Round the world!!! - Pete+Rochelle
4 1/2 months with no work, no keys, no responsibilities- doesn't get better than this!!!

Hong Kong Stop over
Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Nathan Street, main road down Kowloon
Hong Kong 27 Sep-30 2010
Pete and I were staying in Kowloon which is the main city on the mainland. It was really muggy and hot and there are people everywhere!! The smells were amazing; your nose gets violated in many ways, always something strange. There were a lot of seafood smells (probably due to all the shops that sell all types of dried of seafood on the side of the road), meat aromas, and the smell of cooking coming from the thousand restaurants located in Kowloon. Oh yeah and nicotine clouds- I think most of the population of Hong Kong smoke cigarettes, which they smoke just about anywhere, all of the time-passive smoking at its best. There were people everywhere trying to sell us stuff. The locals were in our face every minute. They were either pushing us to just “take a look inside my tailor shop”, yelling at us from their little stalls on the side of the road, or blocking our path when little old people were pushing big trolleys with rubbish or squashed boxes.
There are approximately 7 million people that live in Hong Kong, 90% of which are Chinese and they’re re about 7000 of them to each sq cubic meter. The people here live on-top of each-other in little apartments, and everywhere you go you will see washing hanging out of windows on little bamboo pull lines. I thought this above all things was amazing. What if you drop your favorite dress! Wealth is measured by the size of your apartment (or house if your extremely rich!!) and 110% tax must be paid for each car on the road, which means there are not a lot of cars per head and all cars are new as it is cheaper to buy new ones then to keep paying taxes on old ones apparently!
Pete and I did a bus tour of Hong Kong Island and the tourist stops. The Man Mo temple where we had to leave because there was so much incense burning it made our eyes cry. Victoria Peak on HK Island which has views to Kowloon and the harbour and you go on a 45 degree angle pretty cool tram ride 373 meters to get up there.
Aberdeen fishing village and surrounding city
We took a Sampan (little boat) around traditional Aberdeen fishing village which is on water (the fishermen and families live on the boats), had lunch at the Jumbo floating restaurant, which was a beautiful building in the middle of the water and had an even better dim sum lunch, and finished off with shopping at the Stanly street markets. We had a look around but I have to say that all the shopping starts to look the same there because there is so much of it. HK Island is huge, and when looking at it from the mainland at night with all the lights you do get a bit in awe of how big it is. Photos really do only give you a fraction of how ominous it is.
Yuen Yuen Institute, one of the Temples
The next day we did a tour of the New Territories, which is the land between Kowloon and China. We started off with visiting the Yuen Yuen institute, with its beautiful temples, monasteries, gardens and ponds in honor of Confucian, Taoist and Buddhist religions (if I remember right the difference between Taoist and Buddhist is that Taoist eat meat and are allowed to drink and smoke where Buddhist cannot. I know which one I like!) We then went up Tai Mo Shan, HK's highest mountain for photos but there wasn't much of a view. I did enjoy it for the greenery and the lack of people tho!
Small strip between houses in Fanling Walled Village
Next was the Fanling Walled Village, which was started by one family and has expanded. This place has the buildings so close together and you walk through these tiny gaps where there are doors to houses and it’s like a maze. The great and weird thing about this village is on one side of a small lake is this walled village where everyone lives in such close quarters, on the other side is a beautiful park with walks and trees and old men out walking their canaries.
Sha Tau Kok, boundary town from Luk Keng Road
A stop on the side of the road showed us the Chinese border, where a small village named Sha Tau Kokis located. The interesting thing about this town is it has the border line running straight through the middle of it, so half belongs to China and the other to HK.
Luk Keng Village houses
Luk Keng Village, surrounding view
My favorite stop was the one to Luk Keng, a tiny village of about 100 people where life is still lived in the old ways. Houses are very dirty on the outside. Religion and tradition imply that if their family home is cleaned or changed in appearance than their dead ancestors won't be able to find their way home, therefore they aim keep the home looking the same. Understandably the villagers are only keeping respect for their ancestors. It was such a small simple place, but everyone we saw was so lovely and happy for us to look through their community.
Sam Mun Tsai Fishing farm
We were then whisked away to a tiny Sam Mun Tsai fish farm, not too different to Aberdeen but what they do here is all the fish they catch that are too small to consume they harvest in nets next to their house-boats and farm until big enough to sell. These people live on the water in very simple living conditions and, overlooking them on the land is a hill covered in houses/apartments called the 'Beverly Hills'; quite a contrast.
HK is quite a dirty place with rubbish all through the water, and when were leaving at 4am this morning to go to the airport, we saw empty streets with rubbish piled up on the sides (we also saw a lot of people still out and restaurants still open with people in them!!) Pete says he will know HK for three things: the random drops of water that hit you when you’re walking down the street when it’s not raining; these poor frogs we saw bagged up, still alive for buying and eating; and old men blatantly staring at my breasts (I missed this part, too busy NOT starting at the old men and their bare chests). I will fondly remember Hong Kong for all the washing hanging out of windows, stalls and markets everywhere- day and night, and the big signs that hang right over the streets. Oh, and the fact that when we were out at 10pm Monday night, shops, stores and restaurants were still open and buzzing with activity! Not in Hervey Bay anymore!!! HK really comes alive at night.
Hong Kong Island from the harbour
All- in-all it was definitely an interesting way to start our adventure. We couldn't have asked for more friendly people, and we had our own bed with a western toilet (thank God I only had to try the squat thing once!) and more than our share of rice and noodles. Maybe not a destination choice for the non-shopper, but a beautiful culture and landscape on the fringes awaits you if you have the time. We had a little look at the art gallery and space museum but to be honest come late afternoon all we wanted was to go have a little lie down in air conditioning and not walk anymore!! Boy are our feet going to get a workout over the next few months!!!! Thanks for checking in- Rochelle x x xx
Take care of yourselves, write soon
written by  Pete+Rochelle on October 1, 2010 from Hong Kong, Hong Kong
from the travel blog: Round the world!!!

Pete's thoughts
London, United Kingdom
Pete found a dingy live music and open mic nite venue. It looked great!! In Angel
Captain's Blog: England is far a more inviting place than our previous destination. Although the Brits didn't give us Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan or birdflu, they make their mark in providing Comfort food, rain, bars on every corner, pretty history monuments, and madcow disease. Bottom line: I like it here.
I like the high risk of getting lost making adventure literally at your doorstep. I like that where you're busting to piss you can't revert back to old cultural rituals by simply flopping it out on the street (God damn well lit streets), or nearest bush (everything is Fucking fenced off, parks are locked at night). That you must be more civilized. I like that I've eaten chips for dinner every night since I've been here and that the you don't see chickens feet sticking out of the local broth.
When you have only experienced London from afar, that is, seen it on tele, you automatically are confronted by how accurate the tele is. Everything looks the same as its shown you but bigger, dirtier, more imposing. I feels like I've been here before, walked the streets, talked to the crazies, the drunks selling the Big Issue, or am I thinking of the Gold Coast? And even though I'm yet to see the Antique Road Show banner parked outside of some Fulham townhall, the city is filled with antiquities so you don't feel cheated.
The Anchor Pub, on the Southbank
written by  Pete+Rochelle on October 6, 2010 from London, United Kingdom
from the travel blog: Round the world!!!

London 30th Sep-7th Oct
London, United Kingdom
London has been a little different for both Pete and I. For Pete it’s been a new experience going through similar experiences I had first time I was here. For upon arrival London IS exactly as you expect it to look, all the houses are the same and the weather IS grey. For me it’s been a bit of a nostalgic trip, the smell on the tube took me back 7 years and running from tube to tube seemed natural. So far it has been great seeing old friends, and being the one who isn’t new to it all, I have been showing Pete interesting sights and offering up often useless bits of information.
We started off in London shattered. I slept none of the 13 hour flight to get there and so by the time we made it to Sheree’s place (my best mate from high school whom we haven’t seen for a couple of years) I was knackered. We had a real quiet Thursday night and Friday day, slept in and went for a walk which was lovely. Such a change from HK. No one around, cool, crispy, windy and drizzling, and we could get a real cup of tea!!! Friday night found us at Pete’s old friend Ricky’s for a home-made beef stew. Ricky lives in the smallest flat I have ever seen. It was just one room, no separate bedroom or anything, quite amazing!! Too much wine and too much great conversation made us stay up too late.
Jo Mango playing at Union Chapel
Union Chapel Stained Glass
Saturday we went and saw a musician playing in a church. It was Union Chapel in Angel and Islington, Jo Mango was her name. She had such a beautiful voice, and her music gave me goosebumps all over. The sound from the church was simply amazing. Sat night was a catch up with old faces: Clare an old friend that I haven’t seen since I last lived here over 6 years ago, Bec who we hadn’t seen since almost a year ago in the Bay, Ricky and his girlfriend Anna from the night before, and Sheree who we’re staying with in London. We all met at the local pub had a great catch up. Getting buses home we experienced our first London brawl which is always pretty eventful, I got told off by Pete and Sheree for getting too close yelling at them for being dickheads. Personally I didn’t think I was too close, but I guess it’s a mater of opinion. Same wankers/different city.
Roch, Bec, Pete, Sheree and Clare, Sat night drinks, Fulham
On Sunday Pete and I separated for the first time in over a week. We have done pretty well I think, we hadn’t torn each others hair out….yet!! I went to a jumble sale with Sheree and her flatmate Beth, and considering what was on offer I did pretty well and only bought a little bit of jewellery. Beth bought the coolest little wooden chair which I was so jealous of!! This was followed by beer at a pub then dinner at home, a pretty quite night for me. Pete meet up with an old- old friend for a drink: Patricia Turk, which turned into a bit of sight seeing around London, pie and chips for dinner and a few drinks, a good catch up and some London city scenes to boot. He should’ve taken the camera, but isn’t hindsight great!!!
Pete & Big Ben
An amazing artist, Southbank
Graffiitti and tagging, skateboard area, Southbank
On Monday Sheree had organised the day off work so we went sightseeing. The sights we had decided to see ended up being the same ones Pete had seen the night before! So lucky for him he got to see them in day and night .We went for a walk along the Southbank, starting off where Big Ben and Westminster is, and along past the London eye (the really big wheel for really big views) where there was a lady doing an amazing painting of the eye and Big Ben. We took photos of a skate area under a bridge, where graffiti is all over the walls, everywhere, but the great part about it is that it is the only area that I saw that did have graffiti. The walls are really clean of it. We then stopped at the Tate Modern Museum. We had a look at the impressionist art, which Sheree and I didn’t quite get but Pete loves, so we opted to go to the bar in the top floor and have a glass of wine with some free nuts while we waited for him. We had the best view of St Pauls Cathedral from there too.
Afternoon drinks at the Tate Modern, overlooking St Pauls
Pete doing Hamlet outside the Globe
From there we kept walking along the river to the Globe Theatre and a little shopping village with heaps of wooden carved seats/animals/people and an old pub where we had to stop in for a drink (funnily enough, the same pub Pete had had a drink in the night before). Its too easy to drink in London. Or maybe it’s because we’re on holidays? The rest of the walk was filled with old churches and interesting brick buildings. The thing I love about London is that it doesn’t matter where you are you will always have some history tucked away in the middle of bars and shops and offices that everybody else just walks past on their way home from work. Just by reading a plaque you get the real story of an old building and it’s significants in history and that’s so cool.
Ruins of Winchester Palace
Southwark Cathedral, oldest Gothic Church
After having a pint at the pub I worked at about 8 years ago!! Kings Cross
So, back to the novel, Tuesday found us having another rest morning and heading out to see a band that evening. We stopped in to Kings Cross to have a drink at the O’Neils Irish pub there, a pub I worked at and lived in at least 8 years ago. It hasn’t changed at all and that was weird. From there we walked to Angel and Islington to go to Relentless Garage to see the Posies play. We stopped into the Famous Cock for one of the best burgers I have had in ages, before heading to the venue where I just about fell asleep as I was so full! We left after about an hour, half because I was almost asleep, and the other because they had only really played 2 decent songs (I figure if the songs where better they would’ve kept me awake yeah?!?!)
Watching the Posies at Relentless Garage, Angel & Islington
Roch & Tower bridge
Wednesday morning we awoke to rain. We had another lazy morning (we’re on holidays-what can I say!) and by the time we decided to do something the sun was out!! This in itself is pretty rare. So we went on a cruise up the river Thames. It took us past the usual suspects, Big Ben (again), London bridge, the Tower of London, Tower bridge, but we also got to see Canary wharf, the business district, and some pretty impressive houses along the river.
Tower of London
Millinium Dome
We went past the Millennium Dome also, a big eye sore they made to hold huge events. It really is quite ugly. The boat trip ended with taking us past the big river flood gates, these things are high tec. When there is a threat of a flood, there are big hydraulic arms which move around half cylinder walls from resting on the bottom of the machine (which lies so low that boats can still cross over them), to acting like a wall across the water and stopping it all from coming in a flooding the Thames and all the people. My explaining sucks but it really is quite clever. Our day ended with a home made dinner at Bec’s in Elephant and Castle (the name of some of the places here!!) and of course, drinks.
Thames river flood gates
Flood gate mechanics
So that’s been the journey so far. Next stop, Isle of Man and upwards through England!!
written by  Pete+Rochelle on October 8, 2010 from London, United Kingdom
from the travel blog: Round the world!!!

Isle of Man 7th-11th Oct
Castletown, Isle of Man
The Viking pub
We arrived on Thursday after a short hour and a bit flight. Couldn’t even attempt to do much because as soon as we took off we landed!! I like that. Our mate Boris picked us up from the airport and took us to get settled into his house with our own room and beds!! Bliss. After getting our bearings Pete and I went for a walk into the township of Castletown, where I lived for about 3-4 months of my stay here. It’s a small town, that has a castle, Castle Rushen right in the middle of town!! Its a sight that took Pete a while to get used to.
Castletown harbour
We had a pint at the Gluepot, a quant, traditional pub next to the castle then we went to the Viking, the pub I used to work at and live in. I had a chat with the owner and chef while I was there and took a little trip down memory lane, remembering how we used to make our own chips and pies from scratch- they still do. While we were having our pint the chef bought out a bowl of chips on the house for me to try! Very spoilt and they were as nice as I remembered.
Pete at the Gluepot
Rochie's free Viking chips
On Friday we were given a car to go explore. Pete trying to start the car was an adventure in itself! The clutch was really stiff, so he would stall it trying to get it out of the driveway. It took 4 goes before we were off. The roads over here are really little also, so you might be going up a road with heaps of turns and another car comes the other way and you both have to give way to each other, driving almost off the road into little ditches. It was an experience and Pete did so well, I think he was happy when we got back to the house tho.
Peel Castle
We drove to Peel, and went through the olds ruins of the castle there. It was such a clear day, so blue and sunny, but the wind was insane, really choppy and all directions and made our inner ear hurt. But it was a great look around the grounds and I got some great shots. We also went to the House of Manannan, Peel’s museum, which goes through the history of the Isle of Man since before the Vikings came and took over. It was a brilliant museum, really interactive and well built.
We had lunch at a cute little café on the promenade that had tea cups and saucers all over the walls. So I guess its no surprise that we had the BEST cup of tea there that we have had so far, with real sugar cubes!! I was in heaven. If my Nana was still with us I would be ringing her just to tell her bout it. I even had welsh rarebit for lunch, which is glorified melted cheese on toast, but it was great. That night we went out to dinner with our hosts Boris and Nicole to the Garrison for Tapas and wine, followed by drinks at a couple of bars before heading home. I saw some old faces out too which took me back, its been so long. Needless to say we stayed out a bit too long and even tho I wasn’t hung over on Saturday, I was extremely tired and very fuzzy.
Us with Boris and Nic
Douglas promenade
Saturday saw us starting off very slowly. We got dropped off at Port Erin, a coastal town not for from Castletown so we could catch the steam train into Douglas. It was a pretty cool ride ( that I have to admit almost made me fall asleep from the lack of it from the night before) with nice scenery, smoke form the coal going past the window and the train horn going off at the crossings. Very cute. We had a walk around Douglas at the other end, the capital city on the Isle, and had lunch at Bar George, the other place I worked at when I lived here. It took us ages to find it cause I couldn’t remember where it was! We had some tapas and free wedges- not because of me this time but just cause the chef had made to many. Sweet! So we got the bus back to Boris and Nic’s and had a quiet, early nite.
Point of Ayre Lighthouse
Tyndale Hill and church
Sunday Boris took us on a drive around the Island. We went to Tynwald Hill where they a day each year where proposals for news laws are made to parliament and proposals from the year before are either passed or rejected. We went to the top of the Isle to the Point of Ayre and its lighthouse and stopped in at the town of Ramsey for lunch.
We quickly stopped the great Laxey wheel, the largest working water wheel in the world (that’s pretty big!!!), walked through a graveyard up a hill (I can’t remember where Boris!!) that had old Celtic headstones and another lighthouse nearby and found a little street that the high tide was coming right up over and almost got us, where everybody but me saw a seal.
Old headstones
We also stopped into the Mann Cat Sanctuary, which is a bit of a safe haven for cats and some dogs, birds, donkeys, horses, rabbits, guinea pigs, geese and chickens. By donating cat food you can walk through the grounds and the rooms and have as much cat love as you can handle, unless your Boris and you get swiped at! I love it there and I love what they do, they think that all the animals there have a right to life even if no-one else wants them, or they have been injured, or are getting old. A couple of rooms were a bit smelly tho-a good reminder that turning into a crazy cat lady will have its cons.
Room at Cat sanctury
When we got back Pete and I went for a bike ride around. We went to Derby haven, a small village next to Castletown, and to an old church ruin. We then went into Castletown for the last time and had one more pint at the Viking. We had our last dinner at home with Boris and Nicole and another quiet night. Its been good, relaxing. Next stop the “Hard Days Night”( to be sung in John Lennon type tones) Hotel in Liverpool. So ‘bout time we get our scouse on then hey! Till next time, take care of each other. P&R
Pete and the police station
written by  Pete+Rochelle on October 15, 2010 from Castletown, Isle of Man

