Aventuras Latinas
In and around South America
Starting in Mexico City in August 2006, heading all the way south to Tierra del Fuego.... and then back up the east of the continent to Venezuala.
Route taken and entries by Real Traveler las chicas
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1
Not a great time to give up smoking!
Flo's view:
Perhaps the best thing about these first few days is
that now as Yazz would put it "The only way is up...". We have... Continue reading » -
2
No fun at the bank
Em's view:
We moved from Mexico City to Oaxaca . On the way we stopped at a cactus ecotourism place. It was great, i saw a cactus that was 10... Continue reading »
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3
Heading for the beach...
Flo's view:
Phew, we now find ourselves in a proper tropical
paradise setting on a beautiful Pacific beach famous
for its turtles a... Continue reading » -
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5
Gringo Town
Flo says:
The Zapastista revolutionary capital of San Crisobal de
Las Casas in Chiapas Mexico was a definate traveller
mecca.... Continue reading » -
6
Roach Town
Flo says:
The impressive Mayan ruins at Palenque and cool waterfall bathing saved the day after the horrors of battling roaches in... Continue reading »
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7
Mayan Jungle
Flo says:
We managed to escape some guy who boarded our bus claiming to work for the bus company and insisting on making all our lodging and... Continue reading »
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8
Achtun Tuncil Mucknal
Flo says: Not a lot as she had been there before.
We spent a week in Belize and I did the remarkable ATM cave tour in the Cayo region a 2nd t... Continue reading »
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9
Sharks, rays and godamn roaches!
Flo says: On night in Caycalkner at about 3am Emma jumped as though she had a poker up her backside when she found one crawling across he... Continue reading »
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10
Cable TV
Flo says:
We watched Films as there wasn´t much else to do in Dangrega. Their best restaurant (the only one that wasn´t a burger joint) was c... Continue reading »
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11
Cocktails on the eve a new academic year!
Flo says:
Also discovered a great little beach community
called Placencia in southern Belize (Tom make sure
to go there). It was th... Continue reading » -
12
A plate of veggies for tea!
Flo says:
We have also broken up the rather uncomfortable bus journeys with a good
measure of speed boats and "lanchas" the funniest of&... Continue reading » -
13
Bananas crossing!
Flo says:
Quirigua is off the beaten track but the ruins are cool and deserted. Its almost worth it for the trek out to the ruins from town a... Continue reading »
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14
Power cuts & La Finca
Flo says:
Copan Ruinas a great town just over the
border from Guatemala which has positively blossomed
on the tourist trade created... Continue reading » -
15
Caribbean beach resort???
Flo says:
Unfortunately we did have to endure a rather sharp
bump back down do earth at our next stop the north
coast supposedly "r... Continue reading » -
16
Coral, cerveza and boxing for independence
Flo says:
Having endured a noisy but thankfully cockroach free
night we made a beeline for divers Mecca ´"Utila" one
of Honduras´Ba... Continue reading » -
17
Rafting the Cangrejal
Flo says:
Following a hot tip from British divemaster Jess we
moved on to our next adventure with Omega Tours based
on the mainland... Continue reading » -
18
Fruit beers, great food and risking our lives
Flo says:
Heading back south towards Nicaragua we decided to
break our journey at picturesque Lago de Yojoa (rather
than grotty cap... Continue reading » -
19
Not a great 1st impression
Flo says:
I like Victoria beer.
Emma says:
I think Tona beer is much better.
Flo says:
Emma is an alcoholic and... Continue reading »
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20
Volacnoes, Flor de Caña and a Splurge!
Flo says:
Not content with simulating one natural hazard we
arrived in Nicaragua to promptly shoot up the nearest
volcano and then... Continue reading » -
21
Scarey singing tour guide!
Flo says:
We headed to Leon’s rival Granada and although not
intending to be biased by it’s more conservative
reputation, still fel... Continue reading » -
22
It's beautiful but "Oh my legs!"
Flo says:
Isla de Ometepe….. Fortunately
the island was plenty big enough to disperse our
numbers. A bit of geography for you: Omet... Continue reading » -
23
Muchos chismes
Flo says:
Our final destination in Nicaragua was the fantastic
San Juan del Sur where we spent a week at Spanish
School and staying... Continue reading » -
24
"We miss you Nica!"
