SianAndDave

Wine and Whales

2008-11-02T02:22:00.005Z

20 hours on a bus and we arrived to Mendoza, one of Argentinas largest wine producing regions. We never actually saw the city because we were recovering from the previous night but the nearby village of Maipu (pronounced 'my poo' teehee...) provided us with an enjoyable days cycling and wine tasting. Flat treelined streets made for easy cycling and the locals are very tolerant of wobbling gringos making their way home in the afternoon (We didn't follow the swirl and spit rule of wine tasting). The day ended with the hospitality of 'Mr Hugo', the local bike rental man who enjoys spending the evening giving out lots of free wine and chatting to the tourists. What a lovely man!

We were sick of long buses after the 20 hour stint so decided against going further south and instead cut across the country to Puerto Madryn, a small seaside town with a Welsh heritage. its been a lovely few days of paddling in the sea, picnics in the sand dunes and eating chips from a paper cone as we walk the promenade. It's coming into spring here so the weather has been scorching, altogether charming!

The absolute highlight of our time here was the whale watching trip we took yesterday. This small corner of Argentina is home of the 'Southern Right whale'. They were named because their natural curiosity of boats and tendency to float once dead made them the 'right' whales to harpoon back in the golden days of whale fishery. We saw a mother and calf and a group of 5 whales mating (Males help each other chase the female, they then take turns and last one in's the winner! Their equipment can reach 2.5 metres in length... according to our guide "because they don't have hands and they're sliding around in the water, size matters"). Fascinating.
Another whale then swam right up to the boat and underneath it which really made the day. You can see Sian in the bright blue cardigan front right side of the boat.

Today we visited the Trelew dinosaur museum, loads of full reconstructed skeletons and an actual 130 million year old fossilised femur that you can touch! Only in South America...

Next stop is Buenos Aires for 9 days of debauchery and the end of our amazing year... very sad.

We're meeting up with a gang for drinks on Saturday 15th November. Tables booked in the Porterhouse on Nassau St for 8 or 9pm. All welcome to join us.

See you then folks!

S and D

Don´t cry for us

2008-10-24T01:19:00.005+01:00

We have now entered the final phase - 3 weeks to go! We´ve left Bolivia behind and now in Argentina. Spending a lot of time together... some might say too much judging from the photo below.

Dave spent a day in the working silver mines of Potosi. We were taken first to the miners market where we bought kits containing a stick of dynamite, plastic explosive and a fuse for 1.80 euro, some as presents for the miners and some for ourselves to blow up for the fun of it. We also bought presents of drink, cigarettes and coca leaves.

We spent about 2 hours walking around the cramped dusty mines as the working miners hurryed past with cart loads of ore in the dusty rarified air (we were at 4800m). We wore dust masks but the miners didn´t because they said it impeded their breathing! It´s a co-operative mine where the miners work for themselves in small groups. We met one family group who worked with just a hammer and chisel to make holes to insert the dynamite and then carry out the ore by hand just like they have been doing for the last 400 years.

Down one passageway we made a ball with 2 sticks of dinimite, the plastic explosive and lit the fuse and ran..... 2 minutes later we heard the bang and the rush of air - real safe!

We continued our journey south through Bolivia to Uyuni and the Salt Flats. An amazing pre-historic salt lake that has dried up and left behind 10,582 square km of dead flat salt. At 3,600m above sea level its a realy striking place. The pratical upshot of having miles of plain landscape is it allows you to take some interesting perspective photos. We spent an hour taking photos, but we could have spent 5 hours, with all the props we could gather; rubix cube, toy soldiers, beer bottles, bananas etc. It was a 3 day trip with an insane amount of driving that took in sights from one of the dryest place on earth; rocks etched into interesting shapes by the sandy wind, volcanoes and geysers, bright blue skies over lakes filled with pink flamingos (I am informed by the David Attenborough watching Chris Dowley that they are pink because of their diet of pink shrimp).

We slept on beds of salt in a house constructed out of salt blocks. Swam in balmy thermal water, after which my hair promptly froze! (Sian took the lazy option and stayed dressed on the sidelines in her ski gear). Looked at blue lakes, red lakes and green lakes. All and all a great trip but far too many miles of drving in a Land Cruiser to see all these sights.

Hi Ho Silver. We did a days cowboying (and cowgirling) in Tupiza. "Will there be riding helmets provided?" "Yes, yes, there´ll be hats", turned out to be cowboy hats, looked better and luckily their crash protection wasn´t put to the test. We walked, trotted, cantered and even galloped our way through wild west country - rugged red hills, cacti, the works. Running along the railway ahead of trains and trotting through rivers. Great fun, but we were very stiff and sore afterwards.

We´re now in Salta, Argentina, and loving it. They´ve got all that we were missing in Bolivia, shopping centers with multi screen cinemas and McDonalds, good comfortable buses, low altitude easy to breathe air and people who don´t reply to all requests with a surly "No".

The Cat Whisperers

2008-10-11T23:15:00.005+01:00

What a month! We ran pumas through the jungle for 5 hours a day, cuddled ocelots, played with monkeys, got bitten by birds, built cages, took down cages, danced at the fancy dress parties til 5am then got up at 7.30 and cleaned VAST amounts of shite.

