Happy Holidays From Whistler British Columbia!

Hola Amigos!
Well we have made it home safe and sound and it sure is emotional looking back at the blog and all the photos.

We arrived back at Whistler safe and sound and yes there was snow on our front door step.  This certainly was different from the 32 degree weather we left behind in Buenos Aires but we are thrilled to be back in our own place again.  Gary is very excited to be skiing and I can't wait to get in some good turns on the mountain as well.  As you can see from the photo our bags made it back safe and sound and we did have to expand a bit in order to fit all of our treasures from South America.

We have seen many of you already and we just wanted to say Thank You for following our blog.  We have had some wonderful compliments and it has been a great experience writing the blog and getting all of our adventures recorded.  The spanish keyboards are different and it sure can be a challenge sometimes getting the photos to load but we persevered and we are just thrilled with the results.

It is totally impossible to describe our trip but the photos sure do help.  In the spirit of the Holidays I've tried to think of some way to summarize the trip and I'm going to use loosely the 12 Days of Christmas song to tie everything together.  Here goes:

7 Boarder Crossings between Chile and Argentina
(1. Bolivia/San Pedro, 2. San Pedro/Salta, 3. Mendoza/Santiago, 4. Santiago/Bariloche, 5. Bariloche/Puerto Varas, 6. Puerto Natales/El Calafate, 7. Punta Arenas/Ushuaia)

6 Countries
1. Colombia, 2. Equador, 3. Peru, 4. Bolivia, 5. Chile, 6. Argentina

5 Months Travelling
July - December 2012

4 Boat Cruises
1. Galapagos, 2. Cruce de Lagos, 3. Navimag, 4. Australis (our personal favourite)

3 Mountain Adventures
1. WMDR World's Most Dangerous Road, 2. Refugio Frey, 3. Torres del Paine

2 Islands
Galapagos and Easter Island

1 Awesome Loving Husband - still! after all that!

Here is another stat and a link to a map so you can see exactly where we have been.  We traveled a total of 29,268 kms in South America on our trip. It  was a little hard to fit that into a Christmas Carol...
Check out this map with our route.  Gary has detailed all the places we were so you can see our itinerary. It is pretty cool.

 http://www.travellerspoint.com/member_map.cfm?user=patbrowne

So now we are home and it is very strange to be able to understand what everyone is saying to us.  We can converse with the locals and make ourselves understood perfectly here in Whistler!  The Dusty's scene is full on and we are enjoying lots of wonderful snow.

We thank you again for following us and we wish you all the best for the New Year 2012!  May all of your dreams come true!

Cheers,
Pat and Gary
Official South American Travellers!

Iguazu Falls and Buenos Aires

Hola Amigos,

As we neared the end of our wonderful South America adventure, we were able to zip up to the very northern part of Argentina and see one of the  most incredible water falls in the world - Iguazu Falls.  You can see them from both the Brazilian and Argentinian sides and they are truly fantastic.  I think they are considered the second most important waterfalls in the world with Victoria Falls in Africa being number one and our very own Niagara Falls in Canada coming in third.

The falls are basically located in the Jungle and there are beautiful butterflies everywhere.  One landed on my arm and stayed for a while and Gary had one land on his backpack.  There are incredible walkways all around the waterfalls so it is really easy to see them from the top and bottom.  The movie the Mission with Robert DeNiro was filmed here back in the eighties and the scenery is simply spectacular.

Swarovski Crystal Tree

After three days in Iguazu we flew to Buenos Aires for the last bit of our trip.  We ended up renting an apartment right downtown and it was wonderful.  We went to visit Eva Peron's grave in the Recoleta Cemetary and we saw a live Tango Dance show as well.  We saw the famous Boca Soccer stadium and then a fun highlight was seeing a real Argentinian Soccer game in the big huge stadium.  We saw River Plate play Rosario and it was quite the scene.  People were singing and waving banners throughout the entire game.  We had to make sure we wore the right colours and sit in the right section of the stadium.

Buenos Aires is a fantastic city and we managed to see the symphony in the beautiful Theatro Colon which is the last great opera house built before modern times.  The sound quality rates the highest in the world and our tickets cost less than a burger lunch at McDonalds.  It was funny watching all the Christmas decorations get put up in the city because it was 32 degrees and sunny and warm while we were there.  It sure didn't feel like the snowy Christmases we have in Canada but it was fun listening to Christmas Carols in Starbucks.
We hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas and we would like to wish you all the Best for the New Year 2012!
We are going to do one last post to wrap up this blog and finish everything up.
Feliz Navidad!
Pat and Gary

Cape Horn, The End of the World, and Penguins!

