Skydive in Buenos Aires!

What a crazy day!!!!!

So off I went at 7 in the morning to the pick up point. In typical Argentine style in stead of turning up at the agreed time of 8am they casually rolled up at 9.10 to pick me up. We went an hour away from the city where I was given a talk that probabaly lasted only 5 mins and then it was time to jump!

I hadn´t felt nervous at all as I was more excited than anything. Got kitted out and then headed up in the plane 3000 mtrs above the candyfloss clouds. Again, I didn´t feel nervous at all and was just taking in the view however, normally a door opening on a plane is generally asociated with danger so kinda hard to relax when he did that! haha.

At first it´s freefall which was unbelievable. Such an adrenaline rush. Then once the parachute is opened it was just relaxing...I felt like a bird! As soon as it was over I just wanted to get back up there. I have photos and a dvd which no doubt I will bore you all with when I am how. Next time I want to go higher....

Chile - why not?

Although the original plan wasn´t to go to Chile, given that it was only an 8hr bus ride from Mendoza we thought why not!? We started in Valparaíso which I loved! It has a really good vibe to it with lots of colourful houses and grafitti, art work or something quirky on every street. Whilst I was there I even managed to see a familiar face as Roberto´s cousin who I have met a few times now lives out there so we went out for dinner and I got to meet his now Chilean wife. We stayed in probably the nicest accomodation of my trip. We found it by chance and it was a lovely big house that she had converted into a small hostal, with big bright rooms and for once - fresh bread served in the morning instead of the usual stale croissant. (I have learnt to apreciate small things!)

We spent a few days in Valpo, walking up and down the many hills, and enjoying the sea views and then took the short bus ride to Santiago. I wasn´t overly impressed with Santiago I have to say. Once again it was a city that had quite a European style to it. We were staying in a bohemiam barrio which had a good vibe to it and great place to go and have a few cervezas but other than that and the cerros which we climbed there wasn´t much else to see .

because you know...it´s a hard life sometimes

Life as a backpacker can really take its toll. You know how it is; travelling from place to place, overeating, sightseeing - it can all be a bit tiring sometimes. That´s why we decided to book a relaxing day at a spa. After being picked up from our hostel we were taken to a lovely spot in the mountains of Mendoza. We spent the whole day in and out of thermal pools looking at the scenery and the river. After a few hours of jacuzzis and mud baths we headed for lunch (obviously the most important part of the day for me). There awaited a buffet lunch with steaks, chicken, lots of meat all argentinian style and god knows how many other things....delicious! After stuffing ourselves silly we booked in for a massage and then back to the outdoor pools. Ahh it´s a hard life.

vino, vino... y mas vino

From Cafayate we went to Cordoba which I have to say I was a little dissapointed with. Not much to offer really, just another big city so we left and headed to Mendoza after a few days. Mendoza was nice enough and obvioulsy we couldn´t leave without doing the main excursion here....going to the wine bodegas by bike.

We went to get the bikes at 10.30am and straight away we were offered some vino tinto. After two glasses we started the bike tour...started as we meant to go on. haha. First stop was the chocolate and liquor factory. For 15 pesos ( 3 pounds) we got to try bread, olive oil, jams and most importantly 2 shots of one of the most delicious chocolate liquors I have ever had (so i bought a bottle of it) and some chocolate. Not a bad start. Then we cycled to a wine museum. It was quite funny watching everyone pretend that they were actually interested in the musesum - clearly everybody just wanted their free glass of vino.
The trip pretty much continued in the same way with a stop for lunch (can´t be drinking on an empty stomach now) and then the 12km back to the bike shop where we were given even more wine. Not a bad day!

Cafayate - a casual 48km bike trip

After the amazing 3 days in Uyuni and then a few days chilling in hammocks in San Pedro de Atacama (Chile) we headed for Argentina. Starting point was Salta. Upon arrival we headed straight for the nearest steak house and I have to say it didn´t dissapoint. We did however find a place a few days later which was incredible! The best steak I have ever had without a doubt. Salta was ok, but to be honest it didn´t really feel any different to Europe - I could have quite easily been sat in a plaza in Spain.
Miles away from the colourful outfits of the indigenous on the streets of Peru and Bolivia.

From Salta we decided to go into the countryside so went to a small place called Cafayate (maybe you have had wine from there). We hired bikes and took the early morning bus to La garganta del diablo. From there we did the 48km bikeride back to Cafayate passing by some of the most incredible canyons and scenery. I had originally thought that I would only be able to do about 10km and then would have to get the bus back, but with scenery like that it was worth every minute.

Salar de Uyuni

This trip was by far the best thing I have done since being here! Worth every penny. For 3 days we went cruising through deserts and mountains seing the most amazing scenery of my life.
The first day consisted of going to the train cemetary where there are dissused trains. A kind of strange place, like something from a film set. Then we headed to the salt flats - a salt desert. Obviously we spent a good while taking photos and doing lots of silly poses, as you can see from the photos. We were taken to see a hotel made of salt and then to la isla del pescado. I can´t even describe the scenery there - beautiful. After lunch, cooked by our driver Javier we went to various lagunas and then to our accomdation for the night - a salt hotel, where everything from the tables to the beds was made of salt. That night we saw the most amazing moon. We all just sat outside in the cold in silence, each one lost in thoughts, perdido en sus sueños, taking in this incredible view.

The next day we were woken early to start the trip to more lagunas and to this place with lots of rock formations including el arbol de piedra - the stone tree. Pretty impressive I have to say. We then headed for "el refugio", which pretty much means basic accomodation, i.e no running water or central heating. Now I had heard that the second night was the worst as it´s sooo cold. I was wrapped up like an onion I had that many layers on. I had also decided that it would be a good idea to take a little bottle of whisky, you know, for the cold. We dumped our stuff and went for a walk around the laguna colorada, which is a laguna that looks red. I took the whisky with me so we all had a little toast to Pachamama. It´s easy to see why people in Peru and Bolivia believe in Pachamama with natural beauty like we saw. As the night went on the temperatures dropped alot and I didn´t even get changed to go to bed coz it was just too cold. I could never do this trip in winter because it must be unbearable.

The following morning arrived with a 4.30am wake up call and my god it was cold! I couldn´t feel my feet for half of the morning. We travelled an hour or so to the geysers. It was like being on another planet. Luckily the hot steam being projected warmed my feet up slightly. We were then taken to aguas termales but I wasn´t brave enough to go in. I was so cold that the last thing I wanted to do was take my clothes off and be in my bikini. A few of my friends braved it though. After breakfast surrounded by moutains and a volcano we were taken to the end of our trip....onwards to Chile!