that they were rescued…maybe there was more to their program than we knew.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri;">One evening we explored the surrounding area on Juan’s motorbike. We ended up at Playa Zipotle; the only nudist beach in Mexico! We saw a fair few naked bodies but decided not to partake!! We sat at a posh restaurant on the beach admiring the sights(!) and had a great meal. There is no swimming on this beach due to the strong current. This didn’t stop one guy who had to be saved by the life guard. Our seats were in prime position for the action. Memories were flooding back of Kyle’s near death experience in Colombia…</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJwuADNwmIS6F7cZnJfPDMyip7uWYqt9PHp06X2uCZfSHn9RM1JFkghmHTxeCUkDGUlO7lIsOnFFWVQVF6QLgYOBy7NNu7Gp4DPjJBnHoC80QbS3X6PM63qtQ5dS7YA0bnCPw59nP_Xrs/s1600/Mexico+113.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJwuADNwmIS6F7cZnJfPDMyip7uWYqt9PHp06X2uCZfSHn9RM1JFkghmHTxeCUkDGUlO7lIsOnFFWVQVF6QLgYOBy7NNu7Gp4DPjJBnHoC80QbS3X6PM63qtQ5dS7YA0bnCPw59nP_Xrs/s1600/Mexico+113.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsLu7Hg89c1Flw_iFDEWc-hpNQK5CimbqLwnk99z3xwV5UXJgNS6c-XEGrtmxAazsuqGprjg13ACKktrIrhtYyHxLKrkgWHm4GOKi2lSiO5ybBQdJrij7UNghbAhPDL8XV36UXy45N9ss/s1600/Mexico+19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsLu7Hg89c1Flw_iFDEWc-hpNQK5CimbqLwnk99z3xwV5UXJgNS6c-XEGrtmxAazsuqGprjg13ACKktrIrhtYyHxLKrkgWHm4GOKi2lSiO5ybBQdJrij7UNghbAhPDL8XV36UXy45N9ss/s1600/Mexico+19.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rum and Coconut!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBzf8D-LYsv3zA1tEjaGY46bdZFSI6TsfVYz4g_lD1-1rWnNiI3voEbMGbBr0HAXfVGYwJEh2ODUpPr8WjpgPMD7NohTxqTsLgmsomaVceM-X0wVZICgomTVmffH9UeFuvg2g2nZTS2hU/s1600/Mexico+21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBzf8D-LYsv3zA1tEjaGY46bdZFSI6TsfVYz4g_lD1-1rWnNiI3voEbMGbBr0HAXfVGYwJEh2ODUpPr8WjpgPMD7NohTxqTsLgmsomaVceM-X0wVZICgomTVmffH9UeFuvg2g2nZTS2hU/s1600/Mexico+21.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">It makes such a
difference to your experience of a place when you have your own base. We loved
Mazunte. It seems to be a lesser visited place with towns like Zipotle and
Puerta Escondida close by that are much more popular spots with internationally renowned surfing chamionships held there. We felt like
Mazunte was an undiscovered secret place and it is certainly on our list to
come back to and visit, especially now that we have a friend who lives here!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">We caught a
long and windy shuttle onwards to the state of Oaxaca – Oaxaca City. We came
here only to see one thing; a tree. About a month or so previous Kyle saw a
picture shared on Facebook that caught his eye; it was the widest tree in the
world! When looking at where it was, he discovered that it was just outside of
Oaxaca City, sort of on route from Mazunte to Mexico City.... so typically he made it his mission that we would see it!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">We found a
hostel, dumped our bags and hopped in a taxi to see this tree! Typically we
headed towards very dark clouds and by the time we stepped out of the car, the
heavens opened. Shorts and a vest top were no longer sufficient! Luckily it
didn’t last too long.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkh-uLof60VHxye0Yl_SA5yFF07zt-kha84xTwSZFbT_hQkMu2X8VXq-yMK7ZFBohrxsubH8J8WVB__vwrI3m-lnrBeLxgJ9JywlQHdiPuhH23fm6iIscBD3DpGPW334eY79gIvNQLPhU/s1600/Mexico+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkh-uLof60VHxye0Yl_SA5yFF07zt-kha84xTwSZFbT_hQkMu2X8VXq-yMK7ZFBohrxsubH8J8WVB__vwrI3m-lnrBeLxgJ9JywlQHdiPuhH23fm6iIscBD3DpGPW334eY79gIvNQLPhU/s1600/Mexico+7.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look at the size of the tree compared to the church next to it!!</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">The tree was
next to a church and was about 3 times the size of it! It was enormous! It was
42m tall and 15m wide. The circumference was 58m! It looked like 15 trees in 1!
They say that it is over 2000 years old!!! The tree used to be worshiped back in the day... so what does religion do... builds a church right next to it. You could see goblins’ faces in the
big knots. After 15 minutes we were satisfied with what we came for and headed
back to the city for the night!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLa8n5fzUq-7nFi-KRb5xclwMkIciaK4YTR7WlXyvVlxKatyyiy6Ei1Cg4erWKaGu0DxtS0YbA2j8J3H21RfI5YBr7kOBCH0wJKlo1SaRqSPftoIk4vjuNm7CLmWOaDklBjfJi7ER0xGc/s1600/Mexico+93.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLa8n5fzUq-7nFi-KRb5xclwMkIciaK4YTR7WlXyvVlxKatyyiy6Ei1Cg4erWKaGu0DxtS0YbA2j8J3H21RfI5YBr7kOBCH0wJKlo1SaRqSPftoIk4vjuNm7CLmWOaDklBjfJi7ER0xGc/s1600/Mexico+93.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lions and goblins!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqEYcMImE7m1WjWibOmhl88F8kqd_vAupB2xFuIvW2lpuk9bDupPqKdcv4nTYqXJcaAJ9e7PxxGt9Umsf-gBfUtPrdQWQRCqptk83mNV5iruZ4wPTX5i8hpw5_oVAV1ES2ZsrzwMTDByk/s1600/Mexico+157.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqEYcMImE7m1WjWibOmhl88F8kqd_vAupB2xFuIvW2lpuk9bDupPqKdcv4nTYqXJcaAJ9e7PxxGt9Umsf-gBfUtPrdQWQRCqptk83mNV5iruZ4wPTX5i8hpw5_oVAV1ES2ZsrzwMTDByk/s1600/Mexico+157.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd42KPv5Ai24iG-7LxrQFyf-IIZjLP5kUsoeRYU_CQjDTgzbt31Nl1KMrNsS1yxsS5d-dnUuMYX92uyK9gHQjyYtes9MJ_wjIWc89J6rx9lOi6UfGqvuHWJvOJpnc8NDInYoBSgqOIWhY/s1600/Mexico+158.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd42KPv5Ai24iG-7LxrQFyf-IIZjLP5kUsoeRYU_CQjDTgzbt31Nl1KMrNsS1yxsS5d-dnUuMYX92uyK9gHQjyYtes9MJ_wjIWc89J6rx9lOi6UfGqvuHWJvOJpnc8NDInYoBSgqOIWhY/s1600/Mexico+158.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3a3SqSFVtJiS9OS5vrwp52MlQuvFOf3L3SWOcboHVH3xF5pf951ujOwkMr-iUx_hWIwL82QsZvC1HwyysIqQ_H2BkYjITnPfemGeU4T8V9oHiclw8p_yHlGajxtLRNygNKT0Okbr6M3o/s1600/Mexico+92.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3a3SqSFVtJiS9OS5vrwp52MlQuvFOf3L3SWOcboHVH3xF5pf951ujOwkMr-iUx_hWIwL82QsZvC1HwyysIqQ_H2BkYjITnPfemGeU4T8V9oHiclw8p_yHlGajxtLRNygNKT0Okbr6M3o/s1600/Mexico+92.jpg" height="400" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Huge!!!!!</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri;">The next day,
after an early start, we arrived in Mexico City around lunchtime. Getting
towards the end of our trip, we became very lax with planning. So much so that
we arrived in MC with no plan, no guidebook, no details on places to stay…!
There’s one thing arriving in a small beach side town like this but it’s a bit
different when arriving in the capital of Mexico! The bus terminal was a little
out of town. We had no idea the area we wanted to stay in. ‘El centro surely?’
says Kyle… We floated towards the metro and thank goodness there was a tourist
information stand. The lady there provided us with a map (very important), a
list of hostels and recommended areas. We settled on Zocalo, the historic
centre.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">On the way
there we must have looked like lost sheep because a local guy asked us where we
were heading. Turns out that this guy works at a hostel in Zocalo…??!!!!He
escorted us all the way there … we are dead jammy sometimes!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGTAmP1BsoL0rhwFeeipACOQigxn55oxOqg_p3NZSTNMTo6-bYbt3l667MdXCmEYLDlO937dmJF-cQrxhEz1js8F3ffVXSn4MpkGDOx8WOWh1N5NuAJeeUsuDUwQzSjN9ODe8oyQcCujI/s1600/Mexico+82.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; font-family: Times; font-size: 15.552000045776367px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGTAmP1BsoL0rhwFeeipACOQigxn55oxOqg_p3NZSTNMTo6-bYbt3l667MdXCmEYLDlO937dmJF-cQrxhEz1js8F3ffVXSn4MpkGDOx8WOWh1N5NuAJeeUsuDUwQzSjN9ODe8oyQcCujI/s1600/Mexico+82.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">When walking up
the steps out of the subway, we were instantly wowed. We found ourselves smack
bang in the main square; everything was seriously large scale. The cathedral
and surrounding buildings looked wonderful and the big empty square apparently
holds concerts from time to time. Right in the middle was the biggest flag
we have ever seen!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">The friendly
guy who shamefully we can’t remember his name, led us to a really nice hostel;
large with an amazing roof top bar with fantastic views of the city. It sat
right behind the cathedral. ‘One double room please.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">We had just a
day and a half to explore this capital city. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">That afternoon we visited the
impressive cathedral; arguably the most impressive of our whole trip, took a
buggy taxi tour around the sites and finished up going up to the top of the
Torre Latina Americana. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">This building was reminiscent for me of the Centre
Point building in Tottenham Court Road in London. It is a pretty old fashioned
sky scraper but with fabulous views of the city. We spent ages up at the open
air top because Kyle got carried away with taking photos. We then headed down
one floor to the bar area, fancying something sparkling like Champers… ‘why
not- it’s our penultimate night in Central America!’ No Champagne…Corana beers
it was then! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBfN7VwtIwnUj_rPQPjOer61bli_3CpA9zGcU5rf347FBkyWm41cxY2XCvNRXkwkGIhyfpULcPD5hSf5rMGjQyzLJEluHKtImnyeo9Q0t3xTw7jh9X79fQnycPaKlr4eJhmlTrv_LoHT8/s1600/Mexico+81.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBfN7VwtIwnUj_rPQPjOer61bli_3CpA9zGcU5rf347FBkyWm41cxY2XCvNRXkwkGIhyfpULcPD5hSf5rMGjQyzLJEluHKtImnyeo9Q0t3xTw7jh9X79fQnycPaKlr4eJhmlTrv_LoHT8/s1600/Mexico+81.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJEGX7lZXup9l4YgDWRzE-dApekVwQpCsG2KO9GahkokQyak_dVMoNsegnpIQEIb3tevBBK-hlZUiJhoKlriyHmZP2OUsJWJYIksHFA6p82hgbpD5n8W3gDwqn765NMTRaHJfl0Wk6uLE/s1600/Mexico+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJEGX7lZXup9l4YgDWRzE-dApekVwQpCsG2KO9GahkokQyak_dVMoNsegnpIQEIb3tevBBK-hlZUiJhoKlriyHmZP2OUsJWJYIksHFA6p82hgbpD5n8W3gDwqn765NMTRaHJfl0Wk6uLE/s1600/Mexico+4.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Up the Torre...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6OisTAXr41qriPq41GnX0JWHMuva428pb4YnhPAhtoTZJrjN51e6-Xbe0Yr1xNp9GlAlcARnr9zRMW2frStEB1pNNCKXvnVjScOw2aTDa8hQya0UOSyA_C3aq5pwILaoPL4x2-9joon0/s1600/Mexico+99.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6OisTAXr41qriPq41GnX0JWHMuva428pb4YnhPAhtoTZJrjN51e6-Xbe0Yr1xNp9GlAlcARnr9zRMW2frStEB1pNNCKXvnVjScOw2aTDa8hQya0UOSyA_C3aq5pwILaoPL4x2-9joon0/s1600/Mexico+99.jpg" height="640" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGTAmP1BsoL0rhwFeeipACOQigxn55oxOqg_p3NZSTNMTo6-bYbt3l667MdXCmEYLDlO937dmJF-cQrxhEz1js8F3ffVXSn4MpkGDOx8WOWh1N5NuAJeeUsuDUwQzSjN9ODe8oyQcCujI/s1600/Mexico+82.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a>View of the Torre Latina Americana from our hostel roof</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijd_9m9wnDDurSmpOPeep4WAjXkxPPY92XpcZ1i1st4M5qLtOYM3oy3fDyw2oN7HgJZOlUPZEttVrDwIGTSqEB14jKS0WwHl5z4sv6nQtmTaJtGr9PYrw29bzbmjaQzx2TioxMs1UcrkM/s1600/Mexico+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijd_9m9wnDDurSmpOPeep4WAjXkxPPY92XpcZ1i1st4M5qLtOYM3oy3fDyw2oN7HgJZOlUPZEttVrDwIGTSqEB14jKS0WwHl5z4sv6nQtmTaJtGr9PYrw29bzbmjaQzx2TioxMs1UcrkM/s1600/Mexico+5.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_bsDItjtlCSmbZcT_GOOwbYlfo4Knvw5bMy8wQPEi7kmNDczDoVyyCyGYJobnbExHB71GhoIuMOu1wWHycTkSVJ03pt4d5r9wqQR4RROwBoPceLOxDl-TDvZoDXCHGTzQ9X73R_6pEiM/s1600/Mexico+83.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_bsDItjtlCSmbZcT_GOOwbYlfo4Knvw5bMy8wQPEi7kmNDczDoVyyCyGYJobnbExHB71GhoIuMOu1wWHycTkSVJ03pt4d5r9wqQR4RROwBoPceLOxDl-TDvZoDXCHGTzQ9X73R_6pEiM/s1600/Mexico+83.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">It was such a
change to be back in a big buzzy cosmopolitan capital city. The last place we
were in like this was at Christmas time in Buenos Aries. 22 million people live
in Mexico City!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbhGjCTEA0-4XThBEpV46ES68OF8nkUZjcFpaooEU2-6azej5wctUJk0pN8DkJys3Qhkxy3JqL0cEVEXPS_P4u_EcvU4Px_ziO9xelZ5H6W2meYinmVRU1RauKyzElMDlAx7u98GB0s44/s1600/Mexico+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbhGjCTEA0-4XThBEpV46ES68OF8nkUZjcFpaooEU2-6azej5wctUJk0pN8DkJys3Qhkxy3JqL0cEVEXPS_P4u_EcvU4Px_ziO9xelZ5H6W2meYinmVRU1RauKyzElMDlAx7u98GB0s44/s1600/Mexico+6.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii86Hf-dUr5J3AI3alctweci8LwGyzEgKmZK2xj33YG1uEb_DGYkZx1L7BkXSlLsQBXE0gGo9n1XSqaHj9pwzJkcFRpdzPslqFTpV8W8hlQm8eUoB3iy6nhoFusu_8neR2h8xTOKCrxJA/s1600/Mexico+87.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii86Hf-dUr5J3AI3alctweci8LwGyzEgKmZK2xj33YG1uEb_DGYkZx1L7BkXSlLsQBXE0gGo9n1XSqaHj9pwzJkcFRpdzPslqFTpV8W8hlQm8eUoB3iy6nhoFusu_8neR2h8xTOKCrxJA/s1600/Mexico+87.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri;">The following
day we visited MC’s top museum; the Anthropology museum. This huge building is
incredibly designed and it houses extensive information, artifacts and
reconstructions. We had just 2 and a half hours to scratch the surface! It’s
absolutely mind blowing how many different native tribes and groups there are
in Mexico alone. Every single village is unique with their own dress, language
and customs.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg22N-97yCCytfoDUM36Gw2tT3232e94YvwpZRnrwTxydWXIxUvlWgFZhGtr5ggQiM3qlARqqd4h9EhxwfmJ4ajjL5u7qAjmhuBYGVdIDLLIM8b4kRFV2j64ObBYwm8axJmejHcYNTqZBA/s1600/Mexico+88.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg22N-97yCCytfoDUM36Gw2tT3232e94YvwpZRnrwTxydWXIxUvlWgFZhGtr5ggQiM3qlARqqd4h9EhxwfmJ4ajjL5u7qAjmhuBYGVdIDLLIM8b4kRFV2j64ObBYwm8axJmejHcYNTqZBA/s1600/Mexico+88.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGpgimVHnjF7v4EMBpVPzoOtQb-e8wndS4xvirnvIeNcKPwA9eEninYSAGvQrNixH3VZ6FVXLJa1cPflNNwJiXdpFZNaCjpn4o-YZJzZgCAM_V8Ny7NWt1JRQRyP52nJMx5aL6oB9rhXU/s1600/Mexico+91.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGpgimVHnjF7v4EMBpVPzoOtQb-e8wndS4xvirnvIeNcKPwA9eEninYSAGvQrNixH3VZ6FVXLJa1cPflNNwJiXdpFZNaCjpn4o-YZJzZgCAM_V8Ny7NWt1JRQRyP52nJMx5aL6oB9rhXU/s1600/Mexico+91.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxCi6PbTIaCSbKW3VaP48NAqmulHCBNynzdXD_sOd9gouJ9YPwZcSyTkvi4rDgByWj7teXYmIbudelRFbIe50aF5UNLoucX4kqCJD4Vm6o0haxpO2NRYSNPqcOsypfjgs3f_fYIAbSFIc/s1600/Mexico+68.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxCi6PbTIaCSbKW3VaP48NAqmulHCBNynzdXD_sOd9gouJ9YPwZcSyTkvi4rDgByWj7teXYmIbudelRFbIe50aF5UNLoucX4kqCJD4Vm6o0haxpO2NRYSNPqcOsypfjgs3f_fYIAbSFIc/s1600/Mexico+68.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE-bThAmxcUlyMxECcv0KpcCC6e-jO6pvhyphenhyphen6kusWQHls9lRMGwrVHePSqgr3e2HB-WvffhqJrn2K3d2e2qR7y0ITLuJNCuiuOSeHJByrGeOW-uTIgi9XTtnC7qOo29w-d1m5NxniiQCHY/s1600/Mexico+70.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE-bThAmxcUlyMxECcv0KpcCC6e-jO6pvhyphenhyphen6kusWQHls9lRMGwrVHePSqgr3e2HB-WvffhqJrn2K3d2e2qR7y0ITLuJNCuiuOSeHJByrGeOW-uTIgi9XTtnC7qOo29w-d1m5NxniiQCHY/s1600/Mexico+70.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">Outside the
museum we caught an amazing practice by one of the native cultures; 4 men
dressed in their colourful traditional clothes climb a really high totem pole
and there’s another guy playing music perched at the very top! They wind
themselves up with rope and then fall backwards(!) spinning round and round
upside down until they reach the ground. It was a jaw dropping site!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFFoXIU37OZD__SHBfYByxsoJreRWA-VuWSOPATT5-wN1ilhiku2thKbhyphenhyphenU50Rj6bQ5TiU1hI6GbvCnUnMpmmzaLv968LzcIPqhUFDU5Tv75Zk80qyD4N6v-CUS6C1und7ZNrsZasMrNo/s1600/Mexico+73.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFFoXIU37OZD__SHBfYByxsoJreRWA-VuWSOPATT5-wN1ilhiku2thKbhyphenhyphenU50Rj6bQ5TiU1hI6GbvCnUnMpmmzaLv968LzcIPqhUFDU5Tv75Zk80qyD4N6v-CUS6C1und7ZNrsZasMrNo/s1600/Mexico+73.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJJcK-EmprWT0v5V6nfaRqmizVSpTAwh18tkl0SIo3TN6RWyIiJroit0YRxVEppIi9VnCbX6JyCNu-uVD-V0Hdr5V-bKyhBmDhU8WW-rpbOzWuoCkyFx7FhoaGHGRH4_IYBzh1-Rzd6fQ/s1600/Mexico+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJJcK-EmprWT0v5V6nfaRqmizVSpTAwh18tkl0SIo3TN6RWyIiJroit0YRxVEppIi9VnCbX6JyCNu-uVD-V0Hdr5V-bKyhBmDhU8WW-rpbOzWuoCkyFx7FhoaGHGRH4_IYBzh1-Rzd6fQ/s1600/Mexico+1.jpg" height="640" width="426" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">That afternoon
we met up with Juan from Mazunte. He took us to a place called Coyoacan on the
outskirts where he used to live. </span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqdCOi-q2GGKhzwrjdvozu78p1ZS5tW_JLsawqNhGzPhB9mo9ow5EJCZRUTYEpDKGhxgJKkjV0AxfYaeNAXWpzJqP-j-V6YovdqTc8OIGK6YyAV11sGD_OrDNrFLOh9JRGE7o69wLCzmA/s1600/Mexico+75.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqdCOi-q2GGKhzwrjdvozu78p1ZS5tW_JLsawqNhGzPhB9mo9ow5EJCZRUTYEpDKGhxgJKkjV0AxfYaeNAXWpzJqP-j-V6YovdqTc8OIGK6YyAV11sGD_OrDNrFLOh9JRGE7o69wLCzmA/s1600/Mexico+75.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gum tree</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYWWbY5s0pO3uBmO_QteNo9uKimWvKKY8J0dZFlb42S2a3xxzrlR7Us2wuWq2akuEORPlX9RkqoM_4ua9VTcCYki4VmaAtUwAB5348O3ZIdVfcTHHtk_WsxS7DPKKCDg8GfYhQxkpCxGc/s1600/Mexico+74.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYWWbY5s0pO3uBmO_QteNo9uKimWvKKY8J0dZFlb42S2a3xxzrlR7Us2wuWq2akuEORPlX9RkqoM_4ua9VTcCYki4VmaAtUwAB5348O3ZIdVfcTHHtk_WsxS7DPKKCDg8GfYhQxkpCxGc/s1600/Mexico+74.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wall art in metro</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">We chatted for hours over a few pitchers of
beer and nachos. Juan was fascinating; he had the most incredible set of
skills, a trained lawyer, student of anthropology (he’s been to the museum over
200 times!), keen actor not to mention fisherman and tourist guide in Mazunte.
He came across to us as such a humble and caring soul. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">He took us to a
clothes shop that have traditional Mexican designs and we helped him pick out a
few tops for a friend; Rosie, that he met in Mazunte but lives in London. He
asked us if we would meet up with her when we were back to give her his gift. I
recently met her outside Brixton tube station!! She was lovely and very
flattered by Juan’s thoughtful present </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727;"><span style="font-family: Wingdings;">:)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">We finished our
afternoon by sheltering in the rain in a locals’ spot for delicious cinnamon
hot chocolates. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-LGPBpysbHwfoMyZZLiNZt2PFtcFGMKF5FDmVlWS3LLhrtMNgOJEqjcv48PRMV6V1NIjvfGEqX_c1K1b_SVqykBMBuJj-yjCgpB6ZQI-VW_fyAi4RqC6htc0PzauZcSz3oOnn8a-RGq4/s1600/Mexico+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-LGPBpysbHwfoMyZZLiNZt2PFtcFGMKF5FDmVlWS3LLhrtMNgOJEqjcv48PRMV6V1NIjvfGEqX_c1K1b_SVqykBMBuJj-yjCgpB6ZQI-VW_fyAi4RqC6htc0PzauZcSz3oOnn8a-RGq4/s1600/Mexico+2.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">Juan headed
back to the hostel with us and checked in for the night and we went up to the
roof top bar to toast to our last night in Central America watching a
spectacular lightening storm around us. We hope to stay in touch with Juan and
that he comes and visits us in England. He suggested that we get married on the
beach in Mazunte! Food for thought…! We’ll certainly be returning back to
Mexico that’s for sure…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyE1RsAvk41axCfb12aoZ_bvj_BgcPtvHRCLMVRAEVEFeoPTsG8bJiMK7yEFQuZat1mj4noIg6EbHs_AZFswGaRl-0x9R5bMwqZPKKXkDgpn0VfKZqv8koFXeJMq3-K4mIm9gXQY0E_wo/s1600/Mexico+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyE1RsAvk41axCfb12aoZ_bvj_BgcPtvHRCLMVRAEVEFeoPTsG8bJiMK7yEFQuZat1mj4noIg6EbHs_AZFswGaRl-0x9R5bMwqZPKKXkDgpn0VfKZqv8koFXeJMq3-K4mIm9gXQY0E_wo/s1600/Mexico+3.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">And so this is
it. Our South and Central America adventure has come to an end…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkvxkS6EHH8UrGYJnadwMUkViuLI88ZYr5mPpEtOcMNiz869KbUUjcq8vD85Sa5ltJ_b7wEPYSUyn8kC1Fj3fDF66WlYINEqs5CNasaDshIwYfO6FWIt87vt-DqH5vNXsXssio_d1nK7w/s1600/Mexico+54.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkvxkS6EHH8UrGYJnadwMUkViuLI88ZYr5mPpEtOcMNiz869KbUUjcq8vD85Sa5ltJ_b7wEPYSUyn8kC1Fj3fDF66WlYINEqs5CNasaDshIwYfO6FWIt87vt-DqH5vNXsXssio_d1nK7w/s1600/Mexico+54.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri;">We took a 10
day pit stop in Cuba on our way home and arrived back in Blighty on the evening
of the 25</span><sup style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri;">th</sup><span style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri;"> May.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">The trip of our
lifetime lasting nearly 9 months. We’ve blogged and blogged but really…words cannot
describe how brilliant this trip has been and what better way to do it than
sharing the experience together. x<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #272727; font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">Hannah and Kyle
over and out <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">(‘til next time…)</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu9iE6b9s1oJW5z4e0We0aUGQSy9bF3CQUAE3cPJdnL_5Ol55WXWZTLxfkgDB36IkYxmTqiiYhywwlD5TdUINEXqcrPZ2PBqAgzVLP9drJkGzKtmmOUlUPWvGqo5NfrrAlvdwwaO4hTqw/s1600/Mexico+150.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu9iE6b9s1oJW5z4e0We0aUGQSy9bF3CQUAE3cPJdnL_5Ol55WXWZTLxfkgDB36IkYxmTqiiYhywwlD5TdUINEXqcrPZ2PBqAgzVLP9drJkGzKtmmOUlUPWvGqo5NfrrAlvdwwaO4hTqw/s1600/Mexico+150.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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Hannah and Kyle travel S.Americahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15199881368072873571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218767240550915026.post-51651325217264953062014-07-03T05:47:00.001-07:002014-07-03T05:47:25.617-07:00'You better Belize it'<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
BELIZE!!!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcsg6UNbIZvOjfFTUpjIc3_DYA5u5ZhiRUyPlsWDWZ-1LuokaLKD86tIiNN0lclkdjVAgNXnpEPNc8-maMJanFEDPlrhEBYCW3SDoy-wR2596Vs5xPkIQ9BjsCDJFaEhfAojY4jMGlJTQ/s1600/Belize_Blog+13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcsg6UNbIZvOjfFTUpjIc3_DYA5u5ZhiRUyPlsWDWZ-1LuokaLKD86tIiNN0lclkdjVAgNXnpEPNc8-maMJanFEDPlrhEBYCW3SDoy-wR2596Vs5xPkIQ9BjsCDJFaEhfAojY4jMGlJTQ/s1600/Belize_Blog+13.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMhyphenhyphenvHO90tIYuL-qUoKOkEsyOa9KQKEs-JWv-Kjxp8XUIdVKOnrTDbC6p1ffdDOBnkrX4_vslOvTt2hjCI1xvSC43QrWzjA2UcZ8tBNnsgY8MBfVTF15CQH5NM67x-meukFqnxEC0zW0M/s1600/Belize_Blog+21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMhyphenhyphenvHO90tIYuL-qUoKOkEsyOa9KQKEs-JWv-Kjxp8XUIdVKOnrTDbC6p1ffdDOBnkrX4_vslOvTt2hjCI1xvSC43QrWzjA2UcZ8tBNnsgY8MBfVTF15CQH5NM67x-meukFqnxEC0zW0M/s1600/Belize_Blog+21.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #343434;">We rose early for a 5am bus bound for Belize City. After a few hours we were at the Guatemala-Belize border. As we walked the few paces over to this new country, instantly we felt a change... At Belize immigration there was a rather permanent looking sign reading; 'Welcome Prince Harry.’ Huh??! Is Prince Harry here? We found out that he had visited 2 years ago as part of the Diamond Jubilee tour. We were welcomed into the country by smartly dressed staff giving tourist information and handing out free maps. When we got back on the bus and continued our journey, looking out at our first bit of Belize, the signs; 'bump', 'slow down', 'car wash'... English... We had arrived in the first English speaking country in 8 months. What a comfort! It would take some getting used to though, not saying hola and gracias on autopilot.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434;">Up until very recently, Belize was a British crown colony. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1c1c1c;">The country's name was officially changed in June 1974, from British Honduras to Belize. Independence, as the new nation of Belize was achieved on September 21st, 1981 and a new independence constitution was introduced.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1c1c1c;">Nevertheless Belize has kept its strong</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434;"> British influence in many ways, none more prominent than our Queen appearing on their money; on every single note and coin.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1c1c1c;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434;">Home from home then right…?!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434;">Not quite…</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434;">We boarded the 10.30am boat to Caye Caulker Island and found ourselves amongst the locals; born and bred Caribbean locals; big mommas, sexy ladies looking like they are fresh from a n RnB music video, very cool looking guys with gold chains around their necks and seriously cute kids. Gorgeous syrupy voices were passing through our ears. It certainly felt like we had left Central America behind.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs5xoC_8aedQCGhbA7h6K7MeqOaJ1SA3cnKV6Yr48oB1yJ-f_F3-BZxorR0rcjmrFqel6xn7MQ-bSuR5BkAr3j6Afq0JtGR7Y2VXUXi016D_ZutkxiR6SK-b7MZzrfLFAutdL0AhRx7Xo/s1600/Belize_Blog+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs5xoC_8aedQCGhbA7h6K7MeqOaJ1SA3cnKV6Yr48oB1yJ-f_F3-BZxorR0rcjmrFqel6xn7MQ-bSuR5BkAr3j6Afq0JtGR7Y2VXUXi016D_ZutkxiR6SK-b7MZzrfLFAutdL0AhRx7Xo/s1600/Belize_Blog+1.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434;">When arriving on the island, the first thing we saw was the sign 'Go Slow'- the motto of Caye Caulker. We were in fact told to go slow a few times during our short time here- apparently we still need to work on being more laid back! We thought we were pretty good…</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434;">A local toothless old Rasta called Gilbert escorted us to a hostel. We checked into 'Dirty McNasty's' - yep that was the name! - and it was in fact a bit Dirty McNasty...! Like England, Belize isn’t cheap therefore Dirty McNastys had to do. £21 plus tax per night for a private room. This is the max we try to spend per night in our budget.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434;">Arriving post Semana Santa, it was very quiet. It reminded us of Utila, only calmer, cleaner and with an older community of people. Caye Caulker is a sand bar over a limestone shelf, measuring 5 miles long by less than 1 mile wide. Hurricane Hattie in the 60’s caused the island to split up. 'The Split' is in fact now a trendy place to hang out with a bar and is popular for swimming. There is a 'road' on the island but you only see a few golf carts running up and down, there isn’t 1 car. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #343434;">The colour of the water surrounding the island is unreal... We were so excited to get diving; our main purpose of coming here.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5QkaVp_yIGWxS7jfVJ-QoKMkqY3Mfsm_cBWpLPYRQtw1_wFUfL5__0OzHA4NfyblQCDtljbUY6imitxjl5gRuxntke84icpt459k2EYeGMzY_-zRSLLAf478dE2BMTLHk-KPRjnDvgcc/s1600/Belize_Blog+34.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: transparent; clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5QkaVp_yIGWxS7jfVJ-QoKMkqY3Mfsm_cBWpLPYRQtw1_wFUfL5__0OzHA4NfyblQCDtljbUY6imitxjl5gRuxntke84icpt459k2EYeGMzY_-zRSLLAf478dE2BMTLHk-KPRjnDvgcc/s1600/Belize_Blog+34.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434;"> </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434;">After doing our research and after some deliberation we decided to go the whole way, spend a bit more money and dive the famous Blue Hole. We were here in Belize, with our Advanced PADI under our weight belts, it would be rude not to!!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434;"> </span><span style="color: #343434;">We got picked up on the dock at 6.30am and began the 2 hour and 10 minute boat ride out to the Blue Hole. If you have seen any adverts for Belize, you have likely seen a stunning aerial view shot of a turquoise ocean with a perfect circle of midnight blue. It's their poster image. And quite rightly. A deep sink hole; 1000 feet wide by 460 feet deep. The circle is the coral reef. It was formed in the ice age; when it was originally land and when the ice melted, the sea level rose. The pressure of the water caused a collapse of this hole. A natural phenomenon. And we were diving it!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #343434;">The boat was a mixture of snorkelers and divers. There were about 8 divers which was good; anymore and it can get crowded. About 10 minutes away we geared up and checked our equipment. After giving the dive shop our measurements over the phone the day before and telling them that we had the same size fins, we discovered that Kyle's were too large a size. When asking the rather macho Belizian dive masters for a smaller size, they simply said 'but men have bigger feet than women'... As if Kyle must be mistaken!! 'Yes, but that's generally speaking, there are exceptions' I piped up... He got his head around this shocking fact finding some more suitable fins and we were soon in the water!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #343434;">It was going to be a short dive; with a maximum depth of 45 metres(!) - before this, the deepest we had been was 30m...we were going to the limit for recreational diving- going deeper means you use up air faster. We descended fast, I was a little nervous that I wouldn't have enough time to equalise my ears properly. The dive masters had strictly said in our briefing that we should surface if the descent is not going well.. However, down and down we went without troubles. We were descending down 'the drop off' as Finding Nemo would say. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #343434;">There wasn’t much sign of marine life. We were very alone as it got considerably colder and darker... I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel a bit scared. Once we had hit 40m it was quite gloomy, particularly looking out towards the centre of the hole. In this deep blue nothingness what appeared was the unmistakable silhouette of a Black Tip Shark!! </span></div>
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<span style="color: #343434;">It was hard to believe our eyes; our first ever shark sighting! </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCIcIr4krVOwm2xvvV_zyCMhANXTDQedrWRjgOiTdC6dQkpBgoanlaG8tBL7R_cbGemKOaI5m84QgQM5BOcy7Aq3Kf0Gll4H7RRoOAPSUZAr1XhGY-NbSJw5HQNrU-ymBuhW4TsLZ1vCo/s1600/Belize_Blog+25.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCIcIr4krVOwm2xvvV_zyCMhANXTDQedrWRjgOiTdC6dQkpBgoanlaG8tBL7R_cbGemKOaI5m84QgQM5BOcy7Aq3Kf0Gll4H7RRoOAPSUZAr1XhGY-NbSJw5HQNrU-ymBuhW4TsLZ1vCo/s1600/Belize_Blog+25.jpg" height="298" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #343434;">We made our way under an over hang of the wall and swam among vast stalagmites and stalactites. Our total dive time was just 25 minutes. Once back in the boat and discussing the size of the shark, I was shocked to discover that it was actually a lot bigger than I thought. Because there was nothing else down there it was difficult to get a sense of distance. I put my arms out to Kyle ‘It was about </span><i style="color: #343434;">this</i><span style="color: #343434;"> big right?!’ No, no, it was a good few metres. Oh.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434;">We made our way across the hole, trying to get the perspective standing on the bow. At this point, it would have been awesome to fly up into the air and look down on where we were and see that famous aerial viewpoint.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #343434;">Tank number 2 was our best dive to date...'Half Moon Caye'- never to be forgotten. We were so excited to have seen one shark in the Blue Hole, we were not prepared for this... We found ourselves swimming with 5 or 6 sharks! They were pretty friendly, getting nice and close to us! By the end it was 'oh there's another shark..!' Surprisingly the fear factor of the sharks was nothing compared to the fear that the huge barracudas generated; they got me breathing very fast! They have very menacing faces with rather sharp pointy teeth and they keep themselves very still in the way that they swim. At one point Kyle spotted a barracuda that was swimming directly towards me, I was looking down, oblivious to the fact I was going to crash head first into it. He caught my attention at the last minute and I had the shock of my life!! For the whole dive I wasn't able to take my hands off my heart.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434;">Another highlight was when we heard the dive master frantically banging his tank to get our attention, we swam quickly through a tight valley of coral and popped out on the other side to find a big beautiful spotted eagle ray, a few sharks and a barracuda all swimming right in front of us! If this wasn't enough, we watched some stingrays taking off from the sand bed, a great big lobster mmmmm... some black durgeons and a lone turtle leisurely floating around! You can't help but put the Finding Nemo characters onto them; 'righteous dude!'</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434;">It was mind blowing!! We definitely went through our air a little quicker than normal!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434;">After an excitable morning it was time for a slap up lunch on a deserted paradise island... Need I say more... Belize certainly has a lot going for it!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434;">We had tank number 3 after this in a dive site they call 'The Aquarium'. In the superb viability there were loads of tropical fish to feast our eyes on and I was very chuffed to spot a hawksbill turtle. Hooray!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434;">The boat back was very enjoyable. We were supplied with unlimited rum punch whilst basking in the sunshine. Excellent! We arrived back at the dock around 4pm very over excited and a little tipsy!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434;">On our first two nights, we met up with Andi and Katarina whom we had met in Finca Tatin in Guatemala, along with Carol and her little dog Bella Ray. They were staying on the island in Carol's house. Carol was away in the States and after getting in contact with her, invited us to stay after Andi and Katarina were to leave. We caught up over beers watching the sunset and enjoyed some tasty Belizian meals, devouring tasty jerk chicken from the BBQ and we drank lots of rums (I found myself quite partial to the ‘panty ripper’; a rum and pineapple concoction).</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434;">After two days of hostel living we moved into Carol's sweet little colourful bungalow.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434;">We really took advantage of having our own space, cooking one night which was so novel and spending one afternoon blogging on the porch.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #343434; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">During our time on the little island we befriended a gorgeous little puppy. Flee ridden and with no collar, we assumed he was a stray. We decided to take him to the animal rescue centre and pay for him to be sprayed. Unfortunately when we turned up, the guy in charge, Kenny, told us that the puppy did actually belong to a lady. She breeds lots of dogs, doesn't care for them at all and trys to sell them to the tourists.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc33DYF34yL_EcSfPzunLIFgQS3Ckv1zO7ohB0n8SbxQoRqT0nT-3MW4YYT66Qse0jCxTL50rpB7mwrGudFn5kR-ws7BPRN7mJJTcXUIsO7ezmdh6UsjgIqVaoEpTp4_KrALWRRYkTVHE/s1600/Belize_Blog+2+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc33DYF34yL_EcSfPzunLIFgQS3Ckv1zO7ohB0n8SbxQoRqT0nT-3MW4YYT66Qse0jCxTL50rpB7mwrGudFn5kR-ws7BPRN7mJJTcXUIsO7ezmdh6UsjgIqVaoEpTp4_KrALWRRYkTVHE/s1600/Belize_Blog+2+(1).jpg" height="320" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kenny</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #343434; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; text-align: center;">This place was no different to almost every other country we had visited in terms of the abundance of stray animals. We ended up reluctantly letting our dear pooch go and going into the animal home to have a look around. It looked a bit like a building site; very run down, with just one inside room where Kenny lived; consisting of a bed and ‘kitchen’ area. There were many cats and dogs running about and we were introduced to some of them including a tiny dog called Godzilla. Kenny then showed us a couple of very fresh 20 day old kittens. We were in love!</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434;">He was keeping this place running by donations alone; caring for so many animals and giving them away for adoption to suitable homes. A very tough job. We gave him a small contribution and left, feeling frustrated at how far away home was from here for bringing those little kittens back with us. Impossible…</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqJUPs6M8mgnHf3xDDJDYS3aH9-7nPGlBvNbE8jawrWFtju0mu0zMYKuPluSi6b0lg4AjfL0exxga6oF7EwDKYqEDDhw6eLYlTapn5K9UEbXKsKP-ln6DJDfJqFMbuc35FUqR2Szt8_TE/s1600/Belize_Blog+33.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqJUPs6M8mgnHf3xDDJDYS3aH9-7nPGlBvNbE8jawrWFtju0mu0zMYKuPluSi6b0lg4AjfL0exxga6oF7EwDKYqEDDhw6eLYlTapn5K9UEbXKsKP-ln6DJDfJqFMbuc35FUqR2Szt8_TE/s1600/Belize_Blog+33.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434;">We spent our last day enjoying the island's quirks and soaking it all in.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbVaxug1YKWKUDYpgpFfCqFqiF6YPE-LkWmDN2uoDv4647rEI0dzOkjYNvstc1jfBUPm-W1bo0ckLa9YgE3SSxMnsKIjH2tmbzwujdadhwC3saRAnh6GGF8XZvQT7yGOd9kV25eeUegWI/s1600/Belize_Blog+47.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbVaxug1YKWKUDYpgpFfCqFqiF6YPE-LkWmDN2uoDv4647rEI0dzOkjYNvstc1jfBUPm-W1bo0ckLa9YgE3SSxMnsKIjH2tmbzwujdadhwC3saRAnh6GGF8XZvQT7yGOd9kV25eeUegWI/s1600/Belize_Blog+47.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the island's many Chinese supermarkets!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Simple things!</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434;">In true Hannah and Kyle fashion, our travel day to the border was a slightly stressful one…After delays with the ferry back to Belize City and then further waiting for our bags to come which were on a different boat, we got a taxi to the bus station. We weren’t entirely clear on the buses we were getting, in fact, we had no clue. We found ourselves waiting with a large crowd of locals, the only travelers again, ‘cuing’ behind a gate waiting for a bus to arrive. When it did, the gates opened and it was a mad scrum, children almost being trampled, old ladies nearly toppling over. We joined the rest of them, sticking our elbows out and making it our mission to get on that chicken bus. These buses didn’t come often and we had quite some distance to cover that day; we couldn’t afford to miss this bus. Some of the guys were trying to convince us to put our backpacks in the storage underneath…we are not that stupid…</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434;">Thanks to Kyle’s determination we managed to bag 2 back seats, putting our precious bags behind us. Phew! Belize had recently passed a law that you cannot stand in the isle of a bus; when all the seats are taken, no more are allowed on. This is to prevent overcrowding. By the sounds of things, buses might have reached dangerous levels in the past. This law was loosely paid attention to in that if they pass a police check point, the bus conductor tells everyone who is standing to get down…?!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434;">During this 4 hour bus, the conductor came round to us for payment and she very kindly informed us (in case we didn’t know – we didn’t), that at the border there was an exit taxi of $37.50BZ each. Ah…we didn’t have enough money…</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434;">First question – can we pay by card? No. Second question – is there a cash point at the border? No. Third question – what shall we do?</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434;">The plan was made. In the next hour and a half we were to pass through a town with a cash point. Kyle is to run out whilst leaving me with the bags and try and get money out. If he is takes too long the bus will not wait for him and it will leave and he is to get a taxi (it’s not a busy town – taxi’s are hard to come by) and race to the bus station where the bus is taking a longer stop of about 5 minutes…If he doesn’t make it I have to somehow stall the bus and failing that, get off the bus with the bags and be…well..stuck…</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434;">The hour and a half to that town was pretty nervous!! But, thank goodness, the cash machine behaved and Kyle was as quick as a flash. He gave the conductor a tip to say thanks for waiting…</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434;">The rest of our drive to the Mexican border went without a hiccup. Back we were going to the Spanish speaking world…MEXICO!!! Bye bye Belize; thanks for topping up our tans!</span></div>
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Hannah and Kyle travel S.Americahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15199881368072873571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218767240550915026.post-77167792318440351422014-06-04T14:55:00.000-07:002014-06-05T02:50:35.787-07:00Guatemala<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">At
the Guatemalan/Honduran border we were relieved to have made it this far but
knew there was still a little way to go. After a friendly man in a drug dealer
type car asked us which way we were going; Livingston we replied- 'Shame- I am
headed for Guatemala City' (we weren't too upset!) we jumped into a minivan for
a 30 minute trip to Puerto Barrios. Here we went to the dock and we met with
another back packing couple. They were a welcome sight! We were back in
familiar company! We took a 45 minute boat ride along the beautiful jungle
coast line to Livingston; set at the mouth of the Rio Dulce. As soon as we
disembarked the boat we were met by the charismatic 'Mario Ganja'! He took us
under his wing and called up Finca Tatin for us- the place we wanted to stay at
on the river. He organised for a boat to be sent out to pick us up. Then he
helped us with our errands- leading the way to the cash points and
supermarkets. We had a drink with him whilst we waited. He went above and
beyond the call of duty. We got Mario Ganja'd! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434;">Guido,
a volunteer from Finca Tatin, picked the 2 of us up in his lancha boat and we
had a stunning late afternoon ride upstream of the Rio Dulce for 10 km.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Either
side of the wide river was a sheer canyon face with gigantic tall trees
reaching up to the sky. There were lots of white stalks resting in the trees in
the wonderful silence surrounding the river. I think we were both not expecting
how beautiful this would be! </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">We arrived at our forest retreat; Finca Tatin and
were led to our very own wood and thatched cabin complete with private balcony
by the river. It is worth noting that Guatemala is officially the cheapest
country in Central America and we were making the most of that!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Back
in jungle territory again meant humidity and big bugs...great. Over the next
few days I saw the scariest BIG bugs of the whole trip so far. I say 'I', maybe
because <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I</i> was constantly on the
lookout. Most nights, I spotted multiple cockroaches in our bags(!) and around
the room- (bloody hell they can move fast) and absolutely HUGE spiders in the
bathroom and on our stuff. I would subsequently go and seek Kyle for pest
disposal and comfort (neither I got of course). We would come back and they
would be gone - nowhere to be seen (even more frightening). (Kyle writing –
Obviously this is a slight Hannah Brown exaggeration!) But to Kyle, he took
great delight in implying I was delusional and making it up. We nearly came to
blows on a few occasions when he told me I might as well get used to it! Still,
I know that we were lucky; friends of ours whose cabin was more set back into
the jungle saw scorpions and tarantulas. Yikes!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmTOOvheNzcXPND8Jum6YaK6gtg-TGkxCByF63EAoMhDVIWnX8gj8bo-YTUGH-cWCA_84n50vX9yvllhOYCCqOHBclVW2c0ZAPHwXGiBBJeWk98nKYd3GogOTqlwuLBZUauS4f4Angmfo/s1600/Guatemala+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmTOOvheNzcXPND8Jum6YaK6gtg-TGkxCByF63EAoMhDVIWnX8gj8bo-YTUGH-cWCA_84n50vX9yvllhOYCCqOHBclVW2c0ZAPHwXGiBBJeWk98nKYd3GogOTqlwuLBZUauS4f4Angmfo/s1600/Guatemala+6.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Check out this 4 legged spider!<br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Every
evening we would have a 'family meal'- all the guests sat around one big long
table and all enjoying the same meal. It was through our dinners where we met 2
very nice young couples; Andi and Katha - Andi is originally from Kent but now
lives with Katha in Munich, and Lily and Anton (also from Munich). One
afternoon we had a great game of Yatzee altogether. We also met a lovely
American lady in her 60s called Carol and her adorable little doggy 'Bella Del
Ray'! Carol and Bella live on the stunning island of Caye Caulker in Belize; we
were really keen to visit here but feared that perhaps we wouldn't have the
time... We might just have to make time! :-)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">The
resident dog called 'Negro' is only one years old and although huge is a
complete softy, was completely dominated by little Bella! We also fell in love
with the very sleepy cat that lived there. It was lovely to be surrounded by
animals again. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">We
had a very peaceful few days at Finca, watching the dug out canoes float past
from the deck and listening to the birds from hammocks. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">We were quite active at
times: rope swinging off the rather high platform into the river, going on a
morning jungle hike to a spectacular open cave called Tiger Cave...<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">We kayaked to the hot springs. We have both come to the conclusion after a few
go's that we aren't too keen on kayaking. We aren't very good at being in sync
with each other and also it's really hard work!! Typically we end up getting
cross with one another; nevertheless we made the 30-minute trip up the river to
the hot springs. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #343434;">We had an amazing lunch there called Tapado; the local specialty.
It is a rich stew made from fish, shrimp, shellfish, coconut milk and plantain,
spiced with curry and coriander. The result… absolutely delicious! And we don't
even like fish. I think we need to stop saying that now and admit that our taste
buds have developed a bit. You should have seen us trying to work out how to
dissect the crab and de-scale the fish… Amateurs!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #343434;">We
then paid the equivalent of about £2 to hike up and explore the caves there.
They were pretty impressive. We entered, just the two of us alone with torches
and just kept going deeper and deeper, occasionally turning off our torches to
experience pure silence in pure blackness.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"> Typically this gave Kyle the chance
to wander off to hide then scare the shit out of me “no one can here you
scream” eek. The temptation to keep exploring through windy corridors into the
darkness was too much, trying to remember our route for the way back was also a
challenge. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #343434;">Next we headed to a natural sauna in a mini cave in the steaming pouring
from the rock, there were little wooden benches to sit on. We were sweating
profusely! Finally we eased ourselves into the hot springs - Agua Caliente!! It
simply spews into the river with nothing separating them. The stones were chucking
super hot water- around 60 degrees so you could only bare getting so close!
When mixed with the river water it made it a lovely warm temperature. If you'd
lie still and let the water settle it would get seriously hot on the surface
where the heat rises!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">We
went back to basics with hand washing on stone washboards - our clothes have
not been this thoroughly cleaned in ages, usually resorting to hand washing in
tiny private or shared bathroom sinks or even showers… luxurious eh?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Before
we left, Finca offered us a quarter off our bill for a film that Kyle had made
whilst here. He had done it whilst having a practice mostly for his own
portfolio, so although they got a very good deal because it is worth ALOT more,
but we are in Guatemala after all weren't really expecting anything so saw it
as a bonus! Every little helps... </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Have a look...</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><a href="https://vimeo.com/97376971" target="_blank">https://vimeo.com/97376971</a></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">We
left on the 10am boat to Rio Dulce main town. We had a scenic route going past
little communities that live on the river bank and amongst the mangroves, from
restaurants to hostels and churches. This is a very popular spot for sailors to
moore up off from the Carribean coastline for the Hurricane season. Our first
friends Jessica and Matt were here a few months back with their boat for
exactly that. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">From
the relatively bleak town of Rio Dulce we took a rather memorable 5 hour
shuttle west to Lanquin, our first opportunity to see some Guatemalan
countryside. It was a welcomed sight to see women and children in typical
traditional dress ‘ahh a bit of strong culture again, about time’. The last
country that had the same level of cultural dress was Bolivia in November over
4 months ago. </span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">About 3 and a half hours in having climbed into the mountain the
heavens opened. It was dark by now and heavy thunder and lightening began. We
couldn't remember the last time we'd seen rain like this, in fact any rain at
all! It was exciting! </span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">The road was terrible, very rocky and bumpy. We hit a
traffic block. I think there had been a bit of a landslide and so wasn't enough
room for the traffic to pass easily. All we could make out in front of us
through the steamed up windscreen was a truck that read 'peligroso
explosivos'!! Our shuttle was full of girls bar Kyle and we all got a bit
hysterical and giggly! Kyle moved to the front to sit with the driver; boys
together getting in amongst the action. The girls thought Kyle was very
entertaining, calling him a big kid. This was after watching him spend a good
half hr hunting high and low in the mini-van for a lost camera lens cap whilst
bumping all over the place “got nothing else to do eh?” he said! So anyway, after
a good 20/30 minutes of waiting Kyle decided he had had enough. Much to the
drivers dismay he got out of the van into the pouring muddy rain in a vesty,
shorts and flip flops to add a little British organization to the situation. All
the girls staring out the foggy windows in amazement. Before we knew it we were
on the move again!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">We
arrived in Lanquin and it was freezing! After some confusion with transfers and
refusing to pay any more for the last leg we found ourselves standing about in the
cold and wet dressed for a humid jungle, we eventually transferred to a truck
and then after a short drive into another pickup. Here we waited for a further
5 minutes whilst the driver and his mate (Staff at our Hostel) finished their
beers outside some run down hut on the hill. We finally arrived at our hostel
'Las Maria's' just outside of Semuc Champey national park very hungry. We
appeared to be the only ones, it was dead. This would change tomorrow. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">The
next morning we went on a tour to the caves. More caves! The Caves land is
owned by the hostel so when we booked the tour we get a little wonga off and a
private guide, Awesome! And they were even better than before. In our swimmers
and hiking shoes we entered the cave, and were given a candle each! </span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">It was an
incredible maze, wading through water sometimes up to our knees. At points the
water was VERY deep and we were swimming through with one hand whilst holding
our candles up. You had to be pretty fit and healthy, lots of serious
scrambling and massive steps, no hard hats and no torches! We did a big jump
from up high into the water. It was so scary because we couldn't see anything
at all, where the rock finished and the water began! On another occasion we
went into an enclosed space and the guide told me to sit in his lap- not having
any idea what was about to happen and before Kyle could object, I was plunged
down a shoot into deep water! What a shock! <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="color: #343434;">More adrenaline to follow when we made our way back into the light. A 9 metre rope swing- which you actually sit on and swing down and up and jump off into the river from quite a height!</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"> Then came the relaxing part; tubing down the river
back to Las Maria's. It was lovely and gentle, just taking in the surroundings,
until Kyle spotted people jumping off a bridge and wanted to join in on the
fun- 40 feet!! It was his highest ever jump and he survived! Thankful he was
wearing shoes from the impact of the water!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">That
afternoon after showers and lunch we headed to the dock over the river to read
and chill - well attempt to chill; a large group of Americans youths had
arrived. We assumed another church group. They were playing on the hostel's
rope swing (they seem to be everywhere in Guatemala!), being loud and
distracting. Oh well! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Here
we met locals, Anna and Jose; brother and sister, aged 10 and 7. They were
selling chocolate which their mother had made. We chatted away in our best
Spanish, Anna spoke a bit of English; which was really impressive. They were
both very sweet. We learnt that they go to school in the morning which is a 2
hour walk away and in the afternoon they sell chocolate to the tourists by the
side of the dirt road in front of our hostel. It was apparent how hard a life
they were living, despite there big grins. I think all in all over the time we
were there we bought about 10! Later, we also met Eddy, their other brother,
aged 8. That evening all of us sat on the deck chatting, watching Kyle's films
on our laptop and teaching them the full names of friends which they found
highly amusing! They were great company, although they all had to disappear at
7pm because it was bath and dinnertime. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdHZE_sOQ2EGop-VlDU60eMJGfjvnqFUmWu8k1Jm_hRlxMDAIK6A9Bcbv0b29MyHDutdEyCdzAqUkFj8dqH8GiEcO5EQ6RKM3Qc1eIbWeofrI3ujmf0mGM6LpSvvf5ygaeIOUMREBTq8M/s1600/Guatemala+52.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdHZE_sOQ2EGop-VlDU60eMJGfjvnqFUmWu8k1Jm_hRlxMDAIK6A9Bcbv0b29MyHDutdEyCdzAqUkFj8dqH8GiEcO5EQ6RKM3Qc1eIbWeofrI3ujmf0mGM6LpSvvf5ygaeIOUMREBTq8M/s1600/Guatemala+52.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In flip flops - opps!</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">The
following day we visited Semuc Champey National Park. We hiked up to the mirador
(viewpoint) to find a beautiful aerial view of the stepped series of pools. The
water ranged from turquoise to emerald green. </span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Being so hot and sweaty it didn’t
take long to explore our way back down for a swim. Unfortunately the sun
deserted us for the section of time that we braved the chilly water.
Nevertheless we had great fun sliding and jumping into each pool and it soon
felt warmer in than out. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">We
had picnic sandwiches and the kids' chocolate by the water.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcO2QJguHkwDVBxkbh2XUNm0yxs2yg30TlOLEROKSyfOX3oCLbP5PzWtx5bnpCDlU9Pim8h9hs4YOgj2YShI3JUZk3d0lRN0oP9gQnIBuzQ3Ee88deiViVB_e-7idPhE_O7HwJWGFm2uY/s1600/Guatemala+64.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcO2QJguHkwDVBxkbh2XUNm0yxs2yg30TlOLEROKSyfOX3oCLbP5PzWtx5bnpCDlU9Pim8h9hs4YOgj2YShI3JUZk3d0lRN0oP9gQnIBuzQ3Ee88deiViVB_e-7idPhE_O7HwJWGFm2uY/s1600/Guatemala+64.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Journal writing</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf6r-z51HlLsS1bILfZLPZKP1UBkMfq9TCvvVQg_j9X2jCDNSMTU2afy6DEgNNtmTTQJyqtFhTKCpndbFa_OXAXuJe81oemo-BObSX42KzWregUbL-36wtgrjBX0dY3cIHdIEEaO45J00/s1600/Guatemala+75.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf6r-z51HlLsS1bILfZLPZKP1UBkMfq9TCvvVQg_j9X2jCDNSMTU2afy6DEgNNtmTTQJyqtFhTKCpndbFa_OXAXuJe81oemo-BObSX42KzWregUbL-36wtgrjBX0dY3cIHdIEEaO45J00/s1600/Guatemala+75.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">The
next day was a big travel day to the city of Antigua. We started the journey in
the back of a truck for about 20 minutes driving through the mountains picking
up locals who hitch a ride into the local village. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">We always get hungry on
travel days and make our way through countless snacks and fast food. What we
don't usually do is eat any local dodgy street food. Unfortunately our shuttle stopped
at a locals' canteen for lunch. When we went to the counter, the dinner lady
pulled back a big cloth to reveal warming meat (god knows how long it had all
been there for) and as if it was day 1 of our travels and we knew no better we
opted for some 'pork' and a strange looking sausage... Big mistake.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Blissfully
unaware of what was to follow over the next few days, we hopped back on the
bus. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">We
arrived in Antigua early evening and went straight out to explore. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><br /></span>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn2uLXGOPijHtluvXnjvHy3Sib-XqIV5whmQHf5wUj0ZUXrO32IFCwM5HJqdJsiLK6OQLko2uL2NJybYuawE3d5d722iKQWuoDA1Tb5Acq848neDgoLELEfnz662sckMXQ1PG7Rza8gz0/s1600/Guatemala+76.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn2uLXGOPijHtluvXnjvHy3Sib-XqIV5whmQHf5wUj0ZUXrO32IFCwM5HJqdJsiLK6OQLko2uL2NJybYuawE3d5d722iKQWuoDA1Tb5Acq848neDgoLELEfnz662sckMXQ1PG7Rza8gz0/s1600/Guatemala+76.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Women's traditional dress</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIVOjxWqpBaVhSl97U8iQg4n0KFeG38VeLNtukEUnp8rshhjzDLkvim6DFaAzm3O78hZ9zWXqvtZltv4y5WOkIDEan87T3jnb-mTkPiFAsC6yJ7ELnmMWJ7K0iRSWbdGHDlKQ8Tz-kZSE/s1600/Guatemala+77.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIVOjxWqpBaVhSl97U8iQg4n0KFeG38VeLNtukEUnp8rshhjzDLkvim6DFaAzm3O78hZ9zWXqvtZltv4y5WOkIDEan87T3jnb-mTkPiFAsC6yJ7ELnmMWJ7K0iRSWbdGHDlKQ8Tz-kZSE/s1600/Guatemala+77.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Girlies</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Antigua
used to be the capital city, until it had several major earthquakes during the colonial
period and the capital was relocated about 30 minutes east, now Guatemala City.
<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">We
came at the very beginning of Semana Santa (Holy Week), the biggest religious
festival of the whole year and much bigger than Christmas. It's a national
holiday week so loads of Guatemalans flock to popular destinations in the
country for a holiday and to get involved with the celebrations. Antigua is
probably one of the most popular choices to be, which makes finding a hostel
difficult and very expensive. There are mega processions, large-scale services
in the cathedral and churches every day. Our hostel nearly tripled in price for
the week!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">We
had arrived in the thick of it; we could feel the buzz and excitement in the
air. There were absolutely masses of people, many wearing purple robes. We
wondered along the cobblestone streets taking in the beautiful city. I
instantly loved it. It seemed very cosmopolitan with some trendy restaurants,
bars and interesting shops selling lovely things. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">We
spent the evening in a wine bar and enjoyed a familiar bottle of Malbec from
the Trapiche Vineyard we visited in Argentina. We went back via one of the main
plazas where it was full of people, food stalls as well as a brass band playing
outside the church. It felt a bit like bonfire night or Christmas! Inside the
church it was rammed with people gasping, taking pictures of the huge ‘harvest
offering’ and praying. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Martha Graham contraction!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAkQEvaKI04oVoTI9NYyke4pBP9kNxfsjGi8ZEe-bXlETd_RIcDE2cGty0JC2tSct4wJXLcd8CNbOopDGAmX2ExvgJJfKwM-8MpgTNRfQB3bNAgB8OIcfCGXAIMW05fd0j1vPUNCoflY4/s1600/Guatemala+90.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAkQEvaKI04oVoTI9NYyke4pBP9kNxfsjGi8ZEe-bXlETd_RIcDE2cGty0JC2tSct4wJXLcd8CNbOopDGAmX2ExvgJJfKwM-8MpgTNRfQB3bNAgB8OIcfCGXAIMW05fd0j1vPUNCoflY4/s1600/Guatemala+90.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mr Bean...</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Heading
back to the hostel, this was the beginning of my downfall... Two bites of that
bloody sausage and I was out for 2 full days. It was so gutting because we were
only here for a few days. I attempted a couple of journeys out but had to
return quickly, utterly defeated sweating and shaky. I had to rely on Kyle's
wonderful photographs to show me Antigua... <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">The
festivities:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Daily life for the locals...</div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">The
third day we left, I was determined to spend another afternoon here when we
were to return in a week's time to change buses.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">The
shuttle we caught was a cheery mixture of tourists and travelers and the three-hour
journey to Lake Atitlan went quickly. For the final leg we got a quick tuk tuk ride
further round the lake. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Small
villages surround the huge lake, some sitting at the feet of huge volcanoes. We
opted for one of the most peaceful and prettiest villages; San Marcos. From
here, one is able to see 3 magnificent volcanoes from the lakeside. It is a
real new age place and the hippy dippy sides of us were drawn here! It is
believed that there is a strong spiritual energy here; there is an abundance of
Yoga classes, meditation and holistic therapies on offer to practice and learn.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">After
settling into our hostel and sharing one of their delicious stone oven pizzas
for dinner we went for a drink at a local restaurant where we were met with the
beautiful sound of the hang drum. A guy called Javier from Seville was playing
it to a captivated audience. We hadn't seen or heard of this instrument in
years. We came across a guy playing one in the Gaudi Park Barcelona nearly 5
years ago. We were really interested then because Kyle had been in contact with
a guy in London that is apparently considered to be one of the most famous Hang
Drum players in the world. It is a very young instrument and there are very few
in existence. It is like a steel drum and looks a bit like a flying saucer.
Kyle approached Javier afterwards and organized to collaborate with him in
making a film. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8PKDuNqrTzzPc82eJ6lD1UMOP7B0MPKowJA79hJvjJ04EekqSwD1v1xBTH4dzGxX9Q766HLzK7NQjEKAtYQp_b44lsT-eODQydJsRiGgiG7FVwC6d7bj6yAFLRzJa7of903i4W6MAogk/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-06-04+at+22.43.42.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8PKDuNqrTzzPc82eJ6lD1UMOP7B0MPKowJA79hJvjJ04EekqSwD1v1xBTH4dzGxX9Q766HLzK7NQjEKAtYQp_b44lsT-eODQydJsRiGgiG7FVwC6d7bj6yAFLRzJa7of903i4W6MAogk/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-06-04+at+22.43.42.png" height="395" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Screen shot of the film (work in progress)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">It
seemed so appropriate that not only were we to arrive in hippy zen-ville on a
full moon… but on the night of a luna eclipse! At midnight it the change started
to take place and we found ourselves peering up at the sky through palm tree branches
lying on mats on the grass with a few drinks in some new friends garden,
listening to hippies play music, sing and laugh. Fire flys were floating around
us; it felt so magical! It took a good 45 minutes until total eclipse. The moon
turned red, the wind seemed to pick up in a big way and all of a sudden the
dogs started barking! It was amazing to witness the power of the moon. The
cloud came rolling in after this and bed was calling.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Our
5 days in San Marcos were very ‘tranquillo’. I was doing Yoga once or twice a
day in some stunning spaces and locations around town, we both had some
treatments - deep tissue massage, Thai yoga massage and reflexology. I
absolutely loved the environment and it stimulated and excited me into
broadening my skills with future learning and training possibilities. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">One
afternoon we opted to attend a 'Cacao Ceremony'. For those of you who have been
reading our blog entries you will know that cacao is chocolate! So you read
right! Cacao beans are grown in areas throughout South and Central America and
are considered sacred. This is my kind of ceremony I thought! Not knowing what
to expect at all, we set aside the whole afternoon (it lasts about 5 hours!)
and came under the instructions of having fairly empty stomachs. It was led by
an old American Shaman called Keith who looked a bit like your stereotypical
wizard. He had a long wiry grey beard and was dressed in hippy clothes. His
wife/partner was much the same; very long grey hair, wide eyes, kind of
ethereal...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">We
sat in their large front porch area on cushions with quite a lot of other
people (majority girls) and were given hot cups of RAW cacao – Not your average
drinking chocolate. We had the option of adding some red stuff and some green
stuff! The red stuff was spicy and apparently helped the cacao get into your
blood stream better(!) and the green stuff was from some special herb plant
that neither of us can remember the name of but was added to help you reach a
higher level of spirituality. I also added a lot of sugar to sweeten the bitter
taste (it wasn't quite Cadburys). Before we were allowed to drink it, Keith
informed us of the reasons we might not want to drink this stuff. 1- if you are
a dog, parrot or a horse you will die...! Fact. 2- Not good if you are on anti
depressants... Neither applied to us so we started glugging. This particular
cacao from Central America that we were drinking is said to quicken the heart
rate by 15/20%, allow one to tap into their creativity more and help you to get
closer to your 'inner spiritual being' as it were. Well, it certainly had an
affect on us! About 45 minutes in, I became very aware of my heart beating
faster, it continued at this pace for nearly the length of the session. After
his introduction about how people from all different backgrounds have used
Cacao, Keith started talking about the concepts of creativity, love and joy and
we both just started streaming! I didn't understand - I think I was very
happy?! We just drank hot chocolate...what?! He would lead the session wherever
he felt it needed to go, tapping into people's energies and allowing people to
ask questions about what they were going through. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">As
time went on the 'regulars' appeared, those that didn't need the introduction
and this for me altered the dynamic. There was quite a clique vibe and there
seemed to be a lot of people working on, to put it bluntly, some heavy shit!! I
found myself becoming an observer and getting lost. It appeared to be more of a
therapy session! We both developed headaches and Kyle finally summed up the
courage to ask the simple question, amongst all the complex multi level
questions, 'is it normal to get a headache?' It began with a simple answer
'yes, drink water' and then came the deep stuff... It turned out my pain was in
the middle of my forehead (my 3rd eye) and Kyle's pain was at the back of his
head in the centre at the base of his skull. We did some hands on work led by
Keith and he spoke of some nice themes; opposites... new journeys together ... exploration…
beginnings...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">We
ended up buying a heavy block of the stuff for us to do our own personal
ceremonies, perhaps less airy fairy woo woo, just a little more rational if
that's the right word. Kyle is pretty inspired to have a photo or film
dance-shoot with everyone on Cacao as it could potentially bring everyone on
the same level and open up some very interesting creative doors. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">We
took what we wanted from the session and left feeling pretty positive and connected
in the new experience we had just been through! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">That
evening, through chatting to Kate, a fun Yorkshire lass that works at our
hostel, relaying our stories of the ceremony, it turned out that we witnessed a
particularly woo woo ceremony and they aren't all that nuts...articulating it
in a few words we came up with- marital problems, herpies, sex, love, war,
rape, darkness...phew what do we put ourselves through?!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">From
hot chocolate to tea and coffee, we chilled out in some sweet little outdoor
cafés, enjoying some warming herbal teas and exotic smoothies. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Kyle
worked his magic again and did another meal deal! Photographs in exchange for 3
evening meals for the both of us at Fe Restaurant in the village. Arriving some
time after Kyle to the restaurant and setting up camp in the corner with my
book and sipping on a piña colada, waiting for Kyle to finish his photos for
the evening before we tuck into a few courses, he reminds me 'not a bad life
for you eh Han?!' <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">We
went on a stroll to a small national park on the corner of the village where we
could get some great views of the lake and it's little villages with the
backdrop of the volcanoes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">We
had a few hours of visiting other villages whilst going in search of a cash
point. Semana Santa seemed to have cleared them out! We did have success in the
end, it all felt like a lot of effort going to busier places, boating around,
the boat running out of fuel didn't help...amateurs! We were very happy to
return to the calmness of San Marcos. On the plus side I did manage to get my
Peruvian bag repaired that I discovered had been slashed in an attempted theft.
Lucky for me, the bag has a lining. This must of happened in Antigua when I was
slightly worse for where. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">On
our last morning in San Marcos, Kyle experienced something pretty mind
blowing.. We rose early; I went off to 7am Yoga and Kyle headed to the lake to
do some time lapse photography of the clouds rolling in over the lake and volcanoes.
Whilst the camera was automatically snapping away he did some stretching/Yoga
right on the lake. Listening to 2hrs of Psychemagik’s tunes as his morning
soundtrack - a favorite artist of his. Over breakfast when he was browsing
through Facebook, he spotted a very familiar photo of a Volcanoe and lake,
after clicking it read 'Morning Lake Atitlan'. When looking to see who posted
it, he discovered it was none other than Tom from Psychemagik... The photo was
taken from a few villages round the lake in Santa Cruz at exactly the time Kyle
was soaking up the view and their tunes round the corner… Spooky! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Kyle
got in contact straight away explaining the crazy experience and we made plans
to meet for dinner. That evening we ended up chartering our own private lancha
(motorboat) from San Marcos because we hadn't realized the public boats stop
around 5pm! Whoops! We got dropped off at a pretty lakeside restaurant and met
Tom and Dan; Psychemagik! Tom had played at The Great Escape festival in Bodiam
last year that Kyle helped to organize, but there weren't any proper introductions
then. So it was lovely to sit down and get to know them. They are currently
doing a tour, having just played in Guatemala City and were off to Mexico City
for a gig after a few days of chilling here at Lake Atitlan. We were very
kindly treated by the guys to an amazing set menu and afterwards we moved
further down the lake to a bar for a few more drinks. We kept our boat driver
sweet with a few beers and had a lovely evening with them both, thanks guys!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">We
left early on Easter Sunday, heading back to Antigua where the connecting bus
would be. I made sure we could factor in an afternoon here. This time around I
was feeling fighting fit and ready to explore! Our first port of call was the
artisanal market for a spot of shopping. I dragged Kyle around and he ended up
semi enjoying himself, actually getting quite a few things for himself! An hour
was more than enough though and he was soon dragging me out of there ready for
lunch.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">The
Semana Santa celebrations were still in full swing and we watched a large
procession of people craning under the weight of a big float with a garish
statue of Jesus on top, pacing towards us over the carpet of flowers through
the confetti, smoke, loud music and hordes of people. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Leaving
Kyle to chill in a cafe, I went to explore the Iglesia de San Francisco;
restored church ruins dating back to the mid 16th century. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">That
night it was our first night bus in months headed north to Flores. I must say
that in general, South American buses are far better than these ones in Central
America. We had a suitably uncomfortable and broken sleep and arrived bleary
eyed at 6am. We were driven the final leg in a mini bus to Flores: an island
(connected by causeway) in Lago de Peten Itza. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Once
checking in to a hostel with a lovely view of the lake, we found ourselves straight away booking the bus to
visit the Tikal ruins for 8am- in about an hours time. This was very unlike us.
After a night bus, we'd usually have an easy day because wherever we had
arrived at, we were sure to be visiting for at least 3 nights. However, the
luxury of time was now no longer on our side; now that we have booked our
flights, we knew that we needed to be in Mexico City in just over 3 weeks...not
long. Having spent a lot longer on Utila Island (Honduras) than we had
originally planned, we had decided to skip Belize and head straight from
Guatemala to Mexico. However being so close now, we had a change of heart. If
we picked up our pace we could still squeeze in a few days in Belize with the
sole purpose… to scuba dive. It was decided, we booked tickets to Caye Caulker
Island in Belize for the following day. It was all still possible!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">So
after hastily buying some banana bread from a guy in the street for breakfast
we boarded the bus bound for Tikal; Guatemala's number one tourist attraction.
This was our first taste of Maya ruins and what better place to start than with
the mother of all ruins!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">It
was a very hot and sunny day and even with slightly swollen feet and dull
headaches we were still utterly motivated and inspired by what we saw. These
vast ruins are so unique because they are set deep in the jungle. It is a
complicated site with hundreds of temples and pyramids that the Maya
civilisation occupied for some 16 centuries! To our delight, the place was
really quiet; clearly the Semana Santa rush was over. Early on in our day we
climbed up one of the ruins and looked down at the stunning surroundings. It
was very peaceful and so special to have felt nearly alone in this ancient
kingdom. We were taken back to the early morning at Machu Picchu. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">The
temples were incredible. To think that the Maya's settled here around 700BC(!)
and construction took place in successive waves over a period of at least 800
years. We marvelled at the architectural brilliance and the scale! <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="color: #343434;">We
spent the day strolling through the canopy and doing a lot of climbing! The
area was abundant with wildlife too. We saw so many monkeys up in the trees we
started to get neck ache! </span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Towards the end of the day we climbed the tallest
temple and could see others poking up through the jungle, very special. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">A
wonderful day for our last day in Guatemala. </span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">We loved this country and would
thoroughly recommend anyone to go. It is beautiful, diverse and so rich in
culture. Looking forward to our return visit in the future. But until then: we’re
Belize Bound! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09652572064170034371noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218767240550915026.post-49140898644021117652014-05-13T23:39:00.000-07:002014-05-13T23:39:19.708-07:00Drinking, Diving and more Drinking on Utila Island, Honduras (the worlds deadliest country)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We left the hostel in Leon,
Nicaragua to begin the 14hr journey through the boarder into Honduras, then
beeline’ing north for the Caribbean Coast. We were to head straight through the
middle of officially the most dangerous and corrupt country in the world, gulp.
When we decided to extend our trip into Central America I remember us saying to
each other ‘no’ to El Salvador and Honduras because of the dangers involved.
Well here we are! In 2012 Honduras over took Mexico on the murder rate by 4
times and 20 times the US. </div>
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The country has the worst distribution of wealth and
something close to 90% of the country is under the poverty line. So where do
you take a bunch of gringos for lunch in the most dangerous country in the
world? The Mall! Yup the military are patrolling the mall with machine guns.