"Here comes the son"
Liverpool, United Kingdom
The exciting first look
Pete on the stage!!!
Dad if your reading this then your got my email with the details on how to catch up with us. I am writing this from the future...scary. I left my entry late as per usual to those that know me. I really shouldn´t have as I forget shit quickly. Whatever.
I can tell you that we had a really great time stayin' in the Hard Days Nite Hotel and goin' to the Cavern to listen to Beatles and Döörs covers- that hit the spot. Fun place to visit if anyone out there in blogland gets the chance, just don't drink too many 'Bloody Mary's' in the Fab Four Bar.
Our new German friends
Our new American friends
We met some fun and funny people that made the music and nite really special. Cheers to both the 'German' couple and the 'American' folks that were excellent company. Enjoy the photos family and friendy- fuckin German keyboard! Well were on our way out in Dusseldorf. My mate Alex is playing me Legend of Zelda tunes on his piano as I finish my blog entry. Now back to the future folks. Were off to see my great uncle Eric. Happy times. Love Peter and Rochelle.
John Lennon on the Hotel
written by  Pete+Rochelle on October 16, 2010 from Liverpool, United Kingdom

Uncle Eric 12th-15th Oct
Gateshead, United Kingdom
The adventure that was Newcastle.
We were (slightly) hung-over Tuesday after our hard nights night and had to take a 6 hour bus ride through lovely little towns and gorgeous green fields to get to Great Uncle Eric’s house in Gateshead, Newcastle. Eric is 90 years old, so I guess what were expecting was to show up, do the meet and greet, have some dinner and go to bed. When we got there we were greeted with a pot of tea and sandwiches, followed by meeting Leslie and Anthony, Eric’s neighbours and very close friends, and drinking whiskey and beer till midnight! And here I was expecting us to take a break off drink while we were up here! There were many stories to be told tho with heaps of laughter and lots of yelling- Eric’s quiet deaf so you have to be a few more decibels louder to be heard by him. We also had to talk slower cause I think he had a problem with our accents.
On Wednesday the 5 of us went into Newcastle to have a look around. We went to the old flour mill which has been converted into an art gallery, which had some weird bits of art on show but some brilliant views also of Newcastle, the River Thyne and the new millennium bridge. We went for a walk along the river and up to a pub for lunch, where we had a couple of pints, and Eric suggested going to their local pub for one drink on the way home, as Pete and I were planning on going back into Newcastle that evening to see hopefully see some music. Well. The one drink turned into an all nighter at the pub, so needless to say Pete and didn’t make it out! He’s a tough one that one.
Angel of the north
Thursday found us hung over (again) and in desperate need of sleep. Not happening today tho, as Pete’s mums best friend, Pat, was picking us up and taking us to Fencehouses, just out of Durham and the area where Pete was born. On the way there we stopped at the Angel of the north, a huge sculpture made out of steel that stands on the side of the freeway near Newcastle. She was erected in honour of the miners and also to give people a bit of hope (he said, everyone speaks of Angels, but no-ones even seen one, so hopefully this will put hope and faith in people) and her wing span is nearly the length of a jumbo airplane. She was pretty big!
At Fencehouses we met his Grandads old next door neighbour, Joan, and had a cup of Tea and a gossip with her. We saw the house his Mum grew up in, his Grandads house to, and got a photo out the front of the house he spent his first 2 years in. Actually we were outside his mums old house and there was a guy there, and we asked him if we could take a photo of the house and explained why, and he gave us a funny look. Its pretty neat seeing the places where it all happened, and even tho Pete isn’t very nostalgic, I don’t think he could help feeling a bit of that on this day.
Pat then took us to Lumley Castle which is a beautifully restored Castle that you can stay in, and also has a restaurant which does a lot of weddings. We had the yummiest lunch there (with wine glasses full of water- no alcohol was passing our lips on this day!) of Pumpkin soup and traditional beef roast with the biggest Yorkshire puddings I have ever seen. Size didn’t equal taste tho and Pete was a bit disappointed that they were no where near as good as his Mums. Pat left us there for a couple of hours and we had a walk around the immaculate gardens with a hedge that was so well pruned it looked bouncy, and Pete saw his first squirrel. It was a bit camera shy tho. We also took a walk through the castle and got a little lost through all the little walkways, a couple of the staff saw us and were so nice, they heard our accents and said- “You are a bit lost aren’t you!” We stopped at a little area that had big chairs and an open fire and Pete sat down and proceeded to fall asleep.
I got a cup of tea and homemade petite fours and read an old book of short stories out of the old library that was covered with dust and all the ladies that came into the area where we were all looked down at Pete and gave a little giggle. It was a lovely day and all up and was good to do it with Pat as she has memories of the area and stories for Pete to hear. We finished the day off very quietly and ended up in bed early.
So Friday found us eating Eric’s yummy soft boiled eggs with soldiers for breakfast before packing and getting ready to go to the airport.. He has spoilt us completely and it doesn’t matter what you say, every morning when we got up he would get out of his seat, boil the water for our pot of tea (cups, saucers, milk and sugar all ready), put the pot on to boil our eggs (plates, knives, cloth napkins already laid out), toast our bread (butter and spreads on the table also) and spoil us with choice of juice, cereal and fruit.
It was such a pleasure to be around Eric, and Pete and I have had a blast. Its been good for Pete to meet more of his family as his is so small, and I know now that I’m in trouble if this kind of longevity and liveliness is in the family- Pete is going to drive me round the bend when he’s old!!
Next stop- Dusseldorf with Maggie and Alex!!!! Take care- P & R
written by  Pete+Rochelle on October 17, 2010 from Gateshead, United Kingdom

Did someone say bike? 16th Oct
Amsterdam, Netherlands
We arrived in Dusseldorf, Germany, on Friday. It was raining. No complaints though as we have been really really lucky so far in terms of good weather. What we are struggling with is the cold!!!! We were told it would be about the same as Newcastle, but this is colder. The wind chill goes right through you.
Our friends Maggis and Alex are taking care of us while we are here. They thought they would take us to Amsterdam for the day, a 2 1/2 hour drive from Dosseldolf. We had an early one friday night and got up early(ish) for the big trip. We took our passports but there is no border control. Even though it's in the Neterlands, we don´t get a stamp! There wasn´t even a line to say where Germany finished and the Netherlands started! I was dissapointed.
What an adventure it was. Apart from the obvious, yeah, everyone smokes and goes to sex shows unless your us (Pete did try the smallest bit of hash cake and that was about as daring as we got), let me tell you what else I think makes up Amsterdam:
the cute houses
Buildings. Unlike other citys that we've visited, the buildings here are all different sizes, shapes and angles. They are so cute and I do wonder how some of them are standing up. They look like part of the foundation has given way and they are only being held up by the building next to it, its amazing! But they are everywhere too, not just one or two;
bikes in the main square
Bikes. I knew that bikes were a big part of Amsterdam, but I didn´t realise just how much really. They are chained to the bridges, railings, each other, or just to themselves. they were hanging over bridges, there was even what looked like a multi level car park that was full with only bikes! There are piles of them and stations of them. They even have bike lanes with there own lights. No one wears a helmet and I saw so many different types of bikes!
Open urinals. Maggie and I struggled to find a toliet, but everywhere there were these outside cubicles for guys. And did they smell. Not that Pete or Alex were game enough to use them, they waited for real loos as well.
one of the many canals
Little streets and canals. Everywhere. The lanes just seemed to get smaller and smaller. And the canals were beautiful, some quite open, and some with house boats tied to their sides. All the little lanes were joined together with bridges and even some of the bridges were covered in bikes! It really was a maze going through the lanes and we had to try to get our bearings to get back to the car.
check the bike thats hanging
So of course we went to the sex musum, which looked at sex throughout the ages, at different types of fetishes and preferences, paintings, carvings, statues and had wax figures in comprimising positons that flashed their bits at you. At was interesting and had a bit to look at and when we got outside we realised there was 2 more levels we didn´t even look at!
in the main square
There's a big square in the middle of Amsterdam where everyone hangs out which was pretty. We had sausage for lunch which is served in a cardboard dish not bread with sauce and onion and spent too long warming ourselves with tea and coffee and got a 50 euro parking ticket! An expensive cuppa.
Our cold friend
It was a great day out followed by a late night out in Dusseldorf where its okay to drink in the street which I think is where we spent most of our time. Meet a man playing guitar and singing wearing nothing but a g-string and it was freezing out. We had a sambucca shot which was so strong (I really am getting old),tried beer with grapefruit in it, tried to drink a hot alcoholic beverage that they serve at christmas which tasted like hot red wine. It was supposed to warm you up.... tasted like shite, sorry Alex. We won´t be able to fit our pants soon.
It has been an adventure so far!! We are a little bit back- to- front with our entries at the moment, we´re missing the few days with Uncle Eric, which I have already done but is on my laptop which has run out of power and alas we have no adaptor!! Small oversight! So once its up and running it will be up! I´ll get this whole thing one day I´m sure. So until next time!!! Love P & R xxx
Us with Maggie and Alex
written by  Pete+Rochelle on October 17, 2010 from Amsterdam, Netherlands

Can you speak english?
Dusseldorf, Germany
Sun17th & Mon 18th Oct. Dusseldorf, Germany.
Sunday found us having a huge sleep in due to the fact that we were up till about 3.30 in the morning from the night before. It called for a very quiet day of movies and me trying to buy food for Pete and I, by myself, from non-English and speaking, but very lovely German people. Sunday night we went out for dinner with Alex and Maggie to the restaurant Alex’s Dad is a chef at. The food was insanely good. Mushroom and potato soup with truffle oil, followed by herb and hazelnut crusted lamb that just melt in our mouths. We heard later that the table behind where Pete and I were sitting were laughing our attempts to try and speak German. I think we’ll leave that to the experts.
Monday we took the train into Koln, a nearby city to have a nosey and to look at the Dom, a huge gothic church that is way old. This thing is massive and reminded me so much of the Arc de triumph (excuse the spelling) in Spain with its tips touching the heavens. It had gorgeous stained glass and the most unique that I have seen so far too. It took over 2 years to build it and is well looked after.
After the Dom us girls and boys separated. Alex wanted to show Pete a really big music store so Maggie and I had a look around the area. It’s a big shopping village there so we had a window shop but I really can’t do it with no chance of being able to by anything. What if I find an amazingly good deal?! I have absolutely no where to put it!! But we found another pretty little church and a building with an ice cream cone sticking out of it. When we all met up again I think Pete had the same problem window shopping ashe wanted a few things fromn the music shop. He made up for it by buying a sausage!
Main shopping street Koln
That night we went to Alex’s parents home for dinner, where we met his Dad and Maggies Mum and sister. They practised their English on us and we made them laugh with our attempts at German. It was pretty neat, Alex’s Dad hadn’t spoken English for 30 years before we arrived and he could hold a conversation with us. Again the food was amazing and again I ate too much, but it was so nice to meet who our friends belong to and share an evening. It was a great ending to a brilliant few days and Germeny is great!! Pete tried 5 different types of sausage so you can't really complain about that!!! Thanks to Maggie and Alex for all your effort in making it a great few days (even if you did make me drink sambucca and forget stuff!) xxx
Us and Maggies sister, Judith
Next stop Paris, the city of romance, take care! Love Us xx
written by  Pete+Rochelle on October 21, 2010 from Dusseldorf, Germany

The French Connection
Paris, France
Tuesday morning we had to wake really early to get the trains to get us to Paris. We slept a bit on the 3 hour ride, but as always a bit hard on public transport. Arrived in Paris with excitement and gusto and ready to hit the town running. What we ran into were strikes that affected a lot of the public transport workers. There was no information centres open to help us find where we needed to go. What we did find tho was an amazing lady who helped to point us in the right way and make sense of the directions we did have. We acquired a map from a newsagent and decided that we could walk, backpacks and all, to our hostel.
The workers strike
the corner where our hostel was
The first part of our walk we were following the workers on strike and their march, which, was a loud and smoky one. For the last part it stated to rain on us. First time though!!! We made it to the hostel, had some lunch, worked out where everything was and decided to walk to the river to catch a boat to the Eiffel tower. Easy in theory, unless you’re me and think you’re walking down a different street to what you actually are and end up going in a different direction. So with a bit more walking, we finally ended up at the River Siene and caught a boat to the tower. Its so pretty along the river and there is so much to see. I don’t know if I’ve said it before, but I really love Autumn. Yes it’s a little colder, but if you have enough layers on you can forget about that (apart from your nose that’s always cold) and just admire how pretty the trees and their changing leaves are.
The sacre coure on the distance
Anyway, I ordered Pete to walk up the Tower, we couldn’t get the lift because that would be cheating. We waited in a queue for a bit only to be told that it was the queue for the lift and the way to walk up it was on the other side- the one with absolutely no queue at all! We walked over to the other side to be greeted by some of the rudest people on our trip yet, they were the security guards who were checking the bags. Apparently they were too busy talking to each other to explain what we needed to do or go. With French ethic aside, we took our time to walk up the tower, I didn’t remember how big it was from my last trip there, but as soon as I hit the stairwell I remembered there being a whole lot of steps. Alas, we had eaten too many sausages in Germany. The views were great and the wind was cold and there is a queue for the toilets and we got hot chocolate, with mine having more cream then liquid. We tried to wait for the sun to set but got too cold. So we walked down, which is just as hard as walking up because your legs get the shakes massively. Overall, we had good timing as when we got to the bottom they lit the tower up and put on sparkly lights and it looked so pretty and romantic.
The famous tower!!!
We found a metro station and went to buy tickets from the machine, but it only accepted card or coins. We only had notes and the lady and information couldn’t give us any coins and really couldn’t give a shit I think. So we had to walk to find a shop, then to another Metro station as we were too far from the last. As we walked we happened upon the Arc de Triomphe, the huge monument in the middle of the ridiculously big and busy roundabout. Just looking at driving around there is scary!! It was nice there tho and the lights were on and there was a metro!! Yay!!! So we finally got back to the hostel, cooked some diner and went to bed, a small room we share with 2 other females. Pete’s bed s squeaked every time he moved and he was on the top bunk!
The Arc de triumph
when is a hole not a hole?
the entrance of the louve
Wednesday morning found us going to the Louvre. We had finally sussed out how the Metro worked and were feeling pretty confident getting around, as well as making sure we had change for tickets! We had a little walk around the grounds, and Pete bought the best croissant ever from a little caravan.
We waited in the line for the Louve, and went in with all the other hundreds of people. There are people everywhere and it is HUGE. We were there for about 4 hours and I reckon we didn’t even see half of it. Its like a maze of steps and floors and rooms and no sense to it all, well, there probably is but I didn’t get it.
Some of the paintings were really amazing and even the louvre itself was a masterpiece- magnificent paintings on the ceiling and details around door and window frames. And yes, we saw the Mona Lisa, which, I have to say, is a bit over rated. Its not even very big and it had it’s own wall, covered in thick glass and had a barrier so you can’t get to too close. There was a large amount of people that were all pushing round each other to see it, taking their photos with it, but the funniest thing was the fact that all the other walls were covered in amazing paintings, but most people were focused on Mona. I really think it's funny that because people tell you something is the most amazing thing, people tend to follow it. Pete loved this huge beautiful painting which was on the opposite wall to the Mona Lisa, and I a painting of a lady (really terrible I didn't get the artist's names, which I should've).
The Hype of the Mona
There were so many people around the Mona Lisa and the crowds were really getting to us so we decided that we had seen enough. We left there and made our way home. By this time we had had a big couple of days and I had started to be a bit grumpy (just a little) and needed to have a rest. So I went to the hostel and chilled out while Pete went for another walk and ended up in a pub, where he met a french backpacker and stayed out drinking half the night. On coming home he woke me distraught that he had lost his jacket and wallet. Turns out he had just put them in his bag trying to be safe earlier on and then forgot.
The modern art museum
the best cake EVER
Thursday morning we were well rested and ready to go though Pete was a bit hungover and tired. We were going to the Basquiat exhibition, a abstract-expressionalist painter at the modern art gallery. On the way we stopped at a bakery to get some breakfast and the most amazing quiche type pastry which was rich and cheesy, followed by a little cake that had strawberries and cream and custard and sponge and was the most delectable thinkg we have ever eaten. No wonder we are putting on weight!!
a sneaky photo of Basquiats work
Pete is a big fan of Basquiat and loved the exhibition. I didn't know too much about him, and although I enjoyed it, I'm not particularly sold on his art. A bit too expressionalist for me! But Pete did manage to get told off at in French by a lady who had funnily enough pushed in the line to buy tickets, and because of her pushing in Pete thought it would be appropiate to stand in her way as she was trying to get out, thus having the stern words that we couldn't understand.
Pete having a beer with Jim
From there we went to see Jim Morrisons grave. The graveyard was in the middle of a residential area in the city and went up a hill and with beautiful old headstones and monuments. I think that people get buried on top of each other as there is no room to expand, and we saw that there would bo ine grave space with 2 to 3 different names on it. We found Jim, a small grave that is fenced off and we got some photos and Pete had a beer in his honour. By doing this he managed to get told off by an older man, in french again, we assume because your not allowed to drink there. So he was on a roll!
While we were there we checked out Edith Piaf and Oscar Wilde's graves also. Oscars was a great big one with kisses in lipstick all over it, really something else.
our fancy cruise dinner
After getting back to the hostel Pete had a sleep (he was wrecked!). We had booked a champagne dinner cruise so made our way to the Eiffel tower and the boat. It was a bit fancy and our fanciest clothes aren't really. We got our seats, not even by a window, and ordered our champagne. I was pretty much drinking by myself, it was a bit tough going for Pete at the beginning. The food was also a bit fancy and not at all working for Pete too, I ate half his entree, he ate some of my main (the juiciest, tenderest steak I have had for ages) and I ate half his dessert. We had 2 hours on the boat, and didn't really see much apart from some lights, but were limited with the views. It was still a great night and we had champagne in Paris (as you should). After the cruise we went to a bar on the way home, ordered another bottle and had a great waiter who served us. We saw this huge cocktail go out to a table that had a firework coming out the top, and when we ordered our bottle the guy put one on top for us too! Pretty special.
our fireworks champagne
So we after there, went to another bar, drank whisky and made our way back to the hostel after that, with me quiet plastered. It was a late night to bed, and the next morning we had to pack our bags and leave for the eurostar to get to London. It was terrible! I think hang overs are best served when you don't have to carry your life on your back. On the way to the train we did decide to get some more of the quiche-thing and cake, except this time we didn't share the cake. When we got to the station we were going up the escalator and Pete was taking up the whole step and a lady couldn't pass him. When he did move over she stomped past him and was telling him off- in french!!! Pete really knows how to push their buttons!
So apart from offeneding everybody Pete was a big fan of Paris, as it was I: it was easy to get around, there is so much to look at and explore and it is a clean city. Sure, we paid about 18 euro (about $23 aus) for 2 beers at one bar, but we also only paid .65cents ($0.95aus) for 1.5 litre of Evian water. We did so much walking but enjoyed our adventures. Oh, and one of the ladies in our room was from Belgium and she did shows and all about women's liberation and standing up for women's rights. She had a bag and a jacket that she had made herself, covered in clitoris'! It was funny, but pretty cool what she was doing, but still funny.
The clitoris bag and jacket!!
So now we have a week in London to see friends and explore a bit more.
We need a holiday from our holiday tho-this is hard work sometimes!!
Hope your all well and thanks for your little messages, we love to hear from you P&R xxx
written by  Pete+Rochelle on October 25, 2010 from Paris, France

