So you know that we did make it home ok
We left Sucre but not without first getting to experience flying bolivian style......First we booked a plane trip back to La Paz where our international flight left from. We decided to check at the airline office the day before to check everything was ok for our flight. They say they don’t have a plane but will try to transfer us to another company, so we turn up at the airport the next morning early to hear that our original plane has been found and that we don’t need to swap afterall!
Back to town say hi and bye again to everyone we just left, back to airport, get on plane. Then pur plane stops at bigger city for a stop over, everyone has to get off the plane and pass through a metal detector and get back on the plane again??. Eventually our plane lands La Paz. I guess God was teaching us about patience.
As we rode in the taxi from the airport down to the actual city perched on a cliff some 500m below we reflected on what a great trip we had had.
We booked into a hostel and got on the net to guestimate how much cash we would need to get through the variety of airports on our flights home. Because I had lost all our cards except one we now couldn't get more money without going to a bank and going thought the whole process of showing passports to the right officicals. There was no room for that "oh I just need an extra $20 to pay for a tax to get on my plane that is leaving now" sort of senerio. For any travellers out there reading this blog: to get from Bolivia to Australia you need $US24 to get out of La Paz Airport and $US28 to get our of Santiago airport even if you want to stay in transit.
At breakfast the next morning our host tells us that the kind taxi driver that dropped us off has called - we pick out spanish words we know from our host's message - airport, road, people, blockade, problem, diez minutoes - we rush upstairs and pack fast.
On the rushed trip up the hill to the airport visions of walking though the snow to get past furious bolivian protestors filled our minds.
Many people had comeout to the road no so much as to protest but to stop the first truck that came with new supplies of cooking gas (apparently there hadn't been any gas for a week) in the rush to get gas they often block the road due to the amount of people linning up LPG bottles across the road. Thankfully we made it through.
I won't bore you with the saga of getting into and out of Chile except to say that airport officials at Santiago airport aren't much help but the lady at starbucks gave us free drinks. I never thought I would cheer for this multinational organisation?!
It was great to make it to Sydney and see our families again!
I don't really know how you are meant to finish a blog except to say I hope that we will travel again one day and then we can start some new posts. I have put up some more photos on flickr and will continue do do so. cheers,
Wednesday, 28 March 2007
Monday, 19 March 2007
Monday, 12 March 2007
the monkey, the fat lady and my wallet
Hi everyone,
We are having a great time here in Sucre. For those that don´t know we came here to visit some missionaries (Graham and Debbie Firth). They have set up a student cafe in Sucre for the masses of university students that come here from the country. It proides cheap food and a free counceling services and a whole range of other services for students including help for young mums. The cafe is run by volunteers and poorer students can work to get points to eat for free. But basically it is a great, safe and friendly place that uni students love to hang out. It is supported by the local chuches here and is now completly run by Bolivians. Many people have become chrstians though the work here.
We have been doing a lot of washing up in the cafe as it is one job that we can do easily without knowing too much spannish (waiting tables is definitley past our level of espanol). We also have been into the cafe in the mornings to help prepare some of the meals - that is, we chop up potatoes and have a great laugh with Daysei and Marta -the cooks.
We have been invited to many homes for dinner with some of the missionaries here. It has been so nice to have home made meals again. Not only that, we went for lunch at Lawerence and Lilin´s house and Lilin gave us a big jar of vegemite for the week! They have been workin training doctors in the bolivian campo (countryside) and are from Dundas in Sydney.
Any way I know you want to know about the monkey - basically I was in the market one day and was quite amused by a man with a pet monkey dressed up with a dress and a hat. Moments later, still marvelling at the bolivian comic relief, I got stuck behind a large pregnant local, a building and some street carts selling who knows how old meat. She then turned around and push passed me quite strongly. Not sure if the monkey was in on it but a second later I noticed my wallet was gone.
All they got was our key card which we cancelled an hour or so later (another expensve call to OZ to listen to hold music). So we are down to the credit card now - no probs - only 4 days left before we board our epic plane flights home.
Will try and blog again before we are back - probably from an airport lounge - got a few photos too we should put up.
