Merry Christmas

Hello All...

Well, I do believe that this will by one of my last, if not the last entry before the end of the year.

Since I last updated this, I have held a dinner party at home, (with no furniture) which resulted in one of the most dramatic evenings I´ve known. Some you have heard the story....Here is a shortened version:

Philip, with whom I´d been working alongside at the agency, was finally planning his trip home, so a few of us decided to get together for a night of farewell drinks, dinner, drinks, drinks, did I mention drinks?
Other than Philip and myself everyone was Ecuadorian...The guys brought typical Ecuadorian wine and champagne - Gagging material!
Night at my place ended fairly early, only after Phil received a shirt, and had to wear it out, so we all got a display of muscles!

Then we hit Level, a RnB nightclub in La Mariscal and danced the night away...Well kinda. Maria, Phil´s girlfriend in Quito, (as opposed to the one he went to a wedding with in Cuenca) spotted him chatting to another Ecuadorian girl, and that was it - Started yelling and screaming, tears, and stormed out, with Phil in tow.
"You lied to me, you don´t love me - If you did, why would you talk to that other girl?" Top of her lungs in the middle of the street.
"I love you so much and would do anything for you" On her knees infront of him in white pants!

So guess who played the "Kiss and make up person" in the middle of the street, with another friend not feeling too crash hot hunched over an area well known for a drunk bladder release, and the security guards, telling me that it really wasn´t a safe area and a pretty girl like me really should have an escort to take me home, and did I need one?

The above photo was taken before the above-said incidents...And yes those are huge sweat patches under my arms!!! That´s what happens when you dance the night away!

Then off at a different nightclub...And Edwin, who had to leave quito at 6am to get to work down south, was falling asleep in the corner of the bar...
So I thought I would help out by giving him my housekeys and letting him know I would be home before 6am - All he had to do was let me in....The simplest of plans....

I ended up with my front door key in two pieces, a phone call from my landlord not too happy at being woken up at 4.30 am by a supposed friend of mine who had broken the key in the lock, and rung the first doorbell he saw.
I also ended up with my camera being used as down payment for a $2 cab ride for which someone couldn´t pay the fare for! Luckily a friend knew the cabbie and I got my camera back a few days later along with photos of people I didn´t and still don´t
know! Interesting.

Ten days later...I somehow got a foulish bout of the flu! Not happy Jan! In bed for two days. had Ivan, a friend of mine here, taking care of me, making sure I ate properly....I discovered the joys of cheese humitas, (typical corn pastie) sliced and lightly fried in butter with vegemite - A natural chef is what I am! Watch out for other experiments in food fusion!

I´ve also experienced Halloween here....Everyone, or most get dressed up and parade down Amazonas, one of the main streets here. Everything is for sale: paintings, masks, witches hats, posters, woolen hats, food, fairy floss. There are bands playing every 100m or so, and a live show with dancers at plaza at the end of the street.
Great fun!

Last weekend I went to Baños with Daniel for the weekend. It is a small town quite well known for its thermal springs...Although more recently for the very active volcano, only 7km away...
Despite most Quiteños telling us we would not be able to get there due to a strike outside of town, we tempted fate and hopped on a bus.

The strike did in fact exist...The bus stopped in the middle of the road, alongside another filled with soldiers, who started to hoot and whistle as we walked past - Told Daniel it was his blonde locks and deep blue eyes!
Being told the town was not far - Only 30 min walking - Off we went. Those were Ecuadorian minutes they were counting in...After walking 40, we finally got in the back of a camionetta and had a 10-15 ride till we hit town.
However our walk did prove interesting - The strike was not the military trucks as we had first thought...Big tyres burning in the middle of the road, with rather toxic black smoke, in three different places and a bunch of people just milling around not seeming to be doing much of nothing.

Baños was just gorgeous - Very chilled, very laidback. We stayed in a small hosteria where the woman was so cute! Daniel didn´t understand my blank look after he´d just babbled at me in Swedish...The little lady at the reception just told him "Si no entienda, prenda la en tus brazos, y dale un abrazo - todo se entienda asi" - If she doesn´t understand just take her into your arms and kiss her - Everything is understood then....The Sth American way!
On the Friday we rented bicycles and headed in the direction of Puyo...60km away...Like I said "In the direction of."
Most of the way was downhill with some spectacular scenery, which you almost become part of with the trucks flying past you.
We actually cycled 20km down the road to a waterfall called El Pailon Del Diablo.... On the way we helped an Ecuadorian couple change the flat tyre on their bike...The girl was very surprised when I declined her offer of a paper towel with which to wipe my hands clean, while wiping my hands on Daniel´s face!

All in all a brilliant weekend....Had a wonderful time with one of the most incredible people I´ve ever met.
Thanks Daniel - Looking forward to a hell of a lot more of those! Maybe the Biking Dutchmen really will join us next time! Love you to bits!

Here we are, almost at the end of November and I have already done most of my Christmas shopping and am counting down impatiently till the 8th December, when Mum gets here and then the 20th December where Mum, Greg and I get together for Christmas...

What an incredible year.

From the comforts of living in a city I love and know, working in an environment I really enjoyed, surrounded by friends and family, to a topsey turvey journey into the unknown...Unknown parameters not only of where I was going, but also of myself.

Honestly I can say, that in my last five months living here, in Ecuador, I have aged 10 years, (although my actions still don´t reflect it - Was told the other day I act more like someone in their late teens/early 20´s). A number of lessons have been flung my way....

I have learnt:
- That I can go through most things as long as I know my family and friends are just on other side of the phone line
- I have great capacities in being a straight hard assed bitch. Never knew I could be so cold when dealing with people. Warning to you all - Do not piss me off
- That when first meeting people it is best to observe them the way you would your enemy (Great advice Richard - Gracias)
- Bullshit is universal - People spin it around the world and in every language
- The Latino Lover is overrated
- Throwing yourself in the deep end is definitely the best and most amusing way to learn so many things
- Friendship, and I mean "real" friendship is not measured by the length of time you´ve known someone
- Even on the equator line, it gets cold enough to warrant bringing out the heater
- Doesn´t matter how many things you will tick off it, your list of "Things to do Before I Die" will never get shorter
- A beer tower and some good old Aussie humour goes a long way
- Doesn´t matter where you are, or with what nationalities, you know it´s a good night out when the tequila shots come out! An even better night out when the tequila shots are $1.00 (USD) a pop!
- Loneliness is not knowing who to trust
- Happiness is a warm glowing feeling that can overwhelm you in the most unexpected way
- Smiles and hugs are the most beautiful gifts
- To believe in things only once they happen or you are physically holding them in your hands
- People will disappoint you - Pets and animals won´t
- Not to underestimate the level of understanding men can have in regards to "women´s problems"
- It is very hard to live without good cheese...
- Bananas can be served with almost anything depending on the variety you buy - And there are more varieties than you can count on two hands!
- Laughing feels bloody awesome and is highly underrated
- You should never have too much food in your fridge and can never have enough candles in your home, especially when the electricity goes out at least once a month
- Doesn´t matter where you are, gossip (true or false) travels faster than important information
- Life throws snippets of joy at you: Live them recklessy
- Falling in love is one of the most incredible, irrational, and mystifying experiences

Have a fantastic and Very Very Merry Christmas!
Hugs to you all.
XXX

Australian Flies...

