Salar de Uyuni

Imagine standing in the middle of nowhere and the only thing you can see is miles and miles of white stretching out in front of you. In the far far distance there are mountains and volcanoes, but really all there is is whiteness. That's exactly what it's like at Salar de Uyuni, the salt flats in southern Bolivia. The sky was bright blue, there were a few clouds but they were the fluffy kind, like the ones you drew as a child. It's an awesome sight!

We took a three day tour from the town of Uyuni, in a jeep with two of the American and English guys we met in Paraguay, plus another couple we met that morning in our 4x4, who were from France and Korea. Our driver was a Bolivian guy who'd been doing tours of the salt flats for 8 years; he was also to be our guide and cook for the three days too.

The first day we saw the Salar (salt flats) which apparently used to be flooded and possibly a part of an ocean, but the water is long gone and it just left a big salt desert in its place. The boys in our jeep decided to go streaking across the flats, conpletely butt naked! It was hilarious seeing four very white bottoms running away from you; they all had great tan lines from their swimming trunks. A lot of people stopped, stared, and then proceeded to take photos! So there are lots of gringos out there with a picture of Josh's bum!

We had llama chops and quinoa for lunch, two staples in the Bolivian diet. Quinoa is grown everywhere and they export most of it to the US and Europe because we've just decided how 'fashionable' it is to eat! Both were really tasty, although the Korean girl refused to eat the llama, because there was a live llama grazing nearby to where we were eating and she couldn't bring herself to eat its cousin. Naturally, that thought had never even crossed my mind while I was chomping away!

There are areas of the Salar that are still a little bit flooded at certain times of the year. Because the land is so flat, and the water is so clear, it turns the ground into a huge mirror. It's a bit trippy, as you're looking at a mountain in the distance and right below it is a perfect reflection upside down. It's absolutely amazing to look at though.

Reflection

That night we stayed in a hotel entirely made of salt; the bricks, the tables and chairs, even the bed! We played cards and then when the lights were turned off (electricity and running water is rationed in a lot of Bolivia) the boys climbed the mountain behind our hostel in the dark. This mountain was absolutely covered in cacti, some were over ten feet tall, so I opted for bed instead!

Mountain in the mirror

The next day we spent a lot of time in the car, driving to various lakes and through a lot of mountain scenery. We saw loads of wild flamingos which was pretty cool! The altitude in places was as high as 5000 metres above sea level and you really feel it; I had a mild but constant headache for the whole tour. You also need to drink a lot of water to stay hydrated as the sun I really strong (I managed to burn my whole face on day one, so I was REALLY red for a few days after; the photos aren't pretty). The trouble with drinking lots of water when you're driving through the middle of nowhere for hours at a time, is there are obviously no toilets. Nature pees became very frequent, but the land is so dry that there are hardly any 'private' places to go, as there are no trees or bushes! So I had to make the boys swear to look the other way, leg it into the distance and attempt to hide behind a small shrub to maintain a very small amount of dignity! So ladylike.

Mountain scenery

That night we stayed at a very basic hostel next to a bright red lake. We went for a walk up a hill that looks over the lake to get a good view, but it was freezing and so windy and we didn't stay up there for long.

That night we played cards in the dining room of the hostel, but a very rude grumpy Austrian lady came out of her room and shouted at us for keeping everyone in the hotel awake and told us 'this isn't a casino!' We politely pointed out that it was only 8.30pm and we hadn't realised anyone had gone to bed yet! She shouted at us an hour later too, at which point Josh told her that if she was really bothered by the noise, why didn't she shut her bedroom door, as it had been wide open all that time and all the rooms backed onto the dining room. It was almost like she just wanted an excuse to pick a fight! She walked off in a huff and according to some girls we'd made friends with that were sleeping in her dorm, she kept insulting us in German to her poor husband, who was really nice.