They even have military guarding some public buses to make sure they get
through certain neighbourhoods without being hit by the so-called “gang tax”
which shop owners, Taxi drivers and buses have to pay when operating in certain
districts! Basically the country is screwed through and through.</div>
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<o:p></o:p>First thing is first!! To get a little insight into the ability Utila has to suck people in check out this video that some crazy inspired drinking divers decided to make!<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/LX-H-zF9PJ4?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzJc9ySrU3En3FpxkvuHnUhsJPLG5FM4zvIIACnKJX-Wy9bVbqf4v8TU2FWF8WKH34_vvh67tEKhUZRxfzmr__kC2tOZMp3Fs6oyhBczmxSujBt-KzTP_M5fGryKfE4yCwrXrUJS4Z1cw/s1600/Honduras+70.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzJc9ySrU3En3FpxkvuHnUhsJPLG5FM4zvIIACnKJX-Wy9bVbqf4v8TU2FWF8WKH34_vvh67tEKhUZRxfzmr__kC2tOZMp3Fs6oyhBczmxSujBt-KzTP_M5fGryKfE4yCwrXrUJS4Z1cw/s1600/Honduras+70.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">We arrived on the
island safe and sound after a rocky 1hr boat ride, we bumped into Anna who we
met at the Lost and Found Cloud jungle hostel in Panama a few months back. We
eagerly stepped on to the Island of Utila, part of the Bay Islands, to be
greeted by a small monkey at our ankles! Reaching for our hands and happy to
climb up our legs, from previous experience I naturally put my hand over my
wallet. Outside the dock we were met by at least a dozen local Utilians, we
learnt that only true islanders can represent dive shops and hostels all
pitching for backpacker, creating a few jobs for locals and keeping the
ruthless greedy gringos away. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
was chaos, all talking at once in a very strange English, Spanish and Caribbean
mashed up accent. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7f4wo5yii_X5xrJ2a5IHYMlc3fPPRtu6atFlnLqfl8iliGy_GrUuUxoM04vBzOef6WTWcuMRb-uzlEYVX8gLl8DiBNMWgQaxjD8qFrWRLemwwR23t7g0N3ol9r-Ij1Bq0orAlCHAdFWk/s1600/Honduras+130.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7f4wo5yii_X5xrJ2a5IHYMlc3fPPRtu6atFlnLqfl8iliGy_GrUuUxoM04vBzOef6WTWcuMRb-uzlEYVX8gLl8DiBNMWgQaxjD8qFrWRLemwwR23t7g0N3ol9r-Ij1Bq0orAlCHAdFWk/s1600/Honduras+130.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not a very clear picture but make it bigger and <br />
check out the Sea Shepherd's Blue Boat </td></tr>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">We went off in search
of dive shops to do some fun dives with free or cut-price accommodation. Anna
wanted to do her Open Water and before we knew it we had talked ourselves into
doing our PADI Advanced Course, certifying us to 30 meters!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">We eventually settled
for Altons Dive Centre (the first one we came to typically). $279 plus 3 nights
free accommodation – Utila is the cheapest places to dive in the world and has
some great spots as well. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">That afternoon we met
Gina; our instructor and spoke about what we will be covering over the next few
day, also giving us the choice of a few activities to specialise in. We also
met Steve a lovely Irish lad who had shown us around the place and told us to
prepare for our first night on Utila Island as tonight is St.Patricks! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgakNoZLbhBV7JQ9EOdaAT7GkGPGDw04jLY3P8bv4-xjEYiOeJ1qm-GmCk9p9LXrJM4jlgFl8tF6M-sUCT8BgsXZMsmVpNBj7AM7qa0Y0OCAdZLqqyEsJ2ugHeY5Ssvld35ih0QS1pRUnA/s1600/1536f1b7a0a862b4d024067532b0b349.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgakNoZLbhBV7JQ9EOdaAT7GkGPGDw04jLY3P8bv4-xjEYiOeJ1qm-GmCk9p9LXrJM4jlgFl8tF6M-sUCT8BgsXZMsmVpNBj7AM7qa0Y0OCAdZLqqyEsJ2ugHeY5Ssvld35ih0QS1pRUnA/s1600/1536f1b7a0a862b4d024067532b0b349.jpeg" /></a><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Met a guy from the
famous Sea Shepherd Marine Conservation group. The founder was once one of the
founders of Greenpeace until he got a little too radical and went his separate
way. They were docked at Utila for a few days doing local talks and tours of
their futuristic looking boat after an assignment in Guatemala trying to stop
illegal fishing activities, with Naval Support. We were suggested a few key
documentaries that we should watch if interested. Since then about 3 wks later
in Guatemala we watched ‘The Cove’ which exposes the horrific activity of
scaring and driving thousands of dolphins into a secluded hidden bay in South
Japan. The pretty ‘Flipper’ looking Dolphins are plucked out to be shipped off
to the Seaquariums of the world and the rest are slaughtered. We also watched
‘BlackFish’, a documentary highlighting the effects of keeping Whales and other
mammals in captivity for extended periods of time, focusing on the activities
of the multi billion dollar cash cow SeaWorld. I won’t go into a rant now as I
will wind myself up into a stupour and turn a happy blog entry into a vicious
attack on SeaWorld and all those that support it!</span><br />
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy7wMzWaYxG61lGqcBTXzRoxalla7ZcWmJiDYr_QDTG3se_95fm4nJl2prKTmD8PEG2p2qGhMG3ULT40oMpcCt623HnTG4r5IMzwSkI0wmd6v-gwc2yBPmRwbhjR9yorx_sZ8y4N3xNKA/s1600/Honduras+104.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy7wMzWaYxG61lGqcBTXzRoxalla7ZcWmJiDYr_QDTG3se_95fm4nJl2prKTmD8PEG2p2qGhMG3ULT40oMpcCt623HnTG4r5IMzwSkI0wmd6v-gwc2yBPmRwbhjR9yorx_sZ8y4N3xNKA/s1600/Honduras+104.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sundowners on the dock at Alton's Dive Centre</td></tr>
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</o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn8cOZ70oxkh9H2iWHr_VaDaQ6exIVAtIma2Ltv5cdOCOQNKk0YAraDi1Sp4hZYUzP9UprNG17VYLTf844WRt0t7yEbugEvDfoji8IkJr4julah-g6JuI507_hIdGTzMXo_J7UHtACLxs/s1600/Honduras+128.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn8cOZ70oxkh9H2iWHr_VaDaQ6exIVAtIma2Ltv5cdOCOQNKk0YAraDi1Sp4hZYUzP9UprNG17VYLTf844WRt0t7yEbugEvDfoji8IkJr4julah-g6JuI507_hIdGTzMXo_J7UHtACLxs/s1600/Honduras+128.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">So back to that
evening, we were introduced to another English guy called Sam who is to finish
off his advanced with us on a few activities after getting an ear infection a
week previous, stopping his training. Hannah and I instantly bonded with this
cheeky chappy from Essex with a few drinks on top of the dock. It was fun to have a bit of good old English humour!
It couldn’t have come at a better time as I was feeling a little deprived of
blokey banter too and Sam was definitely a laugh a minute kinda guy. The night
began with drinks on the dock with the sunset and soon ended up being a full on
St.Patricks mashup in Tranqilla Bar for ‘Rum </span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"></span><br />
Monday’ (under 50p for a Rum n Coke), say no more!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC-g-G1FjY29gKGP3tst5MUG6b2_ERri5vcIZSqOu5yhkpmoyIdIXxMfx8MSHZ36kNZntJkCPWamjLL9wWkNF0n3_P_DdgpPLLNXJfnWjjuf30kVkhV0Xxr8N9jpAWEaPktq38okA2lF0/s1600/Honduras+126.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC-g-G1FjY29gKGP3tst5MUG6b2_ERri5vcIZSqOu5yhkpmoyIdIXxMfx8MSHZ36kNZntJkCPWamjLL9wWkNF0n3_P_DdgpPLLNXJfnWjjuf30kVkhV0Xxr8N9jpAWEaPktq38okA2lF0/s1600/Honduras+126.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC-g-G1FjY29gKGP3tst5MUG6b2_ERri5vcIZSqOu5yhkpmoyIdIXxMfx8MSHZ36kNZntJkCPWamjLL9wWkNF0n3_P_DdgpPLLNXJfnWjjuf30kVkhV0Xxr8N9jpAWEaPktq38okA2lF0/s1600/Honduras+126.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
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We were to start our Advanced course the following
afternoon, so time to recover…. <o:p></o:p><br />
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…. After just a few
hours sleep there is a knock on our door at 6AM, Gina our instructor is stood
there, with me looking like drunk death, wrapped in a sheet. “Hey guys, fancy
diving this morning… we got the schedule wrong” …. I basically just start
laughing and she got the point. The weather was strangely pretty shit that day
so we put off the course until the weather improved, we’ve discovered we are
‘fair weather’ divers!</div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><b><i>Advanced Open Water
course: </i></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5J1JB9Uy3SHLofGfSgA4IeU8188AuLSPjlorIGuKBpElC_NzTc1qgcfgRGI11TTHDd6x-sfO0OGVukYtjF6LlhXEBQMyRE9arehRhZrJpmHa5FxZiaA6X-0OI_y8-h4DZ6cBpWjml6iE/s1600/Honduras+124.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5J1JB9Uy3SHLofGfSgA4IeU8188AuLSPjlorIGuKBpElC_NzTc1qgcfgRGI11TTHDd6x-sfO0OGVukYtjF6LlhXEBQMyRE9arehRhZrJpmHa5FxZiaA6X-0OI_y8-h4DZ6cBpWjml6iE/s1600/Honduras+124.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sam, Ronnie and Han ready for the North Side</td></tr>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">So we start with a Deep
Dive at 30m on the North Side and going off a wall! We were excited to say the
least. Straight away we could tell the visibility was the best we had had so
far, a whopping 40m. We did our buddy checks and were descending down a wall of
stunning coral on our right and deep blue ocean to the left, Imagine ‘the drop
off’ from Finding Nemo<o:p></o:p></span><span style="text-align: center;">!</span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">To give us more
understanding of the immense pressure that our bodies withstand whilst that
deep we played with eggs – breaking them open and watching as the yoke stays
together, even when you are squeezing it, because of the pressure! We also took
a coke bottle down full of air at sea leavel, when we reached 30m the bottle
had completely collapsed and decompressed, representing how the volume of air
changes. Gina filled the bottle full of air again at 30m to show us what would
happen if we ascend too quickly holding our breath. SCARY! Basically our lungs
would explode. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Before we descended and on the boat we did a number test and
timed it. Pointing to a grid of 20 numbers in order, touching our nose between.
We then did this test at 30m and timed it to see if any of us were extra slow, feeling
the effects of Narcosis. This is an effect that takes place in the brain when
you go to great depths, basically you feel drunk, giggly and generally a bit
high. Not such a problem for some people but more for others, potential dangers
are getting carried away or too involved with following a fish and just going
deeper and deeper, forgetting about your maximum depth limit and how much air
you still have! Actually very serious shit it turns out!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCWoZHMEBVvu10c4_ZnXTTYkHA6fi7c0BjbecwtEptIbHX1NfHxpYXG2-Mfv6dfOTZHlUbmumDOkrXc6ZLWsgZP9jjvYgU4Jgb0ceK3WCKB71M7ioiUrDd1NZkhBUAq6DTbgeNbDzJq5Y/s1600/Honduras+114.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCWoZHMEBVvu10c4_ZnXTTYkHA6fi7c0BjbecwtEptIbHX1NfHxpYXG2-Mfv6dfOTZHlUbmumDOkrXc6ZLWsgZP9jjvYgU4Jgb0ceK3WCKB71M7ioiUrDd1NZkhBUAq6DTbgeNbDzJq5Y/s1600/Honduras+114.jpg" height="179" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhENtNaqJo5T7MOtFw0PzaYEu6OEZdxcUO83YBCoC4ATB-juh1QV5Ww7mCRcmXKMKPQ8tJr48UES8rt3CbFa0_bzm6buEeL8dbspPHUZrYyA8B25PG7wLjM7_Jp7i6CJKxJU0fBFVYdzsw/s1600/Honduras+110.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhENtNaqJo5T7MOtFw0PzaYEu6OEZdxcUO83YBCoC4ATB-juh1QV5Ww7mCRcmXKMKPQ8tJr48UES8rt3CbFa0_bzm6buEeL8dbspPHUZrYyA8B25PG7wLjM7_Jp7i6CJKxJU0fBFVYdzsw/s1600/Honduras+110.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKbXSURTLLYR5X8kTAwuOobhjaF4ltFwWMIs4GHAplzbOV9xiN-BgUcTgdudV8za03YiXxAhwdoJRPTTMBEta7_jr4b2jFf1gSI7TSNanKQhgbskaOpcE3lctEWurQiVIsXcd8qE1T-r4/s1600/Honduras+113.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKbXSURTLLYR5X8kTAwuOobhjaF4ltFwWMIs4GHAplzbOV9xiN-BgUcTgdudV8za03YiXxAhwdoJRPTTMBEta7_jr4b2jFf1gSI7TSNanKQhgbskaOpcE3lctEWurQiVIsXcd8qE1T-r4/s1600/Honduras+113.jpg" height="223" width="400" /></a></div>
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Talking of Finding Nemo
we found out a rather disturbing fact about clown fish… They live in threes,
Mum, Dad and Child… very cute eh? Not so much, say the Dad or Mum dies, the
child will change its sex in order to have sex with its mum or dad to then
produce another child! Incest on a whole other level!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikBSOapHk7sJEztBcZMBKEoKFjzrkEOeo_eotreEH35G4bzPhXCp7jZUWw5M0pITlzZIq_H-Muc3FAFNkc4JEvbA7JAxBcKyFLPgYaspYsmGUzzfMSuBEWoLkTL-K0FgckAwy8ELmg9p8/s1600/Honduras+109.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikBSOapHk7sJEztBcZMBKEoKFjzrkEOeo_eotreEH35G4bzPhXCp7jZUWw5M0pITlzZIq_H-Muc3FAFNkc4JEvbA7JAxBcKyFLPgYaspYsmGUzzfMSuBEWoLkTL-K0FgckAwy8ELmg9p8/s1600/Honduras+109.jpg" height="223" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisB9oJaFz3gE4YekJXy98K9vi9EzuN2CHEtoUGX4Cr0SzpL_JoN0BIREXfVpXE-dWWkiJyr16msZcDe3bNhPi-HkWtWbXtczqsihsC4xAM-MjnkAOYn0PE3i8tcyd1HE16-2X97iP0A-E/s1600/Honduras+107.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisB9oJaFz3gE4YekJXy98K9vi9EzuN2CHEtoUGX4Cr0SzpL_JoN0BIREXfVpXE-dWWkiJyr16msZcDe3bNhPi-HkWtWbXtczqsihsC4xAM-MjnkAOYn0PE3i8tcyd1HE16-2X97iP0A-E/s1600/Honduras+107.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The sunset before our night dive </td></tr>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">That evening was our
first ‘Night Dive’, just 4 of us inc Gina and Ronnie! We headed out to the
Light House, a spot we had dived before. This is important when diving at night
because you want to be familiar with the location. It is transformed at night.
Different wildlife comes out to feed and using a torch shows the true colours
of coral and fish because we are not using natural light that gets refracted
and colours lost with depth.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVmg1RdVVh4qutxFUU4L6TgAQiV_vPHxUBpBZjnBKP338EtceScQbMDWuQ1b5aD0HgO3IfNiON77HVNqAZ4AVjgMXF5vg7wP4T9M9sHmcYsVkBMoaCVUjb7K1LgIfcQKqBs7fRZ-FEYuc/s1600/Honduras+105.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVmg1RdVVh4qutxFUU4L6TgAQiV_vPHxUBpBZjnBKP338EtceScQbMDWuQ1b5aD0HgO3IfNiON77HVNqAZ4AVjgMXF5vg7wP4T9M9sHmcYsVkBMoaCVUjb7K1LgIfcQKqBs7fRZ-FEYuc/s1600/Honduras+105.jpg" height="223" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">MASSIVE KING CRAB!</td></tr>
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<o:p></o:p><br />
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">We were nervous and
excited, orientation and keeping an eye on your depth gauge is important.
Highlights were seeing a huge King Crab, Lobsters and holding the torches to
our chests to play with the phosphorescent plankton, all waving our arms around
like nutters for about 5 minutes.</span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Also we had the most
surreal experience of being 360 degrees surrounded by ‘Strings of Pearls’ that
illuminate electric blue one by one right in front of you and far far away in
the distance of blackness. The only way to explain it, is like being awake in a
dream, gently floating through space with blue stars glowing and fading in every
direction, blurring my perception of distance and time. Apparently this night
was the most amount of strings of pearls that Gina had ever seen on a night
dive. It was a truly magical experience that we will never forget. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">That Wednesday night
we headed out and hooked up with Dave, a lovely English bloke we met on our
first night on the island. Dave is from Cornwall and is a mix between my two
buddies back home who I spin fire with, Cenk and Nick. He’s tall, looks a
little crazy and is a big softy at heart who’s always up for a laugh. We ended
up at the beach party (an open circular palm tree roof hut) on the southern
part of the island with a gallon of kerosene and our fire toys. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF-OCc8BOZgsaIp1xBQsrPFe93xrxL9H41o_WK9HiXu1DOIKYJx6ZfJFQ0iT8M1FUZTtqNO4zQXWrF_4Jg0Cy5-fgjtJU_fYtqG8EhWIkgcUGoHeTMVUaE7KTrdIa747UO1Z_b9P7bpOw/s1600/Honduras+41.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF-OCc8BOZgsaIp1xBQsrPFe93xrxL9H41o_WK9HiXu1DOIKYJx6ZfJFQ0iT8M1FUZTtqNO4zQXWrF_4Jg0Cy5-fgjtJU_fYtqG8EhWIkgcUGoHeTMVUaE7KTrdIa747UO1Z_b9P7bpOw/s1600/Honduras+41.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Dave on flaming
nunchuks and me with Poi, needless to say with a little chat to the bar staff
we secured free drinks in return for the nights entertainment. I was also
approached by a man claiming to be the manager of the Full Moon party happening
that weekend on the northern private beach. Fortunately for me he slapped free
entry wristbands on us there and then as I had no recollection of our conversation
the following morning, but knew we got free tickets to something, somewhere and
some point! Luckily this was to be quite a big party so throughout the course
of the week lots of people pointed out “Ah you got your ticket already... nice,
see you there”. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKN0iqsUGUToMoPUG1RIiC5Muuhk305THzVMryd4Rqqhk5mJMJ7QGFaLA5rV4TqxG2iuCzwGPYU7dOPG9P9RiWPJm-V4tRam5ipYplioHfFPXrBm2XV4jf7hWZnwWFCoR319f_whe9684/s1600/Honduras+111.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKN0iqsUGUToMoPUG1RIiC5Muuhk305THzVMryd4Rqqhk5mJMJ7QGFaLA5rV4TqxG2iuCzwGPYU7dOPG9P9RiWPJm-V4tRam5ipYplioHfFPXrBm2XV4jf7hWZnwWFCoR319f_whe9684/s1600/Honduras+111.jpg" height="223" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">After a later night
than we had planned, mid-day was upon us and we were to do our Navigation exercises
– This involved learning how to use a compass, taking more responsibility with
where we are going and eventually finding the boat again etc. Typically I was a
little worse for wear, even still a little drunk one might say, yet excited to
get wet. Soon after leaving the dock the captain alerted to the boat “Who
stinks of Rum!?”, it was pretty obvious. This section was going to be quite a
challenge! We started with basic buddy skills, going in one heading (Hannah
taking charge on the compass) for 10 kicks (me counting the kicks, giving
Hannah a squeeze on the shoulder when done), turning around and heading back.
Easy! Then we had to do a box, N E S W for 10 kicks again! This didn’t go too
bad apart from finishing the box unaware we had ascended about 5 meters close
to the surface in the process. We continued with a fun dive exploring the reef,
Gina signalled to us that we needed to find the boat and make our way back
using natural references (that we were to be mentally noting along the way). We
swim for a while in a direction loosely towards the boat, me aimlessly trailing
behind the three girls playing with the fish.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCFYZKBUPFGKTJhQYcX48V_db7M_olaoIKei8vE5vffYBm3JQPfOAXqP_MzjJ1sjPJjSaGfSUdUkxM7nnogjtNqVxkypNtgz0nhUSg0Gdxa5Vjg7EA-3WDZsnCLwy92YnOM3MHBlPbv9M/s1600/Honduras+108.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCFYZKBUPFGKTJhQYcX48V_db7M_olaoIKei8vE5vffYBm3JQPfOAXqP_MzjJ1sjPJjSaGfSUdUkxM7nnogjtNqVxkypNtgz0nhUSg0Gdxa5Vjg7EA-3WDZsnCLwy92YnOM3MHBlPbv9M/s1600/Honduras+108.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuj6sRJQ_7J8iURo1mT1MP941P6ltHYdmrrPBKLUqKADgnbEuPNPEaXNskxKblQixPDIRryfJAJbwfV_ZwxHGPoXcB7foSysDbaOIUvZv13sd0ECjcJFod91EHcNLOZkcTWDFsE9SVE9M/s1600/Honduras+123.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuj6sRJQ_7J8iURo1mT1MP941P6ltHYdmrrPBKLUqKADgnbEuPNPEaXNskxKblQixPDIRryfJAJbwfV_ZwxHGPoXcB7foSysDbaOIUvZv13sd0ECjcJFod91EHcNLOZkcTWDFsE9SVE9M/s1600/Honduras+123.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></div>
Hannah and Ronnie felt as if I
should have some input so turned around and ask me where the boat is, to which
I simply respond with a half hearted shoulder shrug having completely forgot
what we were doing. Never the less we made it back to the boat and passed the
exercise, thanks to Hannah and Ronnie. <o:p></o:p><br />
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Strangely as soon as I
got out of the water and back onto the boat the hangover kicked in again and I
couldn’t wait to get back in the water. Maybe the water pressure just helps. I
was told by a few Dive Masters that diving hungover is the best cure ever and
that I was going to love these dives. They were right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-JH9hBBUSGmwOXaq6vtiZuIPHPuXgUAJpviGVfB0jqCBLQ8fRawAFOg9UoVRcWgX0IX1Ai93pjYtKpR6qMmWrY6wELaDYd6J2qgqVLUyGFrYMTKDUBUMhWn77qwJWOcSTXBogzlroZto/s1600/Honduras+103.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-JH9hBBUSGmwOXaq6vtiZuIPHPuXgUAJpviGVfB0jqCBLQ8fRawAFOg9UoVRcWgX0IX1Ai93pjYtKpR6qMmWrY6wELaDYd6J2qgqVLUyGFrYMTKDUBUMhWn77qwJWOcSTXBogzlroZto/s1600/Honduras+103.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Doing our dive log books like good students! </td></tr>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Next up was our final
Advanced activity PPB (Peak Performance Buoyancy) – This is to test and improve
your ability to control your buoyancy with minimal effort, reducing your oxygen
usage thus increasing your dive time. Oh dear I thought to my self. Gina took
all kinds of apparatus to use. In fact it was one of the funniest dives ever. Without
using our hands only our breath and bodies we were swimming through hoops,
sinking down to touch the weight with only our regulator then back up through a
hoop and loads of others tasks; Essentially using our breath to control up and
down. We took off our fins and started dancing, doing kung fu fights (all very
dramatic) and finally having a running races on the seabed. Yup diving hungover
is definitely great fun, I was giggling throughout, somewhat high and more
fascinated in the smaller creatures and tiny coral. Hannah really enjoyed this
section as well and she even started thinking about developing a Scuba Pilates
class for us, unfortunately we haven’t managed to make it happen yet. </span>We had a couple of
free fun dives that we did the following day and that concluded our time at Altons.
Throughout the week it became pretty apparent that we were not going to stay here
for just the week that we originally planned.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCmU3YVldZySzK1Z22d9pkMRFSMBMRXwE1rpdKsCpqvNEEU-uGptIQIf7RGBp3EwHKMYb8E_hMJqU4vAtx0PzNnojV_QUTOKVxu3r2myEZhyphenhyphenhngmmacDAOZ-kMwjTzl294hQsOg9lvamc/s1600/Honduras+69.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCmU3YVldZySzK1Z22d9pkMRFSMBMRXwE1rpdKsCpqvNEEU-uGptIQIf7RGBp3EwHKMYb8E_hMJqU4vAtx0PzNnojV_QUTOKVxu3r2myEZhyphenhyphenhngmmacDAOZ-kMwjTzl294hQsOg9lvamc/s1600/Honduras+69.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dog walks on Utila</td></tr>
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Utila is a pretty incredible place, it has this amazing ability to grab people by the scruff of the neck and shake them into feeling more alive than ever! The people you meet, the experiences you share and the memories you struggle to remember through a fog of vivid alcoholic flashbacks seem to be what keeps people here for WAY longer than originally planned. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnv5KGnsQsAeEuOeqljKEY3sXJydmd5mvPkHK-1Wu_hMejufWtXAwRyyy5aKqOpFWFfSepqwmQjHuUJEtNx8v3cycjNSeuyqZQilRl7HRO061m2CW-1DaYdJLfhpvbco8pzBSBpY4AJ8o/s1600/Honduras+99.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnv5KGnsQsAeEuOeqljKEY3sXJydmd5mvPkHK-1Wu_hMejufWtXAwRyyy5aKqOpFWFfSepqwmQjHuUJEtNx8v3cycjNSeuyqZQilRl7HRO061m2CW-1DaYdJLfhpvbco8pzBSBpY4AJ8o/s1600/Honduras+99.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dive Master Trainees final snorkel test... Messy! </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidd7P39WenxvyzVXZ_4Hxqc2ak8ks3FVcwhN8megh6VpDGoFIUyGBJmtk3Jx69gie_Dw0UenFT5W9nLtykGc9KILY0Q5HnzAygsHNT6SJ_xryPEktoxYrDzADc6DkccZ8n09aYT90RZwY/s1600/Honduras+47.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidd7P39WenxvyzVXZ_4Hxqc2ak8ks3FVcwhN8megh6VpDGoFIUyGBJmtk3Jx69gie_Dw0UenFT5W9nLtykGc9KILY0Q5HnzAygsHNT6SJ_xryPEktoxYrDzADc6DkccZ8n09aYT90RZwY/s1600/Honduras+47.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Worlds coolest kid</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBvWO_SYHz9l_27N-9ytgE_JwhXZ2OVqDJagv3Z5ZUNpuniBpUT7N0XIjI6PEzEDG6E1D4zsKyxki7uS1DNs-h0w0qsv7N-PsBlzGYLqMJacbmGGethOEwmpOlpI_FDGmZfIddjmKcDDk/s1600/Honduras+87.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBvWO_SYHz9l_27N-9ytgE_JwhXZ2OVqDJagv3Z5ZUNpuniBpUT7N0XIjI6PEzEDG6E1D4zsKyxki7uS1DNs-h0w0qsv7N-PsBlzGYLqMJacbmGGethOEwmpOlpI_FDGmZfIddjmKcDDk/s1600/Honduras+87.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNjkjOE-WIGD51brni79vyEDCCsymycz-tobaTtRZZ0crlqTHEemnibM8WSMf2X9IRgPPv-UyotK4uhVssZY4lx6KQLxL-ENcvtSpU7t7gwtcD0RDyV2usQQ6TXZC4lkTQH21hDmOSN_8/s1600/Honduras+48.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNjkjOE-WIGD51brni79vyEDCCsymycz-tobaTtRZZ0crlqTHEemnibM8WSMf2X9IRgPPv-UyotK4uhVssZY4lx6KQLxL-ENcvtSpU7t7gwtcD0RDyV2usQQ6TXZC4lkTQH21hDmOSN_8/s1600/Honduras+48.jpg" height="320" style="cursor: move;" width="213" /></a>Once described to me as </div>
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"a party island with a diving problem" sounds a bout right. The ingredients just shouldn't work hand in hand but they seem to produce this atmosphere of a whole island filled with friends you haven't yet met with the same passion and thirst for life that you get from travelling. Anything goes! There is little to no police or military presence and little kids roam the streets well into the party hours which makes for pure genius entertainment. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz9V2fpOXW54tZ9JWW5cmt_HOcL7NatfU393u49EGCiET25o2srLLtsvNUv3y9Whf_oUlZezIK9vpTWuVaG80eTNf80WIqVDIyQEy1CogheyeR2O47nuChhMUciAHb7BUkZKLfis4E6nc/s1600/Honduras+102.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz9V2fpOXW54tZ9JWW5cmt_HOcL7NatfU393u49EGCiET25o2srLLtsvNUv3y9Whf_oUlZezIK9vpTWuVaG80eTNf80WIqVDIyQEy1CogheyeR2O47nuChhMUciAHb7BUkZKLfis4E6nc/s1600/Honduras+102.jpg" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Laid back animals</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilG6zjNVsRmZV6AXkZWC2ga989LqVmfK1EkWSLSUDaPF_NI2r-n3rXdJP2MGzo-K4OFW4wdSCq38p5uKt-dmBXyOw5taMguFKzrXdEgyDL8A9MM70MHbuBJxbocXOogGc-6YHTmIH8oWs/s1600/Honduras+86.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilG6zjNVsRmZV6AXkZWC2ga989LqVmfK1EkWSLSUDaPF_NI2r-n3rXdJP2MGzo-K4OFW4wdSCq38p5uKt-dmBXyOw5taMguFKzrXdEgyDL8A9MM70MHbuBJxbocXOogGc-6YHTmIH8oWs/s1600/Honduras+86.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Happy Cookies" sold at 'La Cueva' (The Cave), the staff just chill and play Fifa! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPmc6ALXt2QAnqqun_Lbdb2rYFHvb0LDFPuU4DYUMW2i6AwP6sPKK2cyb6zRr1q3Z_f98rMqbIUWesc07NfiySmJBJMmyRQz0m2PleXpailatnqz31G2Uw1GNhe9Cafb-q-Zn0U68AJbk/s1600/Honduras+89.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPmc6ALXt2QAnqqun_Lbdb2rYFHvb0LDFPuU4DYUMW2i6AwP6sPKK2cyb6zRr1q3Z_f98rMqbIUWesc07NfiySmJBJMmyRQz0m2PleXpailatnqz31G2Uw1GNhe9Cafb-q-Zn0U68AJbk/s1600/Honduras+89.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a><br />
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For both Han and I this island was a place where we both felt totally at ease, a place where anything is possible and we could utilise our skills to the max. We were eating at great restaurants for free through trading photography, drinking and partying hard for free for fire spinning exploring the oceans reef and fish, taking daily Yoga and making films.<br />
As you can imagine we very easily nearly got an apartment and thought we would never leave.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Firing up the Tranquila Dock</td></tr>
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After completing our
course we thought we would take the weekend off from diving. Sam from Essex
decided to stay a little longer and encouraged us to take a boat trip to Water Caye;
a tiny island about 45 mins south of Utila. It took us back to the San Blas
Islands…beautiful! We took some drinks, snacks and snorkels. On the boat we met
some really nice guys, Luis and Alan. Luis is from San Pedro Sula, a Honduran and
Luis is from Austen Texas, originally from Mexico.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lots of secluded little getaways like this</td></tr>
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Typically they brought a
cool box stoked to the nines and a Bose speaker, awesome! We snorkelled,
chatted and had a great day in paradise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">We bombed back to Utila over some rough seas and as soon as we arrived
back at the dock we legged it to Altons where the Saturday Night booze cruise
was departing! Everyone was crammed onto one of the dive boats and we partied,
cruising up and down the bay. They even had a disco ball, lasers and funky
lights going crazy to some great tunes by Steve, the Irish dive instructor!
After arriving back at the dock we rounded the troops for a quick nip into
‘town’ for grub at ‘Big Mommas'. Drinks at 'La Cueva'!</span></div>
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Then ‘TreeTanic’ for impromtu Yoga positions and Tequila, grab a TukTuk, load it up with 10 people and hit the Full Moon Party for free entry, free drinks and fire spinning. </div>
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Seriously shaping up to be the BEST TRAVEL DAY EVER! We hooked up with Dave and his fire nunchuks who had brought another gallon of fuel and all sort of goodies with him. Eventually some pals from Altons plucked up the courage to give it go. Jonny from Oz became hooked on Poi and we literally had to prize them out of his hands to head home. </div>
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On the Sunday, whilst
feeling a bit fragile we decided to move to another dive centre 3 mins walk
away, to spread the experience, meet more new friends and share the wealth on
the island. We booked a 10 dive package for just $258 dollars at Under Water
Vision. It is actually owned by Alton’s parents but they have a slightly
different way of going about things. Many divers pass through here as they fill
up the boats more and are cheaper. For accommodation, if diving with them you get
an ensuite private room for just $10 (£6) per night, the best deal we had had
all trip.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0YSLac2tHcp-fqHcm9zCHu7GfAuabM2rJNPLBUZx1KoX1BoUSLx2Dp7ZPjqC4iNhiXp3KGQ9E_7SDBbb3YxHXExQQ28naYISy_lw0QuRiJBvuwJWAoW_laCqp582Tro0FkC_aRNZ_UWw/s1600/Honduras+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0YSLac2tHcp-fqHcm9zCHu7GfAuabM2rJNPLBUZx1KoX1BoUSLx2Dp7ZPjqC4iNhiXp3KGQ9E_7SDBbb3YxHXExQQ28naYISy_lw0QuRiJBvuwJWAoW_laCqp582Tro0FkC_aRNZ_UWw/s1600/Honduras+2.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Underwater Vision Dive Centre</td></tr>
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Here we did the Haliburton
shipwreck which lays at 30m. It is an artificial reef and sunken just for
diving, Giving Utila the whole package whilst allowing the advanced course
students cover a ‘deep dive’ and ‘wreck dive’ simultaneously. We saw various
Groupers and Snappers. I also got the scare of my life when unbeknown to me I
was kneeling on the sand poking my head through a port hole just inches from a
MASSIVE Green Moray Eel over a meter long. It was lying between the boat and
sand, Hannah kindly pointed it out to me after I pushed away from the porthole.
I definitely let out a little yelp into my regulator.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hannah's knotty hair after every dive!</td></tr>
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On our second dive Hannah
spotted a few of her favourite fish, the Juvenile Spotted Drum. It’s tiny with
a huge dorsal fin that shoots up like a hair quiff. We also spotted a a few big
Barracudas and had the magical experience of swimming along side two large
Spotted Eagle Rays just gliding along for about 5 minutes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The locals at Driftwood</td></tr>
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Hannah and I went to a
few restaurants that week and pitched for some food photography again. All were
top rated and everyone we tried bar one was on board. Excellent! A week of free
food began and we stuffed ourselves! FooKing Wok ..mmmmm<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6G7XeZRS_Nmp4S6qUrGdt4x6b2hnvg9scWJxKQKaU3DvO3HazORsXbk0dFH6MSTpbANeaSfAuz2sjF6NOsfRJC4zQmoWOliX7AoLk1Gz4KtMhOLHf0mpBH-_bJM5YFgWoANgNjalLbBU/s1600/Honduras+56.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6G7XeZRS_Nmp4S6qUrGdt4x6b2hnvg9scWJxKQKaU3DvO3HazORsXbk0dFH6MSTpbANeaSfAuz2sjF6NOsfRJC4zQmoWOliX7AoLk1Gz4KtMhOLHf0mpBH-_bJM5YFgWoANgNjalLbBU/s1600/Honduras+56.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaBE3lMdlr-i87PkCAMOeCRD2qXWsecpzu1C7yj5Mtj_xJssUrOTkEaTTGgdi_ZKXBMkix7oatyRNTtlm3gNKirSItRWm_S4DglyBDr2zUfDIFW17CF7MNP1Zp7DzrPHpFcCk64Kc6aMw/s1600/Honduras+45.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="display: inline !important; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaBE3lMdlr-i87PkCAMOeCRD2qXWsecpzu1C7yj5Mtj_xJssUrOTkEaTTGgdi_ZKXBMkix7oatyRNTtlm3gNKirSItRWm_S4DglyBDr2zUfDIFW17CF7MNP1Zp7DzrPHpFcCk64Kc6aMw/s1600/Honduras+45.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxe5leSEYMnlmhHoZmVAwnU_UZfAoVMQXC92kTBZs5NGSOHIirOMgIwmV-yqzQBcnE4OTsyWVUxqgpH_qYPhCWN7OduwHh8xVL5ydaSEkHl_G4gPXdBC3kqoZIxIWQAzJNX07B_s1lZpE/s1600/Honduras+58.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxe5leSEYMnlmhHoZmVAwnU_UZfAoVMQXC92kTBZs5NGSOHIirOMgIwmV-yqzQBcnE4OTsyWVUxqgpH_qYPhCWN7OduwHh8xVL5ydaSEkHl_G4gPXdBC3kqoZIxIWQAzJNX07B_s1lZpE/s1600/Honduras+58.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a><br />
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We spent more time
with Alan hanging out at Luis’s pad and Hannah doing Yoga nearly everyday with
him. One evening Luis delivered us in his speedboat to Yoga after a little
sunset trip round the bay – arriving in style on the dock of Driftwood, a
restaurant we had just secured photography at earlier that day.<br />
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We went on another trip to Water Cay with Alan, Luis and some of his friends Tiffany (Sea Shepherds cook) and Therese (a Utilian born and bred chica, whose family owns basically half the island).</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Neptunes Resturant</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_5BoIxuDDLeZpcxn-ZQMCYb68xdrbjll5UEcOnXYOM1ux1R8mAHdIcMgWyhG0wIr7GkAxDOJbp0Hr5adrE1vGzhX51qtytVw4L6ECjyTfUOucGHdQ_gOM7Hasw_FCILXPUSj1a1c7WD4/s1600/Honduras+28.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_5BoIxuDDLeZpcxn-ZQMCYb68xdrbjll5UEcOnXYOM1ux1R8mAHdIcMgWyhG0wIr7GkAxDOJbp0Hr5adrE1vGzhX51qtytVw4L6ECjyTfUOucGHdQ_gOM7Hasw_FCILXPUSj1a1c7WD4/s1600/Honduras+28.jpg" height="400" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fortunately a long way from London</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheN-wmkvukBX8_dwov9JK6pmFXYhpOSxSV8bFHl8FXmU1zXT-7Njcjkc8xTo8WvucOfxzTRqsyi8p_aB8TSlC5GKRdCZtsG4PMhe4BaUSvfepCtIs6QC1pxSbOJ6d0yPUB9C9jKv5pxLo/s1600/Honduras+27.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheN-wmkvukBX8_dwov9JK6pmFXYhpOSxSV8bFHl8FXmU1zXT-7Njcjkc8xTo8WvucOfxzTRqsyi8p_aB8TSlC5GKRdCZtsG4PMhe4BaUSvfepCtIs6QC1pxSbOJ6d0yPUB9C9jKv5pxLo/s1600/Honduras+27.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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reachable by boat for a spot of lunch on a nice private beach. Had a great time
at Water Caye again indulging in Luis and Alan’s fine selection of liquor and self
appointing the role of beach barman. </div>
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On the way back and from Water Caye after a
few too many rums had by all, we stopped off at a little island that had
turtles and barracudas in pens for reintegration into the wild. It’s fair to
say I was a little over enthusiastic and asked the owner if I could get in with
the turtles.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2KxDW375sFNlXCtnyTH4waeXFW7A9TeapFFvcJOs81TnTXB_aPaY9ALvukhxsNS7zYB7Q3vXcNDkK9HKTLd-5Ne7obak9yXGtujzH7qer5Zfl-HrJExhYuBIADIvqPePiSAX-Hq9Xi_A/s1600/Honduras+20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2KxDW375sFNlXCtnyTH4waeXFW7A9TeapFFvcJOs81TnTXB_aPaY9ALvukhxsNS7zYB7Q3vXcNDkK9HKTLd-5Ne7obak9yXGtujzH7qer5Zfl-HrJExhYuBIADIvqPePiSAX-Hq9Xi_A/s1600/Honduras+20.jpg" height="400" width="266" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5KkIx0o8FejJxaLuo3BEOS3vsTm8XDd21ZxOhh1cPy8zSsGp24iogvLQ3WDtu_DcDnmT8Jh65ClnAFSCHoF1ZxrgWcQfaI1s6ZOoBTqneJhJFF3zCK2Po1Yr_ExJZp54lob-wMi3c7EY/s1600/Honduras+10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5KkIx0o8FejJxaLuo3BEOS3vsTm8XDd21ZxOhh1cPy8zSsGp24iogvLQ3WDtu_DcDnmT8Jh65ClnAFSCHoF1ZxrgWcQfaI1s6ZOoBTqneJhJFF3zCK2Po1Yr_ExJZp54lob-wMi3c7EY/s1600/Honduras+10.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a><br />
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Blissfully unaware that the pen also houses large barracudas and a
nursing shark (pretty harmless). After a slow ride back, it was time for me to
take pictures for my final restaurant “RJ’s”! – Hannah tried to sober me up as
best she could but in the end just had to let me loose and hope I didn’t fuck
it up! </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqW7RlXeONNmHiHU8ayc6JTsSrRowO-ogzt_hJ4iqSzrXlAd-DCKKx_3uDGOfphyphenhyphenqFJJpNejlXNi30VbNPn0oYDmBWLnTs4zPUrLXUASqeRFPaobxh0tVk02X1bCehy-qT3IvkwdyR3Bk/s1600/Honduras+8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqW7RlXeONNmHiHU8ayc6JTsSrRowO-ogzt_hJ4iqSzrXlAd-DCKKx_3uDGOfphyphenhyphenqFJJpNejlXNi30VbNPn0oYDmBWLnTs4zPUrLXUASqeRFPaobxh0tVk02X1bCehy-qT3IvkwdyR3Bk/s1600/Honduras+8.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kyle's Utila</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQYgC2mjIes0QR6plSNivAIRYBerD0IjpwA7kHyyiZb6j_Eh4uzjZBhd64cdpji_NO6OVKN9SsRBP4cyqKrgGufxMQzbc1aCIjKxbhE4HBbElkXRyPr36OVaHLlBCsK98Dd51xoKqXGlE/s1600/Honduras+43.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQYgC2mjIes0QR6plSNivAIRYBerD0IjpwA7kHyyiZb6j_Eh4uzjZBhd64cdpji_NO6OVKN9SsRBP4cyqKrgGufxMQzbc1aCIjKxbhE4HBbElkXRyPr36OVaHLlBCsK98Dd51xoKqXGlE/s1600/Honduras+43.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hannah's Utila</td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: center;">RJ’s serves awesomely large portions of home cooked food and only opens
Wed, Fri and Sunday so everyone goes. Much to everyone’s amazement (or
amusement I’m not sure) I actually did a pretty good job and got stuck in with
the dishes flying out of the kitchen at a rate of knots. We rounded the night
off with a little more rum back at Luis’s with Alan and had a sleepy profound
conversation about quantum physics and the possibility of WWIII.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ6fMI7jd9n_jYQ1XFQ4DD-t3F988abyk0FAoPDnPRM7c8qY3jSmeAjl5WkSn2qfH_yuicUKVJiDfVLeQDmjaAQRjd3AsFtrqKh_e-vkkDgPIXB1HivYhN7kaZ9-vnMMWYtpYncdrgT00/s1600/Honduras+59.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ6fMI7jd9n_jYQ1XFQ4DD-t3F988abyk0FAoPDnPRM7c8qY3jSmeAjl5WkSn2qfH_yuicUKVJiDfVLeQDmjaAQRjd3AsFtrqKh_e-vkkDgPIXB1HivYhN7kaZ9-vnMMWYtpYncdrgT00/s1600/Honduras+59.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a>Having visited TreeTanic Bar a few times before for drinks and a few Scuba Instructor course drinking games we’d had a chance to explore the sheer vastness of the creative space. This bar is apparently in the top ten bars of the world! Its like a quirky Pans Labyrinth meets the Little Mermaid set, all completely ocean inspired using recycled materials, glass, rock, beads, plates, old hard drives and motherboards, you name it.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-OHbeYbE_w2jQpVzaCjcMYOdTeNBcDePaHF4wJZILu01Ww8ELdE3I-Y_pISbAIM8-UlM1Myb2kiCLWVlcu-pKys0aLvHNK19BSjsGi97dpBPGz9u5ygKUD5EvqHW1Sb8lZoCG_drLoQ8/s1600/Honduras+65.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-OHbeYbE_w2jQpVzaCjcMYOdTeNBcDePaHF4wJZILu01Ww8ELdE3I-Y_pISbAIM8-UlM1Myb2kiCLWVlcu-pKys0aLvHNK19BSjsGi97dpBPGz9u5ygKUD5EvqHW1Sb8lZoCG_drLoQ8/s1600/Honduras+65.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a>It is an ongoing installation that has been in the
process for who knows, some say up to 20 years but ‘Paul’ American artist and
visionary wouldn’t tell me when I quizze. He replied saying “why do people feel
the need to quantify the amount of time I have spend making this place, it not
like you ask that question when staring at a painting in a gallery is it”, I
thought he had a point and with a bit more chat totally understood where he was
coming from. I attempted to get in contact with Paul to ask about a potential
film project, I thought this would be the hard part; and it was but not as
difficult as the next step of actually having a coherent conversation. Having
initially got through the bizarre social awkwardness of the stoned artist trying
to fix his bike and not really interested in what I had to say I realised I
would have to try and enter into ‘his world’ of anything goes type of chitchat!
I got the sense he had been approached a lot in the past and let down with
people never supplying the goods or sticking to their word, he was a complex
character which is pretty evident by the surreal world he had built around him. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIRU4Q2vm2_sa_AVzB-gHMfFWQJI28-nAryUkz69CtBrJKH-xDXnOgOnMhwayXucW4-ZL-jTL6BOCh1MfeVzsWwM9vez_-xhuR0GJZpz2cp3GTfaJ6PIHockkivrdRl-8x1uqSC2o5TQk/s1600/Honduras+51.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIRU4Q2vm2_sa_AVzB-gHMfFWQJI28-nAryUkz69CtBrJKH-xDXnOgOnMhwayXucW4-ZL-jTL6BOCh1MfeVzsWwM9vez_-xhuR0GJZpz2cp3GTfaJ6PIHockkivrdRl-8x1uqSC2o5TQk/s1600/Honduras+51.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYdrMZ7wkMgbEPLGopRzssbHT5LXUTjqDeGDuv_cGlR-Y5CkZRQqh2A_y2PCervz0hvyDSL-IRaxfwMARdEuUchwawyqE9BBcxOn1V0gt0JeLsUcQKVZUDxpnOpqJAkXmgERVQS9pRMbE/s1600/Honduras+61.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYdrMZ7wkMgbEPLGopRzssbHT5LXUTjqDeGDuv_cGlR-Y5CkZRQqh2A_y2PCervz0hvyDSL-IRaxfwMARdEuUchwawyqE9BBcxOn1V0gt0JeLsUcQKVZUDxpnOpqJAkXmgERVQS9pRMbE/s1600/Honduras+61.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfG2T4BpS-r0qqsABUFrTsmjTvJJIksLOuBPMNJTxJVLlC3lodhHUiJGkbsbtK0UzC3ubXdOiCp1mcv3k7oCI1CRhGgWX-VwIOaOUheUGq1X8G_ECYhdtB67HmhEHkXUMNM0QBCFmbP4M/s1600/Honduras+63.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfG2T4BpS-r0qqsABUFrTsmjTvJJIksLOuBPMNJTxJVLlC3lodhHUiJGkbsbtK0UzC3ubXdOiCp1mcv3k7oCI1CRhGgWX-VwIOaOUheUGq1X8G_ECYhdtB67HmhEHkXUMNM0QBCFmbP4M/s1600/Honduras+63.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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Whilst trying to convey my idea in
a professional but casual way; I managed to get my vision through to him and
suddenly he was engaged. We spent the next 40 minutes skimming from one tangent
to another covering the topics like time, peoples perception of what art is,
parts of the universe for good measure, fire, him making firework catherine
wheels to attach on to my fire poi, the use of light, diving and aquatic life. Somewhat
exhausted at the end of it all he was on board and invited me come and light up
whenever I wanted, just send him a copy when it’s done.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyVEV5iTi5h8bGQYR-0azewpEkoLZG9yuGyA18tKtr2KySdxFoJSn5bGPHWGr3kQc8WjZhhgL5_9s2t0rDnfb-KfaCTM3IdQnoWz4PTOZ6hqIKd56S0H0LnMjRSHyPHPfA8MClJivnmS4/s1600/Honduras+66.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyVEV5iTi5h8bGQYR-0azewpEkoLZG9yuGyA18tKtr2KySdxFoJSn5bGPHWGr3kQc8WjZhhgL5_9s2t0rDnfb-KfaCTM3IdQnoWz4PTOZ6hqIKd56S0H0LnMjRSHyPHPfA8MClJivnmS4/s1600/Honduras+66.jpg" height="425" width="640" /></a></div>
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So a few nights later
we rolled up, I wanted to shoot the film as well as perform in it so every shot
would need to be composed with the tripod and left to Han to press the record
button. I mentioned the film to Dave a few day previous and he was really
excited about helping out, I said if you can fire breath you can be in it. So
typically in true Dave style we shot off shouting “next time you see me I will
have learnt that for you mate!”. He had, I wanted to film a fire breath to
really light up the space for a specific moment in the music. We spent the
following 4hrs shooting in different spots and at the same time providing a
little show for drinkers. </div>
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The following days
were spent with Hannah deepening her new revitalised love for Yoga with some
especially amazing teachers. Getting up early or going for Sunset sessions.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcSu6EHn8Gyf6R4ZiJRfBf3UP6XiGxkgAAh2gMzSai4rbviwpdvrSfOrUhtk1K2uSNAiuqkUTAYWHL0OPLWzys0pjNw3yKj5p9j3aINSnud_ZjlNG6iXm23cndSoiUtHBKdGvxqNiJuNM/s1600/Honduras+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcSu6EHn8Gyf6R4ZiJRfBf3UP6XiGxkgAAh2gMzSai4rbviwpdvrSfOrUhtk1K2uSNAiuqkUTAYWHL0OPLWzys0pjNw3yKj5p9j3aINSnud_ZjlNG6iXm23cndSoiUtHBKdGvxqNiJuNM/s1600/Honduras+6.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></div>
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One morning Hannah booked
Alan and I into a Stand Up Paddleboard Yoga class with her! We turned up to
meet Aura, our teacher, at 7am. It was a windy day, in fact, after the class,
Aura announced that we were working in ‘extreme conditions!’ It was a struggle
to just paddle out! The wind was blowing hard against us and the water was
choppy! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOg6ch_uE3On46-aZ9jtnf9mV5r_ehJA7bGqXeP6hcJqJOtPAQwVK8yFvLBIwmqcLX0JTqi2M87vV8W8tW6y_XNJuTVCOJfsV44BIsskjEProcDifv-Gc_0pnu1KKD8ZVQJpKRb-inHf0/s1600/Honduras+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOg6ch_uE3On46-aZ9jtnf9mV5r_ehJA7bGqXeP6hcJqJOtPAQwVK8yFvLBIwmqcLX0JTqi2M87vV8W8tW6y_XNJuTVCOJfsV44BIsskjEProcDifv-Gc_0pnu1KKD8ZVQJpKRb-inHf0/s1600/Honduras+5.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></div>
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It was hilarious – lots of laughing. It certainly was a challenge.
After watching Alan fall into the water a few times, I got tired and followed
suit, dropping in plenty of times. Not only that, but I seemed to drift around
from person to person at one point knocking boards with Aura at the front!
Clearly the anchorage was not sufficient for me! During all this Hannah
remained serene on her board not falling in once…</div>
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Had great bacon sarnies
and English Tea for breakfast, just the fact I am writing this you can tell we
massively enjoyed. Even though we did get strange looks from the bar/kitchen
staff because we didn’t want eggs or cheese with them, “Just bacon? That’s all…
nothing else, toast and bacon?”… and to top it off, the good old “Seriously…
you want some milk to put in your tea, OK... strange English people”.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrp2HIXAH5_VA9BQpiminbfKb0C3YI9XfW9MsoEKzorWd03AFdqVKjns_G7UvwR7mk7t0pCSLfLNxaOjZtFV4h1OZcy8uVBOjuU5Xhu0NnpVTv2LDbiM00IiFeGaHGgfLLPQidSrhQqv0/s1600/Honduras+42.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrp2HIXAH5_VA9BQpiminbfKb0C3YI9XfW9MsoEKzorWd03AFdqVKjns_G7UvwR7mk7t0pCSLfLNxaOjZtFV4h1OZcy8uVBOjuU5Xhu0NnpVTv2LDbiM00IiFeGaHGgfLLPQidSrhQqv0/s1600/Honduras+42.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Skidrow "The Dirtiest Dive in Town"</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Frank' the Go To guy for everything</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2wyTYnPahrqTP87BLsYcq9vPhqwnz7yuhWjKwzf6vgvvEhRufwIuwvxFPL99npLDLi0iUMSDOj4Cylj_GCBmjNcmfXSQblss9eq41rMTzTGMIhyphenhyphenggkJpOM_KWPaXSgGQUxv22yOEkudc/s1600/Honduras+78.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2wyTYnPahrqTP87BLsYcq9vPhqwnz7yuhWjKwzf6vgvvEhRufwIuwvxFPL99npLDLi0iUMSDOj4Cylj_GCBmjNcmfXSQblss9eq41rMTzTGMIhyphenhyphenggkJpOM_KWPaXSgGQUxv22yOEkudc/s1600/Honduras+78.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoGwp8dopE04hXHWFLOvTMBOIXr13rQ0fhXDQ3Mz8zY5uXu4RqRo2npc9ZuITK0EhyJC5P6i9jrVhRCrjjpflCzOMnbW7UKe20EMAau1ibpuKbr_wh-rH1OmDdL53U1cGxOUVhjO6I7uY/s1600/Honduras+100.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoGwp8dopE04hXHWFLOvTMBOIXr13rQ0fhXDQ3Mz8zY5uXu4RqRo2npc9ZuITK0EhyJC5P6i9jrVhRCrjjpflCzOMnbW7UKe20EMAau1ibpuKbr_wh-rH1OmDdL53U1cGxOUVhjO6I7uY/s1600/Honduras+100.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snorkel challenge at 'La Cueva' </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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One morning, Hannah
left me in my hungover state in bed to go for a swim in the sea. Next thing I
know she was back claiming she had just bumped into our very good friend Charlie
Hickson’s brother; Billy! Charlie went to primary school with me (a few years
below) and Billy too, she then went to 6<sup>th</sup> form with Hannah
before we even knew each other; so a strange connection to have in the middle of nowhere! We both have memories of Billy as a kid;
Charlie’s little bro…no longer now!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIYCpRPKJTS04wYHYMYfGGXVL1oa8RxI3rFdd2dwPM9JXCnwMUEF630zqWkCGR_kUBDwTzfdfhWaqgGgDwlSkGa3KmF6J7bk-3ybNhUAIIbcdEeGXqwborAGi_igSaqdqDJubKpEzzPuE/s1600/Honduras+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIYCpRPKJTS04wYHYMYfGGXVL1oa8RxI3rFdd2dwPM9JXCnwMUEF630zqWkCGR_kUBDwTzfdfhWaqgGgDwlSkGa3KmF6J7bk-3ybNhUAIIbcdEeGXqwborAGi_igSaqdqDJubKpEzzPuE/s1600/Honduras+4.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Dude!! I gotta get of this island man!!"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">We spent that last three days doing a few things we had wanted to do before but never got round to it, visiting a couple of few beaches and finally visiting the Jaded Seahorse Restaurant for some amazing veggie beany fusiony cool burger things. Having great party and sending off some new friends who were finally leaving the island, 8 months after a arriving for a quick trip!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwOG6g61v1Vvsi6k8fiEqAqcl6LbYyyc5NvNcsCXGCHqxCXxXggB9WmR4dQpAeQrld4-uEjIBhs5JxQRIdUGi3442gOcP_CbtJmK7QkLMtOHi6c-0801tIg_HhUErLuzOwr4QYlV5R9GM/s1600/Honduras+26.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwOG6g61v1Vvsi6k8fiEqAqcl6LbYyyc5NvNcsCXGCHqxCXxXggB9WmR4dQpAeQrld4-uEjIBhs5JxQRIdUGi3442gOcP_CbtJmK7QkLMtOHi6c-0801tIg_HhUErLuzOwr4QYlV5R9GM/s1600/Honduras+26.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfwVNHySJcNG74vlUblxwncYe5r1FSkvrJmTZDcyVAPcD2yOjbankDhCfebYB4SmswpiJomNEK35oBxQ-Wm4q748rHMmSrLKK4Ldx2N2JuytlrMGzVaDjTd5Y3Q2_B3cNxGphItbXcvxk/s1600/Honduras+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfwVNHySJcNG74vlUblxwncYe5r1FSkvrJmTZDcyVAPcD2yOjbankDhCfebYB4SmswpiJomNEK35oBxQ-Wm4q748rHMmSrLKK4Ldx2N2JuytlrMGzVaDjTd5Y3Q2_B3cNxGphItbXcvxk/s1600/Honduras+3.jpg" height="400" width="222" /></a><br />
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Basically we know we are going back to this magical Caribbean Island again one day soon!!<br />
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But the Honduran adventure doesn't stop there, it suddenly gets back into dangerous reality!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXxszII97UqIER-52oQZZ3gz15N276G5_NIfQyBaRBv06Ro_8hTJz9-73oiMYRwnvyxgr7FYFdXYYC44C95e2DH0YOiW2Hbi6kXnVFTUin9ZQut0tsYJmgsypcZqT-L5zmDq_qEz-892M/s1600/10151359_10152456958299059_2123484919_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXxszII97UqIER-52oQZZ3gz15N276G5_NIfQyBaRBv06Ro_8hTJz9-73oiMYRwnvyxgr7FYFdXYYC44C95e2DH0YOiW2Hbi6kXnVFTUin9ZQut0tsYJmgsypcZqT-L5zmDq_qEz-892M/s1600/10151359_10152456958299059_2123484919_n.jpg" height="297" width="400" /></a></div>
Luis offered to stay
with him in San Pedro Sula as a stop off to getting into Guatemala, helping us
along the way for the last leg cross through yet again the most dangerous
country in the world. He was having a snazzy ATV dropped off at the dock for Utila
on the morning we were to leave, “Just hop in with my driver and he’ll drive
you here?” Luis said. After a few hours waiting at the dock we jumped into the air
conditioned 4X4 and begin a 3.5 hr journey to Luis’s pad. Latterly when in
Guatemala we reluctantly read what LonelyPlanet had to say about San Pedro
Sula. It starts with “ San Pedro Sula was bestowed the title of the worlds most
dangerous city in 2012. Few travellers will want to linger long here; there are
no sights, there is little cultural life and the sultry climate can be oppressive….”
Just as well we were in safe hands. Carlos the driver stops the car after an
hour to take a leak, as he’s walking away from the car I mention to Hannah that
I think Carlos the driver in fact Carlos the bodyguard and point out the
pistol; holstered on his hip. It slowly dawned on us we were being transported
through Honduras via armed guard…. what the fuck! As we drove into the city we
noticed loads of fast food joints, from BK to Dunkin Donuts it had it all to
fit in with the industrial backdrop flanked by beautiful jungle mountains. After
arriving at Luis’s aluminium factory through the armed security gate we stepped
into the 40 degree heat and nearly melted. Carlos escorted us inside to Luis’s
huge modern office. Here we met working Luis, sat behind his desk looking very
different to when we last saw him chilled out on his patio with a rum n bifta
on Utila. He looked up, gave us a give grin and welcomed us in. After a few
moments he wanted to show us around and where we would be staying, we were a
little surprised as were at his office and factory. We popped out of the office
door and back into a door next to it with our bags and suddenly we were in his
reception area with two big stairways leading up to two separate apartments. “That’s
mine” Luisa said looking left, “ and this one’s yours” walking up to the right.
He’d only gone and hooked up two travellers he’d met for a week or two with a
luxury apartment for the night, what a legend. We were obviously very
overwhelmed and thankful; we spent the rest of the afternoon chilling out on
the sofa, as he had to finish work. It’s safer and just easier for Luis to live
and work on the grounds of his work place which has 24hr guards and high walls.
When he visits the special island of Utila it’s a short drive to the airfield
and he hops in his plan for the short flight. The less time spent driving and
especially in Honduras the better.<br />
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Luis came and visited
us after he’d finished and proposed the plan of heading out to a fashion launch
of his friend’s new beach wear at a local bar. Before we left we were given a
tour of his place and learnt and awful lot about Luis’s background, including
just how many hobbies and interested he has had over the years. There is a room
dedicated to model aeroplanes, not small one but massive ones with engines and
jets! He setup the first Honduran aviation foundation school many years back
and also has a collection of motorbikes. He even once owned a Honduran football
club for a few years, but gave that up after learning that you need to spend a
disgusting amount of money to keep that kind of hobby afloat. Running all this,
two factories and a large property portfolio this guy is running on all
cylinders. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGqfjF6QYpnmcJJpcENi5uyKjm0H0qnC-lQjqCcFqAVcE2uUjHLXYUGUDGHAGdQXSeXzLe2ODvCLuK5CvwdiUUHK1EA6Za1ELgodWcHVbQqUJsB0aNELWdYur1WG9OU3mKms3Sn33SSQM/s1600/10151286_10152457792664059_804497394_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGqfjF6QYpnmcJJpcENi5uyKjm0H0qnC-lQjqCcFqAVcE2uUjHLXYUGUDGHAGdQXSeXzLe2ODvCLuK5CvwdiUUHK1EA6Za1ELgodWcHVbQqUJsB0aNELWdYur1WG9OU3mKms3Sn33SSQM/s1600/10151286_10152457792664059_804497394_n.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">We were driven to this
very cossie bar downtown and were surrounded by young ladies emptying the rail
of beach wear in front of us. We were there about 15minutes after it had opened
and with in another 15 everything was sold out. Carmen who is Luis’s very
attractive best friend had shifted 40 or so garments in 30 minutes, more or less.
Samana Santa is approaching and these ladies like to wear a different piece on
the beach every day for the huge celebrations across the on the Bay Islands (Utila
and Roatan are both rammed full of mainlanders for the holy week). Luis left
for a lads World Cup Brazil trip meeting at his mates house so introduced to some
pals and let us know ‘Don’t worry, Carlos is with me but there are more body
guards outside than people inside’. This was actually pretty true. Again we got
to learn a little more about how the 1% of the Honduran elite live. We chatted
to two young guys, maybe early twenties and they both very casually mentioned that
their body guards and 4x4’s were just outside, when asked. Some people even
have two or three and that’s just the way it is. Your constantly protected and
privacy can be pretty limited, I asked what it was like with meeting girls.
“We’ll it has it’s ups and downs, it’s not so cool having an armed babysitter
drive you home, but at least he can remember her name or where she lives.
Driving and talking to friends can be a pain in the ass as well, you can’t just
relax, and they know everything. And when push comes to shove none of them
would actually take slug for me. I have even had to be a careful with how I
speak to them; at the end of the day they are carrying a gun, in your car and
probably not from the best neighbourhood. You don’t want to piss them off!!”. I
couldn’t help but mention the film ‘Man on Fire’ with Denzel Washington, yes
just like that. Kidnappings shootings are pretty common in this city. Everyone
we spoke to that night were very nice and spoke fantastic English, they are all
American schooled and highly influenced by American 21<sup>st</sup> century pop
culture. Conversation multitasking with iPhones glued to their hands was pretty
impressive too. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">After we had grabbed a
little dinner Luis arrived back so we soon up’d and left. Carlos was outside
standing on the other side of the road amongst the mele of black and white
4x4’s all window tinted chatting with a load of the other guards. As soon as we
walked out he noticed us instantly and got the car running. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The next morning we
were driven to the Puerto Cortes, the largest port in Central America and also
the legitimate/illegitimate trafficking route for 80% of the cocaine smuggled
into the US. Typically we were told this whilst driving there which was to make
the next leg of the journey a little more nerve wracking as we needed to catch
a 3hr bus out of that town to the Guatemalan boarder, also a pretty dodgy
crossing due to its proximity to the port and Caribbean coastline. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">! CLEARLY NO PHOTOS HERE FOR OBVIOUS REASONS ! </span></div>
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and sorry looking part of town, the locals looked on as this blacked out 4x4
turns up with two gringo backpackers, a voluptuous Latino and pistol-wearing driver
all jump out. Taken a back by the immense 40 degree heat that just hit us like
a wall suddenly men rush up to find out what we need and before we know it we
are ushered onto a chicken bus that leaves in 2 minutes for the border
‘Frontera’. Carlos and Carmen were back in the safety of the truck and sped
off. I’d be lying if I were to say I wasn’t nervous, although I kept this to
myself as to not worry Hannah. All sorts of scenarios began entering my mind.
We were the only gringo’s on the bus and clearly visible sat at the front with
our big rucksacks, Hannah to the left of me slightly shielded from the window.
All it takes is for the driver to tip off a few mates and we’d be plucked from
the bus down the road and never seen again, yup that shit happens. Previously
we had seen military personnel riding at the front of public buses to make sure
they get through certain districts without a ‘problem’. This was the first time
in 7.5 months I genuinely feared for our safety as backpackers on a bus. It was
a time for reflection of what the last 24hrs had been like, being picked up at
the dock and entering a world of elitism and potential danger always just round
the corner. We’d only experienced 24hrs of it but the experience and stuff we
learned seriously open our eyes. Had arriving with Carlos and Carmen in fact put
us at more risk, would we have been better off just travelling through quickly with
all the other travellers getting normal buses from San Pedro Sula? “Oh well
your hear now so just get on with it and think positive thoughts” I told myself
gripping Hannah’s hand giving her a reassuring smile. Luckily we made it out of
the suburbs of Puerto Cortes unscathed and were enduring the hottest bus ride
ever. Hannah was literally drugged, not being able to hold a conversation for
more than 5 seconds or her head up for that matter. So back to me and my
un-necessary thoughts of death, corruption and the social divide between the rich
and poor of Honduras; it was a long bus!</span><!--EndFragment-->
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And thats Honduras.. the best and the worst place on earth!</div>
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Hannah and Kyle travel S.Americahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15199881368072873571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218767240550915026.post-71687877238195741142014-04-29T18:57:00.005-07:002014-04-29T18:57:29.454-07:00Nicaragua PT.2 - San Juan Del Sur and Ometepe Island<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">After 3 weeks of
fun with the parents, it was just the two of us again. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">We headed to a
nearby hostel in Leon to catch a shuttle to go back to the south of Nicaragua.
There were a still a few places that we wanted to visit before continuing
further up the continent. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">The journey was
a lot longer than we expected. There was many pick ups at various hostels in
Leon and then we ended up revisiting Granada; for hostel drop offs and then
pick ups. In our repeat tour of the city, we came across characters again- our
horse and cart man with the confusing English, the 'diamond geezer,' so he
called himself that organised our Masaya tour and transfer to Leon and various
street performing kids...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">When the second
load came onto the minibus we found ourselves sandwiched between some Jehovah's
Witnesses...uhoo. There seems to be a big following in Nicaragua; mainly
Americans of a certain age that have set up churches. Apparently there was some
conference happening in San Juan Del Sur (where we were headed). When the rather
obese sized man in front of us, who was one of the speakers, turned round to
ask us if we knew anything about Jehovah, Kyle said 'Well...you knock on our
doors a lot...'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">After about 6
hours of politely chatting to these messengers of god we arrived in San Juan
Del Sur (it wasn't all bad we spoke to a fellow traveller for a while getting
tips for where to go diving). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">We hastily found
a hostel, dumped our bags, got changed and headed for the sea. San Juan Del
Sur, on the Pacific side, is a popular beach town in a very pretty bay. There
are great beaches both north and south of the town which are popular for
surfing. It reminded us of Taganga in Colombia, only nicer. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">That night we
had a delicious dinner in TripAdvisor's number 1 restaurant in San Juan; Cha
Cha Cha. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Kyle approached the two brother owners at the end of the evening,
asking if they would like photographs of their food for promotion and social
media. Success! We were to have the next 2 night's drinks and dinner (that's
starter, main course, pudding!) covered by them :-) This was to be the start of
Kyle's food photography trade whilst travelling. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Over the next
few days we hired a motorbike for the afternoons, me clinging onto Kyle as we
speed off to explore. We drove up the very steep hill, and walked the last
ridiculously steep bit, to the statue of Christ. From up here we got a great
view of the perfect half moon bay of San Juan and could see right the way down
the coast to Costa Rica. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">It was so windy
up there; I was doing a Marilyn. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVy3a79yKeQGXQcxWhjxBTQpM4wU-dnFJDakGu85GTPlr9EZEOvAr6rjflA8lWtArGWUqvcrqjkAL9ofjWVZoLzwmbTzjeK-_yNUHB7kS0WMiy0JLGdfjcEyqAYi26ma-uJ3fN1V-JnnU/s1600/Nicaragua+part+2+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVy3a79yKeQGXQcxWhjxBTQpM4wU-dnFJDakGu85GTPlr9EZEOvAr6rjflA8lWtArGWUqvcrqjkAL9ofjWVZoLzwmbTzjeK-_yNUHB7kS0WMiy0JLGdfjcEyqAYi26ma-uJ3fN1V-JnnU/s1600/Nicaragua+part+2+6.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'La Virgen' wasn't given quite so pride of place...</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">The beaches we
visited were lovely. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Of course we spent ages playing in the awesome waves. Some
of them really were awesome! Dodging surfers here and there. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">We enjoyed our
other nights a great deal at Cha Cha Cha, working through the menu. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">On our last
night we met a lovely lady called Kimberly and her 8 year old daughter,
Mirabai. American, but now living in Costa Rica, they were over in San Juan for
the day doing a visa run. We spent the whole evening chatting away at the bar.
Kimberly is a Yoga teacher and Mirabai a budding dancer and Yogi. We had great
conversation with Mirabai, reminding us of Kyle's lovely niece and nephew;
Rohan and Elodie who we miss lots. It was sad to say goodbye to them at the end
of the night. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Our next
destination was Ometepe Island; The stunning twin volcanic peak island set in
the massive Lake Nicaragua (similar size to Lake Titicaca). <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">We arrived at
the ferry dock around 10am and were met with the sound of the Deep South. A big
group of larger than life Americans, many wearing garishly bright T.shirts that
read something like 'sharing the love around the world'- ahhh... A bible
bashing group!...boarded the ferry with us...wonderful. They followed us up
onto the top deck and as we set off, produced an enormous speaker system. They
all jumped to their feet (the ones that could still jump) and started crazy
dancing to songs like the Macarena and Gangnem Style!! You had to laugh!! They
provided us with great entertainment for our hour long trip. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">When we made it
to Ometepe we hastily went in search of lunch with what seemed like the only 2
other backpackers from the ferry. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">After dumping
our bags at the hostel, we took a trip down to a sand bar that juts out into
the lake. We were the only 2 there. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf0oYF-SzdMrfL5ut_9kt2cebUnSlNrQsxvWvx8leOP2Vs-Kpj1lXYUKGvVwqGH-5KNvGpQ3aM_Cdp_rnAst1PU_1qlZo5LkyyzkrBqZpXyByyLyPlB8jcJWCOCB5qWebyVXYjpreZDnA/s1600/Nicaragua+part+2+20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf0oYF-SzdMrfL5ut_9kt2cebUnSlNrQsxvWvx8leOP2Vs-Kpj1lXYUKGvVwqGH-5KNvGpQ3aM_Cdp_rnAst1PU_1qlZo5LkyyzkrBqZpXyByyLyPlB8jcJWCOCB5qWebyVXYjpreZDnA/s1600/Nicaragua+part+2+20.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">We went for a swim- the water was like a
bath; a very murky bath. We spent the afternoon chilling there and when it was
time to go we walked to the main road in the hope of catching a bus. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">After
waiting a while with no luck, we started to talk about hitch hiking. At this
moment a car spotted us and the guy gestured for us to get in. Problem solved!
His name was Fernando, an older guy from the US, who had done a lot of
travelling and settled here. He bought a house 3 years ago and is doing it up.
Would we like to see it?!...'it's the funkiest house on the island'. Why not?!
We were driven back to his house and had the grand tour. A really interesting
place. The highlight was his HUGE watchtower- the height of a 4 story building. </span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Before we knew it we were climbing the vertical metal ladder, wearing special
gloves to stop us from slipping! About half way up I started to feel the fear.
Three quarters of the way: serious adrenaline! What were we doing?! The last
few steps I was shaking! Kyle felt the same watching me climb higher and
higher, getting smaller and smaller. Alas, the view was amazing and perfectly
timed with sunset too. </span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Volcano Conception was behind us, the sunset was over
the lake in front. Fernando switched on the fairy lights up there, it was
lovely!! </span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9T9kUIuWIirlhl_aIj-w0rW6_APqoEoNoV4d3GrYssiSVTkotk8pEqZVyWF1Dviu5zXDQPviUCRBPSKsW3qUh55DZEyrAJRfxk8v9yVuXBuMcxz2mZxXVAP59vzfhMHSYI-nAuHEAeHE/s1600/Nicaragua+part+2+23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9T9kUIuWIirlhl_aIj-w0rW6_APqoEoNoV4d3GrYssiSVTkotk8pEqZVyWF1Dviu5zXDQPviUCRBPSKsW3qUh55DZEyrAJRfxk8v9yVuXBuMcxz2mZxXVAP59vzfhMHSYI-nAuHEAeHE/s1600/Nicaragua+part+2+23.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fernando a long way down!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Now time for the descent... Even more terrifying. I had not felt like
this since the canopy walking in Peru. Very very careful steps and we made it
back onto solid ground. We were the first ‘tourists’ he had up there which was
pretty kind of him, usually just for locals and friends.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">As we were
leaving we spotted on the floor what we think was a rat baby foetus! Seriously
tiny like it should still be in the womb, eyes still sealed! So random and
really quite gross!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">The following 4
days were spent exploring this beautiful island on a hire motorbike. It was
certainly the way to do it! Totally on our time, we loved the independence it
gave us. The days were very hot and sunny but whizzing along with the wind in
our hair was the perfect temperature. We began talking about buying a bike to
continue our travels on! Huge backpacks however, are a bit of an issue! <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">We gained such a
flavour of the island. A whole new meaning to the term 'free range animals'-
horses, pigs, chickens, cattle just roaming around on the road! </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0pYa-gcSwWD3l93i4KvlmTdZ45Oyn-tTKA4cwCZ5db4pPUt0N5nHPv32Q5-d7gUUEYmwjOkrHm4Fm_HSQGHbpVOQstqRLxYfPNoOwKPl3c9lVMl319IbQg8e_koOX4SRQztYfS322CgA/s1600/Nicaragua+part+2+64.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0pYa-gcSwWD3l93i4KvlmTdZ45Oyn-tTKA4cwCZ5db4pPUt0N5nHPv32Q5-d7gUUEYmwjOkrHm4Fm_HSQGHbpVOQstqRLxYfPNoOwKPl3c9lVMl319IbQg8e_koOX4SRQztYfS322CgA/s1600/Nicaragua+part+2+64.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Even kids and
toddlers just strolling around. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Ometepe is
absolutely full of school kids. We passed loads of schools; the students always
seemed to be milling around outside no matter what the time was rather than
inside in lessons. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">There was such a
friendly happy vibe, we waved to most passing cars, bikes and pedestrians. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhuhO8rLLqXUrOvQqP8n-UJAg3ShY9Zar7oIoDFuVVUjsNsi24y4BGVZd_0iYGwwM0oAmiN1inN3xta5K62y-XQYNWQHozr_4EhYoDkKmB4XjtE_cKpZROR_dONGsJuPjht0IdMzzmfAA/s1600/Nicaragua+part+2+82.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhuhO8rLLqXUrOvQqP8n-UJAg3ShY9Zar7oIoDFuVVUjsNsi24y4BGVZd_0iYGwwM0oAmiN1inN3xta5K62y-XQYNWQHozr_4EhYoDkKmB4XjtE_cKpZROR_dONGsJuPjht0IdMzzmfAA/s1600/Nicaragua+part+2+82.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nearly spun round to ride with the big kids!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">The scenery was
spectacular. The first day we circled around Conception Volcano (1610m) on the
north part. It was cool to view it from different angles. It really is the most
stereotypical looking volcano - the perfect triangle with a flat top. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Our first stop was Altagracia, the second largest town on the island.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">We wandered around and took in the sights.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">We visited El
Ojo de Agua; a beautiful shady natural spring. The water was crystal clear. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">We chilled on
Playa Santa Domingo; a long stretch of sandy beach. You could easily forget you
were in the middle of a lake and think you were by the sea. You wade out for
miles in the lake, it stays shallow for ages. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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We weren't the only ones playing on the beach...</div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Charco Verde was
a late afternoon stop; an ecological park with a lagoon. We spotted lots of
monkeys up in the trees, getting a bit spooked when one started to stalk us!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvmdU12fiF53azWZ7InJIRTH5avKKySOa1rhyphenhyphenQkRcgtafk4exwG2vvoWs7sDMdYPzsRaXT8k3jB-MX63z0o0MJsqnXkF8hn2Ve_1Fjvb_psul96RAfJrXDnp2y0cr60htWvRSF-KvV2ss/s1600/Nicaragua+part+2+56.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvmdU12fiF53azWZ7InJIRTH5avKKySOa1rhyphenhyphenQkRcgtafk4exwG2vvoWs7sDMdYPzsRaXT8k3jB-MX63z0o0MJsqnXkF8hn2Ve_1Fjvb_psul96RAfJrXDnp2y0cr60htWvRSF-KvV2ss/s1600/Nicaragua+part+2+56.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crossing the new island runway, good spot for a pic!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">The following
few days were spent in the south part of the island by Maderas Volcano (1394m). </span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">We left our large backpacks in the main town with Elmer who hired out the bike
to us for another 4 days (for just $60) so we could avoid the various long
bumpy bus rides and lack of transport at the other end. We felt properly
independent which was a first on the trip so far. </span><br />
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After an hour and half’s
drive on and off road we arrived at a lovely hostel set right on the lake. It
had a big dock which we went swimming off and watched a few dramatic sunsets from.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikkVCWst6WDjw9PEApizGQKePQ9nKHlcJTwJ5hsGPHuUGjbFbl3OwlmFoEjF5erBpMF0ya17IDFLny1EWoF5RodZeqDDmswJcQzdXSn14Q8-iisdM0uS9QXNtZgsP-rMdizxAd3f0aG3o/s1600/Nicaragua+part+2+74.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikkVCWst6WDjw9PEApizGQKePQ9nKHlcJTwJ5hsGPHuUGjbFbl3OwlmFoEjF5erBpMF0ya17IDFLny1EWoF5RodZeqDDmswJcQzdXSn14Q8-iisdM0uS9QXNtZgsP-rMdizxAd3f0aG3o/s1600/Nicaragua+part+2+74.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">As you can see, Kyle's new sunglasses were a hit for reflection pics ;) </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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As it got dark you could see lots of tiny blinking red lights on the mainland
in the distance; huge wind turbines.</div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">One evening we
both enjoyed great back massages, one after the other, in the privacy of our
own room - how very luxurious! <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Motorbiking
around Maderas Volcano was a tad more bumpy to say the least. The road was
terrible. It degenerated to dirt track littered with loads of large volcanic rocks.