Have got a higher IQ than Ecuadorian flies: Australian flies once you flick them, when they land on the inside rim of your glass, actually fly out of the glass and away...
I can´t tell you the amount of Ecuadorian flies have dive bombed straight into my drink....Then my efforts of saving are in vain as their wings are so wet they die...Or so it seems.
Trivia point for all of you.

Well, I should probably let you know that either I hold my visa, which I should receive in a couple of days, or I am in the country illegally!!!
Both are kinda cool situations...I´ve never been illegal before!

Last weekend started off with a birthday party! Viv the birthday girl wanted to go to "Voha" a rather posh nightclub....So there we were standing in the VIP line, (had to come all the way to Sth America to become a VIP!) and the bouncers would let all of our group bar two into the nightclub, because they didn´t have the "right look" - Some things don´t change around the world. So after half an hour of faffing about in the carpark, Miguel arrived who knew the owner of the club and well the wrong looks still didn´t make it in, however the rest of us were taken to the entrance with no line at all - Does that make me a VVIP?

Interesting place: You pay your entry fee of $8USD, (for the ladies and $12 for the men,) and then your drinks are actually all included, no more money needed!!! Did cause quite a stir when the group was passing round a glass of scotch and I told them I couldn´t drink it....Because it had water and ice in it - Sorry, but scotch is meant to be drunk straight up, no ice, and preferably in a tall glass! Rafael got me my very own glass - Not a tall one, but hey "Two out of three ain´t bad!"
After spending a few hours dancing to salsa rythmns, and not knowing a single word of any of the songs played, I made my exit as I had to be up four hours later!

Why???? Because I had a day of white water rafting planned!!! Was super difficult to be up at 5.30am! So a little groggy, I walked to the meeting point and had a "what the?!?!?" moment when I saw our guide - Gaston was the spitting image of my friend Nico; almost asked him what he was doing outside of France!!
After that initial scare, relief filled my body when Santiago, the other guide mentioned we would have a 2.5hr drive - Sleep!!
Me atttempting to put air in our raft/Gaston and I (looking like a Doofus!)/The group!

Well along with Gaston, (a client, not the guide!) and a group of Ecuadorians we headed to Santo Domingo, and onto the Toachi River (Class III-IV), where after we blew up our own boats, and were given the safety equipment and talk, we hauled the boats out onto the water and off we went!!!
Well let me tell you that I learnt rafting terms and my left and right super quickly in Spanish that day!!!! Was just awesome fun.
We stopped at one point and were able to jump off the river bank from heights of either 4 or 5m...First girl over the 4m jump and the only girl off the 5m!!! In fact the only person other than the guide off the 5m!!!!
Through one rapid I almost fell out because my feet weren´t properly adjusted under the seats, so Gaston, (the guide) "kindly" came to place my feet in the correct way - Next thing I knew I was thrown off the boat and in the water!!! Little bugger!!!
The day continued and ended in that mood - At least on our boat.

On the way home we stopped in a small town called Allurquin, which is well known for the sugarcane sweets they make: Sugar, made to look pretty with different coloured food dye wrapped in plastic.

All in all a fantastic day - Although I certainly didn´t take into account the amount of mosquitoey things that bit my legs.....46 bites on one and 57 on the other - They didn´t mention that in the brochure!!!!
Had never realised how much pants rub against your legs when you walk...Yooooouuuuuch!!!!!!

Anyhoo, in general everything is going well....House is even starting to look housey...Even bought myself a mattress last Friday - It´s rather a bizarre situation to find yourself sleeping on the floor next to a perfectly good bed... For a month!
After sleeping on a futon, 20cm from the ground, for I can´t remember how many years now, it is extremely bizarre to be up so high. Have to remind myself every morning that I can´t just roll out of bed, I have to get out of bed!

AND - Hot off the Press!!! - This afternoon have also put my name down for a 4 week basic rock climbing course!!! All of it in Spanish!!!! With written exams! I´m mad!!! A mad rock climbing chick!!!!

Papallacta - Warning!!!

How can anyone wonder why I´ve decided to stay here when I have this type of scenery round the corner from where I´m living. That´s Antisana piearcing through the sky! And if you look closely enough the plants in the foreground are covered in ice....Brilliantly cold day!!! At least at the 4000m at which this picture was taken!

A few weeks ago I tagged along on a trek out to Papallacta, (area in the above picture)...Awesome day even though I was feeling rotten....The highlight of the day was meeting Joe and Phil, two hilarious English gentlemen, with slightly twisted minds - We hit it off like a house on fire...
Ended up going out for drinks and dinner and having a fantastic conversation, which included a debate on the use of proper punctuation, namely colons and semicolons...It was a blast!
A few cocktails, a bottle of wine and a few more glasses of wine fueled the conversation...Thanks guys had a laugh!

Back to the trek....After an initial trek at 4000m Joe and I, who weren´t feeling the best, decided it was best for us to wait while the others were on the second trek, lying in thermal baths - Rather awesome actually to be lying in steaming hot natural water, the sun beating down and moutains towering over you at over 4000m. Definitely one activity I won´t be saying no to if it gets offered again!

We also visited an active trout farm, where I gutted my first fish! That´s what the warning is about in the title! Blood and guts all over my hands....Excellent Fun!! Tried my hand at fishing them as well, with a net and all....Was a lot more successful at cleaning them. Congratulations to Phil who caught fish on his first go!

The trout farm is also a guinea pig farm....No not farming them as pets, but for people who find these hairy rat looking things delicious for dinner...This particular one, on the right, was brought back to Quito with a friend and both were enjoyed two nights later - Not by me.