The final day we left the hotel by 5.30am to watch the sunrise over the mountains. We went to some geysers which smelt very eggy, then we went to some natural hot springs and spent an hour warming up in them; it had been so hard to drag ourselves out of bed that morning as the hotel was freezing. Josh and I slept under seven blankets! Most of day three was spent driving as we had gone so far from Uyuni by this point that we were nearly in Chile. It was a fairly uneventful day, although we stopped by some big rocks which we had a bit of a climb on. We overtook the jeep that the grumpy Austrian lady was in at one point, and two of the boys mooned out of the jeep windows which our driver was very unhappy about!

All in all it was a really fun trip, with some incredible sights and scenery, plus more llama herds than I ever thought I'd see, even in Bolivia. I have my llama wool jumper, hat and gloves now too, so I stand out as a tourist more than ever! Result.

Windy mountain roads

Road Trip - Argentina styleeey!

'Let's hire a car and drive around the north of Argentina for a few days!'

This is always the best way to make impromptu plans, someone throws an idea out there and the other one says, 'yeah why not!'

So we did, we hired a little Chevrolet corsa or something and drove south from Salta, to Argentinian wine country. It was incredible; the landscape in the north of Argentina is amazing because there are so many mountains and deserts and rolling hills, so the view changes dramatically every ten mins or so. We drove to the top of one mountain which put us at 4000m above sea level!

As you can imagine, doing wine tasting in a vineyard on the side of a mountain in the middle of nowhere in Argentina is an awesome experience. We were walked round the factory where they process all the grapes they grow, produce and bottle all the wine, then box it up for exportation. The area we were in, Cafayate, is famous for its Torrontes wine, which is white and fairly new to the game in comparison to grapes like Pinot grigio and Sauvignon blanc. It's also delicious, I recommend that you try some, and chances are it'll come from the region we were in too! It only grown in four places, three of which are in Argentina, and one in Chile.

I was so ill the three days we were there unfortunately. I caught some sort of coldy/fluey virus and felt absolutely awful (forced myself out of bed for all the wine tasting though, obviously). I didn't even drive the car we hired because the roads were all on cliff faces and I was sneezing so much that I was afraid I'd close my eyes are the wrong second and drive us off the side!

We had an incredible three days, came away with a lot of wine to keep us going, and were very pleased with our little adventure! We had a slightly unfortunate incident the day after we got back however, as we left our camera with all the hundreds of amazing photos on in Salta, and when we called the hostel from our first stop in Bolivia, they checked the room for us and said it wasn't in there :( so some lucky bugger has themselves a nice new camera, complete with all our snaps of northern Argentina, the bastard. Luckily they are the only pics we lost as I backed up all the others a few days before, but it hardly softened the blow. I got one pic on my iPod, which is where I am writing this post, so I'll post it below so you can see a very poor example of some of the stunning views that we saw. This photo does not do it justice!

Oh well, onwards and upwards, and on to Bolivia baby!

Paraguay

I haven't written in quite a while, and once you get out of the habit of writing after each place or event, it's hard to get back into it again!

So after Iguazu Falls, we went to Encarnacion, a city in southern Paraguay. Paraguay is basically only travelled by about 1% of backpackers in South America (that might be a made up statistic but judging from the very few people we met there, and have spoken to about going, it's fairly accurate). It rained a lot in Encarnacion so we didn't do much, but it seems there wasn't much to do anyway. There is a Unesco World Heritage site nearby of some Jesuit ruins, which quite frankly, we could have done without seeing. They were literally a few fallen down walls with signs like 'this was where the head priest lived' or 'this was the store room for the missionaries corn'. Thrilling stuff.

We then headed to the capital Asuncion thinking it might be a bit more exciting. Unfortunately, it wasn't. However, we did meet up with three guys who had stated in our hostel in Encarnacion so we had a lot of fun in the evenings playing drinking games and cooking epic BBQs but we could have done that anywhere really! We ended up staying for an extra day because the other guys were going to a big football match between the two major Asuncion teams and Josh said we should stay for it. I didn't really care either way but we thought it would be cool to see a match while in South America so we stayed. What a waste of time. We walked to the stadium the next afternoon, but when we got there, it was completely empty. We asked the security guard what was going on and all he said was, 'cancelled'. Great.