Hola Amigos!
We achieved our goal of getting to the very end of the world on November 11, 2011 (an auspicious date no doubt) when we set foot on Cape Horn, Chile at the very tip of the southern hemisphere.  We took a cruise boat to get there and it was a real thrill to be able to land on this piece of rock and add our name into the book of souls who have been here at the Lighthouse.

Cape Horn, November 11, 2011

We landed very early in the morning (7:00am) and were able to walk around the trails for a bit. This place is very historic and there are plaques to Sir Charles Darwin, Sir Robert Scott, Sir Ernest Shackelton and others who were brave explorers to the end of the world and the Antarctic.  We met the lighthouse keeper and his family who lives here and we were able to revel in our suceess at getting to this very special place.  We had been travelling 131 days to get here and we made it safe and sound.

Johnny Walker and 600 Year Old Glacier Ice

The cruise ship we took out of Punta Arenas in Chile is called the Australis and it has 64 cabins.  It was a real pleasure to be able to travel to the Cape this way.  We met some absolutely wonderful people on this trip and there are too many stories to tell for this little blog.  Here we are on the shore drinking Johnny Walker with Glacier Ice that is 600 years old.  Even though it was 10:30 in the morning and I don't drink Scotch, I figured I would simply hunker down and give it a try.  It is actually not bad stuff at all - maybe it was the glacier ice that made it taste so good...

Magellenic Penguins Chile

No trip so far south to this part of the world would be complete without seeing Penguins and we had the thrill of getting this close to them in Zodiac boats.  We were not allowed to land on shore but we took the boats in as close as we could and the penguins didn't really seem to care if we were there or not. These are Magellanic penguins and they are very cute.  They were waddling around and swimming in the water right beside us.  It was just great to see real penugins in their natural habitat.

Cape Horn Chart from Australis

This is the chart that the Captain used to get us to Cape Horn.  We got up at 5:00am so that we could go to the Bridge and watch the arrival of the Horn before we took the Zodiacs over and landed on it.  This chart has an incredible amount of history to it now because it was auctioned off later that evening and our new friends from Germany are going to share it with us.  They have taken it to Germany to start with and we have promised to come and get it within two years.  They will then come to Canada to visit us and the chart will be shared by us forever.  Sort of like a time share but better. We can't wait to tell the whole story and share all the details.

We are now in Buenos Aires enjoying the last bit of our trip.  There probably won't be that many more blog posts as our trip starts to wind down and we prepare to come back to Winter and reality in Vancouver. Do keep your eyes peeled for our next updates as there will be some more posts and a final wrap up to finish the blog.
We hope all is very well with everyone as they prepare for the Holidays!
More to come,
Pat & Gary

Patagonia, Boats, Mountains, Glaciers and Wind

Hola Amigos!
We have just spent some time in Southern Patagonia on both the Chilean and Argentinian sides.  We have now crossed the Argentine and Chilean boarder 6 times and we are still not done yet.

Navimag Freighter Puerto Natales Chile

 We took the Navimag boat from Puerto Montt in Chile for 4 days down to Puerto Natales which is at 51 degrees latitude south.  It is a working cargo ship and we were 143 passengers for the trip.  We met some hilarious French folks along with some Slovenians who all became our new best friends for the trip.  We sailed through the beautiful Chilean fijords and saw some terrific scenery along with a humpback whale.  We sailed through the 49 parallel south and it is getting colder as we go down but we are chasing the Spring weather so everything has been fine so far. 

Mirador de Torres del Paine Chile

We went to the famous Torres del Paine National Park in Chile and stayed overnight for 2 nights.  We hiked up to the Mirador de Torres del Paine and we were lucky enough to see the towers at the top.  It was hailing near the top of the trail and it took us 7 hours to get to the top and back.  We experienced the Patagonian wind up close and personal.  People tell you about the wind, you hear about it, read about it and imagine it, but until you hike 7 hours in it you cannot know what this wind is all about.  There were times when we were blown backwards off the trial and at other times it blew so hard it was difficult to breathe!