Since then I have moved into my little apartment, which is very bare: Not a single piece of furniture. Moving in was brilliant, although I went with the idea that I would have hot water straight off - Silly Girl!! Needed gas, didn´t I? And it´s not connected straight to the apartment, is it?? No, needed to buy gas in bottles...Let me tell you, it´s not easy to wash with an electric kettle full of water!
Anyhoo, now have a fridge and a stove, (complete with gas) and should be getting a bed, some lamps, and a couple of shelves this afternoon!!! Yay!
I have even succumbed to having a flatmate....Zorba, my plant! She is beautiful: Pink and Green.
I also was given a "Petate" by Ely, my boss at the agency as a housewarming gift. To explain it is a handwoven straw-type carpet typical of the coastal areas of Ecuador...This particular one has green and purple through it - Very Funky! I also have another "carpet," which is actually here a mantel, (a tablecloth). Blood red with pinks, purples and oranges through it.
So poco a poco I´m getting there! Will provide photos once it starts looking less like I´m camping out in an empty apartment.
This is my building! Basically my place is on the first floor and has the terrace which goes all the way to where the palm trees are. Love it!!

Mi Español is coming along too - With my past and future tenses becoming less confusing...Although trying to understand the words of songs is still trying on the old brain cells, as I found out last Sunday when I went to and all day outdoor concert. Imagine a park the size of the Domain with a sea of umbrellas (for the sun,) dancing merengue and salsa, infront of a giant stage with such artists as Fanny Liu, Fonseca, Fontina, and others starting with other letters of the alphabet!
Of course, my little group had not thought of umbrellas so were all sweltering under jackets to keep from getting burnt! Oh and eating loads of ice-cream to keep cool! Yay!
Do apologise, dorkus head here forgot to take her camera - No photos available.

Ok, more trips for all you Intrepid Ecuadorian Travellers:

1. Double lines on roads are there only for decoration - You can overtake over them, especially around blind corners, and when there is oncoming traffic, preferably heavy trucks!

2. Lane markings are also decoration - You can always fit an fifth car in a four lane road and hey why not a sixth while we´re at it!

3. Foot paths are a figment of your imagination...They exist....Almost. Watch out for the endless holes you can disappear into!

4. You can count on Chinese shops around the globe to be the only ones open everyday of the week!

5. The garbage collectors come every night of the week - Just pop your rubbish bags on the sidewalk in the evening and hey presto! The next day they´ve disappeared!

6. All you shoe and sneaker fans...Boy will you be happy here!! Leather shoes and heels here are to die for, and sneakers can be bought in any colour under the sun...Cheap too!

7. Volcanoes (Tunguragua) erupting are a common occurence. For all of you who have heard about it, and for those who haven´t, here in Quito we are not at all affected by the latest eruptions, other than having to reorganise trips for clients.

8. Shop Assistants think it´s good customer service to hover about 50cm from you as you are looking for clothes, shoes, whatever....They look at you funny when you tell them you would be more comfortable if they went away (ie Piss off!!!)

9. The "Muffin" look here is not a bad fashion statement - It´s bad fashion culture! The clothes are designed so that you are made to have any hint of excess skin, roll out the sides, back and front....

10. Bus stops do exist.....However just wave a bus down and it will stop wherever! Even if it stopped 10m up the road for someone else! Hell, they´ll stop if they´re in the farthest lane from you...As long as you can get across the lanes without getting yourself killed, you´ve got the bus!

Just getting you all prepared for when you visit me! :o)

Found Me

An apartment!!!! Yay!!! Very happy. It all started with my week away at the hostel that the agency owns....

Cotopaxi on a clear night

I´ve just come back from the mountains, out at 3500m surrounded by 16 peaks over 4000m...Scenery-wise, it was just spectacular. When we had tourists there, it was very busy...Otherwise, it was great chill out and meditation time.

Decided I had had enough of not having my own bathroom with guaranteed hot water...I think that did it.
To explain: At the agency I have a hostel room to myself with shared bathroom...The closest bathroom to me spews forth water gathered from the north pole, it´s that cold, and the bathroom upstairs, well the water is not cold, but it isn´t hot either.
Then out at the mountains where it is freezing...Again shared bathrooms. Only here there are water restrictions - Can only have a shower before 6am, (before the tourists get up, and for those of you who know me, that´s way before I get up,) or after the tourists have all gone to bed - If there´s any water left. We had a group of 24 people camping - Water becomes scarce when they all decide to shower.

So after four days of not showering, but being in the proximity of perfectly good hot showers, it was breaking point: Bought the Sunday paper, asked the advice of Mercedes, one the girls I work with and within two hours had found myself a two bedroom apartment with terrace, functioning fireplace, big enough for visitors, (hint hint) but small enough to clean.....And I can´t move in for another two weeks because they are redoing it all...Paint, carpet, doors, even making the wall on the terrace a little higher - Big enough to fit a hammoc too!! It´s approximately a 20 minute walk from where I am at the moment! Have already been eyeing the furniture shops!!!
Funny thing is here is that when you want an unfurnished apartment, you really don t get anything - Not even a stove! I really to have to start from scratch! Luckily it is also close to a couple of local restaurants.

Otherwise...Work has been keeping me busy. We are hitting the busy season, which means groups from different English and American schools coming through. We have approximately 200 kids going through in the next month.
Out at the hostel, I did everything from welcoming tourists, showing people where to camp, changing the grazing area of lamas, cooking meals, (learnt how to make guava jam!) changing sheets, cleaning bathrooms to conforting people who are throwing up....Makes it interesting when some are sick - altitude and stomach bugs - however don t listen when told to keep their fluids up, more so at altitude, and then you have to take them to hospital in the middle of the night with severe dehydration.

It is just beautiful, though...Especially when the sun is shining and the wind decides to take a break from blowing over the trees, as it did in this picture...Cotopaxi, (again) and moi!

I learnt that I can eat potatoes and rice everyday, together for most meals...Go the carbs! I learnt that all leftovers can be mixed together to make a great meal. I learnt that a full moon can replace a good torch when walking small mountain roads in the middle of the night. I learnt that lamas can have seriously freaky eyes. I learnt that when you buy a chicken here...You buy the whole chicken, head, legs, insides and all....Only thing you don t get are the feathers - They even still have their eyeballs...Yes, I checked.

Then onto my ride home....And if you are all wondering...yes, that is a picture of a shattered windscreen. Unfortunately, (or fortunately) I can´t claim I was there when it happened... The guides were driving along the PanAmerican Highway when the bonnet flew up and well, shattered the windscreen. It is rather bizarre driving along without being able to see out the front!

So there you all go, my only day off in a month and a half and it is filled with a heap of things to do and organise...Well at least I´m keeping out of trouble. Kinda....

Much love to you all. XXX

First Week @ Work

Well yes I have given up the carefree life of a backpacker and have found work....For two months at the moment...But onto that later...

Where did I leave you on my last blog...AAAh yes the Sth of France. Spent some time with my friends Alain and Hedi and their respective families. Some of you may remember them: The two crazy French guys who came to Australia in 2001.
Alain has since gotten married and had a little girl who is just so cheeky and the spitting image of her father!! Certainly could not deny her!