Back in London town
London, United Kingdom
Camden markets
Fri 22nd-Sat 27th Oct
Friday night was low key with salad and fruit and tv. After a big night out and a bit of a hang over from Paris, it was definatly needed. We had a big sleep then went into Camden on Saturday to have a look around. It's big and dirty and full of characters and some great shops that are a art in themselves. Sheree and I took Pete to see Cyber dog, a shop that sells all stuff for ravers. The shop is full of lights and loud music and ridiculious outfits and the staff members are a piece of art in themselves with multicoloured hair, piercings, big shoes and tight tops, and thats just the guys!! We went for a boat ride down the canal to look at the houses and trees, and the houses and... well, trees. I remember the ride being a little more interesting but oh well, thats life!! We did see a Banksy tho, a graffitti artist who is famous throughout the world for doing sometimes political but very well designed art on and in public space, walls and what not, and no one really knows who he is, Pete thinks he does tho. It was only a small stencil, but the most exciting bit of the ride I reckon.
A Banksey in Camden
Ricky, Anna, Gemma & Rob
That night we went out for Ana's pre-birthday drinks at Fluid Bar in Farringdon. We caught up with our mates again and saw Liam, a previous Hervey Bay High school teacher whos living here at the moment as well. We had sushi and beer and stayed out real late and got yelled at by Sheree's neighbour at 3 in the morning. Rock and Roll!!!!
Brick lane markets
Sunday we weren't going to do anything, but Bec rung to say she was going to Brick lane markets if we wanted to join in. So I don't know how, but we managed to get ourselves showered and ready and took ourselves out. I love the markets, there were heaps of new stuff and old collectables and bits of junk and hand made jewellery. We had a great burger at a pub that was full of real pickle and Pete drank beer to make himself better and I drank coke cause I couldn't look at beer. We had a look around the markets and the shops and ended up in another bar before going our seperate ways, which, we realised once we sat down was a gay bar and Bec and I were the only females! On the way home we stopped into the local pub by Sheree's place and ate too much dinner and passed out.
smoke in the sky
Monday we didn't want to face the day so we hung around home for some rest. Late that afternoon we were meeting up with Bec and Laim to do the Jack the Ripper tour. Now the reason I was up for doing the tour is because I knew it wasn't going to be scary (I don't like scary), and this definatly wasn't. It was informational and the tour giude was great and explained how and where and really knew his stuff. He really took you back in time to talk about detail and how the streets wouldv'e been back then and how he couldv'e gotten away with them all, and he even has is theories on the killer. Me, I kinda lost him in the end and came away knowing more about the murders, but hasn't changed my life at all, a little more suspence was needed I think.
A beef eater!!
Tower castle
Tuesday we went to do the Tower of London. I didn't visit when I lived here years ago, and was really looking forward to seeing it. So of course, it was the wettest day that we have had so far!! It was miserable, and most of the castle was open grounds and queues to see the things that were in the towers. The rain really affected our outing. Pete didn't bring his raincoat so he was in no mood to be outside (He has learnt his lesson now tho). Not being able to cope with any more, Pete parted form me to meet me at a neighbouring pub when I was done, as I was determined to see the castle!! It's all I wanted to see!!
I loved it, even with the rain. The Tower's history aroused my interest, every room has some story that has altered history in one way or another.
After a beer at the pub and a chance to dry of a little, Pete and I went our separate ways. Pete was off to meet up with Francesca, an old friend from Australia to go and see a play. The play was a ye oldie farce called Absent Friends- ironic for you people back home? It was played at the Union, a small and intimate theatre in Southwark. It was good catchin' up with Chesca, she has been over in England for several weeks and was lookin' as awestruck as I (Peter) was.
I (Rochelle) went out for dinner with Claire where we had Tapas and 2 bottles of wine and talked all evening. We were surprised by an early trick or treater who’s mask gave us a fright, so we got a photo in exchange for treats!
Wednesday morning was full of doing washing and odd jobs. In the afternoon we meet up with Brendan, the brother of a friend from Hervey Bay, who is also in a band (Twister Bait). He took us to a Belgium beer pub in Piccadilly, so Pete got to see a little of the city and where all the theatres are. After a couple of beers and a lot of music talk we went our separate ways.
Blue steel poses!!
Pete and I were off to cook Ricky and Ana dinner at his small flat. Its so little that I kept on banging my head on the ceiling slope in the kitchen as its right next to the stove!! A great night but not too adventurous apart from a little bit of head trauma- we had to be up early in the morning as we were going to Strafford-upon-Avon.
Pete tree loving
Sheree had organised a couple of days off work to hang out, so we were up early (7am early!! It was a killer) and on a train. Well, a train and a bus as Strafford’s train station is getting works done and closed for the week, go figure. We arrived with having no breakfast, so it was off to a café to fuel us up, Pete realised that he hadn’t had a full English breakfast since being in England so decided it was on the cards. Me, I was loving up baked potatoes with coleslaw and cheese! So good. We were then off to the thing Strafford-upon-Avon is famous for- Shakespeare’s birthplace and home.
Shakespears birthplace
Romep & Juliet
We got a little history on Shakespeare’s childhood and the his work, or rather the impact of his work on literature, and then were able to look around the gardens and in the house freely. Some of the rooms had a person talking about the aspects, from the bedroom where he was born to the workshop where his dad made gloves. The guy in that room was weird. He talked really slow and did fumy things with his hands and as soon as he was done we were out of there! In the courtyard there were two actors acting out bits from Shakespeare’s plays, they new a lot of different bits and you could give them a play and they would act parts from them. The guy wasn’t too impressed when someone wanted to see the classic Romeo and Juliet balcony scene, but it was great- she went into the house and upstairs to the window and it was impressive until a man was trying to come out of the house right where they were and at the most inappropriate moment. It was a bit of a chuckle tho. Pete bought a book called Filthy Shakespeare, an informative little number that highlights the overtly sexual puns that can be found within Shakespeare's famous plays. I guess it was his birth right to do so. Did you know that William Shakespeare's own name was a sexual pun? That is, in his day he would have been ribbed with "wanker", or "fucking wanker", as his name literally means just that. Will was a pun for fuck, and to 'shake' one's 'spear' was to masterbate. This begs the question- would a wanker by another name have wrote such smut?
Fishing on the Avon river
Shakespears grave
After a good look around we went for a walk along the river Avon to get to the church where not only Shakespeare was baptised, but also where his grave is- inside the church. It was a beautiful church and a gorgeous river with all the autumn trees (I know I keep on going on about them) and big willows. It’s a small place, but very pretty, and so quiet after London. On the way back to the bus we stopped off for afternoon tea. Pete keeping in Tradition of the day had tea with Scones, jam and clotted cream. Very English.
the sunset on the bus
Little restaurant
After our almost three hour journey to get back home, we finished off the day with a late dinner at a Lebanese restaurant around the corner from Sheree’s place. When I say restaurant I actually mean his house that he has converted into a restaurant. Apparently he lives upstairs and has the business downstairs. Its tiny, Sheree says its busy all the time and there is stuff everywhere!! Its hard to even sit down! He collects salt and pepper shakers and they were all over the place, there was all sorts of lights and fans hanging from the ceiling and ornaments everywhere- I guess a bit like being at Uncle Eric’s!! The menu was small, but the food superb, all fresh and basic but so much flavour, and we watched him cook it in the little kitchen that was right next to our table. We ate so well and passed out.
Ree's puppy shakers
Princess & the frog s&p shakers
Road kill cake
Friday we meet my old school mate Melissa for lunch in Soho and had some Italian, followed by meeting up with Bec at a pub to go to a cake shop. She had heard bout this shop that makes cakes that look like body parts and they had a big Halloween special going on, so we went to check it out. Unfortunately we got there quite late in the day and most of the cupcakes and things had been sold, which was a shame- I wanted a cupcake that looked like it had pusy zits all over it. We got a couple of little things tho and some photos, so it was something different to do.
Claire, Sheree & Roch
Pete stayed out with Bec and met his friend Patricia for drinks, I went with Sheree for drinks to celebrate Beth, her flatmates, birthday. Claire joined us for a bit and after a couple of beers we decided to opt for home as it was an early start for the airport in the morning.
And that was London.
A bit to read all at once, but I have some trouble with the internet and the photos at times. But those of you who know me also know my experience with computers, so I think I'm doing pretty well. Also, check out the extra photos- Sheree has taken a few good ones of Pete and I so I have included some poser shots.
In New York now, that entry will be full to the brim of pic's- there is so much to see!! But you'll have to wait for that one folks!! Love to you all!! Rochelle and Peter.
written by  Pete+Rochelle on October 27, 2010 from London, United Kingdom

New York New York!!!!!
New York, United States
Saturday 30th October- Wednesday 3rd November.
Sorry folks-I have alot of writing again. So I have broken it down into days which might make it easier for you to read when your at work!!! Hope that helps. xxx
First glimpse of the city
Let us start off by saying that JFK airport has been one of the easiest airports to get out of. The queue for customs was not long at all, the customs control officer was having a laugh with us suggesting which hotdogs to eat , and our bags didn’t even go through a x-ray. It was the shortest time and the least amount of board security to date. Hmmmm…though we did get electronically finger printed.
The signs everyone ignores!!
After our pleasant arrival we decided to get a shuttle bus to our hostel which was in Manhattan. It took us about two and half hours to get there as the traffic was atrocious and some of the roads we needed to take were closed. The drivers are insane here, people just pull out in front of each other, turn into on-coming traffic and beep their horns constantly as if to part the sea of twisted metal. There are signs that indicate that horn blowing is strictly prohibited and fines apply- not that anyone adheres to this rule!! By the time we got to our hostel we were pretty tired. We had to walk four flights of steep stairs with all our gear to get the shortest room ever made. Pete couldn’t even stand up straight! We went for a little walk around our neighbourhood, got some dinner then had an early night to try and sort out the jet lag.
Sunday.
ToysRus
Our little coffee shop
We were up early so decided to walk down into Time Square. We stopped in at a diner for some breakfast, were I had coffee, I’m talking the filter, top up, sugar and ‘cream’ on the tables type, while Pete had pancakes. We had a little giggle over how ‘American’ the whole thing was. After our fill, we continued our walk to downtown Manhattan-Lexington St, stopping at Grand Central train terminal as we went to have a nosey. We had been informed that it’s a nice place to see, and it was , but not too exciting. We then carried on our walk and made it to Time Square. This place was mad!! There is so much for your eyes to look at, people, lights, signs and shops and traffic and cops and buskers-it was full on. We went to the biggest Toys R Us store in America where they have a Ferris Wheel in the foyer and the BIGGEST \Barbie store I have ever seen. My inner-child wet her pants. It had candy land and Willy Wonka World and huge Lego displays and a Jurassic Park T- Rex and Superman and the list goes on. We had a look at the Hard Rock Café with music memorabilia and walked around the Broadway theatres. We also bought bus tickets for hop on, hop off guided tours that would last us for a couple of days. The bus took us past Central park, through Harlem, past the Apollo theatre, through the streets and past some pretty expensive homes. It was pretty cold on the top of the bus, which was surprising as the sky was blue, the sun out, it was the wind that killed you.
At Central park zoo
After over an hour in the wind, we decided to get off and go to the zoo at Central Park. It was only little, but very cute and had polar beers, seals, a snow leopard ( which didn’t really come out to say hi), a great bird enclosure with bats and little fury creatures and great birds. The maddest thing about the zoo, is when you look past the enclosures, it it surrounded by high buildings. You’re still in a big city, but you kinda forget that its there.
Halloween people
We walked home after seeing all the animals, had a rest and went back out to see the Halloween parade. Now the thing with this is that ALL of New York was talking about it, most people get dressed up for it and planned on being a part of the parade, but, no one could tell us where it was starting or what time things were kicking off. Even on the subway, on the way too the event , people still couldn’t give us any details! But we soon realised that it didn’t matter, as long as you had the general area, all you had to do was follow the hundreds of people that were all dressed up going in the same direction. (Peter’s note: “It was the best Halloween parade ever- they literally recreated HELL, and let me tell you folks, the queue into hell is looooonng”) We made a small, cheap effort to get dressed up with shitty animal masks that didn’t look anything like the animal they tried to represent and waited for over an hour in a thick crowd not being able to move at all. When the parade came it was great….for 10 mins. There were huge puppets of a ghoulish fashion and stuff we couldn’t see. After that… well, that was it. We waited for the rest of the demon spawn but they didn’t come to the party. The rest of the parade were people that were dressed up in quasi gay icon outfits walking sexually down the street. I couldn’t see anything this again is Peter’s account of events so don’t count on it being that true. So after at least three hours of wading through crowds, witnessing fist fights and people undoubtedly touching each others arses, we only saw 15 minutes of parade and decided to (try) to leave. Unfortunately so were heaps of other people thinking the same. The crowd was think as was its mentality- push as hard as you can and see how many people with move. I had to get Pete to make sure that he was holding me as there were a few times where I was being pushed forward but my feet had no room to go and I was scared of completely losing my footing. It was manic. It was shit.. An experience, but I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who doesn’t like: waiting, their personal space being violated, violence: watching small children getting crushed, and above all disappointment.
Halloween parade
When we finally got out of the melee we took the subway home and went for a very late dinner, at David Copperfields Restaurant. Not the magician, as I was getting very excited about, but the Copperfield from the book of the same name. Not as exciting. I had some magical ribs that were huge in their half serve portion (I always think of my sister Tanya when eating ribs as when we used to get them when we were younger she would steal my leftovers). Pete had a LITRE of beer with his fish and chips. (Peter‘s note: a litre of beer is a daunting task now I speak from experience. At first you think you’re up to the challenge, it’s easy to do on paper, but trust me, your bladder needs to sublet a room or two for it all to fit and if you drink it an hour before you go to sleep you wont“) . Our feet hurt from all our walking and the beer was good and our bellies food and we went for
another big sleep.
Monday
Worlds biggest button
Macys huge department store
Monday saw us getting on the bus for the downtown Manhattan tour. This took us past: Madison Square Garden, Greenwich Village, the Soho districts, the business district, a glimpse of Wall Street, the Empire State Building, Macys (the biggest department store in the world- this thing is scary), the fashion and design district where the biggest button ever is, the registry office where Matt Damon was married (sigh!) (Peter’s note: he’s a fucking sheep’s dag), and a peek of Ground Zero. We didn’t get to see too much of Ground Zero, but as far as we could tell it is in the process of being rebuilt as we saw a lot of cranes and construction equipment. We hopped off at the bottom of the island to get the free ferry across to Staten Island in order to see the Statue of Liberty. I have to tell you that this day was the coldest that we had experienced so far- Europe include. When we got off the bus we went in search for a café for a cup of tea and some warmth due to our fingers being frozen stiff and our feet being so cold they had pins and needles. Downtown is predominantly a business district so all the places we went to were take away only with no seating area. We finally found somewhere that had great broccoli and cheese soup, but the worst sandwich ever. Coleslaw sandwiches…ummm. After defrosting and eating we went and waited at the ferry terminal. As I said it’s free and they go every half hour and I think that over half the people there were just like us and only on the ferry to go past the statue. The ferry showed us a lovely view of the city and statue, however the statue looked smaller than we expected it to be, we didn’t go to Elise Island, I guess its bigger when you’re right underneath it. We got to Staten Island, and hopped straight back on the boat to come back as we had a date with the theatre.
The statue!!
OUr little theatre
We had previously booked to go to see Driving Miss Daisy at the Golden Theatre. We got dressed up in our best jeans and thermals and headed out to dinner in a lovely little restaurant and then went to the show. The theatre was intimate but lovely, but the most important part was that the show starred the legendary James Earl Jones. The show was great and as I have never seen the play or movie before I had a teary at the end.
BB Kings Blues club
After the show we went to BB King’s blues club to have a drink and listen to some music. It was so much fun. There was a blues band there doing some great covers and they had people get up and join them for a jam. We had a bit of a boogie at the bar and even had a chat with the band. Made friends with the cutest old lady that was up having a sing during the night, her voice was great. Our couple of drinks turned into a couple more and it ended up being a bit of a late night. Lucky for us, being in the city that never sleeps, the subway doesn’t either, so getting home at any time is not a problem.
Tuesday.
Question: When do you know that your really on holiday? When you pack up all your stuff ready to leave, go and check that your flight is on time, and realise that you’re a day ahead of yourselves. That’s what happened to us!!! I don’t know what we were doing, but it worked out that we had an extra day in New York! Our accommodation was booked right, maybe we were overly excited about going to South America. So on Tuesday we had a lie in, got all our stuff packed and ready to go for Wednesday, by accident, went back to our favourite diner, ate, and decided to go back to the room!! A late night and too much booze and blues will do that to you. So at least we got to have another whole other day with a clear agenda. We had a big salad for dinner, went for a little walk to look at the lights on the Hudson river, but that was about it.
Wednesday.
From the High line
Wednesday we checked out and headed down town to go to the High Line. This is a walk that is above street level, that used to be a railway. The tracks have been covered over and they have put shrubs and flowers all along the sides and made it a beautiful walk. I really enjoyed it. It had a whole industrial feel to it- there are big buildings and car parks along the bottom and the sides, but you can also see views to the river and the Empire State Building. So many people were there enjoying it and it was a lovely day- we had taken so many layers because of the days previous, that we ended up carrying a pile of clothes!
The High line
Central park
The Dakota Building
After going for a walk, we took the subway up to Central Park.
At central park we hired bikes so we could look around better. This park is massive!! It had 26000 trees and 7 lakes. We cycled around the whole thing, by accident, stopped a couple if times and went to the Dakota hotel. This is were Mark Chapman killed Mr John Lennon. I took a shot of Peter outside the Dakota’s gates where the event took place. The bike riding took us just under two hours to arrive back at our starting point. Our legs were so sore! The park is lovely though, with a big reservoir/lake in the middle of it, accompanied by lots of trees, grass areas and walkways. It was a little crisp out, but heaps of people were enjoying it, and the colours were beautiful.
After punishing our bodies we went back to David Copperfields for Pete to get his last litre of beer before we picked up our bags and headed to the airport. We had got there really early and had to wait for a long time, but we got on the plane for a very late night time flight with minimal sleep. We loved New York. Not one person was rude to us! Sure, they are a bit abrupt, but that’s just how they are, but not at all rude. A little disappointing as we were ready for rudeness, oh’ well maybe well find it in Lima.
Look us up soon, Love Peter and Rochelle x x x x x
P.S On a side note, it has to be mentioned that we have now conquered most of the major cities of the world and their public transport systems: The Tube, Metro and Subway and we’re pleased to report that they have all been very user friendly. Despite this, New York City was the easiest city to truly navigate around, the streets included. The fantastic thing about this city is that its made up of grids, the streets go from south to north 2nd street up to 222nd St, and the avenues go East to West in a similar fashion. Sure there were streets with names in the mix, but you could always rely on stumbling across a 5th street or 2nd ave that would give you a good idea as to where you was’ at. Make sense?! It did to us after a couple of days.
Roch & some NYPD Cops!!
Time square lights
written by  Pete+Rochelle on November 7, 2010 from New York, United States