Flo says:
The money's confusing, why don't the buses go when they are full and I didn' mean to spill my beer.
Emma´s View:
After... Continue reading »
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25
Pete, Elizabeth and the volcano
Flo says:
What a small room but what a nice hostel!
Costa Rican’s may well feel this way being that they
abolished their army 50 y... Continue reading » -
26
"Oh what a lovely hotel!"
Flo says:
We liked Cabinas Eddy very much. What a bargin! Met an interesting lady doing our route in 5 years on her pension, "you go girl"! L... Continue reading »
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27
Worth the detour...
Flo says:
What a beautiful, rugged place. Montezuma was a question mark on our itnerary particularly since it would involve several hours of... Continue reading »
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28
Oasis Pangea
Flo says:
San Jose has a better reputation than most other C.Am capitals but it has little to offer. Hostel Pangea, however, was worth its we... Continue reading »
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29
A place we never ment to stay but fate decided it for us.
Emma Says:
We didn´t mean to stay in Cahuita as we were heading for Puerto Viejo. Unfortunatly someone got off the bus and took Flo's bag by... Continue reading »
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30
One last stop in Costa Rica
Emma's View:
Puerto Viejo was are last stop in Costa Rica. While we were their the weather wasn´t great so we probably didn´t see the best si... Continue reading »
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31
Traveling is such hard work
Emma´s Veiw:
We have visted 7 Carribian beach destinations in Central America and not until the last one did I finally see the... Continue reading »
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32
Chilled highlands
Flo says:
Lovely highland town clearly home to a load of ex-pat retirees who sup on the locally grown coffee an awful lot (given the number o... Continue reading »
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33
El Canal
Flo says:
The canal is awesome and the city itself cool for shopping, strolling and exploring. Great views from the causeway.
Continue reading » -
34
Carumba! It's high up here.
Flo says:
Quito is a lovely city especially at the weekends when the traffic eases off and parks fill up. On Sundays the main thoroughfares b... Continue reading »
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35
Cracking open the thermals
Flo says:
Had a great laugh on the bus from Latacunga crammed into the aisle with several others plus sacks of produce. Tons of pork pie hat... Continue reading »
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36
Saquisili market
Flo says
Spent the night in Latacunga which is a nice enough tourist base for exploring the central highlands. In the morning we were up at t... Continue reading »
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37
Lovely bath
Flo says:
Baños is really an obligatory stop if you´re in this part of the worl... It has lots of cheap accommodation and good food places pl... Continue reading »
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38
The train ride
Flo says:
There´s not much to see or do in Riobamba except buy tickets for and board the thrice weekly train to Simbambe by route of the "Nar... Continue reading »
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39
Shrunken heads
Flo says:
We checked out the museum next door to the Banco Central which had a cool exhibition of the amazonian indian practice of shrinking... Continue reading »
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40
Beautiful beach, shame about the road
Emma´s View:
We pulled off a full day of travel to get to Mancora in Peru . Mancora is supposed to be a trendy beach town unfortunately... Continue reading »
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41
Stuck in a Lima bus station for 5 hours
Emma´s View:
We traveled over night (18 hours) to get to Lima. Our plan was to go straight to Nazca as we didn´t see the point of the hassel... Continue reading »
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42
You never guess what we did in Nazca?
Emma´s View: The reason you go to Nazca is to see the Nazca lines. So at 8am in the morning we boarded a plane that was way too small and were spun ar... Continue reading » -
43
What a lovely place to rest
Flo says:
Arequipa is lovely and we would thoroughly recommend the Los Andes hotel. Other than wandering Arequipa's streets the overnight tou... Continue reading »
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44
What a big birdy
Emma´s View:
We went on a lovely tour of the Colca Canyon region. We are not used to being guided, but it was nice to have someone else make... Continue reading »
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45
What pretty bricks
Emma´s View:
Cuzco is the stopping off point before you go to Machu Picchu by whatever means. Cuzco itself is very nice but you do get alot o... Continue reading »
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47
Big sky, big lake, pretty islands
Flo says:
Puno is o.k. but Copacabana just across the lake in Bolivia is much nicer and the border crossing is easy. It is worth seeing the U... Continue reading »
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48
What a lot of crusties
Emma´s Veiw-
Copacabana is a place full odd crusties making and selling Jewlery. The lake veiws are pretty and you can get a halfway decent m... Continue reading »
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49
Sore feet.