I also spent time with Hedi and his family - Hedi came to pick me up and I arrived in the middle of the birthday celebration of his youngest son´s birthday. When people asked Florence Hedi´s wife where he´d gone she responded he´d gone to get his mistress - What an introduction!!! Needless to say I had a brilliant time. I was then invited to spend Mother´s Day with Florence´s family - A food experience if ever there was any!!! Not that I was complaining...My waistline however was another matter.

That day these guys also took me to La Moliere at approximately 2000m where we ended up having a snow fight in the middle of summer in a cave whose walls were still covered in ice...Great fun!!

Hedi and Florence offered then to drive me to St Raphael where I spent a couple of days with Nicky a friend of the family from when we lived in Holland. St Raphael is just such a lovely French coastal village. I dragged poor Nicki into almost every shop at which point she would remind me quite wisely that I had no more space in my rucksack....Still had space for a few more rings though - A girl never has enough jewellery!

Then onto Beziers to see my Aunts!!! All was going well until we reached Marseilles....Engine failure approximately 5 minutes out of the station...Not so bad really the train got pushed back into the station and the delay at this point was 45 minutes....Then just as we were about to leave the elderly lady sitting in front of me almost fainted...She was a diabetic had forgotten to take her medicine had not slept in 48 hours because her daughter in law had been murdered....Quite a horrific story. I won´t go into details.
I was amazed at the amount of people who just have no idea and were shouting at her to get off the train if she was not well...Guess who took it upon themselves to shoo them away and have some respect for the elderly...?

Was fun to see my aunts especially in their little village...I´d always been there in the cooler months...It´s one of those places that has a population of 5000 in summer and 5 in winter...So I actually got to see the place with some people in it and shops were open!! My Godmother and I went way out and got tattoos!!!! Well henna ones anyway!

Then caught a train to Lyon where I spent a whole 5 hours catching up with Nicole! Nic for those of you who don´t know her or what she´s up to is a fantastic friend of mine who is teaching English in France...Lunch a couple of glasses of rose and a creme brulee goes by so very fast: I was back on the train before I knew it.
Destination: Geneva to see the equivalent of my Mum in Europe!!! Annelise is Mum´s best friend and has known me since before I existed. Was a little interesting staying with them as they have big big dog who is much a protector of the both of them. Did I mention it is a big dog with a very scary bark? I nearly lost my hand when Annelise past the phone to me one day - Thank God for reflex! So I always had to wait till the dog went walking with Giovanni Annelise´s husband to give her hugs!
What was great was seeing their grandson who I last saw when he was 2 months old...He is now two and has a brilliant personality and cheeky smile.
Unfortunately didn´t get to see Patrizia their daughter but hey you can´t do everything!

And from Geneva over to London...Stayed with another Florence and her family. I had last seen Florence in 2000...Was very cool seeing her as a Mum. Was also great catching up and chit chatting as girls do!
While in London I also caught up for dinner with Phil...Very cool evening with many beers consumed. I then had to get myself back to Reading...Got to Paddington station and noticed that my next train was in 40 minutes...Made myself comfortable on one of the platform seats - I must say at this point that no matter how many beers were consumed it does not account for the train just disappearing...Actually not even appearing on the platform..So off I went to check and indeed it had just disappeared...What did appear at that point was Dave.
Dave was heading in the same direction and seeing that the train had disappeared mentioned he needed a drink - A scotch straight up no ice sounded brilliant at that point in time. However the Brits in all their wisdom shut all their pubs at midnight..No chance for a drink.
So instead we bought a couple of bottles of wine a bottle opener and five plastic glasses...Came in handy when we got into the train (this one didn´t disappear) and shared it around with a few randoms...Other than Dave I have no idea the names of the other guys!!! Very interestting bunch let me tell you: We talked cricket world cup music basically everything the world and nothing!

Me and my random friends!

Unfortunately with the disappearing train I didn´t get back to Reading until almost 2am - Almost 3 hours to get back!! Florence was brilliant staying up until I got home! Merci!!!

Quiet day followed packing to head back to Ecuador...Yes you read that right - Ecuador! I fell in love with the place and within my first week in Europe had decided to come back. So I emailed a few people back in Ecuador and the trekking agency I travelled with needed someone to help out over the busy months of mid June to August and did I want the job? Jumped on the opportunity.
Will be easier to find work and the rest of it on the spot rather than trying to do it from overseas.

So my first week at work has been interesting - Firstly getting used to the Sth American way of doing things..."Alex relax take a break you work too fast" - A far cry from Caterair back in Sydney. Am going to be doing a heap of different things from selling the trips both trekking and Galapagos Islands to checking equipment. Scariest part right now is the speaking on the telephone to people in Spanish..Getting over that fear quite quickly.

Yesterday was an interesting day as Ecuador won against Costa Rica (World Cup for those of you who haven´t a clue what I´m on about) so as of about 10 am it was party town (went until very very late at night)...Needless to say many businesses were not open or if they were the owners were out in the street partying with the rest of them...As we were. Doesn´t stop there though England also won their game and most importantly Sweden won...My boss is a Swede...Agency was shut from 12 for the rest of the day with rum and coke being consumed in large quantities!

So here I am planning to stay in Ecuador for as long as I possibly can. I absolutely love this country and the people. I have had nothing but positive reactions from all the Ecuadorians I have told about my plans so am asking all of you to cross your fingers for little old moi!

Barça, Barça Baaaaarça!!!!

Ben & his Angels

What a blast Barcelona was!!! I got in there on Tuesday evening and was joined by Ben and Di at eleven pm....Early start to the night in Spain. And seeing as we had a lot to catch up on....

The next day after finding our apartment in the latin quarter the three of us headed out, while waiting for Pam to get there from the UK. As it was for a while there we knew Pam was in town, close to the apartment, but nowhere to be found!!! Di and I even went down to search cafes and bars, calling out for her!!! Even sent out a 'Where are you?' email!!
Finding Pam caused for celebrations - We jumped in a cab and were driven to the closest nightclub - The Golden Eye!

The following day all of us trooped over to La Sagrada Familia, the huge cathedral which, after over 100 years is still in the process of being built - It is estimated construction will not end until the year 2027. It has a mix of architectural styles: The entrance is modern with angular sculptures, whereas the other side is gothic and looks like the building is melting. Very strange, magically ugly, fantastically beautiful; A feat in construction.