Massif de Torres del Paine Chile

 Here we are in the Torres del Paine park looking at the Torres Massif mountain.  It is right beside the Cuernos de Torres which we saw as well.  There are active glaciers on this mountain and we heard the ice crack and saw a big huge chunk fall down while we were there.  We just loved the Park although we have to say that it is very very expensive to visit this part of the world.  The Southern part of Chile thinks it is Switzerland and the prices match - everything is at least 3-5 times more than what we have been paying so far. 

Perito Moreno Glacier El Calafate Argentina

We crossed over into El Calafate in Argentina to see the famous Perito Moreno glacier and did we ever luck out.  The sun came out just as we got there and we got to see it up close from a boat.  Sort of like the Maid of the Mist but with a huge glacier instead of a waterfall.  This is the 3rd biggest glacier in South America and it covers the same area as the city of Buenos Aires.  It is simply huge and it ranges from 40 to 70 metres in height.  It is difficult to imagine the scale of it.  The blue ice was simply beautiful and the shapes are just like something out of the movie Superman.  We heard the ice moving and saw some little pieces calve off.


We will now continue to move south and head for Ushuaia in Argentina which is considered the end of the world.
Much more to come
Salud,
Pat and Gary 

Bariloche Argentina

Hola Buenas Dias,
Here are some photos from what we have been up to lately.

Cerro Campanario Bariloche

We spent two wonderful weeks in Bariloche Argentina.  It is normally a very beautiful place but right now the area is suffering from the ash (ceniza in Spanish) that is still spewing from a volcano in Chile about 40 kms from here.  We have been very selective in our photos because as long as the wind was blowing the right way we were able to see and breathe.  The ash dust is very fine and it gets into absolutely everything making it difficult to see and breathe when the wind picks up.  Since Bariloche is  considered the official northern beginning of Patagonia there is most definitely wind around and it certainly is a challenge for the folks living here.

Refugio Frey 

As you can see in this photo we did get clear skies at a place called Refugio Frey which is well away from any volcano ash and in a very beautiful spot right behind the Catedral skiing area.  We rented sleeping bags and hiked up for 4 hours to get to the refugio where we stayed overnight.  Since it is Spring here we did hit some snow for the last half hour of our hike.  Our super duper running shoes got a bit of a workout and I did manage to fall through some snow that came all the way up to my thigh at one point but we made it and had a great time staying overnight. Gary looks very much like a mountain man here and he has the stubble to match.

Refugio Frey Patagonia Argentina

Juan and Sebastian are the two caretakers that work at the refugio and they both worked at Whistler as ski instructors two years ago. Juan made the best pizza we have had in Argentina and we just had a hoot chatting with these guys who are living the dream in an Alpine hut in Argentina.  The altitude here is 1811 metres but what was really amazing was the famous Patagonia wind which we felt for the first time.  It certainly is a force to be reckoned with especially at 3:00 am when you have to go outside to the bathroom.  

Volcano Osorno Chile

We left Bariloche via the Cruce de Lagos trip which takes you by bus and boat and bus and boat and yet another bus and boat combo into Puerto Varas Chile. We saw beautiful lakes and mountains on the way but the highlight was this volcano which is the Osorno Volcano in Chile.  It is a perfect cone and we were very lucky to see it.  You can ski here in the winter but now all you can do is gaze upon its loveliness. 

We are looking forward to getting onto a cargo freighter in Puerto Montt Chile that will take us all the way down to Puerto Natales in the south.  We are getting ready to see glaciers and penguins in the next little bit as we move to the southern degrees of latitude.

Much more to come! 

Pat and Gary 

Santiago Skiing and Wine Tasting

Hola Amigos! Que tal? (means What's Up - notice my huge improvement in the Spanish Language!)

Skiing at Valle Nevados Chile

We wanted to share some of our recent Chilean adventures with you.  We went Skiing at the Valle de Nevados just outside of Santiago Chile right at the end of their ski season and we managed to catch a blue bird sky day to hit the slopes.  It was pretty warm and the snow was schmooy which is typical of Spring Skiing anywhere but it sure was fun to ski in the Andes mountains and see the beautiful views.  Gary was happy to get Day 1 of skiing in for the season.