All the animals of Inti Wara Yassi have been rescued by the charity from circuses, private homes (some people think that a puma is nice to have around the house), black markets and general bad circumstances. The main aim of its work is to give the animals as much freedom and dignity as possible. Some of the birds and monkeys can be released after rehabilitation but unfortunately the cats lose their instincts when removed from their natural environment for too long and would only come looking to people for food if released.

Civility went out the window. Same clothes for days on end. A monkey pee´d on Sian and she didn´t wash her cardigan (why bother when they´re just going to pee on you again tomorrow). Socks were banned from the bedroom. The days were long starting at 8am and finishing at 5pm if you´re lucky... Dave pulled an 11 hour day once when his puma Roy wouldn´t get back in the cage for the night. Then there was the day an escaped parrot called Lolita came for dinner... (tasty)

A day with Millie the ocelot was a little more sedate for Sian. Climbing the half hour hill to her house was the most challenging part of it. Then a pleasant few hours of sleeping, thumb sucking and the occasional scramble down a vertical cliff when she decided to go "off trail" in pursuit of lizards and snakes. She also found nests of birds and ate the eggs and babies like cat popcorn. Sian also got a day with Luna the 8 month old baby puma when her walker was sick. A far more energetic day´s work!

Dave walked 2 mountain pumas (the biggest cats in the park) Roy who LOVED to run for 2 hours non-stop through dense jungle and Lishou who has a more relaxed attitude to life. his favourite thing was to wrestle with palm tree branches and hide behind trees to ambush his volunteers (all in the name of fun). Its an impressive sight when you see 90kg of puma 7 metres up a tree.

Chris walked his "beautiful baby girl" the murderous Tigre. She was Millies evil twin, a proper predatory ocelot who liked to run at high speed, never on a trail for 6 hours or more a day. Every day was a bloodbath of baby birds and large snakes which she dispatched of with ease. She has a healthy disrespect for her volunteers but Chris soon sorted her out with a good dose of discipline.

Some mornings and evenings were spent helping understaffed areas finish their work but other times we just went to play with the monkeys :) We also had a brilliant group of people to hang out with for the month and will miss all of them now we´re back to just the 3 of us.

All in all, hard HARD work. Great GREAT fun. We reccomend it to anyone who has a month to spare and wants an unusal holiday.

Now we sit in our luxurious 3 star hotel Monserrat (it has carpets!) planning our journey south to Uyuni and into Argentina. Home in just over a month...

X Sian, Dave and Chris

Rafting and Condor spotting enroute to Bolivia

2008-09-05T19:38:00.004+01:00

Ah.... finished the trek. Finally smashed the giant granite monkey that had been hanging off my back for so long - Sian.

We decided to relax with a 3 day whitewater rafting trip down the Apurimac river. It was absolutely brilliant :) Gregg joined us for 5 days around Cusco and on the trip too so we had a merry gang of 4 again. Started off with a gruelling 5 hour bus journey down dirt tracks into the valley as the main way in or out of the valley is by river. The scenery was stunning with huge cliffs rising up on either side of the river and no sign of other people. We camped each night on deserted beaches and the only light came from candlelit torches and a big driftwood bonfire. The stars were incredibly bright. Each day the river got progressively more interesting with bigger rapids and waterfalls but our guide Wiliam was very experienced so nobody fell out unless they wanted to!

Said goodbye to Chris and Gregg when they flew to Lima, the 2 of us are now in La Paz, Bolivia having travelled south through Arequipa and Puno. Arequipa was a lovely colonial town with a large convent in the city centre. "One of the largest religious centres of South America" and it didnt dissapoint! Peaceful alleys, beautiful views across the courtyards and fascinating stories of the nuns lives back in the 1600s when the convent was first built. A 12 year old girl would pay the equivalent of $20,000 to enter as a novice. It then took up to 4 years of solitary confinement, only leaving the cell to attend mass before the girl was a full nun! Her reward - a personal servant and life of prayer inside the convent walls. Not very appealing.

We then went on a 2 day condor spotting trip to Chivay. Very touristy but made enjoyable by seeing the amazing birds. Wingspans of 3 metres!

Puno next for a tour of the floating man made islands. Constructed by one of the oldest tribes in the area, it is thought that they fled the mainland when the bloodthirsty Incas came to chop out their hearts and eat their babies (according to our guide). The engineering of it is very impressive and secure for the most part but there were times which felt like I was about to sink through the reeds into the lake...

And now, La Paz. We havent seen very much of the city yet but first impressions are of a vibrant city, full of poverty and with big hopes for their current president Evo Morales. The graffiti covering the city is very much in favour of Evo and his ability to promote change, revolution and a new era of dignity for Bolivia.

Next stop... Inti Wara Yassi (http://www.intiwarayassi.org/) where we will live in harmony with the monkeys and possibly learn to fight with the pumas!

Sian & Dave

Hail the mountain conquering heroes

2008-08-22T21:00:00.008+01:00

As the trek approached we decided to get in some serious training. Emma, Chris, Martha and Aindreas joined us for 2 weeks of steady drinking/beach/hammocks and eating copius quantities of junk on tropical Ihla Margarita. We had a great time but Venezuela didn´t really agree with Chris. His bag was delayed by airport for 5 days, shoes stolen from our own porch and credit card cloned. Nice work for the gypsy Venezuelans, general consensus - we´re never going back again.