That night was supposed to be a quiet one after the raucous Golden Eye - And some of us were good....Others were bad! Arsenal and Barcelona were playing each other in the grand final. Ben and I decided to follow the noise and so wandering through the little streets close to our apartment we found ourselves on Las Ramblas, a street the size of Oxford Street back in Sydney. Well had we known we would be joining one of the biggest street parties either of us had ever been to, I think we would've run there on the double, just to be able to soak in the atmosphere for that little bit longer!!!

We literally hit a wall of people dancing, singing, drinking, waving the Barcelona colours, basically partying like you wouldn't believe. For those of you who know Mardis Gras in Syd, imagine that times 10!!! So of course Ben and I got into the spirit, dancing and trying to sing Barcelona anthems we didn't know any of the words to, running away from the fire crackers only to go and dance in and amongst them when they were going off. People climbed onto street lights, took down street signs, even made off with a set of traffic lights - Huge!!!

Our quiet night ended at 5am.....

The next day was 'Museum Day' which meant that most museum entries were free. Off we trouped to see Picasso. It was just amazing, the man was an artistic genius. Can't give you more than that, other than you have to see it for yourselves!

We then headed to Parc Guell, which was designed by Gaudi and never finished. The walkways made of mosaics, the part where you sit to overlook the city.... Again an amazing artistic mind!

That night really was a quiet one!

Friday we decided was our shopping day with all of us having seen something in our travels we wanted... And Saturday we headed an hour and a half out of Barcelona to Girona... So pretty. It just so happened that it was the flower festival and in the streets, parks, and almost all entrances to houses there was some form of artwork with the theme being flowers...Wow!! Really enjoyed our afternoon there, especially seeing as we stayed for dinner - Gotta love sangria and paella.

Sunday, Pam and I organised our train tickets into France (an ordeal which had us waiting at the station for over an hour and a half). Then all of us went to the bull ring to see the Fighting of the Bulls!!! Ben, Pam and I got into it cheering the guys on...Di was definitley not convinced. Each to his own, at least we can all say we've been.

Monday we all had to say our goodbyes and part ways. Pam and I went to Avignon, small town known for the bridge from which comes the song ' Sur le pont d'Avignon, on y danse, on y danse'

The following day onto Nice.

On Thursday we caught the bus into Monaco and seeing as the Grand Prix was on, it was jam packed with people and drivers....Pam and I had real trouble running from the Paparazzi photographers!! Seriously though, we see Rubens Barichello give an interview, and some other driver, whose name we didn't know - Really into cars we are!!!

Now with some friends in Grasse, the capital of perfume.

Will be filling you all in on my next steps from here.

Galapagos & Beyond!!!

How do I describe the feeling of landing on an island surrounded by turquoise and royal blue water...? Heaven?

Got out of the plane to searing heat...Paid my $100 to get past the National Park People, (yep it´s pretty steep to get to the Galapagos, but all worth it,) and went to look for the representative of the Poseidon, the boat I was about to spend the next week on.

After a bus ride, ferry ride, and another bus ride I arrived at Puerto Ayora and met not only the crew, who almost became like family, but also my friends for the next few days.
Within 5 minutes of meeting Kay, and Dianna, two New Zealanders, travelling with their friend Caroline, I knew I was going to have a ball...
Also on the boat were Arthur and Mieke, a Dutch couple, and a Belgian family.

I´ve always said that if you find someone who is willing to clean up your vomit when you are too ill to do it yourself, then you´ve found yourself a friend for life....Poor Ronnie, second in charge on the boat, unwittingly put himself in that situation on my first night on board...Was sea sick like you wouldn´t believe...Ronnie managed to get me a garbage bag in time, and I still managed to miss the opening - Rogue wave.
Was so sick I fell asleep on the upper deck....Which ended up being where I slept the rest of the nights on the boat. Could not handle the heat in the cabins...

I won´t bore you all with details of all the islands we visited however I will say it was totally awesome. The first day I was in the water adjusting my mask when this huge black thing swam straight at me...Screaming in a snorkel is not very effective! However the sea lion was just being playful, as were the other three who joined in swimming in and around us!

We saw so much wild life up close! It was just unbelievable to see animals in the wild, doing their thing only a few metres from you. We saw blue footed boobies, (birds for the filthy minded) and albatrosses in the midst of their courting, iguanas feeding and basking in the sun, just amazing....

The photo there is Mieke, Arthur and myself enjoying an aperitif of rum and coke at 11am...On a Monday morning!

Wednesday came way too fast...It was the day these guys were leaving me to a whole new bunch of people....And the night before they were due to arrive, I found out it was a group of Israelis...Interesting.

Right: Blue Footed Booby, with two eggs...Rare sight.
Have learnt a lot about the wildlife here as well as the geology and the people... Can actually tell you the difference between a male booby and a female booby!

Left: Male Frigate bird trying to attract female...

Below: Land Iguana...

One of the Boyz!

A couple of marine iguanas catching some rays....

Well, it wasn´t all bad news...Good news being, the 9 Israelis turned out to be 7 with the two remaining passengers being Eva and Marie, Danish girls who were great fun....
The bad news being that not one of the Israelis was under 70....

The crew took me under their wing. This meant being included in all of their boyish jokes and that with the group of older people being rather demanding and extremely rude and condescending about it, the crew refused to speak what little English they knew; I acted as translator. So much so, that I was asked 3 times within 24 hrs whether I was part of the crew!
It also meant being the butt of a lot of their jokes when they found out my new room mate was an 80 year old man....Thankfully, I had taken to sleeping on the upper deck!!!

It was an interesting experience sitting at our meals around a table with Hebrew being the main language spoken...Very little effort was made to include us in the conversation or to ask us if we agreed when they wanted to change the itinerary; It just happened. In the dinghy when we went exploring the coast line, once an animal was spotted, they all crowded to that side of the boat with their cameras, and video cameras...Us three were often left to see 7 bums rather than the Galapagos penguin on the rock...It happened that many times that Eva decided to take a picture...We called it the Galapagos Bums!

Us youngens got ours back when we went snorkelling...Spending as much time as we could in the water before finally deciding that it was time to get back to the boat. Usually when our hands looked like prunes and we were shivering...Took us a while trust me.

The life under water in the Galapagos is amazing...Not only the life, but the landscape as well. With the islands being made from volcanic eruptions, underwater the rocks are actually lava flows, creating tunnel like formations. Fish can be found within a metre of the surface, and as mentioned earlier turtles, sea lions, and sharks can be seen in deeper water.

Life and landscapes are amazing above land as well!

All in all a fantastic week spent on turquoise blue water, with not a care in the world other than where we were snorkelling next, and ¨Should I have a rum and coke or a beer...?¨
Life was very difficult.

Now back in Quito, my last purchases need to be done...Am really quite sad to be leaving. Had such a ball here....All ok, though, just need to figure out the best and easiest way to get a working visa and come back!