Luckily Kyle seemed to like this obstacle course challenge, taking him back to
his trail motor biking days.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">We drove through
tiny isolated plantain farming communities and agricultural villages, stopping
off in one to say hello to the kids that were playing outside. </span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">We bought them
something sweet and took their picture. The children have such lovely natures
and are so incredibly cute. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">We rode as far
as we could and then hiked for an hour up to the San Ramon Waterfall. It was hot work...</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">We arrived around
noon, just as the sun started to hit it. We timed it perfectly too and had the
40m high falls to ourselves. </span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">We went swimming in the cold water which was such
a reward after the sweaty climb. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMCz9D_FRsBa4nLUOw0RjqOkLc85z7cxp72m3BmN0f0bA54hovgdEfXmDUTHpYibvlfrrxylwn3c3CGQxruGYuo3pP26vqLvODs3AiF0d7M8CgkUjJAzD7Zb3RPlf-lNMlL7oj0ts8dws/s1600/Nicaragua+part+2+62.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMCz9D_FRsBa4nLUOw0RjqOkLc85z7cxp72m3BmN0f0bA54hovgdEfXmDUTHpYibvlfrrxylwn3c3CGQxruGYuo3pP26vqLvODs3AiF0d7M8CgkUjJAzD7Zb3RPlf-lNMlL7oj0ts8dws/s1600/Nicaragua+part+2+62.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Kyle was still taunted by the beautiful big
blue butterfly (from Punta Uva – Costa Rica) that was just too fast for his
camera and eye. Unfortunately I found a dead one which he reluctantly photographed
as it was considered cheating!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">On our last day
I thought it would be a good idea to take a kayak out to 'Monkey Island.' It
was windy, really windy... Kyle wasn't feeling great (two days of hardcore
handlebar action had knackered his arms) so I had said I would do most of the
paddling. Time to build on that upper body strength... </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF44jTrYiR2aATkn8KAxrunCsdsIhf18_gzyjFdfUvNHSL1mQDSwQSogT0xhyTwrAn_OOiuOxzoBkX4BFsqmNsgcc32gN39di8f-iaHeuYaM5EFVb_Yg2QKA48WfdfX1rYZY5ub43SXMM/s1600/Nicaragua+part+2+78.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF44jTrYiR2aATkn8KAxrunCsdsIhf18_gzyjFdfUvNHSL1mQDSwQSogT0xhyTwrAn_OOiuOxzoBkX4BFsqmNsgcc32gN39di8f-iaHeuYaM5EFVb_Yg2QKA48WfdfX1rYZY5ub43SXMM/s1600/Nicaragua+part+2+78.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">The way out was quite a
work out even though we were going with the wind. 10/15 minutes or so and we
had reached this little island where they have released some monkeys back into
the wild. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3gWPIjroeCLZCYXJC_T3nqU5sbW_I0CISGkaI_8oddbb2bgDG0f7qUKR2W6GaG-AD36N8C1_X-IRAR9qqgvFHy7V5zhjJJokcupw3KOVdO5jkI8kdNY4T8BwMut57vMt8UKezL0K2eXU/s1600/Nicaragua+part+2+79.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3gWPIjroeCLZCYXJC_T3nqU5sbW_I0CISGkaI_8oddbb2bgDG0f7qUKR2W6GaG-AD36N8C1_X-IRAR9qqgvFHy7V5zhjJJokcupw3KOVdO5jkI8kdNY4T8BwMut57vMt8UKezL0K2eXU/s1600/Nicaragua+part+2+79.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwH6OMXKOhvPeGDkj5S2SMf3bCKQGEuLAEO6KglfnyZ1Rlm0cBHXIMBZjrgd_10H8agG575A-e3USbJ3HGiKyCl8QGDvAO9MxI5J4zRiPXN5uaqv5vhL38Kr7XK1n9u_kge79bFFocjQQ/s1600/Nicaragua+part+2+80.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwH6OMXKOhvPeGDkj5S2SMf3bCKQGEuLAEO6KglfnyZ1Rlm0cBHXIMBZjrgd_10H8agG575A-e3USbJ3HGiKyCl8QGDvAO9MxI5J4zRiPXN5uaqv5vhL38Kr7XK1n9u_kge79bFFocjQQ/s1600/Nicaragua+part+2+80.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">We circled the island, spotting them but being careful not to get too
close (they will jump on your boat for food), then headed back. Attempted to
anyway. The wind really picked up. With us both paddling as best we could we
were barely moving forward. Head down, face grimacing, “head for the protected
shoreline ” Kyle said, it was a longer distance but safer trip back. Never
again!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Pretty spent, we
headed for a nice hotel that we had found the night before for dinner. It is
set higher up on the hill and has fantastic views of the lake and Conception
volcano. We chilled out there by the infinity pool, recovering from that
morning's escapades. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhelHsFJivMpQakI9zumhlxeuvLNtQhrxXd09Yxr_yiiREyjEs6uvoza7h9j36BHrsr7fxDK6DOnCcls3VbY139mropoVIUJixnR7RrRnBRcOPJ51g13e-ZOC9xMK92lw2o3J1e3uzexCQ/s1600/Nicaragua+part+2+57.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhelHsFJivMpQakI9zumhlxeuvLNtQhrxXd09Yxr_yiiREyjEs6uvoza7h9j36BHrsr7fxDK6DOnCcls3VbY139mropoVIUJixnR7RrRnBRcOPJ51g13e-ZOC9xMK92lw2o3J1e3uzexCQ/s1600/Nicaragua+part+2+57.jpg" height="320" width="239" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">After 5 days on
this special island we left, getting a much quieter morning ferry back! </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH6R_-dp6F7iWQvkAPlB29XNykDPWzmF9sVyJRENkUg9ke2pRM4I5qQSqrKwzp1aSCizBPn7OToRD5MaEoCDb8wyVTLE829n7MCDukjM_OwaPiLHQR1KOloRp4ihyphenhyphenVTKZG9xPshWvP0eg/s1600/Nicaragua+part+2+88.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH6R_-dp6F7iWQvkAPlB29XNykDPWzmF9sVyJRENkUg9ke2pRM4I5qQSqrKwzp1aSCizBPn7OToRD5MaEoCDb8wyVTLE829n7MCDukjM_OwaPiLHQR1KOloRp4ihyphenhyphenVTKZG9xPshWvP0eg/s1600/Nicaragua+part+2+88.jpg" height="425" width="640" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">A few
big travel days were ahead of us. That day we took a ferry then a taxi to
Granada (again!), strolled through the town to find a bus to Managua, a minibus
back to Leon and a finally a taxi to the hostel. After all this we had returned
to Leon to then catch a 14 hour shuttle, leaving at 8AM the next morning.
Covering nearly the whole length of Honduras to reach the Carribean coast town
of La Ceiba where we get the boat to Utila from.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">We enjoyed our
last evening in Nicaragua in a party hostel- Big Foot Hostel, playing 'beer
pong' and 'flip cup' and went out to experience the nightlife of Leon. Leaving
this great country with a bang. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Hannah and Kyle travel S.Americahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15199881368072873571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218767240550915026.post-18668693664871978452014-04-13T18:57:00.004-07:002014-04-14T08:35:49.225-07:00Travelling with the parents!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">After a mad morning of
nearly missing various boats trying to get back to the mainland we made up some
serious time on road. We found a 4x4 taxi driver who would take us the 1.5hr
drive to Sixolla for just $20 and get it done in a little over an hour whilst
singing all the way. We had a loose timing to meet up at 12 noon at the border
and amazingly we were bang on. We got our exit stamps and headed to the rickety
old bridge for a short walk to Costa Rica! Apparently if a lorry makes its way
over the bridge everyone has to start running because there is nowhere to go on
the side and the drivers don’t slow down. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Sure enough we made it
to the other side unscathed and got in line for our entry stamps. After a
little look around at the cars just outside the official gate we spotted Kyle’s
Mum and Dad. To be sure there were long hugs, tears and big grins, with it
slowly sinking in that “wow they are actually here… together” for all of us. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">We jumped into the
wonderfully air conditioned hire car, sat back, relaxed and were blissfully safe
in the knowledge that we were to be looked after for the next few weeks! No
more planning, scrimping, budgeting…<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">After a pretty short
drive to Casa Viva we stopped off at the local town of Punta Uva (close to
Puerto Viejo on the Caribbean coast) for a few long awaited beers at a very
cool and quirky Caribbean bar. </span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<br />
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Naturally Marc and Debbie already seemed pretty
at home as if they’d been there for years, chatting to the locals and making
friends with the Rastas selling ganga and bread “Buy ya fresh bread, good for
da head, so ya down’t get dead” a larger than life big momma chanted whilst
propping Marc under arm. </span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">We had a few days stay in a lovely wooden villa. It
was surrounded by gorgeous lush gardens and was 30 paces to the beach. </span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgScI_NOb6BOPI2OLZ-yytRUqYdqYadBv71cNN2l9fL-Nqg4kGd385L-j9b9i5qmUx9IH42G0GnkdyTOPDBfAk6pDsRMA3kB2viJ3AreLnucx38rvwQfV8gJPEHhuy7jpajXYbPSQYC_r0/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+89.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgScI_NOb6BOPI2OLZ-yytRUqYdqYadBv71cNN2l9fL-Nqg4kGd385L-j9b9i5qmUx9IH42G0GnkdyTOPDBfAk6pDsRMA3kB2viJ3AreLnucx38rvwQfV8gJPEHhuy7jpajXYbPSQYC_r0/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+89.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">iPad firmly glued to Mum's hand! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">What is
pretty special about this area is that it is against the law to build on the
beach. Looking along the shoreline from the water it is just white sand into
dense jungle. All the houses and villas are set back, hidden from view, keeping
the area entirely unspoilt.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_xhQqLe9-AAgdxx-RNXGO5wPsK4OLH6yCupD7wWYWolwUHP0sJConcJwtqRJwhSJx2LgF6fj1dowq7YuCdsDHs54e7869yfpCA2bH4eKuNA1HT_7OL8r2XulhOtrR9psXxZxDnj9iCVA/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+72.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_xhQqLe9-AAgdxx-RNXGO5wPsK4OLH6yCupD7wWYWolwUHP0sJConcJwtqRJwhSJx2LgF6fj1dowq7YuCdsDHs54e7869yfpCA2bH4eKuNA1HT_7OL8r2XulhOtrR9psXxZxDnj9iCVA/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+72.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kyle experimenting with his new camera timer, 2.30s shutter exposure at 4am on the beach on his own ... a little drunk ! </td></tr>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The rest of the day we
spent sharing stories, show and tell slideshow style, having a delicious fresh
lunch and a dip in the sea. </span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtUTOsyAKy6cWAV-Zl2oSKnhk7yCWRYeHyWO6s5y4VES6bYZDy2QEjJR1NNBTWple9jxiC7OaGx96J1Pf-GEJPJSz5UDKRoCRPgB5L73YIVBAS5C0rkPRRkmiHZF_8eKIv1CjTB5mmxAg/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+104.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtUTOsyAKy6cWAV-Zl2oSKnhk7yCWRYeHyWO6s5y4VES6bYZDy2QEjJR1NNBTWple9jxiC7OaGx96J1Pf-GEJPJSz5UDKRoCRPgB5L73YIVBAS5C0rkPRRkmiHZF_8eKIv1CjTB5mmxAg/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+104.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The waves here were pretty big, so it was nice for
Marc to have a friend to play in the sea with. </span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis5fMZ_OuplOOTEphF4KXjEvqlxqgUtg8cKiAZuoMGNJbABWZblXMvLkJxi4UJRhwU4TvqdfNMX2xkoFVsiasaaQdusgDdphX1YoBswGdPp7_pigt52etyPEQgMDz62K7QFCvoP8yHT3M/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+99.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis5fMZ_OuplOOTEphF4KXjEvqlxqgUtg8cKiAZuoMGNJbABWZblXMvLkJxi4UJRhwU4TvqdfNMX2xkoFVsiasaaQdusgDdphX1YoBswGdPp7_pigt52etyPEQgMDz62K7QFCvoP8yHT3M/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+99.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx7Phkc9mZl4yDW44TafQ0sgVryTB-CElLlwA7IqoNc0imR9Q_ZcFdffYZA27vsvonKkIxa4YY6kafbYr0ITIYtokJhJBAry24wyRpCcStPcpR2Vu4WaRpL81woN-K6URqZliAi1-wGL8/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+98.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx7Phkc9mZl4yDW44TafQ0sgVryTB-CElLlwA7IqoNc0imR9Q_ZcFdffYZA27vsvonKkIxa4YY6kafbYr0ITIYtokJhJBAry24wyRpCcStPcpR2Vu4WaRpL81woN-K6URqZliAi1-wGL8/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+98.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Needless to say they got nicely tumbled
about resulting in Marc’s nose leaking seawater for the next 4 hours! </span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">We had a
mixture of Debbie’s lovely home cooking (mmmm…) and went out for some great
meals too. We also fell nicely into the routine of pre dinner GnT’s most
nights.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The next day we went
on a walk along the coastline, into the jungle and then conked out in the
afternoon! We realised just how tired we were! We let go in a big way and slept
for hours!</span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Our next stop was 2
minutes (literally) down the road to ‘The Beach House’ villa. Here we were to
stay another 4 nights. What a place! It was beautifully designed.</span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0adArFZmNJJ4mjAOtTnxSK1eTUXk7PU407UgbX3JBJ6G3E1-YXyG04NZV-M77RxICrUljkzGmK0XhcpDMAJvjqsarDrCcucBwGaPHvXeQqplZF4NmZwwgdznde83c3bxQgNVtuUDI5VQ/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+79.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0adArFZmNJJ4mjAOtTnxSK1eTUXk7PU407UgbX3JBJ6G3E1-YXyG04NZV-M77RxICrUljkzGmK0XhcpDMAJvjqsarDrCcucBwGaPHvXeQqplZF4NmZwwgdznde83c3bxQgNVtuUDI5VQ/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+79.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2TDeG-Aqcr7a2nnPslOjk1JdIC_xG8wmu6E5v86xgzmgt3giLG7Y2Ai3rwGGC4u1ngcHkfmcLePtYw6LeVc5-C_TyTzRH3BMJOIPvrwKMso8sn7-aQwDpF0lfQ-f-sgKr__zsGqpxiLQ/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+75.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2TDeG-Aqcr7a2nnPslOjk1JdIC_xG8wmu6E5v86xgzmgt3giLG7Y2Ai3rwGGC4u1ngcHkfmcLePtYw6LeVc5-C_TyTzRH3BMJOIPvrwKMso8sn7-aQwDpF0lfQ-f-sgKr__zsGqpxiLQ/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+75.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Stunning
woodwork, an ENORMOUS bathroom and a great outdoor decking complete with BBQ
and hot tub!</span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxA721sgE7HFR1qR1ClhJGHfYwGXYyq4UY86gG-gek4H4W3tBGyIQAmTmloJ0qgj8j1vj3fmtciEIN56XZkP3LiKuzpp00dKxYmNc1rXfdLIm6ERwFFD7uUCAMmq9ZHTZKB7L8gF5T8NA/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+78.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxA721sgE7HFR1qR1ClhJGHfYwGXYyq4UY86gG-gek4H4W3tBGyIQAmTmloJ0qgj8j1vj3fmtciEIN56XZkP3LiKuzpp00dKxYmNc1rXfdLIm6ERwFFD7uUCAMmq9ZHTZKB7L8gF5T8NA/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+78.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsSBFwpYyqLGDtvdEAIXM9XcbyrUdkLAGw0LZ1NAKaNtmtmM4B6N-Vw6hJdQTlJrQX4Eb48o5MQMo7JHu407P0g0pLXwx1zwiR-4BG1q5_FSURtS4jyaqZBMaQ1je1BIbyQPxmc5EV5aM/s1600/hot+tub+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsSBFwpYyqLGDtvdEAIXM9XcbyrUdkLAGw0LZ1NAKaNtmtmM4B6N-Vw6hJdQTlJrQX4Eb48o5MQMo7JHu407P0g0pLXwx1zwiR-4BG1q5_FSURtS4jyaqZBMaQ1je1BIbyQPxmc5EV5aM/s1600/hot+tub+1.jpg" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVu0Bd16q0zR3Q3ebSXTDhK5Qv0jP-2_oryJpCJsfToP386vZIiLPuWirbmqFWYlYh9Ne8AKiDcoV7tOCMD9qfVeKr7ex9xjyyT67QjJF1-nYjOdBquHXGuMi8HTckdUzDvsKRWQXTfOs/s1600/hot+tub+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVu0Bd16q0zR3Q3ebSXTDhK5Qv0jP-2_oryJpCJsfToP386vZIiLPuWirbmqFWYlYh9Ne8AKiDcoV7tOCMD9qfVeKr7ex9xjyyT67QjJF1-nYjOdBquHXGuMi8HTckdUzDvsKRWQXTfOs/s1600/hot+tub+2.jpg" height="239" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spot the fire in the background heating it up! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Not just any old hot tub too…filled with fresh water and then
heated by a fire with piping tunnelled into it for a few hours! Heaven! Our pre
dinner and post dinner drinks were spent in there! Going into overheat mode and
getting some mega headrushes. The three Stevos had a brain wave and started to
plan their new entrepreneurial endeavour; economical hot tubs for the UK. They
spent a good 30/40 minutes discussing the logistics, additional add-ons/accessories
and details of their new company until they eventually Google’d it and realised
that it has already been done! Doh! <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">We were surrounded by
wildlife. When we first arrived we saw a sloth above the house in the branches!
The closest we have come so far! We heard the dominant sound of howler monkeys
throughout our stay and Kyle developed an obsession with trying to capture a photograph
of the big beautiful blue butterfly that came to visit often. No picture here
as he was unsuccessful…the mission is still continuing. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-7y-3xTSoLc6sqEJLZhrrKL7AnYN5Tnao5pFEunq34fD_N8apS68Bd1RfRh7SDmwXIW97qR8nvh3qww6BACaz0ATB2I7GVEuGwNVKnwoEC2BfERt5lvKIKT0XgcmOMyeSTwkELjZxfuo/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+73.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-7y-3xTSoLc6sqEJLZhrrKL7AnYN5Tnao5pFEunq34fD_N8apS68Bd1RfRh7SDmwXIW97qR8nvh3qww6BACaz0ATB2I7GVEuGwNVKnwoEC2BfERt5lvKIKT0XgcmOMyeSTwkELjZxfuo/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+73.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_rvaW_59wz1wv_7Iim1p-7oMWyXkT9Hk6Aelymfzy_KBvhIt5Jchi6XFFkIcaShDVVXym4qLd3YyFyBpoBKYwvet1PrS69YMUWcm49D35Usz9d_xDWn46oSyQhEj0SVbjHcnXYqBMZjk/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+74.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_rvaW_59wz1wv_7Iim1p-7oMWyXkT9Hk6Aelymfzy_KBvhIt5Jchi6XFFkIcaShDVVXym4qLd3YyFyBpoBKYwvet1PrS69YMUWcm49D35Usz9d_xDWn46oSyQhEj0SVbjHcnXYqBMZjk/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+74.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Kyle and I shared with
Debbie and Marc our newfound love for Argentinean cuisine and we found a great
restaurant, aptly named ‘Malbec’, and enjoyed fabulous steak prepared by a
lovely old Argentine couple. </span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxMPAse1OFVx1oF5-mOHSjDqiVMqlF0QvwCUlSz41K9GuYiZShp30q8WffLoljYFc0SbHu0ahzXfrpjpL-sK9TdVVN355Z-Sd8qCvHbkElQqs4qjCEklo55dBHL3gnSkYFzWtTYQ01X34/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+82.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxMPAse1OFVx1oF5-mOHSjDqiVMqlF0QvwCUlSz41K9GuYiZShp30q8WffLoljYFc0SbHu0ahzXfrpjpL-sK9TdVVN355Z-Sd8qCvHbkElQqs4qjCEklo55dBHL3gnSkYFzWtTYQ01X34/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+82.jpg" height="320" width="179" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglLCl4aL7Wv2GbXpwcIxHTP8r17OTLXRKz2WFElF_dFrHkbVbUbiVScDIaDVmrM43A3YfU32G-s57DASSHdClJPzwaYEXalrpsCq9TWaTsMtfbou9OtHsG-JTCWHnAPUQd7YAXQK2Umfs/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+83.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglLCl4aL7Wv2GbXpwcIxHTP8r17OTLXRKz2WFElF_dFrHkbVbUbiVScDIaDVmrM43A3YfU32G-s57DASSHdClJPzwaYEXalrpsCq9TWaTsMtfbou9OtHsG-JTCWHnAPUQd7YAXQK2Umfs/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+83.jpg" height="320" width="179" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizHF_Cu7qKCXw0qRWwEAANPctpz81Di8Jtgg5LeX-MpSv1Rd6pt4jkI59iACArV8a0HvipnXkSDY7dv5wxhnnfh_B9QseACdjb0CmnUcb7sX0mGRSJ3RYxTr2G_mIHqriXOu-0nZNXCjY/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+81.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizHF_Cu7qKCXw0qRWwEAANPctpz81Di8Jtgg5LeX-MpSv1Rd6pt4jkI59iACArV8a0HvipnXkSDY7dv5wxhnnfh_B9QseACdjb0CmnUcb7sX0mGRSJ3RYxTr2G_mIHqriXOu-0nZNXCjY/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+81.jpg" height="320" width="179" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4Nl5n6P8YOgntJZ_dwytCaRPki2D6dVtYVdm3WdxSqDQR8ByQbm3knTIi7ejVZAB27HizQKn_sIQOFiFLtpNrDDIpEMNMij5t7wsSAj350o9nfohXFikCuFLSIir5rraRtnwAmxFZ6vI/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+84.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4Nl5n6P8YOgntJZ_dwytCaRPki2D6dVtYVdm3WdxSqDQR8ByQbm3knTIi7ejVZAB27HizQKn_sIQOFiFLtpNrDDIpEMNMij5t7wsSAj350o9nfohXFikCuFLSIir5rraRtnwAmxFZ6vI/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+84.jpg" height="320" width="179" /></a></div>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">We subsequently bought more of their meat to BBQ
the following night, accompanied by their delicious ChimmiChurri sauce. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">More days were spent
on the beach; chilling, boogie boarding, watching surfers and playing in the huge
waves.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVH2tOHLlL0TI0aVwPZt0sj5ta74apzdi7ju4tj96VN9F5JqtwIXCMp7LtaluKJzOzxcss07oyjQAgb4htlKq3noSIDYue2tiVZa5JB1UG-cdAAAdR5cosen8ZolbgsjRr8H3bcQWwWDg/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+77.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVH2tOHLlL0TI0aVwPZt0sj5ta74apzdi7ju4tj96VN9F5JqtwIXCMp7LtaluKJzOzxcss07oyjQAgb4htlKq3noSIDYue2tiVZa5JB1UG-cdAAAdR5cosen8ZolbgsjRr8H3bcQWwWDg/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+77.jpg" height="478" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghfa-TQCZ4XIH32hAmqGVb1Riy3fdFE2N4YP22WHJ5z14oAZCYvSRgUGs0bRoy-wh9C61CLLszPLLHrkxiFs1g56HrAf9yYi4khwrTmlz_L1q2H2lPQDZEMOJ95WlEZYcpin_eNh9O3YY/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+64.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghfa-TQCZ4XIH32hAmqGVb1Riy3fdFE2N4YP22WHJ5z14oAZCYvSRgUGs0bRoy-wh9C61CLLszPLLHrkxiFs1g56HrAf9yYi4khwrTmlz_L1q2H2lPQDZEMOJ95WlEZYcpin_eNh9O3YY/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+64.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEbl9W65sfCM7D2qiZdGKhjQafjGxLPYUQXjf0r-hmAmaW1OcEF5C175p3ph1AEWLtVhyJ2MuPJMGDW4ALAr3eOB_Aq3CE0q7pezjbM9zpWmCgV9BIymM1k0j3jB0Q4NBNA_3FseRsMdk/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+66.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEbl9W65sfCM7D2qiZdGKhjQafjGxLPYUQXjf0r-hmAmaW1OcEF5C175p3ph1AEWLtVhyJ2MuPJMGDW4ALAr3eOB_Aq3CE0q7pezjbM9zpWmCgV9BIymM1k0j3jB0Q4NBNA_3FseRsMdk/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+66.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFq69FO4EnjAmldPnwZhKhVKdg1DJsgaeuS7Xd_s1Lx0FhaojGPoCwjbAZBVrV8H7StsV7d1PixGnb95op7DDt6SizGjIMwlGE-YwgPD5gJAInyEX5wvvqPr9DlsMYk8iUjnvFMjPXn_E/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+67.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFq69FO4EnjAmldPnwZhKhVKdg1DJsgaeuS7Xd_s1Lx0FhaojGPoCwjbAZBVrV8H7StsV7d1PixGnb95op7DDt6SizGjIMwlGE-YwgPD5gJAInyEX5wvvqPr9DlsMYk8iUjnvFMjPXn_E/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+67.jpg" height="223" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLqu1GFpy3MvVfeWCwFV2D8lSyi1DKPvKMOMdS7WOTM6mqOOkd2skbFCPBNQkzUiMGXPCvH2rJJ-GfWbVdLTsTduAmv8gLd8k57LFs6-UdEFVYZEPTvx3Smu6UsA5P_I_JrWw_Wo3_uUo/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+68.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLqu1GFpy3MvVfeWCwFV2D8lSyi1DKPvKMOMdS7WOTM6mqOOkd2skbFCPBNQkzUiMGXPCvH2rJJ-GfWbVdLTsTduAmv8gLd8k57LFs6-UdEFVYZEPTvx3Smu6UsA5P_I_JrWw_Wo3_uUo/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+68.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmEacwLpPtswlqk2JyScBbs1-J3HPJ34Xokpekd50GaNN8R0W2SXr7PBGKMIN8ekWQgjLEHiOS7NVl2xjcSuXkOxrigCwvsZ59y95EG8KxXWAH5nA7J1u0EsGvPQelW80d1IQGBUFgwW8/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+69.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmEacwLpPtswlqk2JyScBbs1-J3HPJ34Xokpekd50GaNN8R0W2SXr7PBGKMIN8ekWQgjLEHiOS7NVl2xjcSuXkOxrigCwvsZ59y95EG8KxXWAH5nA7J1u0EsGvPQelW80d1IQGBUFgwW8/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+69.jpg" height="320" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Far from the rip tide this time!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoNmCKQeCviG1QNW93NOAQqu77wKU04CpBUIvzoAWtAxKnJl3_UvnXxGDmBVLe2quYO3OcqQBMMd9S2tkwSVedWTH5EJO9FImI47JprttfzI0M0cu_dgAXXK8CP5Buh5zZJXdnbg22wZE/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+65.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoNmCKQeCviG1QNW93NOAQqu77wKU04CpBUIvzoAWtAxKnJl3_UvnXxGDmBVLe2quYO3OcqQBMMd9S2tkwSVedWTH5EJO9FImI47JprttfzI0M0cu_dgAXXK8CP5Buh5zZJXdnbg22wZE/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+65.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Eating, drinking and lots of chatting.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi04O20sSPlw_EWzthzk7S_iSdiYLrmxItcXBpKIy0llzkozQrwwHu4HaqnrvtY39slkBIuTTZE7HpBmb4_GTIU0l7cUxvNFDdpQr6Huq6tITmkWGMpQraXoSbvwDxuXPWt3b4Ri6uaWT0/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+61.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi04O20sSPlw_EWzthzk7S_iSdiYLrmxItcXBpKIy0llzkozQrwwHu4HaqnrvtY39slkBIuTTZE7HpBmb4_GTIU0l7cUxvNFDdpQr6Huq6tITmkWGMpQraXoSbvwDxuXPWt3b4Ri6uaWT0/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+61.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chilling in the bathroom</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_lZV1b1qcay9jH7NJrvuItbDqcuOYR8kpnhVNO-vW7OEyT4SI42Ss-ASUojovFruwi_2h_GXoF2WOZlGSGLCLurPYvnappJc1xmhxhTWmER0DVxjbZrPK_7ZU1mZecvn9BID9e_BnrCs/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+62.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_lZV1b1qcay9jH7NJrvuItbDqcuOYR8kpnhVNO-vW7OEyT4SI42Ss-ASUojovFruwi_2h_GXoF2WOZlGSGLCLurPYvnappJc1xmhxhTWmER0DVxjbZrPK_7ZU1mZecvn9BID9e_BnrCs/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+62.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peace and Love</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcOy_tzndzDHHQ1gTvm5gxNcAbCIeC_42V0NVGTofAxlzehZyxRKfjAf22rzOgzHOd__3osYkfG5VhWOUSpeSSUWY1AqbbVlVY2ha6rpSMxMBpFrNNqBrXxNlsTrn7L9bZSwErpK2bI94/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+63.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcOy_tzndzDHHQ1gTvm5gxNcAbCIeC_42V0NVGTofAxlzehZyxRKfjAf22rzOgzHOd__3osYkfG5VhWOUSpeSSUWY1AqbbVlVY2ha6rpSMxMBpFrNNqBrXxNlsTrn7L9bZSwErpK2bI94/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+63.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Very merry Debbie!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheiD6aTaP65UBOlTSzeSv076S2Bc5NZl6YaZpvQBLMs6PP7YWqevwrcvsqbXgh0hHkl7plKtX81jU2j2V1Mfs6_bnQ4w9dYbi5EJ12jNkRJDQ-51vbbaIP0ReASomqa-868Wb4fOrqAvw/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+70.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheiD6aTaP65UBOlTSzeSv076S2Bc5NZl6YaZpvQBLMs6PP7YWqevwrcvsqbXgh0hHkl7plKtX81jU2j2V1Mfs6_bnQ4w9dYbi5EJ12jNkRJDQ-51vbbaIP0ReASomqa-868Wb4fOrqAvw/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+70.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kyle playing with his camera in the early hours again!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbd3Qc-fZLZXlXrV2ydbH4pdcaFIpK0ZsCZ1Z2BaGEMV-KgiJ5frgW3HaPvAKrCt5kY_cjpSB3MY4UEeknC1Qm-vNflcI6uMZ1n1kO_KNkAxSUz5HOwYhM71Elt6oDoQcI5mgtqo5aPKQ/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+90.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbd3Qc-fZLZXlXrV2ydbH4pdcaFIpK0ZsCZ1Z2BaGEMV-KgiJ5frgW3HaPvAKrCt5kY_cjpSB3MY4UEeknC1Qm-vNflcI6uMZ1n1kO_KNkAxSUz5HOwYhM71Elt6oDoQcI5mgtqo5aPKQ/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+90.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Splat!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjflhp_bgvoqMCd0IXWfMKrWcmCW2JOqRes2GVh7mhRqDqx_ahvlBZa8hnbp4mqdIDugD4b8LM_iQr7J5SaOAiwt6qVVBAVLAOF1Z2tvvHXjyqdhVksMJNRPMCpuuS4d5eg52Y5RoSCK5M/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+92.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjflhp_bgvoqMCd0IXWfMKrWcmCW2JOqRes2GVh7mhRqDqx_ahvlBZa8hnbp4mqdIDugD4b8LM_iQr7J5SaOAiwt6qVVBAVLAOF1Z2tvvHXjyqdhVksMJNRPMCpuuS4d5eg52Y5RoSCK5M/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+92.jpg" height="358" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">After spending 6 days
in Punta Uva, we packed up the car and headed North East for about 5 hours to a
Ranch right in the centre of the country, near the small village of Platanar, 30
minutes south of La Fortuna Volcano. The ranch was set on picturesque rolling
hills with beautiful views of the countryside around. </span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4biLJp6LPMgOLAtYbB9PUTUAdyZ1DDj89pEhrvobCBHNYa8fsOEU3xsYREpB2nNeU1gYg7pgccyx0-LF6bsf-yMuYZbd_Ht3dOpUTEJ-Fe2py7DOcuYk7SEvr-5W-kwop6ldAMQ2b6TY/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+59.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4biLJp6LPMgOLAtYbB9PUTUAdyZ1DDj89pEhrvobCBHNYa8fsOEU3xsYREpB2nNeU1gYg7pgccyx0-LF6bsf-yMuYZbd_Ht3dOpUTEJ-Fe2py7DOcuYk7SEvr-5W-kwop6ldAMQ2b6TY/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+59.jpg" height="358" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">We spent the late afternoon
exploring the place and went down to the stables to say hello to the horses.
They seemed all in pristine condition. We came across the fattest pig we had
ever seen, dragging its tummy and trying to scratch itself on a tree!
Hilarious!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmOGtUbTIwrItBZ9rS3U51bEIMsgQYap7IPfQIQnLqfQVHNYPoqmJ8OjJKZsMFZnvkLoNz7EXkeVly9pljDYuKi3fknDJSq4XoWqLW0tXiVKXRedJwrOaAFDwHDGvqpWTniTgf7oxu0Jo/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+60.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmOGtUbTIwrItBZ9rS3U51bEIMsgQYap7IPfQIQnLqfQVHNYPoqmJ8OjJKZsMFZnvkLoNz7EXkeVly9pljDYuKi3fknDJSq4XoWqLW0tXiVKXRedJwrOaAFDwHDGvqpWTniTgf7oxu0Jo/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+60.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Who ate all the cream pies?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The next morning,
bright and early, we rose for a ride. This was good fun; something the four of
us had never done all together. Debbie got back into the saddle after 4 years;
having ridden all her life, she was at home. – Beside from the fact that we had
to ride ‘Western’ like a cowboy! We were matched to our horses, had a trot
around to see if we were comfortable with them and headed off into the vast
countryside. </span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwReKk_9Qyqm42ypRVrZxZKpYngiWgFuOQFPomx_OF-JJ-5GceM3T3DF6CE2_hyphenhyphendfM1x1ea5EuwmFcCGYER3Ad-YmoGUU__N9aKNiYtQe5cMHQ0XYSWgUCe5RlnOpfGTY0lt35MkoEg0M/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+58.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwReKk_9Qyqm42ypRVrZxZKpYngiWgFuOQFPomx_OF-JJ-5GceM3T3DF6CE2_hyphenhyphendfM1x1ea5EuwmFcCGYER3Ad-YmoGUU__N9aKNiYtQe5cMHQ0XYSWgUCe5RlnOpfGTY0lt35MkoEg0M/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+58.jpg" height="223" width="400" /></a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3_7lIDy3JxM6vOMJEQkfPy0PsI0FvVgEw3HDM6pMognUQuGPmlfwteWk80kLdC9G0cLf0WME15WFg3pv0zrDWf3YsNe4tH6mQ0_aTSf6wS1QnwpS7J-14dk8vZT-0ocqyKjHWwqw_RvE/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+57.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3_7lIDy3JxM6vOMJEQkfPy0PsI0FvVgEw3HDM6pMognUQuGPmlfwteWk80kLdC9G0cLf0WME15WFg3pv0zrDWf3YsNe4tH6mQ0_aTSf6wS1QnwpS7J-14dk8vZT-0ocqyKjHWwqw_RvE/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+57.jpg" height="358" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Early on in the ride we did a river crossing which was great! </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ1k3uM2BRmLkDoIUG09VyPBIA9kOhyq8CmUb0JVCcsRC7HQWCYURTldHvg5c8N-Eub92W0WkqwTRPsgfRzO1ArciwOPipbMfrS4z_2jReP5b5c-9g8g_Wlf2-jwCTOn68CUJFykTM0mc/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+55.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ1k3uM2BRmLkDoIUG09VyPBIA9kOhyq8CmUb0JVCcsRC7HQWCYURTldHvg5c8N-Eub92W0WkqwTRPsgfRzO1ArciwOPipbMfrS4z_2jReP5b5c-9g8g_Wlf2-jwCTOn68CUJFykTM0mc/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+55.jpg" height="223" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yeeehaaa!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Followed by a great stretch of dirt through the sugarcane plantation which we
cantered up, opening up the horse power and letting them loose which was
brilliant – I am still a bit hit and miss with the rhythm!! Bang, bang, bang!!
I got some good tips from Debbie though. Kyle got on very well with his trusty
stead, occasionally taking off like a cowboy into a canter just the two of
them. Fun to see Marc enjoying being on a real horse instead of the rocking
ones he tends to spend a lot of the year sat on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRx5nLbViv80nvlZXenZDp_tzGRkq-OLJSUyC61oe63vX3mu1lYwgV0v3el7nA8FBzYhuOfJbb7no93Ryd5v-N9wAVjZF6vHSDw8nZ-ty0BRNhMrFiDrEkk0po9mUlyaXIuqEYwlfQiow/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+53.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRx5nLbViv80nvlZXenZDp_tzGRkq-OLJSUyC61oe63vX3mu1lYwgV0v3el7nA8FBzYhuOfJbb7no93Ryd5v-N9wAVjZF6vHSDw8nZ-ty0BRNhMrFiDrEkk0po9mUlyaXIuqEYwlfQiow/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+53.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our canter through the cane fields!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRyrDw5CHQbH2e-bK9YTzEi8sjjAPE_5fgMue0rnpqZCVvOo6YIVcm94Yj7eEiPniN5IP7uKB2PLMWQ5M0s6swXvAB2Q8vhxqEoDFMxriQTTDek0JZJdkXFM1I4VLTLI336l6lWIm5tYw/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+54.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRyrDw5CHQbH2e-bK9YTzEi8sjjAPE_5fgMue0rnpqZCVvOo6YIVcm94Yj7eEiPniN5IP7uKB2PLMWQ5M0s6swXvAB2Q8vhxqEoDFMxriQTTDek0JZJdkXFM1I4VLTLI336l6lWIm5tYw/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+54.jpg" height="223" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Once we arrived back
we fell into the pool for a cool down and then it was onto meet Mum and Dad
Brown! They had arrived earlier in the week and visited Tortuguero National
Park in the North East of the country before coming to Arenal where they were
staying now. It was an hour’s drive to the Lost Iguana Hotel. When we arrived,
reception called their room for us and told them we’d meet them in the bar. The
hotel was really spread out on a hill overlooking the famous Arenal Volcano.
After a few minutes of waiting, I couldn’t stand it any longer! I started to
climb the path to where I thought the direction of their room might be. </span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNApJry9MHxq80ljVW-OqFxCJk0AXJaBlByS6Pu-6AznN5MC58bT9buorQZZAn-AZ8ekNUx1ZSC75LU4UtwQL9r0i2Zz0yOXhtcdWlaXEBIX1V2Js3SqidUNuTBIg7t4F0gqFONc6SpJk/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+51.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNApJry9MHxq80ljVW-OqFxCJk0AXJaBlByS6Pu-6AznN5MC58bT9buorQZZAn-AZ8ekNUx1ZSC75LU4UtwQL9r0i2Zz0yOXhtcdWlaXEBIX1V2Js3SqidUNuTBIg7t4F0gqFONc6SpJk/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+51.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Sure
enough they came round the corner…!</span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiyX1lEqT2Scuop8kgQJrPkkkIkj5iIAca4EEl6FtnJmeXGYNQBTJnm8UOdU5_IwJzdEBak53dtNnGp2E_-kPJJLh71XwVsQQSpulubbUqsFrrr1PJGZ3Bkp5sAr7ldPXA7C-9ZL3gm-Y/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+50.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiyX1lEqT2Scuop8kgQJrPkkkIkj5iIAca4EEl6FtnJmeXGYNQBTJnm8UOdU5_IwJzdEBak53dtNnGp2E_-kPJJLh71XwVsQQSpulubbUqsFrrr1PJGZ3Bkp5sAr7ldPXA7C-9ZL3gm-Y/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+50.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Drinks at the bar,
followed by a big reunion lunch with the 6 of us! </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrhTRKVY-DUp1ij7Je7RYI788Bs2FesLJlC7wc00xQXrnRzDPteFf_K56H73pmm2SxoHFQLSnax5xOi4qTyYglbIwYITKtcS4W9pmzNgqAqurVT8tzJDdMDOLAYsEIYK4SZP4T-SEPmlY/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+49.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrhTRKVY-DUp1ij7Je7RYI788Bs2FesLJlC7wc00xQXrnRzDPteFf_K56H73pmm2SxoHFQLSnax5xOi4qTyYglbIwYITKtcS4W9pmzNgqAqurVT8tzJDdMDOLAYsEIYK4SZP4T-SEPmlY/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+49.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">We had a merry time, not
really knowing where to begin on the conversation! </span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDAxnGR4N0GhChiYtwsrky8fP76hrVrjDF22Cpcqr6yR7_hHJNGNtbR4XSb-KIoLZh-YlDjuolku88Xil3ZlcE2RSOLTBSS_bRke78UkVFLoUJbiJzxBNO8pjWGjLKGkrSovUM1yGC-pM/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+48.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDAxnGR4N0GhChiYtwsrky8fP76hrVrjDF22Cpcqr6yR7_hHJNGNtbR4XSb-KIoLZh-YlDjuolku88Xil3ZlcE2RSOLTBSS_bRke78UkVFLoUJbiJzxBNO8pjWGjLKGkrSovUM1yGC-pM/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+48.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6dlqJZOGDDCxVjX3Z_cSoJw_MXk2Wc3h6ZNTaqk2W3EJTI3vpjtONTLuUdQ7qIG-IcL6G5ZFCMkfoocp7xWLRt7iMLZz44S6plDkVHHFdv53PGjz3GQIGBAnxumyJu_F2wqUqFf79kRE/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+46.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6dlqJZOGDDCxVjX3Z_cSoJw_MXk2Wc3h6ZNTaqk2W3EJTI3vpjtONTLuUdQ7qIG-IcL6G5ZFCMkfoocp7xWLRt7iMLZz44S6plDkVHHFdv53PGjz3GQIGBAnxumyJu_F2wqUqFf79kRE/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+46.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Our table had an awesome
view of the volcano and apparently we were very lucky to see the top of it; it
is usually always covered in cloud. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzibOyqlNh-RCm2r8N7r5nhYChFvc7QGgdnvNb_YIW1ZNX1dySUxLEHrLeduULjXw09zUC0jjkRUobbZ_yaMnCQTFl7UMwA_KqHEwDtWW1so208iHNhOA0kiJpma_6eyD07rNPk8_meZ0/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+45.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzibOyqlNh-RCm2r8N7r5nhYChFvc7QGgdnvNb_YIW1ZNX1dySUxLEHrLeduULjXw09zUC0jjkRUobbZ_yaMnCQTFl7UMwA_KqHEwDtWW1so208iHNhOA0kiJpma_6eyD07rNPk8_meZ0/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+45.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">In the afternoon we
all adjourned to Mum and Dad’s balcony where we sat facing out to the volcano. </span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdnYOoWhbZMpwtwRfK5z7GvK6zxDe-91n2gkM6-f42HTX8Jo0aIEL-9fZZLqNzWvceUbyFDpmEH0Fi8o2jBndhS2RgrrlVKUQscSgmxgTiOEaxzo1OcJJ5CwRS8zwdoh4IOhesQDvDXak/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+44.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdnYOoWhbZMpwtwRfK5z7GvK6zxDe-91n2gkM6-f42HTX8Jo0aIEL-9fZZLqNzWvceUbyFDpmEH0Fi8o2jBndhS2RgrrlVKUQscSgmxgTiOEaxzo1OcJJ5CwRS8zwdoh4IOhesQDvDXak/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+44.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">BALCONY VIEW</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Around 4pm it was time to separate… Kyle and his parents were to return to the
Ranch for another night and then head onto the West coast whilst my parents and
myself were to spend one more night in Arenal before going south to Monteverde
cloud forest. Ok, it was only 3 nights but this was a big deal! We have spent
every day and night together for the last 6 months! I couldn’t help but get all
teary and pathetic! <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">So this is where our blog
must split – we had 3 days of doing different things!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Hannah’s 3 days(!)…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The rest of this day
was just lots more chatting. We went down to the (heated) pool around sunset
and I met some of mum and dad’s new American friends! Haha! The Caribbean side
not so much, but Costa Rica is densely populated with American tourists (expats)
and going to this lovely posh hotel, there were so many older stereotypical fat
American tourists with socks and sandals! Super super friendly, we couldn’t
have felt more English and conservative! ‘You guys are so smiley, I think I am
going to call you ‘The Smileys’!’ (cue our nervous laughter and sick in our
mouths!) <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The next day we
transferred to Monteverde. We took a boat across Lake Arenal and then a mini
bus up the mountain. When we arrived, our first impression was surprise at not
actually being in the clouds. The weather up here is always bright and sunny
and the temperature was a pleasant cooler 19 degrees. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpDAaLA0t2kerng63maFrfX9uNdFYnNEbYvjbGaAnxiVxqyLH0IMRYpRL2snBcuivd2-OuPUorJTsbhKOKOpX-COhuXP-10Lf86RQDwdgMjPFqrpwmLe6KacLcy_sCL1mIT3vKWxdlQIo/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+36.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpDAaLA0t2kerng63maFrfX9uNdFYnNEbYvjbGaAnxiVxqyLH0IMRYpRL2snBcuivd2-OuPUorJTsbhKOKOpX-COhuXP-10Lf86RQDwdgMjPFqrpwmLe6KacLcy_sCL1mIT3vKWxdlQIo/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+36.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">We wandered around
town, went to lunch at this cool restaurant that was built up around a
half-century old fig tree.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7VCC_16wqS2pJOSZFo2-iB3SZeRsrgocDIVCqmgLwdXfxNni9iCmFEEMrj36j3CNCwFOMQgpbqNXkY6DDvlIqHt1k_oEsV2r4E9jBYoFsIzYXnGswUYZackHIvq8GDJZTc0MwwXjXYeU/s1600/tree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7VCC_16wqS2pJOSZFo2-iB3SZeRsrgocDIVCqmgLwdXfxNni9iCmFEEMrj36j3CNCwFOMQgpbqNXkY6DDvlIqHt1k_oEsV2r4E9jBYoFsIzYXnGswUYZackHIvq8GDJZTc0MwwXjXYeU/s1600/tree.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">In the evening we went
to see frogs in this frog sanctuary. Some of them are the size of your thumb
nail – very cute! Particularly the iconic Red Eyed Tree Frog.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx2kiaRH2jOSbdNzJmkCBE9Z6c3pZG82s8uPQgf_YtjKdAdZ2sn6KOOdU9WK5AIA6a1stHqiiY24rNG6JTEJ45EPi6nA1hXKaN_0oMzXr0dKHmqbezi4R2NTMfhrwePWRiXf0mhfbWgZk/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+42.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx2kiaRH2jOSbdNzJmkCBE9Z6c3pZG82s8uPQgf_YtjKdAdZ2sn6KOOdU9WK5AIA6a1stHqiiY24rNG6JTEJ45EPi6nA1hXKaN_0oMzXr0dKHmqbezi4R2NTMfhrwePWRiXf0mhfbWgZk/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+42.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The following morning we had a tour of the dewy trails of the cloud
forest in the Santa Elena Reserve. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgut6qtgLtfz_Qjaa1I5ZNM9o2V24weIsUF3gGEApZRxu8COWVSzOycxXtVIrqVBwdKIm5mTz2eNI1yFpE73ZdAcLfJkh2awCctydcfQZ9CTZEMY-Ae4AhYaReVlcmmkhm3NtiFliQXTHk/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+41.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgut6qtgLtfz_Qjaa1I5ZNM9o2V24weIsUF3gGEApZRxu8COWVSzOycxXtVIrqVBwdKIm5mTz2eNI1yFpE73ZdAcLfJkh2awCctydcfQZ9CTZEMY-Ae4AhYaReVlcmmkhm3NtiFliQXTHk/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+41.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh53HNM1hOogWDiTTucSWnCemx6TgZX9vtbv13q0K3bQcNg4COhayPHeTPnVXldYSBz4ZpFn8Bcyl7_SaKapYomVCvrE6AtRTTtmPH3fI050PdVIcpYbcAoneSJJ8u55e9MnK0qSno-Brc/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+38.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh53HNM1hOogWDiTTucSWnCemx6TgZX9vtbv13q0K3bQcNg4COhayPHeTPnVXldYSBz4ZpFn8Bcyl7_SaKapYomVCvrE6AtRTTtmPH3fI050PdVIcpYbcAoneSJJ8u55e9MnK0qSno-Brc/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+38.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk3d6bB_CciMnQ4epXsgcRXGUSZO0UerSE_aA6NNjm7eDQhfcVd9yBDY7Ckw5Ymyo-I3Gg5LVrbXHye53XSkhP3BfYyWfLPoYjY9rTJovxuBuNqIqqX3ThRk6NvShnKHV4iS759dW7Fak/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+37.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk3d6bB_CciMnQ4epXsgcRXGUSZO0UerSE_aA6NNjm7eDQhfcVd9yBDY7Ckw5Ymyo-I3Gg5LVrbXHye53XSkhP3BfYyWfLPoYjY9rTJovxuBuNqIqqX3ThRk6NvShnKHV4iS759dW7Fak/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+37.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Our tour guide, Orlando was brilliant; so
knowledgeable and his other talents shone through when he kept grabbing dad's
camera to capture the birds and other animals in the trees above us, adjusting
the settings and trying to get THE shot- turns out he is a photographer and has
had many of his pictures made into postcards-some of which mum had actually
bought the day before. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht8hyphenhyphenotgbGNlK447PwZR7txQd6KfWSrHMnMqioCnmXBC1_OBbNUMm41vT1x_EWedKVx-JvbJFjILotGPVh8dZD_-ep3iYjxf8cQBCK-P4HKVel7QkFnWlMBJjj1raNNPluZXf9fwcyFFg/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+40.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht8hyphenhyphenotgbGNlK447PwZR7txQd6KfWSrHMnMqioCnmXBC1_OBbNUMm41vT1x_EWedKVx-JvbJFjILotGPVh8dZD_-ep3iYjxf8cQBCK-P4HKVel7QkFnWlMBJjj1raNNPluZXf9fwcyFFg/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+40.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Kisses from Costa Rica'</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">He also was
asking my opinion on sounds capes to compliment yoga and Pilates classes- a
project of his in the pipe line. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">We spotted some
'resplendent quetzals' which is a big deal apparently for the geeky bird
watchers. They were rather resplendent actually. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">That afternoon
we went on a great chocolate tour, further adding to my newfound knowledge of
the cocoa bean that I gained in Peru. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzRUD6Vz1x8lGz2H5Ubi3bba4GZczC7BmzlGju1MQT7-kfNTPeGn-R7dV682btUWYgBcmo-lK5yVJ3uQZqPmwRDH2sssSfYhtiHLLyahiHXIGQ20GXe7mQs3i4P9mePRVwUXNysa_nmbY/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+35.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzRUD6Vz1x8lGz2H5Ubi3bba4GZczC7BmzlGju1MQT7-kfNTPeGn-R7dV682btUWYgBcmo-lK5yVJ3uQZqPmwRDH2sssSfYhtiHLLyahiHXIGQ20GXe7mQs3i4P9mePRVwUXNysa_nmbY/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+35.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">It was also fun to share my passion for
all things chocolate with mum- the person I blame for my massive sweet tooth!
Lots of yummy tasters including chili hot chocolate which was delicious. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxX7TNzKiJxhKzBMaD4CrrEpxiMTwcemQEe8gQpcT4WmH8XlvX74ZZQklzQN0iBE8srB12wGpgm9bkt35xzn4jK8rF1u3X72c-a_pwtR_J8tuhR9ZcK3M8nqG0IXMvHFGB9LTyQF7S3_4/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+34.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxX7TNzKiJxhKzBMaD4CrrEpxiMTwcemQEe8gQpcT4WmH8XlvX74ZZQklzQN0iBE8srB12wGpgm9bkt35xzn4jK8rF1u3X72c-a_pwtR_J8tuhR9ZcK3M8nqG0IXMvHFGB9LTyQF7S3_4/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+34.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Heaven!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">For the rest of
our time here we simply chilled in the Monteverde Cloud Forest Lodge where we
were staying; exploring the beautiful gardens and soaking in their giant
greenhouse Jacuzzi. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV1iOm8DnOH7j6C9SdpfCw4BTMV-4_GHILktLaQ1bcvqHeTUBHsXShxqm0v_D9qb2Mm1YynZhlttT6Re1Amsm3Aq5qbcWo2ZQ0ZX9LjQb1zLJT-K2MSPmg4TBFcnhqTmuw33rvpJO0Yho/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+27.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV1iOm8DnOH7j6C9SdpfCw4BTMV-4_GHILktLaQ1bcvqHeTUBHsXShxqm0v_D9qb2Mm1YynZhlttT6Re1Amsm3Aq5qbcWo2ZQ0ZX9LjQb1zLJT-K2MSPmg4TBFcnhqTmuw33rvpJO0Yho/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+27.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">Short and sweet and we were off to reunite back with the Stevos.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Kyle’s 3 days away! <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNWKWNfgNYkqV68_jE4DLnzBFrk0eJRp6dN4Vbf1v_q8TF17kcjUAOMZvGj9yQWNr8djKM2ra8sVhMScBIw3K2Vx-w4Wi97DPUoPmUPApBbrT_TNQROakIAuMI1tPOpmPUE2D36N0JfG8/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+43.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNWKWNfgNYkqV68_jE4DLnzBFrk0eJRp6dN4Vbf1v_q8TF17kcjUAOMZvGj9yQWNr8djKM2ra8sVhMScBIw3K2Vx-w4Wi97DPUoPmUPApBbrT_TNQROakIAuMI1tPOpmPUE2D36N0JfG8/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+43.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hard on the outside.. soft on the inside!! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Having left Hannah a
little teary eyed with Nick and Nicky we set off back to the ranch and spent
the rest of the evening with a few beers. It was an early start the following
morning to begin the supposedly 4hr drive (which was in fact 6 hrs) to our next
destination. We drove around the Arenal Volcano and made our way around the top
of Arenal Lake stopping along the way to take in the sights with a coffee and
macadamia treat. After a relentlessly windy 2’ish hours around the lake we were
heading over the luscious jungle hills into what suddenly became a pretty arid
and dry landscape. It was definitely a stark contrast to what we were
accustomed too. </div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Whilst blissfully unaware
of any speed limit and taking in the scenery suddenly we were being waved down
by a man in tall shiny leather boots. With my most basic of translation we
managed to decipher that we had in fact been travelling around 40kmph above the
speed limit. When asked to pay on the spot Dad kindly turns to the police
officer and asked “Do you take credit card? ”. The Policeman obviously didn’t
understand but got he jist. I then say “no tengo dinero”, I do not have money, he
looks at us a little surprised to say the least. Three gringo’s in a hired 4x4
asking if they can pay on card because they have no money, it was pretty funny.
Never the less Dad hunts around in his wallet and scrapes together half of the
fine in cash and hands it over, which he is happy to accept and wanders off. Nothing
like a little bartering and bribing to get the appetite going… cue Costa Rican
Burger King! Mum, Dad and I when together are suckers for the occasional BK,
usually on the drive home after a heavy 5 days selling on the stand. Again with
a little confusion at the till with who ordered what and who’s getting the
extra bacon or onion rings on the burger etc we had finally ordered and were
tucking in. Bottom line… UK BK is better! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixBKpsK8aVlHbbGu6mD8pfimwo8Sv8G3ElvJyZus0PNQ3KMC3B1aSaD63j5FJnCqOi5sbWetcU9EZv3Ll5081DoyfUFldzQP7huxjqZPr_bLf7a9l4JDiLv_H5qyDAk8UFGmjUhh-oooo/s1600/photo+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixBKpsK8aVlHbbGu6mD8pfimwo8Sv8G3ElvJyZus0PNQ3KMC3B1aSaD63j5FJnCqOi5sbWetcU9EZv3Ll5081DoyfUFldzQP7huxjqZPr_bLf7a9l4JDiLv_H5qyDAk8UFGmjUhh-oooo/s1600/photo+2.JPG" height="320" width="239" /></a><br />
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The last 45 minutes of
the journey made us really appreciate the 4x4, we were on a dirt road heading
south along the pacific road (sorry, track). We arrived at The Azul Ocean Club
just in time for our first (well Mum n Dads) Pacific coast sunset over the stunning
ocean! </span><br />
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">We spent the next few days chilling and relaxing. </span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX7tyBWtWGZhcnNfGWQ6vUKmcwRUVgikWM4tS1wOFlmGvDEW6QwYRb252TKzsoOqcieLOSdTQPw2dm6MuWMiRTT9QW7O57rmejg1QjVZ2nVNn86I9BfVL2eCtL4krQZwdO3A6sqCbBKtM/s1600/Costa_Rica_Backup+640.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX7tyBWtWGZhcnNfGWQ6vUKmcwRUVgikWM4tS1wOFlmGvDEW6QwYRb252TKzsoOqcieLOSdTQPw2dm6MuWMiRTT9QW7O57rmejg1QjVZ2nVNn86I9BfVL2eCtL4krQZwdO3A6sqCbBKtM/s1600/Costa_Rica_Backup+640.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0Ohvi1I69CodILKFTpvBQPmawy3pY4YZJTMuUVXONKgw0q9I68Cw3y1I8jIAmXlaFkB7xiy_fMGC967AxhG6N7pbmlWaxMZYn2Pz9WytCBbK0S3q1_WoppMFtvh-byZSUf-g6s1RPe3o/s1600/photo+4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0Ohvi1I69CodILKFTpvBQPmawy3pY4YZJTMuUVXONKgw0q9I68Cw3y1I8jIAmXlaFkB7xiy_fMGC967AxhG6N7pbmlWaxMZYn2Pz9WytCBbK0S3q1_WoppMFtvh-byZSUf-g6s1RPe3o/s1600/photo+4.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In true Stevo fashion both parents got carried away (typical all or nothing) after finding the gym area <br />
before breakfast one morning and ended up pulling muscles!! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnYT73kbIZXzDuPyp8APKl3k_8rwnrQYvWWn9WTmqCPc8XY6csdzI0U3hgweIOoWBDchmDFU5CD5-zsN3eUvXj4l5LaO7XGIsVBPwiwMREXjamcA6MUcanMr2p_8u-2pHYE0N3_UXPOes/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnYT73kbIZXzDuPyp8APKl3k_8rwnrQYvWWn9WTmqCPc8XY6csdzI0U3hgweIOoWBDchmDFU5CD5-zsN3eUvXj4l5LaO7XGIsVBPwiwMREXjamcA6MUcanMr2p_8u-2pHYE0N3_UXPOes/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+3.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Soaking up the crazy
hot black sand on our poor burnt feet, much to Mum’s annoyance. Best comment of
the holiday “ I didn’t come all the way to Costa Rica for black fucking sand…
bollocks!” hilarious! I had actually never seen sand like this. There were volcanic
minerals, which produced streaks of shiny metallic blue. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFGghSv8b1cScOLoRiQXEqwdmFz-sRyXAT1T-6VD13F_iQER-sFKN74Mirr3YwC-DGonqauRBLI6vD31Ev7GTnipGuLw56xyUaNhoo6iyuLdkNoN9DTniJzM_2sy4wTqDq8F3Onc_YdFk/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+33.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFGghSv8b1cScOLoRiQXEqwdmFz-sRyXAT1T-6VD13F_iQER-sFKN74Mirr3YwC-DGonqauRBLI6vD31Ev7GTnipGuLw56xyUaNhoo6iyuLdkNoN9DTniJzM_2sy4wTqDq8F3Onc_YdFk/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+33.jpg" height="213" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a>Dad and I took a Kayak
out and managed to beat the breaking waves eventually after a pretty insane 1<sup>st</sup>
tumble. We timed it right and swam out beyond the break so Dad could hop in, I was
to follow but by the time it was my turn we had drifted back into the break
zone! A massive wave came along, with me hanging on the front and Dad sat at
the back it gave us a split second to react which we did nothing with apart
from give a little holla! We were flipped backwards, tumbled and got washed up
with the Kayak on the shore. When we eventually got out to sea on our second
attempt and decided to turn back we thought it would be fun idea to ride one of
the giant waves in. While drifting closer to the break point we discuss our
action plan of when to start paddling. Again we were caught out and suddenly a
monster was approaching so we started paddling quickly. The first 4 seconds or
so was awesome; we picked up some decent speed. I noticed that the speed
combined with the pitch and force of the wave meant the front started to ‘dig
in’… uh oh I thought and the next thing we know we have both been literally
catapulted out of the kayak and monstrously tumbled. Still, all was good with
no injuries, just a fun story and experience.</div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Back together! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">We all reunited
again at The Azul Ocean Club on the Pacific coast on the Nicoya Peninsula. It
was time for a bit more R & R. </span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKhZeWAl0kHPDmzmH377iMTMLBP4iJ16eaPapbp_7GIeOMCzNWRAtMAli9r6aaTxpTnfWtUGF7rZE0JmfzPJ1SP7CKvAveaO-WsiPPKCSqoZb6uOvErTSrt80N6cIYld6UpWVUxpF_pbo/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKhZeWAl0kHPDmzmH377iMTMLBP4iJ16eaPapbp_7GIeOMCzNWRAtMAli9r6aaTxpTnfWtUGF7rZE0JmfzPJ1SP7CKvAveaO-WsiPPKCSqoZb6uOvErTSrt80N6cIYld6UpWVUxpF_pbo/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+6.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Can you spot our friend hanging from the tree?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">One morning we
went on a fishing trip. We were taken out into the great Pacific by 2 fisherman
in their small boat. </span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdQrPhOdDHHDjeqnLL5zFrazRpxxRc-EQz0ZCo6J5Ke3yIp1f65Y0R1prS6jVX3U_XAyUOGn7b5j_4VAVVzgvE-VJ7RyNbmGUiK6AxsX44QHPxxut8FmMABGPp48rJ3aM7cKacySsWr_g/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdQrPhOdDHHDjeqnLL5zFrazRpxxRc-EQz0ZCo6J5Ke3yIp1f65Y0R1prS6jVX3U_XAyUOGn7b5j_4VAVVzgvE-VJ7RyNbmGUiK6AxsX44QHPxxut8FmMABGPp48rJ3aM7cKacySsWr_g/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+22.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marc talking fishing!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">The first thirty minutes was very promising; we saw
massive signs of life - lots of splashing - possibly sharks?! Big fish and even
rays jumping out the water. We agreed that we wouldn't open the first beer
until we had caught our first fish, thinking it would probably be immanent. A
few hours in, we gave in and all cracked one open. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLOe2_V7frp-4AlRxe7z50yCBc3kGbfABnSCDkN5M2GdaR1wB0Q3Y3FiPtS70tBboOGNT01qx8ift-OdqTqbJNHRqt_WZQh397ag-lTpyBxBWT_0tJQ6Sr80yU9ELU0wZ0ILeXgmaE5GA/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLOe2_V7frp-4AlRxe7z50yCBc3kGbfABnSCDkN5M2GdaR1wB0Q3Y3FiPtS70tBboOGNT01qx8ift-OdqTqbJNHRqt_WZQh397ag-lTpyBxBWT_0tJQ6Sr80yU9ELU0wZ0ILeXgmaE5GA/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+14.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Unfortunately 5/6 hours and
a lot of beers (Kyle mainly!) later still no fish. </span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">We made a last ditch attempt
by all getting involved and holding the rods... </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTh3cVRBJm-iPf6a6Is-q1cEhZsPSWqfB84nN8SbLNrTE5W4p_xxos4OL9DM7X91dw6rDedhRBLjNdnr_r8maxwtwQSmP1INPn8u9SFA17tC8VDZc6gTGz8WOPgqdDJekL4vo2_UXz8QI/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTh3cVRBJm-iPf6a6Is-q1cEhZsPSWqfB84nN8SbLNrTE5W4p_xxos4OL9DM7X91dw6rDedhRBLjNdnr_r8maxwtwQSmP1INPn8u9SFA17tC8VDZc6gTGz8WOPgqdDJekL4vo2_UXz8QI/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+17.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">We did see the biggest school
of dolphins though - hundreds!! Pretty breathtaking. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGVaAnSX3Edd3NBJOD5DG-fhcgFn2z05SJ0FaDu2IT5wPw63ChXFPsadzxaNEyWlbUabQXKqSfys6nmS6rfzdnr5XEhI0VaSxhskt5GvNcqXbK3rPxXdZKee-iXjyOMCIjwsr4Kd7-pKw/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGVaAnSX3Edd3NBJOD5DG-fhcgFn2z05SJ0FaDu2IT5wPw63ChXFPsadzxaNEyWlbUabQXKqSfys6nmS6rfzdnr5XEhI0VaSxhskt5GvNcqXbK3rPxXdZKee-iXjyOMCIjwsr4Kd7-pKw/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+19.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgJ0ZPuBJXXL3mb08SfCUlo8olW07UvP8ua700Wl4dafgIauT6aMQkINU8Mdn3V5RUMFMl5RflzSU7EaY2KGBB8FzBq-aLYsmRKerm4hVKeOJ8Sw6AiwIk_3Vf55Jh3BWSdwoXOVGqZOc/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgJ0ZPuBJXXL3mb08SfCUlo8olW07UvP8ua700Wl4dafgIauT6aMQkINU8Mdn3V5RUMFMl5RflzSU7EaY2KGBB8FzBq-aLYsmRKerm4hVKeOJ8Sw6AiwIk_3Vf55Jh3BWSdwoXOVGqZOc/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+20.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">They were diving and spinning
out of the water, even the babies. It was wonderful to watch, lying on our
tummies over the front of the boat, marvelling at how close they get. We also
saw 2 turtles swimming on the surface! </span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">So all in all not bad! A wildlife trip!
That's why they call it fishing- not catching!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">That night we
ate at Tree Tops: a lovely B & B built on stilts up in the trees with a
fantastic view of the sunset over the ocean. What we hadn't expected when we
booked it was that it was a private restaurant! We were the only table with the
food being prepared all day just for our meal. It was very special indeed! <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">The following
morning Marc, Kyle and I went back to the Tree Top bay and borrowed some
snorkels. Marc and Kyle spotted some extremely rare blue starfish!!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">On our last night all-together we ate at the
hotel. We had a friend that joined us...the biggest grasshopper you will ever
see...!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEpfy3pkoQ-dcfb-IWgnffLOY71vMUqeJ3TpiDhAotY5DbYUpklLAzGDwd-kWqq6ry45o_PsX17602Sv6Wf2AqQ-6uIEcYOaFlgai6aZXKGHAd1NflHxokiGTHMBAOtsQil1r-EHSVkJM/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEpfy3pkoQ-dcfb-IWgnffLOY71vMUqeJ3TpiDhAotY5DbYUpklLAzGDwd-kWqq6ry45o_PsX17602Sv6Wf2AqQ-6uIEcYOaFlgai6aZXKGHAd1NflHxokiGTHMBAOtsQil1r-EHSVkJM/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+1.jpg" height="298" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Kyle and I had fun showing off our improved
Spanish to the folks and teaching them some words.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">The following morning we were all up early and it
was time to say goodbye to Debbie and Marc. They were driving back to San Jose
to fly home and Kyle and I were to continue with Mum and Dad Brown north into
Nicaragua. It was sad to go through the goodbyes again – took us back to the 3<sup>rd</sup>
September ‘13…<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwSEI6VhQTA5N2W4wLnIvlZqn2oGaua6oxrIrxrfQsDOU3smLm1OyNPCktViEdyunnEteRWXBdFe3lfNj5yUD8WDoJXm-mxKt-vQgZRpPOY4OBc_-KxRyy4IYhfkzD9eIx8g9WH2u8anA/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwSEI6VhQTA5N2W4wLnIvlZqn2oGaua6oxrIrxrfQsDOU3smLm1OyNPCktViEdyunnEteRWXBdFe3lfNj5yUD8WDoJXm-mxKt-vQgZRpPOY4OBc_-KxRyy4IYhfkzD9eIx8g9WH2u8anA/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog+5.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">And so we continued on…we had quite a long
journey ahead of us. It began with a 1.5 hour bumpy private transfer to the
town; Liberia. Easy peasy. Here, we had to catch a local bus to the border. Mum
and Dad were about to get a little taster of our traveller journeys!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBtlcEHcSUwk3zwj5ljnqnAGsNJI-JR9BZIgo2-Fb2hm1gbcTOCxTD3YyZBhw9V_LeQY0YcdMLf-1oK3C-etIT9b_0RGJ_uJ8k6TZNQbXwGhyphenhyphenv7MGTzvSsD2qR2B9Jqa-AXF0SDuAx5KM/s1600/mum+n+dad+bus+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBtlcEHcSUwk3zwj5ljnqnAGsNJI-JR9BZIgo2-Fb2hm1gbcTOCxTD3YyZBhw9V_LeQY0YcdMLf-1oK3C-etIT9b_0RGJ_uJ8k6TZNQbXwGhyphenhyphenv7MGTzvSsD2qR2B9Jqa-AXF0SDuAx5KM/s1600/mum+n+dad+bus+1.jpg" height="400" width="298" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyRHFWgnTuyBuwbB8ZJlXvyMM42kxi6oPd_GWJNqkGbPk7TNgbCZdNeBWPwnEeZf74VJKymsOB8Sv0th0giUS-702n4YW9_uBzZCu9FH_Fmgg8UysNE-h1ikqxSRu7mxR7vo4UB7gG2Qw/s1600/mum+n+dad+bus+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyRHFWgnTuyBuwbB8ZJlXvyMM42kxi6oPd_GWJNqkGbPk7TNgbCZdNeBWPwnEeZf74VJKymsOB8Sv0th0giUS-702n4YW9_uBzZCu9FH_Fmgg8UysNE-h1ikqxSRu7mxR7vo4UB7gG2Qw/s1600/mum+n+dad+bus+2.jpg" height="400" width="298" /></a><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Here we
go…after an hour and a half of enduring pretty constant screaming babies whilst
we suffered from delicate tummies (we all seemed to had caught something..) we
got to the border. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT0U4tM3LXRFfSw_djMMGn7uOf4wwR-QuVeYe7B6m2_gtZwNYEcq_tM3KV8zuWRn6nlfA_sIP-HX2WPea86xy3S5obh67MJxyzEKhTrJEVDdnwYBQNzYRaDTB8fW0EJqcCfzJbsMbvohs/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT0U4tM3LXRFfSw_djMMGn7uOf4wwR-QuVeYe7B6m2_gtZwNYEcq_tM3KV8zuWRn6nlfA_sIP-HX2WPea86xy3S5obh67MJxyzEKhTrJEVDdnwYBQNzYRaDTB8fW0EJqcCfzJbsMbvohs/s1600/photo.JPG" height="320" width="239" /></a>There was quite a bit of queuing involved, Kyle did a dodgy
money changing deal through a fence, feeling a tad delicate, we walked with our
bags quite a way in the heat of the day (Mum – you were right- perhaps a
backpack would have been better for you), met some hassling characters along
the way, tried to negotiate a taxi, it got very crowded on the Nicaraguan side,
gave our Costa Rican change to a beggar woman who later returned back for more,
nearly got ripped off to bring our bags into the country claiming we needed to
pay $40 – (bollocks), Dad got trapped on the other side of the fence with Mum’s
passport, Mum nearly got mugged, lots of shouting and then we leapt into a
‘taxi’ whose boot had to be roped down with our bags in and we drove off.
Welcome to Nicaragua! This is traveling Mum and Dad!!! <br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">After a sticky but very scenic 2 hour taxi ride
we made it to the beautiful colonial town of Granada. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqllSk6IcFFYupjIHS3mbe_n_ksDfV8-PNgpyLHYCcxOynR43sXsUpV2XOOPHBIUykLB2xOTHAu3mVmT7CuK8RJv5ejFaIRcNcKhgOjJFfn4h3g0Dyg3GGiycFxfURQfpGsFE2qWrPPSU/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog_Pt2+40.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqllSk6IcFFYupjIHS3mbe_n_ksDfV8-PNgpyLHYCcxOynR43sXsUpV2XOOPHBIUykLB2xOTHAu3mVmT7CuK8RJv5ejFaIRcNcKhgOjJFfn4h3g0Dyg3GGiycFxfURQfpGsFE2qWrPPSU/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog_Pt2+40.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Our hotel was lovely.
Kyle and I could seriously get used to these luxurious bathrooms!! Our mouths
dropped open! <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">That afternoon we took a horse drawn carriage
tour around the city; none of us had any energy for walking. We took in the
cleanness and bright colours of the beautiful buildings. </span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Our guide spoke
English but it was still difficult to understand him. He seemed to bang on
about some guy called William Walker. Kyle asked if there was a statue of this
man in the city. He looked at Kyle in a funny way saying definitely not…our
subsequent research reveled that in the 1800’s this William Walker (American)
invaded Granada, made himself president, re-instituted slavery, declared
English the country’s official language, mortgaged the entire nation to fund
personal borrowing and invaded Costa Rica, announcing his intention to control
the whole of Central America…huh… not such a popular guy then…opps.. no.. no
statue Kyle.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">That evening we had a drink and a pizza on the
bustling strip, marveling at how cheap everything was again. We enjoyed some
interesting Michael Jackson break dancing and were serenaded with street
musicians – tips were with pizza!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">The following day we bopped along the cobblestone
streets, seeing churches and monuments. </span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7jjMkg9zCb-3HpxPzE4BWSYSYY2YITrwa_WKAjk0t7cbwl4zmIyETZyMd75HcgTDjLNpR-uKORTMiw-UfFzVu-igGZxiQuoI8Ejpklc95RoaMFhfaU9IXVYm6AASeg176ppRU5CYtEw4/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog_Pt2+46.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7jjMkg9zCb-3HpxPzE4BWSYSYY2YITrwa_WKAjk0t7cbwl4zmIyETZyMd75HcgTDjLNpR-uKORTMiw-UfFzVu-igGZxiQuoI8Ejpklc95RoaMFhfaU9IXVYm6AASeg176ppRU5CYtEw4/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog_Pt2+46.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">Mum and I got a bit lost in the overflowing locals market – we had definitely drifted from the tourist track!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Up the bell tower:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Most of the houses/buildings seemed to have cute
little courtyards in the middle of them; some shady garden spot where they can
have a bit of relief from the scorching heat.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Another day we took a trip to the Masaya region.
We visited the Pueblos Blancos famed for their skilled crafts people and
colourful traditions. It was here that Mum began her love affair with the
Nicaraguan artisanal pottery! We visited a workshop and learnt about the
process of making their lovely work. </span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Invariably, the tour ended in the shop –
spoilt for choice! We bought a little pot and Mum got a few; this was only the
beginning to Dad’s horror; over the next few days she was to purchase a good
few more!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">We then went to the gorgeous village of Catarina,
which has an amazing lookout point over a lake with Granada behind and Lake
Nicaragua sitting beyond the city. </span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">We wondered the town; this is where the
locals come to buy their plants; there were ‘garden centres’ galore. We also
saw hammock shops and bamboo furniture shops.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Next stop were the markets – warning – more pots!!