Emma´s view:
We decided to walk to the Isla del Sol, well as much as you can walk to an island. We walked from Copa to Yampoopoo. This was a... Continue reading »
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50
Llama foetuses and Coca
Flo says:
The potent mix of Llama foetuses (sold in the witches market to bring luck to your new home) and Coca leaf paraphanalia made La Paz... Continue reading »
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51
Dusty train
Flo says:
The train journey to Uyuni is dusty as hell. Fortunately we had some choice movies to take our mind off the suffocating clouds, suc... Continue reading »
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52
Salt flats and sky....
Flo says:
The Salar is truely stunning. It becomes really difficult to put your camera away, thank goodness for digital! We ate a great lunch... Continue reading »
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53
Flamingos in the bitter cold
Flo says:
Our second night of the tour was spent in the bitter cold at almost 5000 metres. The accommodation was little to be desired wi... Continue reading »
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54
Ouch, its pricey!
Flo says:
Crossing into Chile at the tail end of the Salar de Uyuni tour was quite an experience. First of all the road was paved with what s... Continue reading »
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55
Shopping malls & Supermarkets
Flo says:
Lovely long beach if you can get the weather for it! We loved it for its shopping alone not having seen a supermarket and the like... Continue reading »
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56
Home from home?
Flo says:
Barrio Londres is nice as is Barrio Bellavista. Could be any European city with a bohemian edge. Great Christmas tree in the Plaza... Continue reading »
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57
Breaking the journey
Flo says: Quiet friendly town en-route to the Lake District. Continue reading » -
58
Boy those sealions are fat!
Flo says:
Valdavia is a lovely town in a beautiful setting. A must see are the fat sealions (more like walruses) which hang out by the fish m... Continue reading »
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59
The smallest pier in the world!
Flo says:
You have to come here in order to get further south and its not as bad as the guide books make out, (or is that just because the su... Continue reading »
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60
Houses on stilts and a fish supper
Flo says:
When will it stop raining???! Actually it did for one day, allowing us to explore the town and its waterfront both of which are ver... Continue reading »
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61
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62
Christmas shopping
Flo says;
We spent xmas eve back in Puerto Montt preparing for the 4 day ferry trip south through Chile's fjords. We stocked up on red wine,... Continue reading »
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63
Into Patagonia
Flo says:
The boat journey was certainly a once in a lifetime thing. The berths were suprisingly comfy and the bar unexpectedly cheap. Shame... Continue reading »
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64
Awesome glacier
Flo says
Wow! The glacier is one of the world's natural wonders....
Be prepared for way pricey hostels, but save money by taking the b... Continue reading »
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65
The end of the world...
Flo says:
We pondered whether the final leg south to Ushuaia would be worth it simply to say we'd been that far/ crossed the Magel... Continue reading »
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66
The bikinis are back!
Flo says: This place has a great beach and nice vibe, but a serious lack of cheap accommodation. This gave us the excuse of shacking up in a posh gaff... Continue reading » -
67
A pilgrimage to Che's roots!
Flo says:
This is a nice town which is worth a visit to get off the tourist trail and get much better value for money. The water front is gre... Continue reading »
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68
"A sassy little town"
Flo says:
A bit smarter than Rosario, with great value mid range hotels (with pool and gym!) Also good for mooching about pedestrain streets... Continue reading »
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69
What's new.... Buenos Aires
Flo says:
Buenos Aires does not disappoint. It is the perfect place to wander about exploring different districts and stop for coffee/ beer a... Continue reading »
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70
A little "gem"
Flo says:
What a lovely chilled town (especially after the big city feel of Buenos Aires), the traffic just seems to go so slowly! Lovely cob... Continue reading »
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71
Ensalada muy rico
Flo says:
Great cheap eating here, especially the mountainous salads at La Picarte.
Also checked out the Museo Joaquin Torres Garcia (g... Continue reading »
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72
A friendly invitation...