I have jumped...

Out of a plane from lower altitudes than where I was this morning at 6am!!!!! I was almost on top of the world!

This is Cotopaxi, which stands at 5,897 metres....And just before 6am this morning I made it to the summit!!!!! It is an active volcano...Active in the sense that it goes off every 100 years, and was due to 25 years ago...It is being monitored very carefully as if an eruption eventuates, the lava flow is thought to be able to reach Quito in 15 minutes...

Enough of the doom and gloom, though...As most of you know I have been out of contact for 10 days now. Basically, I have spent that time trekking, and acclimatising so that I could make it to the top of Cotopaxi! As mentioned in my last blog, there were afew mountains we were going to ascend in preparation for The Big One. Unlike what many people think, most of Ecuador's mountains are actually easy to get to the top of, (without taking into account altitude, of course).

So went up to the summit of Pasochoa, on a day that was so wet...Within 15 minutes we were soaked to the bone. Didn't help that the Hostel where we stayed had fire places, but the wood was so damp, we couldn't light anything...Some even sacrificed boxer shorts in an attempt to light a fire. Then spent 3 days in Cotopaxi National Park, literally scrambling up and down ravines, and moutains.....many bum slides there. Apparently Ecuador is the highest user of water in South America - And they can afford to be, it rains almost every day!

One mountain which will still have to be conquered is Iliniza North (as opposed to South)...We, (Bec and Dave are an English couple with whom I've done most of my trekking with here - Brilliant, brilliant people!) made it to the refuge, no problems there, other than the bareness of it...But hey it was a roof. To make it to the summit at dawn, (6am) we were getting up at 4am. Well the alarms went off and we were told by Marco, our guide to stay in bed one more hour - Bad weather. Indeed it was, the moutain was covered in thick layers of cloud, the sun was not able to pierce through...It was extremely surreal, walking in the dark with the wind howling threats to blow us off the mountain side, and black ice on every rock we put our feet on...About an hour from the top Marco called it off - It was too dangerous for us to continue.

As for this morning, well actually the adventure started yesterday! We got to the refuge, (4,500m) just on 2pm...Weather once we got there was hideous, rain, snow, wind...Not good climbing conditions, but it had all cleared by 4pm, so a few of us from our group, (we were six in total) hiked up to the glacier, (a good 40 minute walk) to have a bit of a walk with crampons and get an idea of how to use an ice axe - Especially if you fall....

Then it was back to the refuge for dinner at 5pm...And to bed by 6pm. Sounds kinda weird, I know, but hey, we were being torn out of bed at 11pm, so that we could start the ascent by midnight. As it is sleeping at 6pm is difficult....Even more so when you put us all at altitude! Love my earplugs though, they do wonders.

Imagine walking attached to another 3 people by rope, one behind the other, all with ice axe in hand, and dressed like eskimoes, the stars shining brightly above you, and the snow glittering at your feet, due to the headtorch your shining there, because other than the moon it is the only light guiding your way. And you plod one foot in front of the other, or if it is really steep, (between 20 & 70 degrees) you go up with your feet crossing over....Your muscles and your head are aching and screaming for more oxygen for what you are making them do, your water bottle freezing over due to wind, temperature and altitude, and the only thing keeping you going is "I'm going to make it to the top, one step at a time" - And all of this in the dark with just a head torch lighting your way fo 6 hours!

Rereading this, I think I've put it really mildly - Quite truthfully it was hell. It is the most difficult situation both mentally and physically I have put myself through....Ever.

The top was amazing.....Especially at dawn. We were above the cloud line and the other mountain peeking up above the clouds is Chimborazo, Ecuador's highest peak, (over 6,000m).

So there you go, me and the Cotopaxi crater at 5897m - Didn't stay up the top long, was way too cold!

Was quite proud of myself on the way down, was so tired I kept on catching my crampons together, causing me to fall over a number of times...One was splendid though with me sliding face first down the glacier...The lessons the previous day paid off, I managed to "self arrest" - Stop myself from sliding too far down, using my ice axe. I'm a pro!!!

I sit here writing this, thinking about my achievements, and I have not yet eaten since last night...Am kinda saving myself for a celebratory dinner with Bec and Dave (Red wine never sounded so good), and have not yet slept, adrenaline kinda gets to you like that.

Anyhoo, probably won't write for another little while, simply as after my little expedition of this morning, I think I've earnt a week on a boat...I'm going to the Galapagos Islands tomorrow morning, for a week, and hope to hang out with some hammerhead sharks!

Pichincha!!!

I thought I might get a last blog in before I run off to summit a few mountains, as you do here in Ecuador! And for the next 10 days, I won´t be anywhere near a computer!

Tips for the Intrepid Ecuadorian Traveller

1. Learn some basic Spanish - Many people speak little or no English. If you can´t learn before you leave, enroll yourself in a course over here. Numbers are alwys good for bargaining.

2. Ladies, if you´re not of the squat & shake variety, and you don´t have toilet paper, usually you´re ok. Most public bathrooms charge you between 10c-25c to use the facilities, toilet paper included. Otherwise hold on tight - Hiking and bus trips are the worst for this.

3. Speaking of toilets...Before throwing your used TP in the bowl, check for signs requesting you to do otherwise...Ie Pop it in the rubbish bin.

4. If there is an electrical lever next to the shower, keep the lever in the upright position and turn on water and keep it on low pressure to ensure warm and pleasant temperature.
Note: Do not worry about live electrical wires or blue sparks coming from lever...As long as you keep in mind you most probably will receive mild electric shocks while showering, all is well.

5. Ladies, especially if you are blonde, and walking on your own, expect the local male population to stare incessantly. You will hear wolf whistles and/or the words Bella/Guapa/Linda, (all meaning beautiful,) every 100m or so. If you´re really lucky though, you´ll hear "Psssssst" - This is the local way of getting someone´s attention, you´ll know you´ve really made it then.

6. Sorry Guys, another one for the ladies - Expect to have a conversation with any Ecuadorian male you ask a simple question of...For example "Where is the bank?" inevitably leads to "How long are you in Ecuador? Are you travelling on your own?Are you married? Do you have a boyfriend? What have you seen in Ecuador? What haven´t you seen? Your Spanish is very good. Would you like to have a drink? I could take you to ...(Any place you have not yet seen)...if you would like?"

7. Hovels do serve up a decent meal. Do not judge the hovel by the amount of filth covering the table or the floor. And it´s cheap!

8. Unless you´re in a swanky joint, (and by swanky I mean the backpacker version - Anything with vinyl seats or better is classified as swanky) if beer and water cost the same you´re bound to be getting 650ml of beer and 500ml of water. Ie for those of you who are not mathematicians, you´re getting more beer for the same price. Mmmmmm beeeeeer!