Then we flew to Cusco - a beautiful town set high in the Andes at 3300m or thereabouts. The altitude change was really noticable at first but after 3 days we were ´prepared´ to hike. This is Sians Tale in normal text with additions by Dave in bold....

Day 1 - Sweaty. Uphill. Heart pounding. That was only the short walk from the village to meet our porters. I had serious thoughts that a big mistake had been made and then I saw them... glistening like gods in the sunlight. The emergency horses!!! Walked for an hour or so then called an emergency. Took breaks on and off the horse and after lunch the guide told myself and Emma we weren´t allowed to walk as we were slowing down the group. By late afternoon our four legged friends were communally known as "Sian and Emmas horses". The day stretched on and on with LOTS of walking, it grew dark and we still hadn´t reached the campsite. I was now walking at an estimated 0.5km/hr accompanied by the ever patient Dave and our guide ´Coco`. Hitched a ride in a minivan for a few hundred metres... then struggled the last 10 minutes to camp. When we arrived there was lots of muttering among the guides and we realised that Emma, Chris, Guy and Etienne (the other 2 guys in our group) hadn´t made it back yet. They spent a horrible 2 hours or so lost in the pitch black Andes before finding the camp. We were all in sparkling form and looking forward to day 2.

We spent a nice day walking our way up the valley, hindered only slightly by the thin air at that altitude. Had a great feed of pasta for lunch, and then marched up the hill staying just ahead of the horses and their precious cargo. Towards evening the horse man ran off with the horses to set up camp, so our pace was slowed a little. This lead to us reaching camp after night fall. Got some amazing long exposure photos of the glacier and stars by moon light. It was an icy night with frost on the ground in the morning.

Day 2 - It dawned with a shake of the tent at 4am. Everyone was freezing and not very well slept. The mattresses were made of rocks and the sleeping bag felt paper thin. Trekking time! Today the Salkantay pass beckoned us (Salkantay translates as 'savage mountain'). A winding path up the mountainside rising from 3700m to 4700m. Myself and Emma refused to walk at all but Coco said we should do the first 10 minutes and then the horses would catch up with us. 5 minutes in Emma had a mini fit at the prospect of another day on the mountain. An hour later we were long behind the others with no respite in sight. Luckily eagle eye Clarke spotted the horsemen taking an alternative route and sent them back to us. We then spent a really enjoyable afternoon overtaking everyone on the mountain except for Dave. He kept up with the horses and at one point even overtook us - the man is a machine. The mountain and glacier scenery was spectacular and the sky was a beautiful blue. Felt so well rested that we walked the downhill side of the mountain until lunch and did the entire afternoon on foot!!! We arrived before dark to a beautiful campsite tucked into the side of the mountain. I don´t think I´ve ever been so proud of myself. Total distance covered so far 58km.

After spending the night at high altitude I was fairly well acclimatised and although it was steeper then the previous day it was easier going. Horses are for the weak... In fairness to Sian she did walk the whole afternoon, even passing up an offer of a horse as nightfall approached.

Day 3 - Feeling much better today. Warmer, lower altitude and the prospect of a mostly downhill walk all day. Took 2 breaks on the horse but otherwise did it all on my own! Found a dead snake on the road which I carried for a long time before coming after Emma with it - Totally worthwhile. Lots of walking along the riverside and pleasant jungle paths. That evening we vistited the hot springs of Santa Teresa, it´s one of the nicest places I´ve ever seen. Huge vertical cliffs and mountains on all sides and 2 giant pools of hot water to swim and relax in. They also had a freezing waterfall for the brave gentlemen to dip into. We spent the evening there watching the sun set and the stars come out. In the words of E. Cobban "It almost makes the walking worthwhile".

We finished off the night in the local disco where a quadruple vodka in a jug is only 6 euro. Go Peru :)

Today was a short day, after a feed of rice for lunch (and chasing baby ducklings around a field) we took the local public transport - an open back truck with bars to hold onto along a windy road cut into the steep mountain side. Nice to get a good clean in the thermal baths under the stars. Sian was mountain nurse today, fixing a bloke´s sprained ankle while he remained on his (a.k.a Emma´s) horse.

Day 4 - The boys decided to walk today. Emma & I played with the campsite´s resident baby spider monkey "Panjo" for an hour and then took a taxi. Slept most of the afternoon beside a railway and took a train to Aguas Calientes - the departure point for buses to Machu Picchu! Went for dinner and made our plans to catch the 5am bus. These early starts are a killer.

Had a big lie in today - 8am! After cutting away our dead weight, the four remaining lads headed off on the final stretch to Machupicchu. We had spent the night in New Santa Terese, and this morning we saw Old Santa Terese, which looked like a lost city itself. They had built too close to the river and in 1988 a flood wiped it out. Took a small basket zip line to cross this big white water river and only after we all got safely across did Coco tell us about how last month a tourist got his leg caught in the rope and pulled to his death. We could have just taken the perfectly good suspension bridge beside it.

It was a baking hot day, so much so that Chris had to use his (clean spare) boxers as a sun hat. Was very tempted to take a swim in the icy river. After 3 hours walking we found the girls snoozing in the train station restarant.