Flo says:
Having bused it in and out of Punta del Este and trekked across sleepy San Carlos to find an onward bus we were glad to reach this... Continue reading »
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73
Gaucho country
Experienced the amazing hospitality of Mary and Lothar for 24 hours at their ranch just outside tiny 19 de Abril. We were ferried about in the jeep... Continue reading »
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74
Lazing in a duplex
Flo says:
Punta del Diablo is nothing like Punta del Este. There are plenty of wild beaches to chose from with lazy beach bars to down a few... Continue reading »
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77
A holiday from holidaying
Flo says: We were releived to get out of sleepy, overpriced Florianopolis and allowed a local tout to do us a deal on an appartment out of town and... Continue reading »
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78
Beware of German restaurants
Flo says: Curitiba is supposedly Brasil's wealthiest and most sophisticated city. We had a whole 24 hrs to fill whilst waiting for our bus to Rio s... Continue reading »
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79
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80
Purple Trees!
Flo says: Having arrived very late in the day we ended up checking in to a rather posh former mansion house and paying far too much for the privile... Continue reading »
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81
Picture perfect
Flo says: Tiradentes is gorgeous and best reached on the funny little steam train from Sao Joao. Don't go short of cash though as there are no ATMs... Continue reading »
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82
Not so picture perfect!
Flo says: What a strange place! Congonhas is recommended for its Basilica with 12 prophets out front designed and sculpted by the limbless Alejadinho.... Continue reading » -
83
Hills, hills and "Oh look another church"!
Flo says: Ouro Preto is set amongst a bunch of very steep hills. Whilst this makes for a great backdrop, it also makes exploring pretty painful (espec... Continue reading » -
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85
Alligators, Piranhas and Mosquitos
Flo says: What a great experience. This tour is not for the faint hearted but is great fun. We loved our lodge (rather than having to sleep out in... Continue reading »
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88
Back to Bolivia
Flo says: Santa Cruz was a really nice town. Suprisingly wealthy in comparison to the Andean Bolivia we'd seen back in December. The train ride from t... Continue reading » -
89
The cheapest 30th Birthday!
Flo says: Samaipata is the perfect backpacker chillout destination. Unfortunately for us getting there and away in rainy season is not so chilled!... Continue reading »
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90
Phew, we made it!
Flo says: Sucre is a lovely town with great atmosphere. We really loved the dinosaur prints and accompanying tour, as well as our rather strenuous mou... Continue reading » -
91
Deep underground at 4000m
Flo says: This excursion was amazing but not for the faint hearted. What with the general effects of the altitude on top of the sweaty, claust... Continue reading »
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93
Gormet food and some exercise
Emma says: make sure you walk up the 1070 steps to look at the views from the big hill. Watch out for the spiders!!!! Continue reading » -
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95
A night in Paraguay
Flo says:
Very friendly place, we felt like the local freak show a bit with people standing in awe of foreigners. Jesuit ruins at Trinidad a... Continue reading »
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96
Just passing through...
Flo says:
How strange they have cars parked in cages!
Annoying border formalities at Paraguayan side mean the bus leaves without you (a... Continue reading »
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97
Cataratas
Flo says:
The falls are awesome. Argentine side makes a full day trip, Brazilian only a few hours but worth doing both. Border formalities ar... Continue reading »
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98
Big city, big roads, big hole in wallet!
Flo says:
Stayed in a decent value airport hotel (Best Western) which still stung! Had a pool though, and allowed us the thrilling excursion... Continue reading »
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99
Meeting the parents (or not...)
Flo says:
Before even getting in to Salvador we became particularly well aquainted with its airport, waiting for 6 hours for Mum and Peter´s... Continue reading »
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100
Little monkeys & deserted beaches
Flo says:
Beautiful empty beaches, off the tourist trail. Zimbo is a lovely experience in itself.
Continue reading » -
101
Easter weekend at "Brazil´s 3rd best beach" with Little Miss Sunshine!
Flo says:
Taipu de Fora beach (a 15 minute drive away) is fantastic! 3rd best in Brazil apparantly (but we don´t know what 1&2 are!) Surf... Continue reading »
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102
Sleeping in Nun´s beds
Flo says:
Interesting old (rather crumbly) buildings to potter around. Also a very rickety bridge (which unfortunately we didn´t have to cros... Continue reading »
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103
Plenty of turtles (and bags with them on!)