We went to two different ones. On the second, Dad and Kyle went straight to the
bar and sat down with a beer and some cashew nuts for the duration. Typical
men.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm6QUz5x_C2qF5Gf3nmsGw6FR8_83wY6fT1A3nSYsPq9IDcRGSwu518zunjCHV6tIuQxH8KdigRMLV-dFUKRhai2psQQtlIJMi54HP4xLDmwAmOqxqYNfgmlQXRVDaXyYdKsIRe8-CrWE/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog_Pt2+31.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm6QUz5x_C2qF5Gf3nmsGw6FR8_83wY6fT1A3nSYsPq9IDcRGSwu518zunjCHV6tIuQxH8KdigRMLV-dFUKRhai2psQQtlIJMi54HP4xLDmwAmOqxqYNfgmlQXRVDaXyYdKsIRe8-CrWE/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog_Pt2+31.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a>Finally we headed to the Masaya Volcano; ‘the
most heavily venting volcano in Nicaragua’ – and that’s saying something: the
country has 11 major volcanoes! So naturally, we were driven up to the crater,
the vehicle parking facing out in case we need to make a quick getaway, gulp!</div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">We climbed a hill and watched the sunset through
the sulfurous smoke. </span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Then as darkness was falling we all donned hard hats and
entered a nearby bat cave with torches. Yikes!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh93KskVHYS3wlWdPhXwGBgO6eGfL_pmK5QlOCqUHonOszz9eVxdMbJv7w6YiwpqvTDQg3prMAuf3EMYLwgV1nQKoFeqdiXfhRa2VNtUiIB3A8mDtGHavtAN-22R4UqJ-mWD3uqYFlaDCE/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog_Pt2+23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh93KskVHYS3wlWdPhXwGBgO6eGfL_pmK5QlOCqUHonOszz9eVxdMbJv7w6YiwpqvTDQg3prMAuf3EMYLwgV1nQKoFeqdiXfhRa2VNtUiIB3A8mDtGHavtAN-22R4UqJ-mWD3uqYFlaDCE/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog_Pt2+23.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">The following day we transferred to Leon, a city
a few hours north west of Granada. We stayed in El Convento, an old convent! <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Wandering Leon’s streets, it has a more shabby
chic/ rough and ready feel to the pristine Granada. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimkvl4oKlTz2jKhmxCBMJE2KdUutDGv8Eq0hZu-8BnGBdMeylZa6Refk3d8dPvM9OBII2zZoYYXiaR5whyphenhyphenzvvSLpkRZULLLrboVg8rg09f255YnHXJJyTBQ0gS5BJ6tMXP8oK4655zmro/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog_Pt2+20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimkvl4oKlTz2jKhmxCBMJE2KdUutDGv8Eq0hZu-8BnGBdMeylZa6Refk3d8dPvM9OBII2zZoYYXiaR5whyphenhyphenzvvSLpkRZULLLrboVg8rg09f255YnHXJJyTBQ0gS5BJ6tMXP8oK4655zmro/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog_Pt2+20.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_2JXAHvFn72FMpiuZWcg8VxUyj-OMkoFtDQQco7FCKcC9iEQ6Leck7Hdod1D6SeKXXZRN_QMEE2NXfuVzOO-FWjOqjUQ3TYGX7k4TO3GuuIgFYZW2_53MVXKapHjEPPRY5YCmNYgodws/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog_Pt2+18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_2JXAHvFn72FMpiuZWcg8VxUyj-OMkoFtDQQco7FCKcC9iEQ6Leck7Hdod1D6SeKXXZRN_QMEE2NXfuVzOO-FWjOqjUQ3TYGX7k4TO3GuuIgFYZW2_53MVXKapHjEPPRY5YCmNYgodws/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog_Pt2+18.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">We visited the cathedral. Even though I had read
that it was $1 admission to climb the roof, when the old door man pointed to
Mum, Dad and myself (Kyle was outside taking snaps) saying $3 – I stupidly
misunderstood and thought $3 each. So when the four of us handed the guy $12 he
simply cackled, showed us the way and scarpered before we all too late realized
that we had been ripped off. Grrr. His evil little laugh resonated around the
courtyard! Oh well…the view was spectacular and we were actually ON the roof –
no barrier! </span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBavBhti06ApcwW5XkcFn_JhL8hP4oYiO6xSOoSCiiNsuwSLMRb0JPOrnX2CxZC-SR3yL-EmKepQIuxVTqsFC_nDhNngw_xwcmebgXifWGhClMVgIESaeoM17Hyn6QBIh85FiZqRuveGc/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog_Pt2+16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBavBhti06ApcwW5XkcFn_JhL8hP4oYiO6xSOoSCiiNsuwSLMRb0JPOrnX2CxZC-SR3yL-EmKepQIuxVTqsFC_nDhNngw_xwcmebgXifWGhClMVgIESaeoM17Hyn6QBIh85FiZqRuveGc/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog_Pt2+16.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Volcanoes everywhere!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBSpXbHJjOcpzNjlDALjnsFtB1VVKsQv72GWY1Xj4hhlLgY2wMX6iu9NPgx5xPyPz-nSo9MVGTx9T4sDY47CT7kq4vt4UJLsbtRDcI4hOcgjRRE0BLCFDGEQpLz6pKb5Nok_DedGyxbAo/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog_Pt2+15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBSpXbHJjOcpzNjlDALjnsFtB1VVKsQv72GWY1Xj4hhlLgY2wMX6iu9NPgx5xPyPz-nSo9MVGTx9T4sDY47CT7kq4vt4UJLsbtRDcI4hOcgjRRE0BLCFDGEQpLz6pKb5Nok_DedGyxbAo/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog_Pt2+15.jpg" height="400" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I promise I didn't know Kyle was taking this photo!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZsGZFkOzKglZtkHX4QqplOOVlqBxq97OjkPCVywn3H0FV9y3VDH9g9Hx7oLsJzn3i6yZS8UdMyPGVDyDKopgRDhZgwhUU9XQEM9qs7nkwL9c9txWETzPMcVeVDV81xNVM07Y8CzZQnDw/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog_Pt2+14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZsGZFkOzKglZtkHX4QqplOOVlqBxq97OjkPCVywn3H0FV9y3VDH9g9Hx7oLsJzn3i6yZS8UdMyPGVDyDKopgRDhZgwhUU9XQEM9qs7nkwL9c9txWETzPMcVeVDV81xNVM07Y8CzZQnDw/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog_Pt2+14.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A little nervous on the roof...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrKsJBMUCi_HPkMTuE6EJRVk4YKgV3pTxEOpISYAUOIWgCA2muJKjm1PhVSf_NsOtmeAx_OyRyN9-goipn6QAwYdpEJqT8IrGCDRlZmjNx4dXbkhKrdQ2QGfTBsJTUSfdu16wC1C1LrLw/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog_Pt2+12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrKsJBMUCi_HPkMTuE6EJRVk4YKgV3pTxEOpISYAUOIWgCA2muJKjm1PhVSf_NsOtmeAx_OyRyN9-goipn6QAwYdpEJqT8IrGCDRlZmjNx4dXbkhKrdQ2QGfTBsJTUSfdu16wC1C1LrLw/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog_Pt2+12.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">The cathedral was in the process of being repainted – there was
quite a contrast!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Found these cute little boys outside in the main square:</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><span style="text-align: start;">We really noticed a trend with the male Nicaraguans; they had such sharp haircuts. From really young school kids to older men, they all look like they have just stepped out the barbers. They seem to make much more of an effort with their appearance than the girls!</span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Evening time in Leon</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihyxrixcJn7_g6f0AcJXdVpF83c4kgY7NFbdk-hlhmTUjSwSiHX4FwdARx0CFDca3ZrAktQU8TmdTAAsW0_2ICID8B8lSGnAwCFHhq21VQyOBlcdGbZ23pBRLnceUtlc11LWzWHVCfFj8/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog_Pt2+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihyxrixcJn7_g6f0AcJXdVpF83c4kgY7NFbdk-hlhmTUjSwSiHX4FwdARx0CFDca3ZrAktQU8TmdTAAsW0_2ICID8B8lSGnAwCFHhq21VQyOBlcdGbZ23pBRLnceUtlc11LWzWHVCfFj8/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog_Pt2+3.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A local bus - seriously </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">That day was Pancake Day so in the evening we
hunted down a bar and asked if they would make us pancakes. They said they
could and wanted to put all sorts of fruits and syrups on too. In the end we
managed to convince them just lemon (lime was their substitute) and sugar would
be great. They thought we were mad but we just blamed England! They went down
nicely with some lovely Mojitos for just over a quid a pop, Mum may have got a
little ‘pickled’! <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">We visited a very attractive contemporary art
museum. The pieces were displayed in rooms of stunning courtyards. We
challenged ourselves with some challenging works!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><br /></span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjApzhLsK2Io1_GbN3QSl-YDfHF7iN8Bve_hbGKR_N-mMqWc_UssqZ3a4SrS8bPbg3T_-pesRCW2AeWyl2rXIXSXXcu3heTli4b8MPneOcvFex7ORYA5lrYxVVXhX0BmKUqT3VX15ygog0/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog_Pt2+8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjApzhLsK2Io1_GbN3QSl-YDfHF7iN8Bve_hbGKR_N-mMqWc_UssqZ3a4SrS8bPbg3T_-pesRCW2AeWyl2rXIXSXXcu3heTli4b8MPneOcvFex7ORYA5lrYxVVXhX0BmKUqT3VX15ygog0/s1600/Costa_Rica_Blog_Pt2+8.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The resident tortoise</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">On our last day all-together we went to Las Penitas
beach. We had a lovely relaxing day, basing ourselves in a shady restaurant, as
it was SO hot. Kyle had a little surf on a rented board. Towards the late
afternoon, we were all chilling out near the water and we witnessed the most
horrendous sight…2 dogs mating about 10 feet from us and then – they got stuck!!
We were in shock not knowing what to do! After about 5 minutes of them
struggling to separate, they just gave up and stood awkwardly bum to bum
contemplating their next move! Then typically another dog entered the
scene…and…it got a lot worse but the stuck pair eventually separated! WTF!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">What a memorable end to a lovely holiday with the
parents, haha.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Thank-you so much Mummys and Daddys for coming
out and sharing our traveling adventures all together. We all had a brilliant
time. We miss you loads. xHnKx <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09652572064170034371noreply@blogger.com0Costa Rica9.7489169999999987 -83.7534279999999851.7311399999999981 -94.080576499999978 17.766694 -73.426279499999993tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218767240550915026.post-33081706652652414872014-03-28T15:10:00.000-07:002014-03-28T15:22:51.884-07:00Panama City - Cloud Jungle and Bocas Del Toro Island in 2wks! <div class="MsoNormal">
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Panama...!!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyA7oh9RVN43iL6K_keSZrOfl4q5Dbfx7Wh3sng6TMIhdmaOS1OhEgdnC4tpuc8UP-n5rwtqFlHqDqnh6BGdH3iEUeSwUbiYHOyVD-8BwsQjpCsh9VXcpmjPZoOhd2ps0x9t9O7qy8cMs/s1600/Panama_Blog+12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyA7oh9RVN43iL6K_keSZrOfl4q5Dbfx7Wh3sng6TMIhdmaOS1OhEgdnC4tpuc8UP-n5rwtqFlHqDqnh6BGdH3iEUeSwUbiYHOyVD-8BwsQjpCsh9VXcpmjPZoOhd2ps0x9t9O7qy8cMs/s1600/Panama_Blog+12.jpg" height="478" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blogging</td></tr>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Having reached the
shore of Panama via a very bumpy ride in a skiff boat from Big Fish we found
our 4X4 for the transfer to Panama City.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We were off on a windy, rollercoaster, steep up n down jungle adventure.
To our surprise and joy it was paved (I was expecting a 3hr death defying dirty
track trip like in the Amazon basin), although this whole rollercoaster
experience was too much for one of our passengers and she got to see her breakfast
again. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Arriving in Panama
City we were greeted by huge skyscrapers of all different shapes and the hustle
bustle of a metropolitan city. </span><br />
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">It was quite an adjustment from a week at sea
surrounded by isolated islands and zero civilisation. Casco Viejo (Old Town/Compound)
would be our base in a hostel for a few days while we get to know the city a
little and of course visit the famous Panama Canal (7<sup>th</sup> wonder of
the world). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
The countries rich and
wealthy moved here after the attack on the city by Pirate Henry Morgan in 1671,
the Spanish moved their city 8km west to the rocky peninsula. This used to be
the upmarket city centre for the elite but as population grew rapidly and the
city boundaries were stretched it soon slipped into an urban slum. The area had
been left derelict for many years until recently and it has been a constant restoration
project since, it was awarded a UNESCO site in 2003 which solidified it an new
up and coming area where old meets new it with old crumbling walls and ornate balconies.</div>
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For the buildings that have undergone resto these are gentrified establishments of cafes, galleries, heladarias, hotels and restaurants. Although a little touristic the old town still has it’s charm and beauty. </div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">From the lookout point
on the edge you can see the construction of a controversial coastal highway
around the whole peninsula. We wandered around our first day taking it all in,
trying on a few Panama hats that I had waited until now to buy and then shared
a pizza. </span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">We were pretty tired from the boat trip and had a nice chilled night
in and watched ‘Behind the Candelabra’, a really great film but probably not
the film to watch in a shared dorm as there is quite a bit of gay loving going
on we thought anyone who caught a glimpse of the our screen must have thought…
‘why are the weird English couple watching gay porn!’… ohh well! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">We took a bus to the Panama
Canal to see what all the fuss is about. Upon arriving a massive vehicle
transporter ship was passing through. The closer we got to the mirador (lookout
point) the ship just kept getting bigger and bigger, massive in fact. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCbb6m0uCVevBIUGV0aCmFfB7flzzLfCJySff3P1er0EyBsY236XDqeFGZ2fqWodHpkvdh5ag7Zxo-BKPpbDtIB-w_nu4pcZ6JndjodYrIQg1WT-C6i8SR0lDZtdFm4IkB21fBWrwmj74/s1600/Panama_Blog+14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCbb6m0uCVevBIUGV0aCmFfB7flzzLfCJySff3P1er0EyBsY236XDqeFGZ2fqWodHpkvdh5ag7Zxo-BKPpbDtIB-w_nu4pcZ6JndjodYrIQg1WT-C6i8SR0lDZtdFm4IkB21fBWrwmj74/s1600/Panama_Blog+14.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">We caught
the back end of it and decided to check out the museum and info 3D film until
the next ship was scheduled to pass through in just over an hour. Typically the
3D film was VERY American “WELCOME TO THE MOST AMAZING PLACE… IN… THE …
WORLD………. EVER !!!” and quite rightly so because the mini cinema with massive
seats was full of middle to old aged Americans. We also went from boiling
outside to freezing inside, the thing about Panama and the Panamericans is they
absolutely love their Air Con and given the chance would happily live in a
fridge. Throughout the day we learnt some pretty interesting facts about this
huge man made marvel that finished construction a hundred years ago in 1914 as
well as about the new construction currently taking place. Around 20,000
workers died from Yellow fever and Malaria. There was a massive humanitarian push
to eradicate the diseases which thankfully due to an American doctor they
managed to do and work continued. The Canal stretches 80 kilometres from the
Pacific coast to the Caribbean and ships pay a fee depending on the weight of
their cargo. The maximum fee to date was $300,000 a few years back for a cargo
ship and the minimum paid was $0.36 by Richard Halliburton in 1928 who swam
from the east to the west. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">After exploring the
canal we visited the mall and treated ourselves to a Subway and headed to the
Cinema to watch the Book Thief (with Spanish subtitles). A very novel thing to
do whilst away, which for a brief moment takes you back to being at home in the
UK again. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">We managed to see all we
wanted to see in a few days in Panama City so decided to head off a day early
to discover ‘Lost and Found’, an amazing hostel/backpacker community that sits
up in the cloud forest near Boquette in the coffee growing region. After a 7hr
bus to the small town of David, transfer for 45 minutes up hairpin roads into the
hills we found ourselves on the side of the road in the pitch black with clouds
all around and a sprinkle of drizzle on the way. We found a sign to ‘Lost and
Found’ pointing up into the hills; out comes the head torch and a jumper in
preparation for a 20 minute mini hike up a rocky path in flip flops with our
heavy backpacks on. Note to self; flip flops are not sufficient protection from
red ants when you stop walking for a breather! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Alas we arrived to a
cloud jungle haven hidden up in the Talamanca range with a whopping great view
from within the clouds. We were welcomed in by two American hippy dudes
strumming on acoustics guitars chilling by the camp fire. “Welcome to Lost and
Found, you just hiked up that big hill but now you’re here… la la la la la”,
what a friendly welcome, that was the introduction to a hostel that instantly
makes you feel at home and amongst new friends which you haven’t even met yet.
We made our way up and down some steps leading to the main communal area and
reception to be welcomed by one of the two owners who promptly informed us to
get the business out of the way first… ‘You must need a beer, what’ll it be?”.
Okay … Second amazing welcome in the space of a few minutes. I turned to Han,
“I think we are going to like it here!”. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">We collected our
bedding and headed down to the dorm. Holy Shit!!! A 24 person dorm… 3 tier bunk
beds, 9 of which were doubles, 6 of which were singles. Oh well for $24 per
night and our 3<sup>rd</sup> night free we were not complaining.</span><br />
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<span style="text-align: start;">We spent the next few days chilling, getting to know new friends, taking in the sights and playing games in the ‘local prices’ bar. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">I even managed to watch the England vs
Scotland rugby one afternoon by calling Mum n Dad with FaceTime who propped me
up in the sitting room facing the TV (quite bizarre being back home for a few
hours whilst up in the jungle). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw61Us2AYaihCgfd4PikM_Ngn4ido7VvGioeGnI7GIDg2R4ETU3p8SsW5ZnLv0chRUXSGqNrfJ9Ap6adcw8MiJT0SCnDXtxGQf88ua8Qq0IO-dxrUjP5kXs3tPDhzfM1hUPHsU4jtz3H0/s1600/Panama_Blog+23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw61Us2AYaihCgfd4PikM_Ngn4ido7VvGioeGnI7GIDg2R4ETU3p8SsW5ZnLv0chRUXSGqNrfJ9Ap6adcw8MiJT0SCnDXtxGQf88ua8Qq0IO-dxrUjP5kXs3tPDhzfM1hUPHsU4jtz3H0/s1600/Panama_Blog+23.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Afternoon editing</td></tr>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">We saw beautiful plants and wildlife...</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDN5tB4oF6ZDCIwIiwJyAM9fuaHGERROmV2nbkoO3p79UsarAsfVJ3-6PF_d5dlmITFaJ_Pn4ML0NgmUkDmJgPVZaOzKYdwSi7QVwDVZHNWO62tgmp7FlpThv-ky76iG-JwLr89wQC9K4/s1600/Panama_Blog+28.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDN5tB4oF6ZDCIwIiwJyAM9fuaHGERROmV2nbkoO3p79UsarAsfVJ3-6PF_d5dlmITFaJ_Pn4ML0NgmUkDmJgPVZaOzKYdwSi7QVwDVZHNWO62tgmp7FlpThv-ky76iG-JwLr89wQC9K4/s1600/Panama_Blog+28.jpg" height="239" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me in a stare off with a squirrel</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">One late morning a
group of us decided to head back into civilisation and catch a bus into a near
town that has a stunning river canyon that you can swim in. The 7 of us Adam,
Michael, Fernanda (the 3 were travelling together), Polly, Kerry, Hannah and I
made our way down the hill in search of a bus that should pick us up on the
side of the road ‘at some time’. </span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">What followed was probably the most fun we had
all day, waiting for an hour and a half flagging down cars, trucks and even
motorbikes in the hope of catching a lift. </span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG7wFEoROMDOyANslVKNFheAV9n6EgmTYS1s95ARSJd483lYyf5mqKohm-Q7cuVqpa0ObEI7Wz81NDG-krSGmouNpzgTjrJybPODubz1mCVQVYYoNwp2sgwYetDocUTH6bZQv0_fiL8_s/s1600/Panama_Blog+27.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG7wFEoROMDOyANslVKNFheAV9n6EgmTYS1s95ARSJd483lYyf5mqKohm-Q7cuVqpa0ObEI7Wz81NDG-krSGmouNpzgTjrJybPODubz1mCVQVYYoNwp2sgwYetDocUTH6bZQv0_fiL8_s/s1600/Panama_Blog+27.jpg" height="640" width="426" /></a></div>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Adam pretty much single-handedly ate
out the road side café of their cake and coffee, we all got a bit silly but
made a lot of people laugh and smile that day including ourselves. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhTGi8DKBSwFUOxVaodcTrlaaol9gM2gSZ-JlNN1Zr2wEPxiM41itH-tkv4hRLxcTZEDVSyOdJS3AGFeIUDBQmLTRzuYv5IjiAXvlHDf2y2ufQObLCxvwy_Gn2YwRyUeckhHgP8fUetKY/s1600/Panama_Blog+45.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhTGi8DKBSwFUOxVaodcTrlaaol9gM2gSZ-JlNN1Zr2wEPxiM41itH-tkv4hRLxcTZEDVSyOdJS3AGFeIUDBQmLTRzuYv5IjiAXvlHDf2y2ufQObLCxvwy_Gn2YwRyUeckhHgP8fUetKY/s1600/Panama_Blog+45.jpg" height="297" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">We eventually made it
to the canyon and discovered it was very much a local’s scene as well so very
busy. We were near on slap bang in the middle between the Pacific the and
Caribbean so this is their nearest cool down spot… its was VERY hot!! </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5jt6UjHQcbHkmBu4JZSaX7Onosx7H-s_17Mil4wIMj89MrpLX7Dgr-9bc9kyAOh7HHqksDD-hHJGRhgiyAjASNe0KtljhrFFZSP7nLMhcNOEENmfnfmwuzo6fV1vTtGuOrZ9FGE46xfc/s1600/Panama_Blog+29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5jt6UjHQcbHkmBu4JZSaX7Onosx7H-s_17Mil4wIMj89MrpLX7Dgr-9bc9kyAOh7HHqksDD-hHJGRhgiyAjASNe0KtljhrFFZSP7nLMhcNOEENmfnfmwuzo6fV1vTtGuOrZ9FGE46xfc/s1600/Panama_Blog+29.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">We
chilled, floated down the mini canyon, slipped down natural slides and did a
spot of rock jumping. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit8GdlptpDixrqwvv0RSp23LA-4Li_s4H33gcbXcpBMbTLfZ-XyJEPmPA_wkUpJPisQtqzGxn6iYmQ1q6fZVvogiuDH-Zygyek-D1kKVcNOHxVQZk_DELjDPqkbtEta3iBQotwhEsPIPA/s1600/Panama_Blog+31.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit8GdlptpDixrqwvv0RSp23LA-4Li_s4H33gcbXcpBMbTLfZ-XyJEPmPA_wkUpJPisQtqzGxn6iYmQ1q6fZVvogiuDH-Zygyek-D1kKVcNOHxVQZk_DELjDPqkbtEta3iBQotwhEsPIPA/s1600/Panama_Blog+31.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo4aTX0ZzuMlgT1mR6o7GSS71NzCoi9P-4QX1t3czLypoSkpgSGkV9XHAU4H9DX0JrQyw9C_18l6-jJA0mqiNEt75bXVlpUbG6e2qeQwV3cTgWo51bPo11ZEmC3h3Xsgs9zA-KpY6FpUw/s1600/Panama_Blog+33.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo4aTX0ZzuMlgT1mR6o7GSS71NzCoi9P-4QX1t3czLypoSkpgSGkV9XHAU4H9DX0JrQyw9C_18l6-jJA0mqiNEt75bXVlpUbG6e2qeQwV3cTgWo51bPo11ZEmC3h3Xsgs9zA-KpY6FpUw/s1600/Panama_Blog+33.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Stopped for a snack:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq1BC-OH-vsGIo86zFero3akiFCbt2jup0zjD-ZweY8GZ0iJOuZ_x4ghBaRGyv5HRgYc8vzjMWMLy-GmRhevl3ZFEBjwusrpneSdxV4BYrImcRtalNUbtS4WH4Ku7o7gqGb8YhniIx_Po/s1600/Panama_Blog+38.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq1BC-OH-vsGIo86zFero3akiFCbt2jup0zjD-ZweY8GZ0iJOuZ_x4ghBaRGyv5HRgYc8vzjMWMLy-GmRhevl3ZFEBjwusrpneSdxV4BYrImcRtalNUbtS4WH4Ku7o7gqGb8YhniIx_Po/s1600/Panama_Blog+38.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">On the way back to the cloud we stopped off to get some veg
for a mega feast, that night we all cooked as a group and ate for $1 each with
a load left over. </span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNCsywS64bioNNDlNubSElG1uD9SmpzbvHxVVKgY0JWLrNEvhrhcU1Gqv2m2pT0l39mC5BujzQ4jAjN095WGbYtIzb1bwlI17pC8oIbouIDGXHeSCMF6sOfu8aR83ch1_DVpxbjV57JI0/s1600/Panama_Blog+36.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNCsywS64bioNNDlNubSElG1uD9SmpzbvHxVVKgY0JWLrNEvhrhcU1Gqv2m2pT0l39mC5BujzQ4jAjN095WGbYtIzb1bwlI17pC8oIbouIDGXHeSCMF6sOfu8aR83ch1_DVpxbjV57JI0/s1600/Panama_Blog+36.jpg" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mowgli all grown up - Our mate Michael! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8TqwtsYsPtaaEZGqZK-HEgbOPQ-1DhVfyJ8dva2r1eTeJrLtB10RjhqBY9_iJHvuHveyq8a16qzieUyfbYjVr_0IiXdFsNemcZW9PEEpd61VfuBp53ABgjchtoCDLINR-66GKXdDOy4g/s1600/Panama_Blog+35.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8TqwtsYsPtaaEZGqZK-HEgbOPQ-1DhVfyJ8dva2r1eTeJrLtB10RjhqBY9_iJHvuHveyq8a16qzieUyfbYjVr_0IiXdFsNemcZW9PEEpd61VfuBp53ABgjchtoCDLINR-66GKXdDOy4g/s1600/Panama_Blog+35.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">This was followed by Hannah’s and I first game of ‘Cards
against Humanity’, an amazing card game we had heard a lot about previously.
Without going into too much detail it basically relies on everyone’s different
personalities to individually fill in the blanks to a phrase that we all know
with words from the cards in our own hand. We listen to everyone’s selections
and the person whose go it is chooses their favourite. It’s the kind of game
that produces non-stop laughing and humour for the whole night; I will
definitely be purchasing it when we get home. That day was one of our favourite
group days ever, we especially bonded with Adam, Michael and Fernanda and we
were genuinely really sad to have to say goodbye the next day. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-R-WcVtdcFimmOvUrsOAlFAv7-f7i55G8D8Gpvb19w88Adbyrm-FCI6T29MpHr4vlyGxxPBkZjm8iRuMBH9gQOMiaFmSKloGgXwHQGEXPcdXBXEBqpzlgNzZolP4gBmIhR1iGgsYcYCU/s1600/Panama_Blog+37.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-R-WcVtdcFimmOvUrsOAlFAv7-f7i55G8D8Gpvb19w88Adbyrm-FCI6T29MpHr4vlyGxxPBkZjm8iRuMBH9gQOMiaFmSKloGgXwHQGEXPcdXBXEBqpzlgNzZolP4gBmIhR1iGgsYcYCU/s1600/Panama_Blog+37.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">In the space of
24hrs we had become really great friends, they were a group of kind, caring,
interesting, aware and fun people who we clicked with. It was Adam and Michael
that sang to us on our arrival into the hostel. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCniNgOZE3FUj8XvK8v6Rdh0sNyQOH7r4lrFPj0vSyRJiltz4PqEsBW_WqK7NM3obxP8svf-wDs2mcJbgU2mWBXaPw57s0uTt7OyaHzFi07ueuoNYx1PUMxKiJCQkdfs2ZeVnbyONu4eo/s1600/Panama_Blog+42.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCniNgOZE3FUj8XvK8v6Rdh0sNyQOH7r4lrFPj0vSyRJiltz4PqEsBW_WqK7NM3obxP8svf-wDs2mcJbgU2mWBXaPw57s0uTt7OyaHzFi07ueuoNYx1PUMxKiJCQkdfs2ZeVnbyONu4eo/s1600/Panama_Blog+42.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roasting marshmallows on the camp fire making 'Smores'</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">On our last day we
headed out to find a 30m waterfall about 35mins away by bus. We went with a
lovely Dutch couple that were volunteering at the hostel. We found our way,
stripped off and headed for the falls. </span><br />
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The power was immense to say the least, it was so painful on the skin, I was genuinely concerned it would strip off my tan that I had finally got from cooking on the San Blas boat trip!<br />
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Next stop – Bocas Del
Toro Islands (home to the famously HOT Bocas Sauce) just off the Caribbean
Coastline and very close to the Costa Rican boarder where we would be meeting
Mum and Dad in about 5 days. </span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs0MXMqIYWlCOu4ATNrRx1qmjPGIVsBdm-wJsWPEncW-MRUIqFC2DwCFgbgypQTY79ekQQKU2Nuq-xSI1HWu_LXEAB4nI-mHkVGDzxVOtPqQQMbD5ZmdB6wNhvSi5Y34BmvgxHEIqK3jo/s1600/Panama_Blog+58.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs0MXMqIYWlCOu4ATNrRx1qmjPGIVsBdm-wJsWPEncW-MRUIqFC2DwCFgbgypQTY79ekQQKU2Nuq-xSI1HWu_LXEAB4nI-mHkVGDzxVOtPqQQMbD5ZmdB6wNhvSi5Y34BmvgxHEIqK3jo/s1600/Panama_Blog+58.jpg" height="239" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So long Lost and Found.. we got lost and found great new friends!! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">We decided to stay away from Bocas Island as we
had heard it was a bit tourist ready and just a party town, we were in a pretty chilled space after the cloud jungle so didn't fancy anything to heavy. Instead we hopped
on another boat to Bastimentos Island. A bit more relaxed with a Rastafarian
vibe and ‘the local’s’ island. There are no vehicles on the island so it’s
mostly made up of cement footpaths which the children of the island use as
their playground, trying to see how many they can fit on their tiny bicycles.
The ‘grown-ups’ can be found in groups either on the footpath or the porch of
their half falling apart shacks all playing cards, some for money other for who
knows. The odd whiff of ganga lingers round most corners with reggae-ton tunes
pumping from the homemade stack speaker system they have in prime position. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Here the language is a
melodic blend of English, Jamaican and Spanish. As you pass the ladies hanging
out on the street if you concentrate hard enough you can pick out the OK
English word. We couldn’t help but turn to each other a safe distance away and
try to repeat what we just heard. Yup…. We sounded well cool!</div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">We chilled that night
and headed over to a recommended restaurant that juts out over the sea. A few
beers with the sunset and we were ready for our meal of Caribbean Chicken for
me and local fish for Han, obviously each table has its own bottle of Bocas sauce
so we both had to have a few more beers to cool our mouths down! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">We heard some drumming
in the distance travelling over the water so after our meal strolled back to Hostel
Bastimentos via the larger dock were at least half of the island seemed to have
congregated for band/dance practise. Nearly everyone was there from toddlers to
the ol’ biddys. Everyone getting their freak on and having a good time, there
was booty shakin’, body krumpin’ and lots in-between. We had heard that rain
was pretty regular on the islands and we were just about to experience our
first downpour. Suddenly the heavens opened and everyone began to make a mad
run for it. We legged it with them into a large shop before choosing our time
to make it back to the hostel. What they meant to have told us was what when it
rains it in fact DUMPS IT DOWN… tropical styley.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The next day we
decided to take a hike to find Red Frog Beach, aptly named for the abundance of
famous red frogs that can be found in the area. We heard about ‘Up in the Hill’
café which serves organic everything and specialising in Cacao products. We
began our ascent up the hill, which was short lived on my part due to an
unfortunate incorrect judgement of what an unusually strange looking black/dark
green rock is and what a mahoosive cow pat looks like. At the same moment of
thinking this I take a pretty solid step onto the ‘rough looking rock’ and my
flip-flop slides straight into one of the largest cow shits I have ever seen.
My flip-flop seemed to have acted like a mini shovel, scooping the green sludge
not only under my feet but also up to my ankle. A quick slippery jaunt down the
hill to wash my feet off in the stream I had luckily noted on the way up and
leaving Han giggling away at the top and then I was back on track. Stupidly I
then noticed quite a few ‘odd looking rocks’ the rest of the way. Anyway enough
of that shit! <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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We treated ourselves
to a homemade brownie with organic hot chocolates! The place was run by a nice
guy and his family. His little kids with their bleach white hair were running
around bare foot playing with kittens, dogs and rabbits. What a place to grow
up we thought. Amazing!</div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">After our pit stop and a little cuddle with the kittens we made our way to find Red Frog Beach. We must have got lost somewhere because after about 35mintues of slipping and sliding around in the muddy jungle we ended up at Wizard Beach, again aptly named because of all the Wizards that grow up there (or not)! </span></div>
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We carried on and low and behold began to come across these beautiful tiny little red frogs “we must be close we thought”. It was quite important that we found this beach before dark, as it was the only opportunity that we could get a boat back round
to ‘Old Bank’ where we were staying.<br />
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<br />
Eventually we found it after possibly
getting lost yet again, now with mud up to our shins. We climbed down from the
Jungle onto the beach, found a bar with beer and took a well-deserved swim in
the MASSIVE waves. </div>
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After our boat ride back we found a lovely hostel/restaurant, which served great food and Coco-Loco (Pina Coladas) for just a few bucks. Hmmm.<br />
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The following day we
headed over to Bocas Del Toro, hired a couple of dodgy rackety looking old
bikes and took a 7-8KM ride up the coast to find some nice beaches. Rediscovered
how difficult riding on sand is, luckily it was not for to far though. Found a
lovely beach side bar and grabbed some food before chilling and sleeping on the
beach. </span><br />
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">While in the town of Bocas we found a dive shop and booked ourselves in
for a two tank dive the following morning, our first official dive since
becoming fully qualified. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Typically we did
exactly what you shouldn’t do the night before a dive. Yup, got ridiculously
drunk! In our defence it wasn’t our fault. We went back to the same restaurant
as the night before for more great food and just the one coco-loco. As we got
there we noticed a massive party in full swing. The owner who we met the night
before was celebrating his birthday and had invited half the island for a free
for all. Naturally we were welcomed in, handed some plates and got free beers! </span><br />
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">This led to some dancing, more free drinks (super strong rum and cokes)
and a power cut to the whole island, probably caused by one of these home made
speaker stacks that was cranked up to the giga watts. Cut a long story short
and I left fully loaded up with a rum n coke in one hand, and the other cradling
a full plate of cake and a bottle of beer and lolly in the mouth. Fortunately
Hannah was in a similar state and we both wobbled back to the hostel. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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So after a can of
coke, strong coffee and an apple pie in the morning we were ready to dive! Our
first dive was to an old vehicle transporter that was wrecked on the rocks. Fun
to explore and we saw a variety of fish as well as plenty of starfish. The
visibility was not fantastic but we still enjoyed both dives, especially as it
was Valentines Day!<br />
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After the dive we
jumped in a shuttle to Starfish beach! Loads of starfish just chilling in the
shallow waters, you could see them clearly just looking down at your feet. We
turned one over and watched it working it’s way back onto it’s front in super
slow motion. It was a stunningly secluded beach in a gentle bay with super warm
water. <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRiH6VONaYwsornG5B7mWM8ryAJXHNO6tGmBghlWkrUc0se-QvLIGZlrixDUm7GflB1sGdKF9Pgw9wFkDeH25IOCEae2x7TzCLcTiotgUPckH2j19rVik4PnDLtoeJVX_C9dOzv82i-kk/s1600/Panama_Blog+88.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRiH6VONaYwsornG5B7mWM8ryAJXHNO6tGmBghlWkrUc0se-QvLIGZlrixDUm7GflB1sGdKF9Pgw9wFkDeH25IOCEae2x7TzCLcTiotgUPckH2j19rVik4PnDLtoeJVX_C9dOzv82i-kk/s1600/Panama_Blog+88.jpg" height="285" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_s0v26DcWsGhOirbME8_ewn_FHlj2rAAegk3WVEebGUVppnk66xPiP3u3xKCj8NgK8DJR6Kys3_-RPXi7UKUonJ9e5hSQGwxgPbWsPaRDURpsXzh67aWoC7X_kQQ2wmb0Soh3y-nBoTQ/s1600/Panama_Blog+89.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_s0v26DcWsGhOirbME8_ewn_FHlj2rAAegk3WVEebGUVppnk66xPiP3u3xKCj8NgK8DJR6Kys3_-RPXi7UKUonJ9e5hSQGwxgPbWsPaRDURpsXzh67aWoC7X_kQQ2wmb0Soh3y-nBoTQ/s1600/Panama_Blog+89.jpg" height="320" width="239" /></a><br />
<br />
Yet again another picture perfect location. After a delayed shuttle back
to Bocas Town and some epic fresh fish Sushi we were back on Bastimentos
packing for our trip to Costa Rica in the morning. We were meeting up with Mum n
Dad Stevo at the border after 6 months away and were very excited to be
spending the next few weeks catching up and getting spoilt… so long hostal
living!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09652572064170034371noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218767240550915026.post-33580790795305404262014-02-18T09:13:00.002-08:002014-02-18T09:19:41.709-08:00Sailing from Colombia to Panama<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On the evening of the
28<sup>th</sup> January we hopped in a taxi to Club Nautica on the outskirts of
the old town to find Big Fish, the boat that we would be spending the next 6
days on making our way over to the San Blas Islands in Panama. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We got dropped
off in a bit of a vague place with no visible entrance to the dock in sight. We
obviously looked lost as a man spotted us, he turned out to be one of our
fellow passengers; Ignacio. He showed us the way in (through a building site
entrance, we NEVER would have found it) and here we met the first member of
crew; Luana (we called her Lu). To our relief she was English! We had been
slightly apprehensive that the rest of the boat might not speak English – we
knew we had 6 Argentines; a family of 4 and an older couple (their friends) as
well as a Dutch couple, Paul and Mar. It was nice to know we would have a
little taste of home. Lu is 26 and has been living in Colombia for just over 2 years
doing this crossing, working on the boats as a cook.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Lu showed us the way
to the boat where everyone was. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Kyle had spent hours and hours researching the
various different boats and captains and had finally settled with this one. It
was also a bonus that Big Fish was leaving on the date that we wanted. This is
usually the deciding factor when people are choosing a boat. As there are not
many choices we have heard some real horror stories from some fellow
passengers, fingers crossed this was a goodun we thought. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(Kyle writing) </span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have
been looking forward to this trip similarly to how much I was looking forward
sampling some of Argentina’s finest Malbec and steak. I KNEW it was going to be
a big highlight of the trip and started my research months before we left the
UK. I wanted to go with the best company for Hannah’s first ever proper-sailing
trip, what a journey it turned out to be. Two days of open sea crossing with 3
days exploring some of the worlds most beautiful remote locations, The San Blas
Islands.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Hannah’s first
challenge was to take the leap of faith from the jetty to the boat! I reassured
Hannah there is normally a plank but the tender was in the way. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">We met the 8 other
passengers and headed back out to do a snacks and booze cruise, returning with
muchos cervazas, vino tino, ron - coca cola y limons y oreos!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">We met our captain;
Tilson, an interesting character… A short Colombian 29 year old, sporting a
gold hoop earring – very pirate indeed (you should see his skull and cross
swords tattoo on his chest – no joke). He seemed quite tired and very serious,
although occasionally mid serious sentence giving some kind of safety
instructions he would let out a little squeaky giggle and let the whole tough guy
captain thing slip, once saying something along the lines of “I MUST know where
all of you are at all times when doing the open sea crossing … but then you can
let loose and run around the islands naked or whatever”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An odd chap from the start so we knew this
is the kind of guy that might take a bit of getting used to. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxnWD3z862HTPIUUuOM4vhab6l7v-IzBAIpOM0G-nxjhF-lJp-dljMqvIIaGCVFqWHHF-IHfvlYYh0fjlAmqVaqoOubV-MfpnHKwGhMcDVrN5eX7YhsEtPzHeju1e86cDnSYUZ3VvkAHA/s1600/San+Blas+15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxnWD3z862HTPIUUuOM4vhab6l7v-IzBAIpOM0G-nxjhF-lJp-dljMqvIIaGCVFqWHHF-IHfvlYYh0fjlAmqVaqoOubV-MfpnHKwGhMcDVrN5eX7YhsEtPzHeju1e86cDnSYUZ3VvkAHA/s1600/San+Blas+15.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mr. "Smooth"</td></tr>
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<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">After the briefing we
spent the rest of the evening getting to know our fellow passengers on the
front deck of the boat, practicing our Spanish and helping with their English.
To our delight we got to try Mate; Argentina’s national drink. For some reason
when we were there we never tried it. It tasted good – like a herbal tea –
really herby. The Argentines are even more committed to their mate than the
English with their tea. Wherever they are; beach, jungle, anywhere - they come
prepared with their flask and special cup. This boat was no exception. It’s a
social thing. They share the cup and we learnt the code; if you don’t want
anymore you say ‘gracias’ to the pourer when you return the cup (something we
found hard because our British politeness wanted us to say thank you every time).
We enjoyed it throughout our sail.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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midnight we went down for our first night in the cabin in the harbour; a nice
gentle introduction!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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met Harry, the 3<sup>rd</sup> and final member of the crew and we set sail from
the historical naval city of Cartagena around 9am. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Having breakfast before setting sail</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">It was a beautiful day and
the sea was so calm it was like a millpond…this isn’t too bad, Hannah thought,
having been worried about seasickness. Just wait! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">We had been informed that we
would be sticking near the coast, as the open sea crossing was very rough and a
little too dangerous to cross. We spent the day motoring along with the jib
out, sunbathing on the beanbags on the bow. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Lu cooked us a lovely
lunch of pasta carbanara with salad. In fact, all our meals were delicious. We
breakfasted, lunched and dinnered every day. Fajitas, homemade burgers, tacos, Moroccan
chicken with cous cous….even home baked cake on board! Our tummies didn’t know
what had hit them!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">In the previous few weeks we hadn’t been eating so much – 1
or 2 meals a day, partly to save money but mainly because in the hot weather we
just weren’t that hungry therefore our stomachs must have shrunk a bit. The
problem that this caused was that we weren’t able to eat seconds when we really
wanted to! Mmmmm…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">During the evening of
that first day, the waves picked up and the group started to go downhill with seasickness.
Time for Han to start popping those seasickness pills! Slowly people started to
retreat to bed, we still managed to appreciate the phosphorescence glowing in
the wake. I was the last to bed after staying up for a while doing the night
watch with Tilson then Harry. After a while of dipping in and out of sleep
whilst staring at the bright stars, falling asleep then waking up with my face
very close to the bright phosphorescence whizzing past me because the waves
were so big, I decided to call it a night. I also knew I really wasn’t being a
very efficient look out trying to spot boats or anything hazardous. All this whilst
staring into the pitch-blackness which visually tripped me out a touch, and
continuously rocking up and down vigorously. Ugh. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The next day was
rough. For the whole day, it was like the group was drugged. Some being sick
over board, everyone sitting/sprawled out in the galley (the only place we
could be as we weren’t allowed out on deck because it was too dangerous). The
boat was seriously rocking! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">I (Hannah) couldn’t
move without feeling horrendous and I certainly could not venture down into our
cabin or even to go to the loo! I just had to stare. Stare out to the choppy
sea; eyes on the horizon, keep your eyes on the horizon. Unable to read, hold a
conversation, sleep or eat much… At a particularly low point, plastic bag at
the ready, Kyle sat me on the deck just beside the galley in an attempt to
blast me with air and sea splash. </span>Whilst I was mid stare, suddenly out of the
water dived a dolphin! There was a group of them and they seemed to be following
us, swimming side by side and giving little acrobatic shows. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’ve never seen anything
like it! It lifted the spirits of the whole boat and totally snapped me out of
feeling rotten; what a great seasickness cure and such a treat.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">That evening, after 32
hours of sailing we arrived at a small island in San Blas. Hooray!! We had
reached Panama! We didn’t hang about; grabbed a snorkel, some fins and jumped
into the bath like water for the last 40 minutes of daylight. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9-KorMqC6blLxwawp3Zr_WnHf_3xP9pnEEVoAJ44nFGimlTRwe5hHDLItrZcUAdzl6FnV2r2UJ51J6aQguBETkCtfHlKbqwpuvmYIoJG6nw7h6khJZFM9UY2bfvj1SYq5x2MRMBpUwMA/s1600/San+Blas+71.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9-KorMqC6blLxwawp3Zr_WnHf_3xP9pnEEVoAJ44nFGimlTRwe5hHDLItrZcUAdzl6FnV2r2UJ51J6aQguBETkCtfHlKbqwpuvmYIoJG6nw7h6khJZFM9UY2bfvj1SYq5x2MRMBpUwMA/s1600/San+Blas+71.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It wasn't all fish...we found a barbie...!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The following 3 days
were brilliant! Spent sailing and anchoring around the tiny islands. There are
around 330 islands spanning over 100 square miles. It is here that the Kuna Indians
people live. The Kunas are a </span><span lang="EN-US">wonderful example of how indigenous people can continue
to flourish and practice their age-old customs surrounded by the modern world. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their dress was very unique and colourful; the women wore
ankle to knee rows of beads. They were very little and had such distinctive
faces. The islands, together with these people are protected by the
Pan-American government. There are no resorts or big hotels; the San Blas
Islands are entirely unspoilt. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpm0cqMNcEouFdMaQ5AmizYtzY-j92x_UxyYQdXtJmAcRaIspvInW_iyLlrZcEsx4pUQ0ELykFi0CkD42O-pDrBHnKt6onAAnBWMMeuA3DdTlwAy7ptX4xohB9ot206KvYWvRbbhjVzow/s1600/San+Blas+40.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpm0cqMNcEouFdMaQ5AmizYtzY-j92x_UxyYQdXtJmAcRaIspvInW_iyLlrZcEsx4pUQ0ELykFi0CkD42O-pDrBHnKt6onAAnBWMMeuA3DdTlwAy7ptX4xohB9ot206KvYWvRbbhjVzow/s1600/San+Blas+40.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Kuna's houses</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our captain; Tilson, having some 'alone time' on his tender</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj542ZKTC5zzJdrJzOsl4WfxvgGNwfuSIw0m0CQUd6f7tKAlWNSV474dyoDllsSZ-c0LeGeCMEhUmtkWUmAIhdAQvRrYzMwyO10QcTQWLzmAMbszVxdBQxsvmyRKjCohS7I_DvA7jHDzZw/s1600/San+Blas+45.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj542ZKTC5zzJdrJzOsl4WfxvgGNwfuSIw0m0CQUd6f7tKAlWNSV474dyoDllsSZ-c0LeGeCMEhUmtkWUmAIhdAQvRrYzMwyO10QcTQWLzmAMbszVxdBQxsvmyRKjCohS7I_DvA7jHDzZw/s1600/San+Blas+45.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Harry flying</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh43i3vvyi2U594OWkfhPZGarPDv9vclJC3FZKUwRtvJncnPhaWXy7Gj9aWrNBhOelVUBRnGUIkhyK-ea8q3rPF2jHqlqaUAwGhXQXJ1ZF9fhJs8ExWpcoUh2ee3ExLCGYDurW1sP4mIRY/s1600/San+Blas+34.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh43i3vvyi2U594OWkfhPZGarPDv9vclJC3FZKUwRtvJncnPhaWXy7Gj9aWrNBhOelVUBRnGUIkhyK-ea8q3rPF2jHqlqaUAwGhXQXJ1ZF9fhJs8ExWpcoUh2ee3ExLCGYDurW1sP4mIRY/s1600/San+Blas+34.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our group reading up on species of fish</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">We played, explored,
sunbathed, read, chatted, swam, snorkelled, ate, read…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">One night we had a
fantastic Argentinean Asado. Ignacio did a great job cooking all the meat. </span></div>
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met some other sailors and had a great evening chilling around the big
campfire, drinking and sharing stories on the beach. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">It wasn’t long before all
our beers and rum had been drunk by all, (we discovered that your own drink is
everyone’s drink in the sailing world). </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq14MUySzr6yWpVZ8_WFo7SJss5k8T57NCrK7Fww2e7oNOsMvKPOyNERtp8R_XYWofQym3AADWs9qcSyWjkisFybOISG9EpyrXc3JHtrmhYccNz22J4E4iwP7328TlP-OsiYllmQhqhR0/s1600/San+Blas+33.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq14MUySzr6yWpVZ8_WFo7SJss5k8T57NCrK7Fww2e7oNOsMvKPOyNERtp8R_XYWofQym3AADWs9qcSyWjkisFybOISG9EpyrXc3JHtrmhYccNz22J4E4iwP7328TlP-OsiYllmQhqhR0/s1600/San+Blas+33.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWiSSS65MaU9FzzAT9n0ExbzKQ5H3IxgNKrplEnytP7C3GvhiczDHFjUtWlc3FW8I4xL4JKTdXj3EEEgQsKEBBO1D18wYA4JlO0dKDoNRSnVMKb5pLTUxT04UzZ96yWF_3j2YR9F0VDv8/s1600/San+Blas+35.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWiSSS65MaU9FzzAT9n0ExbzKQ5H3IxgNKrplEnytP7C3GvhiczDHFjUtWlc3FW8I4xL4JKTdXj3EEEgQsKEBBO1D18wYA4JlO0dKDoNRSnVMKb5pLTUxT04UzZ96yWF_3j2YR9F0VDv8/s1600/San+Blas+35.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">We headed back to Big Fish in the dingy
at what felt like 1AM although in actual fact it was around 10PM. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">One of the mornings we
went to the island with the immigration office on it. It consisted of a hut, a
small helicopter and a few Kunas trying to sell their colourful products.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifXzsJhw30OcmfLX64TpMZvKQtB9ITOuUjhMgyryuswyLV3Ko4bpR6rDFesDXHK3-4vB5xSattEURWRXQd8_2fxERvdsArl394whRvd0RM_aRtqVPPGN6RYvDnEcpS9XuP7itJn_IPde0/s1600/San+Blas+25.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifXzsJhw30OcmfLX64TpMZvKQtB9ITOuUjhMgyryuswyLV3Ko4bpR6rDFesDXHK3-4vB5xSattEURWRXQd8_2fxERvdsArl394whRvd0RM_aRtqVPPGN6RYvDnEcpS9XuP7itJn_IPde0/s1600/San+Blas+25.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5QiGf17w5Wfzqys-OsTz_QD_vS7C4hkPLncP6ug-pisN0STafmiNZ95DHx-AKVhe3AG0d0XBHnjhI1kEQwbDHBX47kw4ikQDMJPXGQBx8kfvWzsLKktxpflMukDQSuuywDojKTwfyiGw/s1600/San+Blas+26.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5QiGf17w5Wfzqys-OsTz_QD_vS7C4hkPLncP6ug-pisN0STafmiNZ95DHx-AKVhe3AG0d0XBHnjhI1kEQwbDHBX47kw4ikQDMJPXGQBx8kfvWzsLKktxpflMukDQSuuywDojKTwfyiGw/s1600/San+Blas+26.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">It
was here we realised we had officially left South America after 5 months! The
end of an era. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Later that day we snorkelled around a
shipwreck that had turned into an artificial reef.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyQ9crI_mnpoqckH5kmCl6-4uUfvhmiFmf_o74HyvCyHORRjCwum0dEtg37K_XA3oMcd8CV2yg08R3Z1_JHs8qjpyjEXoy56l4L_ccYTEG60nZR3MYYJUJumpjdL-3sx0lC8M_VIbvkuY/s1600/San+Blas+30.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyQ9crI_mnpoqckH5kmCl6-4uUfvhmiFmf_o74HyvCyHORRjCwum0dEtg37K_XA3oMcd8CV2yg08R3Z1_JHs8qjpyjEXoy56l4L_ccYTEG60nZR3MYYJUJumpjdL-3sx0lC8M_VIbvkuY/s1600/San+Blas+30.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6R7GLWIwB2LYoiIhPWb9PRMSYn2rwuO65NSV6nqVmPQ1MeB672HBNCeWQkzhUI9eRWPz-Pb2ln5V1D8xjYUmPiymFZsFVxhw_dE98TVSTumBi8QGp9dHiuZl1i6V4lFpSon2MGD74C38/s1600/San+Blas+29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6R7GLWIwB2LYoiIhPWb9PRMSYn2rwuO65NSV6nqVmPQ1MeB672HBNCeWQkzhUI9eRWPz-Pb2ln5V1D8xjYUmPiymFZsFVxhw_dE98TVSTumBi8QGp9dHiuZl1i6V4lFpSon2MGD74C38/s1600/San+Blas+29.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqeXlQApoE_sPNU30CvUGIzajPK-C58oiWcalrCdBmvMZniDFTvJwP3gwSrOYKRbAfQb4jB-ZSh4kM40QqdzZdlUU-EArZH3BQz7ej4rjccGmOk1lzVhMqhlJD56LWs4yA61cuRY0N1N8/s1600/San+Blas+28.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqeXlQApoE_sPNU30CvUGIzajPK-C58oiWcalrCdBmvMZniDFTvJwP3gwSrOYKRbAfQb4jB-ZSh4kM40QqdzZdlUU-EArZH3BQz7ej4rjccGmOk1lzVhMqhlJD56LWs4yA61cuRY0N1N8/s1600/San+Blas+28.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">During our sail around
the islands we spotted quite a few shipwrecks out of the water that had got
caught on the coral reef. There are tiny tiny islands peaking up everywhere and super shallow areas!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">At the last Island
that we stopped at, Tilson bought 5 lobsters (alive) and 2 groupa fish for $60,
4 beers and 2 yogurts! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Fnh81YiXf4VN_ilM6wXfjJootQIhHQpGqLCqFNdk7dl80qwpqkiKpa-gocgX-hpEKF1UxK6ALi7cgayWYIGu440D7nVxTSKEBdGs2XYhsSilAJ3P2nUUapeGjgYPfiGwGlRdijBr4_w/s1600/San+Blas+16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Fnh81YiXf4VN_ilM6wXfjJootQIhHQpGqLCqFNdk7dl80qwpqkiKpa-gocgX-hpEKF1UxK6ALi7cgayWYIGu440D7nVxTSKEBdGs2XYhsSilAJ3P2nUUapeGjgYPfiGwGlRdijBr4_w/s1600/San+Blas+16.jpg" height="223" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">We were all quite fascinated with them!</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not so brave!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">That night, after
witnessing the process of fish gutting, we had a fish feast, which to our
surprise, as neither of us are fish people, we loved!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> ‘Lobsters are cockroaches of the sea.’ - Tilson<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">On the afternoon of
the 3<sup>rd</sup> day in San Blas, we said goodbye to 6 of our group. They
left in a speedboat for the mainland. This just left the Argentinean couple, the
crew and us. A much quieter boat, allowing for more relaxed crew members!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Kyle
stayed up with Tilson and another guy from a different boat that night, drinking, being merry and getting up to mischief boarding other boats and being pirates.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The following morning
was officially the end of our trip. However, Tilson agreed that we could stay
an extra day, as we just weren’t ready to leave! Our form of payment was in the
shape of a bit of cleaning here and there. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">With all the
passengers gone (and Lu too as unfortunately she had to go to the city to do the
big food shop for the return) it was just us 4. Tilson made a big fish soup, which
seemed to feed the 5000; many of his pirate friends boarded the boat and socialised.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">More time to explore!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">We were sad to leave
the following morning in our speedboat to the main land. After 7 nights on a
boat though, perhaps it was time. Will definitely miss those islands though.
They are very special. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Hannah and Kyle travel S.Americahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15199881368072873571noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218767240550915026.post-82883330511397815112014-02-10T18:21:00.003-08:002014-02-10T18:21:37.786-08:00Colombia<div class="MsoNormal">
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We arrived in the beautiful city of Cartagena in the morning of the 10<sup>th</sup> January.</div>
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After checking into our hostel we headed straight for the beach! Feeling a little beach deprived we were determined to make up for it over the next few weeks! 10 minutes in, chilling on the sand, 2 Caribbean ladies made a bee line for us and before we knew it (after saying ‘no gracias’ half heartedly) we were both on our backs, legs in the air being massaged rather vigorously!! We ended up having ‘full body massages’ whilst talking a bit of Spanglish to them. Typically the price wasn’t discussed before hand (school boy error on our part) and they ended up wanting a small fortune! We got the price down considerably but still ended up paying far more than we envisaged!<br />
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We had a few beach days here. The water was beautifully warm and clear but unfortunately the beaches were saturated with vendors selling drinks, souvenirs, beach inflatables etc and it sometimes got to the point where you were saying ‘no gracias’ every 30 seconds… Oh well – it was still lovely to absorb the sun and not do a lot! We had fun, people (and child) watching …<o:p></o:p><br />
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We discovered Plaza Trinidad. A plaza full of life in the evenings– circus performers and break dancers entertaining the crowds in the square in front of the church with street food and restaurants surrounding it.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />One night there, we shared an awesome pizza and got chatting to 2 couples on other tables. One of the couples were older and ended up buying us all a beer, saying we made them miss their kids! Made us miss our parents!!<o:p></o:p><br />
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Another night there we had the street food – seriously big sizes!!<o:p></o:p></div>
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The first time we experienced the old town was by night. Lucky for us, the town was a bit delayed in taking their Christmas lights down. The entrance was magical.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Once through the archway, there were horse and carts pulling up, lots of vendors and lots of people.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Here, we went out for a traditional Colombian meal with one of our roommates; Christian, a dutch guy and his American friend Cara. The restaurant was <i>so</i> traditional that the waitresses were dressed as slaves(!) all in white. This was rather unsettling and made us feel quite uncomfortable, as well as hilariously funny and bizarre!!<o:p></o:p><br />
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The following day we went back to see the old town in the day. It was absolutely stunning and we enjoyed getting lost just wandering through the streets. The colours were so vibrant.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Another day we did something very different and went to a mud volcano.<br />
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<br />We didn’t just visit but we went INTO it! We got changed in a hut at the base of it and then climbed the steps feeling rather exposed in our swim suits, unsure as to what we had committed ourselves to! At the top, there was a bit of a queue which gave us time to peer over the edge into the ‘crater’ of mud. It was quite a sight that greeted us; lots of people reeling around really close together, screaming, all completely engulfed in the mud. It was like we were looking down on savage aliens…we were to join them!! Kyle first…I watched as he carefully made his descent down the ladder, so clean…until he reached the mud…I couldn’t watch anymore as I was now being chivvied on to go down…<br />
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When I got to the mud, suddenly there were men’s hands on me – and they weren’t Kyle’s! I was being eased into the mud and taken to ‘the massage station’. This was where I found Kyle again, already mid massage.<br />
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Twice in one week we found ourselves in this situation; Colombians massaging us against our will!! Again, we went with it. After our 2 minute rub, we were then pushed away into all the other mud aliens.<br />
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It was the strangest sensation!! We were completely weightless, unable to control our movements in the thick mud! The best way I can describe it is like warm acrylic paint – lots of it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Once we had had enough, we had to very carefully climb the stairs to get out – everything was very slippery!<br />
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After being wiped down by more men – ah! </div>
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<br />– we had to go down and walk to the river, where some ‘local women’ awaited to wash us!! We waded out a way and they sat us down. What came next was another unique experience. It was like we had regressed to babies and were being washed <i>thoroughly</i> by our mothers!! We could hardly breathe as they kept pouring water over our heads – no warning! After the head was clean they moved down… Again, with no warning – off went my bikini top! I had to hunch down in the murky river to stay covered! Then lower… off went the bottoms! Sweet Jesus! At the same time, Kyle was having an equally invasive time; with one quick swoop his shorts were floating in front of him! Although the whole ordeal was quite bizarre we enjoyed every moment!<o:p></o:p><br />
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That evening we went to the local dance studio for a Salsa class. It was great to learn some moves and was quite an unexpected cardio work out! In true Colombian style the class finished with a complimentary beer outside in the courtyard with the teacher. Here, we met a dancer called Daner in the resident Contemporary company; 'Periferia' and got chatting about different dance styles and the body in general which was really interesting and refreshing. <o:p></o:p></div>
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We subsequently went to sit in on a company rehearsal the next day and took a few snaps. It was lovely to have a taste of the dance world again.</div>
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After 4 nights we left Cartagena to go East to explore more of the Caribbean coast. We took a 4/5 hour bus to Taganga. Lonely Planet describes it as ‘a small fishing village that doesn’t quite know what has hit it’. Completely true. The hippies have taken this little place over; parties every night on the street. It is quite a poor town and the roads aren’t really roads. It’s a little grimy and we heard along the way that it can be a bit dangerous at times.<br />
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It is here that is a popular destination for diving courses, there are many dive centres at very competitive prices, some of the cheapest in Central and South America. We found ourselves enquiring in a few dive companies as soon as we got there and before we knew it, we had opted to do our Open Water NAUI scuba diving course, leaving the next morning. NAUI is exactly the same as the famous PADI (being you come out with the same level of qualification) but with a few differences, more contact time with your instructor rather than watching a video, more mandatory safety techniques and the organisation is not for profit. This was a 3 day course where we were to learn all about the equipment, the physics and physiology of diving, emergency procedures and of course the actual practical element of diving (!) – down to a maximum of 18 metres.<o:p></o:p></div>
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With the company we chose (Nautilus) the course included free accommodation in a remote cabana a little bit further round the coastline within Tayrona National Park. It was very basic; sleeping in hammocks, no running water or electricity. It was a welcomed escape from reality, although we are sure that sounds crazy to be saying that when we are indeed escaping from actual reality whilst travelling away from home for 8 months. Anyway you know what we mean, so our 3 days were really all about throwing ourselves in to the deep end (literally); learning this new skill in an absolutely stunning and isolated setting.<o:p></o:p><br />
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Our instructor was called Mateo, a 26 year old Colombian who has had a lot of experience with diving. He trained in scuba diving with the Colombian Navy and as well as being an instructor, he works as a commercial (maintenance & construction) diver on oil rigs. It was just us two in the group which was great – private tuition!<o:p></o:p><br />
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Our first lesson began on the little beach just down from the cabana, learning about how the equipment works; how to build it up and break it down. Then into the sea in our wetsuits and ‘booties’ to put things into practice. After getting used to the breathing we went down to 5 metres to practice some skills.<br />
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<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />One skill which took a bit of getting used to was taking your mask off your face, put it back on (filled with water) and then breath out through your nose whilst putting pressure on the top of the mask allowing the water to escape with the bubbles from the bottom of the mask. This was surprisingly hard because somehow when you remove your mask you panic – even though you are breathing through your mouth, having your eyes and nose exposed in the water feels scary.<o:p></o:p><br />
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I had to overcome some fears. In the beginning I found myself trying to absorb every single word Mateo was saying to us because I didn’t want to do anything wrong and put myself in any difficult situations. For me it felt a little overwhelming to start and just the act of breathing under water was foreign. Kyle being the water baby he is got used to these various techniques a little easier… or less panicky! We had many dives over the 3 days and slowly but surely we grew in confidence until we were diving down to 20 metres quite happily!<o:p></o:p><br />
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On the first afternoon after lunch we had some free time and heard about this stunning bay on the other side of the mountain. We took a small hike over the hill and down to the beautiful Playa Braha.<br />
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<br />The long strip was absolutely deserted and there were some really impressive waves crashing before us.<br />
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We chilled, played and studied our NAUI book.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">A little guy we met on the walk</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Studying back at the cabana</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Theory lesson</td></tr>
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Some of our diving pictures from the 3 days:</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Mateo with an eel, (dead thankfully!)</td></tr>
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<br />On the third day after having a busy morning of 3 dives before midday it was back to Taganga to take our exam, gulp! I needn’t have been worried and Kyle was right to be reminding me to ‘chill out about the test’ for the last few days leading up to it. It was unlike any ‘exam’ I’ve ever taken before. We could talk to each other and ask questions to Mateo. We found the multiple test questions fairly challenging and not as straight forward as everyone had kept telling us. Anyway – we both passed with 90% (obviously with nearly exactly the same answers marked) so we were very happy! We were officially qualified open water scuba divers.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHzRUXuepDQzLnBVum-yf5KIGO_gYqpBMeKUIvMKanLsoGLpEUpjVI7wM0EjxX5tZ3uCbx6b3HljswI4-YH67Dyh15kx0lZEwxjYDebq3H69-aS0ItbdvehnHTc-nqV9ytZALwecwNioc/s1600/Colombia+64.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHzRUXuepDQzLnBVum-yf5KIGO_gYqpBMeKUIvMKanLsoGLpEUpjVI7wM0EjxX5tZ3uCbx6b3HljswI4-YH67Dyh15kx0lZEwxjYDebq3H69-aS0ItbdvehnHTc-nqV9ytZALwecwNioc/s1600/Colombia+64.jpg" height="358" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />We took Mateo out after for a beer with a friend who also did the course at the same time (but in Spanish) to say thanks and celebrate. Here Mateo told us a funny story about how he once fell asleep under water (5 meters) whilst doing the ‘safety stop’ for 3 minutes but woke up after 5 minutes to find his students had already surfaced. That shows just how comfortable professional scuba divers feel breathing under water!! <o:p></o:p><br />
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That night we partied; watching the street musicians get the crowd dancing, then reggae on the beach and finally ended up being led to an awesome Salsa club by some nice people we met throughout the night. It was great to sit and watch how great everyone looked salsa’ing! Later in the evening after we had a little fling on the dance floor a few guys brought some fire toys out. Typically Kyles eyes perked up, so he waits for the right time then goes to ask if he can join. No burns this time so all good.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The next day we took a bus further up the coast by 2 hours to Palomino. We got dropped off on the main road and then walked down a dirt track for 15/20 minutes heading for the beach. Once we got there, that was it - we didn’t leave it for the next 4 days! It was a really white sandy long beach, stretching as far as the eye could see.<br />
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<br />Our hostel walked out right onto the sand. When we checked in at reception, I automatically asked;<o:p></o:p></div>
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- ‘What’s the wifi code?’<o:p></o:p></div>
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‘We don’t have wifi’<o:p></o:p></div>
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- ‘Oh’<o:p></o:p></div>
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More days of being cut off from the internet. This was very good for us we decided!<o:p></o:p><br />
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Again, we slept in hammocks in a little hut with mozzie nets over each one.<o:p></o:p><br />
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As soon as we checked in, we got changed for the beach to enjoy the last few hours of the afternoon. Kyle was keen to ride the big waves that this area was famous for so he hired a boogie board for the last hour of daylight. There were some series of red flags dotted up areas of the coast line. Earlier I mentioned to Kyle that red was the international colour for danger was it not? So perhaps we should be careful around there? ‘Don’t know…’ he said.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Forgetting/ignoring this he entered into the rough sea by the red flags… This photo is hard for us to look at now…<o:p></o:p><br />
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Needless to say within about 10 minutes he got himself into some serious trouble. He was getting swept out to sea and the waves ended up breaking 5 – 10 – 15 metres in front of him. All the time the sea pulling him back. Before my eyes I was losing Kyle…my heart was in my mouth. He was kicking, kicking, kicking and paddling with one arm whilst holding onto the board with his other but he didn’t appear to be moving. At this point the life guard finally went in (after various people on the beach shouting at him to do so) and started to swim out to save him.<br />
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<br />The trouble was that the waves were so big that he wasn’t able to see Kyle and he was swimming out on an angle away from him. Luckily a massive wave broke just behind and Kyle managed to catch it and pretty much ride it all the way in. The whole beach erupted and clapped; I looked around and realised that all eyes had been out to sea on him– I had been so absorbed I hadn’t realised.<o:p></o:p></div>
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He fell onto the sand, very pink, gasping for breath and tingling all over his body – from a mixture of adrenaline and probably shock. The whole ordeal lasted about 10/15 minutes which felt like an age.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We found out later when talking to the surf hire girl that there aren’t any rescue boats out here and many people die. Shit.<o:p></o:p><br />
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The experience really shook him up and gave him a greater respect for the sheer power of the sea and mother nature. Hard way to learn a lesson.<o:p></o:p><br />
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Kyle also has a pretty different version of the events from his perspective but it’s probably best you ask him in person if interested ... a little intense is an understatement.<o:p></o:p><br />
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This episode did make him famous in Palomino; for the rest of our stay here we got ‘oh my god you’re the guy that nearly died…’<o:p></o:p></div>
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The rest of our days were spent, reading, chilling, sunbathing. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5gAEgzYqm8sFCNYj6-zen2kaj8JBE-PFj0S91DBq3gQwd7sERtWVAvlGCH4iXC9Fp8WBhXPojyA-wT0bu7S4qg1Gaf-rjN3hq25T-QTPNOdEr3y5nPz-CE2UkFgU56sA9RnFy1u7r0L4/s1600/Colombia+67.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5gAEgzYqm8sFCNYj6-zen2kaj8JBE-PFj0S91DBq3gQwd7sERtWVAvlGCH4iXC9Fp8WBhXPojyA-wT0bu7S4qg1Gaf-rjN3hq25T-QTPNOdEr3y5nPz-CE2UkFgU56sA9RnFy1u7r0L4/s1600/Colombia+67.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">A friend Hannah made in the sea</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUshCFpuMZfV9Nq48huMjnC-faFUF2W4jNDQKGggkOO1TWKin97Mn55Bs_2qAlUIggHwA2Pxk4zZK1EYsIPy0-t01kErZUHAqjNzOpjpKBvSzBy-rjEQu7PfGa3Aj95jRypGVkPrHQcQY/s1600/Colombia+69.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUshCFpuMZfV9Nq48huMjnC-faFUF2W4jNDQKGggkOO1TWKin97Mn55Bs_2qAlUIggHwA2Pxk4zZK1EYsIPy0-t01kErZUHAqjNzOpjpKBvSzBy-rjEQu7PfGa3Aj95jRypGVkPrHQcQY/s1600/Colombia+69.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqu7AkvoHeqJTAheytlgsDq8P4r4FhpHvzRV5o_9BXLyWoVBxG9G2cs4sjULC37K5_Hp2LXHXp-q9iAcdCNHmH0u9rMBULSdZiI-LQ5Bt6QHntlsSyRn_L_fYPOS8rvxmOGU-bbwgBSis/s1600/Colombia+70.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqu7AkvoHeqJTAheytlgsDq8P4r4FhpHvzRV5o_9BXLyWoVBxG9G2cs4sjULC37K5_Hp2LXHXp-q9iAcdCNHmH0u9rMBULSdZiI-LQ5Bt6QHntlsSyRn_L_fYPOS8rvxmOGU-bbwgBSis/s1600/Colombia+70.jpg" height="178" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">What a pretty picture</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFRAyi9VlAXXQh7XtLpYh7KYZp6YLPhmFXQovHMsi2pUh1GrqdcTlSZBzj6XUJ1bGjFDn7bYK2a7bdSdTGldyn_1v8KlG9aWayLfp6qnjSi01yCcChPSM8PrHhJqTx-bnwiBgg-sHqbEU/s1600/Colombia+74.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFRAyi9VlAXXQh7XtLpYh7KYZp6YLPhmFXQovHMsi2pUh1GrqdcTlSZBzj6XUJ1bGjFDn7bYK2a7bdSdTGldyn_1v8KlG9aWayLfp6qnjSi01yCcChPSM8PrHhJqTx-bnwiBgg-sHqbEU/s1600/Colombia+74.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">The cutest puppies that slept in our hut</td></tr>
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Kyle wasn’t completely put off from the sea and he hired a surf board the next day for an hour but this time, strictly stayed in the safe zones.<o:p></o:p><br />
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We also walked 20 minutes or so down the beach to where a river empties out into the sea. For a change we didm’t have our camera so we just took mental pictures, these are just for us. It was so beautiful and picturesque, watching the jungle lead to the ocean via the clear, fresh water… swim time!<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4cEVmjfeJAR9Y8OZzPsKXa9_8WCslyTkpNTz3w0inzOOwgI1cB6xCIuYv1LTrL1Mwc03ZK-iFj5pxYAr9VJvRSjl8jAOLgm8Sa2DPwGjlAz4E9Q38k2wGJv_B4uobt9DFSOkXbmkgvcw/s1600/Colombia+75.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4cEVmjfeJAR9Y8OZzPsKXa9_8WCslyTkpNTz3w0inzOOwgI1cB6xCIuYv1LTrL1Mwc03ZK-iFj5pxYAr9VJvRSjl8jAOLgm8Sa2DPwGjlAz4E9Q38k2wGJv_B4uobt9DFSOkXbmkgvcw/s1600/Colombia+75.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Our hostel</td></tr>
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The majority of our evenings were spent at a nearby hostel called ‘Dreamers’. Great food, happy hours and lots of socialising and drinking with nice people, one of which we met all the way back at our first hostel in Peru in September and now works behind the bar here. Score! Typically this meant that out of the 4 nights that we paid for accommodation Kyle only made it back to the hammocks twice. One night he made it only as far as the communal hostel sofa, the other slept half on/half off a big wicker chair right on the beach. Webbers you would be proud...!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Oh dear...</td></tr>
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Luckily our days were filled with pure chill time!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Our next stop was on the way back down the coast to Tayrona National Park. We didn’t think too carefully about this part and didn’t really consider that we would be hiking in this place. Whoops we only had flip flops for shoes!<o:p></o:p><br />
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We walked through scenery that reminded us of Indiana Jones or Jurassic Park. We took a 2hr(ish) walk exploring dense jungle and walking out onto stunning beaches. There were these massive boulders for rocks dotted all around the area that must have been there for thousands of years.<br />
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We arrived in Cabo San Juan but unfortunately we were a bit late for the high demand accommodation. After waiting in a queue for a good hour we managed to bag a tent, however there was no mattress and we had hardly any clothes. What we experienced that night was the most uncomfortable night’s sleep we have had on our travels so far. The ground was so hard it was like tarmac. We made sure we got a mattress the next night – that was most definitely worth the extra £3.33... a sarong and a quick dry thin towel is NOT sufficient padding! <o:p></o:p><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Suppose it wasn't all bad...</td></tr>
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The next day we rested our sore bodies at Playa Piscina. A gorgeous beach, protected by a big coral barrier surrounding it, making the water so calm – like a big swimming pool.<br />
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<br />Most of the beaches in Tayrona aren’t safe to swim in because of the infamous current. We kept seeing signs ‘Many tourists have died; don’t add to the statistic.’ We will try!<o:p></o:p><br />
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That afternoon and the whole of the next day we stayed around the stunning San Juan. The most beautiful beach of our trip so far.<o:p></o:p><br />
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Kyle's night shots:</div>
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We took a boat from here back to Taganga around 4pm. </div>
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It was a great way of seeing the coastline of the national park. </div>
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It was quite a scary ride; very choppy open water. We got soaked – even the drivers. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAbmZnl0PyH8BH3D-cJcuBlb71cU0JBuNFkLqouUXDRini4tM92RnJgRCO0ufgDu3MeLLrljIwW9643g21ViU8vEs58vaIBxyFYJ6ai4aVIOfDnazbEx-KzjqcHMeK3iC0hiyauQ66PJ0/s1600/Colombia+104.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAbmZnl0PyH8BH3D-cJcuBlb71cU0JBuNFkLqouUXDRini4tM92RnJgRCO0ufgDu3MeLLrljIwW9643g21ViU8vEs58vaIBxyFYJ6ai4aVIOfDnazbEx-KzjqcHMeK3iC0hiyauQ66PJ0/s1600/Colombia+104.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a><br />
<br />It was cool to also boat past and see the areas we did our diving and the cabana we stayed in.<o:p></o:p><br />
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After one night in Santa Marta it was back to Cartagena for a few days to get ready for the sail to Panama, visiting the San Blas Islands!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Hannah and Kyle travel S.Americahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15199881368072873571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218767240550915026.post-42646359644589570112014-01-26T15:15:00.001-08:002014-01-26T15:15:33.487-08:00Feliz Navidad in Buenos Aires & Iguazu Falls<div class="MsoNormal">
After another
overnighter we finally arrived at Retiro staion in Buenos Aires and made our
way to the penthouse apartment in Palermo; an up market swanky part of town. We
had booked this as a Christmas treat to ourselves, as presents would be
pointless this year. We found it on Air BnB in LaPaz so had spent the last month
or so looking forward to it. A chance to chill in our own place, celebrate
Christmas and explore the city at our own pace. Hannah nearly died and went to heaven in her first bath for 4 months.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja5g2AeQpOqZ5mRQ9JSZ_oAM-Z57SQI6tVoOgZLFQ6vYc9_AIKDpTkq5nxhTuWESTa1JWS2gAv18FBk1EPlUWWr7pQ13Rm-NJc97DmLv_0BxEN6TpmafFROfWsrZrOqgJRBaJRcgVn2F4/s1600/BA+1+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja5g2AeQpOqZ5mRQ9JSZ_oAM-Z57SQI6tVoOgZLFQ6vYc9_AIKDpTkq5nxhTuWESTa1JWS2gAv18FBk1EPlUWWr7pQ13Rm-NJc97DmLv_0BxEN6TpmafFROfWsrZrOqgJRBaJRcgVn2F4/s1600/BA+1+%25281%2529.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggglFHfN6MqGiFlQTKDSGp5ui__A13LPF2BAFeAZarGlUCn1w_6LMvsf6xPbFXI7W7TQ4VJa6OdBYG_CfSRIF2H-GRu36hwV-S09PF9LzSXuRH2WsNpV993o0t0jiX8khnujw1b4FtaHY/s1600/BA+3+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggglFHfN6MqGiFlQTKDSGp5ui__A13LPF2BAFeAZarGlUCn1w_6LMvsf6xPbFXI7W7TQ4VJa6OdBYG_CfSRIF2H-GRu36hwV-S09PF9LzSXuRH2WsNpV993o0t0jiX8khnujw1b4FtaHY/s1600/BA+3+%25281%2529.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><i>Having a steak in a local restaurant</i></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">In the days leading up
to Christmas we explored the local area a bit and visited Casa Rosada, the
stunning building that Evita famously gave her public speeches from on the
balcony. This wasn’t before Hannah gave me a little Argentinean education on
whom she actually was, yup…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>through the somewhat comical performance from Madonna and Antonio
Banderas in the film EVITA!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Obviously there is
still a lot of political and social upset, there are barricades and riot police
in permanent guard around the plaza. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The Obelisk is pretty
impressive as is the building sized portrait of Evita in the background that
illuminates the night.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKXK1QiBvx0zK6LhUx7Q_bEOJRg5lW23PTCKzPbEipf78MjzIEv6ei7mEwHdcnUmrFQDz8Tb-5z6b0IEK3EKjkB7QmNhEPXrmOGGt3nv3Lx8Tu1HU5F08DXxiEUPPKcDoRn6vopkvJPyI/s1600/BA+44.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKXK1QiBvx0zK6LhUx7Q_bEOJRg5lW23PTCKzPbEipf78MjzIEv6ei7mEwHdcnUmrFQDz8Tb-5z6b0IEK3EKjkB7QmNhEPXrmOGGt3nv3Lx8Tu1HU5F08DXxiEUPPKcDoRn6vopkvJPyI/s1600/BA+44.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">One evening we cooked
an epic steak meal (in true Argentinean style though we didn’t start cooking
until 10pm). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK6lZae5hd51STZLmjKCIk7khUz0aVemG7wUv2LbVhrOIrNVpmkx4SqoMp0k8ovgwiz9fMbUpUmfhdtlDY6VVWwlZCXbvveVItsXDSwFDUP0_mlBUad-YlDCNDxN9zhFEt7FrWymB2ro0/s1600/BA+76.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK6lZae5hd51STZLmjKCIk7khUz0aVemG7wUv2LbVhrOIrNVpmkx4SqoMp0k8ovgwiz9fMbUpUmfhdtlDY6VVWwlZCXbvveVItsXDSwFDUP0_mlBUad-YlDCNDxN9zhFEt7FrWymB2ro0/s1600/BA+76.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">We visited San Telmo
Market on Sunday which was awesome; bands playing music in the street, Tango
dancers under the trees in the antiques market plaza and what seemed like miles
of stalls … huge and very hot. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Argentinians are LOCO about their herbal drink mate'</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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We were trying to meet up with Robbie and Rhea
our friends that we met in Mancora as we both said we would be in BA for the
festive period. With no phones it was tricky to keep communication but I had a
feeling that we would bump into them (like we had on the Isla Del Sol and in La
Paz, Bolivia). Just before leaving to go home I spotted Robbie and his pal
Joss, who we also briefly met in Mancora. I had a strong feeling that we would
bump into them, low and behold we did. I call it the power of intention.</div>
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We went back to Joss’s
warehouse in San Telmo where he lives with his girlfriend Alicia and an
American called Jeff. We caught up with Rhea and Alicia there too and found out
all about the setup that Joss and Alicia have here in BA. Joss is managing a
stunning old Argentinean mansion next door, hiring it out for film and
photo-shoots as well as accommodation for over $1000 a night. </div>
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Naturally my head
sprung into film mode and I got thinking about some possibilities… more on that
later. Alicia has some part time work organising some crowd funding schemes as
well as volunteering for a couple of NFP organisations. Robbie and Rhea were
staying with them until the New Year. It was pretty clear from the off that we
were going to have some fun in BA!</div>
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We put on a BBQ the
following night with those four as well as some other friends, including Angus
Berkley who is the son of friends back home, his pal and his Dad, Robert, who
arrived that day to spend the festive period with him. As well as Greg and
Karina our pals from Cuzco, who were here for a month, also living in the San
Telmo area. Hannah made and distributed her mini chocolate Christmas puddings,
like she does every year, but this time having to substitute most of the
ingredients, but they still tasted great and everyone was very impressed with
the effort. </div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">We BBQ’d on the roof with a great view. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_kCxAVmCZuRXGJJRh9IthB35-Q55wUZY9DrpMgvz4TrR58lr1vlmIjhIX3bhaqD_OGQ1xYg0Y82pMdyyqEZEdDycHndudxW6HNWFiPkiYt2CWk1-NAOROXXhgvWRNqqBg_aoPi_KK3w0/s1600/BA+75.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_kCxAVmCZuRXGJJRh9IthB35-Q55wUZY9DrpMgvz4TrR58lr1vlmIjhIX3bhaqD_OGQ1xYg0Y82pMdyyqEZEdDycHndudxW6HNWFiPkiYt2CWk1-NAOROXXhgvWRNqqBg_aoPi_KK3w0/s1600/BA+75.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Needless to the say with
just the 6 of us left the night got messy and we were asked to move down to our
flat. Everyone but Joss fancied leaving around 4am so typically we grabbed another
beer and he and I stayed up until the early hours watching the Christmas Eve
sun rise from the balcony. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">We discovered that the
Argentineans do not really celebrate Christmas in a big way like we do at home,
but Christmas eve is a different story! After the tradition of watching Home
Alone...</span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpqexoKuhRHV5Na-FmDELeFP7Niccd7KzCM5yKeBZG0ikV_QVc0MOP1FH6jAcCw4KGpKxSIjvloVKjpMcrqYVQ6Mwz5nBmr1jAgz08FQn6IguOlRzJP-JnnDHWIr9f-8JadvFNCGNNYVw/s1600/BA+66.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpqexoKuhRHV5Na-FmDELeFP7Niccd7KzCM5yKeBZG0ikV_QVc0MOP1FH6jAcCw4KGpKxSIjvloVKjpMcrqYVQ6Mwz5nBmr1jAgz08FQn6IguOlRzJP-JnnDHWIr9f-8JadvFNCGNNYVw/s1600/BA+66.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">...and just as we were heading to bed around midnight suddenly the whole sky
exploded with fireworks as far as the eye could see: 360 degrees! </span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX90tXe3F4ZZvae7lRTGMvRV6d90-Gg2RqcNfDX6IeNvxcCcYKqItaTcVt_6lpPSGLrXIGE7XI-yA-Pm2T0kmn_a2KjWIsiCa1uzponRLHImVJfz69fThK87FXmRrCU8f5GyPqqqOSlAE/s1600/BA+68.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX90tXe3F4ZZvae7lRTGMvRV6d90-Gg2RqcNfDX6IeNvxcCcYKqItaTcVt_6lpPSGLrXIGE7XI-yA-Pm2T0kmn_a2KjWIsiCa1uzponRLHImVJfz69fThK87FXmRrCU8f5GyPqqqOSlAE/s1600/BA+68.jpg" height="318" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">It was
incredible how close the fireworks were to buildings, we definitely had the
best seat in town from our balconies and managed to stay up for another hour
until we gave in… before the fireworks stopped. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_GBPPuwW-K8ifBZYPK9SaHsX-fH_om9c1Zw4yu5h36t2DEVAebVEzVIdeBxXrIkm963scYKSifiwv-Xjknq5w_MqkI23zAqXI78Nhyphenhyphen_enkMPGoyUzZPrD5mB3tiJ9UM5vo3I7ZhyKUoA/s1600/BA+69.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_GBPPuwW-K8ifBZYPK9SaHsX-fH_om9c1Zw4yu5h36t2DEVAebVEzVIdeBxXrIkm963scYKSifiwv-Xjknq5w_MqkI23zAqXI78Nhyphenhyphen_enkMPGoyUzZPrD5mB3tiJ9UM5vo3I7ZhyKUoA/s1600/BA+69.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7oMg-Id-Uk7Ox4Gencj7k8YrQtaQDh_i3_X729AuKbxUrnBFmay0kxs6lkSKSNe9VjsPesysXYaHmk8CsBi48Vff6AlFumX_a_3EiYzLA1q8mzYkiBn9x9rKw9t_5HPpm4zj_JygFL2o/s1600/BA+67.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7oMg-Id-Uk7Ox4Gencj7k8YrQtaQDh_i3_X729AuKbxUrnBFmay0kxs6lkSKSNe9VjsPesysXYaHmk8CsBi48Vff6AlFumX_a_3EiYzLA1q8mzYkiBn9x9rKw9t_5HPpm4zj_JygFL2o/s1600/BA+67.jpg" height="171" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Although we knew that
Christmas Day was going to be very different this year, we were still determined to do it properly!</span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw6OTWlPQjdmB08cx6cbHzouFTYr5qzPjfkNHAtLsBiwTFM3y9m3YZ_58Nji7DRgRhyphenhyphenDj0lAKUOeX2X2ehS_333eFVS7mfCzXi3nI1kReI1qm3mk7xaow2mGaR9Iu0FQwXqxX8C0vPpFo/s1600/BA+64.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw6OTWlPQjdmB08cx6cbHzouFTYr5qzPjfkNHAtLsBiwTFM3y9m3YZ_58Nji7DRgRhyphenhyphenDj0lAKUOeX2X2ehS_333eFVS7mfCzXi3nI1kReI1qm3mk7xaow2mGaR9Iu0FQwXqxX8C0vPpFo/s1600/BA+64.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">We still started it off
with a little traditional bubbly. The bottle of Moet cost more than the whole
Christmas meal… but it was worth it. By 11AM we were pretty tipsy, standard! </span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjYRtpnWYb8rOfV-8EDdXy9j_iFd6qmbPflIHOGSt46G5O17vhQ3N0X0ZJZa13g-AwXyaO0JMBouyremTiTyIiQ_zqd1E8LtR8ENgTbqqDnd80G4uSum2tO-pDOeAfGhXSO7xbdCMyLHc/s1600/BA+60.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjYRtpnWYb8rOfV-8EDdXy9j_iFd6qmbPflIHOGSt46G5O17vhQ3N0X0ZJZa13g-AwXyaO0JMBouyremTiTyIiQ_zqd1E8LtR8ENgTbqqDnd80G4uSum2tO-pDOeAfGhXSO7xbdCMyLHc/s1600/BA+60.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The day was mostly spent FaceTiming family and friends, gate-crashing
everyone’s Christmas days... </span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><i>Browns</i></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5nwjWKiNIsBprIG2rtQAcxjHvxRWshT9h85CHJO_PjrcVxttBJqVRqVnwVc-Nuh4PhGVrRtD4F_VBbgEbopLKw_sc34iXqNCPtdy-aov_Lx296MYl3L1euoMkCR3H6sDRiMj2-wr36Ls/s1600/Facetime+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5nwjWKiNIsBprIG2rtQAcxjHvxRWshT9h85CHJO_PjrcVxttBJqVRqVnwVc-Nuh4PhGVrRtD4F_VBbgEbopLKw_sc34iXqNCPtdy-aov_Lx296MYl3L1euoMkCR3H6sDRiMj2-wr36Ls/s1600/Facetime+%25281%2529.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Stevos</i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizMLqDjVTDZ07MoyfVV6Q2YTsB2xvrPYLLfqjNT9YEAc1vUHPUei-O8uS4RLfs-MjHt2n2gk_Wxg0DeNJmzC07KgBh1OmIg9VdzvSZyLo6H40eyQed3kcXrO6S1QLVRCQHbTANaNI6eAk/s1600/Facetime.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizMLqDjVTDZ07MoyfVV6Q2YTsB2xvrPYLLfqjNT9YEAc1vUHPUei-O8uS4RLfs-MjHt2n2gk_Wxg0DeNJmzC07KgBh1OmIg9VdzvSZyLo6H40eyQed3kcXrO6S1QLVRCQHbTANaNI6eAk/s1600/Facetime.jpg" height="183" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i> Webbers</i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD52J7Njo8bNcKqK1Qt__mI9mw2v_Hmo9pk2jr0GawDC_ScXl9Vnl66uEnLxvZOSnPV51kPbNXiglFMx02f7UOQNXY1DeEJxyAfPcJRDz4VWBviwO5AscUcQKKmGglJV6xlYM8DHCaw2o/s1600/webbers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD52J7Njo8bNcKqK1Qt__mI9mw2v_Hmo9pk2jr0GawDC_ScXl9Vnl66uEnLxvZOSnPV51kPbNXiglFMx02f7UOQNXY1DeEJxyAfPcJRDz4VWBviwO5AscUcQKKmGglJV6xlYM8DHCaw2o/s1600/webbers.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>Carols from across the Atlantic!!</i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_APwxBz4Pc1MMccozSOyXPXMSeA1Z2TsDbeUFecC2MRaz7_DiN49GjKM8VWt7ieU-CP9wj0bUj0EQSILh88QX7QLMG-rtmFGzLefEFKKh4MMOvTzZMVqARacb5QAYyPormP7ZHuxNRi4/s1600/mummy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_APwxBz4Pc1MMccozSOyXPXMSeA1Z2TsDbeUFecC2MRaz7_DiN49GjKM8VWt7ieU-CP9wj0bUj0EQSILh88QX7QLMG-rtmFGzLefEFKKh4MMOvTzZMVqARacb5QAYyPormP7ZHuxNRi4/s1600/mummy.jpg" height="320" width="239" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">...and preparing our meal of roast chicken, pigs in
blankets, roasties and veg... </span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFfjsiwzfiKWLOvdy8iTBQLj_OfX2mzbu5z1-lzkR7q6sS_6O7-tVQ7Ap3LqyGHJmIfs3zbkgcGzaJbv22XMxObgQHm8h00nRrII4JPiOLmzTOULYI4sjZPXVScM6JPJLAR2OnPhW2310/s1600/BA+59.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFfjsiwzfiKWLOvdy8iTBQLj_OfX2mzbu5z1-lzkR7q6sS_6O7-tVQ7Ap3LqyGHJmIfs3zbkgcGzaJbv22XMxObgQHm8h00nRrII4JPiOLmzTOULYI4sjZPXVScM6JPJLAR2OnPhW2310/s1600/BA+59.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">We also took some time out to cool down in the tub
up top before tucking in to the grub and finished off with the one and only
‘Love Actually’. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCn0AI8UP4fHaIYEO_B5Zrz4jFcSUF5iJhIYpjr1C0f6Jcndd3WDmiIdQsQO7PjRmeqgcSBdbT4s-zfmGqdo7gCPjpg6UkKZimkURIst-BoIAh4J1_GDPC4PzkrCD1C7GomVvw04jYDso/s1600/BA+61.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCn0AI8UP4fHaIYEO_B5Zrz4jFcSUF5iJhIYpjr1C0f6Jcndd3WDmiIdQsQO7PjRmeqgcSBdbT4s-zfmGqdo7gCPjpg6UkKZimkURIst-BoIAh4J1_GDPC4PzkrCD1C7GomVvw04jYDso/s1600/BA+61.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjNddEijPyPUL9fidBpI4m7Fk7y2_W1F3aPFucWKTQRSZEEdQ0Yd_MUv6ZzLoQ0eoEtHiRSN2v-_GjtpYhGsjC5lrhmTWfBHtv73PwAj-NkWs6H2j4y7zs93QLxvkC37vfc_XYJ20KbUk/s1600/BA+62.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjNddEijPyPUL9fidBpI4m7Fk7y2_W1F3aPFucWKTQRSZEEdQ0Yd_MUv6ZzLoQ0eoEtHiRSN2v-_GjtpYhGsjC5lrhmTWfBHtv73PwAj-NkWs6H2j4y7zs93QLxvkC37vfc_XYJ20KbUk/s1600/BA+62.jpg" height="270" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Not at all a homey Christmas but as close as we could make it.