Day 5 - FINALLY!!!!! As I said before an early start to join the queuing hordes at the bus station. We were among the first 250 people up on the mountain so the boys all got tickets entitling them to another 2 hr hike up ´Wainu Picchu´. Lunacy. I gave my ticket away to a man who hadn´t been able to get there early enough as he had to walk with his unfit wife. I helped a ´Dave´. We had a tour of the main temples and sacrificial sites (Dave and I accidentally took a wrong turn which gave a bonus 30 mins uphill walking in the wrong direction...).

Its a fantastic place to visit, so many of the buildings are intact and the quality of the stonework is very impressive. It was bigger than I expected so even when crowded with tourists late in the morning it had a peaceful feel to it. While the boys climbed their extra hill we girls spent a peaceful 3 hours sleeping in the shade.

Our wrong turn gave us an oppertunity to walk some of the traditional Inca trail, see the Sun Gates and get amazing view back to Macupicchu as it peeked out from the morning mist. Wainu Picchu was a hell of a climb but well worth it, and worth getting up at 4am to be one of only 400 people allowed up each day. It gave a 360 degree view of the surrounding mountans. The terraces and buildings they made at the top of this tower of rock are amazing. It was actually harder to climb down then up the steep steps, forcing us to walk down backwards at times. Got back to the main Machupicchu site to find the girls sunbathing.

That evening we journeyed back to Cusco by train and minivan. The train was hilarious with a dancing display and fashion show all performed by the attendants. Overall it was the worst trip imaginable as Dave and I had been struck down by food poisoning which we´re only recovered from today.

Our minivan driver decided to make a little extra cash by picking up 8 extra passangers along the way as I silently tried not to puke on them.

Well done if you´ve managed to read all the way to the bottom of our epic tale. Emma - you´re only gone a few hours now but are and will be sorely missed! Gregg arrives in the morning though so its not all bad and we´re off on a 3 day rafting trip on the 24th. All this excercise will be the death of Sian.

Ciao Amigos :) S & D

Missing our Mummys

2008-07-27T02:26:00.004+01:00

After our flight over the Nazca lines we went to Chauchilla cemetry where there are 2000 year old mummies that the dry salty desert has preserved. Besides the 20 or so whole bodies in the graves the surrounding sand is covered in hundreds of human bones and shreds of woven cotton cloth. We were just amazed at the wonderful condition they were in after twenty centuries.

Next stop on our journey was Huacachina, a desert oasis famous for its sand-boarding, like snow boarding but on sand. We were taken in a nine person dune buggy thrill ride up and down to dunes, then let out at the top of several steep slopes to strap a board on our feet and fly down the hill. The first surprise was when you fell it was hot sand instead of icy snow in your face. I (Dave) fell hard on my final run and its still painful to sit down 4 days later! It was easier to get going then snow, but harder to control your speed.

Following the road north toward Lima we stopped off in the town of Pisco (home of Peru´s national drink - Pisco Sours). On the 15th August last year there was an 8.0 earthquake in Pisco that destroyed 85% of the town. We had been advised not to go because it is in bits but we were glad we did. It was interesting to see them gradually rebuilding almost a year later, and we hope that the money we spent there will help towards their reconstruction.

From Pisco we did a day trip out on a boat around the Ballestas islands, which are completely covered with several species of birds, so much so that they harvest the guano annually for use as fertiliser. The boat trip was alright but the highlight was feeding crowds of hungry pelicans on the beach.

Llama llama theres a llama!!!

2008-07-22T02:35:00.006+01:00

Click here for title explanation...

16 hours on a bus later we arrived at this!

Hard to describe the sheer size and power of the falls but the lonely planet does a good job when it says "Niagra falls is a ripple in comparison to Iguazu". We viewed them from both the Brazilian and Argentinian sides. The former gives a good overview but its on the Argentine side that we got a close up view. Went on jetboat ride that took us under the spray and it was like buckets of cold water being dumped on our heads - great fun! Falls were spectacular and the visit was topped off by thousands of butterflies, sunbathing lizards and dinner stealing coaties (raccoon things). They actually climb on tables and try to steal your lunch. Another highlight was the first taste of Argentine steak and locally produced inexpensive red wine.

Next stop was Lima, Peru (where we had to buy a new camera despite the nice Sao Paulo lady's many attempts to fix it). Stayed in the pleasant suburb of Miraflores (Limas equivalent to Rathgar/Malahide) and took a day trip to the old Inca pyramids and temples of Pachacamac. Despite encouraging guidebook reviews it was relatively unimpressive... Lumps of bricks in the desert and mangy bald dogs wandering around the place.

The best part of the day was getting there on the Peruvian local buses. Converted Hi-ace vans driven at breakneck speed, swerving in and out of the traffic with the conductor hanging out the side door and dragging unsuspecting customers into the bus "Hey hey... get in get in". We were never sure if the bus was going in the right direction, the conductors main mission seemed to be to get as many punters in the van as possible without worrying where they want to go. We made it anyway!

We´re now in Nazca, home of the famous lines. Took a 35 minute plane ride over the desert today to see them which was really worthwhile. Its totally fascinating to think that they´re around 2000 years old and still in such great condition. Tomorrow we go on a tour of the Nazca grave sites - 2000 year old mummies sitting out in the desert that still have their hair and clothes intact. Attempted to visit the museum but only found a pile of rubble. Such is life in Peru.