?Que...Te Gusto Lima?
Lima, Peru
4th-9th November.
Have sorted out my little computer problem on here, but have a lot of writing to do and photos to sort from the Amazon trip. But thought i would update the last entry. Won't be long now I promise till you can hear about our adventure!
The past 5 days have been very chilled out. We have looked a little around Lima, but this time was really to recharge the batteries. I don’t know how well that worked tho- we are waiting for a plane to Iquitos at the moment and we both feel pretty wrecked!
The biggest problem we have had so far has been the language barrier. They talk so fast, and what I thought I knew I have no idea about when they talk. We can say things, but when they talk back to us, they totally lose us! Some people can speak a little English, numbers and the like, and we have come across a couple who’s English has been great and we took full advantage of that. Otherwise, it’s us verses them in a game of charades. Money had also been a little issue. Hardly anyone excepts credit card, and the cash machine gives out 100 soles notes, which is equivalent to about $260 Australian dollars. So when you only have that, and you want to buy water worth 2 soles, you can understand that they can’t or don’t want to change it. We also have to remember to carry tissues or toilet paper around with us, as a lot of the toilets don’t have it or charge for it.
Coming in from the airport you get to see the outer suburbs and the houses are very run down or falling down, the poverty very much in your face. The city tho is very grand with beautiful big buildings and churches and there are a lot of squares with fountains and statues which make it easy for navigation. When you come across one of these you know where you are. We did somehow get very lost on our 2nd day there tho- I thought we were going one way but we were in the other direction! That’s why I’m in charge of the maps, and Pete’s supposed to point us in the right direction.
We spent the first 2 nights in a pre booked hotel, which was very old and grand. We had the biggest room and our own bathroom, and when we weren’t having a look around the streets we were just hanging out in the room. On Saturday we moved to a cool hostel that had statues all around the place and vines growing up throughout and on the roof there was a cafeteria and that’s were the birds, turtles dog and cat hung out. It was wicked!!!
As we were checking in, a couple of Spanish girls asked us if we would like to be part of a focus group. We had no idea what this was, but there were some american guys doing it, one of which had done this kind of thing before, and they assured us that even tho they knew fuck all about this one, what they did know was it involved us drinking alcohol and telling them what we think. How can you say no to that.
So a couple of hours later we were in a cab with the Spanish girls and the american boys who could speak Spanish going to the university where there was a whole bunch of people waiting for us. They were all students of international business who were trying a new product out for pisco Sour. This is a national drink of Peru which is made of lemon, egg whites, sugar and pisco, a clear alcohol a bit like tequila and very strong. Normally is made to order like a cocktail, but they have a pre made mix for easy making. So we were the guinea pigs, and as we tried it we had to give our feed back, all through a translator. At the end, all these girls that were watching the group through a mirrored window came out and gave us all a bottle of pisco, a packet of the mix, a beanie, and a cool little hand made card. All for drinking some drinks and telling them what we thought!! Afterwards we had dinner with the boys and went to a small casino where we put money on these little mechanical horses on a small race track and got free beer! What a day.
Sunday evening we went to park that had 13 water fountains of different shapes and sizes. Some would move in time to music and people were running in and out of it. There was one that made a arc and you could walk underneath it. There was a big show with lights and music and pictures and lasers that were projected on to the water. It was very spectacular.
We spent most of Monday at a travel agent organising our Amazon and Machu Picchu treks. We took so long there that we ended up having lunch with Jacky, our agent, and she took us to a restaurant where we got to try some real Peruvian food, some of which was raw fish with lemon and chilli. Not our cup of tea, but we had a great soup and Pete had the best meal he has had here so far, some beef thing in gravy with rice.
So we made a new friend and she gave us discounts!
So that was Lima, Off to the next leg now!! Hope your all well!! Love P & R xxxx
written by  Pete+Rochelle on November 9, 2010 from Lima, Peru

In the jungle
Iquitos, Peru
Iquitos and the Amazon. Tue 9th- Sun 14th
What an adventure we have had!!! The Amazon has the been the most amazing part of the trip thus far, as all who read will soon see. Again, we've broken our sights and activities down into days to make it easier for the readers understanding and comfort.
Tuesday
We flew into Iquitos (pronounced Ekeetos), which is said to be the biggest city unreachable by land. In order to get to this prime exotic location, you would have to fly which will take one hour thirty minutes from Lima or catch a boat which will set you back four and a half days from Brazil. When coming in by plane the place looks...interesting- the roads are filled with moto-cars, ‘touk-touks', motorbikes that have a two wheeled carriage attached to them. We were picked up by Cumaceba Amazon Tours, the company that we had booked our Amazon trip with in the nations capital Lima. The company was great, helped us find a hostel and dropped us and our bags there. When we were settled, we decided to go for a walk around the 'city'. Its right next to the river and is all hustle and bustle around the main square, with the shanty town of Belen built on stilts right next to the hub. It can be seen as a poor village that is on the river, and depending on the season, rainy or dry, its either surrounded by water or on part of the townscape, but we're sure if we were a local beauty wouldn't be too hard to find, or buy. When on the boulevard looking at the 19th century architecture, a man came and had a chat to us and told us a bit about the city. His name was “Jeorge”, and he told us that he worked at the local museum. He offered to show us around Iquitos and to help us buy the bits and pieces we needed. We knew we would have to pay him, but it saved us trying to find stuff and having to ask for shit in Spanish. He showed us around a bit of the city and was a good guide, he talked about the history of Iquitos and also about the local plants and foods in the area.
First of all Jorge showed us the Belen markets, whic were a smelly, cramped place where the local denizens sell everything from kids toys, oils, roots, drinks made from these concoctions, raw chicken and fish that were just sitting out on bits of wood in the sun, to rare and endangered species, puma cubs, monkeys (not that we saw any of these, we were just told that they aren't hard to find there). We saw a big pile of rubbish that you needed to walk around that smelt of raw 'carne' , fishguts and fruits of which the slum dogs were eating there way through. It wasn’t our favourite place you could say. Then to top it all off as I was getting my camera out for a picture a guy came past me and ever so quickly and ripped my gold necklace from my neck and ran towards the river. Everyone gasped. Jeorge, the guide ran after him to no avail. I was okay, I hurt my knuckle and finger tho somehow in the haze of the violation- this experience certainly taught us a valuable lesson worth more that the stolen necklace- trust no-one. The silly thing was, we had been warned about this, and even Francis (our Spanish teacher back in Hervey Bay), had told us to take seemingly expensive items off because this sort of thing might happen (she is so going to tell us off now!!). We were intending to be cautious- we just didn’t think that we needed to be so mindful so early. So, Fancis if you are reading we have learnt, but hey it wasn’t passports or wallets or bags...yet, and we ARE on very high alert now. We can safey say we’re not going back to those markets.
After our excitement we decided to go back to our room and calm down, cool down. We ate dinner at the Yellow Rose of Texas, a restaurant that serves Peruvian and American food, great when you need a break from Pollo (chicken) and arroz (rice).
Wednesday.
We were picked up early by Cumaceba and given another little town tour by our guide, Dixon. Lucky, he didn’t take us to the markets, he just pointed them out, we think he knew what would happen. We then took a hour boat ride to get to the lodge that was next to the Amazon and let us tell you folks - this place was beautiful. As soon as we got there we instantly felt relaxed. As soon as you walk down the mounted, woven leaf covered, walk way, ala the tv show Survivor, you find a main room where everyone comes to eat and listen to Spanish guitar playing at night, then a bit further- paradise- separate little bungalows with insect screens, cold showers, a gas latern and not much else. We dropped our stuff off, and organised our gumboots for hire, which were mandatory because of the snakes and mud.
Our first excursion was a Amazon jungle trek. We walked out of the lodge grounds and into the Amazon! That was pretty cool. Dixon explained about all the flowers and trees and plants, giving Spanish, English and Latin names for them all. Thankfully there weren’t many creepy crawlies out at all. Pete held a Millipede which shat on him, suck shit, and we saw millions of ants carrying leafs to take back to their greedy lump of a queen (one of the select few that I could actually stand). We saw big old trees and plants used to help for liver failure, back pains and even curing cancer!
We went back to the lodge for lunch. All the meals were Peruvian flavours, each meal came with rice (Mums, please don’t cook us rice when we get home!!) and these simple salads of either red onion, capsicum and lemon, or tomato, cucumber, lettuce and ’jungle spaghetti’. We can’t tell you what it is exactly, but I thinks it’s a root, stripped to long thin pieces and either boiled or just broken down in lemon. We either had catfish or chicken and all meat served with banana, cooked some way or another. Fresh fruit was for dessert and the pineapple was insane.
After lunch we got a couple of hours to relax, either in our cabins, or in the hammock area, which is just another word for afternoon nap!! It was brilliant. We then went to the best place of all, an animal refugee place that holds a few different types of animals, but mainly monkeys! We got off the boat, walked a little, then were greeted by about four monkeys that just wanted to climb over us (there was eight of us) and either bite us or steal our glasses. They were hilarious and so much fun, one was licking Pete’s eyelid and putting his fingers up Pete’s nose. I had one trying to eat my hair. They completely used us as a jungle gym and hung from our arms and wrapped themselves around our necks, and fought with each other.
They also had Toucans, a Sloth (which we held but he was not impressed at all), two Achunis, which are from the Racoon family and very shy. We, well, I, got to hold an alligator and a Matamata, which is a prehistoric turtle. They also had an anaconda and a boa constrictor which were very big but only babies! We didn’t hold them. We were then taken to a little bar area and were given seven roots to try, a local drink made from roots of the Amazon. Apparently also used as an aphrodisiac. Not that we noticed that when we bought a bottled. We just thought it tasted interesting! So we were off again after that, not before we had more cuddles and we got very attached to one little monkey that seemed to get very attached to me and want to cuddle into me. Pete thinks its because I've got tits, and he saw one of the guides laughing and pointing at them.
We went back to the lodge, had dinner (chicken and rice), and were off again for a night time canoe ride in the lagoon right next to the lodge. It was a little canoe, powered by Dixon's paddling that seemed to be at risk of tipping over if there was too much movement. We went out to listen to the noises of the night and look for alligators. It was so mystical, we had or torches out and could look out at the black water and at the gloomy-looking trees and shrubs. On our way down the lagoon we were ordered to turned off all our touches and had to stop talking so we might be able to see the alligators. We were told to look for their eyes which glow in the moonlight and Dixon's touchlight. Fact- alligators are more shy then their Australian brothers the crocodile). Taking that in mind we didn't see shit. In the dark we could only be deafened by the onimous sounds of the giant turtles, notural birds and frogs, nothing overly scary, unless your name is Carol Blakelock...(just joking- Pete). There were also the biggest fireflies flying through the trees, all we could see was this big light moving around. Just before we got back to the lodge, we finally saw some red dots in the light of Dixon's torch that were Alligator eyes. Not much to look at, but....yeah not much at all really. The gang (Our tourist troop- two Sweds, a pair of Italians, a couple of Peruvians and yours truely) went back to our bungalows, the route being lit by candles as there was no electricity, and our gas lamp left at our door. We went to our bed and listened to all the noises of the jungle. We then had to put in our ear plugs because of all the noises of the jungle!!!
Thursday.
We had to wake up for a 6am outing, bird watching was on the cards, and on the same lagoon we were on the night before. We only get up that early now to catch planes, nobody told Dixon though! Despite out cold shower wakeup call, it was another beautiful morning, and so great to be able to see the lagoon in the daylight. We saw so many different birds, none of which we know the names of, oh wait their was an eagle which the locals call ‘old woman’ due to its white scalp, there you go! The lagoon had parts covered by sea lettuce, small flower like green plants that make it look like your not floating on water at all but some overgrown cricket pitch. It was a perfect morning out, and so peaceful, without the sounds of traffic in our ears we couldn’t get over the quietness of it all.
After the early start, we had our breakfast and a couple of hours off before our next adventure, going to visit the local Yagua tribe. We walked for a bit, through the jungle again and past banana plantations, sugar cane and a quaint, overly simple house. Really it was just a roof with a floor, hammock and a place where there was a fire with a pot on it for cooking, and this as to house a family of four. That was a bit of shock, and a big eye opener. Peter came to thinking where was the space to keep the real 'fire' alive? In the bush with the real snakes? No wonder the girls round her start early, monkey see....We ended up at the meeting place for this tribe, a big marquee area that was covered by big leaves. The villagers were in traditional dress, flax skirts and head dresses made of flax and feathers, the chief having the best one of course.
We were greeted and then covered in red ‘paint’ that came from the bulb of a plant and each marking was to show if you were married or single. We then had to do a dance with them, which, too be honest, wasn’t really much of a dance, it was pretty shitty. Some of the villagers played music and one- by- one we were grabbed by a different villager and they walked us in a circle around the marquee. That was it. No movements or even rhythm, just walking awkwardly around a pole with a perfect stranger. This notwithstanding, Dancing with the Stars is lame compared to this spectical though. Pete says he just needs and title for the show and its a winner. So for all of you in Blogland with nothing better to do...come up with a title for this new dancing show concept and be in the running to will win a authentic bracelet made by no other than the tribe itself!!
After the dancing they took us to a clearing next to the marquee where they showed us how to use a traditional blow gun. The tribe use this to catch animals, that cover each little arrow in the poison from a frog or snake and it is from this that they are able to kill jungle rats and pigs. So we got a demonstration and then all got a chance to try it. Pete went first and, well, sucked massively. Our aim was a wooden pole made to look like a person and he didn’t get any. I had my turn next and got all 3!! It was a pretty good joke in our little group for awhile afterward.
After having a laugh at trying the blow gun, the tribes people then got to try to sell us all there jewellery and ornaments that they made from seeds, shells, bones and teeth. This part was full on. They all come at you, shoving their work in your hands and not taking it back, just asking you for money. We couldn’t really move, they were in our face. Pete was yelling out to me to help him, I had necklaces and masks and bracelets all over my arms and fingers. We bought a bit of stuff off them (we were pretty much sucked in actually). As we were leaving we were trying to put sunscreen on and all the little ones were coming up to us with their hands open, wanting some cream to put on their skin. We gave them all some cream and they rubbed it in, even tho they didn’t need it! We got the boat back to the lodge, had really good showers (the weather was pretty hot) and some lunch- fish and rice, followed by another afternoon siesta in the hammocks.
That afternoon we went for another walk into the jungle to a little nearby village that had a school and a big field. The boys in our group played soccer on the green and all the locals ended up coming and playing with them. They were running around and falling over each other and having a great time. The local women were playing bingo on a nearby seat under a tree. The beautiful thing about this place was the real sense of community that we felt. We sat on a chair by the school and watched the scene. There was no one doing a show and dance for us, no one trying to get anything from us, just people, a community, doing what they do. We got to see them just being, and it was a really lovely thing. The next village over had neat little bugalows by the river for sale. When you get to know the beauty of the area and have an extended supply of aeroguard, we can safely say that one could get a little tempted at the offer.
We got a boat back to the lodge for dinner, you guessed it rice and chicken! and a relaxed, early evening. Some of the group went on a night hunt for spiders and snakes and scorpions, we decided to sit that one out- I knew it would freak me out too much, and that from opting out I would safe myself from having to be on the lookout from creepy crawlies for the rest of our trip.
Friday
We had a sleep in until breakfast to then go fishing for piranhas! We went on a little boat and used sticks with fishing line and hooks attached and bait made of breadcrumbs and meat. It was a peaceful, warm morning and so relaxing. Only one piranha was caught, but I caught a small sardine which was going to be used for bait but jumped out of the boat before we could use it! It was fun and entertaining seeing everyone’s exasperation as they tried to catch fish but failed. Pete sat most of the time, not fishing, in sheer frustration by it all, especially when he broke his rod on 'the one that got away'! (See picture for more insight). We spent a good couple of hours out there and came back to the lodge with a little time to spare before lunch. At lunch the man who caught the piranha was served it cooked for lunch! We all got to try a bit and it was actually very tasty.
Cooked Piranha
Half of our group was leaving after lunch as they were on a shorter trip then us. We said our goodbyes and joined up with another group for the afternoon to go back to the monkeys! We absolutely loved that place and Dixon made it possible for us to visit again. And so again we hung out with our new little friends, and the lodge’s dog, Drako, came with us this time. He was funny with the monkeys, one of them was teasing him pretty bad and grabbing his tail so they were having play fights. Another little spider monkey even tried to have sex with him! That was hilarious. The Achunis were quite taken with the dog and followed him around everywhere and cuddled up to him. We couldn’t touch them, but they loved Drako. We got to hold the Toucan this time and even got close to the spider monkeys- except one started biting Pete’s ear and head pretty hard. I had to push him off Pete and keep pushing him away with my shoe- he was a feisty little thing.
When our time was up there we went up the Amazon a bit more to look for pink dolphins. They are exclusive to the Amazon river only and have bumps on their head and are a dark pink colour. We only know this cause we’ve seen pictures of them, we didn’t learn that from seeing them in the river that day. We saw a couple of dorsal fins coming out of the water, and that was about it. They're shit too. We were hoping for more, but alas you can’t have everything!
We got back to the lodge for a another bit of quiet time before dinner-something different- chicken and rice! After dinner Dixon took the two of us on a night jungle walk. It was pretty freaky not being able to see anything apart from what the torch showed us, and I was yelping at the smallest thing- a bug in my face, a leaf I didn’t see touching my arm.
We saw a couple of tarantulas, a really big gecko, the longest trail of leaf carrying ants ever (it was pretty remarkable) and the scariest, ugliest looking something that Dixon liked to call a spider-scorpion. It looked extremely mean and apparently was quite mean too poisonous and deadly to humans. We didn’t get a photo because we didn’t want to stand to close and be there too long next to it. After that we both were paranoid about everything and was actually quite happy when we saw the candles of the lodge and the arse end of the jungle.
We finished our last night with a couple of drinks in the eating area by candlelight with Dixon telling us Amazonian myths. Apparently Pete is the dolphin demon of the river who snaches little girls!!! Dixon was great and up for a laugh and made the trip extremely memorable.
Saturday
We packed our bags in the morning and went out on another boat ride to a small village a little further away were there was a alligator and paiche farm. Paiche’s are really, really big fish the locals farm to sell for meat for a shit load of money...well $160 soles, which is quite a bit. They looked like the chinese luck fish we saw in Hong Kong. We dropped pieces of little chopped up fish in the water for them to eat, they were so fast and would suck them off the surface of the water with a big noise and splash. We then had a little walk through the village, a local gave us a coconut to try and Dixon cut it up for us, it didn’t taste like real coconut. The day was so hot, it was sticky and sweaty and we had the coldest, nicest beer from a little shop which looked just like a shed. It was a very simple town, but had a nice feel to it.
We went back to the lodge for our last lunch and keeping with tradition we ate fish and rice, and then we were rushed back to Iquitos, which saw the end of our amazing Amazon adventure. Sigh. We really weren’t ready to leave, we could’ve stayed there for another couple of days, even if it was just reading and falling asleep in the hammocks. We will most definatly miss the quietness and calmness that the Amazon offers, no car horns here, and the natural beauty that we were surrounded by. Every day the river looked different with the changes in the weather and we never felt bored of it. But, it was to be my birthday the next day, and, well, we’ll save that one for the next entry! Hope you’ve enjoyed our little Amazon journey. Until next time (which should be sooner rather than later, maybe), love Rochelle + Pete xx
Oh and remember to send in your entries in to Pete's Jungle Boogy competition to win rare prizes from mysterious and wonderous parts of the world. Get creative. Entries close on the 9th of December for no particular reason!!
written by  Pete+Rochelle on November 17, 2010 from Iquitos, Peru