It was our first one just the two of us which was fun. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8EPaikp1IFFrLg9IPELgR7tU1QLs0wODsQi4_K-kxc08yUxvHX_Iib3Y8Zfm850eOSgb40x6NRNusFAIr2k0dYQR10LpW5SBmJfpH60MTIul_OweLdbixvXdERxUmWpSgAbm_6sOs9Ls/s1600/BA+63.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8EPaikp1IFFrLg9IPELgR7tU1QLs0wODsQi4_K-kxc08yUxvHX_Iib3Y8Zfm850eOSgb40x6NRNusFAIr2k0dYQR10LpW5SBmJfpH60MTIul_OweLdbixvXdERxUmWpSgAbm_6sOs9Ls/s1600/BA+63.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">We got a lot of pleasure
from making our Christmas film and showing everyone and getting their reactions....<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://youtu.be/eKLtxCrz6oM">http://youtu.be/eKLtxCrz6oM</a><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>(Hannah now writing)</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Come the 27<sup>th</sup>
December when our week was up we were not ready to leave BA. We made a last minute
decision; to stay another 8 days! We did a money transfer online and got an
even better rate for our money. Result!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">We moved right into
the microcentre to Supacha street to a gorgeous little apartment; transitioning
from ultra modern to old style antique French! </span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV-i4ddZjJMU7JocBdmsjZHlWtmOXO6Sx5XpdsapBifohVcjtR6OKS4CJziZNRo8GCkKWAm6rsfmQ4JG5TeaZS2RWwVhWivP6ysCxCh5RZmQmZebh3zZrJ2EJ4IfleyrRYofDXei1GQcA/s1600/BA+53.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV-i4ddZjJMU7JocBdmsjZHlWtmOXO6Sx5XpdsapBifohVcjtR6OKS4CJziZNRo8GCkKWAm6rsfmQ4JG5TeaZS2RWwVhWivP6ysCxCh5RZmQmZebh3zZrJ2EJ4IfleyrRYofDXei1GQcA/s1600/BA+53.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The building had one of those
fabulous old lifts, which took us back in time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPBAgpKXUy7t1pNOTTW5-P-GMDVxxU8Wnq12IRtyIt-5c5cXKIfbxmF7zETg8a0OS45khG0qt6lTYOPGhuGHoEozym7G4e9F5tgU_7ozcHt5PUc_hg8PbIj5pHyOWWS_4JbTB17n4GRQA/s1600/BA+45.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPBAgpKXUy7t1pNOTTW5-P-GMDVxxU8Wnq12IRtyIt-5c5cXKIfbxmF7zETg8a0OS45khG0qt6lTYOPGhuGHoEozym7G4e9F5tgU_7ozcHt5PUc_hg8PbIj5pHyOWWS_4JbTB17n4GRQA/s1600/BA+45.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMtBZ3H4Bpayo5T_0bSjBhRxLLe45LSqPoGeSJHlDpbfi9-0X17wWiiOqd08BWPzLmvTM24VEafIgPel3TzQ9Eprp_6hr0al57vD5C97JkeHVKEpegwD4FIz3MtX2i9SUU2QAvRdqBUsY/s1600/BA+57.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMtBZ3H4Bpayo5T_0bSjBhRxLLe45LSqPoGeSJHlDpbfi9-0X17wWiiOqd08BWPzLmvTM24VEafIgPel3TzQ9Eprp_6hr0al57vD5C97JkeHVKEpegwD4FIz3MtX2i9SUU2QAvRdqBUsY/s1600/BA+57.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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Being right in the heart of the city, it was great for exploring!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzeSrHIUuLqWE9Npfhn5d1vCvD9gY33GUwklet84PpQIxc_TSbqPCgwISePjo9YxmPIjobmq-rTbe-HSq6Z3cQc8tjyB4E5v-6qLLmTfo2FVkNIq9lrVxcU8V_zbMaSluj-nGrhJ5ENSU/s1600/BA+4+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzeSrHIUuLqWE9Npfhn5d1vCvD9gY33GUwklet84PpQIxc_TSbqPCgwISePjo9YxmPIjobmq-rTbe-HSq6Z3cQc8tjyB4E5v-6qLLmTfo2FVkNIq9lrVxcU8V_zbMaSluj-nGrhJ5ENSU/s1600/BA+4+%25281%2529.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcgJA1u5UEQf9kMVhl6i3jrXDSW-7X_RCc7VIexfCgIb1Q0nAmClVk5LUQnna6-itd2Rlv1uXVydnOhliuP46Yb5hgfC7ZyaBSKFSNq9b79zyGNuhW3d9pHSaYpELMJzIjeN8XZ1KFX04/s1600/BA+47.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcgJA1u5UEQf9kMVhl6i3jrXDSW-7X_RCc7VIexfCgIb1Q0nAmClVk5LUQnna6-itd2Rlv1uXVydnOhliuP46Yb5hgfC7ZyaBSKFSNq9b79zyGNuhW3d9pHSaYpELMJzIjeN8XZ1KFX04/s1600/BA+47.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5M4WpzdIYnz_o7CfT5u98tNnf9-z_XFRBfv07hpCRE357YOECaRDWd0F-VPtX-rP16X4yvQhsW8KodnhvRqNbn4IhhGHRm-cuHsnwOwvIARIBiPeA_6bsYvJsnc8HIgpi9WPpU-OzWnE/s1600/BA+50.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5M4WpzdIYnz_o7CfT5u98tNnf9-z_XFRBfv07hpCRE357YOECaRDWd0F-VPtX-rP16X4yvQhsW8KodnhvRqNbn4IhhGHRm-cuHsnwOwvIARIBiPeA_6bsYvJsnc8HIgpi9WPpU-OzWnE/s1600/BA+50.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPuZXEZ2lPdYW6462g4RKuQyfR8PZPoSfsNk7jYsAqVTvZe_5iwFmAcxLTvo4qZztNq_32svPcf5pyoboYhXdboOfxKasv3MVCvlQwPt2-d1jW4I_z7Y_sB87mrMY0IwFaeVplpDHYVMQ/s1600/BA+46.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPuZXEZ2lPdYW6462g4RKuQyfR8PZPoSfsNk7jYsAqVTvZe_5iwFmAcxLTvo4qZztNq_32svPcf5pyoboYhXdboOfxKasv3MVCvlQwPt2-d1jW4I_z7Y_sB87mrMY0IwFaeVplpDHYVMQ/s1600/BA+46.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me taking a picture of Kyle..... his pic follows :) </td></tr>
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For this next week we
were determined to see and do more Argentine Tango. For our first night in this
area, we met up with Greg and Karina (Karina is a very keen tango dancer) and
we had a class in a milonga very close to our apartment. Buenos Aires has
hundreds of milongas; public dance halls for tango. An old couple from BA led
the class. It was fun, although extremely hot. ‘Bloody marvellous’ – the old
man said to us in his best British accent after we had practiced a step loads.
We also got good feedback from another couple that were impressed it was our
first class. We found it hard though; our contemporary background shone through
with us both really ‘covering the space’ bumping into people, tables and
chairs! We need to work on keeping it contained!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrd6UVQgWu76Arpfg354Yft7ocmyiQNmJJNG0kUGu3O7GxgSDxJjqcpxozktDIRdUCT-qctkKNrCSG9Am8EoMCQ_-ys2CW_FmotfS65T0Yw8uBXTiYy7mPbM4sEquE7hVXlIxfnQoL5hM/s1600/BA+54.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrd6UVQgWu76Arpfg354Yft7ocmyiQNmJJNG0kUGu3O7GxgSDxJjqcpxozktDIRdUCT-qctkKNrCSG9Am8EoMCQ_-ys2CW_FmotfS65T0Yw8uBXTiYy7mPbM4sEquE7hVXlIxfnQoL5hM/s1600/BA+54.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><i>Kyle dancing with the teacher</i></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">After the class we
went onto another milonga. Karina went in separately so as not to look like she
was with us(!) – the reason being that she would not be asked to dance at all
as men would assume she had a partner. It was really interesting to learn the
social etiquette in these milongas. Men always ask the women if they’d like to
dance – not verbally though; with eye contact and women reply in the same way. This
technique is called the ‘cabazeo’. Karina explained to us that women need to
scout out good male dancers as bad ones will make them look bad and then they
won’t be asked by the good ones! So whether they accept or decline is very
important! Phew!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Greg, Kyle and I sat
in a 3 in the corner – just there to observe. It was fascinating to watch the sea
of couples travelling around the central dance floor all completely immersed in
their secret dances. This was tango!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdQGOzDNc9Oq3-YkHTdh5-sPC3XwJHLKZJXINLgS2Udm-U-D9ZHqHIqAG5gJXQZc0iHaAaauvYkc7KRZNPTxRTO1FpQh6H2chvOujAQsvAS39VCeq-Jm9OY5j0WBakc3IpMkydLqLjAHI/s1600/BA+56.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdQGOzDNc9Oq3-YkHTdh5-sPC3XwJHLKZJXINLgS2Udm-U-D9ZHqHIqAG5gJXQZc0iHaAaauvYkc7KRZNPTxRTO1FpQh6H2chvOujAQsvAS39VCeq-Jm9OY5j0WBakc3IpMkydLqLjAHI/s1600/BA+56.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The next day we
visited the Teatro Colon, very close to us – across the incredibly wide ‘9 de
Julio’ road. This stunning theatre is famous for its perfect acoustics. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgITxYTIbi4SHdNnn8Wg0icX5eYe1jk3aFYbsaEyB2dRNd6D82dTwhtu1gXSMYrrljEYu6ZEgGtsxh_Buc33CvF6dgcz7xX5XxmjPpFddqQOuAPwcRWcLnhKMouNjc1VyZeU0PKI-GLKZI/s1600/BA+49.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgITxYTIbi4SHdNnn8Wg0icX5eYe1jk3aFYbsaEyB2dRNd6D82dTwhtu1gXSMYrrljEYu6ZEgGtsxh_Buc33CvF6dgcz7xX5XxmjPpFddqQOuAPwcRWcLnhKMouNjc1VyZeU0PKI-GLKZI/s1600/BA+49.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">....the picture Kyle took :)</td></tr>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">When
Pavorotti sang here the critics asked him how he found the place. He said that
there was one fault - to everyone’s horror – that the acoustics <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">were</i> perfect! Therefore only the very
best of the best singers can perform here as the audience will be able to hear
everything – even the tiniest of mistakes will be magnified. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjoAuHeHNwmcAz0YqLqjh9mkBZTpJoFtIugB2ZtLCOTwXSXYrtXo90monWM-Z-h6Kt3NtLqvwjn9pB8wAMHojaSQqvUerAQWtZQqXrSj0gD2_tz9wicUvlh5BTkY5noFggiPDL8jR0a_4/s1600/BA+43.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjoAuHeHNwmcAz0YqLqjh9mkBZTpJoFtIugB2ZtLCOTwXSXYrtXo90monWM-Z-h6Kt3NtLqvwjn9pB8wAMHojaSQqvUerAQWtZQqXrSj0gD2_tz9wicUvlh5BTkY5noFggiPDL8jR0a_4/s1600/BA+43.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgukCiRqkGWcXMi8pOo-cUqAAX4_cQaaYiLRCTkwb75u4RVsCzJKi9oJvclRCkENkRy7xLSvbsEZnwHrUtI_SFPMGmRLVTGLqJ40eCbckVHhxuNSQStF5u1XYGTGdlCc9Nyf2Cx0MMedvw/s1600/BA+48.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgukCiRqkGWcXMi8pOo-cUqAAX4_cQaaYiLRCTkwb75u4RVsCzJKi9oJvclRCkENkRy7xLSvbsEZnwHrUtI_SFPMGmRLVTGLqJ40eCbckVHhxuNSQStF5u1XYGTGdlCc9Nyf2Cx0MMedvw/s1600/BA+48.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">We had a tour,
guided by a very sweet and engaging lady amongst a group of about 30 tourists. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx1zkYbu_c-XG3LnrlIA46op3QfHQHpvhrVHucE3tssuqDtKYEQWqAU7ZYCrWOni2ohp3lOwbEyQUdb9k2f35BCT32-sARQgk0I3CsYuCnAuTA5ryn_ZOZJ8Cit0dbulqiYbkE54KITmM/s1600/BA+40.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx1zkYbu_c-XG3LnrlIA46op3QfHQHpvhrVHucE3tssuqDtKYEQWqAU7ZYCrWOni2ohp3lOwbEyQUdb9k2f35BCT32-sARQgk0I3CsYuCnAuTA5ryn_ZOZJ8Cit0dbulqiYbkE54KITmM/s1600/BA+40.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirOthTIWZ0QWvOSTnfTh16K0YWJ3cMrHz3hW5HnSMmqsCk-Ee-dNffBgF7bJz-tKVy6aEsssgEchrhrBE_GpUlBck7m9J-mfzcBtKbRKmzWVRAmnWFKogcULRC-1Fk11hmHHI3PrzdDNA/s1600/BA+41.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirOthTIWZ0QWvOSTnfTh16K0YWJ3cMrHz3hW5HnSMmqsCk-Ee-dNffBgF7bJz-tKVy6aEsssgEchrhrBE_GpUlBck7m9J-mfzcBtKbRKmzWVRAmnWFKogcULRC-1Fk11hmHHI3PrzdDNA/s1600/BA+41.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgauPDLSboz2N0j157O6C9Ovbr23XyZYBGjP9Gnvmw-mP_Pduid4WqaFOZVHlSnaptc2bdAONpQt1Nr98HNb-ZLNK9VRlhEemlhaLFlRWSONsrWfRISlWM7x1H72VYcnEFwEO6gkAmebK0/s1600/BA+42.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgauPDLSboz2N0j157O6C9Ovbr23XyZYBGjP9Gnvmw-mP_Pduid4WqaFOZVHlSnaptc2bdAONpQt1Nr98HNb-ZLNK9VRlhEemlhaLFlRWSONsrWfRISlWM7x1H72VYcnEFwEO6gkAmebK0/s1600/BA+42.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnAOvj4mxDKgzg23ZgjpEyGyYNu9riRUiB8aOrZHD1JpuLILArzaagEfwcfSNR9FUCfp3lJODZbLT__a7JCILblbGs-5YlJcW8yjIZEXkeCaKAkYVGOixKyIT_mIE6A2f2rQeHRoaUwak/s1600/BA+51.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnAOvj4mxDKgzg23ZgjpEyGyYNu9riRUiB8aOrZHD1JpuLILArzaagEfwcfSNR9FUCfp3lJODZbLT__a7JCILblbGs-5YlJcW8yjIZEXkeCaKAkYVGOixKyIT_mIE6A2f2rQeHRoaUwak/s1600/BA+51.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">That evening it was
another tango night in another milonga! This time with Alicia, Joss, Robbie,
Rhea and Jeff. We had a class with Yuyu (pronounced shoo shoo), Jeff’s girlfriend; a little feisty
Argentinean powerhouse! </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSD0W10-1KiNTrZS3_11_TSmZYTvLrvgudmcCimb6Ob0piEwVuVeW7H-CQI_rZgjq-xXvx_xIO-m2EzLPlO-tzI2KYV0Dg89NvDDaPsUm0aWY0A4XI7ffvZ3ejuftqYbWmXWh6l1X2R8c/s1600/BA+34.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSD0W10-1KiNTrZS3_11_TSmZYTvLrvgudmcCimb6Ob0piEwVuVeW7H-CQI_rZgjq-xXvx_xIO-m2EzLPlO-tzI2KYV0Dg89NvDDaPsUm0aWY0A4XI7ffvZ3ejuftqYbWmXWh6l1X2R8c/s1600/BA+34.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">After the class, some more friends of Alicia and Joss
joined and we formed a large table, drinking, socialising, watching the
fabulous tango and even doing a spot ourselves! </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ9e-EXFzbm7DFSu5FMN9z6xjFdmwUFzyKeJcgDKUTh_5v5botXHPQkAAkmemnk_cpfGBhnNSAZhFt7OaSd7Cnpv-w-1zkQzpqfg0KbmXJDg-soEydvy-BVVJEdw-9-MTKNZkf21OG7EU/s1600/BA+35.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ9e-EXFzbm7DFSu5FMN9z6xjFdmwUFzyKeJcgDKUTh_5v5botXHPQkAAkmemnk_cpfGBhnNSAZhFt7OaSd7Cnpv-w-1zkQzpqfg0KbmXJDg-soEydvy-BVVJEdw-9-MTKNZkf21OG7EU/s1600/BA+35.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Cheeky Alicia and Kyle!</i></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">There were quite a few same sex
couples dancing which was great to watch. A highlight was right at the end of
our night at gone 2am when 2 gay guys got up to dance. The floor cleared and
they were incredible – dancing a fusion of tango, salsa and folklore! To know
that it was all improvised too….wow!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Another day the 6 of
us packed a picnic, hired bikes and cycled over to Puerto Madero – an island
attached by bridges. It’s an ecological reserve where you could quite easily
forget you’re in BA!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg54lmZlZCcJ22mXF_ABMcyybg9UKhrQcw3508-yrOM3RBaSHfCp0wVqW99u_rXYnTv1BzcUsvOsDFTKWRNF6QypXXYpcqYBLmt1f8vqQ9Tl1dbYr2GJd87bn0PqYorekBO1b3wJCvZ0Sk/s1600/BA+38.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg54lmZlZCcJ22mXF_ABMcyybg9UKhrQcw3508-yrOM3RBaSHfCp0wVqW99u_rXYnTv1BzcUsvOsDFTKWRNF6QypXXYpcqYBLmt1f8vqQ9Tl1dbYr2GJd87bn0PqYorekBO1b3wJCvZ0Sk/s1600/BA+38.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Lovely to see the sea and lots of trees. The weather was
unbelievably hot- apparently this December was the hottest for 43 years…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipq_ItaehRenFGO1QhSuVCXMmlr2WNlmSVlpB8-O1LHiu8qDd8s-LANuTAZwRgGoZmdk7oIU6FRyxTQlW5iVB5gwox-z1wDPO_gXJ8lunXulhCKGDUa1xcYVwZmwC_Jagk20mJsEVWWqk/s1600/BA+39.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipq_ItaehRenFGO1QhSuVCXMmlr2WNlmSVlpB8-O1LHiu8qDd8s-LANuTAZwRgGoZmdk7oIU6FRyxTQlW5iVB5gwox-z1wDPO_gXJ8lunXulhCKGDUa1xcYVwZmwC_Jagk20mJsEVWWqk/s1600/BA+39.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">That evening we all
went for a delicious meal in San Telmo. Such fun wining and dining and
experiencing a city with our new friends.</span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicgrnpbJWebKkr46wy8idg0SwwUJq53E2IQPvoMPemceWHESvstJdw7QAc2vE3vgPOqHiX4e2uY6107zDoCf_2tXvXsHll3G1RuzW_eTyWba3-UhK4qaJPPW9Jz-FX3CbhkO_eyp4hdFQ/s1600/BA+29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicgrnpbJWebKkr46wy8idg0SwwUJq53E2IQPvoMPemceWHESvstJdw7QAc2vE3vgPOqHiX4e2uY6107zDoCf_2tXvXsHll3G1RuzW_eTyWba3-UhK4qaJPPW9Jz-FX3CbhkO_eyp4hdFQ/s1600/BA+29.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>Only in BA!!</i></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">On New Years Eve Kyle
and I took a bus to Recoleta. We wandered around the huge cemetery there –
massive mausoleums packed in tightly together, trying to out-do each other with
their grandeur. They are so incredibly ornate, looking like mini churches; lots
made of marble. Catholicism has allowed cremation now – making things a tad
less expensive when you die! You can actually SEE the coffins inside! Very
eerie. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzbnDZVXj8qObE9dhegGDPGrrl19umCEWIi-2UFdTZSLQCG_L3YxBjufmEZ6nrhog1xaWS3JRtje7EoSO-J0HlJg1xyu6DwsxjF9tLfutuyVjG8ANzplkIu0AT74NEdymO9eM-n-7KGkM/s1600/BA+23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzbnDZVXj8qObE9dhegGDPGrrl19umCEWIi-2UFdTZSLQCG_L3YxBjufmEZ6nrhog1xaWS3JRtje7EoSO-J0HlJg1xyu6DwsxjF9tLfutuyVjG8ANzplkIu0AT74NEdymO9eM-n-7KGkM/s1600/BA+23.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Jb46iwhsm52HUlysd9RtdSlUFzCVwvXW0T-9W_MqcaynY0xZDkAfJY9487UvQSFVMjtLUkPWW6V3_6hr0mFUU-KEaMb4XVkZmFXOrtbiR48yQ2hLVUEnd0ihVCMDU8Hmo3BNINKEc5A/s1600/BA+22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Jb46iwhsm52HUlysd9RtdSlUFzCVwvXW0T-9W_MqcaynY0xZDkAfJY9487UvQSFVMjtLUkPWW6V3_6hr0mFUU-KEaMb4XVkZmFXOrtbiR48yQ2hLVUEnd0ihVCMDU8Hmo3BNINKEc5A/s1600/BA+22.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Kyle got a bit weirded out, particularly when he stuck his head in one
of them and smelt…well…death. Ugh! </span>He was quite keen to leave after that! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTwClAknE-bDhQbhWA7g_rzv08ES9LKMCfCapLjytDQm1vdtkEjPCVLza2918ov7xrujsxTt0kgWyvWpgOWxwSgEm4Ackdfg_5Dt4cSqjgjFZm2RCXSzrFlxxd1p8VQ_Ipq9XYZUwzwbk/s1600/BA+33.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTwClAknE-bDhQbhWA7g_rzv08ES9LKMCfCapLjytDQm1vdtkEjPCVLza2918ov7xrujsxTt0kgWyvWpgOWxwSgEm4Ackdfg_5Dt4cSqjgjFZm2RCXSzrFlxxd1p8VQ_Ipq9XYZUwzwbk/s1600/BA+33.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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The
main attraction was of course Evita’s grave. </div>
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Crowds of people lined up to see
it with flowers outside.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkaQ68BJwo9GScHRQoUCdXiHJnZkYa-_VH0rU0Q0VqXsOi7dKGovFa-BlVeDQGRFjDp-NMUK_jGemEGeq4s-Hkwth4rSOVg1aBMv03sUqFQklkIeujFRMGR7PM41ZcG8Qru3upZYmSoOI/s1600/BA+24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkaQ68BJwo9GScHRQoUCdXiHJnZkYa-_VH0rU0Q0VqXsOi7dKGovFa-BlVeDQGRFjDp-NMUK_jGemEGeq4s-Hkwth4rSOVg1aBMv03sUqFQklkIeujFRMGR7PM41ZcG8Qru3upZYmSoOI/s1600/BA+24.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Later that day we met
with a friend we went to Laban with; Lucy Glover. She had flown out from the
U.S. and arrived that morning. Lucy is travelling until March and BA was her
first stop in S. America; just in time to be a part of the city’s new years
celebrations! Her hostel was just a little way down our street so she came over
for a catch up before we all headed out</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"> to spend the
evening with Alicia, Joss, Robbie and Rhea. We went to their friends’ house-
Steve and Leoni, to have dinner and see the new year in. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJcuRp3f1ynJAzgEcQzo70JKjomEZCOm8IiH1bEPSgKPnzBgos2CaTiRno56hMV5SQ3X4C9Hz32zsEFS-CLLYELv_MBrOxrDJ4CobGT2T4M8isoKp5qna7xMFTvXOghPaA9rQLgYOoHWs/s1600/BA+25.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJcuRp3f1ynJAzgEcQzo70JKjomEZCOm8IiH1bEPSgKPnzBgos2CaTiRno56hMV5SQ3X4C9Hz32zsEFS-CLLYELv_MBrOxrDJ4CobGT2T4M8isoKp5qna7xMFTvXOghPaA9rQLgYOoHWs/s1600/BA+25.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinMMgHnUJXmTfaKI2rqdsJ7gBP0rsrzuT9VOcEaEiJuxaG5M39_u8BQYoXP6FZaQaG_t_tB-S4oTm7YF7JEwUIUokNjmItOxJrn9dykfYwA1TNLPAKTXTT5BF6lH5VnINvtZtcrccCAdg/s1600/BA+26.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinMMgHnUJXmTfaKI2rqdsJ7gBP0rsrzuT9VOcEaEiJuxaG5M39_u8BQYoXP6FZaQaG_t_tB-S4oTm7YF7JEwUIUokNjmItOxJrn9dykfYwA1TNLPAKTXTT5BF6lH5VnINvtZtcrccCAdg/s1600/BA+26.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Their place was
gorgeous and we moved to the roof top garden before midnight for the
countdown. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvynPAbqe66BcAEZVhhFGUFEC9vVqvzbIy96n_kWL69TgEBVTyrE5UFd4Y7FCZwD9Z4S2PL6zb5SvjSqp3dSGzkcgc46E7yXKs0KAIqoQU_BY0-rQdYtowszOpUbTOC9ZtM4axu2iVvi4/s1600/BA+27.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvynPAbqe66BcAEZVhhFGUFEC9vVqvzbIy96n_kWL69TgEBVTyrE5UFd4Y7FCZwD9Z4S2PL6zb5SvjSqp3dSGzkcgc46E7yXKs0KAIqoQU_BY0-rQdYtowszOpUbTOC9ZtM4axu2iVvi4/s1600/BA+27.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>Pop!!</i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Lots more fireworks, many being set off from the streets around us.
Slightly dodgy! </span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipdfs-X2fJmEG6klLV9M5CsCQlUaE_0scDDEnzObmvx_KDn_Oj2lKKdXEbgqs3Y0uHj-6z-CL7AJVF3NZrh-6UZ4nxgJvw8WQPcR5MV6RpTufKBNRdnf_bHoozAQrr0tjlpq6JCf40vuE/s1600/BA+17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipdfs-X2fJmEG6klLV9M5CsCQlUaE_0scDDEnzObmvx_KDn_Oj2lKKdXEbgqs3Y0uHj-6z-CL7AJVF3NZrh-6UZ4nxgJvw8WQPcR5MV6RpTufKBNRdnf_bHoozAQrr0tjlpq6JCf40vuE/s1600/BA+17.jpg" height="242" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQmbygNe24kA8A_knU8KBF1CFpdGhdo76Cm2iFYgelMTV_3U_wpXoJ7mRROB7oidJUC7-na5Kmxwrk-7k8ghd-7T64zSrISREaqzYE4Zai0urcUI1LFABbn316PaDq3B0HEImxe4GSr1w/s1600/BA+18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQmbygNe24kA8A_knU8KBF1CFpdGhdo76Cm2iFYgelMTV_3U_wpXoJ7mRROB7oidJUC7-na5Kmxwrk-7k8ghd-7T64zSrISREaqzYE4Zai0urcUI1LFABbn316PaDq3B0HEImxe4GSr1w/s1600/BA+18.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">A few hours into
the new year, Robbie and Rhea had to turn in as neither of them were very well
– both having had nasty bouts of tonsillitis, they needed to rest. Steve and
Leoni opted to call it a night too so at around 3am, the remainder of us took
taxis to the planetarium where outside there was a trance rave going on!! It
felt like a festival. Loads of people! We came across a spot with a group of
fire spinners and some contact juggling. Kyle of course had to get involved and
did a brilliant job, really getting the crowd going!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA6wPT9rOObD6t8UUKycetR9x36VUU3AOSiBlaM38zVF8pTpPmtHx0DP57UGDvRJIFrImESD-qZYzRjjxiZI2cGrcNzVhP2TaMmQq3ELHUFb2l2yhwQ2rMPQHBgE9iXtY4-gkwWqxMT3M/s1600/BA+20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA6wPT9rOObD6t8UUKycetR9x36VUU3AOSiBlaM38zVF8pTpPmtHx0DP57UGDvRJIFrImESD-qZYzRjjxiZI2cGrcNzVhP2TaMmQq3ELHUFb2l2yhwQ2rMPQHBgE9iXtY4-gkwWqxMT3M/s1600/BA+20.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">...he did have to pay for it a
bit over the subsequent days with countless burns. He has now become obsessed
with ‘sudo cream’!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3lPFRgkYKWtyZi4WRBuPEjXZdTgbZ430w3fXq70DmJ5swOvDMoXQb4NHA0io-B-J3fGSn3tkapFQWh-3IbT6sCKzyRQYmFtItu2dImqZ_4fN2dbfGhhL7z08dGk4Ia7Q-VTgyJsbe2ww/s1600/BA+16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3lPFRgkYKWtyZi4WRBuPEjXZdTgbZ430w3fXq70DmJ5swOvDMoXQb4NHA0io-B-J3fGSn3tkapFQWh-3IbT6sCKzyRQYmFtItu2dImqZ_4fN2dbfGhhL7z08dGk4Ia7Q-VTgyJsbe2ww/s1600/BA+16.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">The night ended
around 6.30am and we caught a taxi home. It was such a beautiful sunny morning;
windows down, awesome music on the stereo, slightly inebriated! Welcome 2014. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Our last few
days in BA involved more time spent with our wonderful new friends. We had our
last meal with Robbie and Rhea before they got a flight down south to
Patagonia. Next time we meet it will be back home! Kyle and Robbie shared a
'completo'- a meat feast- including kidneys, intestines and other dubious
looking innards- Kyle really was only interested in the steak though! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Another day,
Lucy, Kyle and I headed to Palermo's Jardin Zoologico. BA's zoo! We saw all
sorts of animals including elephants, giraffes, lions, bears, hippos and lots
of native Latin American animals too. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">The zoo was very attractive, with lots of
old ornate buildings within the enclosures built around the turn of the century
when the zoo opened. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Then we headed south to La Boca and explored the
area. Bright coloured buildings, markets, street tango performances in cafés-
there was a real bohemian vibe. It was very touristy though.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipfzBMNr0i2zrMspk5ZNdXoNe3uCNHp1c-jXcTTr2nNZy557oHLBOO2Yedo9UKZzpBAl_fLHQViB87y2tzdGk3Bp_UgCg33lS8x3OmEWXV7fdRhLOxxRP1MGq6oXvzN0925m06IxxFAjI/s1600/BA+15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipfzBMNr0i2zrMspk5ZNdXoNe3uCNHp1c-jXcTTr2nNZy557oHLBOO2Yedo9UKZzpBAl_fLHQViB87y2tzdGk3Bp_UgCg33lS8x3OmEWXV7fdRhLOxxRP1MGq6oXvzN0925m06IxxFAjI/s1600/BA+15.jpg" height="320" width="212" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZdY_0eCw2STTBEbGNdh1y0hLinwWD1gI9_cueQ_sLiJljdmv6bY-zRiwazwlWPr2hly3GJ_L_7OX_1IPbtLnPBhLWjR_gpJxr0tPr_4Alf3jCWuxjZ_WiCOY6PwRHfB_u4s4qCvj2iT8/s1600/BA+12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZdY_0eCw2STTBEbGNdh1y0hLinwWD1gI9_cueQ_sLiJljdmv6bY-zRiwazwlWPr2hly3GJ_L_7OX_1IPbtLnPBhLWjR_gpJxr0tPr_4Alf3jCWuxjZ_WiCOY6PwRHfB_u4s4qCvj2iT8/s1600/BA+12.jpg" height="320" width="212" /></a><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">We stayed for a
beer and an empanada in one of the outside cafes</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCUKg95r1DVwsgtEOfS7A1FqApmagvIQMu5ccOkFJVl_OvS8hyphenhyphenqCvK3M50mqszV8K6ddOD2Zk56h7Q4NSEgvv1GVYbO7f1Tsf5_f9I_oeiTOfEM0JRSqKw2NVtFgX29hoZIqfetra-ILM/s1600/BA+14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCUKg95r1DVwsgtEOfS7A1FqApmagvIQMu5ccOkFJVl_OvS8hyphenhyphenqCvK3M50mqszV8K6ddOD2Zk56h7Q4NSEgvv1GVYbO7f1Tsf5_f9I_oeiTOfEM0JRSqKw2NVtFgX29hoZIqfetra-ILM/s1600/BA+14.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">before we took a taxi to
Alicia and Joss’s for the evening, and enjoyed a lovely home cooked meal by
Alicia.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6fAHW37o2NuDGpa5GVJDZXkfPth2H_PKoeFWlnyTHY2KO1z76pqd09lqPby4-MjfmbWhfTC82eZSpcVtZr4DeYuulBVrsdWysQ4Oq_4vTIdjTaT9PZ-JwdhyphenhyphenfWQRemeqNTXboGkqhqM8/s1600/BA+8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6fAHW37o2NuDGpa5GVJDZXkfPth2H_PKoeFWlnyTHY2KO1z76pqd09lqPby4-MjfmbWhfTC82eZSpcVtZr4DeYuulBVrsdWysQ4Oq_4vTIdjTaT9PZ-JwdhyphenhyphenfWQRemeqNTXboGkqhqM8/s1600/BA+8.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Our last day in the beautiful Buenos Aires was
spent doing a spot of dance filming! Kyle had organised through Joss to shoot a
tango film in the mansion next door. The latest guests moved out the day before
and new ones were in the day after – a window - perfect! The dancers were Yuyu
(Jeff’s girlfriend) partnering a rather dashing and suave Martin. It was a
great opportunity for the dancers to have a film of themselves, for Joss to
have a film of the mansion to use for promotion and for Kyle of course to add
to his portfolio (and for me to be able to watch the gorgeous tango)! Everyone
was a winner!</span><br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Film coming
soon!</span></i></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">For the rest of the afternoon we took advantage
of the empty mansion and chilled out in the garden by the pool. Then it was
time to say goodbye to our new favourite city and our lovely new friends. </span></div>
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<i>'Catarina' or 'Princess' - A & J's cat!</i></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">It
felt quite sad to say goodbye as over the last 2 weeks we had really settled here; staying in
our own places, getting to grips with the city, seeing Robbie and Rhea again, going over to Alicia and Joss’s
lots, bonding with them and meeting their friends. Knowing that we wouldn’t be
seeing them for a long time as their plans are to stay out here for at least a
few years, made it harder to leave. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">After the goodbyes we took a taxi from theirs to
Retiro bus terminal for our 16 hour overnight bus ride up to Puerto Iguazu (the
town next to the famous Iguazu Falls). It wasn’t the standard trip though. We
booked full cama (180 degree reclining) seats and with that we had our own
personal TV screens, got served wine and nice food and even had a glass of
champers! It was great! It went too quickly!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhharueOVZnS6uAMhR5u6DkOZpbtxJhf5teglqaE4XUJxBI5eciPWdmSCTuxHt271JDQsNxpiv89q5fGx0rwT5XSN5pKxzt1AGDnxfrPcLHCGXC7Gi1SivTTbOznhcciw-EHz3Vb1x7WqA/s1600/Bus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhharueOVZnS6uAMhR5u6DkOZpbtxJhf5teglqaE4XUJxBI5eciPWdmSCTuxHt271JDQsNxpiv89q5fGx0rwT5XSN5pKxzt1AGDnxfrPcLHCGXC7Gi1SivTTbOznhcciw-EHz3Vb1x7WqA/s1600/Bus.jpg" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Unusually after these kind of long bus journeys we arrived with lots of energy around midday and
whisked off to the Brazilian side of the falls. This wasn’t my first time here;
17 years ago when I was 8(!) I visited with my family. I knew it was going to
be a very different experience though. When I last came out, they had had some
serious rain - much more than normal and as a result there were incredible
volumes of water being chucked over the edge. So much so that walkways over the
river had been swept away! It was an absolutely unforgettable experience – even
for an 8 year old – yet I was so excited to go back and actually do parts of
the trails and walk ways that were closed off before. Kyle and I spotted
stranded broken walkways sticking out of the water at precarious and ugly
angles that might have been from that very year!</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Here is a picture so you can see the
difference!!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pretty extreme!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx96tkMA_aj8qobmLBI7DlGAIjnlgBYAIV-sy7hcC91T8i1vUvVL5hkZ7UoSF5WvQ3Hfhb0tPmFnRnJTk5RsXevoyIQkhAFEegD59h1u2tv-c61zstEmWOjt479PazpfSluXKVc1860RU/s1600/little+han+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx96tkMA_aj8qobmLBI7DlGAIjnlgBYAIV-sy7hcC91T8i1vUvVL5hkZ7UoSF5WvQ3Hfhb0tPmFnRnJTk5RsXevoyIQkhAFEegD59h1u2tv-c61zstEmWOjt479PazpfSluXKVc1860RU/s1600/little+han+%25281%2529.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1996<br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHL0weUn9UaNy5azYYJ2wfcDVkMx1EGLhgblkepzuOmbkt6oxV2N1s8XpidGpm0NP7Wxw9ZGgO-6XOyVTerRNtcvMEjkPRm1-gF8qvf7jMzqGXUe_G4JG6F2avRMV5QSL27HYcC1jWHy4/s1600/Big+Han.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHL0weUn9UaNy5azYYJ2wfcDVkMx1EGLhgblkepzuOmbkt6oxV2N1s8XpidGpm0NP7Wxw9ZGgO-6XOyVTerRNtcvMEjkPRm1-gF8qvf7jMzqGXUe_G4JG6F2avRMV5QSL27HYcC1jWHy4/s1600/Big+Han.jpg" height="320" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2014</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><i>The hotel I stayed at last time:</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEvVhXseyOOFdCL1NBW4_vzdTGwCuVHvbEEoXHsKZuX2JMcJIUg6UsiK8q6v-X4MY3LE2Mxuvzkovq_xgdT9H085l0Ije2Dyn5xBjnJnKJsms6D7g1bIUWmR66m6SrVFrUJgjUaWIu9Hc/s1600/Iguazu+24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEvVhXseyOOFdCL1NBW4_vzdTGwCuVHvbEEoXHsKZuX2JMcJIUg6UsiK8q6v-X4MY3LE2Mxuvzkovq_xgdT9H085l0Ije2Dyn5xBjnJnKJsms6D7g1bIUWmR66m6SrVFrUJgjUaWIu9Hc/s1600/Iguazu+24.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">The Brazilian side was brilliant to have an overview
and see the falls in it’s entirety. It was just as spectacular the second time
around – (if a little different).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmEkzrAZAjwRWam5gX5wbqXsDB_b7XQ8APoSFGQyLOGHtV5IS_CmUrPzE-VFPYi-ScBKoRNXyq28wcJwbDChwenIcd24gVMyrxYNZq-gZYekMSqhPpX6KCqcu1Nl73S6DkZoD9B8FufLs/s1600/Iguazu+18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmEkzrAZAjwRWam5gX5wbqXsDB_b7XQ8APoSFGQyLOGHtV5IS_CmUrPzE-VFPYi-ScBKoRNXyq28wcJwbDChwenIcd24gVMyrxYNZq-gZYekMSqhPpX6KCqcu1Nl73S6DkZoD9B8FufLs/s1600/Iguazu+18.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcS0GcXxEAUjQlF1jHPC8ZGdHNWGu2Ru1fC8CrZeUmw57t5p4cjdMzHbd8czjuIX5PxPfdflVGiX0Rzb1ZY9GGyiibrzXoimyJ6iqNav_lnEn2Z8SKCstTC7dGLSHCicDjkQmUzE9enkQ/s1600/Iguazu+23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcS0GcXxEAUjQlF1jHPC8ZGdHNWGu2Ru1fC8CrZeUmw57t5p4cjdMzHbd8czjuIX5PxPfdflVGiX0Rzb1ZY9GGyiibrzXoimyJ6iqNav_lnEn2Z8SKCstTC7dGLSHCicDjkQmUzE9enkQ/s1600/Iguazu+23.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">The following day we spent exploring the Argentinean
side.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here we got the chance to
get up close to the individual waterfalls. </span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA0DFXRxBNcMV0dhDEqJzJhlJRU9W7i2dav4Zkxei1-7LJQZ0GyUKkegZ9WQSqFBMU2TPHtEa68f98wy31Wz7J7NvaYMtnUVAAgRIiAZBaUrCBlxuCs9UqaJTezFCuEtDLzhuI4lMHXRs/s1600/Iguazu+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA0DFXRxBNcMV0dhDEqJzJhlJRU9W7i2dav4Zkxei1-7LJQZ0GyUKkegZ9WQSqFBMU2TPHtEa68f98wy31Wz7J7NvaYMtnUVAAgRIiAZBaUrCBlxuCs9UqaJTezFCuEtDLzhuI4lMHXRs/s1600/Iguazu+1.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look for the lookout point in the middle... we where there!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSaJqSnngfO1Tfd5vWeiZSwYm43DjQ3jDhrAUfjbRxBaehVw66bc9lLhjTfXsNLnXnV4hmdkqDSggBufAWogZNW4NSNUPSBvPO0G2UCxtzMTnwPVnPsPmLDBfALG3sgh_i4afhhP955O0/s1600/Iguazu+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSaJqSnngfO1Tfd5vWeiZSwYm43DjQ3jDhrAUfjbRxBaehVw66bc9lLhjTfXsNLnXnV4hmdkqDSggBufAWogZNW4NSNUPSBvPO0G2UCxtzMTnwPVnPsPmLDBfALG3sgh_i4afhhP955O0/s1600/Iguazu+6.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">It was so hot and sunny, the spray
from the falls was a welcome refresher!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-kHUZuZoYavXXbSYH5J5l8uZSNdnvNhwX_692o5zW03Z2IlVnssLqpVxu-_6X62kOaT3D72xE1ePpMabKFVPSdOUpZvqEAgm_jSKY3fccTu9nr-2PDE91Hvnxy4KzMarwnTg3JvsQkzg/s1600/Iguazu+20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-kHUZuZoYavXXbSYH5J5l8uZSNdnvNhwX_692o5zW03Z2IlVnssLqpVxu-_6X62kOaT3D72xE1ePpMabKFVPSdOUpZvqEAgm_jSKY3fccTu9nr-2PDE91Hvnxy4KzMarwnTg3JvsQkzg/s1600/Iguazu+20.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Got very close to nature!!</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwm5vJFfKfxNpxHLkKTxaqCC9NQcN1wO6lnm5_Npyf_uRkaeIFrJJepvxfxV6b-kKyqzw7bnLelqq-MsJtTwkR4xK85yQ7BKS4KLcDYHDHal8h_yFHdXP_ggdDazlpk5P7CY0WjgNJT-E/s1600/Iguazu+22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwm5vJFfKfxNpxHLkKTxaqCC9NQcN1wO6lnm5_Npyf_uRkaeIFrJJepvxfxV6b-kKyqzw7bnLelqq-MsJtTwkR4xK85yQ7BKS4KLcDYHDHal8h_yFHdXP_ggdDazlpk5P7CY0WjgNJT-E/s1600/Iguazu+22.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHdPKbpVrERQmz5y0dYTDVmWKVdJrPD1WHpU6Gt2W7KhCr3nPnKz8i1oBhE3cjVJ610y4J5ZX-bSzi4K_hq10xkeV0bssmrmfzeYT_TzqhQEORaaytEjRbmNsuwkdjtnly4GOZXQA69Dg/s1600/Iguazu+21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHdPKbpVrERQmz5y0dYTDVmWKVdJrPD1WHpU6Gt2W7KhCr3nPnKz8i1oBhE3cjVJ610y4J5ZX-bSzi4K_hq10xkeV0bssmrmfzeYT_TzqhQEORaaytEjRbmNsuwkdjtnly4GOZXQA69Dg/s1600/Iguazu+21.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<i>This lighthouse definitely is looking more shabby than I remember...</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh-i9ZzjEom_u_IHZ3IW-sojYw-iPeRndCYboYqbYiFnVu93D0Or6bBlPg65XbwXi4KJId8r07RokF2nNUHosnKDMVlODi4ddDlsyKW5b1HHyY-iDloWI8Yd0HMfqD2igSm3Yz-zuwp38/s1600/Iguazu+12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh-i9ZzjEom_u_IHZ3IW-sojYw-iPeRndCYboYqbYiFnVu93D0Or6bBlPg65XbwXi4KJId8r07RokF2nNUHosnKDMVlODi4ddDlsyKW5b1HHyY-iDloWI8Yd0HMfqD2igSm3Yz-zuwp38/s1600/Iguazu+12.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">We took a boat across the river into the island
in the middle. Here we did the trail round the island and also managed to take
a cheeky dip in the Iguazu River – bliss!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaP8dBBq2QbxSI46TJsBNBTKNPVgqO1EnPMUjsqPFiUr5ROHbHGZ46astK4TiNzJukSPKOe9NqYymFhcxj5OqV-Q3iHVAftb-LZsSZZYH-Ls2ADSXmgEwOHrjq7FLxpJOvFIQcqD-wzwA/s1600/Iguazu+13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaP8dBBq2QbxSI46TJsBNBTKNPVgqO1EnPMUjsqPFiUr5ROHbHGZ46astK4TiNzJukSPKOe9NqYymFhcxj5OqV-Q3iHVAftb-LZsSZZYH-Ls2ADSXmgEwOHrjq7FLxpJOvFIQcqD-wzwA/s1600/Iguazu+13.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7OYYRW29u5fiwbMyNtnT8TC_dzNhBWNLB1FukPQZj4p_ExGdVPzBbCtIuw3XYT2KbsB1M3KMWoBY9oAqZPkzmXD7EbnlmogWFWEDL7ordPKmK03prI0Sdwxpu4TgVbVc-X3TIx-8Q3uU/s1600/Iguazu+14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7OYYRW29u5fiwbMyNtnT8TC_dzNhBWNLB1FukPQZj4p_ExGdVPzBbCtIuw3XYT2KbsB1M3KMWoBY9oAqZPkzmXD7EbnlmogWFWEDL7ordPKmK03prI0Sdwxpu4TgVbVc-X3TIx-8Q3uU/s1600/Iguazu+14.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">We also did the adventure boat trip where they
zoom you into a few of the waterfalls – one being extremely large! Pounding
water on top of us, unable to open your eyes or do anything! I was
uncontrollably screaming! It was bloody amazing!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirxb0CTKCCYwrlN43JukWSb5aipCF5TdoYhrt8GhebobusDIvk3iwlOKYyU5wdu6AXgBwTXqFEfrc5zZ8eQaySuds4z-BmpSCp0h8QPi7G8whlcMd-CZZ0e_BlmARQg80u7Gs0JWj2AYM/s1600/Iguazu+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirxb0CTKCCYwrlN43JukWSb5aipCF5TdoYhrt8GhebobusDIvk3iwlOKYyU5wdu6AXgBwTXqFEfrc5zZ8eQaySuds4z-BmpSCp0h8QPi7G8whlcMd-CZZ0e_BlmARQg80u7Gs0JWj2AYM/s1600/Iguazu+4.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiIOrSc8af9Prt3FxLgFB39mR4PnHA66GTKRjerCBRJPbxWqEMeqPwogGcqupAhvqTvqYtdNLlb8BzE4Oin_5yBg67vM2LDHlmD0OQ7Tt5Sc-v_H2hv0qfO79gN6Tjn9wg7ac7zFktvT4/s1600/Iguazu+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiIOrSc8af9Prt3FxLgFB39mR4PnHA66GTKRjerCBRJPbxWqEMeqPwogGcqupAhvqTvqYtdNLlb8BzE4Oin_5yBg67vM2LDHlmD0OQ7Tt5Sc-v_H2hv0qfO79gN6Tjn9wg7ac7zFktvT4/s1600/Iguazu+5.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7g1Jw371733DXUr0fHbHZ2ZjCqzKOBZsDSQykWvqZYgdIqhLd6Yz4us8Qz85_S23PkqaPB_5FjaMqeRnLSuWH1_K3ULry_P_JjxzTLzMjexwkgIUAZuxc-3UjhsENdUzf9ejq1MXV6kQ/s1600/Iguazu+9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7g1Jw371733DXUr0fHbHZ2ZjCqzKOBZsDSQykWvqZYgdIqhLd6Yz4us8Qz85_S23PkqaPB_5FjaMqeRnLSuWH1_K3ULry_P_JjxzTLzMjexwkgIUAZuxc-3UjhsENdUzf9ejq1MXV6kQ/s1600/Iguazu+9.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yep...we went into that!!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">In the middle of the afternoon it started raining
and we had a bit of thunder. It really didn’t matter as a) we were already very
wet and b) it was nice and cooling.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoNQY2embBbTOEN60_ch_qH47zMY6H93YI5jlBc6VD5aZeuqleg8K_QVUPADcu2rCg8zdIEXKzwtOEj5MZ5cytGvGVMRsRLJWeVpY7ZITGGmEDNs-jm9-Hrl5bYTsFLSHvcp9FNgj7oUM/s1600/Iguazu+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoNQY2embBbTOEN60_ch_qH47zMY6H93YI5jlBc6VD5aZeuqleg8K_QVUPADcu2rCg8zdIEXKzwtOEj5MZ5cytGvGVMRsRLJWeVpY7ZITGGmEDNs-jm9-Hrl5bYTsFLSHvcp9FNgj7oUM/s1600/Iguazu+7.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHjIST6B7VmdR2y17RftVlt-jHTwjrstFskwDUyAL5Mb0Igwp5_jwtdPdmEI_beB4gWIkVz1pbSCCin0rsoWZBbvZ1Ja0uQfhC6sDdODtiLNGGqLRz9Srgygsd811ayz_cs_4bEVB04wM/s1600/Iguazu+10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHjIST6B7VmdR2y17RftVlt-jHTwjrstFskwDUyAL5Mb0Igwp5_jwtdPdmEI_beB4gWIkVz1pbSCCin0rsoWZBbvZ1Ja0uQfhC6sDdODtiLNGGqLRz9Srgygsd811ayz_cs_4bEVB04wM/s1600/Iguazu+10.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxMwooLus3dclKcieSqhdH1_qGcK3BTINS73ugGL34w36rBjdH0rHQTMf-Xh_dYzlOCaXG27B9FgZgCvhL_d9iyuPfCdVGKjexbnfmIJmUuCZLhVaZ1KyB59Bd3FNg6fLPsaUm3oHzmbs/s1600/Iguazu+8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxMwooLus3dclKcieSqhdH1_qGcK3BTINS73ugGL34w36rBjdH0rHQTMf-Xh_dYzlOCaXG27B9FgZgCvhL_d9iyuPfCdVGKjexbnfmIJmUuCZLhVaZ1KyB59Bd3FNg6fLPsaUm3oHzmbs/s1600/Iguazu+8.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">We were on the 6.15pm bus back to Puerto Iguazu,
having pretty much done all the trails in the park.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">We had a good steak dinner that night, followed
by ½ kg of ice cream from a heladaria that cost us only £2!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">This brought us to the 7<sup>th</sup> January. We
had a flight out of Asunción, the capital of Paraguay in the early hours on the
10<sup>th</sup> January. So..we had 3 full days to…. Well we didn’t have a
clue! We spoke to the lady at reception and she mentioned a nice town 6 hours
south, so we up’d and left. Luckily the bus was leaving in 5 minutes and so we
legged it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">We were dropped off on the side of Ruta 14, the
main highway, and pointed to walk straight up this dusty road. So we did, without
a clue of where we were, what we were doing or where we were staying. It was a
scorching hot day with the sun beating down on our big backpacks. We got to the
centre of this little town called San Ignacio and stumbled across the Jesuit
ruins that we had heard about. We got a recommendation of a hostel from there
and walked a bit further to it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Later we returned back to the ruins to look
around. They were very impressive. Apparently they are the biggest and most
well preserved Jesuit ruins.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdDCNsmVevItcJiLR6EELozO9r4UEGQQz6U91v0awg9Um0Lb5kpqmvp9-tMA6CBq1ElcMKDdDqzpk3bqfU1nCY8bpInQ6f5juGlhGmKNoIEFUOQcEQ4reobG8oNtNSAdj0vS1KqhSClvA/s1600/Arg+to+Col+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdDCNsmVevItcJiLR6EELozO9r4UEGQQz6U91v0awg9Um0Lb5kpqmvp9-tMA6CBq1ElcMKDdDqzpk3bqfU1nCY8bpInQ6f5juGlhGmKNoIEFUOQcEQ4reobG8oNtNSAdj0vS1KqhSClvA/s1600/Arg+to+Col+1.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinvOQu16hyphenhyphen44kkTWAVz1hT2N8sPlWNqcmAGG41a-4JUYR8n171O85ENfOKN2hD1jmdKxnGDurHW2xlWcVmETga7VeEKYvdMgfg4dlp_RwB6w1EuqAfiS9tFhZARw3DgFFv29lGIzWLirE/s1600/Arg+to+Col+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinvOQu16hyphenhyphen44kkTWAVz1hT2N8sPlWNqcmAGG41a-4JUYR8n171O85ENfOKN2hD1jmdKxnGDurHW2xlWcVmETga7VeEKYvdMgfg4dlp_RwB6w1EuqAfiS9tFhZARw3DgFFv29lGIzWLirE/s1600/Arg+to+Col+4.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">We also went back that evening for a light show.
It was very popular with lots of people. We were pretty blown away! It was so
magical – all the ruins were lit up and there was fantastic projection through
sprayed water to tell the story of the Jesuits. We thoroughly enjoyed it and
were left inspired to create something similar for Bodium Castle!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">The 8<sup>th</sup> and 9<sup>th</sup> were hectic
days of traveling with some stressors along the way! We left San Ignacio in the
early afternoon and then got a taxi to the bus station. 1 hour to Posadas. From
there, again we weren’t sure what we were doing! We knew we needed to change
our Arg Pesos. We had 4000 (equivalent £250) – it could be difficult to do out
of the country as noone seems to want this currency. So we had to head into
town – another taxi. We were dropped off at the official money changing place
and were told that they do not change from Arg pesos…shit! For 20 minutes we
stood there trying to figure out what to do. We had a lot of useless money. We
approached some blue market street changing guys who pointed us in the
direction of another. To cut a long story short we managed to change most of
the money for dollars – at a poor rate – but at least we could get something. A
lesson to anyone going to Argentina – do not get greedy and exchange for too
many pesos; what gets left over is potentially useless and dead money.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">After this stressful ordeal with slight headaches
from our poor maths, we had a beer and a cartoon drawing done of us! Then onto
dinner and splashed out a bit as we still had some pesos to... literally... burn. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">By this point it was 10pm – still no plan! We
paid 75p each to cross the border on a local bus! A bit drunk and slightly
hysterical we were told to rush as quick as we could through the passport
controls. Everyone on the bus was waiting – we were the only foreigners. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimSZ_wgnlSfeA-ptPkBkus-ajwP81poA8i9ymoyKVopyAd1DJUTMYC8mhDjOX8hnbfyd2PEjhLmQ1ztwGB7A5cPQrrwI0ld-acm1DdtVNU0FXNq7FR6xt9jXLWtPfpbjSkR3vgGxJ7bYs/s1600/Arg+to+Col+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimSZ_wgnlSfeA-ptPkBkus-ajwP81poA8i9ymoyKVopyAd1DJUTMYC8mhDjOX8hnbfyd2PEjhLmQ1ztwGB7A5cPQrrwI0ld-acm1DdtVNU0FXNq7FR6xt9jXLWtPfpbjSkR3vgGxJ7bYs/s1600/Arg+to+Col+6.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">We got dumped in Encarnacion in Paraguay and
heaved our bags into a big impersonal hotel for a room for the night. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">The next day check out was at 10am. Whilst booking
a bus to Asuncion we realised we needed cash in the local currency so I went on
a mission into town to try and find a cash machine that worked and then buy
food supplies for the bus. Succeeded. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then 6 hour bus, followed by a local bus to downtown for
food and happy hour cocktails, 3 hours in TGI Fridays(!) Then another local bus 20km to the airport.