Thats all folks :) We´ll leave you with some interesting images you might not see at home.

xoxo Sian & Dave

p.s. Added images to the last post as well

You have 15 minutes to remove your cube

2008-07-09T17:35:00.007+01:00

Farewell to Rio and onwards down the coast! Visited a small town in the north called Ouro Preto which at one stage was Brazil´s main exporter of gold. According to their museum they funded most of the industrial revolution in Europe. The locals dug it up (as slaves) and then the Portugese took it all. Their main attraction is 9 churches, all richly decorated with wooden carvings, gold leaf and scary life size bleeding Jesus statues. All set among charming cobbled streets and VERY steep hills. "Training for Machu Picchu" we muttered while dragging ourselves up them. Unfortunately we had to leave on their gay pride day or "party for the homosexuals" as we were told by the tourist office so we missed the big evening festival.

From there back to Rio for a day where we went to see the iconic 'Christo Redemptor'. The day was clear and sunny, we could see for miles and so could the other thousands of people who decided to make the most of the day. it took hours of queuing to get up and down but was definitely worthwhile. Sadly our camera died enroute and not even rubbing it off Jesus' feet would fix it. Took some pics with our memory card in other peoples cameras but its not quite the same. Thankfully a nice lady in Sao Paulo canon shop fixed it for free yesterday. "The lens is full of sand...you must stay away from the beach". Unlikely!

Then we moved on to Ihla Grande, went for 2 days and stayed for a week. It was a beautiful tropical island with cheap accomodation and a big gang of Irish to enjoy it with. Met Jessica & John (old school friends of Sian) which was great craic. Got barred from the pub on the first night although nobody is sure why... Much lying on the beach (Lopes Mendes is rated as one of the worlds top beaches), small amounts of walking in the jungle and we saw a sea turtle while swimming :)

We also experienced fine dining Brazilian style. Ordered fish, chicken and salad. 5 minutes later the waiter returns, "Im sorry we have no chicken". Alright... 3 fish and a salad. 5 minutes later "Im sorry, we only have 2 portions of fish left. And no salad. You can have beef and chips", beef and chips it is then! But what can you expect for 3 euro each...

When we finally dragged ourselves away from the island we couldn't get a bus to Sao Paulo and got stuck in Paraty for a night. Turned out to be a blessing in disguise as it 's another lovely colonial town with cobbled streets and an old town centre (horses and carts still in everyday use as cars are forbidden in the old town centre). We also caught the tail end of an international literary festival which was very lively and enjoyable.

Which brings us to the here and now. In Sao Paulo, waiting for the 16 hour night bus that will bring us to Iguazu falls.

Love to all :)

S & D

Hola South America!

2008-06-24T23:56:00.005+01:00

So thats where we are now. Arrived into Chile and spent 5 jet-lagged days drinking and sleeping. It's great to be in hostels after all that van time and a really easy way to meet new amigos. Santiago is a perfect city to arrive into, very Spanish/European feel (with prices to match) and the streets are safe to walk even after dark.

Visited ther Mary sanctuary on a hill overlookng the city and also went snowboarding with a gang of ex US army guys, they were just back from Afghanistan so it was interesting to hear some of their stories. I (Sian) didnt take to the snowboard quite as easily as on the indoor slope and invented a new sport called culoboarding (culo is spanish for arse). Basically just sat in between the bindings of the snowboard and slid down the hill filling my face/back/legs with the foot of powder snow that fell that day. Dave was better on the board but he still feels the pain almost a week later!

Then onto Rio de Janeiro where we are at the moment. Filled with terror after reading our guidebook we scuttled from the airport ATM into the toilet and secreted money in various safe places... Its been 3 days now and starting to feel safe again as no muggings yet (famous last words).

"If you have the misfortune of being robbed, hand over the goods. Thieves are only too willing to use their weapons if given provocation." - Lonely Planet

Rio city is actually quite nice once you get into it. Easy to get around on the metro and almost every bus passes through the central part of town and gives a good cheap tour! The highlight so far was a trip by cable car up the Pao de Açucar "Sugarloaf", a 400m granite lump beside the sea. We went up in the evening and got some amazing scenes of the city by night.

We've spent most of our days just walking around the city and taking in the sights. Visited the Campa de Santana today where Brazilian leaders declared independance from Portugal. Its filled with herds(?) of cats, geese and capybara living in ecological harmony together. They all seem very healthy and well fed, maybe they eat each other...?

If I said you had a nice body would you take off your pants and dance around a little?

2008-06-15T03:43:00.009+01:00

Tomorrow we head for the future. Leaving Auckland on Monday at 5pm and arriving in Santiago on Monday at noon...or is that the past?

Spending a relaxing few days being looked after by cousins Brian and Lynn before we go and have been to see around Auckland city and a few other places - Stardome and snowboarding. Snowboarding was brilliant, really fast learning curve and by the afternoon both of us were going down the whole baby slope with minimal falling over!

Before this we had been doing more mad driving. Met a guy in a bar who drove us down to the match in Wellington, had a great weekend despite the deluge of rain with a big gang of Irish from our hostel.

The next day we dragged ourselves onto the bus for the return journey north (bus stopped so we could play in the snow), visited some more volcanic hot spring stuff at the 'Craters of the Moon' and then went to Hot Water Beach. Dave dug us a big hole in the sand and then we sat in steaming water watching the sunset and the stars come out. Followed up with a cold outdoor shower - an interesting thing to do in winter!