Wine Tasting at LFE

We also managed to visit some amazing Chilean wineries and we have been drinking wonderful Chilean wine at every opportunity.  We went to the Santa Cruz wine region just south of Santiago and we had some wonderful tours of the wineries high up in the hills.  One of our favourite experiences was an outside tasting in the vineyards really high up at Luis Felipe Edwards.  The view was spectacular and so were the wines.  We then visited Estampa vineyards as well and enjoyed their fabulous wines. This region experienced a lot of damage from the Feb 2010 earthquake so it was very interesting talking with all the vineyard folks to see what happened.  We had a bit of an adventure getting to the wineries because our rental car had a flat tire and we were not sure if we would actually make it to the vineyards or not.  We managed to pull into a small town off the highway and we felt like Indy Car drivers because the 4 guys who patched our tire did it in record time and it cost 4 dollars.  We still don't know how to say flat tire in Spanish but hand signals and pointing at the obvious can get you pretty far sometimes.

Capsule that saved Chilean Miners Valparaiso

We went to Valparaiso just west of Santiago on the coast and we saw the harbour and all the painted houses on the winding streets.  Valparaiso is a huge port city and the Naval presence is everywhere.  We visited the Naval museum and we saw the capsule that the Navy used to save the 33 trapped miners in the Northern Chilean Atacama Desert mine last year.  It was the one year anniversary of the accident so they had the capsule on display for everyone to crawl into and look at.

We found this cross made out of wine barrels in Santa Cruz wine country where we stayed and we thought it was just a perfect use for empty barrels.
We will now continue to move south as we target the end of the world and Ushuaia.

More tales to come!
Salud,
Pat and Gary

Rapa Nui - Easter Island

Hello Everyone,
We had a simply fantastic time in Rapa Nui -Easter Island. It is a truly special tiny place in the middle of nowhere.  It took almost 6 hours to fly to Rapu Nui from Santiago Chile.  The island is only 24 kms long by 12 kms wide so it is very easy to get around and not get lost. We had amazing warm weather and we were able to tour around and visit all the famous sites on the island in wonderful warm sunshine. The most famous sites to see are the huge Moai statues which are found all over the island. They are simply massive and are made of solid stone. It is one of the world's big mysteries as to how these statues got moved onto their platforms by the sea and after we saw them we had more questions than answers.  Maybe it was the aliens who put them here after all - who knows!

Rano Raraku Quarry on Rapa Nui 

Here we are at the Quarry where the Moai statues were carved. The Moai statues behind us are actully covered up to their necks in dirt which has accumulated over the centuries.  These are full statues and they are very very big.  One of the other mysteries on Rapa Nui is why all of a sudden the people stopped making and moving the statues.  These ones were all in transit down to the coast but for some reason they were simply abandoned and the wind and landslides have filled in the dirt around them. It is a really strange experience to see these deserted statues and wonder what the heck happened here many hundreds of years ago.

Tongariki Rapa Nui at Sunrise

Believe it or not we actually got up early enough in the morning to see the sunrise over these Moai. Anyone who knows me well understands that I am simply not a morning person so that will tell you how important it is to see the sunrise over these statues.  If you don´t believe in powers or spirits of some kind, seeing these statues could change your mind.  There is some sort of weird energy here and you can't help but contemplate the meaning of life when you look at them.  We visited Rapa Nui during the low season so we actually had this entire site to ourselves one morning.  We felt very priviledged to be able to come here and see all this just by ourselves.

Anakena Beach Rapa Nui 

This beautiful beach is near the top of the island and it is where the original settlers first arrived.  The sand is like sugar and perfectly white.  The water is turquoise and crystal clear. There is a restored platform with 7 Moai statues in this picture and it is one of the most important archeological sites on the island.  The weather was nice and warm without any humidity which all combined to make this one of the best beaches I´ve ever been to in my life.  The awesome banana cake and beer sold by one of the vendors here rounded out the whole beach experience.

We have to admit that we left Rapa Nui with a lump in our throats.  We were able hike to the highest point on the island and get a great view of everything.  When we left we were given a feather and a shell. The feather is meant to bring us back some day and when we do that we are to throw the shell back into the sea where it belongs.  Rapa Nui is really a very special place and we can highly recommend it.

We now fly back to Santiago and start moving south.
More news to come very soon!
Cheers,
Pat and Gary

Mendoza Madness!