Happy birthday to Rochelle!!!!!
Iquitos, Peru
Iquitos Sat 13th-Tue16th Nov
Sat night back in Iquitos, after our Amazon adventure, we stayed in relatively cheap backpackers for the night and met up with a couple of American girls for dinner that we had met on the taxi ride back into town. They were studying anthropology in Lima and we talked about politics, education and the overly sexual Peruvian boys and ate burgers and pizza, not chicken or rice!!!
Sunday was my birthday!!!!! Yay for me!! Pete had to be nice to me all day, and he did a very good job. I decided that I wanted my present to be somewhere nice to stay, so we checked out of where we were and headed to a hotel that had a bar fridge in the room and a swimming pool, and decided to stay for two nights. Just having a fridge is a present in itself- it was the first time for us on our trip and we were able to keep things cold! Things like beer. May sound trivial, but cold beer or, to a lesser value, water, is a vital companion for survival in these parts. We had lunch at the restaurant at the hotel, which was the first and last time due to the the menu was small, the beer limited to only locally brewed and that came presented without any labeling. On a positive note, we cannot say another rotten word about the service in Hervey Bay as it took well over half an hour for our food landed on our table when there was only us two there! It was made well by the chocolately fact we had a huge, delicious piece of chocolate cake to snack on-my birthday cake. This thing was damn good, it had little layers of frosting through it and even a line of caramel that we weren’t expecting! We couldn't even eat it all in one sitting!
After our lunch we headed back to the Yellow Rose of Texas for some beers. We went upstairs where they had a sports bar, where we played some darts and pool. We sung bad American songs and drank local beer and had a laugh. Pete won 2 out of 3 at the darts, which was fair enough as I really suck at it. When it came to pool Pete won the first won, I sunk the white with the black on the second game but he let me win (it was my birthday) but when I decided to pot the white again on in the third game, Pete took the win. I would have to if I were him. All in all, it was a great afternoon.
We bought some beers and chips and went back to the hotel and played cards in the room. When it started to rain outside we went for a swim in the pool. When it was time for dinner we went to an Italian place we had spotted earlier and got pizza and listened to these two old guys who were singing and playing guitar and a drum that was a big wooden box one of them was sitting on. They were great!!! They spoke no english but Pete still tried to request songs, and it took them a while, but they did understand when he told them it was my birthday. So they sung me Happy birthday!! I think it was a fairly well composed birthday considering it was without family and friends, after all I ate cake got 'Happy Birthday' sang to me by two primo musicos, and had a nice queen size bed to relax into, I was spoilt by my man.
Monday we intented to go to to a butterfly farm we had heard about that was a little bit up river. We had befriended a touk-touk driver the day before who spoke english, so he came and picked us up to take us to the would be harbour (it was pretty small). Once we got there we found out that it wasn’t even open on Mondays! But he told us of a zoo on the other side of town that was open, so we took the hour ride there. We were a bit concerned we weren’t going to make it, his motorbike was spluttering and everything was overtaking us on hills. The zoo was pretty cool. We had seen a few of the animals already in the Amazon, but there were jaguars and pumas and leopards there magestic creatures that are a sight to behold, shame about the cages though. Come to think of it...probably for the best.
We got to hold an anaconda! Our favourite new animal was the Pigmy Marmoset, the smallest little monkey type thing eva. It looked like Gizmo from the gremlins movie. There were few of these hings, but all very shy. Only one was a bit inquisitive and would come out in front of us and let us see him. He had the tiniest hands and puffed up fur and this little face- oh how we want one!!!
The zoo as really big and even had a beach in the middle of that you could swim in and had a volleyball net on the sand. There were restaurants too. It was a pretty spot but we wouldn’t of gone in the water- it was a bit brown. On the far end of the zoo it went off into what looked like a bit of a nature walk through some bush. We didn’t venture off into it, thought it safer not to.
We ended our day in our hotel room with takeaway pizza from the restaurant the night before, and another piece of chocolate cake!
Tuesday we were up early to get on another flight back to Lima. Looking at all the photos now, we should’ve taken more of Iquitos itself, but to be honest, it didn’t really excite us too much, especially after the necklace incident. We will always think of the Amazon and animals when we think of this part of the journey and really fucking good cake. xxx
written by  Pete+Rochelle on November 19, 2010 from Iquitos, Peru

Computer nightmares
Cusco, Peru
Once again our blogging has been upset by bad wifi. So the update we were going to give you has to wait as all the info is on the laptop and these stupid public computers dont allow for memory sticks. So you will have to wait. We are off on a 4 day hike on the Ince trail to Maccu Piccu starting tomorrow and we hope out altitude sickness pills work as Rochelle has had a terrible headache for two days.
Wish us luck! You will be told about this plus the stuff that has been waiting in about five days. Till then!!!! xxxx
written by  Pete+Rochelle on November 22, 2010 from Cusco, Peru

Just chilling
Lima, Peru
16th-20th Nov
Miraflores is a town not far away from Lima. We had heard good things about it from other travellers so we decided to stay there instead of the city of Lima, somewhere new makes you feel like you‘re on holiday. Whilst in Miraflores we had time for recuperation. Pete ended up coming down with some kind of flu like bug and was down for the count for a couple of days with body aches, a fever and chills. I was having some mild bowel problems myself (we’ve been waiting for this!) so decided that home cooking and loads of vegies was probably the best thing. So apart from updating the blog (too much stuff from the Amazon) and getting washing done we have been pretty quiet, watching movies and having cuddles with the hostel’s cat. Every place we’ve been to has had some kind of pet. Its great! And, I did happen to find a pretty decent coffee finally!!! Halleluiah!! I think the secret it that they used real milk. The small joys.
Breakfast has also been a little different too. Every time we have had toast it comes out like its been toasted ages ago and then put in a microwave, or toasted in a jaffle iron, yet its always consistently cold? We had breakfast here and the toast was cooked on a hot plate, with real butter and it was warm and crispy and so it finally lived up to its name. Moi Bien.
Some excitement though- Thursday morning we did find ourselves at the Immigration Office as there was a small piece of paper that we were given at the airport arriving to Peru that I thought was only needed there and then. Turns out you need it to actually leave the county and big fines apply if you don’t have it on your person. It cost us sixteen soles to get both of ours replaced (about $6) and two hours in total waiting in the place. We did about twenty different things to get the renewal and spend half that time wondering if we were doing the right thing- we just didn’t know what was going on. It could’ve been worse though. We’re happy that it was the hostel’s clerk had asked us for our papers in Miraflores and not some gun toting border security guard. I’m not throwing out any papers again.
Miraflores is next to the ocean. People go there for the surfing apparently, although we didn’t see any waves exactly. It’s not really an ocean town though. The beach has a highway next to it followed by big cliffs. What was interesting was that they had a big shopping centre cut into the cliffs. This place had about four layers with clothes, food, a cinema, and even a games arcade with the best shooting game ever. It was set in the jungle, you were playing a couple of tourists who had to kill these radioactive spiders, butterflies leeches, that came out at you real fast. It was great!! We died pretty quickly, but the game also gave you a compatibility rating between the two of you that came up in a heart container showing the skills you have together. We got about 75%, so we don’t have to break up yet. The couple playing prior to us only got 35%…sucks to be them.
We really enjoyed the town. It’s defiantly the most metropolitan place we have been to in Peru. More people can speak basic English here which helped us out a lot, and everyone was really friendly. There were casinos and lots and lots of shops too, apparently it is the capital for handmade wares- we could see why. Markets and touristy shops sold clothes made from baby alpaca wool that were the softest things we have ever felt. Also handmade jewellery and clothing. We did well to not buy too much- the size of our backpacks dictate! Pete fell in love with these ornaments that were open boxes with different scenes cut into them. But sending things home is so expensive from here, so its restricted to the little and the light.
We had a good couple of days taking in the scenery, trying the ice cream which they were mad for there and looking at all the cats! It’s been stray dogs at every place that has been a bit sad to see, Mirafloras had cats. There was a big gated yard of a beautiful building next to our hostel where all the cats hung out and people would come and feed them. We’re In Cusco now, getting used to the altitude. Next time you look up think of us and pray we make the four day journey to Machupicchu ! Until then take care! xx
written by  Pete+Rochelle on November 28, 2010 from Lima, Peru

High flying
Cusco, Peru
20th-22nd Nov
Sat found us arriving in Cusco dizzy, short of breath and both with headaches. Cusco is 3300 meters above sea level, something that we weren’t prepared for. We had the understanding that Machupicchu was the high place, when actually its a lot lower than the city of Cusco.
We stayed in a hostel very close to the main plaza. It was smelly and had no natural light. We had a little look around the centre of Cusco and grabbed a small bite to eat, having been warned that too much food is not a good idea while getting used to the altitude. We had soup and Coca tea, made from the coca leaf which helps eleveate symptoms of altitude sickness. Yes, its also the same plant that is used to make cocaine. We sat in the restaurant and looked out over the Plaza de Armas, a beautiful square with a big cathedral, water fountain and surrounded by hills with houses and statues. Because Cusco is located in the mountains it’s a very hilly city, you're not able to walk anywhere without encountering some type of up or down, which leaves you more out of breath than normal gasping for oxygen.
Sunday morning we woke early for a bus trip to see the Sacred Valley. I was feeling very sick and couldn’t eat anything for fear of throwing up, and my headache still hadn’t gone away. We hoped on the bus and I hoped that I would be ok.
We started at Pisac, a small Inca sight on a mountain range that had large terraces flowing from it. There were remains of buildings that were once used as storeage sights, small rock huts where all the harvested crops would be stored until transported to Cusco, and also hundreds of tombs which were the Incan famer's used as grave sights. Most of the bodies were robbed, those that were spared are now preserved in museums.
The next stop was a market place where locals were selling alpaca and lama clothing, jewellery, leather goods and woven bags. All pretty much the same, all trying to bargin with you to buy from them, calling out, ‘please! Over here! Beautiful clothes!’ You could also buy a photo of locals in traditional dress with llamas (see evidence to the left).
After looking around, it was on the bus to stop at another town (the name has escaped us) were there was an even bigger market than the last. Pete got fed up with all the looking and waited by the bus, I too had a wee look and went back before the end. It becomes very much the same thing over and over.
We stopped for lunch at a buffet place in a small town, where we had rice, beans and chicken again, then it was off to Ollantaytambo, an Inca town that has survived over 700 years and has a remarkable steep terrace that guards the complex. It was a small feat to get to the top, but the view of the town and mountains were beautiful. There was a temple on the top also(Temple of the Sun), with huge blocks of stone that are still there. These things were huge and would’ve been a mission to transport with ropes and logs underneath.
Our final stop was the town of Chinchero, 3760 meters high up on a mountain. The headache and dizziness returned with its high altitude but it was a lovely spot. We were treated to a demonstration about how the locals pull, clean, dye and weave the lama wool. It was a local girl in traditional dress with a great sense of humour who gave the talk and it was really interesting to see the processes.
It was a big day with a lot of driving, but interesting landscapes and villages to look at. What I loved about the trip was getting to see the little villages and seeing how hard working but very happy the locals were. They work the land and barter a lot and all the wares for sale to the tourists were hand-made. The countryside was filled with great majestic mountains and crops, beautiful really.
Monday found us chilling out and getting ourselves ready for the four day Inca trail treck we were about to embark on. We found a new place to stay for when we got back that didn’t smell, organised to leave some stuff there and had pizza and played blackjack at a restaurant before heading to bed for the early start that was required the next day.
Next entry- Machupicchu!!! I'm almost up to date, I think I need to hire someone that we can dictate to and get them to do all the frustrating and tedious computer stuff! xxx
written by  Pete+Rochelle on November 29, 2010 from Cusco, Peru