Returned our hire car with no problems... We had a little crash into the back of a van. Van undamaged but we broke the front grille of our car and a little black box fell out from underneath. Car still running fine so we didn't do anything about black box. Hasty attempts to glue car back together failed so we went to a scrap yard, picked up a new grille and bent the fender back into place with a hammer. Put black box in the bin. Perfect!

Hot spots and Hangis

2008-06-03T08:18:00.008+01:00

Done a big loop since we last posted. North to Rotorua where we caught up with some old friends and got pampered by Judy (the mother of an old family friend). She even did our laundry! Went bathing in 2 types of hot springs, the first was outdoors where a natural spring met with a freezing river (imagine a hot river Dodder flowing into the Boyne). Was really interesting as you could have your legs in the cold and your bum in the warm spot.
Then we tried the deluxe version, $50 for a half hour in a private pool, surrounded by boulders with a view of sunset and flying birds over lake Rotarua - it was fabulous. Sadly we forgot the camera!

Then we did our usual round of adventure stuff with Zorbing (thats us in the big ball rolling down a hill), Go Karting (Sian's fastest time narrowly beat Dave's slowest), Swooping (chickens bungy jump - they put you in a sleeping bag, drag you up 40m by the legs and then you swing down), Luge riding (gravity powered low sized go kart) and Kayaking for Dave (he did a 7m waterfall on the Kaituna)

Then we went to a Maori cultural night where Chief Dave was elected to lead his people (50 or so tourists) through the greeting ritual - mad warriors chanting/shouting and spear throwing. He then accepted the peace token, gave a speech to the Maori chief and unveiled the Hangi feast! The Hangi was a mix of lamb, chicken and sweet potatoes slow cooked the traditional way underground in a steam vent - delicious :)

Ciao for now xoxo Sianny moo & Dave-o

If riding in an airplane is flying, then riding in a boat is swimming. If you want to experience the element, then get out of the vehicle

2008-05-28T04:08:00.002+01:00

15,000 feet in the air

60 second freefall

Incredible!

To shreds you say...?

2008-05-23T05:12:00.007+01:00

Sian's legs are on fire. Today we write to you in shreds. ribbons... We have just climbed the Fox glacier complete with crampons, alpenstocks and nasty hobnail boots. Magnificent scenery (as usual here) but the walk was tough, and we're just gettting over a days horse riding in Queenstown. Manuel and Boris did things to me no male ever has before (they were my horses - S).

We've been making our way along the south and west coast of south island over the last 2 weeks, lots of driving on waggly roads for Dave so that we could see all the Lord of the Rings scenes and get in all the sights. This was a day trip we did to 'Edoras' a.k.a Mt Sunday. the guidebook said we'd have to cross "a few small streams" which turned into pretty big rivers complete with salmon swimming upstream in them. By that stage we couldn't turn back (having already waded through smaller sreams Hobbit style) so had to strip down to undies and cross the river that way. It was FREEZING FREEZING cold but worth it in the end as we got to see a mysterious figure in white patrolling the mountain top - possibly Gandalf.

Done all the touristy things along the way - visited the Moeraki boulders (150 million year old balls of rock/crystals just sitting on the beach). Climbed the worlds steepest street (and got a certificate to prove it). Tried to see the penguins 5 times but failed, only caught a glimpse of one in our headlights (should have run it over for a better look). Got very close and personal with a seal and Sian had a bit of an Attenborough moment... Went Quad biking over the hills of Te Anau (clocked an impressive 58km/h) and spent an expensive 15 minutes in 'Minus 5' (an ice bar in Queenstown, everything including your glass is made of ice!)

A highlight of the Fjordlands was cruising on the Milford sound. spectacular cliff faces, waterfalls 3 times the height of Niagra falls and a pod of dolphins swimming beside the boat!

More recently we went to Deer park (the place where Aragorn falls off the cliff and the Warg riders attack in the two towers film) but we had more fun playing with the animals :)

So that's all from us, a big catch up. Hope you're all well at home. have to run now as it's 5pm and we have an 8 hour drive ahread of us to go whale watching in the morning - life remains tough as always for the travellers!

xox Sian & Dave-o

The bees knees freeze when its only 2 degrees...

2008-05-09T00:56:00.006+01:00

Safely in Christchurch, NZ. Its beautiful city. Just turning to autumn and they're having their first 'cold snap' of the year. Spent the profits from Betsy on fancy ski jackets and woolie knickers - apparently as we go south it only gets colder. Its just like dublin in the middle of winter, blue skies, leaves turning colour and flying around the place. Charming.

Finished up our time in Oz by camping/fishing and general outdoorsyness. Caught and cooked our own fish on an open fire!

Have been to the art gallery and cathedral and enjoyed an afternoon hiking up the hills that surround the city. Again, the scenery is the spitting image of back home and all the more enjoyable because of its contrast to Australia.

Heading south this afternoon for penguin spotting, skydiving and most importantly - Lord of the Rings things! Fangorn forest.... Isengard and Lothlorien! Barnzer - say you're bleedin' wrecked luv...