Oh well, I have a Paraguay stamp in my passport now, which very few people can claim!

Las Cataratas do Iguaçu

So, casually went to visit one of the new 7 natural wonders of the world the other day. Las cataratas do Iguaçu, or Iguassu Falls in English, are a series of many many waterfalls which straddle the Brazilian-Argentine border, and quite frankly, they´re bloody spectacular. (Have a look here: http://tiaraintransit.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/devils_throat_iguassu_falls_argentina.jpg )

They were incredible, I was absolutely awestruck by how enormous they were, and how many of them there were too. You can visit the falls from both countries, and you get a different experience from each side. The Brazilian side is more like a panoramic view of all the falls in a row, and there was one bit where you´re so close to one of the waterfalls that you get absolutely drenched. It was so fun!

Then we crossed to Argentina the day after, and went to see the falls from that side. There, you´re kind of above them, and you get to walk out on a fairly rickety brige so you´re standing abve them, looking right down onto them, which is incredible, although made my knees feel a bit funny!

Now we´re in a little town in Northern Argentina called Posadas, where there is nothing to do if it rains, as we found out! Tomorrow we cross to Paraguay, and are going for an adventure through a very un-travelled country, which I`m very excited for!

More Rio, Salvador and a taste of paradise

We leave Brazil in three days, and as much as this country is an absolute BURN money-wise, I'm going to miss it so much; I've loved it so much more than Argentina and Uruguay. I've said it before but I really wish they spoke spanish here because I want to be an Anglo-Brazilian and live here!! And since I already speak un poco de espanol it would make life a lot easier.

So, last time I blogged, I was despairing about the poverty in Rio, and how it seems to be pointedly ignored by anyone who isnt suffering from it. Well, I'm not going to take back my words because I was very moved, and not in a good way, by the troubles in the otherwise amazing city, but I am going to add to my thoughts: I am by no means denying that there is a HUGE distinction between rich and poor in Brazil (because its no different anywhere else in this country - there is an enormous gap) but maybe I was unfortunate to see some very bad situations that made me react in a way that maybe others would be shocked to hear of about Rio. Seeing the police attack those children is a terrible part of life there, but I think things arent quite as bad as they first appeared. People are poor everywhere, that's the hard truth, and in retrospect I think I reacted very emotionally to a problem that is not as bad as it seemed at the time. Having said that, if I could do something to help anyone who is even half as worse off as some of those we encountered, I would. Poverty comes to a whole new level in South America to anything I've encountered anywhere else in the world.

Moving on, we just spent the past week in Bahia, a state in the north-ish part of Brazil. We came to Salvador first; an awesome city with an incredible afro-brazilian culture. It was the biggest slave port in the Americas at one point, hence the lasting African culture, and its been really interesting for Josh, with his family being from Ghana, to see the similarities in lifestyle. It rained a lot here our first few days so we didn't get to leave our hostel for very long, but we managed to catch an awesome live music festival with samba bands, and dancing in the streets. Every Tuesday night there is a big street party right by our hostel, and we saw a live reggae band (incredible) and a huge room filled with people samba dancing, drinking cocktails made at little stalls in the street, and eating kebabs barbecued off little braziers on the pavement. It was so much fun!

On Wednesday,  we went to an island near Salvador called Boipeba. I say 'near' but to get there we had to take a bus, a ferry, another bus and another boat! Worth it though, because I've actually seen a glimpse of paradise now. It was gorgeous! White beaches, turquoise water, hammocks swaying in the breeze... you get the idea. We stayed in a tiny little pousada, which is basically a b&b, and we had fresh mangoes and papaya for breakfast everyday, it was amazing. When the tide went out in the middle of the day, you could swim across to another uninhabited island, and sunbathe there for a while, but the tides change very quickly so you have to keep an eye out or you could end up marooned! The island had no cars, and so few lights on at night that we lay on the beach and could see more stars than I ever knew were visible to the naked eye; you could actually see the Milky Way!

