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