(also, we put up some new pictures on the last post for Fraser island etc)

xoxo Les Traveleurs

Calendar Update

2008-04-26T03:10:00.001+01:00

We have now updated our Calendar with correct flight dates. Maybe we'll see you along the way?

Cairns - wit de totally tropical taste!

2008-04-26T02:22:00.006+01:00

We made it!!!!! 8000km with no major breakdowns (Van and ourselves included). Only took 3 days to sell and we made enough that we were actually paid $100 to do the trip :) Sweet.

Had an amazing time travelling up from Brisbane as we did 2 trips. One to Fraser island and sailed the Whitsundays as well.

Fraser was like something out of Jurassic park. Big 4WD van packed to the brim with 11 people and all our luggage wrapped in tarp on the roof. Driving through muddy jungle tracks, over tree roots and knee deep puddles. Loud techno music and beers for those in the back seats. Tropical rain for hours each day. Trekking through the trees to find a hidden lake. Camping on the beach - SAND SAND SAND.... but it was completely worth it when we were the only people swimming in Lake Mackenzie (clean, clear water so pure you can drink it). Got attacked by dingoes once (they ripped a tent open and stole a bag of Goon - wine in a bag). Had a lovely group of people for the trip which is the most important thing.

Next we went on up the coast to Airlie beach. Camped at a motorway rest for 2 days where we met a family of 10 (8 kids all under 10 years old and tiny newborn baby...) living in a giant renovated bus... how do people do it!

From Airlie we caught our boat "Apollo". This trip was the total opposite to Fraser but just as enjoyable. Sailing on a big maxi racer (used to win lots of races back in the 80's and recently refurbished as tourist boat). Some of the best sunsets I've seen in my life and clear black skies covered with stars. Scuba diving with a giant Maori Wrasse called Priscilla. Hand feeding a friendly possum at Blue Pearl Bay. Food cooked for us every night (Those of you still at home with mothers who make dinner - APPRECIATE IT!) Dave even got to take the helm for a while.

So that brings us to now. Just rented a wicked camper van for the next week to see the sights north of Cairns and then on to New Zealand on the 6th May. Time is marching on!

Missing you all, but as usual still delighted to be away from home/work etc :)

Sian & Dave

Brisvegas

2008-04-03T08:24:00.005+01:00

Continuing to make our merry way up the coast and have now arrived in Brisbane. Wasn't planning on it originally but wanted to visit Aisling (travelled with us in Thailand last year and currently living here) and we're glad we did! Had a great night in with her last night where she cooked us an indian feast and then after a few bottles of wine we climbed over the wall into the neighbours jacuzzi :) Bold as brass.

Today we went to the Andy Warhol exhibit, really good comprehensive collection of all his work along with some great interactive exhibits as you can see. The childrens section was the most fun as it had all the multimedia plus a room filled with big square helium baloons to play in! (a recreation of an old warhol exhibit)

Our friend Julia arrived safely in Sydney to compete in the Australian Bog Snorkelling championship, watched her today in full wetsuit/full hair and make up combo on the morning show. Check out her website

xoxo Sian & Dave

Surfing the competition out of the water

2008-03-29T05:13:00.003Z

We've now left Sydney and in Byron Bay. Had a great Paddy's day, went for a morning dive in Botany Bay and saw a weedy sea dragon - thanks Aengus. And then drinks in Hyde park with free concert with a great U2 tribute band and Sian ran in to Rory Draper. Saw "Summer Bay" aka Palm Beach, where Home and Away is filmed on Sian's birthday. Painted the other side of the van with a red dinosaur beside a lovely tropical beach (he still needs his face). We're becoming regular visitors to Bunnings - Oz's equivalent of Woodies, only stopping just short of buying Bunnings sun hats.

Took in the sights and smells of the hippy town of Nimbin, stayed in the Rainbow Retreat complete with smoking frog infested tee-pee made from tarp and cracked car windscreens. Kinda like been back in Thailand with makeshift huts made from lumber and concrete etc.

We've just booked 3days aboard a sailing boat to sail around the Whitsunday Islands and dive off and 3 days 4wheel drive around Fraser Island - the worlds biggest sand island. We've got just over 5 weeks left in Oz so we're packing in as much as we can before we have the sell old Betsy Buttercup -HOPEFULLY- for a profit (now that its a work of art).

Pictures above are of our surfing lesions with Kool Katz, they gave us a money back guarantee that we'd stand and surf a wave for 40m and golly we did!

Dave & Sian

Sydney, the city we just can't leave!

2008-03-15T12:45:00.002Z

As the post says, we're still in Sydney. Been doing a lot of touristy things, Opera house - Beautiful to walk around the outside but shows too expensive. $65 for a seat behind a pillar... decided to wait until we're old and rich. Bridge - Its a big bridge, very impressive. Museums etc have been interesting but we're getting a bit cultured out. So mostly have been going to the beach to fry and drinking on the weekends :) All very healthy.

Have been out around the Sydney area too, saw where Captain Cook first landed. Unfortunately, we were looking across at it from the other side of the bay. Saw what looked like a beautiful little cove so all the gang walked out to it. Was only when we arrived that we realised it was a nudist beach. Populated by lots of elderly gay men... If it wasnt for the nursing experience might have fainted, definitely wasn't Dave's favourite outing.