We came back to Salvador yesterday to collect our bags that we had been lucky enough to leave at our hostel while we were in Boipeba. Tomorrow we fly to Iguaçu Falls, huge waterfalls that straddle the border of Brazil and Argentina.  Its supposed to be beautiful, so that's taking the sting out of leaving Brazil a bit. Cant believe its been two months already, time is flying by! Bring on the next three I say...

Rio de Janiero: A Tale of Two Cities

It is the best of times, it is the worst of times, here in Rio. Brazil is prospering more than ever before, and all eyes will be on this country for the next few years, as it is hosting the World Cup in 2014, and the Olympics in 2016. The city of Rio is a flurry of activity, and you can see progress, albeit slow progress, everywhere you look, preparing for these events.

However, lurking in the shadow of these grand occurrences is an underlying problem that Rio will find difficult to hide once the world looks their way more closely: the rampant crime and poverty that is being determinedly ignored while the wealthy prosper.

Of course, this is a tale as old as time; citizens of a developing country don´t all benefit from the strengthening economy; not everyone can grow richer at the same time. However, the level of poverty in a city that is pouring billions into two international sporting events is a terrible thing.

When we first arrived in Rio, our bus from the airport to the hostel took us past a favella (a Brazilian slum or shantytown). These favellas sprung up all over cities much the same as the ghettos in the US and Europe did, back when the cities were newer, and people were looking for a fresh start in a flourishing place, hoping to pursue success and wealth. Of course, an overwhelming majority of these people never accomplished the success they dreamed of, and it is the ancestors of these people, plus many more that wished for the same thing since then, that now occupy the favellas of Rio, Sao Paulo, Brasilia, etc. The communities are normally built in areas of the city which the wealthy have shunned, such as on steep hills (Rio is very mountainous). They are overcrowded, the building are in terrible shape, and the streets are filthy with rubbish and waste. Some people have constructed tents for themselves out of bin bags, and that is where they call home. When we drove past this particular favella, I couldnt help but look; these people are suffering so much, and yet the majority carry out their daily tasks with a cheerful attitude. It made me want to cry. We then drove maybe only 3 or 4 minutes more before passing an enormous church, very newly renovated from the shiny look of it, covered in gold and marble. And that made me feel worse. Rich and poor; successful and suffering; live but a stones throw away from each other, rubbing shoulders, yet never quite coming into contact with one another.

Later that night, we went out in an area of the city called Lapa, which is quite a bohemian neighbourhood, for a street party. After about an hour, we were suddenly surrounded by police officers, armed to the teeth, rushing past us to a spot only 50 metres away. We turned to watch (how could you not?) and I was half expecting to see someone with a gun, or a brawl, or God knows what. But no, the threat that required a dozen or more armed police officers to rush together for, was a group of twenty five or so children, between the ages of 10 and 15. According to a Brazilian boy we were with, these kids stole from crowds to buy drugs. But from the way they were being attached, assaulted, and hauled around by grown men with guns, you´d think they were the drug lords themselves. They were lined up along the wall and patted down. If any resisted, or tried to run, they were thrown to the floor or against a concrete wall. And they were just children!

I understand, they were breaking the law, and the police obviously have to be seen doing something about the problem of these drugged up kids, but throwing them around and essentially just abusing their power over them is hardly going to make them change their ways. All it does is increase then tension between the police and the people in the favellas; they see the police as as much of a target to hate as the wealthy people outside of the slums. The problem doesn´t lie in the fact that some kids are doing drugs and must be stopped, the problem started way before then, when these children were brought up in such poverty that drugs seemed like a better option to them than anything else. Can you imagine what it must be like to be addicted to drugs and being so desperate to score, at any age, let alone 10 years old? And Brazil is so corrupt that I would bet anything at all that the very same police officers beating up these children are being bribed to look the other way by the men high up in the drug dens. In fact, I´d put my life on it.