Hola Amigos!
Since our Bolivian Bicycle and Salt adventures we have been able to recover in Menodaza Argentina and we can say that life is just wonderful again.  Mendoza is all about wine so you can be sure that we are fully maximizing our time here by visiting as many wineries as we can.  There are about 1200 wineries to see so the pressure is definitely on.  One guide worked it out to at least 3 per day for an entire year. We rented bikes (no not extreme Kona mountain bikes like Bolivia) and toodled around to see as many wineries as possible via bicyclette.  We did ok but ran out of steam after lunch which included a bottle of wine of course!

The views are spectacular and we are looking at Aconcagua Mountain which is a mere 6959 metres above sea level.  This is actually the highest peak in the western hemisphere and it is always in the distance here in Mendoza which is absolutley stunningly beautiful.  It is spring time here so all the blossoms are coming out.  The vineyards themselves are still "sleeping" as one tour guide put it but the scenery is just fantastic.

We had an amazing tour of Zuccardi vineyards and we really wish to thank the wonderful folks there for a simply super afternoon.  We got to visit the experimental wine room which includes neat varietals such as Tannat from Uruguay which I am standing beside.  This is now my new favourite wine and I would love to keep whatever is in this tank.  The city of Mendoza is just fantastic and it is really easy to get around.  We were able to try some of the yummy food including a typical Argentinian Parilla which includes all sorts of interesting meats and bits on the BBQ.

Here we have Gary with a real Asado or BBQ.  These guys take their meat very seriously and as you can see they go for the whole meal deal.  The sqaure right down the street from our hotel, the Plaza de Chile, was the site of the Chilean Festival of Independence Celebration and they BBQ'd meat like this for three days in a row.  There was traditional dancing at nighttime and of course more wine.  We had a lot of fun watching everything go down for the festival.

Here we are outside yet another winery that specialized in organic wines and we were able to taste primitive wine or wine that had not been filtered or treated in any way.  I must admit it tasted a lot like grape juice and I think my palatte has become used to the more commercialized traditional wines we all love so much.  Malbec is the wine of choice around here and we have done our best to sample as much as we can.  At 5 to 6 dollars for a good decent bottle it is really fun to sample all the different wines.

We have more stories to tell about our adventures but in the meantime we would like to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving.  We will be missing our turkey but we will be sure to drink some wine that goes well with Turkey to celebrate.
Salud,
Pat and Gary

Salt Desert Uyuni Bolivia - Extreme Adventure!

Hola Amigos!

Salt Hotel Uyuni Bolivia

We have survived our 3 day Bolivian Salt Desert Crossing in a 4 x 4 truck and we are alive to tell the tale! This was definitely the most extreme part of our trip so far.  In this picture I´m sitting at a table made of salt blocks which is in front of an entire building made of salt blocks.  The white stuff at my feet is not snow but salt.  It was really surreal walking and driving on that much salt.  They actually have one part they call the Salvador Dali desert and we can certainly see why. 

Fish Island Salt Desert Uyuni

These cacti are the oldest in the world and they only grow one centimetre every year.  We are completely surrounded by salt and the desert.  We spent one night in a hotel built entirely out of salt blocks and the floor was simply salt crystals.  It got very cold at night (minus 15 degrees celcius) and we slept with all of our clothes and jackets on.  There was frost on the inside of the window when we woke up.  Gary and I were easily the oldest folks on this tour and I told Gary if he wants to do this again he will need to find a 25 year old chick to do it with.  My high altitude salt desert camping days are quickly drawing to a close!

James Pink Flamingos at Laguna Verde Bolivia

However, when you see scenery like this you can definitely say it was all worth it! We saw hundreds of gorgeous pink flamingos in the lagoons in front of the volcano.  The scenery was pristine and we are literally in the middle of nowhere here which is why the flamingos hang out.  We also saw herds of Vicuna and a bunch of crazy llamas as well. 