Flo says:
Praia do Forte was by far the most resorty place we´ve been on this trip (and the only one where locals actually predicted tha... Continue reading »
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104
Pingy Pongy
Flo says:
I guess folks stop in Maceio to get to the beaches outside (much like many of Brazil´s sprawling cities). The coast of Maceio made... Continue reading »
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105
Sleepy seaside
Flo says:
This place would be great in season (and was in fact very pleasant out of it). The beach had a bit of everything, from wild-wind sw... Continue reading »
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106
Back on the tourist trail!?
Flo says:
Inexplicabley the foreigners all came out of the woodwork again in Olinda (well, perhaps the explanation is the weekly charter... Continue reading »
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109
Nice tiles, shame about the rest!
Flo & Emma say:
Despite tarting up of historic quarters (which is now beginning to look crumbley again) there's not much to see. We did g... Continue reading »
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110
Boarding the Onze de Maio
Flo says:
Arrived in the port in Belem and were predictabley immediately accosted by a tout selling tickets. He did, however, turn out to be... Continue reading »
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111
Opera theatre and theatrical dance
Flo says:
The theatre is great and worth the price of the tour. We were able to spend the night on our boat on arrival at 10pm in Manaus, whi... Continue reading »
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112
Rice with Flavour
Flo says:
Perhaps it was the result of 6 days of rice and beans on the river, but we arrived in Santa Elena with a craving for Chinese food.... Continue reading »
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113
Ghost Town!
Flo says:
Watch out for creepy Jack at Posada Don Carlos. We had to escape and move next door to Posada Amor Patrio! The city was completely... Continue reading »
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114
Salsa, Rum and Some pretty cool waterfalls
Flo says:
The two day/two night tour is worth it! Falls close to Canaima are just as good as the main attraction Salto Angel. Flight into Can... Continue reading »
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116
Back at the Caribbean
Flo says:
Decent enough town to connect onwards better value than Puerto la Cruz for accomodation. We also had great pizza in Hotel Astoria (... Continue reading »
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117
Great caves, nice town too
Flo says:
The cave is well worth it (don't go on Monday though, it's closed). The walk to the waterfall opposite is good too and an easy 45 m... Continue reading »
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119
Day tripping with a shark!
Flo & Emma say:
Seek out "Tiberon" (or he will find you) for a rum fuelled party day on a boat. The dolphins, coral and beaches are cool... Continue reading »
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121
Relaxing mountain break with adventure on the side
Flo & Emma say:
Nice climate and chilled University vibe. Good tours available especially the crazy Canyoning option (not for the faint h... Continue reading »
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122
Full of backpackers, perhaps that's why it's so smelly!
Flo and Emma say:
This place was grubby, smelly and sweaty! Apparantly there are nice excursions which may explain why it contained more back... Continue reading »
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123
Colombia's not what you'd expect...
Flo & Emma say:
Cartagena is in our top 3 cities of the continent, it has all you'll be looking for, plus the nearby mud volcano is a mus... Continue reading »
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124
Paradise
Flo says:
If you can visit these beautiful and fascinating islands. We went on the sailing ship "Stahlratte" an excellent choice for the voya... Continue reading »
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125
Buying more shoes!
Flo says:
Once more a great place for getting things done. Sad to say goodbye to the Stahlratte crew but excited to move on, we did all the n... Continue reading »
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126
Home from home
Flo says:
Another fantastic week at Spanish school made special by, student friends, visit to a local orphanage to throw a party and my lovel... Continue reading »
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127
Relaxing weekend
Flo says;
Granada was nicer thn we remembered posibly owing to the weekend timing of our visit. It was also much improved by paying the extra... Continue reading »
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128
Back to Bigfoot
Flo says:
Bigfoot is even better... even with a pool (of sorts!) We once more appreciated Leon's vibe as well as handy ameinities.
Continue reading » -
129
Pool with a view of the bus station!
Flo says:
Pretty dull town, with half decent market. Nice hotel though to ease into the Salvadorian vibe.
Continue reading » -
130
Echoes of the not too distant past
Flo says:
A worthwhile and interesting side trip. The war museum and views from the surrounding hillsides are great.
Continue reading » -
131
Fast food and fast exit
Flo says:
The hostels listed in the LP Central Am are not in a safe area (as they profess to be) it is dark at night and deserted and we were... Continue reading »
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132
Welcome break
Flo says:
Check out the Amarcuilco (sp?) Hostel on the lakeshore, its a great retreat with mega friendly, helpful staff and a lovely spot for... Continue reading »
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