Sometimes we walk past someone sleeping in the street and I get an overwhelming urge to give them all my money. Of course this is not sensible, and it´s always better to give a homeless person a drink or some food than money, as chances are they will not spend the money you give them on something that will help them. And yet who am I to judge what´s ´good´for them? I don´t have to sleep under a piece of cardboard, I don´t know what it´s like to not eat for a week; who am I to tell them not to drink or take drugs, if that´s the only pleasure they get from life? It´s just so sad. And truth be told, even if all the money that´s going towards the World Cup and Olympics was not being spent on these things, chances are it still wouldn´t be put towards helping the millions of people that need it.

And it´s such a shame because I still love this city. It´s beautiful both architecturally, and in the natural landscape. Built on the beach, and surrounded by tropical islands, it is an incredible place to explore. Josh and I spent today just wondering around, going nowhere in particular but stopping to look at everything. We went up to the Christ the Redeemer statue the other day, with stunning views over the whole city; we caught the final parade of Carnaval 2013 on Saurday night, and saw all the floats and costumes and samba dancers; we went up Sugarloaf Mountain at sunset and watched as Rio turned its lights on in the darkness... It´s such a exciting, exotic, colourful, lively place. The areas of Ipanema and Copacabana are thriving, full of tourists and rich Brazilians, with beautiful men and women strolling around like they own the place. (Perhaps they do?) But there´s so much wrong with it, too many people suffering wherever you look, that you feel guilty for enjoying yourself too much.

I have loved and hated Rio. It´s opened my eyes to the state Brazil is in, and I hope hope hope that as it becomes a bigger player on the world stage, as the 8th strongest economy in the world now, that it takes a look at where the money and aid is really needed, and tries to better itself socially, as it has now managed economically. Rio is a beautiful place, but it needs to stop basking in the attention of the world, and focus on the more pressing issues at home.

Brazil take 1: Rio Grande do Sul

I love Brazil.

I don't think I've ever been anywhere hotter than Porto Alegre. The heat we experiened in our first few days was ridiculous, we couldn't move it was so hot. It's actually the humidity that gets you, not the heat itself, but still. We have been staying at our friend Fernanda's house, a girl we met in Albuquerque on our year abroad. It's so good to have friends from all over the world because you have an excuse to travel so you can go visit them!

Her family have been so welcoming, and we have been very spoilt this past 10 days and behaving not at all like real backpackers. Her mum absolutely point blank refuses to let us help in either preparing the meals, or washing up afterwards, insisting that we are guests, which is very polite considering we've been here for 10 days and before last Wednesday,  she didnt know us from Adam, whoever he may be. Her brother is on his summer holiday from uni at the mo, so he's been our tour guide while Fernanda has been at work.

We went to her beach house at the weekend, and met her huge family, who all talk at once, shouting over each other, and don't stop to listen. It made me feel very at home - if anyone has ever met the Fernback side of my family, you'll understand :) Unfortunately it rained all weekend, but we still managed to eat almost an entire herd of cows on Sunday when her dad cooked churrasco, which is Brazilian bbq. It was delish, although a bit overdone for my taste. People in South America cook their steaks to well-done, and I'm more of a 'eat it while it's still mooing' kind of girl. We also went on a quad bike on the sand dunes at the beach, and aside from a minor capsize where the bike somehow ended up on top of us, it was so much fun!

We were unlucky with weather again this week, when we went to the little mountain town of Gramado, which looks like a village in the Alps. All the architecture is very German/Swiss, and makes you feel a bit like  you're in the Sound of Music, minus the spontaneous bursting into song. It rained a lot there too, but was very hot and stuffy when we came back to Porto Alegre again, so maybe it was a sign that we shouldn't have stopped being freeloaders? Who knows.

Today we are heading further north to the state of Santa Catarina, to a beach town called Garopaba. This is where we will be spending Carnival, Brazil's most (in)famous festival. Am very very excited! We'll still be with Fernanda,  as well as her boyfriend and some of their friends. Apparently the plan is to spend all day on the beach, eat churrasco and drink caipirinhas (Brazilian cocktails) all eve, and party all night.... sounds good to me!