9. Local trams/buses cost 25c no matter where in town you are going. Buses taking you on longer distances cost $1 for every hour travelled. Ie If your destination in 4hs away, the journey will cost you $4.

10. Just because someone wears a T-shirt claiming their status as "Bar Master," does not mean they can cork a bottle of wine!

Just to make this entry a little more interesting I should probably tell you that I made it to the top of Pichincha today - 4800m!!
There it is in the background!!!

There will be a few of us as of tomorrow, the start of 10 days worth of trekking - I know the name of the next few mountains will not mean anything to most but hey, I´m name dropping...Firstly we go to the top of Pasachoa, then a few days around Cotopaxi, then to the top of Illiniza, then on the 4rth & 5th May we summit Cotopaxi....Start the ascent at midnight on the 5th....Wish me luck!!!

Me at the top of the mountain with Quito in the background - 4800m and feeling great!

¿Dónde están los baños?

A very important question in any language - Where are the bathrooms? And let me tell you I know it well, with mine being the smallest bladder known to man, (and unfortunately for some of you, you know that well too!!)

Sitting next to a woman who smelt like something the Monster from the Black lagoon had dredged up, with a driver who, inbetween hoicking and spitting every quarter of an hour, was overtaking around corners at speeds so phenomenal the bus was within a hair´s breath of tipping over, and my bladder screaming to be relieved, I found myself on a bus on my way to Riobamba - A town 4hrs south of Quito.

Other than the one park which offered great views of Chimborazo, (Ecuador´s highest peak) and seemed to be make out point for every couple in the city and then some, and a very loud karaoke bar, (no I didn´t try my luck with the Spanish songs they were playing) there really isn´t anything in Riobamba...Me and every other tourist in town was there to do the famous Nariz Del Diablo (The nose of the devil) train ride. It is ¨supposed¨ to be fantastic and a feat in railway construction, offering unsurpassed views of mountains ....AND you get to ride on the roof.
I say ¨supposed¨ because as I went to book my ticket with two other English boys, we were told the part wich is breathtaking was closed due to a land slide and wouldn´t be fixed for another month - Viva Sud America!!!
Decided that I wouldn´t be riding on the roof of a train in the near future so what the heck! Took the train to the halfway point. Even that was a feat in itself...Mini landslide along the way meant the train stopping for a good hour for the guys to flex their muscles with their shovels and picks so that we could get by.....
So my day on Friday started at 5am...Needed to be at the train station by 6am if we wanted a good part of the roof - Don´t ask me what a good part to a train roof is, I still don´t know.
What I did manage to do was pick the only hotel in town who opens for breakfast at 5.30am on the days the train leaves...So unlike my English and Swiss travelling buddies, I started the day with a hearty breakfast.

I say Swiss, as the English guys and I were sharing a beer in their hostel, when Benoit came out and started chatting to us. We all ended up going for dinner and catching the train the following morning together! I had friends for a day!!!
The train ride was fun, althoug bum numbing! The scenery was fantastic and the kids from the various villages would come and wave us on through our journey....

Benoit and I continued onto Cuenca, a gorgeous colonial city....Kinda reminded me of Seville in Spain, for those of you who have been. For those of you who haven´t, it was cobbled streets and typical buildings with balconies over the streets. A really laid back feel to it. Our hotel overlooked the Plaza San Fransisco and the city...A great place to be with a beer in hand at sunset!

I had decided to go to Ecuador´s most famous Incan ruins the following day...They might have been better if the weather was not super cold, windy and very, very wet....The guide had to have umbrellas brought to us. Told Benoit to save his pennies and go to the Peruvian ruins instead - Macchu Picchu. Much, much better!

The following day both of us hopped on a bus to Gualaceo, which is not so touristy and has a local market which was fun to walk through...then onto SigSig another small village, 25km south...We were told to stand on the street and catch a local bus...Bus after bus went by, none with SigSig as their destination. So when a small pick up stopped, wound down the window and the driver mentioned SigSig, I jumped on the opportunity! The cab was full so with a sparkle in my eye I quipped to Benoit "Allez c´est l´aventure!!!" and jumped on the back without him having time to blink an eye!
Riding through the Andean mountains with the rain and wind whipping you in the face was just glorious!!! (And gloriously freezing!!!)

SigSig also is rather a small village...I think we were the only tourists there. However there was some sort of fair with jumping castles and the rest...Even spit roast cuy (guinea pig), the delicacy here....Opted not to eat it, simply because it was $10 versus the $1 lunch we ended up having. The picture, (to the right) really does not do justice to the place we ended up having lunch: "The Rat´s Hovel" as I nicknamed it. There was left over rice from previous clients on the tables, under the tables was a melting pot of dust, dirt, rice, corn and chicken bones stripped of their meat. The walls were stained brown over the blue and white paint and there were live electric wires hanging from the wall, and from the kitchen came a small child with half her nappy hanging off her - HACCP has a long way to go here....Neither of us was sick - Miracles do happen.

So now here I am back in Quito preparing for tomorrow when I start the trekking side of things...Am glad I´m going to the Galapagos last....Will be able to chill out on a boat for a week. Think I´ll need it after walking for approx 10 days.

My Mum is The Best!!!!

No doubt about it!!!! I´m not going to go into detail of the last three days but I am going to say - Couldn´t be doing this without you Mum.
Have had countless problems trying to get money out....To the point where my debit card was just not accepted at any ATM, my bank here was not able to help at all, therefore leaving me almost penniless.
One call to Mum, and everything was solved. Mum, I love you, You are the best. Muchas Gracias. Te Quiero Muchissimo!!!!

As mentioned previously, I decided to leave Quito on Friday as it was Easter weekend and most things were closed...However I did not leave without going into the centre of town Friday morning to watch the procession of countless Christs, bearing their cross. It is a tradition every Easter Friday and different churches, (and there are plenty of those!) hold their processions at different times of the day.
Imagine a wall of people lining the street on either side, and literally dozen upon dozen men dressed up as Jesus Christ, (crown of thorns, blood and all) carrying big wooden crosses....They are followed by Cucurachos - Men dressed with a purple hood and robe....KKK style only in purple. Some are whipping themselves... It´s quite the scene. And the whole town is out to see it! It´s a mixture of fun, and prayer.

Before leaving Quito for Otavalo, that afternoon, I thought I´d get some money out as Id be roaming around a market...And here´s where the fun starts...ATM won´t accept my card - It´s actual message was: You have asked for an amount above your accepted withdrawing limit.
´No I´m not!´
No problem, I´ve got a travellers cheque I can get it changed once there.