This volcano actually has smoke coming out of the top left side of it. Mmmm makes you wonder when the next one is going to blow.  We walked along some Geysers which were all bubbly and it felt like walking on egg shells.  The Andes are still growing and we got to see it up close and personal.  We crossed over into Chile on a high mt. pass at 15,000ft to San Pedro de Atacama and we were able to do some stargazing in the highest, driest desert on earth.  We saw the Southern Cross and lots of  Zodiac signs in the sky.  We also saw Jupiter with its rings and moons.  Our extreme desert days are now over and we will head down to wine country in Argentina and Chile.  We are both looking forward to hot showers good wine and good food!
Much more to come,
Pat & Gary

Bolivia La Paz, Copacobana, and Isla del Sol

Hola,
Bolivia has been full of surprises. The capital city of La Paz is the highest capital city in the world at approx. 11,500 feet and yes we can feel the altitude a lot.  The view of the city when you fly in is simply stunning because it is built so high up.  The buildings seem to just cling to the sides of the valley.  We are staying near the Witches Market in the center of town and if you want to buy some coca leaves and llama fetuses for good luck there are plenty to choose from...

Witches Market La Paz Boliva

We went to Lake Titicaca and stayed in a town called Copacobana right on the shores of the lake.  Las Olas, the hotel we stayed at was like Hobbit Land and it was really fun hanging out on the shores of Lake Titicaca.  We met two couples who are doing the Alaska to Ushuaia route by camper which takes about two years total.  Our five month trip from the top of South America to the bottom seems really wimpy compared to that and we are duly humbled.

 The scenery around Isla del Sol is simply beautiful.  Don´t forget we are at high alitude here which means around 14,000 feet.  We climbed up an Inca staircase complete with waterfall and had a great view over the lake into Peru. Isla del Sol is considered to be the birthplace of the entire Inca culture so it is quite the place to visit.  We saw beautiful snow capped peaks in the distance and the terraces the Inca built are really impressive.  Gary looks just great in this hat.   Unfortunately the hat is now no longer with us as it bascially distintegrated in our suitcase.  We are on the hunt for new styling hat for Gary.  Stay tuned!

Isla del Sol Lake Titicaca

We tried Bolivian red wine and it is ok.  We are very much looking forward to Chile and Argentina where we will be sure to drink lots of the wonderful wines.We will soon be leaving Bolivia and heading into Chile.  Much more news to come!
Pat and Gary

The World´s Most Dangerous Road Bolivia

Hola Amigos!

Start of the Worlds Most Dangerous Road approx 16,000 ft

Gary and I did the Mountain Bike trip down The World´s Most Dangerous Road the other day and we are alive to tell the tale.  It was a totally indescribable experience and I still can´t believe that we did it.  We signed up with a company called Gravity Assisted and we had a super long day that started at 7:45 am and ended at 9:00pm that evening.  We rode for about 5 hours in total and descended a total of 12,000 feet from the top of the mountains to the jungle.

The trip was 65 kms long and it was wild.   Check out the YouTube clip of Gravity Assisted if you have time. It is exactly what we did and it was a total thrill. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtUaherTC50
When we were done the ride we came back in our minibus on the same highway which was incredible because it certainly doesn´t look as though cars can still drive on it.

A  minibus had tumbled over the edge the night before we did the ride and four people died.  We watched as the tow trucks and cranes tried to pull the minibus back up to the road. There are sheer drop offs and no guard rails on the road so if you miss a turn you are toast.

We would highly recommend this trip to anyone who is looking for a real thrill on their moutain bike. It has been a real highlight of our trip so far.

We are now heading out to the Salar de Uyni in Bolivia which is the biggest salt flat desert in the world. We will cross it in a 4x4 and it will take 3 days total. We are hoping to end up in San Pedro de Atacama in Chile when we are done.

Lots more news to come!
Hasta la vista,
Pat and Gary

Quito, Otavalo & Vilcabamba The Avenue of Volcanoes

Buenas Dias! We are thoroughly enjoying Ecuador and all it has to offer. Quito is a wonderful city and we were able to take a cable car to the top of Pichincha Volcano to take a peek.  It is 4100 or so metres high (13,500 ft) and we hiked up as far as we could with many short stops to catch our breath.  The air sure is thin up there but we got a great view. There are 137 volcanoes in Ecuador and two of the active ones including Pichincha are in Quito.

We saw the Cotopaxi Volcano which is also active as we drove out to Otovalo to visit the largest market in South America last Saturday.  Cotopaxi is the highest volcano in the world and it is the closest to the sun because it is so close to the equator. Both Gary and I signed up for a quick Spanish Lession in Quito in a desperate attempt to improve our Tarzan Spanish - me want drink - is sort of where we are at right now and we wish to improve.