Arriving 4 hours before our flight. It would be Paraguay to Panama – 1.5 hours
layover – Panama to Colombia.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Once at check-in, we encountered a potentially
catastrophic problem; we did not have evidence of leaving Colombia in a few
weeks. Gulp!! They have a policy that doesn’t allow passengers to enter
Colombia without proof of onward travel. We showed them evidence of
correspondence with Blue Sailing, the company we are using for the Colombia –
Panama sail trip at the end of the month. Luckily with our best British
accents, smiles and a quick call to her supervisor… she let us pass! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">It seems our travels have only just begun! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj2j8FdrcmBx5TzuQgOHClQdizzwFdzxUSfDD61r0NXdWMlLVfXFKe42SBVeIzeQx6TyjK4Q3snemHJIF6sYjIdfCiuiW10m0THx-ufqPm5fcUK6uCrhAghKeYhrQZxTEWU5DJoVSIJzc/s1600/Arg+to+Col+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj2j8FdrcmBx5TzuQgOHClQdizzwFdzxUSfDD61r0NXdWMlLVfXFKe42SBVeIzeQx6TyjK4Q3snemHJIF6sYjIdfCiuiW10m0THx-ufqPm5fcUK6uCrhAghKeYhrQZxTEWU5DJoVSIJzc/s1600/Arg+to+Col+5.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">P.S. Oh and to top it off we found out that we
had either booked business class flights by accident... or been bumped up.....!! <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNjcBl4ihaEQp86i-fksfNTxdzrzV_ZiZYoA3t6nXN_e1FeyUD9GWUIOfxd_NUCZd-cF8b-m9mYK8xkF6Jb1ZLBe0jbxTW5dw7y-9f-YJ-OJ-TFPYCS6Zn6fbASq__cBqbx46dtK7TKIY/s1600/Arg+to+Col.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNjcBl4ihaEQp86i-fksfNTxdzrzV_ZiZYoA3t6nXN_e1FeyUD9GWUIOfxd_NUCZd-cF8b-m9mYK8xkF6Jb1ZLBe0jbxTW5dw7y-9f-YJ-OJ-TFPYCS6Zn6fbASq__cBqbx46dtK7TKIY/s1600/Arg+to+Col.jpg" height="298" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Let the 3week adventure in Colombia begin :)</span></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09652572064170034371noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218767240550915026.post-26453908508799662482014-01-14T21:10:00.003-08:002014-01-14T21:13:49.868-08:00Argentina part 1: Steak and red wine...<div class="MsoNormal">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXyFOlBd4SYb6m5xrKsdoK7tRwoHBzCwtzYijEoqszfWb1IHxWnhRjFex13qKj2iC8Kru7UXsS8G6FUziAd7AP9OAMYi5EZTVyiYF1pBhzu2S5RRbXdGHKFpSJ02vJEhqSoUfzJrYGgzg/s1600/Argentina+1+36.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXyFOlBd4SYb6m5xrKsdoK7tRwoHBzCwtzYijEoqszfWb1IHxWnhRjFex13qKj2iC8Kru7UXsS8G6FUziAd7AP9OAMYi5EZTVyiYF1pBhzu2S5RRbXdGHKFpSJ02vJEhqSoUfzJrYGgzg/s320/Argentina+1+36.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Mendoza:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Finally we had reached
the land of fine red wine and huge steaks! Mendoza was our first stop after a
trip over the Andean mountains… again, a region that is home to 70% of
Argentina’s wine production and the country’s best vineyards as far as the eye
can see! <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1ZwvGbdrPuf5dXH1DDO-kMUy5HSh4vy_Zm0ruaZ9KKoUspOq5v7pXUub0LIqDs5Ag78li6A62yV6sxximwHp8FcCLprfE_B2atFKd2dZuEFpmjywe0riubXGEzhCxG42YSk6YbwuxU9s/s1600/Argentina+1+18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1ZwvGbdrPuf5dXH1DDO-kMUy5HSh4vy_Zm0ruaZ9KKoUspOq5v7pXUub0LIqDs5Ag78li6A62yV6sxximwHp8FcCLprfE_B2atFKd2dZuEFpmjywe0riubXGEzhCxG42YSk6YbwuxU9s/s320/Argentina+1+18.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">As we arrived at the
bus terminal multiple men whispering ‘cambio… dollars… change’ confronted us,
notoriously between the boarding gates 27-33 of which we had arrived! Welcome
to the blue market, luckily we had heard about this and prepared in Chile by
getting out around $1150 dollars ready to change. After changing just a little
to get a cab and the first day's bits and bobs we headed to the main street and
changed the whole lot in a Rolex shop… which obviously didn’t have a Rolex in
sight. We got AR$9.10 per U$1 for 20 dollar bills and AR$9.15 for 50’s and
100’s! The national official rate is around AR$6.5 for U$1. In short we managed
to earn about £300 in a few moments. Dollars are worth a lot in Argentina, this
is down to a steep increase in inflation and the country on a constant edge of
recession. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">We were staying in
Hostel Emperado which provides free all you can drink red wine every evening
between 7 and 8pm! This is also where I got my first commission to make a promo
film for the hostel owner Eduardo; Hostel Urbano Punto was a new hostel of his round
the corner, in return we got a week’s free accommodation! </span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyq2SfSso4prJe-wqUGnOvOWDYbTlIAYVIIT9dn72cDcT0nWCS4g142r26Du9LetVXpizRBjJ_bguoiPghqoZ8oP8giJsJFLNryFWZLLkJDJEp03jUxpsV6wWEsbb7kzL43-CG2UnV0h8/s1600/Argentina+1+34.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="155" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyq2SfSso4prJe-wqUGnOvOWDYbTlIAYVIIT9dn72cDcT0nWCS4g142r26Du9LetVXpizRBjJ_bguoiPghqoZ8oP8giJsJFLNryFWZLLkJDJEp03jUxpsV6wWEsbb7kzL43-CG2UnV0h8/s640/Argentina+1+34.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Here is a link to my film: </span><a href="http://vimeo.com/82793373">http://vimeo.com/82793373</a></div>
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<br />
And so it began, Argentina’s
world famous steaks and stunning Malbecs were to be consumed by us for the next
month pretty much on a daily basis.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKXab0Fbjp-OC-13U8ExgcdTszrXazwqDp-Jt6KuGHZtPuhFsTY0SB9OsBlGJwNcBV6HY6jNBCj4UWBXCBZECK_loVEb4U7lObCWNAhQr2BkQ4SOgtfqo8zXpC9E9SLF4DpCnfC6guCF0/s1600/Argentina+1+37.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKXab0Fbjp-OC-13U8ExgcdTszrXazwqDp-Jt6KuGHZtPuhFsTY0SB9OsBlGJwNcBV6HY6jNBCj4UWBXCBZECK_loVEb4U7lObCWNAhQr2BkQ4SOgtfqo8zXpC9E9SLF4DpCnfC6guCF0/s320/Argentina+1+37.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
The Asados (traditional BBQ) are delicious,
Bife De Chorizo and Bife de Lomo are our favourites, fillets and rumps.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgohqmoktM_gqVTifCY2GoEGmAQ8PUXDMN2oe24KKYG6Q_oeSDJDe8MxYSM5gz-GNlp2Ql-bg87WmtSxuqx6cXTJGCJ5xAT35pTsOD1pgQOsvO0w-HYCwgx-5CDclEbG6fnOFiOVppOjKE/s1600/Argentina+1+35.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgohqmoktM_gqVTifCY2GoEGmAQ8PUXDMN2oe24KKYG6Q_oeSDJDe8MxYSM5gz-GNlp2Ql-bg87WmtSxuqx6cXTJGCJ5xAT35pTsOD1pgQOsvO0w-HYCwgx-5CDclEbG6fnOFiOVppOjKE/s320/Argentina+1+35.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_ji_NeYbtc7R2KEUyREIDgJ7gOq2KnzBWV3VfZfBCqiwhnLjvK3KI4P3PwDPcVC-JpshxqQpszZl_NYKfMdqMhsxA23BP6ui2P1FPmFbLYhZGWsVvh0-d5vNAHayv4h8PlUXGr1nuRqk/s1600/Argentina+1+38.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_ji_NeYbtc7R2KEUyREIDgJ7gOq2KnzBWV3VfZfBCqiwhnLjvK3KI4P3PwDPcVC-JpshxqQpszZl_NYKfMdqMhsxA23BP6ui2P1FPmFbLYhZGWsVvh0-d5vNAHayv4h8PlUXGr1nuRqk/s320/Argentina+1+38.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">I also had a chance to
deepen my love affair with Malbec, which I originally found at a wine tasting
event at Borough Market whilst filming some Tango a few years back. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4_CWmYNb4-vzUIblvKs6BCPV9M8hJFEZ6XUh3ls6py4euuvjSob-2G123MZn56Nia9V2kRntObwhbmn4o4sAuZjYZJW5kr3ej1MQPpCAm4ZDHPz_eyIciy4DWB-p6RzfwHd7lHv4OEZ0/s1600/Argentina+1+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4_CWmYNb4-vzUIblvKs6BCPV9M8hJFEZ6XUh3ls6py4euuvjSob-2G123MZn56Nia9V2kRntObwhbmn4o4sAuZjYZJW5kr3ej1MQPpCAm4ZDHPz_eyIciy4DWB-p6RzfwHd7lHv4OEZ0/s320/Argentina+1+1.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Over 3 days
cycling we visited 10 bodegas (wineries) tasting Malbecs galore, Cabernet Sauvignons
and Syrahs. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihubmm1fKKE8xrgf2o1W4yofj-JN6BADqWbng9QXtVMDCeZFtW0356OogA5PZBn9-PMe-2eTgwy8tAIYxp46mIPb90ZAzbIS7wlYT1Y-dDvZVv3Yhgd-D5tZgHhw689WMKJC6CnS6h3EU/s1600/Argentina+1+22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihubmm1fKKE8xrgf2o1W4yofj-JN6BADqWbng9QXtVMDCeZFtW0356OogA5PZBn9-PMe-2eTgwy8tAIYxp46mIPb90ZAzbIS7wlYT1Y-dDvZVv3Yhgd-D5tZgHhw689WMKJC6CnS6h3EU/s320/Argentina+1+22.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZX8sd_CWD9kLuHfvxuTj7TIpAH0TaTjmUpWGI1lw1yODmhrIWfsxUrgdVVZ7iiG-AMPZGvtIDLOutXeZc-A_KTI2ZXTfR1YJjUog03iLK20wO_Hpiz24cnCJHAG6rBA70ITgohE7K8Ho/s1600/Argentina+1+21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZX8sd_CWD9kLuHfvxuTj7TIpAH0TaTjmUpWGI1lw1yODmhrIWfsxUrgdVVZ7iiG-AMPZGvtIDLOutXeZc-A_KTI2ZXTfR1YJjUog03iLK20wO_Hpiz24cnCJHAG6rBA70ITgohE7K8Ho/s320/Argentina+1+21.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqsfQ5j5ZZfzYqW0h5W_z30lC6huaVXLIqKuoib1pWj1Yb14syFVi2QOo_PcoY5hkF58X1Y3XG0oVv-N1pTp1HzKyBZNWbF1iYLcu-nGl9cfMTImaLhFFPYpF_uoB34ZZe393ujnxSAkM/s1600/Argentina+1+19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqsfQ5j5ZZfzYqW0h5W_z30lC6huaVXLIqKuoib1pWj1Yb14syFVi2QOo_PcoY5hkF58X1Y3XG0oVv-N1pTp1HzKyBZNWbF1iYLcu-nGl9cfMTImaLhFFPYpF_uoB34ZZe393ujnxSAkM/s320/Argentina+1+19.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Hannah fell in love with Argentina’s only home grown white wine;
Torrentes. Known as the ‘liar’, this wine smells sweet but is actually a dry
wine to taste. Delicious. When the red wine tasting all got a bit much in the
35 degree heat, this white wine was a welcome refresher as were the Roses and
the Sauvignon Blancs…phew!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The tasting process...</span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><i>Swill... Smell...</i></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD1Nw9S3FQg3ucCnDrN2tjyC7Ju-iibjuWqsqurYEzacxgCG9uXvHun98i9PCTUZI4Bz_KhyrbRMxLMCqUBXW6KicrdKTjXHIsKCye7Q7CDih9t0A1dIzZv3oJUV1kI1Lmbbys9t_dKgo/s1600/Argentina+1+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD1Nw9S3FQg3ucCnDrN2tjyC7Ju-iibjuWqsqurYEzacxgCG9uXvHun98i9PCTUZI4Bz_KhyrbRMxLMCqUBXW6KicrdKTjXHIsKCye7Q7CDih9t0A1dIzZv3oJUV1kI1Lmbbys9t_dKgo/s200/Argentina+1+5.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLEkesrQe8vkf0pJ_whl_csf47yXAqiJ-qFUbvymKWNKQyn0qOSOGCNdq3FHy-3Zdd1iSQOiYPe9Y65u-iFlskbxFT391ekzoR9FawoiHNzCSQRqJMImZ7BVGHEGF2tRirfuXU8_-i-og/s1600/Argentina+1+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLEkesrQe8vkf0pJ_whl_csf47yXAqiJ-qFUbvymKWNKQyn0qOSOGCNdq3FHy-3Zdd1iSQOiYPe9Y65u-iFlskbxFT391ekzoR9FawoiHNzCSQRqJMImZ7BVGHEGF2tRirfuXU8_-i-og/s200/Argentina+1+7.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<i>Taste... Suck...</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxUmdHQLeCwrSkO0R0ePpjqBwAbUCjNrRHKQHqp17Ua6q0GX1FAKFKOq73hcGFFRJGLqgL9vMggds5IylGbErSWNvFEfXooPzeyq4Fl8KBFhpsJE4qiSDEL4vrQVAG2sB2v3UL-OvnmLA/s1600/Argentina+1+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxUmdHQLeCwrSkO0R0ePpjqBwAbUCjNrRHKQHqp17Ua6q0GX1FAKFKOq73hcGFFRJGLqgL9vMggds5IylGbErSWNvFEfXooPzeyq4Fl8KBFhpsJE4qiSDEL4vrQVAG2sB2v3UL-OvnmLA/s200/Argentina+1+4.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMf7-xFF8UsY_mq8rbvhlYL_Gbmh2jUaeME4azK3jf50XNyxmRoSOfvPdkxu50J4VKY2i-2lNB99SibR75sYN8tloMeeBmVD7zUpNppo1kTI4YTQQtKyJ8QLNKLGxZyamSuxES4NH-RwM/s1600/Argentina+1+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMf7-xFF8UsY_mq8rbvhlYL_Gbmh2jUaeME4azK3jf50XNyxmRoSOfvPdkxu50J4VKY2i-2lNB99SibR75sYN8tloMeeBmVD7zUpNppo1kTI4YTQQtKyJ8QLNKLGxZyamSuxES4NH-RwM/s200/Argentina+1+3.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<i>Enjoy</i>!!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJouNbT1eDw2LdhfY2bsxd7f_D3aLJNUdVsMccWh-Mq4AyXBuSqy72MLhUtMSP9PSYSiHmB4VBCKS7Wrl1o1FOCuxJQ7y8d5hmSEAeYdE-aanJdIPM8iEh0dc17hEgBqdqdjfRKZoYbZ4/s1600/Argentina+1+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJouNbT1eDw2LdhfY2bsxd7f_D3aLJNUdVsMccWh-Mq4AyXBuSqy72MLhUtMSP9PSYSiHmB4VBCKS7Wrl1o1FOCuxJQ7y8d5hmSEAeYdE-aanJdIPM8iEh0dc17hEgBqdqdjfRKZoYbZ4/s400/Argentina+1+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">We had tours in most
of the wineries we visited, learning a huge amount about the process from grape
to bottle. There is various time required for maceration which is the contact
between grape and skin; this determines colour depth. We got to learn about and see the distillery vats where
fermentation takes place, determining the wines strength and taste. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir_wPXCJ9ZNoUjko00XflDx31w8OXs9MqPKPK4jN1MB94z7RisxI6JXJpefZaZ7V3XEulKFV25I434V4jrIGByVq0I1Gvqq49yj1U8lSaEFuYG1U5l0plk-dnX3NzjzQrCiciMo06PDKY/s1600/Argentina+1+11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir_wPXCJ9ZNoUjko00XflDx31w8OXs9MqPKPK4jN1MB94z7RisxI6JXJpefZaZ7V3XEulKFV25I434V4jrIGByVq0I1Gvqq49yj1U8lSaEFuYG1U5l0plk-dnX3NzjzQrCiciMo06PDKY/s320/Argentina+1+11.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Then there
are the different barrels, usually 30% French oak and 70% American, which is
more cost efficient. Although for the reversa wines, the percentages of the barrel can be 100% French which is considered the most desirable. It is here where the aroma of the wine develops. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnl3RW_r-JYPM2mOnfv7j3X78_9_7Tp0tgp7RVAaDq4ZN0xiTmDWCnz9pPEOU2Z1Bd2rs7dy5xpUHaCAG9Psf6yRY1XB0Np1QsTi5cjOGDr_CxykPvYlE_WC1fJGqGQ_rA6NOm1_Rg55Q/s1600/Argentina+1+17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnl3RW_r-JYPM2mOnfv7j3X78_9_7Tp0tgp7RVAaDq4ZN0xiTmDWCnz9pPEOU2Z1Bd2rs7dy5xpUHaCAG9Psf6yRY1XB0Np1QsTi5cjOGDr_CxykPvYlE_WC1fJGqGQ_rA6NOm1_Rg55Q/s320/Argentina+1+17.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">We learnt about the length of time that different wines are aged; usually
between 6 and 18 months as well as 1<sup>st</sup> time use of the barrels for
the top dollar reserva’s, 2<sup>nd</sup> for premium so on and so on. Barrels are usually re-used about 5 times before being sold onto cheaper wineries or for furniture!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXKKbrBdkAum-DKcoseqQ-wPt9nxLfJ33_gPgaFVEKlCyzVW7gxAWq5xSf5MO_5__PYry8q851OoHRJ3hvYnATXZRpg5s8pZpu0ohazKHHuI6TXWRT2OaoKsVYLA_3drVRvY0AgCA0xu0/s1600/Argentina+1+14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXKKbrBdkAum-DKcoseqQ-wPt9nxLfJ33_gPgaFVEKlCyzVW7gxAWq5xSf5MO_5__PYry8q851OoHRJ3hvYnATXZRpg5s8pZpu0ohazKHHuI6TXWRT2OaoKsVYLA_3drVRvY0AgCA0xu0/s320/Argentina+1+14.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">All the different processes reflect price ranges. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKWYkBPmo0cBSTpAZ0iHdjErDprCioKaj07zd1jKBeKlDdufSE20qu2_1WX_sdkF-03VfIyu9OOrtxvVRf73cqDY6eFEAja7C7lDxGCq8t0aBkdPOgUo4GquLIt-3St6s53M7YI2bx8w8/s1600/Argentina+1+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKWYkBPmo0cBSTpAZ0iHdjErDprCioKaj07zd1jKBeKlDdufSE20qu2_1WX_sdkF-03VfIyu9OOrtxvVRf73cqDY6eFEAja7C7lDxGCq8t0aBkdPOgUo4GquLIt-3St6s53M7YI2bx8w8/s320/Argentina+1+6.jpg" width="159" /></a></div>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">As well as where and how the grapes
are grown. Malbec is Argentina's only true grape variety (the rest are imports
from France and Italy etc) and thrives on the Andean mountains' high altitude
and sunny climate, producing thicker skins and larger grapes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Basically, we got a
shit load of information that initially went over our heads but when repeated
(with slight differences) at all the different bodegas it all started to sink in
and make sense. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The greatest thing
about these wine tasting days is that we did it all under our own steam and
resisted paying for the overpriced tours to do exactly the same. We travelled
around and in between the wineries on bicycles which we hired from Hugo’s
Bikes. Although the traffic in some places was a little dodgy, after the first
two bodegas you are basically pissed and just looking forward to getting to the
next one. Perhaps a little dangerous in retrospect but great fun! </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcnFAO2AZP5gGrdz5QIB7py0zGO8mbigweW2iAPbm_3KrKhdi0iAASCP2sCgbIMNef4uzddmBZ2uo7w5gjYHS8Bp3OHp9L4HEln-HCcsVUupUOgUs_d6mRry1iLl0omnW87O5rY43QViA/s1600/Argentina+1+20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcnFAO2AZP5gGrdz5QIB7py0zGO8mbigweW2iAPbm_3KrKhdi0iAASCP2sCgbIMNef4uzddmBZ2uo7w5gjYHS8Bp3OHp9L4HEln-HCcsVUupUOgUs_d6mRry1iLl0omnW87O5rY43QViA/s320/Argentina+1+20.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Some highlights...<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><i><b>Tempus Alba</b></i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpkOfagEbx718avjkXKYy2eieDFERD8gXdfyJiUgUKmfLEW8r9LB8cSm4v8neob8YNzK64UeQ95aNT86wFsToGCp0ELfR8D1K3DODmYJBnmh1UOoEUdV2-yRrJTU_Q80UeVCV8HB8cI6s/s1600/Argentina+1+33.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpkOfagEbx718avjkXKYy2eieDFERD8gXdfyJiUgUKmfLEW8r9LB8cSm4v8neob8YNzK64UeQ95aNT86wFsToGCp0ELfR8D1K3DODmYJBnmh1UOoEUdV2-yRrJTU_Q80UeVCV8HB8cI6s/s320/Argentina+1+33.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDdVusTA-sjqIDe_P-U6WbocJzm2nQG89RAVmjM6faFpYoAA5mqMJgrEA8HYKvHijBssjSOYoaiIwgqikntvQVjXr98MjzYxAM1ywRvnQJUeW7QeYA4ucXzqp7lFqQhtd-eFCZRpJIlc8/s1600/Argentina+1+30.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDdVusTA-sjqIDe_P-U6WbocJzm2nQG89RAVmjM6faFpYoAA5mqMJgrEA8HYKvHijBssjSOYoaiIwgqikntvQVjXr98MjzYxAM1ywRvnQJUeW7QeYA4ucXzqp7lFqQhtd-eFCZRpJIlc8/s320/Argentina+1+30.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><i>This was where we had one of our favourite meals on the whole trip so far!<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHJmqa03Kytt13kiuxL4O41morYZdrrtsK78LbBTvynpafSEIzSwRk3K9kgrXjQcaV9krHrq4fcutdJvYbzUCMrCx8O1oPVqywMeaWfh9zLDG1ta_gNZef4sjkUrg-sC7RjNyzz27Zvg0/s1600/Argentina+1+27.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHJmqa03Kytt13kiuxL4O41morYZdrrtsK78LbBTvynpafSEIzSwRk3K9kgrXjQcaV9krHrq4fcutdJvYbzUCMrCx8O1oPVqywMeaWfh9zLDG1ta_gNZef4sjkUrg-sC7RjNyzz27Zvg0/s320/Argentina+1+27.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><i>mmmmm....</i></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><i><b>Bodega Pulmary</b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><i>A family
winery. We had a private tour with the son of the family. The tasting process was very different; we got to taste the wine from the vats and then from the oak barrels and finally the finished product</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGggZtBTVLNLRKRIOKsMJ0LqUIk_IEs9dDFrMrm2WxPfZPtJQ78L5mgLz8IIts0TkYYe9WDHeUyiNXZOBCEWcQt_fHs0oIlR91aVwajZsXdqGeJngGc87YIxRK4tDQMs-z4PVlIopuceM/s1600/Argentina+1+2+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGggZtBTVLNLRKRIOKsMJ0LqUIk_IEs9dDFrMrm2WxPfZPtJQ78L5mgLz8IIts0TkYYe9WDHeUyiNXZOBCEWcQt_fHs0oIlR91aVwajZsXdqGeJngGc87YIxRK4tDQMs-z4PVlIopuceM/s320/Argentina+1+2+(2).jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><i>We stood inside an old vat/room that once held 300,000 litres! There were alcohol crystals still forming on the walls.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5pTdc6EioBAi9K_egf77G0kHfzj7EBPaS-mX2zUGybRghsAi6oHsvBN5OYGt1JAFWAzYI5ituadJm3FyK4Y6Re517YL4RiUKvP3GKSL1WvDK_9WPPV7o6lBTZx6H_-pyQfCa_1_b0az4/s1600/Argentina+1+1+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5pTdc6EioBAi9K_egf77G0kHfzj7EBPaS-mX2zUGybRghsAi6oHsvBN5OYGt1JAFWAzYI5ituadJm3FyK4Y6Re517YL4RiUKvP3GKSL1WvDK_9WPPV7o6lBTZx6H_-pyQfCa_1_b0az4/s320/Argentina+1+1+%25282%2529.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><i><b>Familia Di Tomaso<o:p></o:p></b></i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5lPTrpA7OqfGH0cOFDxvYHKrX9lquDMwruGKOeT2Bp3wAN_CR_DFBOAqQJlONkvuRiPdm-8n4jpBDYStrbOt8GYu1F_HLEhC2KkCQ-xvWn4mEmmy5fcPKWzIRzkOUlJdbqTGo4sRksAY/s1600/Argentina+1+15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5lPTrpA7OqfGH0cOFDxvYHKrX9lquDMwruGKOeT2Bp3wAN_CR_DFBOAqQJlONkvuRiPdm-8n4jpBDYStrbOt8GYu1F_HLEhC2KkCQ-xvWn4mEmmy5fcPKWzIRzkOUlJdbqTGo4sRksAY/s320/Argentina+1+15.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><i>This winery dated back to the 1830's</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><i><b>Alta Vista</b></i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0HHSdnOxFP65t70NZmUwdHg92emJlRchpX_mvcR_dbrnNwjVd3cs5IPD9Se0C9ILrCvhXxzxeAHdEi7JUYJyryh1EOnnyeMigBn1MlV80lqAStUcSfOuNjrTBgoC0KUqGwzlKg6KX-VU/s1600/Argentina+1+10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0HHSdnOxFP65t70NZmUwdHg92emJlRchpX_mvcR_dbrnNwjVd3cs5IPD9Se0C9ILrCvhXxzxeAHdEi7JUYJyryh1EOnnyeMigBn1MlV80lqAStUcSfOuNjrTBgoC0KUqGwzlKg6KX-VU/s320/Argentina+1+10.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><i>We did some premium wine tasting here! Just stunning!</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8jkzUyrTAEbJ-1vGj_LvmwnVVhuq4WN6h_jTALbPFXp8d-moRfMuK5oClzaq_E3R9JOriHSaf7SwZGWXqe05zV5lAxL5YqqvffrlKh75ctavhDOaSRh5dt8SMR9fQ_OOarhm4FC_VhpE/s1600/Argentina+1+12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8jkzUyrTAEbJ-1vGj_LvmwnVVhuq4WN6h_jTALbPFXp8d-moRfMuK5oClzaq_E3R9JOriHSaf7SwZGWXqe05zV5lAxL5YqqvffrlKh75ctavhDOaSRh5dt8SMR9fQ_OOarhm4FC_VhpE/s320/Argentina+1+12.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><i>The middle of their barrels were painted with Malbec!</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><i>We bought a bottle of their Malbec Reserva for Christmas day.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><i><b>Trapiche</b></i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEBZ9m5rsCrav-jKaK9ACkN7eG1YONldZ_H22m5FCZ3GdQuCN7eTwg7Z18NeHZn90XvqXTA7xP9DQeRytG7CrwnMKrPlby9p6FgQ9do3bhNCPyUM3dw3btmsjew8wOF4xVV-JVsnGm0-o/s1600/Argentina+1+26.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEBZ9m5rsCrav-jKaK9ACkN7eG1YONldZ_H22m5FCZ3GdQuCN7eTwg7Z18NeHZn90XvqXTA7xP9DQeRytG7CrwnMKrPlby9p6FgQ9do3bhNCPyUM3dw3btmsjew8wOF4xVV-JVsnGm0-o/s320/Argentina+1+26.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>The biggest wine producer in Argentina</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiJNnLtrrrVAGRve7-d3JVKHZxncDZbRZTdY8XwPNkkAnPjTADXUNBdpQWljGFdy63Yu-Md1kxVwCqW7LdCqlhF2zs46XkeJIHLA-btUOF2eCeWSxYMdDn_HX_H9Fq8g5z8Q0BWWM_yBs/s1600/Argentina+1+32.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiJNnLtrrrVAGRve7-d3JVKHZxncDZbRZTdY8XwPNkkAnPjTADXUNBdpQWljGFdy63Yu-Md1kxVwCqW7LdCqlhF2zs46XkeJIHLA-btUOF2eCeWSxYMdDn_HX_H9Fq8g5z8Q0BWWM_yBs/s320/Argentina+1+32.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieO9ttM7obmtvUTe-sMOtYBmgNh10r7OyJb1_Ourgm3eYjTG6T3LPZgilcqO_oUmTD39VYnhzCUQSBNAyvmqreuUIIbpiqXKEPH2aI2LGwz-zMF-MrobjXjBsituDISFjUFdFuEgR8L_k/s1600/Argentina+1+23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieO9ttM7obmtvUTe-sMOtYBmgNh10r7OyJb1_Ourgm3eYjTG6T3LPZgilcqO_oUmTD39VYnhzCUQSBNAyvmqreuUIIbpiqXKEPH2aI2LGwz-zMF-MrobjXjBsituDISFjUFdFuEgR8L_k/s320/Argentina+1+23.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i> There used to be a railway connected to it for distribution</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3NJIW5fOLxxBrPQCyNTvJgE1c0jceGrGsIKiPOY_1ut_l6_0vJkaDSkWYaJAc_2tVf8nmbEylFlo_gwWUSGJ9m61aKm8DASkFP4ZIEwwEWmr1aUx_ex2-LkrtgW0FkO2kVv-uxGAg8LM/s1600/Argentina+1+25.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3NJIW5fOLxxBrPQCyNTvJgE1c0jceGrGsIKiPOY_1ut_l6_0vJkaDSkWYaJAc_2tVf8nmbEylFlo_gwWUSGJ9m61aKm8DASkFP4ZIEwwEWmr1aUx_ex2-LkrtgW0FkO2kVv-uxGAg8LM/s320/Argentina+1+25.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i> The cellar below!</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmQ5FmakhEZeR7AwrzhvkMH5g6hdRugA-WQwFhfDQqplPvIyq270PisNZ7OyYDYhAgXmgdtuY_mi4ys7J3XqMEB7k8qFGASOEE4n2yDSWvxadTsM4993oCVTDUgAj68i5bjMua74-7t4M/s1600/Argentina+1+29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmQ5FmakhEZeR7AwrzhvkMH5g6hdRugA-WQwFhfDQqplPvIyq270PisNZ7OyYDYhAgXmgdtuY_mi4ys7J3XqMEB7k8qFGASOEE4n2yDSWvxadTsM4993oCVTDUgAj68i5bjMua74-7t4M/s320/Argentina+1+29.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>They were pretty tiring days....!</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVNp98k7RzA3UlZmamxE79T0dHZUyKev2m0HlUZE5U_6XnyH0qGi87kqTr34K9AsCEh5aOOAtPHcf8Rwh2yQ1RURfryjHDj-cGrsalW_z8jY8V97n9huHE1tjPwPQz8CHTsrwvntracF8/s1600/Argentina+1+16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVNp98k7RzA3UlZmamxE79T0dHZUyKev2m0HlUZE5U_6XnyH0qGi87kqTr34K9AsCEh5aOOAtPHcf8Rwh2yQ1RURfryjHDj-cGrsalW_z8jY8V97n9huHE1tjPwPQz8CHTsrwvntracF8/s320/Argentina+1+16.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">We also went to an
olive oil making place. Sampled oils, jams, pastes, liquors and chocolate. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhau6XiSMbafvYKDvpBchn4n3D4JRyS2EFVJ3XHa9kArdTa2BmWEvPmgY6nY6BkKhZ34S13Su4hk6Da7w2xUz3HnyaoSexGxREzYQyj-iNr5jRowbhy4YtNCpM5fH1WR4cbcV2-R9MP0x4/s1600/Argentina+1+24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhau6XiSMbafvYKDvpBchn4n3D4JRyS2EFVJ3XHa9kArdTa2BmWEvPmgY6nY6BkKhZ34S13Su4hk6Da7w2xUz3HnyaoSexGxREzYQyj-iNr5jRowbhy4YtNCpM5fH1WR4cbcV2-R9MP0x4/s320/Argentina+1+24.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcVPjsa9C034cqxccQz4upIFFREVxoYn-ZyRwjT8GPPsq5gVlmhq_J5R8MUwEapQRIYOGn5WGp1H3ONb_f2YwEyjJI6CZTzWOzbuHTqvlsthGtDbED9ryo_NpL2Wcq7bWSJ5xIXAaO3Qs/s1600/Argentina+1+28.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcVPjsa9C034cqxccQz4upIFFREVxoYn-ZyRwjT8GPPsq5gVlmhq_J5R8MUwEapQRIYOGn5WGp1H3ONb_f2YwEyjJI6CZTzWOzbuHTqvlsthGtDbED9ryo_NpL2Wcq7bWSJ5xIXAaO3Qs/s320/Argentina+1+28.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFq3oFFZBMhckHrg3a3R2Wx02vTLTWIuwSouqPapXs3WNm4mggW-CpISZ7dqs5ajcVnSaPHpGqd97IEv8BScG8yw-1kyn9Egg98axdICvIG8Y_yXzLlgq96udcXUBXcpHo79SKoIuxWSM/s1600/Argentina+1+31.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFq3oFFZBMhckHrg3a3R2Wx02vTLTWIuwSouqPapXs3WNm4mggW-CpISZ7dqs5ajcVnSaPHpGqd97IEv8BScG8yw-1kyn9Egg98axdICvIG8Y_yXzLlgq96udcXUBXcpHo79SKoIuxWSM/s320/Argentina+1+31.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><i>Absinth!</i></span></div>
</div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">In restaurants we witnessed a very foreign custom that we gave into in the end which was putting ice cubes into your red wine! It was just so warm!!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmIy77fe12oMhTrqiNYvs2e4fSZtSmvVmbm1Pw2P1t-6bxH_qMHM9ubqJaqblLoy0G683Lf4vl3Ea7kn_uGLohPuftdVPeYKDz7vqv_hgLeaPnxH-yuJTKC-l1ibI9DrRgtwtHeKNKEDM/s1600/Argentina+1+1+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmIy77fe12oMhTrqiNYvs2e4fSZtSmvVmbm1Pw2P1t-6bxH_qMHM9ubqJaqblLoy0G683Lf4vl3Ea7kn_uGLohPuftdVPeYKDz7vqv_hgLeaPnxH-yuJTKC-l1ibI9DrRgtwtHeKNKEDM/s320/Argentina+1+1+%25281%2529.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">One day we took a trip
out of town to Potierillos where they is a big resovoir 12km by 3km wide. We enjoyed
a boozey picnic by the lake, admiring the stunning mountains surrounding us. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjSeoxeg61bpaqVtGSw9C9CIzboVRtkv1rl7H2ExRqZgkfq0W7Vtx71d_VDMnboGb5sHZhDH3nWpln6i8qi9yhGe22tTP6Q8WteOjUPiEFKA_suxIVUprFL9EJY55RXp3HmrRfhm4YeAY/s1600/Argentina+1+13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjSeoxeg61bpaqVtGSw9C9CIzboVRtkv1rl7H2ExRqZgkfq0W7Vtx71d_VDMnboGb5sHZhDH3nWpln6i8qi9yhGe22tTP6Q8WteOjUPiEFKA_suxIVUprFL9EJY55RXp3HmrRfhm4YeAY/s320/Argentina+1+13.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirmpmNH43O5vHiCdcRltkqRt7CasAqUbWnqaTYZaJG4q7oroHNun-ney0CGgIhq3DDV7n8OyCYXiGt5V6y3r-jQ1ZWHM9u1-xICaY1Iu2TjBZY2vo8-zxG_CtCichHdILxmOf1lLOY-fA/s1600/Argentina+1+8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirmpmNH43O5vHiCdcRltkqRt7CasAqUbWnqaTYZaJG4q7oroHNun-ney0CGgIhq3DDV7n8OyCYXiGt5V6y3r-jQ1ZWHM9u1-xICaY1Iu2TjBZY2vo8-zxG_CtCichHdILxmOf1lLOY-fA/s320/Argentina+1+8.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3EElBTOSSVIhkaEzFmqhkzyG2HmI0vgTZrWEYKCTutgrxGVSwdGoIj_-vUWLanYmX5vboQ04qMdU9AkleAQSom8pG8aN2U5yL_udOCEi_vOlZ8hIu7tJgmYiTOLCt02e33uRDOTef7f8/s1600/Argentina+1+9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3EElBTOSSVIhkaEzFmqhkzyG2HmI0vgTZrWEYKCTutgrxGVSwdGoIj_-vUWLanYmX5vboQ04qMdU9AkleAQSom8pG8aN2U5yL_udOCEi_vOlZ8hIu7tJgmYiTOLCt02e33uRDOTef7f8/s320/Argentina+1+9.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">After
a spot of swimming, the sun disappeared and the dark clouds rolled in</span> accompanied by the sound of thunder and a light show! Massive forks of
lightening were hitting the mountains surrounding us as well as in the middle
of the reservoir. For a while we sat on the rocks just watching and listening, thinking
how vulnerable we were as there were no trees around, just water, rocks and us
– perfect conductors! The cracks were the loudest we had ever heard and right
over our heads.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijC0kLsNa_gxMRGNW2v0EuGDx_kATxxlVt0_cKEOZBhRWqpDfTqOrM6RY5XvVmC5xdb9aIgzTlrp3lLrC_DEHY6t7dARZSOsyy5r0j5A27IhrLlnT6JpzGikt3UaWUcRgpfHp3P_Detvc/s1600/Argentina+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijC0kLsNa_gxMRGNW2v0EuGDx_kATxxlVt0_cKEOZBhRWqpDfTqOrM6RY5XvVmC5xdb9aIgzTlrp3lLrC_DEHY6t7dARZSOsyy5r0j5A27IhrLlnT6JpzGikt3UaWUcRgpfHp3P_Detvc/s320/Argentina+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Exhilarating is an understatement, we were in hysterics! We
could see and hear hail drawing closer and continued to film the show until it
was overhead and we experienced a deluge of water. We found ourselves running
for cover wherever ‘cover’ was! The rain was so powerful it hurt. After about
10 minutes the clouds cleared and we were back to normal with blue skys and hot
sun!</div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">We moved onto Cordoba next (a night bus north east).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Cordoba:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">One word… Boiling! Out
first evening we had some heavy rain and more deafening thunderstorms. We had 3
days here, which we spent wandering the city…. We weren’t blown away and could
have missed the city all together. Cheers Lonely Planet guide book… this was
not a highlight of Argentina.</span><br />
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><i>We did enjoy a lot of these though... Empanadas (basically the Argentine version of a Cornish Pasty)!</i></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKIh2Ols3nIXQW93i7SztEHElMXh5UVQAk9JYlIlKCynOXmhhLilVZ7PjlZKsIb42eqpSgIb4SRe-mCCAWkxYCB_Zcv-obwBTqovnKSFkDRDpLcI8QDCGKTObAyI7uxMahKZHObB_r4E0/s1600/Argentina+1+6+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKIh2Ols3nIXQW93i7SztEHElMXh5UVQAk9JYlIlKCynOXmhhLilVZ7PjlZKsIb42eqpSgIb4SRe-mCCAWkxYCB_Zcv-obwBTqovnKSFkDRDpLcI8QDCGKTObAyI7uxMahKZHObB_r4E0/s320/Argentina+1+6+%25281%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The one highlight that
we found near Cordoba was the small town of Cuesta Blanca and its picturesque
river with glittery (flakes of silver sediment from rocks, similar to fish
scales) sand. This is where I introduced Hannah to the joy of building dams in
the rocks, she wasn’t 100% convinced of the point of the activity. </span>But nevertheless Han helped for a bit before retiring back to the horizontal. I battled
on, bum in the air all afternoon.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBKZ7s-uPssh6z87gHTtW7KZelq9UaUFtpX6ualy5bBfQletSIr0rcElov06S9vjpPthooRKZ6dCh3P1bdf0JnlGLB83bEJWbLipojWhVyDpY98bS58bNs47kD1EihgCIYEUQC21SKXUc/s1600/Argentina+1+2+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBKZ7s-uPssh6z87gHTtW7KZelq9UaUFtpX6ualy5bBfQletSIr0rcElov06S9vjpPthooRKZ6dCh3P1bdf0JnlGLB83bEJWbLipojWhVyDpY98bS58bNs47kD1EihgCIYEUQC21SKXUc/s320/Argentina+1+2+%25281%2529.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
By making my super cool dams I forced the water to create a jet
stream chair, complete with beer holder.<br />
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<br />
It was a good day, apart from the
burnt bum and lower back from 5hrs of being bent over. Ouch.</div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><b>Next stop Buenos Aires for Christmas and New Year!! Part 2 coming soon!</b></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09652572064170034371noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218767240550915026.post-58947449438754103382013-12-17T07:09:00.002-08:002013-12-17T09:08:53.863-08:00Chile<br />
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9<sup>th</sup>
December<o:p></o:p></div>
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We are typing this as
we are driving over The Andes, crossing the border from Chile into Argentina! <o:p></o:p></div>
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Two weeks ago, when we
crossed the border into Chile from Bolivia, it was clear we were entering new
territory – tarmac road, a legal requirement to wear seatbelts, actually
maintained useful road signs and emergency off ramps for run away lorries. We
had arrived from the poorest country in Latin America to the richest… it was a
relief to say the least, welcome back to civilisation after 3 months somewhat
disconnected from it. <o:p></o:p></div>
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After a windy road
descending a few thousands metres from the boarder crossing mid Andes heading
straight for the desert we reached our destination. San Pedro de Atacama – home
to the famous Atacama Desert – the driest in the world sitting at around 2440
meters above sea level. The town was lovely (if a little tourist ready) and
again we could tell we had arrived somewhere new. Besides the sharp rise in
prices of everything (except booze funnily enough!) there were fancy
restaurants and bars on most streets. Prices were in thousands – around 875
pesos to £1!! It was clear we were going to need to brush up on our mental
arithmetic pretty quickly!</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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We found the cheapest hostel we could which had a kitchen so we could
start cooking most meals and begin that fun money saving game that would be
required throughout Chile and Argentina. </div>
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We soon discovered we had by chance
arrived in San Pedro on a national celebration; 40 years since the town had
been properly established, (or in our eyes, since all the locals got rich by
ripping off the gringos). There was a massive free music festival with a great
band down from Lima, Peru… and everyone was going. Unfortunately Hannah still
hadn’t managed to shake the Bolivian bug so decided to chill in and get better.
Becca joined her while Jon, Robert and I thought it would be rude to pass up
the chance to party with the locals. We formed a group of about 12 people from
the hostel and went in search of a Botilleria (booze shop). 2 litre bottles of
Rum, 3 litres of Coke for about a tenner tucked under the jumpers and we were
off into crowd. We arrived, poured out 4 cups of various strengths to pass
around, the fireworks were set off and I think it is fair to say that within
15-20 minutes everyone was pissed. Funnily enough I can’t remember the name of
the band but they were AMAZING! Got the crowd going mad, it really felt like we
were at a proper gig back home except for the waves of drunken Chileans
everywhere.<br />
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At some point after the gig finished we heard that everyone goes
down to the beach… beach at 2000m I thought … never! But alas we stumbled about
20minutes out of town in the pitch black and suddenly we were walking on sand.
But of course no sea! After some typical street football using our empty beers
cans we decided to call it a night around 3-4am. A great night and an amazing
welcome into Chile!</div>
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The following day with mild hangovers but a full complement of the group
we all took a trip to the Laguna Cejar venturing into the desert for the first
time. Stopping first at one of the most beautiful lakes we had ever seen – just
4 inches deep we ventured out into the perfect turquoise water treading
carefully over the thick sharp white salt.<br />
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It was a stunning location to just
stand and admire the huge volcano in front of us. <o:p></o:p><br />
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Next we went to two small circular pools side by side with the road
going through the middle. They were 10 metres deep and went straight down. Jon
and I decided to brave it and do a running dive over the 2m-drop.<br />
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COLD! If upright,
from your knees below it was freezing cold. Best keep the feet up. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Eventually we arrived at the main highlight; Laguna Cejar, where the
salt density is so high that, like the Dead Sea, you float. We were warned not
to get the water in your mouth or eyes, so we lowered each other gently into the
chilly lake and bobbed like apples. Swimming was difficult because you were so
lifted out of the water, such a strange sensation floating while not having to
keep a float. We all thought that this was the closest we would come to knowing
what astronauts feel like when in space, totally weightless! If you stand up
like a pencil and push up you bob like a fishing float; very difficult to keep
your legs underneath.<br />
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When we all got a bit chilly we got out to be hosed down
with fresh water<br />
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...and then it was Maracua (passion fruit) sours and peanuts for sundowners!
Frightfully civilised!<o:p></o:p><br />
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That night at 10 pm we met for another tour. This time, checking out the
universe on a star gazing tour with an astronomer with huge telescopes. We
drove about 15 minutes out of town and began with an intro to all the
constellations, then a bit of history to how stars and planets got their names.
How they were used to let people know what time of year it is; for example,
there is a harvest star that was used to let locals know when to harvest their
crop in time for winter. We were absolutely baffled by numbers; everything was
spoken about in the context of millions of light years. It really began to put
into perspective just how small and insignificant we are in the universe. What
we both really took away from the evening was that there must be other life out
there! But the most frustrating thing is that even if there was or is we will NEVER
be able to communicate with them. By the time we receive a signal the race will
probably be extinct because it has taken so many millions of light years for
the signal to reach us. We then respond and it takes the same time for our
message to be received, by that time the human existence will be extinct.
Gutting eh! We evolved because the conditions were perfect for life to grow.
The universe is SO VAST that what’s to say there are not other planets in
galaxies exactly the same distance on the other side of the universe with the
conditions for a living habitat. We will never know! Especially as the universe
is also constantly growing and expanding outwards. It was stunning to see parts
of the sky that are invisible to the naked eye, but so clear through the
telescopes. We saw Venus, Jupiter, two star clouds and various other mind-blowing
formations. This was followed by a question and answer session inside the astronomers’
roofless house with amazing hot chocolate.<br />
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The following day, after some boring chores (laundry, booking bus tickets etc) in the
morning, we headed to the Valley of the Dead and Valley of the Moon. We saw the
Valley of the Dead from a vista point up high. It features rows and rows of
mini canyons. Animals tend to die out here as they get lost and starve – hence
the name.<br />
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The Valley of the Moon is a crazy landscape that fills your mind with
sci-fi films – it looks like you’re on the moon!<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>What does this rock look like?!</i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
There is a light dusting of
salt all over and the rock formations include razor sharp edges of crystallised
solid ice.<br />
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<br />
We explored a few mining caves where salt used to get blown out with
TNT and then refined; but that fizzled out when the miners/companies realised
they could get it cheaper elsewhere.<br />
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<br />
After wandering around for a while we
finished with a small hike up to a stunning vista point for sunset.</div>
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That night we went for our first meal out in Chile, just the two of us
in a lovely restaurant devouring a triple carne (meat) platter; being kept
toasty warm by a large fire pit. <o:p></o:p><br />
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From this point we parted ways with Robert; he headed north while Jon, Becca and the two
of us took a 17 hour bus south down the coast to the town of La Serena. We
stayed in a cute little hostel called ‘Maria’s Casa’. Maria was an elderly lady
who reminded us all of our grandmothers! She had the best tea we had tasted
since home – we even had milk in it! When Kyle mentioned this to her and
complimented her tea she just engulfed him in a massive hug! </div>
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We got there early
and after having breakfast, Kyle and I found ourselves walking to the nearby
mall! We wondered around the shiny shopping centre with wide eyes! It had been
so long! It felt strangely comforting to be in a place like this again. <o:p></o:p><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>A guilty pleasure!!</i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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We explored the town, walking through the streets to Plaza de Armas and
looking around some outdoor markets.<br />
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<br />
What struck us was the friendliness of the
locals; they seemed so smiley and welcomed us to Chile on many occasions. We
went to an antique shop where Kyle bought a relatively pricey second hand ‘Inca
Cola’ branded yoyo, the kind that ‘sleeps’ at the bottom. He has been playing
with it ever since!<o:p></o:p><br />
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We enjoyed lovely Chilean wine in massive 1.5 litre bottles, bought for
just over £2! <o:p></o:p><br />
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We spent some time on the beach where it was a little chilly despite the
sunshine. We still braved the icy cold Pacific though! It had been 2.5 months
since the last beach; we had been in mostly landlocked high mountains so… we
were getting in!! <o:p></o:p><br />
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It was lovely to chill again… ahhh to be at sea level! Bliss not waking
up each morning with a dry throat and sore crusty nose – often bloody! Yuck.
Also to be feeling a bit fitter again – not just randomly getting out of breath.
<o:p></o:p></div>
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One afternoon we went to a pretty Japanese garden and spent a while
watching the amazing koy carp fish.<o:p></o:p></div>
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One evening we got very excited and treated ourselves to the cinema! We
saw the Hunger Games II in English! It felt bizarre to be doing something so
familiar yet it felt new. We got the biggest ice cream to eat which ended up
partly down my front, naturally. When the credits came and the lights went up
we had almost forgotten where we were and soon remembered it was not the Bugsby
Way Odeon in Greenwich. <o:p></o:p><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>A hint of Christmas...the CocaCola advert!!</i></div>
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Another day Jon, Becca and us got a bus to ‘Pisco’ in the Elqui Valley;
home to lots of Pisco distilleries and vineyards. (Like Peru, Chile also claim
that Pisco is <i>their</i> national drink –
we don’t know who to believe!) It was beautiful. Think stereotypical South
American wine growing valley, if you can’t then imagine the usual European ones
then add to bloody great mountains either side. Very green, very hot and sunny! </div>
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We discovered that there was a ‘free’ pisco tour about 5km out of town. After
nearly an hour of walking in the midday sun we finally got there to find that
as it was Sunday there was no tour guide. Arghh! We still managed to have a
little look around though and have some tasters. We even bought a bottle of
Vino Nectar – Vino dulche del Valle de Elqui (like a desert wine). After this
we were ravenous so headed back down the road 10 minutes to a lovely restaurant
with a stunning vista we passed on the way. We had a great lunch.<o:p></o:p><br />
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Afterwards we walked back to the town and decided that we hadn’t had enough
pisco yet so we visited another place and enjoyed mango, lemon and apple &
ginger pisco sours. Yum.<br />
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We bought a nice bottle of pisco there for just over
£4!<o:p></o:p><br />
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Jon and Becca left that night for Valparaiso (Valpo); a bohemian city 7 hours
south. We were to join them after one more day chilling in La Serena. We arrived
in Valpo after a pretty standard night bus at 6am and headed straight for
‘Angel Hostel’ to kip on the couch for a few hours until everyone was awake.
Free cheese toasties for brekkie in the morning are these guy’s ‘thang’.<o:p></o:p><br />
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Valparaiso is a combination of traditional colonial buildings of various
colours and other residential houses cramped in everywhere and anywhere in the incredibly
steep hills.<br />
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<br />
Once the richest city, and Chiles financial powerhouse because of
its vast port it is now a slightly rundown but very creative community living
in (now) the poorest city with the highest unemployment in Chile, due to the
combination of a huge earthquake in 1906 then the Panama Canal opening in 1914;
ruining the international maritime trade. <o:p></o:p><br />
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Like most large cities we have visited we went on the free walking tour
– Where’s Wally was our guide– similar to La Paz we had a super excited gay
tour guide, It was yet again another very interesting and informative tour. </div>
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We
learnt about Valpo receiving the Unesco grant of 60 million dollars in 2002,
restricting the increase of ugly modern building in the centre.<br />
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This also
allowed for the restoration of some buildings, paying for the neutering of the
city animals and the rest - unspent still... who knows, probably deep in the
mayor’s pockets. The Unesco grant has it’s disadvantages also though – as all
the buildings are now ‘protected’ this means that absolutely none of them can
be knocked down – only restored. This poses real problems as many buildings are
needing serious repair and are falling apart, yet its far too expensive to
restore them- better to just move.<o:p></o:p><br />
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We saw what was once ‘the richest street in Latin America.’ Not anymore!<br />
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<br />
On this street was a huge and really shabby building that is owned and solely
lived in by a little old Italian lady who poked her head out whilst we were
standing outside. Very strange!<o:p></o:p><br />
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We took one of the eight still running ‘ascensors’ up a little way. The hills are
seriously steep here to walk up so this is a very welcome alternative.<br />
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Looking
on a map you would think that you can just walk to a lot of places – they look
very close – but no public transport saves you a lot of effort! We also rode a
‘trolley bus’ – the Chilean version of a tram. <o:p></o:p></div>
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We had a deeper insight into the politics of the country. Although the
dictatorship is gone the constitution is still in place. Chile is officially
the richest country in South America however it’s the rich 10% that are
accountable for this. Minimum wage is very low and many are struggling. <o:p></o:p></div>
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After the tour we went for the best ‘chorrillana’ in town. Chips, piled
with pork, cheese, onions and egg. It was good.<o:p></o:p></div>
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That evening we met up with Jon and Becca and went to a performance that
was part of ‘Tsonami’ – a sound festival. It was called ‘Light Bulb Music’ – as
it sounds – one guy making sounds from loads of different light bulbs, using
different frequencies. It was interesting, if a little odd! It was also quite
long! The dark was making it very difficult for me to stay awake! We were taken
back to some of the wacky performances at Laban…Afterwards we gratefully dived
into the free wine and nibbles! That seemed to be just the beginning of the
night; we ended up visiting the many bars on the street of our hostel.<o:p></o:p><br />
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The next day we wandered through the farmers and flea markets. All the
fruit and veg seemed to be supersize!<o:p></o:p></div>
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We then rode the ascensor up (the only vertical elevator in town – gives
you an idea of the steepness!) to the cerro Polanco graffiti barrio. There is
stunning graffiti art everywhere; all over the city, but this area is particularly
impressive. We walked around the area where street artists from all over the
world have painted over 70 facades. Amazing work with fantastic views of the
city to boot!<o:p></o:p><br />
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As we made our way down we passed some guys doing par core. A really
awesome place to get creative and play with the surroundings.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It is in this city that they do the Red Bull Urban Down Hill Bike Race. Speeding
down the little alleys, streets and steps and doing massive jumps on the way to
the finish. Check out this link…<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIe6hYAdw_I">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIe6hYAdw_I</a></div>
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Another day we headed 10 minutes north of Valpo by bus to Vina del Mar,
a city beach resort.<br />
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Vina is so different – much more pruned, clean cut and
modern! I think we prefer the more rough and ready character of Valpo. <o:p></o:p><br />
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<i>Father Christmas in Vina!!</i></div>
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The following down we went further, north of Vina to Renaca. A lovely
beach with awesome waves. The thing about the vast Pacific ocean is that it is
bloody FREEZING!! Kyle complained that it was so cold it hurt! <o:p></o:p></div>
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The sun sets really late here, around 8.30/9 so the days are lovely and
long. <o:p></o:p></div>
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On our last day we took a taxi/bus up to La Sebastiana where Pablo Neruda lived. Neruda
is Latin America’s most loved poet and he had a pretty great view of the city
from his house. <o:p></o:p><br />
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We headed to the port and had a harbour tour. It was nice to see the
city from the sea – it’s big! We saw sea lions lounging on the bouys and one
even on the front of a ship! <o:p></o:p><br />
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We got to see the navy ships, a submarine and the colossal cargo ships
up close.</div>
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That night we treated ourselves and probably spent the most in our 3
months on a meal out! We went up to ‘Fauna’ restaurant and sat outside looking
out over the city and the ocean – a perfect evening to finish on.<o:p></o:p></div>
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After 5 days spent in Valpo we took a short 2.5 hour bus to Chile’s
capital; Santiago. There, we stayed with Camila, a Chilean girl we met on our
Machu Picchu trek 2 months previous. She has a little apartment, that she calls
her ‘suitcase’, in a fantastic location in central Santiago. Her balcony looks
out over the beautiful old biblioteca (library). We met her girlfriend Effy and
the 4 of us headed out for the afternoon. Unlike us, we were doing a flying
visit staying for just one night! We hadn’t heard great things about Santiago
from fellow travellers – smog, noisy, busy, nothing to see – so we were
considering skipping it altogether. Knowing that we had an offer from Camila to
stay with her we thought it was stupid not to take up her offer and experience
Chile’s capital for ourselves. Very glad we did! We liked the city!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>Camilla in her Chilean T.shirt!! Very patriotic!!</i></div>
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Camila and Effy joined us for the free walking tour – 2 Chileans amongst
lots of tourists! We got a great taste of the capital.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjle_3it8l6TddhyphenhyphenvbfBMj3jkwnd3UOQC9zcIxHLFImjYAnklU_BT9MufFpWCP2AfQaLQLcgufjb1-XU3bVf6NLl5qjBpZ8_kZ5_Fub3gjo1ISpKZzeEWGdL9Jo4oPNhZmKGliqq4WVtw/s1600/Chile+33.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjle_3it8l6TddhyphenhyphenvbfBMj3jkwnd3UOQC9zcIxHLFImjYAnklU_BT9MufFpWCP2AfQaLQLcgufjb1-XU3bVf6NLl5qjBpZ8_kZ5_Fub3gjo1ISpKZzeEWGdL9Jo4oPNhZmKGliqq4WVtw/s320/Chile+33.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>A massive mural in the process of</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><br /></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-GWnt_wQ86mz1qQQvCws_gcJyrM5LhQ-uFlquEslJqcNYR9zUxf7Ab363Q1TJv26iH8gaIbYHSDGfToJLvXfSotxsiPB6cd4_oPAFbp009vceMewYaTQl4iz15893vqFJ3cH2Kc2jr5w/s1600/Chile+38.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-GWnt_wQ86mz1qQQvCws_gcJyrM5LhQ-uFlquEslJqcNYR9zUxf7Ab363Q1TJv26iH8gaIbYHSDGfToJLvXfSotxsiPB6cd4_oPAFbp009vceMewYaTQl4iz15893vqFJ3cH2Kc2jr5w/s320/Chile+38.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>More art on the metro!</i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA4dC9wwGwJfhwWGHj9PFvESFsP-YUrjJuBqF8LAMMH8xcYxSjniJ0gGY8ayQUTbhaSuDYGgPWxpxMAVV630ZOsZcavQhFkvFYy1pc5QccGKfLpZcFrCVAjUs1rLRC616xf6P5aUHDc6A/s1600/Chile+34.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA4dC9wwGwJfhwWGHj9PFvESFsP-YUrjJuBqF8LAMMH8xcYxSjniJ0gGY8ayQUTbhaSuDYGgPWxpxMAVV630ZOsZcavQhFkvFYy1pc5QccGKfLpZcFrCVAjUs1rLRC616xf6P5aUHDc6A/s320/Chile+34.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmk_AXz7HgDWFm2Q3x8QHLOumltx9aBm-UaISAA5vt_aqfr04WNG7JBGt6uXU4CI5p1wDf4Zf44DcW2BVF8aXkdyYrwmT_6NxucGw-wEkvNjfZvIi8teY4lXH2YSNJexHztYT_ZxJouV4/s1600/Chile+35.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmk_AXz7HgDWFm2Q3x8QHLOumltx9aBm-UaISAA5vt_aqfr04WNG7JBGt6uXU4CI5p1wDf4Zf44DcW2BVF8aXkdyYrwmT_6NxucGw-wEkvNjfZvIi8teY4lXH2YSNJexHztYT_ZxJouV4/s320/Chile+35.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
It was like having 2
tour guides because when the official tour guide stopped talking, Camila, the
unofficial tour guide would start up! She is extremely knowledgeable about the
city and has a great interest in politics.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsl1u1N-xYQiFrmqxfvwBo8O-wOvdaUZDbYn6Pu-S-zkWKSVYar-30CrmT7Yq15ynmj_bwaUaRdiC-dgiHdt8RbfeQlYILGvrqEbjgrmhmGWc3nod4E4cNw3ZjGIDADg87uK67accN5IQ/s1600/Chile+44.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsl1u1N-xYQiFrmqxfvwBo8O-wOvdaUZDbYn6Pu-S-zkWKSVYar-30CrmT7Yq15ynmj_bwaUaRdiC-dgiHdt8RbfeQlYILGvrqEbjgrmhmGWc3nod4E4cNw3ZjGIDADg87uK67accN5IQ/s320/Chile+44.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-WqPrzuUEB8nlgVZjqCXj3zt6csMYbtGasNMqEFiqNt5KTVNsFh7WPdk0HE833ZYe6PlS_nQjku0R2TXP_IBXDpQc9X-JwqhHZWlVfA44uGNPzTkodiQHrFZNPC52L2Tf_P0RxvBdthE/s1600/Chile+36.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-WqPrzuUEB8nlgVZjqCXj3zt6csMYbtGasNMqEFiqNt5KTVNsFh7WPdk0HE833ZYe6PlS_nQjku0R2TXP_IBXDpQc9X-JwqhHZWlVfA44uGNPzTkodiQHrFZNPC52L2Tf_P0RxvBdthE/s320/Chile+36.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Copy cats!</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQpYbnMi_OPkkvMYIYZrV4H68tm_ZlxssMOD_Kf16JdyqsYriD9Mvx1rKPIDYGZxLDD7ef7Iq1HAnP-uf9l3kE_x3ZKkbs4FBB8YL-BSmBVkK-aVTQtz60gr_fnfqbz-2E_YKECYA-eD0/s1600/Chile+39.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQpYbnMi_OPkkvMYIYZrV4H68tm_ZlxssMOD_Kf16JdyqsYriD9Mvx1rKPIDYGZxLDD7ef7Iq1HAnP-uf9l3kE_x3ZKkbs4FBB8YL-BSmBVkK-aVTQtz60gr_fnfqbz-2E_YKECYA-eD0/s320/Chile+39.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<i>'New York' street</i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj8FBGnY2Mk9TVBD428j1d0WglenyYTSdsHnk_XXIZ0g3JjTzkmsLkbZ6Pa4XLmv77vtD5OZ29v1HCohKE20HHLdAeTnPmrZiLJEbmw2SA_PSEWwYF0CUp7AWrfbcZZ80PhqpS1KDYA8w/s1600/Chile+37.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj8FBGnY2Mk9TVBD428j1d0WglenyYTSdsHnk_XXIZ0g3JjTzkmsLkbZ6Pa4XLmv77vtD5OZ29v1HCohKE20HHLdAeTnPmrZiLJEbmw2SA_PSEWwYF0CUp7AWrfbcZZ80PhqpS1KDYA8w/s320/Chile+37.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
A few things we learnt:<o:p></o:p></div>
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On average Chileans eat 8 gallons of ice cream per year! They love their
ice cream!<o:p></o:p></div>
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They are very into public displays of affection in parks!<o:p></o:p></div>
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The Opus Dei church (think the De Vinci Code) has a lot of power here.
There are rumours of it having a punishment chamber…<o:p></o:p></div>
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Abortion is illegal.<br />
Divorce was only made legal in 2004. There is only
one country left in the world where it is still illegal now which is the
Philippines. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Earthquakes are prevalent here with huge seismic activity. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhZYnt1fgbctMhkqejNbXXRmAKMVhsS6l3zAvYgnt5FWTgikXv7v8Of4WPZLonVysnzKlUfddO6xLF0-6MDO_JotyLBG94S5LCJs3FtYyCiAgR7-8ydl-g5jfJuhjRoeuoRBqLrh1mhps/s1600/Chile+40.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhZYnt1fgbctMhkqejNbXXRmAKMVhsS6l3zAvYgnt5FWTgikXv7v8Of4WPZLonVysnzKlUfddO6xLF0-6MDO_JotyLBG94S5LCJs3FtYyCiAgR7-8ydl-g5jfJuhjRoeuoRBqLrh1mhps/s320/Chile+40.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Plaza de Armas</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiunvZqYhYXCqYbKHpBfHXnvtTVxSMI92eWWRtZjFLQxdERwHyqYadeELB9eGl8PFSBedNX9FGveW3mc72lNlfc2OzfGB4u9sF7Iuy3ZIKo5l_ECEpcTNK4a7o-CZXB9H9LLMW2YO_YjRA/s1600/Chile+41.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiunvZqYhYXCqYbKHpBfHXnvtTVxSMI92eWWRtZjFLQxdERwHyqYadeELB9eGl8PFSBedNX9FGveW3mc72lNlfc2OzfGB4u9sF7Iuy3ZIKo5l_ECEpcTNK4a7o-CZXB9H9LLMW2YO_YjRA/s320/Chile+41.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>We bumped into this guy on the street - he is a famous musician in Chile - Camila's favourite! She was VERY happy!</i><br />
<i><br /></i></div>
</div>
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That evening we enjoyed some pisco sours and Camila took us to a great
Chilean restaurant. We picked up ice creams on the way home. Naturally.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09652572064170034371noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218767240550915026.post-75283372127698654522013-11-30T11:27:00.000-08:002013-12-01T19:14:19.353-08:00Bolivia - Part 2!<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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We arrived in Sucre the
capital of Bolivia on the 15<sup>th</sup> November. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOXTb_1qn7tRQbWx42PcjUarDeh6WefCtZFxbITNWU3DOU3bdfKAWnWeiSAM7gEDJRUFt8hcr4XzDLiaf1qXpWiIqYihSt_0ZFlXxzeSPJuLfb8kzCO4jx6ASUK7mAgznhANnR_fGBp6Y/s1600/Sucre+and+Tupiza+1+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOXTb_1qn7tRQbWx42PcjUarDeh6WefCtZFxbITNWU3DOU3bdfKAWnWeiSAM7gEDJRUFt8hcr4XzDLiaf1qXpWiIqYihSt_0ZFlXxzeSPJuLfb8kzCO4jx6ASUK7mAgznhANnR_fGBp6Y/s320/Sucre+and+Tupiza+1+%25281%2529.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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It is reminiscent of
Arequipa with white washed walls, beautiful churches, chocolate shops, not very
touristy and a manageable size – (bit of a contrast from La Paz!) It has a lovely
climate most of the year round which is actually why they chose it as the
capital!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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The Main Square
is enormous and full of detail- gardens, statues and fountains…It has squares
within the square!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Casa de la Libertad is
where we absorbed a spattering more of Bolivian history. We saw the original
document of Bolivia’s Declaration of Independence from 1825. There have been many
presidents; 20% of which have been killed! One only made it 3 days before being
assassinated… Their flag has changed 3 times and they have added one for the Indigenous
which looks similar to that of the Gay pride flag. <o:p></o:p></div>
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We went up to Recoleta,
a sweet area high up on the corner of the city. We enjoyed yummy drinks sitting
on deck chairs looking out over Sucre before visiting the Museo de la Recoleta
– an attractive monastery with beautiful courtyard gardens.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We visited the
Cretaceous Park- the world’s largest paleontological site. </div>
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We had a private
tour of the massive limestone cliff where there are 5055 individual dinosaur
tracks of at least 8 species, many are continuous tracks. Pretty cool! </div>
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We were
humming the theme tune to Jurassic park the whole way round! Dying to watch it
again now!<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>My dinosaur impression...</i></div>
There were some awesome life size replicas of dinosaurs; one of
which being the largest in the world.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Our first taste of a
proper ‘Bolivian bus’ was from Sucre to Tupiza (further south). Yet another
night bus – but this time it was cold, with cramped seats and a blown speaker
above our heads booming out Andean pipe music! Ugh! We arrived in Tupiza before
4.30am…ouch<o:p></o:p></div>
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Here we took advantage
of the cheapness of this country (before leaving for expensive Chile soon) and
stayed in a nice ‘hotel’ with a pool!<o:p></o:p></div>
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We plucked up the
courage to endeavour on a 5 hour horse ride, exploring the beautiful red rock
and canyon land like a proper cowboy and cowgirl. Domino and Panchito were our
trusty steeds.<br />
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It was just the two of us with a guide, an awesome way to see
the countryside!! </div>
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I cantered for the first time in my life…it took a while to
get the rhythm with the horse - it was a lot of heavy crazy uncontrollable
bouncing hard up and down on the saddle initially! Aarghhh… but it was just
brilliant when I found the pace with Panchito. However perhaps too little too
late because we still couldn’t sit down comfortably for nearly a week; the
toilet was by far the best seat! <o:p></o:p><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Kyle feeding our 1 apple to the horses - they needed it more than we did</i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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When going round a few
tour operators doing research for various tours, a familiar face poked her head
round the corner – Becca. Becca and Jon are newlyweds and we have been
following each other through the whole of Bolivia! We agreed to officially
travel together on a 4 day tour to the Salar de Uyuni. Also joining us was
Robert; a lovely Dutch guy that Becca and Jon had met a few days previous. We
spent a whole afternoon the 5 of us discussing which company to go with…5 big
beers later, we booked to go on Wednesday 20<sup>th</sup>. We had a nice dinner
together getting to know each other more at ‘Tu Pizza’ – original name! We
discovered that Kyle, Robert and Jon were all born within 2 weeks of each
other!<o:p></o:p></div>
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The Salt Flats tour <o:p></o:p></div>
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Day 1 of our tour we
met at 8am outside our jeep. Our driver; </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Edison (we called him Eddy) was also our
guide and his wife was our cook. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
It was a long day of driving, taking in some
spectacular scenery. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrUW3KTBaEt-1XBvqSiNzVT3PQMCNUoVlXcy9NRCs37ufSjIjyEvCMdJigzjM1CDGPQAp_c5SYdb_ro5sxWAgsNAnwHd37P6JuA4sP2BdM-2ZO2SxcGdFjbrKSYNHvYEtb_EWqgWSsNXY/s1600/Salf+Flats+Tour+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrUW3KTBaEt-1XBvqSiNzVT3PQMCNUoVlXcy9NRCs37ufSjIjyEvCMdJigzjM1CDGPQAp_c5SYdb_ro5sxWAgsNAnwHd37P6JuA4sP2BdM-2ZO2SxcGdFjbrKSYNHvYEtb_EWqgWSsNXY/s320/Salf+Flats+Tour+3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Not a bad place to have a wee!</i><br />
<i><br /></i></div>
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It was in this area
that Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid met their makers in the mining village
of San Vicente in 1908; this was only significant to me as I was the only one
to have seen the film! Another film to add to the download list! <o:p></o:p></div>
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We saw mineral rich
red mountains, vast skies, volcanoes, lagoons and wildlife. <o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9lk-i0BfJfibAqt6ZpaCFa68f1oq61HYkQa_bEi7xAfFTL-_ibBcbLTK1TNqYar0bLSgz01U2T7hrPlyFd3Jhca8hVm7hMzK7JBx0I5XFD-f6mcCSOOIGBSY_uf34g7G9uHIsTYlq4Ss/s1600/Salf+Flats+Tour+11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9lk-i0BfJfibAqt6ZpaCFa68f1oq61HYkQa_bEi7xAfFTL-_ibBcbLTK1TNqYar0bLSgz01U2T7hrPlyFd3Jhca8hVm7hMzK7JBx0I5XFD-f6mcCSOOIGBSY_uf34g7G9uHIsTYlq4Ss/s320/Salf+Flats+Tour+11.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-In-C-WSFkfvK0NGeOAs_gPYHNFJ6t-rO3S3QDGHydDFhGaj5TFtPGqJUBjIvaII8LGc9qGWfw5fCIw33ccodNVtEN5ekRQPQL7eMdRuIutG5pnGbRYcYaup_l5sFeM3jLbUWI8N7gmw/s1600/Salf+Flats+Tour+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-In-C-WSFkfvK0NGeOAs_gPYHNFJ6t-rO3S3QDGHydDFhGaj5TFtPGqJUBjIvaII8LGc9qGWfw5fCIw33ccodNVtEN5ekRQPQL7eMdRuIutG5pnGbRYcYaup_l5sFeM3jLbUWI8N7gmw/s320/Salf+Flats+Tour+4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>The tiniest flowers we've ever seen!</i><br />
<i><br /></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1BcXL0vxje9phsZlpd9DrEhBbL9YgTmz1tWJS0uSyWG6qIso0iOwcTLv7GPDcVVEPhrsFz_cI18o_U4Tcyn3fY2t3DLXCGwNz-mm7uru57rdlaDhZLYgdfqTIe6ZaPw9ZMwt2ugDrvXY/s1600/Salf+Flats+Tour+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1BcXL0vxje9phsZlpd9DrEhBbL9YgTmz1tWJS0uSyWG6qIso0iOwcTLv7GPDcVVEPhrsFz_cI18o_U4Tcyn3fY2t3DLXCGwNz-mm7uru57rdlaDhZLYgdfqTIe6ZaPw9ZMwt2ugDrvXY/s320/Salf+Flats+Tour+6.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>All houses made of mud...standard</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><br /></i></div>
</div>
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We spotted a condor
and Kyle asked if he could get out the car quickly and get a closer picture.
Without thinking he ran off into the distance. He didn’t consider the fact we
were at altitude (4800m to be specific!) until he stopped running with camera
at the ready… but NOT steady. Breathing in heavily and taking in loads of freezing
cold air into his lungs he nearly collapsed. Admittedly it was absolutely
hilarious for the rest of us to watch from the jeep! <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj6L44eVoGq0PI6LNkapdL0Wa5qrRd887GsDTXoQbfzJvjXpQws5BzRW0UH1gqoPJcHNW-jNqnHEA0a99GTPcfOWl0VuySVa2VZpmzB-Cp7hj6h8ok8Xniy3t4SoK9jsyluL-lO0uInkw/s1600/Salf+Flats+Tour+10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj6L44eVoGq0PI6LNkapdL0Wa5qrRd887GsDTXoQbfzJvjXpQws5BzRW0UH1gqoPJcHNW-jNqnHEA0a99GTPcfOWl0VuySVa2VZpmzB-Cp7hj6h8ok8Xniy3t4SoK9jsyluL-lO0uInkw/s320/Salf+Flats+Tour+10.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>All for THIS photo!</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><br /></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSMwg-eEn32MzJvShJzmhbKeiqJXpTi9SlgAVRbNQKIveVUcW6JfKl32xVGUZnnxNpdVUbiInM6w30GZFk6H3hX422y1-LlMVECS0x8p95AFe7MjcmXxuph9FJuPqeRfkFfKeWEyt8EIU/s1600/Salf+Flats+Tour+9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSMwg-eEn32MzJvShJzmhbKeiqJXpTi9SlgAVRbNQKIveVUcW6JfKl32xVGUZnnxNpdVUbiInM6w30GZFk6H3hX422y1-LlMVECS0x8p95AFe7MjcmXxuph9FJuPqeRfkFfKeWEyt8EIU/s320/Salf+Flats+Tour+9.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>We also saw a cute little chinchilla<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaUKH40EwdXEUBKu9PccQ_mtMH1en793kgA8fM4caTjeQXODmUvTQKc0ZmtqOL10wUgaT_3Qb3_Y9ic1YnK0ppaGuUjGBgRFJJJJMUrJweSgNFnNaF4wjxK6p_lr2FKKfYGpF8yoyuTl0/s1600/Salf+Flats+Tour+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaUKH40EwdXEUBKu9PccQ_mtMH1en793kgA8fM4caTjeQXODmUvTQKc0ZmtqOL10wUgaT_3Qb3_Y9ic1YnK0ppaGuUjGBgRFJJJJMUrJweSgNFnNaF4wjxK6p_lr2FKKfYGpF8yoyuTl0/s320/Salf+Flats+Tour+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Ostriches .... Can you spot them?!</i><br />
<i><br /></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6rsd4nVm6s8DXpoa1ncSrxiMrWRqLqVI3uvoPo1L-pVb6HZz6hX4ktQLyArtCQEMQq9iOE5Vw9ub2WVcU3NN2HEpxoq-CQ2LgSO_yhVFQC7mkogkt7fm_eRvj-QVmVUv3e-RMY0b9rtA/s1600/Salf+Flats+Tour+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6rsd4nVm6s8DXpoa1ncSrxiMrWRqLqVI3uvoPo1L-pVb6HZz6hX4ktQLyArtCQEMQq9iOE5Vw9ub2WVcU3NN2HEpxoq-CQ2LgSO_yhVFQC7mkogkt7fm_eRvj-QVmVUv3e-RMY0b9rtA/s320/Salf+Flats+Tour+5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Beautiful vicunas<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqHn2xufHZTROuPKpLkOSOhQ1l0IlNOmMztO9LHRnM_rNQpkkLs56TvgovztfSwmuRg-6uCUNMuAIfeCWFZQIQYTYXtWNie6MnikxO3ZDJOtReZLhiSfTqNJG7uZ22ACgc1CZub1gkXi8/s1600/Salf+Flats+Tour+14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqHn2xufHZTROuPKpLkOSOhQ1l0IlNOmMztO9LHRnM_rNQpkkLs56TvgovztfSwmuRg-6uCUNMuAIfeCWFZQIQYTYXtWNie6MnikxO3ZDJOtReZLhiSfTqNJG7uZ22ACgc1CZub1gkXi8/s320/Salf+Flats+Tour+14.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
And lots of llamas<br />
<br /></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8UCBOUskWWhgXOHiGApQ3kfwXIi-RQpAG1KdtCEYOtRb3WYYrdKm4_Jv9zv7KnrxHk1BlBI07Na9QzTuZ4ZKntzNnzrnS8OCF5o5jAPtrns03W4C1in2CYxrtBCZ7RlXpVKbLndYfNeY/s1600/Salf+Flats+Tour+16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8UCBOUskWWhgXOHiGApQ3kfwXIi-RQpAG1KdtCEYOtRb3WYYrdKm4_Jv9zv7KnrxHk1BlBI07Na9QzTuZ4ZKntzNnzrnS8OCF5o5jAPtrns03W4C1in2CYxrtBCZ7RlXpVKbLndYfNeY/s320/Salf+Flats+Tour+16.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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Apparently llamas are
considered the cleanest animal in the Camelid family because they only use one
place as a toilet. We saw several large black spots full of droppings. Clever...
it really does make sense as grass they eat isn’t covered in poo!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Becca and Jon taught
us a good way to tell the difference between a Llama and an Alpaca.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Kyle is an alpaca and I'm a llama</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><br /></i></div>
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We saw 2 main Altiplano
plants; Yareta - a green pillow shaped plant</div>
</div>
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And Paja Brava – really
spikey tufts of grass<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
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We passed through a
ghost town ruins of San Antonio </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
which looked like a small Machu Picchu!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>The girls</i><br />
<i><br /></i></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>The boys</i><br />
<i><br /></i></div>
</div>
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We got to our basic
hostel around 7pm. I say basic: first of many with no electricity apart from a
few hours in the evening from a small geni. We set up camp in our dorm –
something that we must get used to as we are headed to more expensive countries
where we can no longer afford private rooms…</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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That night the stars
looked absolutely incredible – there was no light pollution whatsoever. It was
a shame that it was absolutely freezing outside and I couldn’t last more than a
few minutes. Kyle, however did a little better and spent a good 25 minutes out
there with Robert playing with their cameras, returning to our room completely
frozen.<o:p></o:p><br />
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Day 2</div>
</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Wake up was 6.30am and
it was another jam </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
packed day; in and out of the jeep </div>
</div>
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We drove through the
Desierto de Dali- the place where Salvador Dali drew his inspiration for his
paintings! Mummy Brown you would have loved it!! Awesome to see the surreal
coloured mountains and other worldly rock formations of the petrified lava
sticking out of the sand like the ruins of a lost city and imagining melting
clocks and grotesque faces. <o:p></o:p><br />
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We saw lots of lagoons –
all really different with crazy vivid colours<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
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Laguna verde 4350m:</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Although incredibly
beautiful, this lake is toxic containing chemicals such as arsenic! It lies at the
foot of a stereotypical looking volcano which is 50% Bolivian and 50% Chilean –
right on the border. It was here that NASA tested the Mars Rover on the summit since
they needed an environment on Earth as close as possible to Martian conditions;
low air pressure, high winds, extreme temperatures, rocky terrain. Also from
here some 15 minutes away is the Argentine border.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Before lunch we had a dip in the hot springs. Amazing view!!</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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Then it was onto the
Sol de Manana Geysers (just below 5000m). I discovered that I still have a guilty
pleasure in that I love the smell of the sulphur! Bubbling mud, geysers chucking
out LOADS of steam; the biggest one has a temperature of 220<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Symbol;">·</span>C! A bit different to somewhere like
Yellowstone national park in Wyoming where we went in 2008 – wooden walkways,
signs, fences – safety…. Here there was nothing - you could jump into one of
the deep holes of steam if you wanted to… we had heard that some tourists have
actually died by braving it a little too close to the edge! We wandered,
carefully, around and in between the steaming holes and started to feel the soles
of our feet getting very hot!<br />
<o:p></o:p></div>
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After leaving our
‘mochillas’ at the next hostel (and Jon unfortunately as he wasn’t well) we
went to the Lagunda Colorada to view its red waters and large flamingo
population. At 4378m it is huge – the largest lake here and yet the depth is only
50cm!<br />
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It gets its colour from microscopic algae that is constantly churned and
swept up by the high winds </div>
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<br />
We saw flamingos in pretty much all the freezing
cold and elevated lakes. The tiny pigment particles from the algae that they
consume are trapped in their plumage, giving them their pink and red colours!<o:p></o:p><br />
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Day 3<o:p></o:p></div>
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We rose at 6am and it
was a bad night of broken sleep. </div>
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We were so cold in the concrete room, buried
under our blankets </div>
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and layers of clothes and tucked into our silk liners; I
kept my woolly hat and scarf on. </div>
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Our first stop was to visit the Arbol de Piedra (Stone Tree) and </div>
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other cool shaped rocks - ‘Petrified lava-foam’ </div>
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The rocks are sculpted by the constant bombardment of sediments carried </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
by the strong and violent winds acting over vast periods of time<br />
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We saw more stunning lakes and mountains:</div>
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We had lunch in an
ancient lava flow and in sight of a semi active </div>
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volcano releasing small amounts
of smoke.<br />
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<br />
The unfortunate thing about this area (and others too) was that you
could tell loads of tourists had been to the loo all over the place – toilet
paper and other things all around. Really not nice and such a shame… talking of
rubbish unfortunately this is the case throughout quite a lot of Bolivia! They
just don’t have the infrastructure to deal with the vast quantities of rubbish
that the country produce and no one seems to care. They have a huge amount of
space in the country and the people are happy to use parts of it as a rubbish
tip. <o:p></o:p></div>
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We often saw mini (and some not so mini) tornados! </div>
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On one occasion when we spotted one, Kyle decided to yet again leap out of the car and sprinted off, this time to try and 'get into the tornado to see what it felt like!' It died before he got there...<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-_drbVJ1uLK-1gq70n_NAogy-eYDJbpE-l_5kotBvhEpYK-UyCLqt0Fpx0u6tUj8tHOu2KGO61SUjn8rwhRiIIMdrnnvYUIYJG0muanx3M2pcwEPPnTEBV-H23R1wubSk7hyphenhyphen5e4qi5aU/s1600/Salf+Flats+Tour+38.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-_drbVJ1uLK-1gq70n_NAogy-eYDJbpE-l_5kotBvhEpYK-UyCLqt0Fpx0u6tUj8tHOu2KGO61SUjn8rwhRiIIMdrnnvYUIYJG0muanx3M2pcwEPPnTEBV-H23R1wubSk7hyphenhyphen5e4qi5aU/s320/Salf+Flats+Tour+38.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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We crossed the Salar
de Chiguana which has a max salt thickness of 3cm and is traversed by the
railway line leading from Uyuni to Chile.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We stopped through a
village and had a Coca Beer and a Quinoa Beer. They were good! These
ingredients are just used so much…!<o:p></o:p></div>
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We were first of the
tour groups to arrive in a salt hotel, bordering the famous Salar de Uyuni –
the climax of our tour! The hotel was pretty incredible; as it sounds – its all
made out of salt!<o:p></o:p><br />
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Day 4<o:p></o:p></div>
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It was a 4.30am start
for sunrise, driving out onto the salt flats in the dark and stopping somewhere
in the middle to watch the sun come up on the horizon. It came up quick and
revealed the vast salt plains around us as far as the eye could see!<br />
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<br />
This salt
flat is the largest in the world; measuring an immense 12,500km squared at an
altitude of 3650m. It formed millions of years ago and over the course of
millions of years as the Andean mountains raised, lifting the sea with it,
eventually evaporating leaving many layers of salt and various sediments. <o:p></o:p></div>
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We headed to an
island; Isla Incahuasi where there are more than 6000 cacti!<br />
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<br />
What is incredible
about this island is the fact that it is made up of pure coral that is millions
of years old. Remember the whole lot used to be that far under the sea! We
walked up to the top of it to gasp at the view- we’ve never seen anything like
it! <o:p></o:p></div>
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Finally breakfast
where we ate at the bottom of the island and had cake and cereal – much better
to the usual stale bread and marmalade!<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Then it was play time! Eddy drove us
out onto the salt flats where the 5 of us got creative…<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
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After 10 minutes of
being there we were peeling off the layers – </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
it really hotted up reaching maybe
30 degrees! </div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
We spent a good hour or so – could have stayed all day – it was fantastic. </div>
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<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
This is where we began our second dance film project, I won’t go
into </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
too much detail about it, you’ll have to wait and see! </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Just ouch… dancing
bare foot on crystallised salt!</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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When leaving the salar
we passed small mountains of salt that are piled up; the top part of the salt
dries as the water is drawn down making it less heavy to transport.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Finally getting to
Uyuni- which surprisingly is a real shit hole! We went southwest to a train
cemetery. A collection of antique steam locomotives and transport cars from the
early Bolivian railroad days. Quite cool but yet again, shame about the rubbish
everywhere.<o:p></o:p></div>
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That afternoon, once
the tour had officially ended, the 5 of us stuck together as we all had the
same plan of heading to Chile. We had a highly stressful time trying to book a
transfer but eventually managed it after much teamwork and special thanks to
Robert having to do a lot of running! To cut a long story short we made it to
Chile – after a 3 hour bumpy jeep, a stop in another basic hostel with nasty
food, me falling sick, another 4.30am start, another 3 hours, ‘breakfast’ stop,
more driving and yet another cock up with buses at the border – but WE MADE IT!!!!
CHILE... <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzSTg3vVEyKu4kBzbIjCBk5nT4HHwcjwht4dIdqT6hZ_0xzZH65H5ZIvoOhoi7vQfmuztgwGI1SJlq7jBkUmQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
Here's a little treat for those of you who manage to finish reading our mammoth blogs :) </div>
<!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09652572064170034371noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218767240550915026.post-8124593022531081782013-11-15T21:23:00.000-08:002013-11-16T05:04:19.832-08:00Bolivia – Copacabana, La Paz, Death Road and the Amazon Pampas<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
We crossed the border
from Peru to Bolivia by foot on October 29<sup>th</sup>, four days before our
visas officially ran out. We had to get off the bus to get our passports
stamped and walk the 60 paces or so into a different time zone! 1 hour forward
we went. The Peruvian side of the border was fairly smart (as far as South
American standards go).<br />
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The Bolivian side was bare…apart from one lone chicken
crossing the road! This is Bolivia – welcome!</div>
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Thinking we were being
clever, we spent all remaining Peruvian Nuevos Soles back in Cusco on quite a
few of our new favourite chocolate bars; Sublimes, not really thinking about
bus tax and exit/entrance tax (S. Americans love their tax – we keep getting
caught out!) Of course there were money exchanges at the border…still learning!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Our first stop was a
very sweet, sleepy town called Copacabana, perched on the southern shore of
Lake Titicaca.<br />
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It was lovely to return back to the sun after Cusco’s changing
weather. The air was cool though as were up at 3800m. Lake Titicaca is so vast;
it is the largest high altitude lake in the world, covering 8400 sq km and
straddling both Peru and Bolivia. We stayed in a lovely hostel called La
Cupula, set up on the hill overlooking the lake. It felt like we were looking
out over the sea; the horizon was just water. I (Hannah) tried the local
delicacy, which was trout. Although Bolivia is land locked, it doesn’t really
feel like it here! <o:p></o:p></div>
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The next day we got a
boat to Isla Del Sol (Island of the Sun), which is the birthplace of the sun in
Inca mythology.<br />
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It was a 2 and a half hour ride to the north of the island and
we were sat up on the top deck in the glorious sunshine but we still had to
wrap up warm!<br />
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Discovering that most of the people on the deck were English
couples we had a nice time chatting away about travel routes and a few home
comforts!</div>
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Upon arriving on the
north side of the island… yup there is it…tourist tax again! We took a stunning
hour walk to some Inca ruins on the most northerly point of the island.<br />
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<br />
Walking
through a few isolated communities with kids at school outside playing. We
later learnt that the tourist tax that you have to pay at three checkpoints on
the island (north, middle and south) actually go towards the infrastructure of
the island, providing school facilities and clean water etc. So we were happy
to pay it. <o:p></o:p></div>
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On the way back to the
boat we bumped into Rea and Robbie who we had met right back at the start of
our trip in Mancora!! Very small world! We found out that we would be in La Paz
at the same time so planned to meet up properly.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We then took the boat
to the south of the island and climbed and climbed the slope to reach the
village of Yumani, high on the eastern ridge.<br />
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<i>Traffic on the way!</i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
Here, we found a basic cabin to
stay in with a breathtaking view- not bad for only £2.50 each!<o:p></o:p></div>
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That evening we walked
further to the west side and set up camp outside a restaurant with a few beers,
watching the sun set. Bliss! <o:p></o:p></div>
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Once the sun was down
the temperature dropped and we headed inside to eat with a nice Newcastle
couple we had met on the boat. After dinner the show began and Kyle and I went
back outside to watch and try and photograph the multiple lightening storms happening
way into the distance. It was incredible; all around the island – we were
surrounded by large forks!<o:p></o:p></div>
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The next morning we
woke to a very moody sky and soon the rain came. For the boat back we sheltered
on the bottom deck. </div>
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Once back at Copacabana, the sun burnt through and we spent
the afternoon relaxing reading in the hammocks (after copious amounts of hand
washing- it’s not all roses!). We gave ourselves a special treat and booked the
Jacuzzi for sun set, the water is heated through solar tubes and reaches
boiling point pretty quickly because of the altitude! Gently easing ourselves into the boiling hot water…it was our
first ‘bath’ since home! A million dollar vista for the price of £3! Utter luxury!<br />
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<br />
The heat did go to our heads a little
bit – Kyle having multiple head rushes and his eyes going in funny directions and
I just went a bit peculiar!!<o:p></o:p></div>
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After recovering(!) we
went to a good restaurant in town where they were playing awesome Blues and
Jazz music; a welcomed change. We had a nice chat with the owner about his
passion for music. It was interesting to hear that he was one of the first to
set up a restaurant in the town and now Copacabana, being a little ‘tourist
ready,’ so many others have followed suit in providing ‘authentic Mexican
cuisine’. <o:p></o:p></div>
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On the 1<sup>st</sup>
of the month we took a 3 hour bus to La Paz. It was refreshing to travel by day
as with all the night buses, they leave us feeling knackered the next day and a
bit ill. Great to actually SEE the countryside we are travelling through too!