Had out Paddys day night out yesterday - Giant house party, Up till 6am. While out looking for fast food about 3am i found 3 strangers on the street and about 50 bags of crisps spilt on pavement and brought them with me to the house, it was that kind of evening! will be Hijacking the real Paddys day for my birthday on the 18th.

Regarding gifts, would be best if you all sent them to Cairns and ill collect them in a month or so. Nothing too large, diamonds will be easiest to carry and best to bail me out of sticky South American problems... (Sian)

Sian & Dave

Let the bear’s pay the bear tax...

2008-03-03T11:40:00.008Z

Hi all, thanks for all the comments.

Last Thursday we spent the day spray painting the other side of the van and after we cooked our dinner beside the beach that evening we said feck it, lets go to Sydney, and the following evening we were here (in lashing rain). Around 1,000km from Melbourne, old Betsy did it no problem.

So we'r now in Sydney, staying with the kind hospitality of Ed Murphy. Put up some photos here (around 500!).

Had a good old Friday night out with Ed & Sian's nurse friends, so good that we weren't allowed into the last pub and had to climb through their smoking area bush fence, so it was all good in the end.

Had a relaxing book reading weekend (you have to read "Gates of Fire") and now going to do the Sydney tourist bit.

We changed our flights by the way, we'r now going to be away till around mid Nov. (giving us extra time in NZ and South America) - haven't updated our google calender yet.

Enjoy the photos
Dave & Sian

Melbourne and the Great Ocean Road :)

2008-02-21T06:25:00.008Z

So we've finally arrived in Melbourne. Spent the morning in gaol thanks to Dave but at least we got a good picture out of it... all fine now anyway, too long a story for web. (moral of the story, don't ask a hooker what time it is)

Obviously that was a lie. were on a guided tour of the old jail, all very interesting. Melbourne seems to be a brilliant city and we'll probably spend the next week or so here. Its got a lot more character than the other Aussie cities so far.

Miles of vineyards as we came out of Adelaide through the Barossa valley (provided us with free grapes)

Then came the great ocean road, had a lovely few days climbing around rock formations and looking at the amazing scenery. Absolutely huge limestone pinnacles jutting out of the sea contrasted with some totally barren landscapes too - lots of evaporated lakes and miles of nothing but bushland.

Haven't had a spot of bother with buttercup (the van) since the Adelaide incident, long may it last! and saving lots of cash by eating/sleeping and even using its 'facilities'..... take from that what you will. Have done a cool spraypaint job on one side of it and will hopefully finish it off over the next few weeks.

Adelaide.... still

2008-02-13T06:40:00.002Z

As it says above. Its a lovely town and all that but we'd really like to get going. First we had to wait the weekend for the "full service and check" from the garage. Then we picked up the van, headed into the hills with our car man Nick to pick up some curtains. As we pulled off the freeeway all sorts of alarming grinding noises started (like when you visit Stephen's ma). Then the car wouldnt go into reverse. Luckily, Nick defied all used car salesman stereotypes. Invited us in for dinner, let us park in his backyard for the night and then drove the van back into town and agreed to pay for all repairs!!!! So thats where we are now. Hopefully car should be ready for tomorrow (Vallies Day) and we can head somewhere nice.

What else have we been doing... camping for free in a lovely carpark beside the beach. Even has a toilet block and cold outdoor shower - what a treat! Visited the drive through off licence - they're EVERYWHERE. And went to the cinema to see Juno. You should go watch it too, its fab.
$3 vodkas in the local Irish bar go down pretty well and we've done some stunning indoor carpentry pimping to the van. Bed now on hinges so we have mini replicas of our bedroom floors under the bed but nice and neat on top. I wonder if that's possible in an actual room...?

Lots of love to all :) Especially YOU.

X Sian & Dave

p.s. Thanks again for the comments, unfortunately we cant reply to them as blogger doesnt give your email address when you post the comment. We'd be happy to have a bit of a chat if you put your address in brackets at the end.

VANtastic news!!!!

2008-02-07T08:18:00.000Z

As you can guess we are now the proud owners of this magnificent beast . A 1984 (very good vintage) mazda, room for 6 to sit in (take note any potential visitors, Im looking at you Eoghan) and loads of space for mattress etc in the back.

Its super exciting. Seems nice and strong in case we hit the kangaroos this time. (Dont think we posted about the last encounter. (90kph down a back road, Sian driving and 4 of them jumped out into the road. luckily was able to slow down in time)

So there you are. Next stop great ocean road for whale watching and beach type things :)

Also, it rained today for a few minutes. yuck. Not as bad as your rain though...wrecked!

xox Sian & Dave

Caves, Camping and Parrots

2008-02-04T08:26:00.000Z

Here's a few photos now that we're staying in a hostel where we can hook the camera up.

Unfortunately we weren't fast enough to catch the roo's on camera.

A Nuala style list

2008-02-03T09:27:00.000Z

Things the Universe has provided us with for FREE!

*a quantas blanket (someone else nicked it and abandoned it)

*2 plates, 2 cups and one set of cutlerey

*$50 dollars!!!! on the floor of the pub last night

*2 HUGE handfulls of free chocolate from the Margaret River chocolate factory. They made a bad mistake putting the free sample dish beside the door. So good we came back and did it a second time.

*Several books that people just left lying around. Fools.

(Nuala is Daves sister, have a look at her lists)