View Towards Otovalo

 We said good bye to Quito and flew out to Vilcabamba in southern Ecuador for some great R& R.  Vilcabamba reminds us a lot of the Okanagan because it is dry like the desert but the hills are green and beautiful.  The temperature here is just perfect. We got to go horseback riding which was really fun.  We had great gentle horses but they galloped us up and down some pretty sprectacular trails and we got some great views.  My legs and saddle are really sore now but is was worth it.

 We are moving on to Peru next on our way to Bolivia where things are going to be a bit more basic than what we have encountered so far.
Much more to come.
Hasta Luego!
Pat & Gary

Galapagos Islands -Really Wild and Wonderful

Pat & Gary at the Crater

Hola Amigos! Here we are on Isla Isabella in the Galapagos Islands.  There are five active volcanos on the Island and we are standing in front of one that erupted in 2005.  There is fresh lava down below and we were lucky as the clouds cleared right as we reached the top of the hike.  We also went to visit the lava tubes and we saw passion fruit trees along the way.  We went to the Tintoreras on Isla Isabella and saw Penguins - the second smallest in the world along with white tipped reef sharks -  4 in total and thousands of big iguanas - they were up to 20 pounds and can live up to 60 years. Everything is big here and lives a long time.   Gary got to swim with a sea lion and giant sea tortoise which was really cool.  Our guide Jhover was really great and we would like to recommend him to other folks who are thinking of visiting the Galapagos Islands.  He does land based tours and you can check out his info at Galapagos Options.  Here is the link to their site  www.galapagosoptions.com 

Gary Talking with Turtles!

We also went to visit the Giant Tortoise reserve on Isla Isabella and Gary got up close and personal with a 400lb giant land tortoise who has been bred there and is watiting to be released back into the wild.  I don´t know what Gary and the tortoise are discussing but it sure seems intense!

Blue Footed Boobies on Isla Espanola

We decided to do a 4 day boat cruise and we went to Santa Cruz, Isla Floreana and Isla Espanol.  These blue footed boobies - yes that´s their real name -let us come so close it was incredible.  We saw lots of birds up close including beautiful giant flamingos, giant pelicans, Nazca boobies, and Albatross.  We walked through the Albatross nesting grounds and saw the Albatross courting dance- talk about the funky chicken - these guys really have quite the ritual mating dance complete with wierd popping noises and lots of head bobbing.  We also saw two baby albatross chicks who were all cute and fuzzy.  As we walked back to the dinghy we had to walk by a baby sea lion that was only a few hours old.  Mama Sea Lion was not too happy that we walked by that close but we had to get back to our boat.  We stayed about the Queen Beatriz catamaran which is 103 feet long and takes 16 passengers. Check it out at www.galapagos-luxury-cruises.com/queen_beatriz_galapagos_cruise_yacht.html

We ended our Galapagos trip on Isla Santa Cruz where we visited the Charles Darwin centre to see more giant tortoises.  They had little baby tortoises that were only a month old and we also got to see Lonesome George the 100 year old turtle who is the last of his species.  When he dies there will be no more turtles of his kind left in the world. Poor George! We loved the Galapagos and were able to stay for over a week.  The weather was nice and warm and the beaches are wonderful with white sugar sand and clear turquoise waters.   We got to go snorkeling and saw tons of huge tropical fish along with a playful sea lion who was trying to nibble on one of the other gals flippers.  They are so fun and friendly. It was a real treat to see so much and to go snorkeling. We were sad to leave the Galapagos Islands which really are special.  We highly recommend that you check them out.
More to come soon.
Salud!
Pat & Gary 

Cartagena, Sun, Salsa & Mojitos

Cartagena is hot,hot,hot in more ways than one. The temperature here has been a steady 32 degrees with 75 percent humidity which makes it feel like 46 degrees according to our groovy new iPad weather app. There is lots of sunshine and the occasional thunder storm when the humidity builds in the afternoons. That usually cools everything off quite nicely and then there is a beautiful Caribbean breeze that blows in during the evenings. We have discovered the Cafe del Mar where they have really chill music (Gary got the CD), a fantastic view of the ocean - complete with sunsets and great Mojitos. We went to the Havana Club last Friday night for some serious Salsa and the best Mojitos in Cartagena.  The live band was great and we got to watch some cool Salsa dancing.