The bus journey involved a ‘ferry’ across a small stretch of the lake. For this
we had to get off the bus and take a small smelly and very dodgy boat whilst
the bus with ALL our belonging took it’s own!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJxchQygVpvx4BgDbxDCWsugDfGLCm9T3BWEzBVh_yEXiUNlHwmH8HMRRu0xeKcoeI7cW0AqzuZxQwtrExLXlqj1M2J96XVLhqv2ooSlaJgHAC9la2WMO1PC5vYrigw7zs3J0TO4VehHo/s1600/La+Paz+2013+15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="display: inline !important; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJxchQygVpvx4BgDbxDCWsugDfGLCm9T3BWEzBVh_yEXiUNlHwmH8HMRRu0xeKcoeI7cW0AqzuZxQwtrExLXlqj1M2J96XVLhqv2ooSlaJgHAC9la2WMO1PC5vYrigw7zs3J0TO4VehHo/s320/La+Paz+2013+15.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Our entrance into La
Paz definitely had the ‘wow’ factor! After driving on the flat plains for quite
a while and watching in amazement at the locals selling everything and anything
on the side of the road with chaotic traffic weaving in and out going about
daily chores, suddenly we were driving down into the valley of La Paz. The
whole land is covered in red/orange brick buildings. They are built right at
the top and spill all the way down the sides of the canyon to the floor below.
The snowy peaked Mt Illamani at a whopping 6400m loams in the background like a
god protecting the city beneath it. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEnRfgAVWDtNQm5k8h1XHnU9BLrdbSaMPY72ifFmGCcUhHKh_w8vEFddwwjespNhTDMGG6CsMutgi7EMd25Vrw71mNUz9L_xYLt-6qAV5ueFrulFEM5IZbwnafah-HQX2GbOoDVblJMAc/s1600/La+Paz+2013+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEnRfgAVWDtNQm5k8h1XHnU9BLrdbSaMPY72ifFmGCcUhHKh_w8vEFddwwjespNhTDMGG6CsMutgi7EMd25Vrw71mNUz9L_xYLt-6qAV5ueFrulFEM5IZbwnafah-HQX2GbOoDVblJMAc/s320/La+Paz+2013+7.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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After a bit of
wandering looking for a hostel we saw a Quebecan gay couple who looked just as
lost as us and decided to join forces, so with three different maps of La Paz
and much confusion we set out yet again in search of a bed. We bumped in to
‘Frank’, the comical young chap travelling alone from Hong Kong who was on our
Jungle trek to Machu Picchu nearly two weeks previous. He pointed us in a rough
direction and we trudged on. Finally we found ‘Adventure Brew’ and yet again
bumped into Rea and Robbie who were in the kitchen. We played pool and ping
pong that night and caught up over a few beers. ‘Saya’ beer used to be brewed
in the hostel’s very own microbrewery until it got so good and sought after that
it had to upscale its project and move to a local village just outside La Paz.
We get a free beer every night we stay at ‘Adventure Brew’, SCORE! <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdQnO2c-QfALQqor23aINNuqZ0NqTzQz2xseX7_l-YxlfhjO_OabkB-2dtEUDCxU95R2Bq9P1dyYe4l1dW2yfmz_Qrj2ZZVdDKu1Qt1Ej2xylq4UXBAlKCUjmDQo4vcb_FNgShyphenhyphen6WW03s/s1600/La+Paz+2013+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdQnO2c-QfALQqor23aINNuqZ0NqTzQz2xseX7_l-YxlfhjO_OabkB-2dtEUDCxU95R2Bq9P1dyYe4l1dW2yfmz_Qrj2ZZVdDKu1Qt1Ej2xylq4UXBAlKCUjmDQo4vcb_FNgShyphenhyphen6WW03s/s320/La+Paz+2013+6.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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We took the ‘free walking
tour’ one day. It was very informative to say the least, led by a nutty gay guy and a rather more
serious girl; both Bolivians with very good English. We began outside the San
Pedro prison which was great to see, we are both reading the book ‘Marching
Powder’ by Rusty Young about the experiences of Thomas Mc Fadden, an ex-inmate
who used to lead the prison tours for tourists. The tours eventually had to
close down as it got into the international press and didn’t look good as most
tourists were there for the cocaine, not the culture. When Hannah and I revisted to get e better look we saw the school children return to the prison and their families after school. Yup if you don't have enough money to support your family when locked up they move in with you. It is an incredible book. Check it out here if your interested in reading it > <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Marching-Powder-Rusty-Young/dp/0330419587/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384572769&sr=8-1&keywords=Marching+Powder" target="_blank">Marching Powder on Amazon</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhPnxWMyK-t7YYHEmsFrBdgFx2-W2TbgO65PiHeqFKo6gtLEfKwDTWxO-RZkVZ-kbspQRIRJsQdvrr3eJDzxnxSo1O7d1Nykidcp2MuIEnWGWq9-LWRaGxwiJim3kYue0xJYf20QsUPH8/s1600/La+Paz+2013+25.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhPnxWMyK-t7YYHEmsFrBdgFx2-W2TbgO65PiHeqFKo6gtLEfKwDTWxO-RZkVZ-kbspQRIRJsQdvrr3eJDzxnxSo1O7d1Nykidcp2MuIEnWGWq9-LWRaGxwiJim3kYue0xJYf20QsUPH8/s320/La+Paz+2013+25.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL9tb_v8thupUX2RaDCYVYITfyDGzG0FnCn9Pw99r_TlzoPN2nJzGONQqFqO4NoZtVuF_p8PQKecoaNW6Y5ylAaKqN7DZdRIakopv0qNSk1VLlgwW2sjWJ3-5bG2dwHmTm-vR_EWh6upQ/s1600/La+Paz+2013+24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL9tb_v8thupUX2RaDCYVYITfyDGzG0FnCn9Pw99r_TlzoPN2nJzGONQqFqO4NoZtVuF_p8PQKecoaNW6Y5ylAaKqN7DZdRIakopv0qNSk1VLlgwW2sjWJ3-5bG2dwHmTm-vR_EWh6upQ/s320/La+Paz+2013+24.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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We learnt a little
more about the ladies’ iconic dress. They wear bowler hats perched on the top
of their heads. One theory as to where this fashion came from is that at the
turn of the century a design company wanted to sell their small hats to the men
of Bolivia (because they are small!) However their heads are not as small as
they thought so they decided to sell them to the women, claiming that these
hats were the height of fashion in Europe! 100 years on and they are still
making money from these ladies! Their clothes also come from that time when
woman used to give their old clothes to their slaves. The skirts have so many
layers – making a feature of their large and strong child bearing hips!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTYgZ80ucNFc0mkgpWDsa9ptnpEqpuec84eRVPIFc4Lwm2q2KkdqVrOxZfy4jopJmdlE9u7Ke_qoyrfB_XdEwuxVa9sBXLMU1Zg_RRZSBLULbw42PoHwn_PhcYZgJtbVFv7hPNTgCDMCE/s1600/La+Paz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTYgZ80ucNFc0mkgpWDsa9ptnpEqpuec84eRVPIFc4Lwm2q2KkdqVrOxZfy4jopJmdlE9u7Ke_qoyrfB_XdEwuxVa9sBXLMU1Zg_RRZSBLULbw42PoHwn_PhcYZgJtbVFv7hPNTgCDMCE/s320/La+Paz.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzQkz749Lazm2zI5TjsxUVVlo1jXc_29y3rU8Ijjr-7eahUSCs1uM0FpNextdShAYev7Q2XwR2C_7JPw2zQKhZX_H4mTPPPvysRMFNd7Ayr2mzj5TqFeuSo5liOGVFqBkgK5s0MN85sjI/s1600/La+Paz+2013+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzQkz749Lazm2zI5TjsxUVVlo1jXc_29y3rU8Ijjr-7eahUSCs1uM0FpNextdShAYev7Q2XwR2C_7JPw2zQKhZX_H4mTPPPvysRMFNd7Ayr2mzj5TqFeuSo5liOGVFqBkgK5s0MN85sjI/s320/La+Paz+2013+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bolivians love their potatoes!</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAf3-Ww2e_JO9px8aIkTA-3ky4QsUPIx4caqIvoxPs-YvlAduCnGozzmG1fDmp-Rk_sy07915X_RLyy8EGrL3dv16H9ky9PLUlMCDoFlPnDwVxVchW2ZPIIVRDzTVdKBOoRJXBnmzv4Lk/s1600/La+Paz+2013+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAf3-Ww2e_JO9px8aIkTA-3ky4QsUPIx4caqIvoxPs-YvlAduCnGozzmG1fDmp-Rk_sy07915X_RLyy8EGrL3dv16H9ky9PLUlMCDoFlPnDwVxVchW2ZPIIVRDzTVdKBOoRJXBnmzv4Lk/s320/La+Paz+2013+3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf1v3a27jCAcyTmbdF1UkInmjqLLFw2V4B5tZGkLkDGc29_VMAZr4xguIqR4v6HXKbi4qvXoHBZFYufcByGgeN7AeAFWU28ofHK5Hi14Q1pe7_wiwkW-SrNTBew2gld1c4lUipzmwHSVk/s1600/La+Paz+2013+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf1v3a27jCAcyTmbdF1UkInmjqLLFw2V4B5tZGkLkDGc29_VMAZr4xguIqR4v6HXKbi4qvXoHBZFYufcByGgeN7AeAFWU28ofHK5Hi14Q1pe7_wiwkW-SrNTBew2gld1c4lUipzmwHSVk/s320/La+Paz+2013+4.jpg" width="213" /></a>We visited the ‘witches
market’ where they sell all sorts of strange things including baby llama
foetuses! You bury it under the porch when building a house for good luck. If a
larger building is being built for example a mall – then a sacrifice needs to
be bigger- like a live human!! LIVE because then Pacha Mama (mother earth) can
claim the life for herself. Yikes! This is however seen as murder and deemed
illegal. We were advised to steer clear of shifty looking Bolivians offering us
‘free alcohol’- they are in search of live meat that will go unnoticed for a
while!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQH7zN13RBsZo9LiHfW_JnMCPNpj2bRW_zWLemthpgV1hNoEVcRIUTtHM0EnUc5M7IqdRngT96i9vUCHD8-8ZtcKKZ-ZIkfmUp_fAIW1y_cfQjyjsvbKgusH-iU-eeM4-XXnpcvLKvb1g/s1600/La+Paz+2013+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQH7zN13RBsZo9LiHfW_JnMCPNpj2bRW_zWLemthpgV1hNoEVcRIUTtHM0EnUc5M7IqdRngT96i9vUCHD8-8ZtcKKZ-ZIkfmUp_fAIW1y_cfQjyjsvbKgusH-iU-eeM4-XXnpcvLKvb1g/s320/La+Paz+2013+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Likely candidates!! </td></tr>
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We had a bit of an
insight into the politics of the country; it’s pretty shocking! Apparently they
hold the Guinness Record for having the most presidents in a certain amount of
time. This is because ‘the people’ either kill(!) or force them to step down if
they aren’t happy!! Out of 64 presidents 16 have been assassinated, dangerous job! When one president decided to tax the rich more to provide
for the poor it didn’t take long before the rich community marched to the
presidential palace. They broke in and beat the president to death before
dragging his body out into the plaza and strung him up to a lamppost outside
the palace. He was left there for two weeks as a warning to the next president
that this is what happens when you don’t look after the rich! 20 years later the
country decided to commemorate him because he did a few good things when in
power and built a small statue of his head next to the lamppost – very strange! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2_VuuWW5T_ll-ZOllUEqQ9F5rpa5P04NgaietwVToe1zKpaRfE6oS8USM_bIpfV6NicROqlVMgyvDJO5jdUDT46tfLHX8ZQ9WkpfKu_Vq7VwanlKR3mcHa6J3X3qm_xmaoEy16D6qXCs/s1600/La+Paz+2013+11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2_VuuWW5T_ll-ZOllUEqQ9F5rpa5P04NgaietwVToe1zKpaRfE6oS8USM_bIpfV6NicROqlVMgyvDJO5jdUDT46tfLHX8ZQ9WkpfKu_Vq7VwanlKR3mcHa6J3X3qm_xmaoEy16D6qXCs/s320/La+Paz+2013+11.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL0AEdzUNxA99N5SW-5UpA7VHcSuwoMohYZNZkxgjBSsilgaifURxWg4pBkGxwcFP19JpCvzBVHkMjl9CPQJHqLzPE_AxcG43Gmh8sG6MucyUsHnDBdTeW5Fg0MB1vWqje05CGYN0jVs4/s1600/La+Paz+2013+9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL0AEdzUNxA99N5SW-5UpA7VHcSuwoMohYZNZkxgjBSsilgaifURxWg4pBkGxwcFP19JpCvzBVHkMjl9CPQJHqLzPE_AxcG43Gmh8sG6MucyUsHnDBdTeW5Fg0MB1vWqje05CGYN0jVs4/s320/La+Paz+2013+9.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Presidential Palace</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyoNWPLknThRfNgZPf6i9Ob61BxUlqFOtSGK3ooDuss7eOwqbovNkF-3vxCwhE5f2afd3CAKLKIPcsWu22q3QIsxrAkEoumXjHP81rw0btDfAhgulPH1gWVxgsCD1lw3C7nnRUpcZMU3A/s1600/La+Paz+2013+8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyoNWPLknThRfNgZPf6i9Ob61BxUlqFOtSGK3ooDuss7eOwqbovNkF-3vxCwhE5f2afd3CAKLKIPcsWu22q3QIsxrAkEoumXjHP81rw0btDfAhgulPH1gWVxgsCD1lw3C7nnRUpcZMU3A/s320/La+Paz+2013+8.jpg" width="213" /></a><br />
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When there were riots
in 2003 outside the presidential palace one president called the Police and
asked for help because he feared for his life. Unfortunately he had just passed
a tax bracket onto the Military and not the Police, so of course the police did
not help and let the president get attacked. He then resorted to calling in the
military and had snipers line the roofs of the plaza and ordered then to shoot
his people. Many died that day. The presidential square was completely revamped
except for one building on the corner that is still covered in bullet holes; a
reminder. <o:p></o:p></div>
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We had lots of fun at
the hostel’s Halloween party and later that night ventured out to explore La
Paz’s nightlife, ending up in a locals’ nightclub! <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYmFdgH9UH2pUaA180Ez7m3iG114GOb1jxfrHNSzLEgKPQXZqPOqS5c-Nl75cNXC3zccrSri0gmId93ABw8zf0zqotvR_81TFRte-ujmAJgDhHBE8uGioiUjlPhhFRWg55sRWVpenULtc/s1600/La+Paz+2013+19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYmFdgH9UH2pUaA180Ez7m3iG114GOb1jxfrHNSzLEgKPQXZqPOqS5c-Nl75cNXC3zccrSri0gmId93ABw8zf0zqotvR_81TFRte-ujmAJgDhHBE8uGioiUjlPhhFRWg55sRWVpenULtc/s320/La+Paz+2013+19.jpg" width="320" /></a>One Sunday afternoon
Kyle persuaded me that it would be great idea to go and see some wrestling! ‘Cholitas
Wrestling’ to be specific. The traditional Andean ladies in their dress, plaits
and bowler hats taking on men, other cholitas and even the umpire in the ring!
It was…..an experience. The first session/fight was novel; a spectacle for us
and quite funny even. BUT after 20 minutes I had got the picture and was
finding it difficult to watch! Even though it is all fake it just all got a bit
too close for comfort; on one occasion there were two men holding down one cholita,
opening her legs and jumping down. This is a family show! I don’t think this is
just my ‘over sensitive’ Britishness coming through – it is just wrong. Towards
the end Kyle had to shove a book under my nose to distract me!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYmkySIa_k5985NnCTAhh-XcsFxzkQbuNZ3X0sgqrnYpi3gbr5tDuqm9G3h73mf0Sy-_0120YasuJvMEDBbCi-SSHqrnEjSRWwywLSCRfO-gpzBcRPgrSY5DUM-n9wpHF2CZc4Vd-p9qQ/s1600/La+Paz+2013+16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYmkySIa_k5985NnCTAhh-XcsFxzkQbuNZ3X0sgqrnYpi3gbr5tDuqm9G3h73mf0Sy-_0120YasuJvMEDBbCi-SSHqrnEjSRWwywLSCRfO-gpzBcRPgrSY5DUM-n9wpHF2CZc4Vd-p9qQ/s320/La+Paz+2013+16.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ10CX3EpFQwpJTzutObOQmgZ2CnWsB6a_ryDXtSK8nabuehPrpCGa5HkbJ_1Bf-5OOhSZ2cXRs7CT2DSWbiMVPk1-DFNDmoCI-H-kZJ7RiRQ57J34SK-nOgTa1w8CqeivZLeQ_idFcAU/s1600/La+Paz+2013+18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ10CX3EpFQwpJTzutObOQmgZ2CnWsB6a_ryDXtSK8nabuehPrpCGa5HkbJ_1Bf-5OOhSZ2cXRs7CT2DSWbiMVPk1-DFNDmoCI-H-kZJ7RiRQ57J34SK-nOgTa1w8CqeivZLeQ_idFcAU/s320/La+Paz+2013+18.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAP-_hiVt5OWDGMQmRjDdfLxRT-dBPExZs2cATASQT0afUMcZ2BJgkoMdRGFWj3lvuS0ZvWTX4G_Mc40sqSnOakvfkhHOsmcf7yc7FCw1bt82rYfr_Dorn9KQBDifzxT4RHOdIDNkDnaQ/s1600/La+Paz+2013+22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAP-_hiVt5OWDGMQmRjDdfLxRT-dBPExZs2cATASQT0afUMcZ2BJgkoMdRGFWj3lvuS0ZvWTX4G_Mc40sqSnOakvfkhHOsmcf7yc7FCw1bt82rYfr_Dorn9KQBDifzxT4RHOdIDNkDnaQ/s320/La+Paz+2013+22.jpg" width="213" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzVMhzkrDoLLZfk7LpPZhWi6ZP-w6S2Sff9VDpFHq1yZ8c-fpRkR-9kzZGpUws1iZukFCpsEL483Lw3YTcT0c-MTY8FLbWifGNUrvOsYJ5uXwS3wWncOUG60G-UK9WVO5SBiP-vfxHB1o/s1600/La+Paz+2013+23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzVMhzkrDoLLZfk7LpPZhWi6ZP-w6S2Sff9VDpFHq1yZ8c-fpRkR-9kzZGpUws1iZukFCpsEL483Lw3YTcT0c-MTY8FLbWifGNUrvOsYJ5uXwS3wWncOUG60G-UK9WVO5SBiP-vfxHB1o/s320/La+Paz+2013+23.jpg" width="213" /></a>Of course we enjoyed
some more delicious meals; Japanese, Mexican, Morrocan and even English!<o:p></o:p></div>
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We also managed to
find some time for a bit of retail therapy, getting lost around the craft
markets flexing our negotiation skills.<o:p></o:p></div>
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A highlight of the
trip so far was cycling Death Road – ‘The world’s most dangerous road’! It was
a long, physically and emotionally tiring day. We absolutely loved it! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDDG1a-WRuvdVW6d0QRCZ9D7XxSS3Wo8SHdOVPUqAtUWtxx5_le5Rsh1KkmFz8my8NvFRpWgctwIskwotgb0WsLu3uuRmYz_CQt8_uXjuiBSvb4JKAzIE9gkQTyImNXDDM7DzDW7U3QIw/s1600/Death+Road+2013+21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDDG1a-WRuvdVW6d0QRCZ9D7XxSS3Wo8SHdOVPUqAtUWtxx5_le5Rsh1KkmFz8my8NvFRpWgctwIskwotgb0WsLu3uuRmYz_CQt8_uXjuiBSvb4JKAzIE9gkQTyImNXDDM7DzDW7U3QIw/s320/Death+Road+2013+21.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG50DzVHDtn4sRp8F4vZ3KYVhjHdB8XBs6_ctSyzZqKt4ueMd92iLkLu9kFNJ-GmfSaelndS7l8AEL4JIfjtxtEL7IZDiH8XWM71r9X0n9SBqS427LKekTlRinWxre4likC3qR-oSbzU0/s1600/Death+Road+2013+20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG50DzVHDtn4sRp8F4vZ3KYVhjHdB8XBs6_ctSyzZqKt4ueMd92iLkLu9kFNJ-GmfSaelndS7l8AEL4JIfjtxtEL7IZDiH8XWM71r9X0n9SBqS427LKekTlRinWxre4likC3qR-oSbzU0/s320/Death+Road+2013+20.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfiiuqY4pLC2MOdZ9d_6quMEDMFbks4CouHKqGf1TFODWFBW08SF4u2xI25Rra53p-kvKZosHZMoILo57Cn1PYxn00SG1gn_AGFam3vomrn8GHPOW2fV0QJF426X44GV4OT9hVjOGxwsk/s1600/Death+Road+2013+19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfiiuqY4pLC2MOdZ9d_6quMEDMFbks4CouHKqGf1TFODWFBW08SF4u2xI25Rra53p-kvKZosHZMoILo57Cn1PYxn00SG1gn_AGFam3vomrn8GHPOW2fV0QJF426X44GV4OT9hVjOGxwsk/s320/Death+Road+2013+19.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Our guides were called
Goose and Scooby Doo which didn’t instil a lot of confidence in the beginning
but they were great (besides Scooby calling me Hannah Montana all the time). Oh
well – he called Kyle Mylie Cyrus which we didn’t really understand why but I
think that’s worse!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhffBNxdulPtY27TTikSCBieM2V49wPYhZVXXU1QgYFSwrHzFiK6N49m_TrD0xw2nsEEY7BLAytoM-YlC3gnisrHqtIiSdkW74wZ8knopClgzT8F6QMyt5pQYk0dlVhx1mQA0NOMxQXoyM/s1600/Death+Road+2013+18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhffBNxdulPtY27TTikSCBieM2V49wPYhZVXXU1QgYFSwrHzFiK6N49m_TrD0xw2nsEEY7BLAytoM-YlC3gnisrHqtIiSdkW74wZ8knopClgzT8F6QMyt5pQYk0dlVhx1mQA0NOMxQXoyM/s320/Death+Road+2013+18.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg14lfWhXhP7IErfZsjYy0CxhAwru7HLUIt7o7meXMIpt5ppDa8zeSHlxWOucaiwpTHhTEvZclpEVn1JdbnHLj86Km0l-oaYMUzb38YFKIr9ttVFRZCPtvlFdX1gr29SwaHusmaf0aSQ-E/s1600/Death+Road+2013+17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg14lfWhXhP7IErfZsjYy0CxhAwru7HLUIt7o7meXMIpt5ppDa8zeSHlxWOucaiwpTHhTEvZclpEVn1JdbnHLj86Km0l-oaYMUzb38YFKIr9ttVFRZCPtvlFdX1gr29SwaHusmaf0aSQ-E/s320/Death+Road+2013+17.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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It was a beautiful and
crisp sunny day when we started up at 4700m and the weather stayed on our side
the whole 3600m of the way down. We cycled 68km peeling off layers of clothing;
as we went down the temperature went up. We began on the lovely smooth tarmac
‘new road’ which was opened in 2007. This eased us in nicely before getting on
the ‘old road’ – loose gravel and dirt; a tad more bumpy! <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkbXDBkoTTaUGzcBuH4fptEl7THB9vTRIUWZDQBysaRfI0Xt69gj19En8oEVVgxYngbxFXHR0DP0jVY5gcPCqaBml8Riw11ARQheTltPymvB0Xse1m3rs0GZQhsDqqIFMoXEh6iwZNM98/s1600/Death+Road+2013+15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkbXDBkoTTaUGzcBuH4fptEl7THB9vTRIUWZDQBysaRfI0Xt69gj19En8oEVVgxYngbxFXHR0DP0jVY5gcPCqaBml8Riw11ARQheTltPymvB0Xse1m3rs0GZQhsDqqIFMoXEh6iwZNM98/s320/Death+Road+2013+15.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9w08_YBzCcSGN-KJj16t4hga4FioRcrWCo_5s7mz6smrgTbrXMMjaBkn3t5DD-t2ecauaffKogkFaUG0wxzEQt60M669_KW0ANZdKumGzSwRR7vAIlrvPjHFdkrcoIUK_Wc_zNuj9EYo/s1600/Death+Road+2013+14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9w08_YBzCcSGN-KJj16t4hga4FioRcrWCo_5s7mz6smrgTbrXMMjaBkn3t5DD-t2ecauaffKogkFaUG0wxzEQt60M669_KW0ANZdKumGzSwRR7vAIlrvPjHFdkrcoIUK_Wc_zNuj9EYo/s320/Death+Road+2013+14.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHUaqrJmM-3gS9HS5RD9tLbsDfjLV53GUdFUW3LHuvVZK_1QAMCXNkfM4DxWKqT27XAcfHH5-rufBlw_12WYlXLjWd-FPrgD8QDhMhOdKRVdWy-2HfFUfk34elVoo1ctfTSgJCCBJPcko/s1600/Death+Road+2013+16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHUaqrJmM-3gS9HS5RD9tLbsDfjLV53GUdFUW3LHuvVZK_1QAMCXNkfM4DxWKqT27XAcfHH5-rufBlw_12WYlXLjWd-FPrgD8QDhMhOdKRVdWy-2HfFUfk34elVoo1ctfTSgJCCBJPcko/s320/Death+Road+2013+16.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
We passed many
crosses, marking where people had lost their lives on the road! Prior to the
new road opening, on average, 26 vehicles per year disappeared over the edge.
We have just read now that 15+ cyclists have died doing Death Road – glad
didn’t read this before! Some areas had
unbelievably steep drops from the narrow road. You had to keep control!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg29EvQQAJx-KQPscJ95yztMkXNRH_HgEvni3AUF_nzWf_2zmnSNdwbWzgQivv3DMQ975-MJQzA3vszXEpCh34k7t48T0Qr40mxqCdff69nrkY62CRW01hlgoUc1gCb-tx9AC9TMVlSdOs/s1600/Death+Road+2013+13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg29EvQQAJx-KQPscJ95yztMkXNRH_HgEvni3AUF_nzWf_2zmnSNdwbWzgQivv3DMQ975-MJQzA3vszXEpCh34k7t48T0Qr40mxqCdff69nrkY62CRW01hlgoUc1gCb-tx9AC9TMVlSdOs/s320/Death+Road+2013+13.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
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We cycled through waterfalls which was awesome and over streams that covered the road.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbh5wPaYfUUM0LtPs2jI1_0M5I7URg5cL60xtYpZhhyUTwmo2DophqrcSwmHHR5_pmgTCVyZ0QsVwq8Z3BiX2c6kK_0jZg535PtLMrUB8KanajW0-QXcWRljkUG72mP5GrNvB8tFbucNU/s1600/Death+Road+2013+12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbh5wPaYfUUM0LtPs2jI1_0M5I7URg5cL60xtYpZhhyUTwmo2DophqrcSwmHHR5_pmgTCVyZ0QsVwq8Z3BiX2c6kK_0jZg535PtLMrUB8KanajW0-QXcWRljkUG72mP5GrNvB8tFbucNU/s320/Death+Road+2013+12.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjap2WcIATLlREFdEt2_NxxKlbrJex8TrlacOC-JmLB1GmnEATVFp7YnrOxQVyZnp0ppiuBRTyrSAKE96A4mj5gQD3TZtdhrLr3KeOgo9oMsqSIamb3G4NabwikovSEqWG0TZ59ZCVZhag/s1600/Death+Road+2013+11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjap2WcIATLlREFdEt2_NxxKlbrJex8TrlacOC-JmLB1GmnEATVFp7YnrOxQVyZnp0ppiuBRTyrSAKE96A4mj5gQD3TZtdhrLr3KeOgo9oMsqSIamb3G4NabwikovSEqWG0TZ59ZCVZhag/s200/Death+Road+2013+11.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg25TiWdJZziLPywoNE_uN5_GnWCgbqZytlGd7DFuDINt4KCALeVl8t9OTFOjcm7NJVOfL1Cfwpeyv3vZK4j60W1WTXcnu4thgJSLfJ7VcTUfAIOrfhpCfSuhMdF_840iS9rlVSCItjSus/s1600/Death+Road+2013+9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg25TiWdJZziLPywoNE_uN5_GnWCgbqZytlGd7DFuDINt4KCALeVl8t9OTFOjcm7NJVOfL1Cfwpeyv3vZK4j60W1WTXcnu4thgJSLfJ7VcTUfAIOrfhpCfSuhMdF_840iS9rlVSCItjSus/s320/Death+Road+2013+9.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJY6zCrHTCkgyK85AzclXMq4y7Z6cWDLraNCMlyrBEghl92pgLXPvjl3NN0YSlkfoqemukrjJbPWqU9HR5svTYDSf2Piah0Oc9dW7CIAxcpC4QJZtN53w9xmoxHugQ4SLL560DQNM2ERo/s1600/Death+Road+2013+10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJY6zCrHTCkgyK85AzclXMq4y7Z6cWDLraNCMlyrBEghl92pgLXPvjl3NN0YSlkfoqemukrjJbPWqU9HR5svTYDSf2Piah0Oc9dW7CIAxcpC4QJZtN53w9xmoxHugQ4SLL560DQNM2ERo/s320/Death+Road+2013+10.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkLSaI2T2yfe4N3M4CBjwuQ5-eBef3FEa4toRF7Q9S7N4uJsLwvJmJ9j6pvBGEsvi0vtvU8mmtLuV7kpl2FeD7jCwM9WIaxht2JUsfLlJeYFLiCemdpOXa6erjwqSXXpHKAKtWCgVUMF8/s1600/Death+Road+2013+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkLSaI2T2yfe4N3M4CBjwuQ5-eBef3FEa4toRF7Q9S7N4uJsLwvJmJ9j6pvBGEsvi0vtvU8mmtLuV7kpl2FeD7jCwM9WIaxht2JUsfLlJeYFLiCemdpOXa6erjwqSXXpHKAKtWCgVUMF8/s320/Death+Road+2013+6.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Our end point was in the jungle at the bottom. Our celebratory beer tasted so good!</span> </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUfoPmWh94dxH2yhL3PGyC4YsKeP1AA4UBYlzTT4DxlZOARrIjpPnJo1UMK24p68rldPS1cIWIx-0FpqHFrXo5LJHjRfKVMUDqhPpAfBOvNduZp_1n6FGP5K0rw9nR3OB7OYZrAFZzYus/s1600/Death+Road+2013+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUfoPmWh94dxH2yhL3PGyC4YsKeP1AA4UBYlzTT4DxlZOARrIjpPnJo1UMK24p68rldPS1cIWIx-0FpqHFrXo5LJHjRfKVMUDqhPpAfBOvNduZp_1n6FGP5K0rw9nR3OB7OYZrAFZzYus/s320/Death+Road+2013+5.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRSaX4GCv27xGHt7CWidgHZRCcGAyjGWbb8WN3hRhUWtyRQQjwfedpONGcWLmQdWRAnBVGmM6ecDiS1DcO7lUZFeyiwT5fAtLoKP6DR26QBeQQenvvqeUbFvVE-9b-b_DoZHr09SILJbY/s1600/Death+Road+2013+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRSaX4GCv27xGHt7CWidgHZRCcGAyjGWbb8WN3hRhUWtyRQQjwfedpONGcWLmQdWRAnBVGmM6ecDiS1DcO7lUZFeyiwT5fAtLoKP6DR26QBeQQenvvqeUbFvVE-9b-b_DoZHr09SILJbY/s320/Death+Road+2013+4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
Kyle took a dip in the rough river whilst I dangled my legs in!</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgabj21IGAwLzCyB_ZieOH8c5vYevO2-ND5AfQIpPSPMqnf0AY3B5cdCj0dlibiV0qZ9rn0lxC21EoC5lKU23ek0KLgHHrV9-gdipwV0D3_486E67VGs9XOcOca98VXoHceWFO2l2jDHjY/s1600/Death+Road+2013+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgabj21IGAwLzCyB_ZieOH8c5vYevO2-ND5AfQIpPSPMqnf0AY3B5cdCj0dlibiV0qZ9rn0lxC21EoC5lKU23ek0KLgHHrV9-gdipwV0D3_486E67VGs9XOcOca98VXoHceWFO2l2jDHjY/s320/Death+Road+2013+7.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Even had time for a quick rock! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiVpnU9D2UjXCQXVHWRy2TtHAjBWI_VHsUnPQVQRHcRmykqGpMaLr1S3GH4jTD5QiOrSflXtG0-KbKD3bUdiqc59ehzLxxs8zKmzAAhQxuttCPZuGzR5LobsrtVJPeIunnfCTMY4-fNbQ/s1600/Death+Road+2013+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiVpnU9D2UjXCQXVHWRy2TtHAjBWI_VHsUnPQVQRHcRmykqGpMaLr1S3GH4jTD5QiOrSflXtG0-KbKD3bUdiqc59ehzLxxs8zKmzAAhQxuttCPZuGzR5LobsrtVJPeIunnfCTMY4-fNbQ/s320/Death+Road+2013+3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Our drive back to La
Paz was much longer as we had to go all the way back up the road (luckily the
new road). At points this was a pretty terrifying experience making our way up
through layers of thick fog, our driver could see NOTHING! We almost made it all
the way back to the hostel completely unscathed but 10 minutes from arriving
our driver decided to overtake a car on a corner…nearly crashing into a massive
lorry carrying fuel on the other side, we’ve never been in a bus that has slid
sideways before… tick. ‘You’ve just lost your tip!’ Kyle shouted. Nevertheless
we survived the day! <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqjQcMeyTxzIrXyMDIMqBmMVirenVsfQs3F3i80gkAP0HvAQGTYJeY52TnABQPMo-eMZjbUcdc_rWQ-wfhHs0SeGPIRjC7goKR46_NBa5RvalavPcz61mVdabJQodTTwnTuTv68N6scW4/s1600/Death+Road+2013+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqjQcMeyTxzIrXyMDIMqBmMVirenVsfQs3F3i80gkAP0HvAQGTYJeY52TnABQPMo-eMZjbUcdc_rWQ-wfhHs0SeGPIRjC7goKR46_NBa5RvalavPcz61mVdabJQodTTwnTuTv68N6scW4/s320/Death+Road+2013+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidVMaA3ZIEUjAfXf68j1nEnAq6hNmAYhupl-JggsdxxqevhXQ8PPuJnBAu1N6ifIWi6fMEqYpzYECTDDPfNaU7yPjkklO9ma630DBBDhiOClKgELx61YLd16XlaqcPblekNCgDUVrK1zs/s1600/Death+Road+2013+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidVMaA3ZIEUjAfXf68j1nEnAq6hNmAYhupl-JggsdxxqevhXQ8PPuJnBAu1N6ifIWi6fMEqYpzYECTDDPfNaU7yPjkklO9ma630DBBDhiOClKgELx61YLd16XlaqcPblekNCgDUVrK1zs/s320/Death+Road+2013+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Driving on cliff edges... WTF!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The next day we took a
flight (the first one since leaving home) to Rurrenbaque in the Amazon Basin.
The flight was with the military airline TAM and it was a pretty spectacular flight;
transitioning from the high altitude La Paz to the Amazon! We were still
wearing our jackets zipped up to our chins when we exited the plane and almost
keeled over from the heat that hit us!! </div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg45ijisQPCYUTfL3EMuA9UbNVY4kUUqHlFRIhsPbOaJZquYl3bAL3RNHY-KUFNz7n6Oy-sMJR8MAZEsS3xNthnVJJsEqJAu_kavstq0mH5KEHFz9H5KivtcJgxVHbqw35ZReDQYNqVoBU/s1600/Amazon+2013+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg45ijisQPCYUTfL3EMuA9UbNVY4kUUqHlFRIhsPbOaJZquYl3bAL3RNHY-KUFNz7n6Oy-sMJR8MAZEsS3xNthnVJJsEqJAu_kavstq0mH5KEHFz9H5KivtcJgxVHbqw35ZReDQYNqVoBU/s320/Amazon+2013+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3bq2-n2YS8e7whkrpj23QdbHYw_eouz_MdmaK0TKNVDdvpYAPBC1mfEl5q9b5cCR2mUgC45XArTMkCkros6jYN8PpXxtCerSImy4XRtEpPlIL3zfiIkfKbnFNna2NXWPu-xHFAmeKs78/s1600/Amazon+2013+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3bq2-n2YS8e7whkrpj23QdbHYw_eouz_MdmaK0TKNVDdvpYAPBC1mfEl5q9b5cCR2mUgC45XArTMkCkros6jYN8PpXxtCerSImy4XRtEpPlIL3zfiIkfKbnFNna2NXWPu-xHFAmeKs78/s320/Amazon+2013+4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq8y_MTdqh7Q1km3GaRdbssyNTFRhNAcjTlZKetIwdatPuJQfZIEgptbIBkFUzUeVBOIv67f5XkcBB11jgFe19b4TK0grYd5FzFKXBJjokk_QTiqy6njSekvWv4qwZ1QspV-8nJWAQByE/s1600/Amazon+2013+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq8y_MTdqh7Q1km3GaRdbssyNTFRhNAcjTlZKetIwdatPuJQfZIEgptbIBkFUzUeVBOIv67f5XkcBB11jgFe19b4TK0grYd5FzFKXBJjokk_QTiqy6njSekvWv4qwZ1QspV-8nJWAQByE/s320/Amazon+2013+5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeYMfOsBwP2bvHQu0FhZ-zFltrylOhoLH-EYPKMrtnR7f3NoDNRW6RoM3kOxdVSDWGpwSA6dklw3iuJflsBrFgpngWTeunisoDClA17GzT5TzacNAt98AnhJc1jsiSYc7wnODMBSUc6VE/s1600/Amazon+2013+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeYMfOsBwP2bvHQu0FhZ-zFltrylOhoLH-EYPKMrtnR7f3NoDNRW6RoM3kOxdVSDWGpwSA6dklw3iuJflsBrFgpngWTeunisoDClA17GzT5TzacNAt98AnhJc1jsiSYc7wnODMBSUc6VE/s320/Amazon+2013+7.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yup.. landed in a field! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqhb3BlH4-e7b-IMPyYfBie_4pbkYYdAlFkKeWHHSg4fpiI8sDFbHgujtjuakV_JKS6IUSSz6DY2rHtckyH5KSSBOaHz2ABthHEPBTRQWv-0iiSuk7D_CS3CKUBstJbEiTLJzttbdxrgw/s1600/Amazon+2013+8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqhb3BlH4-e7b-IMPyYfBie_4pbkYYdAlFkKeWHHSg4fpiI8sDFbHgujtjuakV_JKS6IUSSz6DY2rHtckyH5KSSBOaHz2ABthHEPBTRQWv-0iiSuk7D_CS3CKUBstJbEiTLJzttbdxrgw/s320/Amazon+2013+8.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
The taxi from the airport was different…a motorbike each!</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyb44QvAGZ1XOKUGuyJcDnaB1pvVP11RC0M_MAywXxXLjh6fZwJLhu_ZxCDqSUfo6eB67EVQZ91dSVaLaVE-R-38K88ohzJRv6dYr74k6Ai79-mJ2U6AKwS6a356feUPeEBoTOLRVzDrM/s1600/Amazon+2013+10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyb44QvAGZ1XOKUGuyJcDnaB1pvVP11RC0M_MAywXxXLjh6fZwJLhu_ZxCDqSUfo6eB67EVQZ91dSVaLaVE-R-38K88ohzJRv6dYr74k6Ai79-mJ2U6AKwS6a356feUPeEBoTOLRVzDrM/s320/Amazon+2013+10.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh82y5bIPrfLOJPte2khxPsJ_-QYCC-7FumaquQKey7CQsHrpgJm6cdWXD659DWfy02PXLLCYnpk6K9hemGb8vkPrWtH_057oVKNXc7rr_dNBtt2RjKlAJ5fuagnul6rxrbnaiGIJ8HCMM/s1600/Amazon+2013+12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh82y5bIPrfLOJPte2khxPsJ_-QYCC-7FumaquQKey7CQsHrpgJm6cdWXD659DWfy02PXLLCYnpk6K9hemGb8vkPrWtH_057oVKNXc7rr_dNBtt2RjKlAJ5fuagnul6rxrbnaiGIJ8HCMM/s200/Amazon+2013+12.jpg" width="133" /></a>That day we were a
little bit like zombies. The sun and the humidity made us feel drugged and we
kept falling asleep. We chilled by a pool and had a bite to eat in one of the
local restaurants praying that our tummies would comply.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjf0dhRHIrcKWaIj8bBu7p777HOiLRlgFgodtr5XUCTvA4L1k5b4bXqY2NEtEirXMmWhl-Yd22sgAShJ5BR4KiBnHUBiTrUKwsoxNuUe_klMGz0ehEo1x5LF8JJnbRuiI5QwjOrp7sOss/s1600/Amazon+2013+11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjf0dhRHIrcKWaIj8bBu7p777HOiLRlgFgodtr5XUCTvA4L1k5b4bXqY2NEtEirXMmWhl-Yd22sgAShJ5BR4KiBnHUBiTrUKwsoxNuUe_klMGz0ehEo1x5LF8JJnbRuiI5QwjOrp7sOss/s320/Amazon+2013+11.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
That evening we went
for a walk along the river. The temperature by that stage was perfect and we
spent time just people and boat watching.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNjNBjgfYTn85I6TTSs8109yzIVgyeigKF926OUbrqD_csG0JuPw6V7SwwKhxcSySmaFGezm2M6NLnzpt9b9AkY_3fVN8DG0sxrEQVg64f_gYxvocbcKErKiGIsXygvdZtLlyXyjRDAvc/s1600/Amazon+2013+13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNjNBjgfYTn85I6TTSs8109yzIVgyeigKF926OUbrqD_csG0JuPw6V7SwwKhxcSySmaFGezm2M6NLnzpt9b9AkY_3fVN8DG0sxrEQVg64f_gYxvocbcKErKiGIsXygvdZtLlyXyjRDAvc/s320/Amazon+2013+13.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhREh_2Se4l7qMuV7_el8aI6-KfBsZpK_GMLkS5C5o5GpKMjrgwQBbpaKBwG1bpxS_PYu4POfp_Cj9eXyzwR2-gaNfgvzLRLSb5zswFSk8MAUpd3LdQcSDC80OVCA_Zs7IG-Nr80ogzZT0/s1600/Amazon+2013+14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhREh_2Se4l7qMuV7_el8aI6-KfBsZpK_GMLkS5C5o5GpKMjrgwQBbpaKBwG1bpxS_PYu4POfp_Cj9eXyzwR2-gaNfgvzLRLSb5zswFSk8MAUpd3LdQcSDC80OVCA_Zs7IG-Nr80ogzZT0/s320/Amazon+2013+14.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjLBmlA9A9P2FOAbjl9VRzcHbhnBS24CR9HiK29d13kJ4ssgICXa-u1Wsqrb2WjFvCzV90oesIrDVgAKEKdSH4gYxlSDEGVcPSO4NsJbUZyZNP37T9dX-TGFRKE-5YW3c1jQ7lOE7f1b0/s1600/Amazon+2013+15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjLBmlA9A9P2FOAbjl9VRzcHbhnBS24CR9HiK29d13kJ4ssgICXa-u1Wsqrb2WjFvCzV90oesIrDVgAKEKdSH4gYxlSDEGVcPSO4NsJbUZyZNP37T9dX-TGFRKE-5YW3c1jQ7lOE7f1b0/s320/Amazon+2013+15.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEZSwFf9fMLZWf05ZS8SCyKpGEm66FWugYCaNV4IIs4nzAMbgZgpoh6pG4CbnogPJf2vYNrnW3SIfNVwF15l_eq0qx3iWheUoy4-JF6Bf4iZpn40BUWt08UmBsyl8V7SNU_EAfcCrZA_4/s1600/Amazon+2013+9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEZSwFf9fMLZWf05ZS8SCyKpGEm66FWugYCaNV4IIs4nzAMbgZgpoh6pG4CbnogPJf2vYNrnW3SIfNVwF15l_eq0qx3iWheUoy4-JF6Bf4iZpn40BUWt08UmBsyl8V7SNU_EAfcCrZA_4/s320/Amazon+2013+9.jpg" width="221" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Who will be the first to spot the obvious!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-ZUnc7tnRHYCubzR-qARSr6FyuALCoN9oOwjP9IHI5OSwbdszoBb3ZInVID29KYDFVCk9uwW_ZjIh_V-OSCYt0Yux36Bac6s5i_6sqZlozVfd8vnqB94W9tAO6oEpjAOh9ppHvWjJrb0/s1600/Amazon+2013+16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-ZUnc7tnRHYCubzR-qARSr6FyuALCoN9oOwjP9IHI5OSwbdszoBb3ZInVID29KYDFVCk9uwW_ZjIh_V-OSCYt0Yux36Bac6s5i_6sqZlozVfd8vnqB94W9tAO6oEpjAOh9ppHvWjJrb0/s200/Amazon+2013+16.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Driving blind.... AGAIN!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Our Pampas tour began
the next day and it started with a 3 hour car journey on what we renamed ‘Death
Road 2’. It was one long stretch of bumpy dusty track. Similar to the fog but
instead it was thick dust, at times you just couldn’t see the road in front.<o:p></o:p></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd8Z2GHSGz1CVUf2xbcfoyXrDvoYw58TA26XZufV4HykEojo1D4X5IGVxy2Y0INgY1JAIEegDRtau6adf_bLPQp7PAKHyoyw-H-PribO60xN_V3WDhHdWgLyl_qux8RPEgTc2iXV6N-Dw/s1600/Amazon+2013+17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd8Z2GHSGz1CVUf2xbcfoyXrDvoYw58TA26XZufV4HykEojo1D4X5IGVxy2Y0INgY1JAIEegDRtau6adf_bLPQp7PAKHyoyw-H-PribO60xN_V3WDhHdWgLyl_qux8RPEgTc2iXV6N-Dw/s320/Amazon+2013+17.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
We stopped off for lunch and met the cutest puppy ever whom we named Trev</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggdeGJ4rE0xC62pQI_BG2ZuoylAzQZp6rt3ag7OK4JB-bMgszbWR-1P5zMQi4YMayovq5SC6_a5Ag-U7hWKYJNAwXpbZgbZlIMHMtYqfpbYc6J4D9ewB8eDxMhzoIPb8knkLl7MNRAtl0/s1600/Amazon+2013+18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggdeGJ4rE0xC62pQI_BG2ZuoylAzQZp6rt3ag7OK4JB-bMgszbWR-1P5zMQi4YMayovq5SC6_a5Ag-U7hWKYJNAwXpbZgbZlIMHMtYqfpbYc6J4D9ewB8eDxMhzoIPb8knkLl7MNRAtl0/s640/Amazon+2013+18.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQy-nrhkGqkCXKQq4TVNzKPZgjg9o1F2LYHl8ZH-Kp36mrakBypvhZkMxf6E4AZPeiytARsUhCdWaH1MGEAz-5ytNloXeLxgc8RTK0i-P5983-4JkjMe58lzvHz32aLiLzlxxVO3Y_78w/s1600/Amazon+2013+27.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQy-nrhkGqkCXKQq4TVNzKPZgjg9o1F2LYHl8ZH-Kp36mrakBypvhZkMxf6E4AZPeiytARsUhCdWaH1MGEAz-5ytNloXeLxgc8RTK0i-P5983-4JkjMe58lzvHz32aLiLzlxxVO3Y_78w/s320/Amazon+2013+27.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
8 in our group – 3 Swedish girls, 1 Aussie girl, Bea, Alex and us - drinks at Sunset Bar</div>
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</tbody></table>
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That afternoon we took
a 3 hour boat trip up the Yacuma river to our lodge. The Amazon Basin or Pampas
is an extensive fluvial plain. The river we were on flows slowly forming
meanders and the water is really muddy orange in colour. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjloz-jZLbHqqeH-_3zXQ2t9XAJ3CVCSnsMgaATiEXa4Ep7vakMqOsZLEJDSv07i-4_JB095GtRgCiUkmqJLgcAr-fIS0Q3GFpJJ52WyVJhNtN1z0vllWe4W1KxxA1JL5F6Tw2cULpAI-s/s1600/Amazon+2013+19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjloz-jZLbHqqeH-_3zXQ2t9XAJ3CVCSnsMgaATiEXa4Ep7vakMqOsZLEJDSv07i-4_JB095GtRgCiUkmqJLgcAr-fIS0Q3GFpJJ52WyVJhNtN1z0vllWe4W1KxxA1JL5F6Tw2cULpAI-s/s320/Amazon+2013+19.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Capybara is the largest rodent in the world! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY1Df2EFqoOWYzNaJQLVtQqRpcyTCmAdgkLK16rMQJi-IjzWDNZ_i9ciMHABwjYTOGXA06NM7bYOQRYst3WCVb0hWCmxC0ipW8Kv4hSJpEcVCD2m8oSgoUcEaOJxcp08i69BwKW7EVqto/s1600/Amazon+2013+26.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY1Df2EFqoOWYzNaJQLVtQqRpcyTCmAdgkLK16rMQJi-IjzWDNZ_i9ciMHABwjYTOGXA06NM7bYOQRYst3WCVb0hWCmxC0ipW8Kv4hSJpEcVCD2m8oSgoUcEaOJxcp08i69BwKW7EVqto/s320/Amazon+2013+26.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium; text-align: center;">
The boat was a lovely experience; lazy chairs, low to the water, sitting in 2’s. It was so hot and sunny that it was just as well we were moving for the breeze.</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjzvaDuz2UvqGPX-v8w62JbT30rT1WExUeVf3QjCcSanUlK4hcbXBs98D99OGepew9meU9v5krI2zvdRDOikJkaf0tHtuav3wG7riYQp4YjxJogLaIDNwTf57yGvKEzO_6BgUYRlqH6SI/s1600/Amazon+2013+20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjzvaDuz2UvqGPX-v8w62JbT30rT1WExUeVf3QjCcSanUlK4hcbXBs98D99OGepew9meU9v5krI2zvdRDOikJkaf0tHtuav3wG7riYQp4YjxJogLaIDNwTf57yGvKEzO_6BgUYRlqH6SI/s320/Amazon+2013+20.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Black Cayman aligator</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf1-PfzPB1UagcrrbjEDZ-QBTuKdUXVBTFrwex2d_z6RkqmTFO-NSMgNJh5Odk5rV6yC7crJb7s2cdIbotNk_pUxa2RTiylSCW5FZtHqgfA_IMuCAnB0HnJ7Aeg2KO2Y3Q6MXndrpBcek/s1600/Amazon+2013+22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf1-PfzPB1UagcrrbjEDZ-QBTuKdUXVBTFrwex2d_z6RkqmTFO-NSMgNJh5Odk5rV6yC7crJb7s2cdIbotNk_pUxa2RTiylSCW5FZtHqgfA_IMuCAnB0HnJ7Aeg2KO2Y3Q6MXndrpBcek/s320/Amazon+2013+22.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">River Snake - nearly dead from being used as a play toy by the river dolphins! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbj5SShzDanYuQiJmKN542g21g1bgOsGxeLB6uwma5GshLOruyI91J23zhPBywsLrcnZ1BVPme7p62vqD6p3ivZcjFXMCLQShxuGDYRY550qbhIgl-9ggmF7ZZByLe3yzDjFJYa1A6blA/s1600/Amazon+2013+23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbj5SShzDanYuQiJmKN542g21g1bgOsGxeLB6uwma5GshLOruyI91J23zhPBywsLrcnZ1BVPme7p62vqD6p3ivZcjFXMCLQShxuGDYRY550qbhIgl-9ggmF7ZZByLe3yzDjFJYa1A6blA/s320/Amazon+2013+23.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFXE7_CuF8dO_BWT3pFbjx4hhfVNcJ_ZNmfY8fL0tntr1nU-sNH15WlOWQ3Zt3GPQNeHmlatABRAaTFGCPITaa-15jHTttA4oUq9R2BLv_dGTdqHCSM7qRj0KObMVoockm20ww4lCc4sA/s1600/Amazon+2013+24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFXE7_CuF8dO_BWT3pFbjx4hhfVNcJ_ZNmfY8fL0tntr1nU-sNH15WlOWQ3Zt3GPQNeHmlatABRAaTFGCPITaa-15jHTttA4oUq9R2BLv_dGTdqHCSM7qRj0KObMVoockm20ww4lCc4sA/s320/Amazon+2013+24.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There were many little Turtles dotted along the Pampas!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCVnjv31jSVv9Qroi78qKN0WNMEOl8jhHY1S-PN_JcSdGYclBAR1vTTABxNW2XfL5vjLTYFb-PCD3oF65g6QHuz0so18umsO3OPn68_E0I_iTBjhji3jV2YsG604ByT7DxucUEg7NMaJQ/s1600/Amazon+2013+25.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCVnjv31jSVv9Qroi78qKN0WNMEOl8jhHY1S-PN_JcSdGYclBAR1vTTABxNW2XfL5vjLTYFb-PCD3oF65g6QHuz0so18umsO3OPn68_E0I_iTBjhji3jV2YsG604ByT7DxucUEg7NMaJQ/s640/Amazon+2013+25.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lots of super cute Spider Monkeys</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWwBBZLFAVqZyBJvFIWSKefJB5sA7GuDn1smV_i02EeFVvm4CG3jvKAJkAqhRR0ydesuT8ktg5Engg1v3WmG6UToe_yrue6JillCEBA1kW8DIfpHNIkMwFSuufzaa_rAMX4L4ZxyWoRQY/s1600/Amazon+2013+28.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWwBBZLFAVqZyBJvFIWSKefJB5sA7GuDn1smV_i02EeFVvm4CG3jvKAJkAqhRR0ydesuT8ktg5Engg1v3WmG6UToe_yrue6JillCEBA1kW8DIfpHNIkMwFSuufzaa_rAMX4L4ZxyWoRQY/s320/Amazon+2013+28.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium; text-align: center;">
After settling in at our lodge, we took a short boat trip to the ‘Sunset Bar’. Here, surprise surprise we watched the sun set over a few beers.</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkt6Hto7SqpIccER1c2MZKRovn8fj7ywcKaMbyZtLEXef-lO5yjTHQpHXxY3R7ZU23PdzwNMuUU6xvfn1odX5v88MOeI4uFolj4wIRkYWaLe4OuAnnWpIWmNY4P-dcK_niDfAga_shyphenhyphen68/s1600/Amazon+2013+30.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkt6Hto7SqpIccER1c2MZKRovn8fj7ywcKaMbyZtLEXef-lO5yjTHQpHXxY3R7ZU23PdzwNMuUU6xvfn1odX5v88MOeI4uFolj4wIRkYWaLe4OuAnnWpIWmNY4P-dcK_niDfAga_shyphenhyphen68/s640/Amazon+2013+30.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Later that night after
a lovely dinner, when it was pitch black it was off in the boat again for some night
time alligator spotting! This was pretty tense! We had to look out for orange
glows – being their eyes. We had success and found a few. It was so surreal to
see these animals in the flesh in the wild. Their eyes are really quite
frightening! They don’t seem to blink, their pupils are large and black and you
can see the whites surrounding them. </div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNbHDGIouXVI2TLoWPTrScBlxZqDdrv1w82NU2_1tIDioE7DxBn9Fum8O-RUACjjkaqm6VYKcweiRmt0vSgJQkXXw0bKndEKPG7IdL56ofCPe2CmfYFopErZZg8P3YSlr8BaCz06hr7wg/s1600/Amazon+2013+37.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNbHDGIouXVI2TLoWPTrScBlxZqDdrv1w82NU2_1tIDioE7DxBn9Fum8O-RUACjjkaqm6VYKcweiRmt0vSgJQkXXw0bKndEKPG7IdL56ofCPe2CmfYFopErZZg8P3YSlr8BaCz06hr7wg/s320/Amazon+2013+37.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhELCfx474L9OaQ9yAylIqIcwOJb6EHkFCICMIWTf8ONES5jpVrEn9LNBrfNS0pfKtAY1GwL7PO7ci2vLvxLRC5I-OEotNVAb4pfg8Q44HCnPVpONtplgXDC-Bxykdl1Wej9eOa1s0sdjs/s1600/Amazon+2013+34.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhELCfx474L9OaQ9yAylIqIcwOJb6EHkFCICMIWTf8ONES5jpVrEn9LNBrfNS0pfKtAY1GwL7PO7ci2vLvxLRC5I-OEotNVAb4pfg8Q44HCnPVpONtplgXDC-Bxykdl1Wej9eOa1s0sdjs/s320/Amazon+2013+34.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1BZylZ_yaijY7Z9Dhggw5_WaNtHk_v6I2a4meST0fFH4u3a3uRutZnZ1UbIPu8op5wCNC-TNS1_3dS3x-VsrbHKCs2H7Im51GiFx7hL230M-TEzhytOrdW3IlRceLBumiNTHZ7cznJ6w/s1600/Amazon+2013+36.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1BZylZ_yaijY7Z9Dhggw5_WaNtHk_v6I2a4meST0fFH4u3a3uRutZnZ1UbIPu8op5wCNC-TNS1_3dS3x-VsrbHKCs2H7Im51GiFx7hL230M-TEzhytOrdW3IlRceLBumiNTHZ7cznJ6w/s320/Amazon+2013+36.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil6RLLjEcOyMbFC3a8EL2GWHjRQoj5mF3CKfVyFMtule8FVInTFVaDC83dPf7XHcNNvwlYElGjsTlTx7N0K1jL93l5H3vGp1Eb-SWU2BYCF5k5ZE6DVJFyzg1C3qK0an58xj17oI7pZhE/s1600/Amazon+2013+31.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil6RLLjEcOyMbFC3a8EL2GWHjRQoj5mF3CKfVyFMtule8FVInTFVaDC83dPf7XHcNNvwlYElGjsTlTx7N0K1jL93l5H3vGp1Eb-SWU2BYCF5k5ZE6DVJFyzg1C3qK0an58xj17oI7pZhE/s320/Amazon+2013+31.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Then more chilling and drinking with the local wildlife!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxEiP1pztVSfUsbrR1TKJ5tnrKJhhL9G3q7S4xROLe19umwkADEB_OWHWRG1ZR7uEbRh9gAI4cph5tO4UHgb18OL-9OUS3NWn0ARsLkXM7mwCSFi_iRTjfQ548hkNOpsFB0e_T8KAcB0A/s1600/Amazon+2013+32.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxEiP1pztVSfUsbrR1TKJ5tnrKJhhL9G3q7S4xROLe19umwkADEB_OWHWRG1ZR7uEbRh9gAI4cph5tO4UHgb18OL-9OUS3NWn0ARsLkXM7mwCSFi_iRTjfQ548hkNOpsFB0e_T8KAcB0A/s320/Amazon+2013+32.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bats in our rooms....</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3YJl6Hq6MwI2coDN8Tv_p1VzRKR7DKqmIS0Tm38Y2VGTDc7WWQYwdS3xv_rTn0emTxCr28vrNlXbFu67I4rcDPyAZ24jjGTZtdwf_fw_K90J17uyuxSUFXKL2ys2DNnpZdedzMJlcoGs/s1600/Amazon+2013+33.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3YJl6Hq6MwI2coDN8Tv_p1VzRKR7DKqmIS0Tm38Y2VGTDc7WWQYwdS3xv_rTn0emTxCr28vrNlXbFu67I4rcDPyAZ24jjGTZtdwf_fw_K90J17uyuxSUFXKL2ys2DNnpZdedzMJlcoGs/s320/Amazon+2013+33.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mosquitoes everywhere! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">The next morning we went off on a 3hr walk through the marshland to search for anacondas! Although we were walking on the flat, it was still quite challenging. We were wearing long sleeves and trousers to protect us from the long grass and mozzies. It was so hot and we were slopping about in wellies through the water, mud and uneven ground. All the time searching for an anaconda! Alas the best we got was a large toad!</span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzKo_xJhOkpzt7q2-7vEuUoIFPGN98YHu7j_ZSdG7EJFJkn3PHr6fkvluAlmTKKiN-UvIGJtsTQ1m6HVud4ad031mjuSdQJDUSDJ2CP_iN7Q5u-bOhRtmrWj5nB_6J-eil9Qc_kPBAoR0/s1600/Amazon+2013+39.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzKo_xJhOkpzt7q2-7vEuUoIFPGN98YHu7j_ZSdG7EJFJkn3PHr6fkvluAlmTKKiN-UvIGJtsTQ1m6HVud4ad031mjuSdQJDUSDJ2CP_iN7Q5u-bOhRtmrWj5nB_6J-eil9Qc_kPBAoR0/s320/Amazon+2013+39.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">B's expression and state of mind stayed similar to this throughout the 3 hrs, to conquer fear... you must become fear! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikPrzguggInycdviZ8Tc4XZZwTn-dmlifb-rVYEB9_DxH4YLYXf986mcH4UFc8ncHj8nbYQgt0aJH-J7TKt55ZRgxpnX-UtfvzBaIk7IhQK_xVzF6r2y5yFq2BSJw4jB7RisYZB5qquz0/s1600/Amazon+2013+40.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikPrzguggInycdviZ8Tc4XZZwTn-dmlifb-rVYEB9_DxH4YLYXf986mcH4UFc8ncHj8nbYQgt0aJH-J7TKt55ZRgxpnX-UtfvzBaIk7IhQK_xVzF6r2y5yFq2BSJw4jB7RisYZB5qquz0/s320/Amazon+2013+40.jpg" width="320" /> </a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqeWExVVtu4kVt57s3vAjjXBHN0jFoM6ozN6-tJLRsh5DMrH8gbC3x-PfggytrQGJGRgMSUF54s3j769hhiB-SzIHEM1LxL9hGxVhR1Mua7jYaAMu5CJQ4grO62Y_o-kawOqhPUGaZxKU/s1600/Amazon+2013+41.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqeWExVVtu4kVt57s3vAjjXBHN0jFoM6ozN6-tJLRsh5DMrH8gbC3x-PfggytrQGJGRgMSUF54s3j769hhiB-SzIHEM1LxL9hGxVhR1Mua7jYaAMu5CJQ4grO62Y_o-kawOqhPUGaZxKU/s640/Amazon+2013+41.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNrwG_9X7Kx0p91rKRxvyFA-G85gT3_JUmKLT7RZAulj4dJfoRQS7JtqGyNtNr77N3-82Bb1PpxeY0PDoMaWJMj6U6hrSQZLuNwVACHZyLBoA0B97CFMaOMDL7yKX4dhergru62fDcRbY/s1600/Amazon+2013+43.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNrwG_9X7Kx0p91rKRxvyFA-G85gT3_JUmKLT7RZAulj4dJfoRQS7JtqGyNtNr77N3-82Bb1PpxeY0PDoMaWJMj6U6hrSQZLuNwVACHZyLBoA0B97CFMaOMDL7yKX4dhergru62fDcRbY/s320/Amazon+2013+43.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRPXaa82jN-OYEoyW4bMhc-GjqjshJ_luHZQ_zwWiB0d8zOKDGQLyzsJ9-daxAaZIDxIV3vyNmdlMaMeeiKnKOhNF_7FF_kYR_Gaiy7yPg8RQ0T8GxwcvFw1i_yP7sjwHwuU3zAltCdqY/s1600/Amazon+2013+42.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRPXaa82jN-OYEoyW4bMhc-GjqjshJ_luHZQ_zwWiB0d8zOKDGQLyzsJ9-daxAaZIDxIV3vyNmdlMaMeeiKnKOhNF_7FF_kYR_Gaiy7yPg8RQ0T8GxwcvFw1i_yP7sjwHwuU3zAltCdqY/s320/Amazon+2013+42.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0YddXsxiWZRkmgB1my3l-MrVwR-CFfDYc8a58egSnwzXa0R6eJR5ijKsp1oDegwEQAGEqqNYhUxLZ4ScJFLrgGz4zUeDPV9a_68IBtrmZaFwiWZhyphenhyphenk7GQSsWHxziM2mgB4_zImdhKSkc/s1600/Amazon+2013+45.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0YddXsxiWZRkmgB1my3l-MrVwR-CFfDYc8a58egSnwzXa0R6eJR5ijKsp1oDegwEQAGEqqNYhUxLZ4ScJFLrgGz4zUeDPV9a_68IBtrmZaFwiWZhyphenhyphenk7GQSsWHxziM2mgB4_zImdhKSkc/s320/Amazon+2013+45.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-nwGdGen3xtedtIE_fa1WEpjo9HVb6HEmEIJcymTHHnVbdOJRS4wMA5zeNki2YkrhQgHMmbCZW3t7oQ7CVYc2uInii4qCJi1g8hBSsftc1ug-lJzaVd45kmOR0S9K2w0MkZ2jkzoL8Vs/s1600/Amazon+2013+44.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-nwGdGen3xtedtIE_fa1WEpjo9HVb6HEmEIJcymTHHnVbdOJRS4wMA5zeNki2YkrhQgHMmbCZW3t7oQ7CVYc2uInii4qCJi1g8hBSsftc1ug-lJzaVd45kmOR0S9K2w0MkZ2jkzoL8Vs/s320/Amazon+2013+44.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcZk-RPzFQL7QUNZC5m_4Jrk-f2jefBbh48hjt2RV1ZhA9EmgK1XGZ9N333L9I031R72tY8HVWTBiHsmR2waqsN1Cbf32qc7QvP1WzqhWjl-xv1jeESUeG4ukiT0TGReA6Y97evAUEy7E/s1600/Amazon+2013+46.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcZk-RPzFQL7QUNZC5m_4Jrk-f2jefBbh48hjt2RV1ZhA9EmgK1XGZ9N333L9I031R72tY8HVWTBiHsmR2waqsN1Cbf32qc7QvP1WzqhWjl-xv1jeESUeG4ukiT0TGReA6Y97evAUEy7E/s320/Amazon+2013+46.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Only the guide gets a machete just in case... hmmm! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhai1rEODJQeA6YvOovANOcyiDkGT-Ea7-ckiTtPkGFB91JzFViZaxaQDBvj_hfUixloJV9X0WJw_VMT_LCIiRDyiHAThpoBjLfRm3Eu0kBVDpZChsl9B5X4ZWpl3Lk1yF8EvWNYa6XIeg/s1600/Amazon+2013+47.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhai1rEODJQeA6YvOovANOcyiDkGT-Ea7-ckiTtPkGFB91JzFViZaxaQDBvj_hfUixloJV9X0WJw_VMT_LCIiRDyiHAThpoBjLfRm3Eu0kBVDpZChsl9B5X4ZWpl3Lk1yF8EvWNYa6XIeg/s320/Amazon+2013+47.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
Our efforts would be rewarded later though!</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXZhD-5plnP5pQwCC0HhneSvc9gpuKbhSCubBWwY7N8Xkk9h4pzeORID6kAUN5PkuRRD-hjWU2vAT-h8Bwjr9phmW9FryuYyaFR-Y64wADm5qZb0iIxlzaEKfDwhPplkoTyXoRNPqZIoI/s1600/Amazon+2013+48.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXZhD-5plnP5pQwCC0HhneSvc9gpuKbhSCubBWwY7N8Xkk9h4pzeORID6kAUN5PkuRRD-hjWU2vAT-h8Bwjr9phmW9FryuYyaFR-Y64wADm5qZb0iIxlzaEKfDwhPplkoTyXoRNPqZIoI/s320/Amazon+2013+48.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Back at the lodge we
enjoyed chill time in the hammocks. At one point the whole group were snoozing,
completely comatosed by the morning’s exertions. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8WSDu_YOwodGLibSlX83MidUvmJgR6Nt-CZG123Cxvwn7fmkfwtBbTxMcKpjuAULCdf8nNqRvEq3LhxXdDaSXsEexTLTYMNQKVWStiMHwYhBzC9nzYNpedwHjjHsOIWCHLT-eC9s3jFc/s1600/Amazon+2013+49.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8WSDu_YOwodGLibSlX83MidUvmJgR6Nt-CZG123Cxvwn7fmkfwtBbTxMcKpjuAULCdf8nNqRvEq3LhxXdDaSXsEexTLTYMNQKVWStiMHwYhBzC9nzYNpedwHjjHsOIWCHLT-eC9s3jFc/s320/Amazon+2013+49.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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In the afternoon we
took the boat again down the river to go piranha fishing! (Writing this,
documenting our recent activities, it does seem like we have had a death wish
but rest assured its all perfectly safe(ish)) </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEw__6vOrWlZU8SDIZkO425dCQWm6pl4m2PntfHnVJDrLYIvnkYExGipTJv_4wQx_Dixv4Day7yKzr-HjpM4gmcI0ZeoQBxZiKJw6rcQpkhhdPyZTtgN8To1i4-AjpkcrPz1XaFVP1Xn8/s1600/Amazon+2013+51.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEw__6vOrWlZU8SDIZkO425dCQWm6pl4m2PntfHnVJDrLYIvnkYExGipTJv_4wQx_Dixv4Day7yKzr-HjpM4gmcI0ZeoQBxZiKJw6rcQpkhhdPyZTtgN8To1i4-AjpkcrPz1XaFVP1Xn8/s320/Amazon+2013+51.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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The fishing was
slightly frustrating - they kept managing to nibble the meat off the hook
without getting caught! Kyle however did well and caught a few, the famous red
piranha and a white one. Their teeth are incredible! </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3gAIKnJwU3Ou_aLYLX0CzM6145l-QXucwV0qwZLs8LFsMNIpyRSwlvI5F4hsQo6hXw_wP8HIwaame2VEvwJns5mLrnb58xMhy1pE3UCJimbU5jzkVVSFXGT7ZNg05zXZs2zbLjJCBiY8/s1600/Amazon+2013+52.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3gAIKnJwU3Ou_aLYLX0CzM6145l-QXucwV0qwZLs8LFsMNIpyRSwlvI5F4hsQo6hXw_wP8HIwaame2VEvwJns5mLrnb58xMhy1pE3UCJimbU5jzkVVSFXGT7ZNg05zXZs2zbLjJCBiY8/s640/Amazon+2013+52.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These are small Piranhas... the further into the Amazon you go the bigger they get... like most things! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqhrwicBskplmbEqAK6oUf65aIEWEcQ9m8L1UQ-Fbez6yDCOZ0GruUAXVpdFxh4hdbg6deqhf9nR2gbYmoPHcyevz2F7PG-ubq8N0WQYs_9pNYHMkHNRBRGECm8IUGdmRXCToV47f4mg4/s1600/Amazon+2013+53.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqhrwicBskplmbEqAK6oUf65aIEWEcQ9m8L1UQ-Fbez6yDCOZ0GruUAXVpdFxh4hdbg6deqhf9nR2gbYmoPHcyevz2F7PG-ubq8N0WQYs_9pNYHMkHNRBRGECm8IUGdmRXCToV47f4mg4/s400/Amazon+2013+53.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The next day we woke
at 5am to catch sunrise, was stunning as you can see! <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw_yF1vG3lP0asEExAODh_9xV56HOIrHPubrArSU_vrOBVGPPEQU88rszYiwIliRrzyfjxp29QXAw1oUYZRO_qglcLPVJCKQgDRF61dr2PhTm7yy8sf64X-yrNSh7tPifprmsOw3LkwFQ/s1600/Amazon+2013+57.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw_yF1vG3lP0asEExAODh_9xV56HOIrHPubrArSU_vrOBVGPPEQU88rszYiwIliRrzyfjxp29QXAw1oUYZRO_qglcLPVJCKQgDRF61dr2PhTm7yy8sf64X-yrNSh7tPifprmsOw3LkwFQ/s640/Amazon+2013+57.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN9vyvyb57yVcZFCpwgY0h1e93iAnh59WGfn-tkAatcQTVN5zfRWJXhzZSDOvKJtMoJdLz4nP-RwVus9VfuskZ7bmdc5bYVJ7U_c93z8qOlWgVV7228Q2ONndjpuWMBs3iQ3ije2PFolQ/s1600/Amazon+2013+54.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN9vyvyb57yVcZFCpwgY0h1e93iAnh59WGfn-tkAatcQTVN5zfRWJXhzZSDOvKJtMoJdLz4nP-RwVus9VfuskZ7bmdc5bYVJ7U_c93z8qOlWgVV7228Q2ONndjpuWMBs3iQ3ije2PFolQ/s320/Amazon+2013+54.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="text-align: center;">Later that morning we took the boat to a more hidden lagoon like section of the river. There we were to swim with pink river dolphins! We eased ourselves in to the orange, slightly smelly, uninviting water and waited, swam and trod water observing the dolphins at a distance around us.</span><br />
<span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLLzeTXC5ApXMdPCWxHYU_f47X_LknuI8YrNGp-HuyMxEL902eh6_pYo9dFi4QRYm3L_bmpdalDCYa1HXAad9iGHHS5hsppXdti5BlEZxMRnhwgdMxWZuaVJe5DnizipiqNZbBuniDOmY/s1600/Amazon+2013+58.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLLzeTXC5ApXMdPCWxHYU_f47X_LknuI8YrNGp-HuyMxEL902eh6_pYo9dFi4QRYm3L_bmpdalDCYa1HXAad9iGHHS5hsppXdti5BlEZxMRnhwgdMxWZuaVJe5DnizipiqNZbBuniDOmY/s200/Amazon+2013+58.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWiMyR1sHz8rqoynyKaeTL15-_zY4ihsYFCsNl-Fh1Pv4p3MTyt-H3VzZxBUnoBeL52qRSmRRIWVf96NVQahxWy_rYdHVYhtVNQEL3f4ur1T_w3SnhiKh4WJqwL0HBYgcvUSaDonx2q28/s1600/Amazon+2013+59.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWiMyR1sHz8rqoynyKaeTL15-_zY4ihsYFCsNl-Fh1Pv4p3MTyt-H3VzZxBUnoBeL52qRSmRRIWVf96NVQahxWy_rYdHVYhtVNQEL3f4ur1T_w3SnhiKh4WJqwL0HBYgcvUSaDonx2q28/s320/Amazon+2013+59.jpg" width="320" /></a>We all gravitated towards each other; the anticipation of one coming up to us was unbearable and we were all a bit hysterical! We spent a long time in the water and over the time the dolphins came up to us. One swam underneath me and one poked Kyle in the bottom! We got to feel their rubbery skin. It was amazing. </div>
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having just stepped out the shower, the cook was shouting ‘anaconda!’ from the
other end. We all legged it over to be greeted by a massive 2 metre long snake!
Wowee! Kyle got a bit too close, sticking his camera very near – we reminded
him he had a zoom. ‘Oh yeah!’ he said.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The only negative we
had with this trip were the mosquitoes- they were a complete nightmare. At all
hours we were plagued. When inspecting our bodies when we returned to Rurrenbaque
that afternoon in the hostel’s pool, we discovered that the whole group had
hundreds and hundreds of bites – Kyle’s guess is atleast 1300 between all of
us. They had bitten through our clothes and on our bums when we went to the
loo! The whole trip we were constantly hitting each other trying to kill the
buggers. However, Kyle did not get ONE bite!!! I think this must be some kind
of record – it’s incredible…incredibly unfair too… I am itching as I type. Kyle
has given himself yet another nickname to add to the list – King of the Jungle
… NOT ONE BITE!! </div>
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<!--EndFragment-->Hannah and Kyle travel S.Americahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15199881368072873571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218767240550915026.post-14465149954765117432013-11-02T10:27:00.001-07:002013-11-02T10:27:18.996-07:00Spiritual Healing in Cusco<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Once back in Cusco
after our trek, we moved hostels to the San Blas district. Here we ended up
spending another 8 nights and absorbed another layer of the city at a very
different pace. This area was very much the hippy sector! Lots of traveller
street vendors selling their art and crafts clustered at the top of the
beautiful square.<br />
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There were many art studios lining the streets – lots of
religious paintings mainly – gold and quite garish; not quite to our taste!