We are having a great time here in Sucre. For those that don´t know we came here to visit some missionaries (Graham and Debbie Firth). They have set up a student cafe in Sucre for the masses of university students that come here from the country. It proides cheap food and a free counceling services and a whole range of other services for students including help for young mums. The cafe is run by volunteers and poorer students can work to get points to eat for free. But basically it is a great, safe and friendly place that uni students love to hang out. It is supported by the local chuches here and is now completly run by Bolivians. Many people have become chrstians though the work here.
We have been doing a lot of washing up in the cafe as it is one job that we can do easily without knowing too much spannish (waiting tables is definitley past our level of espanol). We also have been into the cafe in the mornings to help prepare some of the meals - that is, we chop up potatoes and have a great laugh with Daysei and Marta -the cooks.
We have been invited to many homes for dinner with some of the missionaries here. It has been so nice to have home made meals again. Not only that, we went for lunch at Lawerence and Lilin´s house and Lilin gave us a big jar of vegemite for the week! They have been workin training doctors in the bolivian campo (countryside) and are from Dundas in Sydney.
Any way I know you want to know about the monkey - basically I was in the market one day and was quite amused by a man with a pet monkey dressed up with a dress and a hat. Moments later, still marvelling at the bolivian comic relief, I got stuck behind a large pregnant local, a building and some street carts selling who knows how old meat. She then turned around and push passed me quite strongly. Not sure if the monkey was in on it but a second later I noticed my wallet was gone.
All they got was our key card which we cancelled an hour or so later (another expensve call to OZ to listen to hold music). So we are down to the credit card now - no probs - only 4 days left before we board our epic plane flights home.
Will try and blog again before we are back - probably from an airport lounge - got a few photos too we should put up.
Tuesday, 6 March 2007
left behind in Bolivia (Phill)
Hi there folks,
Please note that the blog has been seriously updated! Pearcy, Fiona, Ben & Mel left this morning for Australia. Lost and bewildered Sarah and I found refuge in a Bolivian Internet Cafe and to the sounds of taxi´s yelling outside (yes every taxi bus has someone employed simply to yell out the window where the taxi is going)we have geeked it up. See the photos and text below.
We head to Sucre tonight!
Please note that the blog has been seriously updated! Pearcy, Fiona, Ben & Mel left this morning for Australia. Lost and bewildered Sarah and I found refuge in a Bolivian Internet Cafe and to the sounds of taxi´s yelling outside (yes every taxi bus has someone employed simply to yell out the window where the taxi is going)we have geeked it up. See the photos and text below.
We head to Sucre tonight!
On the shores of Lake Titicaca
Lake Titicaca (between Isle del Sol & Copa)
Originally uploaded by birtlestravels.
A rest stop on the 17km walk from Isle del Sol to Copacabana.
Top Spot!
Copacabana, Bolivia
Originally uploaded by birtlestravels.
Copacabana, Bolivia has got to be one of the best places we have visited so far! It is on the Bolivian side of Lake Titicaca, which stretches like a calm blue ocean to the horizon. The town is small and very laidback, a nice change after some of the huge cities we´ve been to.
We had the good fortune of booking into an amazing hostel, La Cupula. It is perched on a hill overlooking the town, complete with hamocks and a great restaurant. Phill and I even managed to score the newly built honeymoon suite for a bargain, with a round bed! If you´re ever nearby you have to go. Martin the owner is very helpful and friendly.
We also spent a day on the Island of the Sun, which again was very peaceful. There are no cars here and the only sound that you carries across the island is the painful breying of the many local donkeys. Oh, there is one more sound - three aussie boys playing with fireworks.
Misty Machu Picchu
Misty Machu Picchu
Originally uploaded by birtlestravels.
This is the day we visited Machu Picchu. The tropical surrounding were such a change after the dry valleys we had travelled through. It is right on the edge of the cloud forest so it´s not surprising we had clouds.
The stonemansonary here is awe inspiring, such large rocks hewn and carried by hand to create a whole city. It was also fascinating to see that a whole community lived and farmed here in such a remote and challenging place.
Again, very touristy but you expect that.
Cuzco City
Cuzco City
Originally uploaded by birtlestravels.
This is the main plaza of Cuzco city, what the Incas considered ´the navel of the world´. We had a good time in Cuzco looking around and checking out the local cafes.
However, it´s rather touristy here and we got sick of constantly being asked to buy finger puppets and have our shoes shined.
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