This view is from the Fort on top of the hill that protects Cartagena.  Seems as though everyone including Sir Frances Drake and Pirates wanted to invade this place so there is a big protective wall complete with canon ball pot marks from all of the attacks over the years.  You can see the new city in the background complete with tall apartments buildings and beaches.  We much prefer the old town which is closed to traffic after 5:00pm so it is great for walking around.

We did a little side trip to Santa Marta which is a five hour bus ride away along the coast.  From there we went to Tayrona National Park and walked along the beautiful beaches.  Gary spotted a 2 foot long iguana who was in no hurry to get away from us on the trail.  We had a bit of adventure going back to Santa Marta because we jumped on a bus that turned out to be smuggling something for the black market.  One of the Colombian gals we were with said it may have been clothes or something but definitely not drugs.  The police were bribed COP 200,000 pesos which is about $100 dollars and we were on our way!  You just never know what you will find aboard some of these "Magic Buses".

The beach at Tayrona park was really beautiful but unfortunately you can´t swim at this beach because of the riptide.

We are flying out to Quito Ecuador tomorrow and then moving on to the Galapagos Islands for some serious sea lion and tortoise viewing.  We will miss Cartagena which has been a wonderful relaxing stop for us.
More to come soon mi amigos!
Salud,
Pat & Gary

Bogota - A Risk Worth Taking!

Bogota Colombia
Where else in the world can you watch Guinea Pig racing live on the streets and get a really stiff shot of whiskey in your coffee at any time of day?  (We have had many in the middle of the afternoon in order to warm up - or at least that was our excuse!)  In a city of 8 million people things can get kind of crazy but we have had a lot of fun here in Bogota and we would highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for adventure. 
The Gold Museum or Museo del Oro is really cool and the security doors they have protecting the exhibits are stronger than the security deposit box doors at home at my bank.  There are lots of really interesting gold pieces from way back when and the museum entrance fee was only $1.50 or three dollars for the both of us.  I was trying to show Gary the solid gold necklace I wanted for Christmas but he would have no part of it.  I also tried to get him into the Emerald museum with no luck. What is a girl to do?

The first person we met here in Bogota was from LA and all he talked about was the Vancouver Riots as soon as we told him where we were from.  He said he was glad to see that Canadians had some spunk in them.  Great!  The next two people we talked to were from Calgary and the guy had just graduated from UBC - go figure! Our spanish sucks so it is a little difficult to converse with the locals.  Our goal is to be able to speak this beautiful language at least a little bit before we leave.  We shall keep you posted on our progress.
Ok so after dragging Gary through the Gold Museum we went to the Police Museum and we saw the Gold and Silver plated Harley Davidson motorcycle that Pablo Escobar the Cocaine Drug Barron owned.  It is apparently worth $90,000 US and you can tell by the look on Gary's face that he would love to have it. 

We went to a small bakery that has been around since 1861 called La Puerta Falsa and we had yummy hot chocolate and cheese.  Yes you dip the chunk of cheese in the hot chocolate and go for it. Now don't get me wrong, I love chocolate and I love cheese but this combo was just a bit weird. 

The next day we headed off to the Museo Botero which is totally cool.  They've got great Picasso paintings as well as Salvador Dali statues.  The museum was free and it was really well set up.  We discovered the Juan Valdez coffee chain which has so much more than Starbucks because you can get the shot of Whiskey in your coffee anytime you want. In the evening we went to the Zona Rosa which is like a mini Champs Elysees in Paris.  Actually it is not so mini and I would say that almost all of the
major names and designers were to be found there.  I even found a Naf Naf store which I have not seen outside of France since leaving Paris.  It was a very cool part of town and we had a beer at the Bogota Beer Company.  They have 3 litre Giraffe's or very large tall glass jugs there.  It was really fun watching them serve up the big pour!

We took a trip up the cable car to Montserrat which sits at 3600 metres.(That's 11,800 feet and yes you can feel the altitude as you walk up the steps to the beautiful church on top of the mountain).  For lunch we had Pollo y Papas con Guacamole (Chicken and Potatoes with Guacamole) and they gave us clear plastic gloves to eat it with instead of cutlery.  Gary was in his element!   The shot below shows the city and the place we are staying.  Try to pick it out!  Just kidding.

Tomorrow we leave for Cartegena and we hope to find some sunshine and warm weather.  We will keep you posted on our adventures and we really like hearing back from you all as well.

Until next time,
Salud!
Pat & Gary