Lovely bakeries and cafes and also trendy live music bars were a plenty. <o:p></o:p><br />
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On the train back from
Machu Picchu we met a lovely Quebecan couple; Greg and Karina. We swapped
details and met up the next day at a local coffee shop and they mentioned they
would like to introduce us to a special friend they met in the San Blas
district. We head out and luckily find him at the top of the San Blas Plaza
steps with the other vendors. ‘KOFLAEI’ is a charismatic Spanish speaking
healer, jewellery maker and traveller. He wears all white loose clothes, no shoes,
has long hair and a beard, is missing one lens in his thin rimmed glasses
(blind in one eye), no front teeth and a big warm grin. Soon after meeting him he
invited us all back to his place to share some food. We had a great night,
chatting, getting to know each other as best we can with the limited Spanish
vocabulary that we have soaked up.<br />
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<i>Greg and Karina</i></div>
We also spent a while admiring the plethora
of lovely jewellery that lined Koflaeis walls and loose rocks spread out
amongst the shelves.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg71ZfeYEUBK7Cki0UXnsVHV57IH0Puwe1pk8psX0arP6uw3eQ4QwERUOHJvXWzMOuvK6JQMQrlBFjpu9h29iK4dvycc4pZv7DfRK9hUzPwo2sw4FBSU5VFyZ4N1RPMHqsDUPcSFS-nW_g/s1600/Cusco+Healing+30.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg71ZfeYEUBK7Cki0UXnsVHV57IH0Puwe1pk8psX0arP6uw3eQ4QwERUOHJvXWzMOuvK6JQMQrlBFjpu9h29iK4dvycc4pZv7DfRK9hUzPwo2sw4FBSU5VFyZ4N1RPMHqsDUPcSFS-nW_g/s320/Cusco+Healing+30.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Kyle helping Koflaei prepare lunch with Renzo </i></td></tr>
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<br />
He made Hannah an amazing homemade proper chocolatè
caliente and me a tè that contained many different natural infusions. We soon
learnt that Koflaei is a man of vast depth and has a wealth of rich life
experiences. Even though there is a language barrier you can still manage to communicate
because of the amount of expression and energy that he uses to get the message
across. After seeing a beautiful ring that Karina was wearing that Koflaei
made, we decided that it would be nice if we designed some jewellery for our
Mums back home. What we didn’t know was that he would start the process that
night (midnight) and prefer us to be present during the whole process so we can
have creative input throughout. We hope you like them Mummies! <o:p></o:p><br />
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<i>Koflaei at work</i></div>
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That night set the
precedence for the rest of the week and we returned to Koflaei’s nearly every
day. We were welcomed into a cosy bohemian community of musicians, makers, body
and spiritual healers and travellers (and the cutest 2 month Labrador puppy
called Puma).<br />
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<i>Jam session in Shakiras room with various instruments</i></div>
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We were introduced to many things and learnt more about the
process of healing. We discovered the real ‘arnica’ - arnica tincture which had
a really strong smell and was bright orange (Koflaei was bemused at our tube of
Boots brand 1% arnica cream!! Opps!). What we found fascinating was his ideology
that the smell of a medicine plays a far more important role in the healing
process than we might usually think. When you rub the arnica tincture into the
skin the smell sends signals to the brain releasing the correct energy or
signal required to aid in the healing. The healing process is not just physical
but also psychological. He lent us a strange looking charcoal incense stick, a
similar size to a Cuban cigar, that you light and hold very close to the body
to deeply warm up areas of pain.<br />
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At the end of the week Koflaei had a healing
session with Kyle and I had a massage from Miray. He had some awesome stories
that hooked our attention, the kind of stories that really make you think about
the world and existence. One night towards the end of the week we had a fire in
the courtyard which we all sat round, chatted and jammed for hours; really
reminding us of the kind of nights we have with friends back home.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<i>5 minute massage for Kyle!</i></div>
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The way of life is so
different here – this little community really look out for one another – when
one doesn’t have any money; the others provide. By commissioning Koflaei for
the jewellery, it enabled him to provide a traditional Peruvian meal (Lomo
Saltado) for everyone (including us!).<br />
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They are all very selfless, open and
giving, we were welcomed at all times of the day and night. I can’t imagine
welcoming a bunch of random tourists into our home, cooking for them etc…<o:p></o:p></div>
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We introduced Bea and
Alex to Koflaei after they got back from their trek.<br />
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Also our friend Anneke
from our jungle trek! We love how the chain grows…<o:p></o:p></div>
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At this point I think
it is important to recognise that through just brief encounters and getting to
know people, your experience of a place can shift between multiple and different
opportunities and outcomes. Had we not struck up conversation with Greg and
Karina on the train and quickly formed a small bond we wouldn’t have been
introduced to all the lovely people we met this week in a small corner of
Cusco. We also had the pleasure to be able to introduce our friends to them. It
gave us the opportunity to really remove ourselves from the usual hussle and bustle
of the travellers/backpackers scene and get to know the place and people on a
more personal, deeper and connected level. <o:p></o:p><br />
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It wasn’t an entirely
restful week however!...Bea and Alex came to stay in the same hostel as us and
we got up to mischief! More great meals together and a fair few bottles of
wine!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8bNIWSWh5tSRNkIqe00s39CYnynzkGaXNRvejhbk2KniLnkxuM7pxyt5LcTVCgOzWsCbSWjwdjV5XVGuu0fGhbyFFXTwiEDXJpcvjYQQ_7mb1rZpgNCyJdbsWYCOXyrTQ_0rIHNgrLyU/s1600/Cusco+Healing+23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8bNIWSWh5tSRNkIqe00s39CYnynzkGaXNRvejhbk2KniLnkxuM7pxyt5LcTVCgOzWsCbSWjwdjV5XVGuu0fGhbyFFXTwiEDXJpcvjYQQ_7mb1rZpgNCyJdbsWYCOXyrTQ_0rIHNgrLyU/s320/Cusco+Healing+23.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>KMO bar - great live music<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>Drunk song time!</i></div>
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We heard about the big
storm back home and on the same night had some pretty exciting weather over
here too! Torrential rain, thunder and lightening and hail… it was so bad that
at one point we had a small waterfall down our room’s stone wall and we had to
move upstairs!<o:p></o:p><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoF7WnQOO4B_p8hyphenhyphencm3TvZv0o86uGVLnvK1232ZSYr0pqbDju_7hfX68uaTa3aqIDAE84i55FC9S1pVqzJmD4WM5iFM1XRcFFnSV1c8lSJajJ47CQAt1chfPowO4g7yrIfCK5WT8aF5Bs/s1600/Cusco+Healing+16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoF7WnQOO4B_p8hyphenhyphencm3TvZv0o86uGVLnvK1232ZSYr0pqbDju_7hfX68uaTa3aqIDAE84i55FC9S1pVqzJmD4WM5iFM1XRcFFnSV1c8lSJajJ47CQAt1chfPowO4g7yrIfCK5WT8aF5Bs/s320/Cusco+Healing+16.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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If was difficult to
say goodbye and a part of us really didn’t want to leave but after 2 months, it
was finally time to move on from Peru into Bolivia… nearly a month after first
planned! Apart from England, this is the longest we have ever spent in one
country. It is simply beautiful here with such a rich culture and strong roots.
We will never forget our experiences here…<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCZ6DXETPepe7fC86zNsI98-xYx0c6VlqrmjrJDq0Ni3Uk7PxB18CXr9J5TxLsHvv7EHFS4bMAm-R0vqtK-S3UyqREERHoNa4cTkGoIVAeeGjtDFElDIO8ghLuBjCn3-yEc6Y0TAo-g0U/s1600/Cusco+Healing+13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCZ6DXETPepe7fC86zNsI98-xYx0c6VlqrmjrJDq0Ni3Uk7PxB18CXr9J5TxLsHvv7EHFS4bMAm-R0vqtK-S3UyqREERHoNa4cTkGoIVAeeGjtDFElDIO8ghLuBjCn3-yEc6Y0TAo-g0U/s320/Cusco+Healing+13.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i> A picture of us by a little artist!</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUE_2hUijf4kCuN-MtPfk7kwGnLFtWehu34aC0-ayNAxTUNYcjBzpIVHRcKWsUlbX_szxMpd3XgsDyUTntFm4bFZHzh9drNXhyphenhyphen3ad0ecWRu2LZfyo9eVqYla-qEwM_7y9ThFpnVoO_utk/s1600/Cusco+Healing+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUE_2hUijf4kCuN-MtPfk7kwGnLFtWehu34aC0-ayNAxTUNYcjBzpIVHRcKWsUlbX_szxMpd3XgsDyUTntFm4bFZHzh9drNXhyphenhyphen3ad0ecWRu2LZfyo9eVqYla-qEwM_7y9ThFpnVoO_utk/s320/Cusco+Healing+5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i> The Peruvians seemed to like taking pictures of us! 'Here's us with a gringo!' </i></div>
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<i>At the Choco museo making our own hot choc
with Aneke</i></div>
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<i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>The Cusco flag</i></div>
</div>
<!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09652572064170034371noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218767240550915026.post-16183656152038711882013-10-24T14:23:00.003-07:002013-10-24T14:23:37.742-07:00Cuzco and The Jungle Trek to Machu Picchu<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>(We keep swapping
writing so apologies if this is confusing!)<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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We arrived in Cuzco in
the early morning on Thursday 10<sup>th</sup> after a very windy and sleep
deprived bus journey. Cuzco sits at 3300m. It is a stunning city built on
massive Inca foundations.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Like in Arequipa, we
went on the Free Walking Tour of the city. Once again, we were taken to various
bars and restaurants for tasters including more alpaca meat. We walked through
lovely squares, steep pathways and tight cobbled streets, passing all sorts of
tempting looking shops that I assured Kyle we would be returning to.<br />
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<br />
We went up
to a high viewing point to see the city from above; quite a challenge we found
at altitude!<br />
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<br />
Whilst standing in the sun and listening to the guides talk about
the impressive Inca walls in front of us, one of the group members fainted and
smacked her head pretty hard on the concrete. An ambulance had to be called. It
was quite a shock to see how vulnerable one is at altitude. <o:p></o:p></div>
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It was in this city
that we made firm friends with a couple, Alex and Bea; who amazingly came all
the way from Peckham, South East London.<br />
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<br />
When you are this far from home this
made us basically neighbours; they know Charlie and Lyle from Flock and Herd
butchers and Anderson and Co Café run by Hereward and Lisa. We had met each
other in Arequipa when staying at the Flying Dog and got the same bus to Cuzco,
sharing the taxi to the depot. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Over the following
days we spent our time exploring the city.<br />
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<br />
We went out to some great
restaurants together that Hannah keeps finding (she is becoming our private
gastronomical GPS).<br />
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<br />
The four of us
also spent a great deal of time in the Choco Museo, sampling the delicious
chocolates, liquors and tea. Hannah bought some Coca husk, which makes a delicious and healthy brew. <o:p></o:p><br />
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We went on little shopping
sprees buying alpaca goods to natural energy granola bars for our
treks. Hannah bought a beautiful bag from this very kind, gentle woman who is
also a Shaman. It is around 50yrs old and made from an original ceremonial blanket with lots of good
energy and vibes. The lady sang to us in Quechan, it was special. She then
asked us to return the offer with a song. Luckily none of us obliged for fear
of ruining the beautiful moment that just occurred. <o:p></o:p><br />
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We revisited ‘Luther’
an old man who makes various traditional instruments in the arty bohemian
district of San Blas. We all had a little jam and played together making some
only just bearable music.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>A guitar made from Armadillo shell!</i></div>
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By the time we were finished the sun was setting and
we headed down the hill to our favourite Japanese restaurant for grub and
a couple for Pisco Sours<br />
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<br />
...before our next appointment at a local bar for a Pisco
Sour cocktail making workshop.<br />
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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This in turn kicked
off a BIG NIGHT OUT! At the bar we were shown the measurements, ingredients and
technique on how to make our own Piscos.<br />
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<br />
What followed was pure comical mayhem
at the bar, some very drunken pool playing back at our hostel and barely
comprehensible or memorable conversations about how close we all lived.<br />
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<br />
Hannah
and Alex discovered they were even closer to home with each other; having lived
in West Horsley and Ripley, going to neighbouring schools, members of the same
swimming club and having the same dentist! <o:p></o:p></div>
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The next day Kyle
claimed to be suffering from the worst hangover he has EVER had!! Not fun in
the altitude!<o:p></o:p></div>
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One Sunday morning we
stumbled on a military/community service and procession in the Plaza De Armas
which we watched for a good hour.<br />
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What was most bizarre about this procession
was the inclusion of many different aged school kids. Behind the real soldiers
with machine guns at the ready marching through the main square were lines of
children between 4 & 6 years old dressed as field nurses and mini officers
griping their mini guns. All trying to march in time whilst desperately looking
for glimpses of their proud parents spattered amongst the crowd. Very bizarre indeed
but pretty cute to watch. Not sure the UK parents or MOD for that matter would
agree with the inclusion but there we go. <o:p></o:p><br />
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Afterward we strolled
around a little longer and visited the San Pedro market. </div>
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<br />
Fascinating to observe
the rows and rows of stall holders all selling what looks like the same product
and a great spot for some local people watching. Everyone and everything is so
different! The colours, foods, smells and dogs looking for scraps on the floor.<br />
<br />
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<br />
What struck us most was the amount of elderly women working everywhere. From restocking
the fruit and veg, chopping up meat, carrying HUGE bundles of produce on their
backs and generally looking very tired! Life's pretty tough.<o:p></o:p></div>
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One afternoon we visited the San
Blas plaza. </div>
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<br />
We are fond of the laid back atmosphere of the area and had a
small siesta on the sunny benches in the square before being gently awoken by a
young woman trying to sell some belts. After politely saying ‘no gracias, no
nessicito’ a few times with sleepy eyes, suddenly out pops this very cute little
girl’s face from over her mothers shoulder, being carried in a traditional
Peruvian blanket. The Peruvians use these stunningly bright blankets to carry
EVERYTHING in. I wish it were like this in the UK instead of those overpriced
boring baby back/front packs or prams that everyone just has to own with the
latest alloy wheels, 3 point harness and suspension! ... After we saw this cute little 1 year old
and having a sort of ‘Spanglish’ conversation with the sweet lady we found a
nice belt and was happy to pay the S/20 (£4.45) she was asking, all to provide
for herself and her ‘bonita niña’. Each belt takes roughly three days to make and
is made with all natural colours. She learnt the skill from her mother when she
was 15 and showed us one belt that she was half way though making. <o:p></o:p></div>
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We spent 6 nights in
total here before deciding to embark on yet another trek. The last day or two
was taken up by exploring the various treks on offer from the plethora of tour
ops and street vendors that dominate the city centre and purchasing some last
minute trekking supplies. We opted for the ‘Jungle Trek’ which consists of 3
nights and 4 days (although we added an extra night for just $7) trekking and
high adrenaline activities. All this including transport, food and our tickets
to Machu Picchu for $231 each (for some reason treks are priced and paid for in
dollars - cash… random). <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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So here begins our
next phase…!<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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We set off on
Wednesday morning after having woken at 3am to call our travel insurance
company (office opening 9am UK time) to check we were in fact covered for all
the activities and trekking we were about to be doing – last minute panicking –
but all was well. Phew. </div>
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Our guide, Jimmy J picked us up from our hostel. Jimmy
was a nice guy but his English was limited and at the start of every
‘spiel’ of his he would begin;
‘Er…guys…please…chicos…please…er…guys…ok…’ which after the first few times of
being funny, soon became extremely irritating!<o:p></o:p></div>
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It was quite a walk to
the bus and a bit of a delayed start but when we were on the road, it was about
a 3 hour trip with a short stop in the middle. </div>
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In our group this time we had 2
Canadian guys, 2 Aussie guys, 3 German guys, 1 guy from Hong Kong called Frank
who was quite the character, a Chilean girl called Camilla and a nice Dutch
girl called Anneke. We were all in our 20’s.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRi8YhrV8VnedBFYxC5CDiGYHxOsaN4ApwyeJpwUToA7AbI5TZLk_5lSXH3Tn9mtiH4VVzjcjUy14GVXVjgGdatNoFPLhmzBYrFXA596CYqDEwz9ZIIVCv8PH5TOY5rE0J8Yvvuh0IJdc/s1600/Jungle+Trek+48.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRi8YhrV8VnedBFYxC5CDiGYHxOsaN4ApwyeJpwUToA7AbI5TZLk_5lSXH3Tn9mtiH4VVzjcjUy14GVXVjgGdatNoFPLhmzBYrFXA596CYqDEwz9ZIIVCv8PH5TOY5rE0J8Yvvuh0IJdc/s320/Jungle+Trek+48.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwwpBv3eba1ZpYJDGu-Lh7921IlkKIoGU1anUtAkui9Bs_L0N8_qbjNbiNFi77MUrEQW2xGnm1OprFHGxqOW1ChWgviYbDFKLj53kr28vefeunZf8ij0rxRjkyGF2LdnBF28PeXOPA_Js/s1600/Jungle+Trek+47.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwwpBv3eba1ZpYJDGu-Lh7921IlkKIoGU1anUtAkui9Bs_L0N8_qbjNbiNFi77MUrEQW2xGnm1OprFHGxqOW1ChWgviYbDFKLj53kr28vefeunZf8ij0rxRjkyGF2LdnBF28PeXOPA_Js/s320/Jungle+Trek+47.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Our adventure began at
the top of a mountain – it was a bit rainy and cold up there in the cloud. We
were layered up and set off on our bikes with our helmets, elbow and knee pads
down down down! It was brilliant and such a great way to see the spectacular
scenery. As soon as we started our descent the weather cleared and it was a lovely
day. We spent 3 hours cycling down some 2000 metres. I stayed near the back,
happy to sail and coast a lot of the time. During the last section, Kyle sped
up to the front of the group speeding down in each others’ slip stream whilst I
remained well and truly in the back going as fast as I could but staying far
behind – my fanatical cylist brother</div>
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and Dad wouldn’t be impressed! During the
way down we went through streams flowing off the mountain covering the road, some mini and others fairly deep. Especially when on a
bike. These gave us very wet legs and feet, not to mention our bums! The lower
we got, the hotter we got; the temperature slowly increasing until we were at
the bottom – where it was very humid with lots of mozzies.<br />
<o:p></o:p></div>
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We all piled back in
the bus to Santa Maria for a very late lunch. All our food we had on this trek
was local (similar to Colca), some nice, some a bit suspect.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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The day wasn’t over
for adventure…in the late afternoon we went white water rafting again – this
time on the Urubamba river. We were hoping it might be a little less tame than
the Rio Chilli in Arequipa..we were not disappointed! We had been informed that
it was a ‘constant grade 3’, so when Anneke started to wobble and become quite
afraid while we waited by the side of the rough river, being eaten alive
by sand flies, we confidently reassured her ‘not to worry, it won’t be that
rough, you’ll love it…’ The first 20 seconds of setting out were the most
exciting, exhilarating, frightening (and rather dangerous) experiences we have
ever had rafting…no scrap that…we have ever had full stop. As a team of mostly rookies we were utterly
battered and thrown around, ending up with the front of the raft on a huge
rock! Kyle, who was at the front was close enough to touch it, turned behind him to look <i>down</i> at the rest of us getting drenched! In a split second he honestly thought 'this is it we are all going in'. Luckily the guy opposite to Kyle jumped up on his side which stopped us from actually capsizing. At this point I had to apologise to Anneke
that I was horribly mistaken and believed in fact we were in grave danger – she
was in floods. Kyle politely called to our guide from the front – ‘er perhaps we might need to
go ashore and have a bit more practice?!’ We didn't we just buckeled up and all realised that to get through this we needed to work together as a team, and fast! The hour passed very quickly! We absolutely loved it! We had the opportunity to float down in the
river in the calmer spots before panicking when we saw rocks and the beginnings
of white water, frantically asking the nearest person to pull us in by our
life jackets. On one occasion when Frank from Hong Kong was asked by the guide to pull Clayton from Oz in he simply turned to him and said "err no" looking back and forth between them as if he had just been asked to pull him in as joke. Foruntely Kyle was standing up as he had just pulled Claytons friend in opposite and noticed Frank had frozen at the idea, after a bit of a hero moment we were all back on board and ready for the next rapids. You couldn’t wipe the smiles of our faces! It’s a peculiar thing; genuinely fearing for your life, yet enjoying yourself immensely. Anneke called it ‘an
experience never to be forgotten’ – agreed!<o:p></o:p></div>
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That night we stayed
in a very basic hostel with no electricity, cold showers, toilets that you
don’t want to know about; one bathroom was literally raining water everywhere,
paper thin walls…I saw my first cockroach of Peru..enough said really.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The next day we set
off on an 8 hour walk through the jungle. The most walking we have probably
ever done in one day. It was different to Colca – much more humid, which made
it tough, particularly on the up hill climbs. It was a stunning walk that
followed the Urubamba river the whole way. We did part of the Inca trail which
was awesome.<br />
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMPrS4voow1HaRQl_740kfgivBRLlpNE1kg4w7nN05Mve76lhY6h6NCvoxqyQXahQ0pONEorbeb6vA9Edx1TNA6r68oS3T-Mwr8ASCJunAr2bZR-hLCBwwthW8C7q5DmJfcRUVjT5zpco/s1600/Jungle+Trek+42.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMPrS4voow1HaRQl_740kfgivBRLlpNE1kg4w7nN05Mve76lhY6h6NCvoxqyQXahQ0pONEorbeb6vA9Edx1TNA6r68oS3T-Mwr8ASCJunAr2bZR-hLCBwwthW8C7q5DmJfcRUVjT5zpco/s320/Jungle+Trek+42.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a>We made some stops on
the way – one where we met a monkey (a pet). We were told to hide our
sunglasses because he would steal them otherwise. All sunglasses safe, however,
he managed to snatch a guy’s fresh bag of coca leaves and scatter them all over
the ground and also some insect repellent which we were all worried he might
drink! This monkey was a little crazy.<br />
<o:p></o:p></div>
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We also stopped at
another place where we learnt about and tasted cacao in its pure form and with
honey – chocolate mmm… We sampled the national fruit drinks; Chichimorado
(black corn and water boiled) and Maracuña (passion fruit). Jimmy then showed us
a plant that the local people use as a natural orange paint. He then proceeded
to paint all our faces with the stuff – true Inca warriors!<o:p></o:p></div>
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We met another
interesting animal here (also a family pet). It was like a huge mole crossed
with a badger.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAsUq9GZ9n3O1r6BXhvaPPMelCO-hjqZFV9wsR0NftxhzP3M_aIDdQFf53r8jlV30mnFIC3nShEyOOMApWfYrHyZ0mhbpD7k-ud25swvGDYyVGHAcMBO5G6Gt9I0nceqwPl57ifTu5ox8/s1600/Jungle+Trek+39.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAsUq9GZ9n3O1r6BXhvaPPMelCO-hjqZFV9wsR0NftxhzP3M_aIDdQFf53r8jlV30mnFIC3nShEyOOMApWfYrHyZ0mhbpD7k-ud25swvGDYyVGHAcMBO5G6Gt9I0nceqwPl57ifTu5ox8/s320/Jungle+Trek+39.jpg" width="213" /></a>There was a very cute
little girl there too, making us all melt! The Peruvian kids are all so
beautiful. They have such striking features; red chubby cheeks, big brown eyes,
always looking a bit grubby.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKTCl5e3kjRY5n4DI3iXaU9FLxUHIL_QnqDFDsvPvWI6m9IqdFy45ZdDuIuzEP_MpaDr-ZQU2BS7_9rbFMcRyQUWGFQmf4JnkPC-3e68iC3lhJJrjNk8wSPUFwDy4_5SfYoaTvkCvxOB4/s1600/Jungle+Trek+33.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKTCl5e3kjRY5n4DI3iXaU9FLxUHIL_QnqDFDsvPvWI6m9IqdFy45ZdDuIuzEP_MpaDr-ZQU2BS7_9rbFMcRyQUWGFQmf4JnkPC-3e68iC3lhJJrjNk8wSPUFwDy4_5SfYoaTvkCvxOB4/s320/Jungle+Trek+33.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Whilst on the Inca
trail at the highest point we all gave an offering to the Gods and Pacha Mama
(Mother Earth) with 3 coca leaves – symbolising the Condor, Snake and Puma.<o:p></o:p><br />
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We had a nice lunch
that day - Spag bog – ok not very
Peruvian.. and a good hour of snoozing in the hammocks! It was hard to get
going again!<br />
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Nearing the end of the
day we had to cross the river by ‘cable car’ – a rickety chair lift being
pulled by one guy with rope from the other side of the river. 2 soles each
donation!<br />
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<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-qkh4ohXQP6c65eN0gONabBW_Ht7Wr-AVUvWWVn74I6xr2a6YqoCUKst8cicp7I7V91eSaijbG_g47pqWfIhuRPf2ftl9npDrM4YweP9CXeVN8u-1rVD6S0srziBxtODzh7sIdeTdW9s/s1600/Jungle+Trek+23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtzeLhX-j4VHFCIT4Pv_mLtFTtC7tZ8PahD1Tt0Y0PHDJBGZkeMImHjfOm2it4yjUL8ASscE-kcq6vxXWhHXV5yZMu2147jNPdwZLW7UhVyrLq8t25SVsOAgJvuDP0HXkG9Do19DUSGiw/s1600/Jungle+Trek+34.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtzeLhX-j4VHFCIT4Pv_mLtFTtC7tZ8PahD1Tt0Y0PHDJBGZkeMImHjfOm2it4yjUL8ASscE-kcq6vxXWhHXV5yZMu2147jNPdwZLW7UhVyrLq8t25SVsOAgJvuDP0HXkG9Do19DUSGiw/s200/Jungle+Trek+34.jpg" width="200" /></a><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-qkh4ohXQP6c65eN0gONabBW_Ht7Wr-AVUvWWVn74I6xr2a6YqoCUKst8cicp7I7V91eSaijbG_g47pqWfIhuRPf2ftl9npDrM4YweP9CXeVN8u-1rVD6S0srziBxtODzh7sIdeTdW9s/s200/Jungle+Trek+23.jpg" width="200" /></div>
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We finished our day in
the hot springs, having a very gentle time in the deliciously warm water. The
water was crystal blue with small pebbles and stones underfoot. Alongside the hot springs was a waterfal straight from the mountain that was divided up into five smaller but still hefty waterfal showers. It was super COLD! I decided to stand underneath for as long as I could letting the water batter my tight shoulders, down my spine and knackered thighs. After probably just 5 mins (what felt like an hour) I jumped back into the hot water spring with Hannah. Who was sat perched on the mountain side that acted as one of the 4 spring walls. Bliss. Hannah supported my body while I floated, I seriously zoned out (barely conscious) while my head was coming into regular gentle contact with the rock. I felt so relaxed yet energised, bizzare sensations tingling through my skin. Slept well that night, apart from the drunk Germans lads.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Day 3 began with zip
lining in the morning to really kick off with some adrenaline! Five long zip wires across the river and between canyons. You were
harnessed in and hold on to the metal runner above. We wore thick protective gloves
and when we are nearing the end of the line you must put on the ‘brakes’ by
using a hand to press down on the wire for friction! Again, another absolutely
brilliant experience in stunning surroundings. Towards the end we got more
adventurous and went backwards and upside down! Proper Spiderman style. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaBGgtzu6JZ-2KWbz-K6fGVqh5deULaWOwtz2TR4sR9xfq9dGeEgiG9uORQbpcjFbA6cEneFN3pZH4n3TjfEyNSc7OpaoBy49_r1BzIwbn-8geE2vzH1rsB2Qln23pSKbd-TtG4zyzUIU/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-10-24+at+13.19.07.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaBGgtzu6JZ-2KWbz-K6fGVqh5deULaWOwtz2TR4sR9xfq9dGeEgiG9uORQbpcjFbA6cEneFN3pZH4n3TjfEyNSc7OpaoBy49_r1BzIwbn-8geE2vzH1rsB2Qln23pSKbd-TtG4zyzUIU/s320/Screen+Shot+2013-10-24+at+13.19.07.png" width="320" /></a><br />
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We finished with canopy walking
– I didn’t enjoy this one so much, in fact, not at all. You are at a height
walking over the tree tops – no problem as you are attached to the wires.
However, at various points you must unclip yourself to pass to the next
section. This means there are moments where you aren’t safely in – you are free
walking! Horrid, although Kyle disagrees and typically enjoyed that level of danger so instead of walking decided to see if he could run or skip steps. <o:p></o:p></div>
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From Santa Teresa we
drove to Hydroelectrica; where they generate electricity for surrounding towns
and cities. We saw an amazing waterfall where huge volumes of water was exiting
a cave, unfortunately is was definitely man made!</div>
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After lunch we got the
train to Aguas Calinetes (Machu Picchu Town). It was the first train of our
trip and we travelled in style. It was super luxurious and the view out the
windows, including the sky light windows on roof so we could see the mountains
above us, was pretty special. <o:p></o:p></div>
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That evening it was
one of our nicer meals and after being briefed about tomorrow it was early to
bed.<br />
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<br />
We were up at 4am and gone by 4.30. Our early start paid off and we were
up at Machu Picchu gate at 5.50 and probably 2 of the first 20 people out of
the 5000 that visit each day.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It was pretty foggy
and cloudy but once we had climbed up the steps and walked out of the trees and
entered the area, the clouds rolled over the hill, slowly dispersing revealing small sections of the ruins below. It was so
quiet – there was no-one walking around; it was a moment to savour. <o:p></o:p></div>
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We spotted our group
being led around by a tour guide so we joined. At that point it started raining
and unfortunately got heavier.<br />
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We ended up in a hut (which you can see in the background of the photo above) where the tour finished,
huddling to each other for warmth. Cold and wet. It was 8am and we had planned
to be there until dusk… We played eye spy and word association games in a hut on mount Machu Picchu for a good hour! Thankfully the rain stopped so we ventured out
to explore.<br />
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What a special place…the day just flew bye after this!<o:p></o:p><br />
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We snoozed for a few
hours on a quiet patch by a big Inca rock, waking up feeling refreshed and
cleansed. It is an Andean practice to head up a mountain, fall asleep and clear oneself of negative energy.<br />
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Once
awake we peered through sleep eyes, looking out to see stunning mountain's and blue skies ahead with Llamas casually grazing close by us. <o:p></o:p><br />
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The weather got better
and better and by the end of the day we were basking in glorious sunshine. I decided to get my camera and tripod together and start filming some favourite spots around Machu Picchu, I hope to cut something together soon. It was just getting more and more photographic the later it got and the lower the sun. Stunning warm glows bouncing off the Inca rock formations.<o:p></o:p><br />
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We were the last 2 tourists to leave the site! A once in a lifetime experience.<br />
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<o:p></o:p><br />
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<!--EndFragment-->Hannah and Kyle travel S.Americahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15199881368072873571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218767240550915026.post-70637998329556728952013-10-12T14:00:00.003-07:002013-10-12T14:00:29.566-07:00Arequipa and The Colca Canyon<div style="text-align: justify;">
We arrived in Arequipa after a bus journey that saw little excitement apart from Spanish Bingo at 11:30 at night; the Pervians LOVE their Bingo! Also although pitch black outside we could tell we were climbing some pretty high mountain passes. Go, brake, swing left, go, brake, swing right and so on! Not the most relaxing of journeys. But we arrived at ‘The Flying Dog Hostel’ in the centre of Arequipa after sharing a taxi with a French couple and their 4 year old son who we met in Huacachina. </div>
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(Our room is the one in the middle with the door open)<br />
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After settling in our room we ventured into town. One word… beautiful! We love this city.<br />
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Arequipa valley is surrounded by 2 snow capped mountains and 1 volcano. The Plaza de Armas (main square) has a huge Cathedral and is flanked by old colonial buildings either side and opposite. With palm trees surrounding the three-tier fountain in the middle - pretty special! The little figure at the top of the fountain is called a to-too-to-to, which is Quechua for Trumpet player. In Quechua, (one of the ancient Peruvian languages) they used to name things by how they sound. Can you guess what they call a baby…… yup…. Waa-Waa! </div>
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(Hannah with a girl in her traditional dress and her baby llama!)<br />
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Day one (Monday) we visited Santa Catalina, a 500 year old monastery that covers a whole block of the city centre. We definitely got our monies worth and spent 2.5hrs walking around absorbing the ‘city within a city’. It was so quiet with stunning little courtyards and gardens, quaint living quarters with bedrooms and stone oven kitchens. <br />
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The following days were spent exploring the city at our own pace. Many travellers tend to arrive, do the Colca Canyon and move on pretty swiftly. But we are not ‘many travellers’. Arequipa has great gastronomy at some pretty good prices. So we decided it would be a good place to settle for a little while, get to know the city and take some Spanish classes. Hannah’s ‘B’ at GCSE was a long time ago but she is doing really well! Tuesday we had a taster 1hr class then signed up for another 10 hrs throughout the week, not a lot but a good start. This still proved challenging though. It was like being at school again, classroom, teacher, brain strain and lots of scratching the head took place – I was grateful for Hannah in my ear being able to break things down for me when I looked at her with a confused expression of ‘WTF?!’ But towards the end of the week it started to pay off. <br />
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Some of the lovely food we had:<br />
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It wasn’t all eating and learning we also went white water rafting on the Rio Chilli. The water was pretty low so it wasn’t the most thrilling rafting we have done; Utah in 2008 was better. But we still hit about three class 4’s and four class 3’s, spattered with 1’s and 2’s. There was a really nice French guy who joined us on the boat who had a Go Pro on his helmet, he was happy to hand over the footage so I’ll try to get some online but can’t promise anything. Keeping up to date with the blog and photo workflow is enough to keep on top of for the moment!<br />
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After our 2/3 hr Spanish classes in the mornings we would find something to do in the afternoons (besides our Spanish homework!).</div>
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One day we visited the Museo Santuarious Andeous. Due to being students at the local language school it meant that we could gain entrance for just s/3 each instead of s/20! For what we were about to see and learn we would have happily paid the 20 – bonus! The museum was home to ‘Juanita’, a sacrifice to the mountain gods from the Inkas around 1580. During the Inka ruling they believed that natural disasters such as volcanic eruptions and earthquakes were signs that the gods were angry. To calm them and ask for forgiveness the Inka’s made sacrifices. We learnt about 3 sacrifices; 2 girls and 1 boy. Juanita; who was just 12 years old when killed is the most famous and by far the best preserved. At the end of the guide around the museum; exploring and learning about the various material offerings and artefacts discovered with her body in 1995, we were walked up to a triple layered glass cabinet which housed Juanita’s body. It is kept at -18 degree’s, a similar temperature to which she was frozen for nearly 500 years. Although very dark, at one angle you got a good look at the skin on her arm. It was just like ours, obviously with darker skin… incredible! Also a little sun burnt from when she spent 20 days exposed to the sunlight when an earthquake caused her to roll down the mountain a short distance. Amazingly she was not seriously damaged and remained in her original foetal position. Anyway, I could keep going on about various other amazing stories and tales that we have learnt about the Inka empire but there is plenty else to speak about! </div>
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<i>Hannah taking over writing as Kyle is sleeping… didn’t get a wink of shut eye on our 10hr bus journey last night. </i></div>
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We also managed to treat ourselves to the #2 restaurant in Southern Peru (according to Trip Advisor) Zig Zag. Although the recommended dish is the 3 different meats, we just couldn’t resist the steak fondue with all the trimmings. Kyle, in particular, was in heaven! When the waitress asked if we wanted another plate of meat (we had already had 1 plate each), ‘inclusivo?’ Kyle asked, ‘si’ – he couldn’t believe his luck! His grin was enormous. You can imagine how full we were…Kyle had a ‘fast day’ the next day! </div>
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Mid week we took a free walking tour (guides are student practising English and work for tips). It started down the road from our hostel. We walked through the old town, tried traditional Andean bread, visited an Alpaca workshop and saw some pretty sweet Alpacas and Llamas. Learnt about the Vicuñas, which have the finest material in the world. If you kill one by accident or on purpose you immediately receive 15 years in a Peruvian jail! To buy a 2x2ft blanket would cost you S/6000 (£1500) in Peru, imagine what it would cost in the UK!<br />
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We finished our tour here:</div>
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Last Saturday morning, we managed to push our Spanish class back an hour as we went out the night before. One bar that was pretty memorable was ‘Las Monjas’ – the nun bar! It was religious themed; waitresses dressed up as nuns with very short skirts offering us the ‘Holy Book of Drinks’! Very bizarre, especially as it is situated right next to the Santa Catalina monastery (which is still a running convent today!) There was a great rock band playing there; the guitarist was particularly good. Perfect rifts to classic songs like Guns and Roses – Sweet child of mine!<br />
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Our last afternoon in Arequipa was spent visiting the suberb of Yanahuara where we had stunning views of the city and El Misti volcano. There is a church in the small plaza and because it was Saturday, it was ‘one in - one out’ with weddings!!<br />
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We then strolled to a lovely garden restaurant to sample some typical Arequipena food. Kyle had Rocoto Relleno; stuffed pepper with meat, cheese and potatoes and I had a stuffed avocado with chicken and veg. Very tasty.<br />
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And again, there was a wedding reception happening so it was fun to people watch and listen to the loud cheesy Peruvian pop songs – a few of which we are very familiar with already! Catchy!<br />
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Some more pictures…<br />
- Santa Teresa Monastery<br />
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- The Plaza by night<br />
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<b><u>Colca Canyon/ Canyon de Colca</u></b><br />
On Sunday we woke at 2.30am to be picked up at 3 by bus to be driven to the Colca Canyon – one of the world’s deepest canyons- 3191m! We were to do a 3 day trek. We were certainly a little nervous as we are complete novices when it comes to trekking and for those of you that know both of our extensive injury histories – this was perhaps a little risky for us! Nevertheless we went for it!<br />
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It was about a 3 and a half hour journey to Chivay (the provincial capital at the head of the canyon). Here we paid the unexpectedly high price of the tourist ticket (s/70 each - £15) – a little worrying as that used up quite a bit of our cash straight away. We then stopped off in a pretty square where the local girls and woman were dancing their local dance in a circle around the central fountain.<br />
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Surrounding them were vendors selling lovely alpaca goods – me in heaven – finding it very hard to not buy lots; with such cheap prices I have to remind myself that it’s more about space in our bags than money… There were also ladies with massive eagles for photos.<br />
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Then on a little further for breakfast. The first place we had visited where Coca leaves were offered alongside the other teas and coffee. Kyle got stuck in! The leaves are supposed be help with altitude sickness and digestion.<br />
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After breakfast we trucked on further (still on the bumpy bus) to Cruz del Condor – a stunning viewpoint – unfortunately very touristy where Andean condors can be seen – alas none spotted here.<br />
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We started our trek at Cabanaconde around 10am. There were 11 of us in the group plus Luce, our guide who is originally from the little village we had breakfast at. We had a Dutch couple, an old Arequipean couple, 2 girls from Canada, 2 German guys and a German girl travelling on her own. It was ALL downhill from the top to the bottom of the canyon… ‘Easy’? I hear you say?! Downhill is actually really quite tough! Not on the lungs but on the legs and especially the knees! The older couple really struggled with this.<br />
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A long way down!!!!<br />
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Once finally at the bottom, we had a little rest and dipped our feet in the river before heading on.<br />
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A beast of a hill was waiting next where another member of our group got affected- the terrain and the hot sun was quite a test. It then flattened out through some lush greenery on the way to our evening accommodation in San Juan de Chuccho.<br />
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We tasted our first alpaca meat for lunch – went down nicely after our 7km hike! We chilled out for the rest of the day and met another smaller group staying there too – MORE Germans(!) a girl – Krista, whom we had met briefly already in our hostel in Arequipa, Oliver (aka Funny guy – absolutely hilarious!) and an Austrian couple- super fit! Our newly combined group wandered to this ‘pool’ that we had discovered earlier with perfectly crystal clear water in the forest. We decided to go for a swim, however when we got there we discovered that the water had been drained by half and definitely looked a lot less appealing with algae and other conspicuous looking things! The boys and one of the German girls however braved it whilst we all stood around and watched!<br />
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Our view!!</div>
We had more delicious local food for dinner followed by a lovely herbal tea – Muna (the plant only grows in this part of the canyon). More laughs were had around the table, particularly when the subject swung around to language – always a winner! Kyle and I seemed to be that night’s entertainment!<br />
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Our huts were very basic but all we needed and had a luxuriously late breakfast at 8am the next morning – bliss! Toffee pancakes :)<br />
This day was mixed terrain for about 6km – up, down and flat.<br />
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On the path along the way there had been a bit of a landslide which was a bit dodgy to cross!<br />
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Kyle discovered a new technique for going downhill to avoid too much pressure on the knees and the blister on his little toe – going backwards at a bit of a jog! Making people laugh on the way was an extra bonus!<br />
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The scenery was absolutely breath taking!<br />
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We also made a new friend along the way. A dog we named Jeffery! We picked him up at a place about a third of the way there and he continued with us all the way to our destination! So cute! He latched onto us when we arrived and followed us to our room and lay down in our doorway.<br />
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Our hostel, ‘Paraiso’ was situated in a beautiful oasis. It was stunning, with a swimming pool built in between two huge boulders, a lovely garden space with wonderful flowers, volleyball area, hammocks where you can laze and hear the sound of the river below; all surrounded by the canyon…ahhh…..would have loved to have stayed longer!<br />
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The afternoon was a chilled one again, resting our now very achy muscles!<br />
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<br />
More traditional food for lunch and dinner<br />
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<br />
and our after dinner tea that night was lemongrass – delicious. It was early to bed as absolutely knackered. There was no electricity in this place so we had a little candle by our bed and our head torch came in useful for the first time of the trip!<br />
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The alarm went off at 4.30am and we set off at 5.15 for our BIG final climb – back up the canyon!<br />
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Quite a few tourists opt to ride mules back up the canyon but not us.<br />
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<br />
We woke with very sore bodies so it was twice as hard to start but after a while our bodies soon warmed up.<br />
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(Luce - our guide - she does this twice a week!!)<br />
<br />
We both climbed it in just under 3 hours. It was hard graft.<br />
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Once into the climb, groups separated and it felt at times that we the only ones on the canyon.<br />
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When we finally made it to the top it was such an incredible sense of achievement.<br />
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Unfortunately though it was not over! We discovered that there was another 15 minutes to walk to breakfast! That was difficult as mentally and physically we had finished!<br />
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During breakfast, we realised to our amazement that Jeffery was there! He had walked all this way! A true mountain dog.<br />
Back on the bus…ahhhhh!! No more walking! We had various stops on the way back<br />
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and finally saw some condors which was great!<br />
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For lunch the majority of the group went to a local restaurant for the ‘menu’ – soup, segunda dish and a drink all for s/6 (£1.50). It was really popular with locals and tourists and the old waiter/owner was serving tables on his own. He was very cute; small and round with his shoulders up by his ears – he was super stressed – running all over the place, back and forth from the kitchen – providing real entertainment for us! Kyle temporally became a waiter when he helped clear the tables into the kitchen, much to the relief of the old man.<br />
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Returning back, we climbed high to just under 5000m through the bleak and very cold altiplano with spectacular views of the surrounding mountains and volcanoes.<br />
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Then, through the Reserva Nacional Salinas y Aguada Blanca where we saw the vicunas, llamas and alpacas.<br />
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We arrived back home in Arequipa very dusty and in need of showers just before 6pm – completely gone! A few of us shamefully went straight in search of a McDonalds mmmm….. we deserved it!</div>
Hannah and Kyle travel S.Americahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15199881368072873571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218767240550915026.post-81934371032262392202013-09-29T16:15:00.000-07:002013-09-29T16:15:07.147-07:00The Huacachina Oasis<br />
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Our 2 day stopover in
Lima turned into 3 days due to illness. We both came down with really bad
stomachs and I (Hannah) got a rather nasty what we think was an allergic
reaction on my skin. All a bit dramatic so we couldn’t make our bus on Tuesday
morning. We left Lima on Wednesday morning instead, unfortunately with no more
of an impression of the city than when we last left. However it was great to
meet and get to know Janice; Tim’s wife, who quickly became surrogate mum to us
both! It was the next best place to home when you're sick!! <o:p></o:p></div>
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So we travelled on… to
the Huacachina Oasis- 4.5 hrs south of Lima and 5 minutes from the city of Ica.
Huacachina is a small town in the desert that surrounds a picturesque lagoon
lined with palm trees and tired colonial buildings. All around and beyond are
mountainous sand dunes, providing a spectacular landscape. Originally this
resort was built for the Peruvian elite, but now it’s a bit of a backpacker’s
playground!<o:p></o:p></div>
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On Thursday afternoon
we took the dune buggy and sand boarding tour. Great fun! The dune buggy raced
into the desert; up, down and around the dunes – just like a rollercoaster. We
stopped off at a few points to take in the scenery.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Then came the sand
boarding. I have discovered that I am definitely getting more fearful in my old
age! The first few ‘slopes’ we went down standing, with our feet strapped on
the board- it’s much like snow boarding so Kyle was pretty good. I on the other
hand…!! I am definitely a skier! A LOT of sand in the shorts!!!</div>
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The latter slopes were
HUGE and so steep. I actually thought it was a joke… and everyone was going
down on their fronts! Nutters! Even Kyle saw this and thought that it looked
too dangerous and thought it best to go down standing up. We had heard of
various other travellers with bandages on their chins after visiting these
dunes from not exercising enough caution. </div>
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However….! When it got to the last
dune we all stood at the top in a line supporting each other, ‘This is OK
right? I mean… we can do this right!” Typically Kyle got impatient in
contemplating the idea and decided to be the first guinea pig on ‘The Daddy of
all dunes”. We all ended up speeding (and I mean SPEEDING) down on our tummies,
I was the only girl to do the whole thing as well <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span> arriving at the bottom safely much to Kyle’s
relief due to my track record with these kind of adventures! So exhilarating and
bloody frightening!<o:p></o:p></div>
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We had read in Lonely
Planet about a great Cornwelian-run veggie kitchen called Casa de Bamboo that
did some real culinary rarities. Discovering it was literally just over the
road from our hostel we ended up visiting 3 times! We fell in love a little
bit. We had Thai red curry – well worth the suffering afterwards, banoffee pie,
falafel and chocolate fudge brownie…mmmmmmmm. We were thoroughly entertained by
Rose, the owner’s very sweet 2 year old and the resident kitten!<o:p></o:p></div>
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We hiked up a nearby
dune for sunset one evening. For every 2 steps forward the sand dragged us 1
step back! Exhausting! I suppose it’s training for our more serious hiking in
the Colca Canyon and for Machu Picchu. <o:p></o:p></div>
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We made it!<o:p></o:p></div>
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This morning
(Saturday), we got up early and went on a tour to visit the Ballestas Islands.
Nicknamed ‘the poor man’s Galapagos’, these offshore islands have a ton of
wildlife. Thanks to Kyle’s research we sat on the left hand side of the boat;
the much better side for viewing as the boat just goes around one way! We
cruised around the islands’ arches and caves and saw sea lions and penguins,
boobies(!), pelicans and other types of birds in thousand strong colonies. <o:p></o:p></div>
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We spent the rest of
our time relaxing by pool and exploring town and discussing our tummy movements
on an hourly basis… exciting stuff eh! <o:p></o:p></div>
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This evening it’s a 12
hour night bus further south to Arequipa. We are seriously talking about taking
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<!--EndFragment-->Hannah and Kyle travel S.Americahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15199881368072873571noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218767240550915026.post-9037630072848292812013-09-23T13:57:00.002-07:002013-09-29T16:19:03.508-07:00Paradise at 'Misfits'<span lang=""></span><br />
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<span lang="">Writing this on the return bus to Lima from Mancora… it’s sunset and we have the panoramic view at the front top deck again! It’s beautiful... but as we are discovering there is a downside to having the best viewing seat in the house… we can see it all on the roads, sometimes an even better view of the road than the driver, especially on the hills! When the sun goes down it gets pretty scary, hurtling along straight roads through the pitch black with corners arriving unbeknown to us, climbing canyons and winding into them. All the time knowing that this is nothing but a small test, the true test will be heading to Cuzco some 3300 meter high and travelling through Bolivian mountians! This is nothing. Parents reading this, relax, take a deep breath it’ll all be fine ;)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So Mancora continues…. with a very different pace!</span></div>
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We spent our first few days at ‘MISFITS’ simply slipping into the fold and adopting the chilled out vibe of the place. Getting to know the two guys who run it, Rodrigo originally from Lisbon and his trusty sidekick Adam from Norwich. They found each other on the travel circuit a few years back and have wound up creating, developing and managing (a loose use of the word ‘managing’) this hostel come odd dog sanctuary. These are the true Misfits of the place!<b><span style="color: red;"> </span></b>Rodrigo pretty much dislikes them all apart from ‘ma main man’ Oli! Resident Evil has a tumour which is so advanced it is literally escaping through his right leg opening it up for full viewing. Not nice. One evening Hannah (who is obviously not a fan already) accidentally fell on him with her stool…. Rodrigo instantly bursts out laughing and applauding! While poor Hannah is feeling pretty awful and a bit shook up, but only because we didn’t have the rabies jab. Hannah is still here fit and healthy so obviously didn’t catch anything!</div>
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‘Oli’ who belongs to Rodrigo, Baby Killer aka BK (got her name for obvious reasons), Pilado aka Resident Evil (a Peruvian breed, designed for the jungle not the beach) and Grandma who is really quite sweet. However, you do find her wandering around forgetting what she’s doing, attempting to dig at the sand with little effort. You can see she vaguely remembers this action from her youth as a means to making her bed at night in the still warm sand! Then there is Hummus a fun loving two year old who floats between various hostels and would join us as we walk to town down the beach in the evening!</div>
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The Misfit reception, bar, kitchen and chillout hut</div>
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We met an English couple that had been staying for about 4 nights before us, Rhea and Robbie from Bristol. After chatting for a little while in the day we discovered that we all have quite a bit in common. Robbie was starting out as a professional photographer and very interested in film, while Rhea did ballet for about 15 years, who enjoys Pilates and became Yoga buddies with Hannah at the Yoga retreat ‘Chakra’ 5 minutes walk down the beach, ‘inhallaaadoo’ ‘exhallaaadoo’. A little later on in the evening it emerged that at unbelievably the two of them attended ‘Laines Summer School’ as kids and Rhea’s parents may even have a photo of Hannah and Rhea on their mantle piece at home… yup… small world! </div>
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"Chakra"</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1wXkhj2qe3CJd_Rg-Mk7TabOdJ1BSnldn6T5swjn4vfCMOJAgcCrtoswWypOTlx6bZqUQ9meXwF6kcBVgWJHMSUZ2McZVLtqDZIkoT1qeE_-C9fyG95EMLkUwLJxn6TSORfHNQTQXscc/s1600/Mancora+Wk2+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1wXkhj2qe3CJd_Rg-Mk7TabOdJ1BSnldn6T5swjn4vfCMOJAgcCrtoswWypOTlx6bZqUQ9meXwF6kcBVgWJHMSUZ2McZVLtqDZIkoT1qeE_-C9fyG95EMLkUwLJxn6TSORfHNQTQXscc/s320/Mancora+Wk2+5.jpg" width="320" /></a>Robbie was a brilliant chef and worked in a Michelin Star restaurant for about 6 months back home. It did not take long for Rodrigo to put his guests to good use. I got the onions to chop and wept like a baby! We had an excellent BBQ that night with Adam stirring up some mean Mango Sours. Pisco Sours are a traditional Peruvian cocktail, we are still yet to have a straight up Pisco but have so far had passion fruit and mango ones.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDmuGn0tv3hu6WAa2gzs7YhPt4hqMrGh2BKrwPPOk1EN6lZo-eshsH81BRlvrUw3wL_2NLJBJpGhlR50uRuqjjbmPEoXfNn7cwBabam4kJT4J765oJF0nPp1fimKFMaXUNhfz4Fnczf8g/s1600/Mancora+Wk2+9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDmuGn0tv3hu6WAa2gzs7YhPt4hqMrGh2BKrwPPOk1EN6lZo-eshsH81BRlvrUw3wL_2NLJBJpGhlR50uRuqjjbmPEoXfNn7cwBabam4kJT4J765oJF0nPp1fimKFMaXUNhfz4Fnczf8g/s320/Mancora+Wk2+9.jpg" width="320" /></a>This is Debbie, a Swiss girl full of life and stories to share who arrived at Misfits 6 weeks ago and has become a part of the family. She is the only one who cares for Pilado, rubbing moisturiser and sun cream onto his head every day. In this photo she is giving Hannah and I an interactive update on the previous two series of "Game of Thrones" before we start series 3 which we got from an Ozzie couple that night. Times have changed since I last went travelling. So much more technology on the road with people trading series, films and music as they go, bizzare... but cool! </div>
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Waking up at Misfits was a joy; open the balcony door, head back to bed and look out over the blue ocean with waves crashing and birds darting into the sea for the morning catch. We would spend the days sunbathing, reading, drinking, talking about ‘Game of Thrones’ extensively and playing in the waves! Hannah thinks I am just a big water baby; I am hooked on body surfing. </div>
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She managed to catch this "Lord of the Waves" Game of Thrones inspired photo.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizf4RY-Ge3ZWb3DhFhDdhMt52ey3RV5eV_o2HCv4BTnxjzDBlLtF7-SHoMUh5d5kYf68gW_IJIsh4B-4S3dRVxrQPMNsuMbUSm9nztV2ROfWQWD_6QteVQowYXEtlCv3yi3huFDL9kufQ/s1600/Mancora+Wk2+11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizf4RY-Ge3ZWb3DhFhDdhMt52ey3RV5eV_o2HCv4BTnxjzDBlLtF7-SHoMUh5d5kYf68gW_IJIsh4B-4S3dRVxrQPMNsuMbUSm9nztV2ROfWQWD_6QteVQowYXEtlCv3yi3huFDL9kufQ/s320/Mancora+Wk2+11.jpg" width="320" /></a>We would play together loosing track of time and slowly getting washed further down the beach until Hannah felt suitably battered by the waves. I would tend to stay in a bit longer until I felt the same or like I had ‘pushed’ it enough. There was one particular wave, it was so big that while riding it on my front and getting closer to the shore I looked down as if looking off a cliff head first and saw NO water underneath me. The wave had sucked up all that the shore had to offer! It was a pretty split second decision for me, either keep riding and eventually hit the sandy deck at least 6-7ft below… or bail. I chose the latter and the only way off was to tumble forward! Fortunately the wave was big enough to catch me half way down as I topple of the top, consume and proceed to tumble me for what felt like ages in the undercurrent that followed. What was also lovely about being in the sea was that we could get so close to the Pelicans and other birds feeding, watching them fly and glide just inches off the water right by you and sometimes over you was breathtaking. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPXzZF_ix2qvV4tLTyBpRvxMPiWWStsLFC10r3u44RAcHQNi1ZCRo6hx4WY3o615sWz43mS0EdHC3oHzHZ7rkWxdOkcBDn14UMBPY6DbtBRrq7hjqYTZZdcUQ_amk1z3XTnsEMQ1EncAs/s1600/Mancora+Wk2+14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPXzZF_ix2qvV4tLTyBpRvxMPiWWStsLFC10r3u44RAcHQNi1ZCRo6hx4WY3o615sWz43mS0EdHC3oHzHZ7rkWxdOkcBDn14UMBPY6DbtBRrq7hjqYTZZdcUQ_amk1z3XTnsEMQ1EncAs/s320/Mancora+Wk2+14.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Last Thursday (19th) was a full moon. This was our best night of the whole trip so far. All other guests had left the hostel that day so it was just the 4 of us with the dogs. We spent the night chilling round the table swapping stories, laughing and somehow reverting back to the in depth and never underestimated topic of ‘CAKE’, you won’t need two guesses to know who was VERY excited about this! </span><span style="font-size: large;">By the time it came round to dinner we couldn’t be bothered to go out, Adam and Rodrigo hastily gave up on the plan to cook after we mentioned we wanted to try a ‘Burger Beach’ burger, this place looks just like Burger King and would be a hilarious copyright infringement lawsuit, if worth it. What came next was a simple but surreal and epic experience. EVERYTHING and ANYTHING can be ordered and delivered by TukTuk driver. Rodrigo took our order like a proper waiter, called one of his regular couriers (who was also our security guard for the night because of the full moon party next door) and added a special on the end! YES CAKE from a favourite bakery in town. Say no more! </span><span style="font-size: large;">The pictures describe it all!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfAo4S6TbgyL9_b9KE5Bw52-hncZWDEMEKL-DDOB_IEs3856bRh946aYkBu7VbCGBlW7hUBVRAbr0RShCYxK6o2qaIecy-5DsNfPKMCoOQEQFRS3gpXdyvEwFujgX24JAuEFVNhVDCWN4/s1600/Mancora+Wk2+15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfAo4S6TbgyL9_b9KE5Bw52-hncZWDEMEKL-DDOB_IEs3856bRh946aYkBu7VbCGBlW7hUBVRAbr0RShCYxK6o2qaIecy-5DsNfPKMCoOQEQFRS3gpXdyvEwFujgX24JAuEFVNhVDCWN4/s320/Mancora+Wk2+15.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The rest of the night was spent drinking, falling off chairs and everyone having a right old laugh at me trying to speak Spanish, months of the year, starting with August… obviously! Confusing them with numbers, which naturally led to more comedy as I have officially created the coolest number ever! "Beyonce"… viente and once… not sure how but it just came out and stuck for the rest of the night. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNfxLjfHIczfPVi5wujVaJxhwYC81-4mnk5ol_249AD_MSqP8X1H-be6-XtiFKUjQGkUgkk4rVpxI13VrM-bkDItN0ubkfRtCUoaSz9iTxqiwEhZKKqG5Z6S5dSjEaAchfZrHfNj9j6XA/s1600/Mancora+Wk2+13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNfxLjfHIczfPVi5wujVaJxhwYC81-4mnk5ol_249AD_MSqP8X1H-be6-XtiFKUjQGkUgkk4rVpxI13VrM-bkDItN0ubkfRtCUoaSz9iTxqiwEhZKKqG5Z6S5dSjEaAchfZrHfNj9j6XA/s320/Mancora+Wk2+13.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Rodrigo with ´The Monster´which he obviously shared with Oli!</div>
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At around 11:30 there was a power cut. Next doors party sound system went off (luckily it was still early and didn’t stop people coming later on). We went to investigate, walking out to the beach. Suddenly we were both bowled over; the tide was all the way out giving the beach a new found depth. The moon was bright so we could see all way up into the distance. For the first time we saw Mancora with no lights and no sound apart from the waves. Tranquil is the only word to describe it. We took a longer walk than usual to get down to the water and it was really warm. We waded in a bit further and were tempted with a midnight swim but the security guard was elsewhere and the beach is not the safest place at night so decided against it. It was stunning nevertheless. It’s like someone had decided enough is enough let’s cut the towns power for 15-20mins and let everyone appreciate the full moon, as it should be. Later Adam, Hannah and I went to check out the party next door. It wasn’t really our scene and we left after around half an hour of bopping around to some pretty lame music. The next day it was really nice to hear from Rodrigo that he had one of the most unexpectedly enjoyable nights he had had at Misfits, going to bed with aching jaws from all the grinning.</div>
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On our last day (Saturday) Adam took us into town with a few Ozzies that arrived the day before to have some of the finest Ceviche in town at the market. As some of you may know we are not big fans of fish, especially raw fish… but this was delicious! You can see below it is a small’ish plate but you don’t need a lot, with all the flavour and fresh ingredients including coriander, chilli and lime it was muy rico! Not bad for only s/3 each (66p).</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi5Fc1bpJrNsJJP8xbQfYsA2EvOh9P6Lr9eTx8Q7t0hdYmGR1kJlV-7LiQ5T7VrWw-4nEvVSQvvkNeO7DS-3Ni4RkT0IKjeAtPOkwpS9jhTFMmWkE304LrATzfXVMZYjXB7qforZKj1h4/s1600/Mancora+Wk2+18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi5Fc1bpJrNsJJP8xbQfYsA2EvOh9P6Lr9eTx8Q7t0hdYmGR1kJlV-7LiQ5T7VrWw-4nEvVSQvvkNeO7DS-3Ni4RkT0IKjeAtPOkwpS9jhTFMmWkE304LrATzfXVMZYjXB7qforZKj1h4/s320/Mancora+Wk2+18.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Ps. After finishing this blog off in Lima and it is now official… Hannah’s body does not agree with Ceviche. For the second time after eating it she is ‘not a healthy bunny’!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU5SEt2kidm3Ka-go2_2Za6POty6LXdm9grPWSpVfRf-hjSuqTQAVBosj-5eoOXvjPF8uYhAPOsmGV2jEypVPhwarDCu7Puv4AfJRJ8B3zW6WmK7WmYyIUsJQIu51pwvCSUdP186aEiyM/s1600/Photo+on+23-09-2013+at+13.18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU5SEt2kidm3Ka-go2_2Za6POty6LXdm9grPWSpVfRf-hjSuqTQAVBosj-5eoOXvjPF8uYhAPOsmGV2jEypVPhwarDCu7Puv4AfJRJ8B3zW6WmK7WmYyIUsJQIu51pwvCSUdP186aEiyM/s320/Photo+on+23-09-2013+at+13.18.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Pps. (Hannah typing 4 hrs later)… seems that the Ceviche has caught up with Kyle now! Eurgh!!</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09652572064170034371noreply@blogger.com0Lima, Perú-12.0478158 -77.062202800000023-12.1099298 -77.142883800000021 -11.985701800000001 -76.981521800000024tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218767240550915026.post-63323549918437117382013-09-16T11:38:00.001-07:002013-09-16T11:38:58.716-07:00Mancora....week 2!!!So again, we have
changed our plan! It’s Monday and we are still in sunny Mancora!! We aren’t
ready to leave!!!<br />
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Yesterday we left the
party hostel – 6 nights was enough! No more pounding music at all hours and
staff trying to get us to do ‘beer frisbee’ or ‘beer ping pong’ or ‘beer
bingo’!!!! Ahhhh! Great fun but no more.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQfvMeDswUr1KY4OG5M1t8fAn2MqOGQCYlPYvjS9iWt2EG81_PgRJKpAfyGEmKkLYzHa9I1eZvUsxAZJ4l6xIQ-7hECBAYvbezC5T7C7jBK4zlwiwFkorbgRqD8ZcLorJ_ccn-FyQ4blU/s1600/Mancora+Wk1+9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQfvMeDswUr1KY4OG5M1t8fAn2MqOGQCYlPYvjS9iWt2EG81_PgRJKpAfyGEmKkLYzHa9I1eZvUsxAZJ4l6xIQ-7hECBAYvbezC5T7C7jBK4zlwiwFkorbgRqD8ZcLorJ_ccn-FyQ4blU/s320/Mancora+Wk1+9.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
We headed up the beach (by foot) about 20 minutes – check out us travellers!!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4NhN0AodU0w2QwYsD7R-7jaH5lDFw1R0pO1cDj2yNZeX-_aRoApca22l33tOEzVm1wJt4CsFz9zuDDRm8bsVdsh0RopEtubNpPZyt23nV8dyGpIMNTQ0_guXfNkMy7wfIPfehTwd5gQI/s1600/Mancora+Wk1+10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4NhN0AodU0w2QwYsD7R-7jaH5lDFw1R0pO1cDj2yNZeX-_aRoApca22l33tOEzVm1wJt4CsFz9zuDDRm8bsVdsh0RopEtubNpPZyt23nV8dyGpIMNTQ0_guXfNkMy7wfIPfehTwd5gQI/s320/Mancora+Wk1+10.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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…to an amazing little
hostel called Misfits. An oasis of calm on the beach with 4 little wooden huts
on stilts. Lovely, friendly people. Rodrigo, the Portuguese owner is a
character – welcoming, super chilled and utterly trusting! When we arrived, he
was lazying by the little bar and just pointed us to the blue house – ‘The blue one is yours, sorry I can’t be bothered to get up!’ Kyle later, went down to check
if he needed to see our passports or visas etc to check in – ‘Nah! Don’t worry about it!’
We were instructed to make ourselves at home. Noone ‘works’ behind the bar so
you just help yourself to whatever you want and make a note for him! Breakfast
included. I am getting very fond of jam sandwiches!v<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnmRYZ-_YO1ytWyOPZ6HG_x7m7Jk6yfmA1eKWHab-veWTb1U7dAcNKgT_k8txrFQPUZx7XrC2sfBNEQpYTeYpVsWDGH2rtbhrPSy5tKgRtMrtnplfsIpVB3aYelHppp-jWJuoFUoWNys0/s1600/Mancora+Wk1+1+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnmRYZ-_YO1ytWyOPZ6HG_x7m7Jk6yfmA1eKWHab-veWTb1U7dAcNKgT_k8txrFQPUZx7XrC2sfBNEQpYTeYpVsWDGH2rtbhrPSy5tKgRtMrtnplfsIpVB3aYelHppp-jWJuoFUoWNys0/s320/Mancora+Wk1+1+(1).jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXvGC1aI2OO1FW1LBGqqQyeYqmcnype3YBvcgnyLfIG_0OFEbSDkEJxgEqFW97GAP69n8k3KBC1oxgWzSdFUOdZ3lChe4iMxWkhwZ2Ej04D1Johf48vnK1gJgm9WvpCLeK8Q-OMVYnmjY/s1600/Mancora+Wk1+11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXvGC1aI2OO1FW1LBGqqQyeYqmcnype3YBvcgnyLfIG_0OFEbSDkEJxgEqFW97GAP69n8k3KBC1oxgWzSdFUOdZ3lChe4iMxWkhwZ2Ej04D1Johf48vnK1gJgm9WvpCLeK8Q-OMVYnmjY/s320/Mancora+Wk1+11.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The other day we
booked a bus for Wednesday night to travel 9 hours south to Trujillo – a few
days stop before back to Lima (for a quick hello to Tim and his partner Janice). Again
– we are thinking of changing our plan!!!! We love it so much and this place is
in demand; Rodrigo had already preliminary book us an extra couple of nights
without asking… he already knows the kind of people we are and that we won’t
want to leave after just 3 nights…. PERFECTO… There is a full moon party on
Thursday night as well. I think we will stay till Saturday and catch the bus
straight back to LIMA. Trujillo does have some great things to see but at this
point in the journey the beach is just to tempting as we will not be close to
Sun or Sand, or this heat until Colombia after Christmas… Ahh This will be a
challenge for Kyle! But hey we have changed our minds this many times already
who knows. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Oh also – Kyle is now
‘Carlos’! – easier for the locals. Some of you may remember Carlos once attempted to give himself the nickname 'Carlos El Capitano', Laban peps you can imagine how happy he is with his new name. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8m6jA29lomOL4GuvWWcRoki-bNvd3EACnngVzNn1LPGod8AaAaAf1gVqSoGtZLpYV_QcL8QBlphf9PigtCvlmjIiNUno2qFSryKYcTvH31ZZZBn2H0JH4XtWneKYtwz4YZVzMwzNRSFw/s1600/Mancora+Wk1+2+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8m6jA29lomOL4GuvWWcRoki-bNvd3EACnngVzNn1LPGod8AaAaAf1gVqSoGtZLpYV_QcL8QBlphf9PigtCvlmjIiNUno2qFSryKYcTvH31ZZZBn2H0JH4XtWneKYtwz4YZVzMwzNRSFw/s320/Mancora+Wk1+2+(1).jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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For now we will leave you with the Misfit Channel! </div>
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<!--EndFragment-->Hannah and Kyle travel S.Americahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15199881368072873571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218767240550915026.post-64922653880981467072013-09-12T13:34:00.001-07:002013-09-16T11:16:22.536-07:00Lima to Mancora<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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We spent Wednesday –
Sunday in Lima. Many travellers are quick to move on when they get to Lima and
just use it as a quick stop over in between long bus journeys etc. It was nice
for us to take a bit longer though; giving us a chance to mentally settle and
begin to adjust into our new way of living.</div>
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It was wonderful to
have such a lovely base at Tim’s. His apartment is one of a kind! The ground
floor is communal and Tim calls it ‘the museum’!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZF8IwvPPUISxkl1fhNEbWMHsJpNayHZtonoXqoO5-d6dIcTHQG7R6vKGvzL5omHZDmrd415qKYlu2MQEg33IbWbKjzgyAZQYmoBzUbF5ATnNqgU9eQy1FtSnz6PgDtlT9qdP4QpQ10sg/s1600/Tim+sitting+room.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZF8IwvPPUISxkl1fhNEbWMHsJpNayHZtonoXqoO5-d6dIcTHQG7R6vKGvzL5omHZDmrd415qKYlu2MQEg33IbWbKjzgyAZQYmoBzUbF5ATnNqgU9eQy1FtSnz6PgDtlT9qdP4QpQ10sg/s320/Tim+sitting+room.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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His flat is furnished with beautiful antiques and tiffany
lamps! Among the paintings on the walls are his own beautiful charcoal life
drawings from a weekly class that he goes to. We had a few great dinners cooked
outside on his kitchen balcony! <o:p></o:p></div>
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We spent our days
exploring just the districts of Barranco and Miraflores. Our taxi drive from
the airport exposed a lot of Lima to us; very run down, lots of unfinished
buildings and crumbling roads and pavements. We didn’t feel inclined to explore
this anymore.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Peru is such a vast
country, yet one third of the population live in Lima. We were struck at how
rich some parts of Miraflores and Barranco were and we didn’t really get an
idea of the extreme poverty until we were leaving Lima and passing so many
shanty towns on the outskirts and on the hills. It was shocking. <o:p></o:p><br />
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<i>This photo was taken on the roof of Tim's apartment looking east away from the Pacific - </i><br />
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Lima is never silent!!
There is the constant noise of car horns! You can’t go 5 seconds without not hearing
one. The car alarms – that seem to be very sensitive! – are a complete
nightmare! The buses are fascinating –
there are the main buses as well as the new Metropolitana bendy buses which
have a dedicated road and terminals in the middle of the highway. There are
also the ‘Collective’ buses, these are unofficial small vans that cram everyone
and anyone in, speeding round the city touting for passengers at every
opportunity. There are various different ‘organisations’ all competing with
each other so competition is rife… they are run by the Lima mafia! We
unsurprisingly decided not to use these and generally took taxi’s as they are
pretty cheap. 6 Peruvian soles (1.50p) for a 15min journey. <o:p></o:p><br />
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After 4 and a half
days we were more than ready to leave the cold fog of Lima for some much craved
sun, sea and sand. So we completely changed our plan (of travelling south) and
opted for the 18 hour bus ride north(!!) to Mancora; Peru’s principle beach
resort.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Bus travel is huge in
South America; with minimal and expensive train lines and pricey domestic
flights; buses are the common mode of transport. Considering Kyle’s phobia of
buses since his death rides in Thailand(!), we opted to travel with Cruz Del
Sur- the best bus company in S America! It is the most expensive – but not by a
lot. (We only paid 30 pounds each!) Our seats were quite luxurious and reclined
to 140 degrees – a big selling point. We sat right at the front and it was
brilliant to have such a great view. Driving the Panamerican Highway north with
the Pacific Ocean on our left with a beautiful sunset and huge sand dunes on
the right. Our first chance to see the Peruvian country side … we got really
excited!!<br />
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We got to Mancora on
Monday morning. Getting off the bus and collecting our bags was stressful!! We
were greeted by a sea of tok-tok taxi drivers hassling us like crazy for business.
It was like a swarm of birds on us! We could hardly think. We didn’t realise
that we needed our bus tickets to collect our bags so we had to go through our
daypacks in front of all these men that were practically on us! Other
passengers (that were tourists) were getting stressed with it too. A rather
agitated American guy was shouting for his wife ‘JESSICA!’ – we later
befriended them – Matt and Jessica – and it became a big joke at how stressed
out we got!! – particularly Matt – who the locals latched onto and decided to
taunt! Once we found our ticket (it was at the bottom of my (Hannah’s) bag – I
had told Kyle it was in his opps! Kyle shouted out to the crowd ‘Un soles – who
will get us to Loki hostel for un soles?!’ (This is about 25p) Everyone shouting
‘mi, mi, mi’, one guy even said ‘for free, for free!!!’ – we declined his
offer-something not quite right there!! Our bags were flung onto the back of a
tok-tok and we hopped on – me gripping onto our bags on the back, paranoid that
someone would grab them.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Loki Hostel is the
party hostel of Mancora. Right by the beach, complete with pool and big bar.
Perfect!<br />
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<br />
We have had late nights, meeting, partying and making friends with
people from France, Columbia, Chile, America and Germany.<br />
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<i>Matt and Jessica</i></div>
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Eating the local food has been fun, Kyle loves the Pollo. Neither of us are
fish people (particularly Kyle) but we are pushing ourselves and trying the
ceviche – the local delicacy; raw fish - which is actually quite yummy! The set
menus in the local restaurants are just 10 soles (2.50 pounds) for a starter and
main. Our Spanish is slowly
improving and our confidence gradually increasing – this will take time!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Yesterday we hired
surf boards with Matt, Jessica and Nicholas (from Colombia). Kyle getting into the wet
suit was the funniest thing ever, entering through the arm hole!!! The waves weren’t that great and I didn’t
do very well but Kyle got up a few times – bastard!<o:p></o:p><br />
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<i>(This isn't Kyle!)</i></div>
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We are planning to
leave around Sunday and go back south. We were tempted to dip into Ecqador as
we are so close but we are limited with time as the longer we spend up here,
the worse the weather gets for Machu Picchu and Bolivia…<o:p></o:p></div>
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Time to hit the beach…<o:p></o:p><br />
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<i>A cute little Peruvian boy Kyle made friends with</i></div>
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<!--EndFragment-->Hannah and Kyle travel S.Americahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15199881368072873571noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218767240550915026.post-43076706319542443692013-09-05T06:13:00.001-07:002013-09-05T06:13:57.101-07:00Blog Entry 3rd Sept '13<br />
<br />
We are both currently having a cheeky Starbucks in Madrid airport waiting for our connecting flight to Lima! 15 minutes of free Wifi... get writing Kyle!<br />
<br />
What can we say, the last 4-6 weeks have been the craziest, hardest but most exciting times of our lives. WE ARE SHATTERED. Sorting work commitments and tying everything up, projects/client/studios etc, along with the huge task of packing our belongings up and moving out of our house at Westdown Road, 3 years has gone very quick and we had grown very found of our little home. Leaving our amazing next door neighbours Jim and Shona (which was harder than we thought, especially Miss Miggins our surrogate cat). Suddenly it was my birthday and Mum decides to jump out of a plane (luckily with someone on her back with a parachute) in the morning followed by a lovely family BBQ. No hangover.. yippy... ready to party hard for our leaving doo in Kent. What a blinding day and perfect evening for it at my brother Hayes (The Alkins) Wood. We had a great turnout of family and friends, old and new! From St.Bede's lot, Bodiam Manor,Tormead and Homewood.<br />
<br />
So back to today? After a pretty emotional goodbye to our parents we set off to find our check in desk... YUP an hour early!! Is it obvious we can't wait to get away.ÿSo far all has gone smoothly :-) A speedy 2 hour flight to Madrid and here we are - about to embark on a 10 hr (ish) flight to Lima, Peru. Absolutely no drug smuggling for us! The 15 mins free net has well and truly run out, Hannah and I have passed this back between each other a few times so by the time we get to some working internet again to post this we will hopefully be in Lima. This whole blog writing business is going to take a little getting used to, bare with us promise it is not all going to be full of rubbish rambling. Wasting free net while actually writing it? not a clever use of time! ops. Anyway! <br />
<br />
We are feeling so excited for what the future holds while also a little bit funny in the tummy thinking of all we have left behind. We still haven't decided whether to head 18hrs north of Lima to find some lovely beaches near Mancora and just sit and start adjusting to the new pace of life. Hashing out a bit more of a rough plan for the next few months making our way to Buenos Aires for Christmas.<br />
Well its nearly time to board the plane and begin that final leg of the journey to our first stop? and officially leave Europe!<br />
<br />
Now I am editing this post while on the plane 1000's of feet above Spain. Amazing how times have changed since last time I went travelling in 2006 aged 19, where in contrast I was preceding to get as pissed as possible on free in flight booze scribbling random thoughts in my journal, I am now typing away on a tiny Macbook Air with a bottle of water and sleeping girly next to me.<br />
Right! I am rambling!<br />
<br />
Adios<br />
<br />
Carlos El Capitano and a sleepy Hannah<br />
<br />
Ps. Finally, some working internet to post this blog! It is now 7:47 on Thursday morning in Lima. We have arrived with Tim Saville, a very close (surrogate brother) of my Mum?s who is an art teacher here in Lima. We have a lovely room on the top floor of an apartment block looking out over the busy Barranco (artisan) District. This will be our first full day in Lima, so we are heading out in a few hours to begin the exploration!Hannah and Kyle travel S.Americahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15199881368072873571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5218767240550915026.post-22215161300467499112013-07-31T09:24:00.000-07:002013-07-31T09:26:32.626-07:00This is my first ever 'blog'... I hope it works...hence why I am giving myself the practice 1 month before we fly off on our big adventure...<br />
Not much to say that's of interest as we are still living our normal lives in Catford.<br />
Off to buy backpacks tomorrow, jabs - some done, some more to go, joint bank account set up (gulp)...<br />
Anyway enough for now I think..<br />
I better practice uploading a picture I suppose...which one to choose...<br />
Bye bye, Hannah x<br />
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Hannah and Kyle travel S.Americahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15199881368072873571noreply@blogger.com0