How can I describe Otavalo on a Saturday other than a myriad of colours and sounds under an Andean sun! It was just awesome...To give you a better idea of the size of the market, imagine your entire suburb, as in every street, aligned with stalls, and jam packed with locals and tourists all haggling. It´s not just for the tourists either, (although it is directed at us,) the locals buy their fruit and veg there too. I think I spent over 5 hours just walking and observing.

Now to the travellers cheque...I won´t bore you too much with that one other than to say that it was super difficult to find a place and it involved asking and answering questions from men wearing flak jackets and holding big f%&k off guns....And having to, as sweetly as possible of course, decline their offer of taking you to see the beautiful nearby lakes in their new jeep.

On Sunday, with my newfound money, I zipped to the middle of the world - yep! I can honestly say that I´ve had both feet on different sides of the equator at the same time! Woohoo!!
I went to the museum situated on the equator and it was incredible to see how even a few metres from the equator line how centrifugaral forces are affected....In the north water drains anti-clockwise, and in the south clockwise...There you go for you trivia buffs! AND did you know that you weigh less on the equator line because the forces of gravity are less....No wonder I spent the whole day there...I was floating!

Los Tres Amigos....?

Things come in threes and they certainly did in my last 24hrs in Santiago! My ¨last¨ day in Santiago was spent walking, visiting, looking and bopping to the likes of Bananarama, Bros, DuranDuran blaring from shops - Felt like I had gone back 20 years! Loved it!

I spent some time in El Parque de las Esculturas, (Park of Sculptures) and the walked to El Cerro, a hill from which the view of Santago is just gorgeous, especially at sunset. In the process, my digital camera (Thing No.1) decided it had had enough of this lifetime and promptly broke. Not happy Jan!!

I went up El Cerro by funicluar, an almost vertical tram and sat infront of the huge statue of the Virgin Mary. Although I´m not religious, she is rather beautiful and extremely calming. I had bought a ticket to get the teleferico down the hill...And found the perfect shot to take with my manual camera to show that it definitely was a little scary...The shutter on my manual camera jams and refuses to work (Thing No.2)...After 45 minutes at the top of the hill trying my damn hardest to fix it, tears welled in my eyes. No more photos...My baby was broken...

Do wish I had photos from the teleferico...It was just beautiful to watch the reflection of the red and orange hues over the glass buildings of a very modern Santiago. There was a slight scare on my part when the doors, to the particular bubble I was in, did not close...I sat furthest away from the door. The gap closed just before it left the station...Phew!

Katerina and I had decided to have a quiet night, after the lack of sleep on the weekend. We caught up for a drink and dinner with one of her friends from work, Pamela. The three of us went to La Meridiana, a restaurant where one cooks their food on a hot plate in the middle of the table...Well, after a few bottles of vino blanco, and a few pisco sours....Let´s just say it wasn´t the early night we had intended on. Boy did we laugh, cry, hug and share stories! Brilliant night - Muchas Gracias!

The next day, off I went to the airport and was promptly told by lovely LanChile lady that the flight was overbooked and they were looking for volunteers to take the next day´s flight....So Santiago and Katerina had me for one more night!
To apologise for the inconvenience, (yeah right, I´m on holidays with no fixed schedule...) I now am the proud owner of two free flights with LanChile...I was tempted to ask that if they bumped me off one of those, would I then receive another voucher for free flights...Instead I just smiled, and thought ¨This means I´ll be back!¨

So now, a day later than originally planned, here I am in Quito, Ecuador...Other than more modern than I would have thought, busy, and super colourful, my first impressions can be summed up in four words: Bring on the thermals!
Yep the 2850m of altitude, can definitely be felt - And not only in the temperature, but in the air...Altitude hides oxygen and sometimes the easiest things feel rather difficult. Had better get used to it if I´m going to be climbing mountains!

I´m living with a lovely family in el norte of the city, and today caught el trole (pron. trol-eh - like a tram) to my first Spanish lesson. Yay! Feel like I´m doing better already. The cheekiest 3yr old lives at the place I´m staying...He´s been teaching the animals...

Getting here just as Easter is about to start is interesting with the different things being prepared, (I will be eating franesca this evening - a traditional soup eaten only at Easter made of fish and different types of beans,) however in the next couple of days most things will be closed...So, I´m planning to get out of Quito, hopefully exploring the Otavalo markets on Saturday, and going to the Equator on Sunday...It´s got to be done!!

Hasta Luego Mis Amigos!

Lo Siento, Pero....

Well, I think I´ve fallen right into backpacker mode: I´m sporting a fabulous blue, green and brown braid in my hair, and wearing a gorgeous leather cuff....Both presents from the fantastic Arian I share my birhtday with: Katerina.

Small scare at Santiago airport when I didn´t see her and realised I had absolutely no contact numbers or address for her...And then she appeared.

We drove out of Sanitago that evening to Vina Del Mar, where Cecilia and Emmanuel, (Katerina´s mother and brother) live. After spending Saturday visiting la feria, fresh fruit and vegetable market, found on a dried up river bed, eating manchas con parmesan, (clams), shrimp al pil pil, and scallops in Valparaiso, visiting La Sebastiana, (the residence of one of Chile´s poets and ambassadors,) visiting more markets, (purchasing cuff and braid) and picking up the birthday cake, homemade by Isidora, (Yuuuuuuuuuuum!!!!!) we finally made it back to Cecilia´s to get the party set up!

Sixteen years may have passed since we last saw each other, and both were totally different people, children for that matter, however this has not hindered us getting along like a block of houses on fire...We enjoy the same sense of humour, and laidback attitude...Most of all though, we are on the same wavelength when it comes to partying!!

The Party Crew - What a great bunch of people! Me with my very, very broken Spanish and them practising their English proved for many laughs, especially with a few Pisco Sours, (cocktails) mixed in for good measure. Katerina is the person next to me with the sky blue top. Isidora, is the person to the left with the jeans jacket...She´s well worth commissioning if you need a cake made!

The time on the clock when I finally put head down on th pillow to sleep was 8am...Needless to say Sunday was a lazy day!

That´s it for now guys, so much more to tell, but don´t want to bore you just yet, still have a few more weeks of trapsing for you all to read about!

Pre Departure Jitters

Here I am putting together my first blog so that I get my non-technological head around how to best keep in touch with everyone...Elaborate on my adventures, send pictures and hopefully entice all of you to pack up and come visit!

So two weeks and I'll be off to Sunny Santiago for the first leg of my adventure....And yes the jitters are starting to make themselves known....Namely "I'm going to be unemployed....What am I doing!!!?"
However, that same train of thought comes attached with a sense of absolute excitement and freedom! The possibilities are countless, the experiences endless and varying.

Can't wait!