The Inca Trail
Machupicchu, Peru
22nd-25th Nov
We have just experienced probably some of the most challenging days of our lives, but wow, we saw some of the most spectacular scenery though. Let us take you on the journey that had been the Inca trail and Machupicchu.
The trail is only 33km long, but takes three and a half days to walk , because the tracks are on the side of the mountain range. On Tuesday we were picked up at 6.30am for a long bus ride to where the Inca trail started. On the way we stopped for breakfast at a cute little place surrounded by hills with guinea pigs and cats and we got to know the people that we were spending the next four days with. From Australia there was Chris and Lauren, father and daughter team and friends Liz and Louise. There was Montse from Spain and Ben from Switzerland. After getting each others stories and filling up on scrambled eggs and bread, we were on our way again.
Roch, Chris, Montse, Pete, Ben, Lauren, Liz & Louise
There were several other buses and locals trying to sell us all sorts when we reached our destination. We got our backpacks, bought some walking sticks (which were the best investment ever), dosed ourselves in sunscreen and went to the first check point to get our passports checked and stamped. Then we were off!
It was an easy start, small uphills and flats next to a river with the very majestic and snow capped Mount Veronica looking down at us. We looked down on the ruins of Q’anabamba and also Q’entimarka, situated at the base of the foreboding mountain range. This was meant to be the easy day in terms of walking, but we struggled a bit as we each had our backpacks and had not conditioned our flabby bodies for the hike. What were we in for! We walked about five hours that day and arrived at our camp- we were the last ones there.
Our tent was already set-up thanks to the ninja like porters and dinner was getting prepped. We were up on a mountain next to a little settlement and there were mountains all around us, oh yeah and the worst toilet EVER. You smelt it way before you saw it, and when you saw it you wished it wasn’t a squatter. The worst toilet so far. We had pre-dinner popcorn and hot chocolate (soon to be known as Happy Hour snacks) in the dinner tent followed by a great spread then an early night. For being on a camping trip and having all our food, cooking utensils and even the gas bottle being carried by the porters, we ate some amazing food that was unexpected.
Pete's face says PAIN
Wednesday: Day Two. This was the killer. We had already organised a porter to carry one of our backpacks as we knew we wouldn’t cope. We took half hour turns with the pack, it was so much harder with it on trying to walk up the incredibly steep steps. The funny thing was, we would be having a little rest on a rock every so often and these porters would run past us, uphill, with fifteen to twenty kilos on their backs. They were so amazing and strong and made us look pretty pathetic. The peak was on Abra Warmiwanuska which reached 4201 Metres above sea level, so of course the big problem was the fact that the higher we got the thinner the air got. A double whammy. When we weren’t looking down at our feet concentrating on breathing and not collapsing, the scenery was beautiful and changed so much the higher up that we got. There was a stream running over rocks and trees would make a canopy over the stairs that just went on for ever. Towards the top of the mountain the canopy opened up and we could see specks of people that were the rest of our group, and in the last half hour, even though we were so close we still couldn’t go any faster up hill, in fact we probably went slower as our bodies were protesting and oxygen was sparse. As we got close the guys were cheering us on, and reaching the top was the best sense of relief! We took celebratory photos and rested the legs and then spent the next couple of hours walking down the other side!!!! Our legs were screwed!!
We arrived at the camp about 2pm, had a late lunch then chilled for the rest of the day. Everyone was so tired but no one wanted to risk a nana nap for fear of being awake all night. We had a little lie down in the tent though and when I got up and went outside, looking over the valley a hummingbird flew right in front of me and started to drink the nectar out of some fuchsias. It was so elegant and graceful and simply suspended itself in air whilst dipping its beak into the long flowers. Beautiful. We spent the afternoon telling jokes and Chris taught us some party tricks and we played charades and had a relaxing but very funny evening. We watched a fog come up fast through the gully which was neat, had dinner and pretty much passed out straight away. Oh, and we had real toilets this time too!! Yay!!
Thursday morning we awoke as normal to: ‘room service’, which is a touch on the tent (or as the guides would say, we will ‘torch’ the tent) a cup of coca tea and a couple of stiff legs. We had been warned that the walk that day would be the longest, but far easier then the day before. We went past the ruin of Runkuraqay before a great deal of steps uphill, which got the legs stretched and the lungs working. We had another Inca sight to visit, Sayaqmarka, a place that would’ve held a few families and also a place to stay for pilgrims and Incas. It was high on a mountain and quite mysterious with the low cloud and was defiantly safe from harm with the only way to get to it being these extremely steep steps.
We then had the easiest and for me the most beautiful part of the walk, through the Cloud Forest. It is at cloud level and because of the constant moisture has beautiful colours, textures and flora. There was also constant cloud so there was no view, only a bit in front and behind and a little down, where we could see the edge of the path and the cliff that did not look very forgiving. It was so peaceful and mysterious and not that strenuous so we could really take in our surroundings.
We had another great lunch and to top off our nine hours of walking we had to go down 3000 steps to make it to the camp site. The last half hour of that walk was the longest! The camp was a big one and all the groups doing the trek were there and you could buy beer, although we didn’t as we knew it would put us on our arse, but best of all we could have a shower!!! It was brilliant to be able to take off the layers of sunscreen and insect repellent and sweat. We had dinner and finished off the evening with a small ceremony where we presented all the porters and the cooks with tips and thank you speeches. No one in our group had any idea what was going so it ended up being quite funny. Pete tried to start things off but was told to stop, to allow one of the guides to take over, ‘The Super Cool Guy‘ , he referred to himself as.
Super cool guys and our porters
As we were going to bed there was thunder and it started to rain. It rained all night and it dripped on my head while I was sleeping and came into the tent. By 3.30am came around we were woken for the early start and we really hadn’t had much sleep, and it was still raining. This didn’t dampen our spirits though. It did finally stop raining not long after we got up and, well, we were going to see Machupicchu!! The end of our pain was nigh and excitement and anticipation took over. We were all very quiet in the morning, but as the rain dried up and the fog started to lift so did the moods and we were ready to go. It was a 2 and a half hour walk to our destination, and we were all so ready to be there. It was a beautiful walk as normal, Pete and I had our own backpacks to carry, but we had gotten ourselves well seasoned by then and it defiantly wasn’t as bad as the first day. Pete powered on ahead on this morning. He came into some power surge and was off. I was too busy taking photos of orchards and the fog around the mountains.
Our first view of Machupicchu was completely covered on fog. We could see the tip of Yunapicchu and that was it. As we got closer the cloud started to lift more, so by the time we reached the point of looking down at it we could see the city and it locked very airy but so peaceful. It was amazing to finally reach it and the view was breathtaking. The city is high on a mountain, and all that was surrounding it was these mountains with shear cliff faces and clouds dancing in between. Just standing there and taking in the whole view was absolutely magical. We completely get why we injured ourselves now!!! Photos and footage are never going to do this place justice. They are never going to show just how magnificent and big and high it really is. Or give you the feeling of just how small you really are.
Made it!!!
Machupicchu is the only place that the Spaniards didn’t get to and fuck up. It’s the only Inca sight that still has all the buildings and its sun dial in tact because this fact. It is in the shape of one of the Incan gods- the condor. It was where Incan royalty lived and always held a position of power. So much history has come from there, and sadly much history has been lost forever from the lack of documentation to unlock the mysterious relationship these ancient peps had with this majestic land. All we know is that the Incas were quite smart, a strong race that erected their monuments and temples in alignment with either the moon or the sun because they were lunatics. We were given a tour of the area by Bearnie and Sol and afterwards sat on the terraces with the alpaca and looked out over the magnificent mountains.
Our first beer
In the afternoon we caught the bus to the nearby town to have a last lunch with the group and the guides. We had our first beer for a couple of weeks which just about made me fall asleep, but was worth every drop. We got a train and coach home, ending up back in Cusco with just enough energy to shower (now that one was sooo good-clean hair!!!!), grab a pizza and pass out. Trust us when we say you must visit Cusco and Machu Picchu.
written by  Pete+Rochelle on November 30, 2010 from Machupicchu, Peru

Last Cusco days
Cusco, Peru
Sat27th-Mon 29th Nov
The last supper
Our tapas
We had a very quiet couple of days after Machupicchu. We enjoyed having a bed and not a mat on a hard floor. We enjoyed not having to walk!! We got washing done, chilled out, exciting stuff. Saturday night we did meet up with the ‘super cool guys’(our trecking posse) for dinner, which was great. Everyone looked so much more refreshed, we had wine, shard some great tapas, ate alpaca (which is really nice meat no fat, quite like ol' mate kangaroo) and for some said our goodbyes. Hopefully we’re meeting up with Liz and Lou in Bolivia. Pete and I stopped into a cool looking bar on the way back to the hostel, where the bartender was really sweet and spoke great English and Pete gave him mock English questions as he was sitting an English exam the next week. He also made me great cocktails and even convinced me to try a Pisco sours which he promised was going to taste better than the crap ones I had had before. He was right. They do just need to be made properly. So after a night on the town we didn’t do much Sunday. Which is a great option we've come to know- every now and then.
The Cristo Blanco
Monday we went for a walk around Cusco. We got a taxi to the Cristo Blanco, a big statue of Jesus on a hill side. It gave us a great view of the city and really showed us just how big it is. We decided to walk down as the city doesn’t start to far from it and the plaza really wasn’t that far from it, its just a lot of down. So we walked down heaps of steps, looking at how the landscape and architecture changes the more down you go, trying not to get bitten by dogs that would just bark at us as we were trying to walk past them. It was a nice walk though and we went past the famous 12 sided rock, which is apparently two metres deep and weighs a fuck load. We finished our day with dinner in the plaza and getting ourselves ready for leaving.
The famous 12 sided stone
Tuesday will find us on a bus trip/tour to Puno, a small town nearing the bottom of Peru which is a gateway to the Islands and the lake that is Titikaka, where we will be doing an overnight trip. Making our way down slowly!!
written by  Pete+Rochelle on December 2, 2010 from Cusco, Peru

Cusco to Puno 30th Nov
Puno, Peru
Tuesday we took a bus to Puno, a city that has Lake Titicaca on its side. Instead of taking a boring old bus that just drove us there, we decided to get a ‘tour’ bus, one that stopped off at Inca sights and towns along the way- lunch included! The problem was our guide had to speak in both Spanish and Ingles, with a lot of information to translate to us all. He would start to inform the group with the Spanish, let them go and explore, and then gave the English version. And so the time he had finished talking about either the ruins, town or church, he would say- ok, now you have eight minutes to explore the place. Not a lot of time when there was a lot to look at. We were a little disappointed with that, but overall it was a good day and again, the buffet food for lunch was amazing. Let’s look inside the round window-
From Cusco we went to the town of Andahuaylillas (pronounce that one!) The town was very small and had a big central square where the locals had all their wares out to sell. There was a 17th century Jesuit church which was very over-the-top inside. It was originally an Inca temple, but of course the Spanish fuckers took over residency when they invaded and it is now a catholic/Inca bastard church. It was filed with amazing murals over the walls painted by a local Cuscanian painter who used all natural dyes from plants, horse piss (this is Peter’s truth); the ceiling and alters adorned in gold. We understood our respectful duty not to take photos inside the places of worship, but I would’ve loved to have photo evidence of the big mural that covered the walls either side if the exit/entrance/salida. The moral was a portrait of two scenes, one depicting the path to hell and the road sinners will take. This highway to hell was impressive and beautiful, covered with flowers and presumably an easy path to take. The picturesque moral tale showed these people dressed lavishly as they walk down a ‘trepid’ moral path: be warned the road hell is a comfortable one with one scary looking mother fucker at the end of the line bathed in fire. You’ve been warned: may not your life be one of convenience and decadence. Moreover, that is on the other side of the door, a continuation of this moral mural, a sum of people were seen with a jovial man seated at the head of a grand table, his friends all eating and drinking. This contrasting scene demonstrates the importance of sharing worldly goods and being charitable….Similarly to its sister mural that shows a road that is smaller is size and is somewhat harder to take The same character who is seen on the adjacent wall is taking a similar journey. Awesomely in this mural he was naked, signifying that it makes no difference in heaven what you had, owned on earth, everybody is the same after death has taken you mortal soul. There were lines which went from the man’s back straight to the eyes of the devil on the other mural, showing that evil and its temptation always has its eye on ‘you! All in all it wasn’t just a mural on the wall, it was quite something to behold. The funny thing was, it was the Spanish that put the mural up there, the same mother fuckers that usurped gold from the Incas and destroying their cities. Perhaps their morals were just painted on.
From this dubious place we went to the town of Raqchi. This is a town set around an old Inca sight, which holds the temple of Viracocha. All that is left of it is the main beam which would have held its roof. Its the highest Incan building of their civilisation that is still standing. It was pretty big. The old town around it was impressive too, some of the old storage houses were still in tact and we were shown where the remains of the village was and how perfect the rows of houses were in line with each other and how the Inca’s buildings all were in alignment with the sun or their god Sol.
We then stopped off at a little place which the name of we can’t remember. It wasn’t even a town, just a shop really, that had llamas and alpacas and guinea pigs and even a playful puppy ‘the Hairy Dragon’. This place had stalls where you could buy jewellery and clothes as per. I don’t know if we will ever get used to the fact that everything we do and everywhere we go is an exercise for the locals to try and sell us stuff? They’re like fuckin’ ninjas at the game. Pay attention and you’ll defiantly see an this immerging pattern over the next few days worth of blog.
Next off the bus took us over the Abra la Raya pass, which is 4319 metres above sea level, where we saw beautiful snow capped mountains and ranges either side of it. We stopped for a photo opportunity and a look at all the stalls (surprise, surprise) witch were a wash of similar if not the same wares as the 22 days before. Even the beautiful terrain of the Atitlan (flat planes) didn‘t make them look exotic enough to buy.
Amazingly when you’re on this plateau you are deprived of seeing trees or crops, your only drawn towards big open planes with mountains surrounding them. Our guide was told us that the communities that do live out on the planes struggle a lot- they have no electricity and in winter a lot of children die from the cold. The government has incentives in place to try and collect as much clothing and blankets from other towns and cities to give to these communities before the winters to try and help. it’s a very harsh way of living but the only ay they know. Here’s a nugget of information: due to the lack of wood they must make their fires from cow shit.
We stopped at the town of Pucara, the birthplace of the ceramic bulls. Most houses that we had seen in Peru (mainly in the smaller towns) had a couple of these bulls on the roof with a cross between them. The bulls are to bring prosperity and luck into the home, while the cross is for the catholic aspect and to have God’s love fountain over there homes. There was also a museum that held a lot of Incan treasure and statues, even one that was supposed to be a frog but looked a bit like ET. Our guide reckons that Steven Speilberg must of seen it before coming up with the character of the movie. Trust us, some of these guides are full of shite.
E.Tville was out last sight before making it to Puno. We were picked up by our local travel agent, shown to our hotel, and booked our onward travels. We went out for a bite to eat and just happened to walk past Louise and Liz on the street! So we had dinner together and talked about where we would next meet up, in Bolivia.
written by  Pete+Rochelle on December 7, 2010 from Puno, Peru

LAKE TITICACA- GRANDE LARGO
Puno, Peru
1st-2nd Dec
I need to start by saying I am dreading putting photos into this blog entry as there are so many that I love. Please look at all the ones from Puno/Lake Titicaca as I want you to see them all!!!
Wednesday morning we put our stuff in storage and made our way to the native islands of Lake Titicaca. We were picked up and taken to the lake to get our boat to our destination. We made friends with Melanie and Andrea who were travelling together from England, and we met another traveller-cum-friend-Lucy, a fellow Kiwi!!! A first for both Lucy and I in South America- and I thought that the Kiwi was only rare species in our homeland. Towards our destination my new found girl posse spent the boat ride comparing travels (Mel and Andrea were coming from the way we were heading) and telling them stories of Australia and NZ, while Pete started reading his 14th book.
Our first stop on the boat was to the floating islands of the Euros people where we had ladies singing and greeting us when we were getting off the boat. These islands were amazing. They are totally man made, and made from Totora reeds. When you stand on them, they bounce and squish!! On the island we were given a demonstration about how the islands were made by the chief of the island he explained that, “they use the existing native reeds, which have buoyant properties as the foundations of the island and we put layers of harvested reeds over top creating a natural-artificial land bank; three metres of reeds per 10kf of inhabited weight!” Well I think that’s what he said. Once a month the residence must put more layers of reeds on and once a year need to fit new roofs. They use the hard ends of the reeds for materials and use this same method to renew their boats, which unlike their houses last 3 years. By association the island peoples should be made of reeds as they eat them too. We were shown how to peel and eat one, the taste not being very exciting. They call them the island banana. If we thought that their transport and culinary systems were a tad old reed hat, it must be said that they do have solar panels fitted to generate electricity, boasting stereos and black and white TV for all on the island! The chief also showed us how they hunt for duck and demonstrated duck calls and mimed how to kill one of these illusive suckers. The chief was very comical in his presentation and a natural showman even without the assistance of English. Some of the locals dressed us in their trad clothing and again we were shown their merch to buy. We did enjoy the floating islands very much and could’ve spent longer just sitting on their islands and playing with their babies in the
non-criminal sense.
OUr homestay
Our next stop was Isla Amantami where we stayed the night. We were greeted by the locals who were also going to be our hosts for the evening. We were divided up into groups and all taken to our hosts homes where we were shown our rooms introduced to the families. We were with Mel and Andrea who’s Spanish was definitely better than ours, but still not enough to have a conversation or find out too much about the family or the cultures. We were feed a great lunch with some fried cheese that tasted just like haloumi (we were all so excited!) and spent the afternoon playing with Sabrina, the young girl of the family, who seemed to be very scared of Pete and didn’t want to play with him, or me for that matter, she was very taken by the other two tho! I won her over later with lollies, the best way to a child’s heart.
Later in the afternoon we went for a walk to a nearby mountain; the name of which escapes me again. Pete decided he had had enough walking, so I went with the girls and meet up with the rest of the group. I need to tell you here that I wasn’t entirely happy with our guide, the fact that we had a language barrier with our hosts we couldn’t get all the details of the walk, and our guide didn’t explain until we met him that we were watching the sunset on top of the mountain. What I’m trying top say is that the group didn’t bring enough clothes and froze. The sunset was beautiful though, and at the top of the mountain was a big square fence surrounding God knows what, of which the locals once a year walk around three times and ask for a wish from Pacamama (Mother Earth). We all did the walk and I think most of us wished for rain for the island and its people, as it has been a particularly dry winter so far and they couldn’t grow any lucrative crops. We watched the sun and hopped around trying to warm up and finally walked back to the house to put on more layers and have a dinner. Another thing we can’t get over is how the meals always seem to be served with two types of starch- rice and chips or rice and potatoes and meat. Guess its an easy way to fill you up.
After dinner our hosts dressed us up in their typical clothes and took us to a fiesta. All the other groups were there with their hosts and they had young guys playing music and we all danced around in big circles or with the hosts or with each other. It felt very much like a blue light disco that you would’ve gone to when you were twelve. It was funny at the beginning but went on a bit too long at the end. Our guide didn’t even show up, arsehole. There was no talk of any kind of typical dance or music and we had questions about the rest of our tour that couldn’t be answered. Very disappointing. Pete and I had bought some writing books and pens for the kids, so we handed them out and made some friends. We sweated our arses off. We had layers of our own clothes on underneath as we were so cold earlier. While dancing to the local music my skirt fell down, lucky I had the layers of clothing on underneath hey? We walked back to the house, Pete and I looked at the stars which were amazing. There were no electric lights, so the night was bright.
The next morning our hosts fed us breakfast and took us to the dock. We said our last goodbyes and hopped on the boat to go to Isla Taquile. The lake was very choppy and the boat extremely rocky not to be cocky Mel and Lucy were a bit worst for wear from the trip-we were fine. We arrived and had a lovely but awkward upward walk up a hill to get to the town square which was large and quite deserted. Our guide gave us a half hour free of time to look around, not really knowing where to go or much about the island, so couldn’t really do to much, another upset for Rochelle (this is my whinge time ok?!?!) In our half hour we took photos and looked down at the streets around the square and noticed that there were only footpaths, no actual roads as the island doesn’t have cars!!!!! Our guide took us to a restaurant for lunch where we had the best tasting trout ever that was caught from the lake. At lunch our guide explained a few of the customs of the locals. All the men wear hats, and depending on the hat and how its worn, it describes marital status. One type of hat can be worn three different ways. When the tip sits to the left means you’re looking for a long term partner; to the right means you’re looking for a partner just for the night, and the tip to the back means you’re not looking at all. There is another type of hat means your in a relationship, and there is also a bereavement hat. They have a rule that you must live with a partner for two years before you get married, as once you are married there is no divorce (he said that there were no problems with this, but how can you know?) They have no police and all problems are sorted out by the chief. Last of all, the islanders only have three rules to live by- don’t lie, don’t steal and don’t be lazy. Disobey these and your thrown off the island. Sounds a bit like a reality TV show aye!! Seems to work for them though!!
We got the boat back to Puno, had showers and met up with the girls and an Canadian couple for dinner. As it turned out, the place we decided to meet happened to be the main plaza where the locals were holding a election rally!!! Not as deserted as we planned. We found each other tho, and went to dinner, where we had wine, I have been missing a nice glass, and listened to Peruvian music. Pete and I went out to a funky little bar afterwards where we listened to Bob Marley and read all the notes on the wall left by travellers. They now have a couple of Lung Shrubs stickers to go with it!! It was a great couple of days exploring places completely different to anything we know.
written by  Pete+Rochelle on December 7, 2010 from Puno, Peru

Welcome to Bolivia!!!
Copacabana, Bolivia
3rd-4th Dec
Again we must apoligise for our choice of hostels and hotels that promise wi-fi and they don't work!!! Because of this we have had to post three entries at once, so scroll down till you get to the bus trip and start from there. This is Rochelles nightmare and frustrations! Ahhhhh!!!
Friday we were up early to get the bus to Copacabana-Bolivia!! We tried to sleep most of the way, late night the night before. On the way we saw a guy on a push bike trying to double a sheep on his handle bars! He lost his balance and the poor sheep went rolling down a little hill. Think we’ve seen everything now. We stopped to change our money to Boliviano, and then stopped at the border. It didn’t really look like a border, just a arch over the road that was like a couple we had walked under on the islands. We waited in a long queue for the police, where there was just one man checking documents-they needed more, it was a mess. We had to walk up the hill, pass under an archway and hey presto we were in Bolivia! We went to immigration there, they stamped our passports, and that was that! Pretty easy. We hopped back on the bus and we were almost in Copacabana.
At the bus stop we were picked up and taken to our hostel, a beautiful looking building on a hill over looking the little town. We dropped our stuff off, and were off straight away to catch a boat to the Isla de Sol, Island of the Sun. Now, this part is my last bitch, I promise. When we booked the tour with the travel agent he said we would have enough time to have a good look around the Sol island. That we would arrive at 3.30pm and have till 6.30pm, enough time to look around, explore a bit. We asked him about the overnight stay and he said, no! That’s too long, the time allocated would be enough. Taking this guy’s advise we got to the boat only to have the driver tell us that the last boat back would be at 4pm, arriving back to Copacabana at 6.30pm. Not what we got told! The truth was that we needed to take an hour and a half boat ride each way and had only an one hour on the Island. That wasn’t even enough time to get to the top of the hill and back!!
The island looked beautiful too. There was a bit to explore on the island, as far as I could tell, and I would’ve been more than happy to just sit on the terraces with the trees and green grass and flowers if I had been given the opportunity. Not having more time on this Isla has been my biggest disappointment so far. Spending a nite there would have been heaven. Even two hours would have been nice.
We got back to Copacabana, had nachos and tacos on the main street, watched the sun set from the roof of our hostel and went to bed. Saturday morning after packing we had a great breakfast. Most of the time when breakfast is included in the room price its crap, but this morning we got pancakes and eggs and cereal and fruit and yoghurt. We had a little look around Copacabana and walked past the church just as a big band was walking past into the gates along with the military. We found out that it had something to do with being a once a year gathering of all the local police, and something to do with the virgin Mary? That’s the best we could understand. We took some photos then went to try and get hot chocolate but ended up with great big parfait glasses chocolate ice cream. Not exactly what you wanted when its 26 degrees and starting to hail. Copacabana is a very touristy town, not without its charm.
I think doing this all again we would have a whole day there too, as our bus to go to La Paz was leaving that afternoon. It would’ve been nice to see a bit more of the sights and sounds, maybe take a paddle boat on the lake, see the Inca sights. Anywho, our next entry will see us in La Paz, Bolivia’s capital city. Till next time- take care- Peter and Rochelle
written by  Pete+Rochelle on December 7, 2010 from Copacabana, Bolivia

What blog?
Tupiza, Bolivia
Hey everyone!! We are in the middle of what feels like no where. Internet is slow, shops close on Sundays, everywhere is walking distance... and no wifi. So again the blogs will back up. We are on a 3 day jeep ride tomorrow through the salt flats of Uyuni and will be Chile after that, so will update you again soon!! Until then, slowly read through the ones we put up in bulk form. Hope your enjoying and thateveryone is well and getting in the christmas spirit. Love Pete and Rochelle
written by  Pete+Rochelle on December 14, 2010 from Tupiza, Bolivia

The big city
La Paz, Bolivia
Sat 3rd- Thurs 9th Dec
We hopped on the bumpiest four hour bus ride ever to get to La Paz which wasn’t the most comfortable, they should make a Disney themed ride: Buses of Bolivia; then make franchise movies staring us both and Johnny Depp as the crazed, daring bus driver. We did however have to hop off the bus halfway through to get a boat over a river crossing, while the bus went on a wooden barge powered by an outboard motor! We really expected to not see the bus again or our luggage!
The bumps on the road were soon forgot as La Paz came into view. We were cruising about taking in the piles of rubbish and ramshackle trade buildings when this mammoth city that hugged the valley walls literally took our breath way (to quote lonely planet) as its 3660 meters above sea level. There was no land, space, nook, outcrop, spared. The city consumed the landscape. La Paz truly is a sight to behold. It took us off guard as it was the biggest city that we had seen for a while.
As we made out decent into the city, the streets got smaller and smaller, and the near misses with cars, other buses and people became more frequent- call Jerry Brockheimer now. I don’t know if we’ll ever get used to the traffic over here by-the-way! Again, the drivers here are Loco! We were let off and found our way to the nearest hostel. The reception was on the second floor overlooking a café downstairs and as we were checking in we looked over the balcony and just happened to see Liz and Louise having a coffee!! Getting good at the stalking thing! We chilled out for a bit and met the girls out for dinner later.
Sunday morning we went for a walk around our area in search of a cheaper hostel. The place we were staying in was pretty cheap already, but when your in Bolivia you know you can get cheaper. We walked around for ages in search of one particular hostel we had heard of but couldn’t find, and ended up walking past government house at the same time as a big band was making its way down the street. We stopped and watched for a while and one of the uniformed men in the procession was carrying the Bolivian flag, folded up in a glass box. It started raining and these poor guys were stopped in the street for some unknown reason, so I took some photos and we left it at that. We found the hostel in the end, but ended up choosing one that was around the corner from where we were staying.
That afternoon we were supposed to go watch an exhibition soccer game with Liz and Louise but decided on going to a once-in-a-lifetime event. It was called Cholitas Wrestling. Cholita is the name of the traditional skirt that the local women wear that symbolises libre-freedom. That noted, it wasn’t a fashion event it was much more in vogue for a touristy arvo- a bunch of surly, mouthy, bunch of local ladies wrestling in a shabby ring…or so we thought. We went with a bunch of other tourists in a bus to a concrete stadium that looked like a bomb shelter on the out’skirts’ of La Paz, where we got free popcorn and a ringside seat. There were heaps if gringos there, along with a whole bunch of locals, with a big wrestling ring in the middle. A man got up and started to talk, everything was in Spanish so we couldn’t understand any of it, but next thing he was calling up the contestants and they were men!! With masks and caps!! It was just like WWF wrestling on telly, except these men weren’t as fit or as good at acting mean or hurt- now that’s saying something! It was so funny, we laughed so hard, and of course each match was rigged and the ’bad’ wrestler had the help of the referee. When a girl (Cholita) finally came out to fight, she was up against this pooncey guy, and even though you know the fights are staged we still couldn’t help wincing a few times at how bad she was getting beaten up.
Between each fight they played ’Eye of the Tiger’ over the PA and they even had the token speech about something or other by a wrestler and group fights, with some of the wrestlers ending up in some of the tourist’s laps!! We were a bit over it by the time it didn’t end, it went on a bit long. The majority of the fighters were men, with a couple of guys verses gals fights. We got right into the cheering and booing and yelling with everyone else. Afterwards we went to a restaurant for dinner and bumped into Liz and Louise again!! No need to correspond with these two, we always find them! We compared stories of wrestling and football and they went on their way.
Monday was pretty quiet. We moved hostels and I went to café to work on the blog (I really need to catch up!) While Pete played guitar in the hotel room. He joined me in the afternoon and we ended up spending a bit of time at the café talking to other travellers which was cool. We ended up at place for dinner that served Thai, Indian and Chinese food that had been recommended by Liz and Louise. We shared the best dim sums and an alpacha Indian dinner with beer and were served by the greatest waiter who charmed our pants off and made us laugh. It was a great night and great food.
Tuesday saw us going for another walk around and making our way to the museum of music. Now I’m not sure if I made you aware of the money issues we had in Peru, but we were having them here also. ATMs give you 100 boliviano notes ($14 dollars), and most things on the street cost between 4 to 20 boliviano so you’re guaranteed that the vendor doesn’t have change for a large note. It’s really quite stupid. This happened at the music museum. For example it was 5 boliviano each for entry, and we only had 100 bs. So we walked around for ages trying to find a cash machine just to get out a smaller note. We finally made it back to the museum and the whole thing would’ve lasted us 45 minutes at the most. It was filled with heaps of instruments however, mostly of South American origin, and a lot using animal shells and skins. There was even instruments you could play much to our amusement.
After our renditions of Twinkle Little Star on the ‘water bottles’ and Radiohead/Violent Femmes on the xylophone, we walked up a cute little alleyway and looked in all these little boutique stores which had some gorgeous handicrafts. On trying to purchase something we had the same money woes! We ended up having to go and have lunch at the nearest place we could find four blocks away so we could get some change to go back with. It can be such a mission at times.
That night Pete wanted to great dim sums again, so we went back to the same restaurant and had exactly the same food and the same entertaining waiter!
Wednesday we had organised a day tour around to some of the sights around La Paz. We were picked up by the most crammed mini bus ever. They had put way too many seats in it and poor Pete had no where to put his legs, which you know longer and more precious than Jamie-Lee Curtis‘!! We spent most of the tour in the damn thing to, which was loads of fun…right.
Check out the ice!!
Our first stop was to a mountain called Chacaltaya in the Royal mountain range just outside of La Paz. Its peak being 5430 metres above sea level. The bus took us to 5200 metres, we had to walk the rest. That was really hard going. The altitude made it feel as though our hearts were going to jump out our mouths. We got puffed heaps quicker and our heads started to hurt, but we made it, right to the lofty top (only five of us did it) and it was bitterly cold. The wind whipped at us and it even started to lightly snow. The view was amazing we really felt out in the middle of nowhere.
5430 meters above sea level!!
Once back in the van, we made the bumpy ride back down the hill on these one lane volcanic rock roads, past some little villages and through to the other side of La Paz. There we went to Valle de la Luna, the The Valley of the Moon. It let us tell you all it was out-of- this- world! The whole rock valley was limestone, and due to years of wind and rain erosion, parts of the limestone structure, and it’s ultimate future, had been washed away, leaving huge canyons and holes. There was a walking track to follow which took us through and over and around the canyons. It really didn’t look real…really. Our guide explained to us that the rich people lived out in this part of the city- the weather was nicer than in the city of La Paz. There was even a golf course! The highest in the world.
After a big day of mainly driving around in a hot little van, we ate pizza biggest pizza in La Paz and called it a day.
Valley of the moon
Thursday we went and organised a red-eye bus for that night to get us to Potosi-the mining town. It wasn’t leaving till eight pm, so we had quite a few hours to kill and no room to go back to. So we decided to go for another walk around to try to find the cinema. We got a little lost, but not such a bad thing when you have hours and want to see a city. When we did find the cinema, it only showed one movie and it wasn’t even one we knew, and not even in English! So we slowly walked back up the main strip. La Paz has a busy centre, with high rises and business and people all around, a real actual city!
We walked past a contemporary art museum, so we decided to go look. I remembered reading that this building is another of Mr Effiles creations, he has the tower in Paris, a corner building in the main plaza at Iquitos and a house in La Paz. It was a beautiful house, and the paintings and sculptures were great too, Pete thought they were shit. I hadn’t been feeling brilliant all day (I think the altitude from the day before was getting to me) so it nice to be in the quiet and just sit for a while.
Coca absenth
We made our way back slowly to the hostel that was holding our bags, and came across the Coca museum! The coca leaf is a huge part of everyday life and culture for Bolivians, and the Peruvian to be fair. It was only when the westerners got hold of it that its stigma was born. Because most of Bolivia is at such high altitude and due to their main industry and economic support being the mining industry, they use the coca leaves to chew on to help relieve: fatigue, the effects of the altitude sickness, and to subdue hunger, so they are able to work for longer down the mines without any real sustenance. The qualities of the leaf aside, the Spanish and the Catholic church started calling it the ‘devil’s leaf’, when they invaded South America and subsequently banned the chewing of it. That is until they discovered its benefits and the effects it had on their now slave population’s productivity in the silver mines. Being the benevolent souls they were they made an exception- let the people chew coca- happiness is a worn gum, and lifted the ban. It was interesting to read about the history of the coca leaf and afterwards we went to the café that was fixed to the museum where I had “She don’t lie, she don’t lie- coca tea” (which we drank lot of in Cusco and the Inca trail with the altitude) and tried coca chocolate cake. Pete the stupid gringo had coca mixed with absinth, which turned out to be, you guessed it, a disgusting, vile, putrid, uber-strong shot. Apart from tasting a tad of Pete’s drink I I actually felt better afterwards.
We then called in at a restaurant to have some tea and passed the time playing cards which has been our saviour of late. It was then off to the bus station to get our eleven hour bus to Potosi happy times!!
written by  Pete+Rochelle on December 17, 2010 from La Paz, Bolivia

Miners town
Potosi, Bolivia
10th-11th Dec
Red eye is a 8pm- 6.30am bus. Lucky we had the greatest seats that went back quite a bit and the bus even had a pull down part from the back of the seat in front so you had like an actual bed. This was the first class of buses only because the bus companies name was ‘First Class‘. All was well except the toilet we were promised was not in order- or rather they had ’lost the key’, so it was there but we couldn’t use it-we crapped out. Laughable, no. Fact- its either dehydrate or piss yourself on Bolivian transport. The ride was fine apart from getting really cold in the early morning and I froze my toes off.
Potosi greeted us with the flashest bus station we have seen, not at all what we were expecting from a mining town in the middle of nowhere. We hopped in a cab and went to find a hostel, luckily the first one we went to had a room available straight away so we were able to put our stuff in there and get a few more hours sleep. We were shattered.
After a sleep in we went to have a look around the city. When we arrived in the morning it was pretty deserted and didn’t look like much, but by the time we went out people were about and it looked prettier. We stopped at a café to get some breakfast where the bacon was pretty much just fat. I managed to get a decent coffee however! We were in the main plaza, and there was some live music playing which was neat to watch.
We think they were trying to recruit people into the army from the look of the stalls. The should have had mariachis playing ’Chemical Warfare’ by Slayer to pep up the civilians, because by all accounts it was a pretty subdued affair; and if history has taught anything is that peaceful persuasion don’t win any recruits. See Tibetan army for my details.
We then went looking for a company that could give us a city tour that afternoon. The thing with Potosi is tourists go there to do the tours of the mines, which is not recommended for asthmatics (Pete) and people who don’t like confined spaces (Rochelle & lanky gringo Pete). But we didn’t want to miss out on experiencing the highest city in the world (4060 metres above sea level), so thought we would explore above ground. And we sure did.
The church/womens prison!!
We were the only people on our the tour we had chosen. With us was a driver and two guides, one main guide that could speak some English. The tour took us on a little walking expedition where our guides showed us the gates to the city, the women’s prison, which was actually a church, and explained some of the local architecture. They then took us to the miners square, which is where all protests and disputes over work conditions took place. Potosi is a lot bigger than we first expected and we found out that it used to be on the major cities in the world when the Spaniards were in charge due to the all important silver mines.
The miners never had any rights then, but they have a co-op and unions now (you’ll be happy to hear that Mez) and even though the pay still isn’t brilliant, they can work as hard as they want and whatever they find they profit from. The conditions are still really shitty in the mines and still to this day many miners die from the black lung. Our guides also showed us the dynamite the miners use, and the pure alcohol drink they have on Fridays to share with the underground demon that they leave sacrifices to (coca leaves, alcohol) to ensure there are no accidents underground and so that they may also prosper.
Miners graves
After the square they took us to the miner’s graveyard. This was a very moving and emotional place. Its where all the miners who have died either in or after working in the mines are buried, along with their spouses. Pete and I bought some flowers to pay respect to our guides family members. They were our age, and one had lost his 16 year old brother from a mining accident and both his parents and the other had lost his dad and 15 year old brother. This graveyard is so big its saddening and as we walked the guides would mutter “my aunty is down there” or “my uncle is down this way“. They have both lost so much family, but its not unusual there at thirty. We had a tear in our eyes as we left and we both felt very grateful to have all our immediate family still with us (love you all, Mums, Dads and Sisters). As sad as it was we are very glad that we got to see what the real Potosi is about and the impact that the mines have on this community.
We finished off our afternoon with a trip to a mountain which looks over the city and had a tower on it with a restaurant. A very mini version of the Sydney/Auckland sky towers. It was a great way to end it and a great look of the city. Our guide was hilarious and had us in fits of laughter with his humour, he said Pete looked like John Lennon,” but after twenty accidents.“
We finished off the day with dinner and then it was off to bed to get ready to catch a bus the next day to Tupiza.
written by  Pete+Rochelle on December 18, 2010 from Potosi, Bolivia

Never look a gift horse in the mouth- they bite!
Tupiza, Bolivia
Sat 11th-Mon 13th Dec
Saturday we were up early to catch a seven hour bus to Tupiza which is located near the bottom of Bolivia. The bus was again terrible, with no leg space and if you dared put your seat back it pushed forward so you had even less room to move. There was no air con and it was so hot. We had a chocolate bar which was liquefied in no time. No toilet on this bus either! They didn’t even pretend there was one on board which was nice.
We made it to Tupiza, sweaty and hot and bothered, and went looking for our hostel. Tupiza is an extremely small town, and we found our hostel within metres from the bus station. We had showers, organised our tour for the next day, and went out for some early dinner, so well thought. It took us two hours to actually find a restruant that was bothered to serve food, nothing opened till seven- Bolivian time, which means Bolivians proudly have no sense of time at all and get around to doing appointments, services, things at their leisure. We were starving!! We ate at a cheap diner that had movie stars all over the walls(Hugh Grant-cough) and which played cheesy 80’s music. I was laughing, Pete wasn’t. South America LOVES 80’s music, especially Guns and Roses, Bon Jovi and Phil Collins (Note: Pete does NOT like Phil fucking Collins). It really was amusing, still is. We ate our cold meals, had a little look around and went to bed.
Sunday we had organised a horse ride that took us through the canyons of Tupiza. This would be the first time on a horse for both of us, so we were both excited and apprehensive. We went out in the morning and bought some apples for our horses (hoping for mercy) and met our guide. He spoke very basic English and pretty much got us on our horses straight away. He showed us how to move the horses from left to right and how to sto, then we were off. It was nerve wrecking! We took our time getting out of the town, practising moving the horses and getting out of the way of the occasional car. We then steered the horses off the already beaten track and bam we were in the middle of no where.
It was so quiet!! We went along dirt roads, across vast open spaces and tried trotting the horses a couple of times much to our sheer terror and surprise. Pete was riding great brown horse named Talea, and I had a spotty white one called Charbo, which I found out liked to bite the other horses when they got too close. Not good when I was trying to trot past Talea and he would go in for a nibble. On our journey we saw formations called Valia de Machos (don’t check the spelling), which are the thinnest long rock formations in Boliva, and looked like penises. The sheer size of the canyons took our breath away. After passing through a natural rock formation that resembled a doorway, our first stop saw us in the del Dwendy canyon which looked similiar to a Star Trek movie set.
We rode past a canyon wall called Alpeurto Diablo, Devil's mound, which was really impressive.
Then off to our last stop: Canyon del Inca, which was another big bowl of a canyon where we tried to feed our horses apples-no mucho gusto. I went for a big explore and hit my knee on a rock and now have a lovey scrape and bruise.
There were a few hairy moments on the trip when the horses had to go down really steep hills, and when we had to jump a stream which needless to say but I'll say it anyway-freaked me out!
Of horse riding, the horses didn’t really want to listen to us, they only had ears for Simon our guide, and they weren’t too keen on going fast too much either, which suited us just fine. So I'm pleased to write that we haver lived through our first horse riding experience, but our bodies weren’t liking us too much the next day. Talk about sore!! I was expecting the customary arse swelling, but didn't anticipate the: back, elbow, wrist, inner thigh, neck, pain. Pete is still trying to regain feeling in one of his left pointer due to holding on to the metal saddle too tightly we his horse bolted!
We went back to the hostel and had a great shower to get rid of the dirt and dust, then went out to dinner where I had the best lasagne. Gosh it was good.
So that was Tupiza- a tiny town in the middle of Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid country, were the canyons climb and the dogs are docile. Where you don’t even need to take a map out with you as it’s impossible to get lost. Ironically, I’m sure if you we were looking for someone out here you probably wouldn’t find them. But if you were counting on it, look no further then the local pub were tall beer is only 15c Australian.
written by  Pete+Rochelle on December 19, 2010 from Tupiza, Bolivia

Mind your metal
Uyuni, Bolivia
Mon 13th- Tue 14h Dec
Dust storm
We were up early on Monday to catch a bus to Uyuni, pronounced Uni. This particular bus had all the special features: no-toilet, no-air conditioning and no-leg room. The uncomfortable ride was made worse by the mass of dust that would come through any gap in the bus, making our throats dry. As you can imagine the bus had more holes then a Bolivian mine shaft. The best part of the ride for me was the toilet stop when we asked the driver where it was, he pointed to a big, dry, river bed and said ’ikee' there. The more faint hearted girls opted for holding ‘it’, in. Me, I’m getting used to squatting like a bum these days. The only people that get embarrassed by this, supposedly uncivilized act as we had seen on our journey, are us precious gringos. Trust ladies you don’t lose much credibility dropping your pants in public over here, and the less you think about it, the better of your bladder I say!!
We arrived in Uyuni sweaty and Slim Dusty. We found a hostel in the square, had showers, and went out for some Bolivian cuisine. For you information, Uyuni is tick on Bolivia’s incredibly rocky back. We couldn’t walk fifty feet without someone trying to sell us a tour of the Salt Flats. Sadly there is not much going of his town except he the tourist dollar. The proof being that tourists themselves getting going nearly as soon as they arrive.
The next day we went for breakfast at a restaurant right next to where we were staying. A young guy with limited English served us who was wearing a ‘Metal’ t-shirt. From the smile on his face it was obvious it was he who had wacked on the Swedish metal playing on the TV. Pete got chatting to him (as best he could) about metal and he told us his brother was in a metal band based in La Paz. The kid took a few minutes and found his bro’s DVD and played some Bolivian metal for us. He then said that he was in a band also, and that he was playing ‘esta noche’, that night, and would we like to go? Hell yes!!!! He was going to pick us up from the restaurant that evening, he said he would be wearing make up, and we weren’t to tell anyone as it was an anti-christian group he played guitar for (90% of South Americans are catholic so you can understand the secrecy-heavy). We were excited!!! Something different!! He was exited, daring to be!!!!
We left him and went in search of a tour company to take us on a three day two night tour of the Salt Flats and lagoons. We found one we liked, booked, and went for a walk around the town. It literally took us half an hour. We then sat down for a beer and some card playing and for the first time on this trip. For the first time on our trip I was really really bored. Just a bit over hanging out with Pete the gringo, you know the feeling?
As we were making our way back to the hostel, our little metal friend saw us and told us there was a problem with our arrangement for the evening. That half his band was stuck in La Paz and it would be on the next night. Bottom line, we were going to miss the cultural event of the century- as we would be on our own tour. As compo he promised us a CD of his band, told us to meet him back at the restaurant at five pm to get the black market goods. No worries. So Pete went to play guitar in the room for a bit, and I took the laptop out to a café and sat down to work on blogs and photos. As I was sitting on the sidewalk, who should walk past- Liz and Louise!!! They had just finished the salt flats tour and were getting a train that evening. We decided to meet up later to have dinner.
I went back to get Pete to go to the restaurant to get the CD off our friend. We waited in the dining area and he came in and pretty much ignored us, no head-bang or even a nod!! Strange metal activity indeed. When he went to clean outside tables, Pete followed, and later told me that there was another problem- the Christian lady was working and he couldn’t give us the contraband, could we come back later at seven! So off we went. Pete ended up going to the restaurant about five times, each time he said, come back in five minutes. Finally he gave Pete a CD with nothing written on it-not his bands name, or the title of the album, EP, LP, single? We don’t have a CD player so we cannot find out what we’re in possession of. For all we know we could be in the middle of some Dan Brown, DaVinci Code, heavy metal cover-up conspiracy plot….heavy man.
‘Paranoid’ aside, the b-side was that the girls bought their backpacks to leave at ours and we went to a highly recommended pizza joint: The Minute Man. It had really good pizza and exceptional hot chocolate cake with ice cream. They left us for the final time… we think, went to bed, awaiting our big journey the next day.
written by  Pete+Rochelle on December 21, 2010 from Uyuni, Bolivia

Pass the salt please.
Uyuni, Bolivia
Wed 15th-Fri 17th Dec
Wednesday
We woke early to pack bags and went to the same restaurant as the night before as the girls said they had a great buffet breakfast. Which they did. I filled up on scrambled eggs and cereal with yoghurt, pancakes and tea. Pete had left over pizza from dinner. We arrived at our tour company to meet the fresh faces that would become our companions for the next three days. After the fog of stuttered spanglish had cleared we found their names were: Jordi and Gemma, a couple form Spain, and Aleksandra and Maria from Poland. Lucky for us they all spoke good english and fortunately ended up being useful translators. Our guide, Waldo, could speak english, but wasn’t very good at it, we could understand the others far better.
We started off our journey with a trip to the Train Cemetery in Uyuni. No surprises here, only a wide open space where all the old steam trains were left to rust. The locals have stripped the trains of their value, now they are ‘protected’ so that all the gringos can come from miles to get their photos jumping over them. We were expecting a few more trains; a bunch of old trains in the middle of the desert wasn’t that exiting, and was off the beaten track.
Our next stop was a small town where they cleaned and refined salt and was also a bano (toilet) stop. Lucky for me there were more markets where I was able to buy a floppy hat! The last one was not from the floppy family and got itself broke.
We drove for a bit and ended up at Salar de Uyuni: the Salt Flats. Situated 3653 meters above sea level and is 12000 square meters in size, it is a massive, bright, white spectacle. There are many resorts situated on the outskirts of the flats, but there were a couple that were actually on the flats that were closed down due to the contamination that they caused to the salt flats. We stopped at one to take photos and met some people who were cycling(!!!)- found out they were on a three year cycling trip. And I thought I was doing okay when I had the gusto to cycle to work!
Interestingly once we were in the middle of this dream-like location, equivalent to a snail’s worst nightmare, we came across a very unassuming volcanic rock island of sorts that was surrounded by a sea of salt. We stopped here for lunch (which was the biggest T-bone steak I had ever seen) and had a walk up and around its summit. It really was amazing to witness a gigantic prickly monolith emerge out of a blinding white haze, and although we thought we were sick of playing eye-spy with the cacti, this desert oasis restored our lost interest we had with the pricks. Easy done considering the local architecture, furniture and even rubbish bins were fashioned from cactus wood. With the free time we were allocated we went back to tourist mode, attempting to pull off the somewhat compulsory ’optical illusion’ photograph which are plastered on every wall, free space in Uyni. Pete really sucked at taking them but the photos he’s in turned out fantastic, due to my technical expertise, you be the judge.
By about four pm we were at our accommodation for the evening, a hotel that was entirely made of salt, apart from the roof that is. It looked like a location you’d expect to see James Bond in the grips of some lame super villain. We had a little problem with the rooms, with the management wanting to pile all of us into the same salty room after we were promised one to ourselves. Thankfully, again, our new found friends spanished our way out of it, saying something to the effect no private rooms we want our money back. On the brightside it was then time to join the six deep line to que for the only hot shower.
After dinner we had a peek at the stars. It was so dark out, save the luna light which by then was almost full. My brain kept tricking me into thinking that we were on a beach for some strange reason- telling me that big empty had to be water!! Maria and I saw a huge shooting star, and the boys went inside, too cold for them. I braved it for a bit eventually giving in to the cold, enjoying the thought of a big salt brick with a mattress laid on top- bed.
Our first day of driving had consisted of 200km, with 110km of those across the salt flats. That equals a lot of driving in next to unbearable conditions, with your knees around your shoulders and your shoulders around someone else’s, dust in your mouth and your tongue being bitten by the bumpy roads.
Thursday
We stirred really early the next morning to watch the sun rise over the salt flats. We bundled into the jeep in the dark drove for fifteen minute to arrive to our own private viewing plane. It was so cold that we all jumped around trying to keep warm. The sun started to rise and place different colours over the sky. It was so peaceful on the salt, again my brain was scrambled by the awesome sight of seeing so much salt that every time I went to say salt, snow or ice would fall out of my mouth instead…figuratively that is.
We went back to the crystal castle hostel to pack our bags and have some breakfast. From there it was more driving through very small towns, another bano stop, and off to a look out to see Ollague, Bolivia’s active volcano. Apparently, it spits out larva that the locals mine and try to sell to gringos, we only saw some smoke rising from it from a safe distance. The stop was amongst some very large boulders and little canyons and there were some small green rocks completely covered in this hard moss- quite pretty.
It was then off to Canapa, our first lagoon of the tour and our first glimpse of the native flamingo!! Maria just about jumped out of the jeep while it was still moving she was so excited. Uniquely, all the lagoons we visited had a lot of different minerals in them, none of which were any good for human consumption, with one lagoon that was so concentrated in sulphur and arsenic that even the animals wisely choose to dip elsewhere. Canapa, in contrast, it was teeming with bird life, with the most common sight being the flamingos chowing down on the plankton in the water. We didn’t realise just how big flamingos actually are, or how god awful they sound when they squawk.
Continuing lagoon hoping we stopped at Hedionda. We had a walk around, took some more photos, Pete peed in the water to then see a sign that said not to (opps). While we were looking around Waldo prepared lunch. The lunches we had on tour were good, either cold meats, salad, pasta or rice. The dinners were average however, and although they did attempt to make us gringos at home by whipping up lasagne, unfortunately it tasted like cooked onion with mouldy cheese. So Carol if you’re reading this, we think we’re in need of your wonderful interpretation of this dish. I have heard so much about it since we excused ourselves from eating its hideous bastard distant relative. Pete said it needs to have a crispy top too xx
Rochelle, Alex, Jordi, Maria, Gemma, Pete
On the road again we another bumpy hour to the majestic ‘Stone Tree’. At Jordi’s recommendation, we did stop for a group photo in the middle of a desert, where we all yelled at the top of lungs, just because we could and because boredom makes you do such things! We had been driving for ages, and getting pretty sleepy and mellow, so it was a great pick me up. We arrived at a bunch of big rocks and yes there was a stone shaped, you guessed it, as a tree….well if you squinted! Erosion had shaped it that way, and it was pretty big. The thing that added to its splendour was that we were out of the jeep actually looking at something besides the featureless dessert. It really was harsh, merciless terrain and I couldn’t help but think of those poor, loco cyclists.
We drove to our last stop for the day- Lagoon Chiarkota. And although Waldo wasn’t a great conversationalist he was great with getting us to locations on time. Importantly so as the lagoon gets a red a tinge to the water in the early afternoon when the sun reflects on it and so many of the tourists we know have missed this spectacle due to tardiness. The minerals in the water are the cause for this colourful chemical reaction, or something technical like that. It was so windy as we were on a hill looking down into the valley that I kept on getting pushed over by the wind. The lagoon is where a national park begins, so there was a look out room with all information on the animals, plants and water in the area.
We paid a small fee to be able to go through the park and went to our next hotel, which was far less interesting then our last. Some of us had a warm beer and we all tried but failed with the bottle of wine we got as part of the tour. Jordi was so disappointed with the taste of the wine, he was looking forward to it all trip making reference to it so often it was almost like it was our seventh passenger. We all opted for an early one as we had just driven 250km in a day and had a big day next. Four am was to be our morning call.
Friday.
In the dark and the cold we all struggled to get to the promising natural hot pool to watch the sun rise. On the way there we stopped at some really big geysers. It was too cold to appreciate them. We all had so many layers on. We would jump out of the jeep, run and take photos, then jump back in the jeep. We were getting pretty good at it by the end!
There are so many tour companies on route, so when you get somewhere there are usually at least a couple of jeeps that have beaten you there and unless you’re on the salt flats you don’t have miles of space to get your own little pocket of special goodness. We managed to beat everyone to the hot springs this morning, so it was lovely to be able to walk around for at least ten minutes in our own company. With the sun starting to come up over the horizon and reflect off the steaming water on the ground it was a stunning sunrise to behold.
Arriving at the hot pool I’m proud to say that I was then the only person in my group to strip down to my bikini and go for a swim at six-freezing-o’clock-in the morning. It was hard, but the water was so good, just as good as a drawn hot bath at home. Once it had warmed me to the core, getting out was relatively painless. Steam was coming off me as I was drying myself. By the time I got out most of the other jeeps had arrived and the little pool was slowly getting full. As I said Waldo had great timing.
After our breakfast of pancakes and caramel sauce (they use it like Nutella) we headed off to Honda, the very last lagoon on the trip. On the way we went past the very smooth and picturesque flats of the Salvidor Dalhi desert. Just as the name suggests, it looked very much like it was missing a couple of melting clocks and strange surreal lobster telephones. Photos could not do it justice at all not even illusionary ones.
Lagoon Honda normal gives off a bright blue colour, but it didn’t that day. Apparently it has something to do with the toxicity of the minerals, the depth of water and the velocity of the wind. When the wind hit’s the water at a certain speed it then stirs the minerals bringing out its colour. We still had a gork and got our last group photo in. Sorry to say that it was a pretty boring finale. For standing on a gigantic mound of volcanic rock peering into a age old valley is was bit of an anticlimax due to the promise of something even more spectacular.
Bolivian immigration
Border crossing
Waldo and the group then took Pete and I too the border of Bolivia/Chile. We were hopping on a bus to take us onward and the guys were heading back to Uyuni- they had to travel 500km back come full circle then had be endure a further seven hours on a train ride into Argentina! We said our goodbyes and Pete and I played the waiting game. This border control building strangely had no seats, no inside seating, and no toilet!! No basic of the basics. More jeeps showed up and we all waited and waited and peed behind an old abandoned bus and finally our bus came to take us over to Chile and San Pedro de Atacama. We said goodbye to chilly Bolivia and Hello to sunny Chile!!
written by  Pete+Rochelle on December 24, 2010 from Uyuni, Bolivia

Welcome to Chile!
San Pedro de Atacama, Chile
Sat 18th and Sun 19th Dec
After reliving myself behind a burnt-out shell that once was a gringo tour bus, we happily left possibly the worst border-control site in South America. It didn’t just border Bolivia, it bordered on shithouse, even though it didn’t have one! Our escape, thankfully, was not to be in the confines of a 4WD but a familiar looking bus which gave hope to our arses and made us think of the supposed civilisation Chile had on offer. We filled in or immigration forms for Chile with some concern due to some of our dubious cargo, beaded bracelets, Incan voodoo recipes and the like. We got to chatting to a Spanish girl and a couple of Auzzies along the way, and before we knew it we back on smooth modern roads then to quickly arrive in San Pedro.
In contrast to Bolivia, security in Chile much tighter. We were expecting this from the horror stories told over end-of-the-day drinks on tour. Tales of urine testing and cavity searches, bags being torn apart and gringos detained. Much to our relief, quite like North America, the only discomfort was to wait in line to have our passports stamps, our bags scanned- politely by hand (It’s the personal touches that make the difference) and were on our way.
We went around to a few different hostels before we decided on one. We had just stepped onto Chilean soil and we felt a little ripped-off as we were to being billed at $2200 a nite! Okay, we were a little unsure sure how the pricing worked. All we knew was 20,000 pesos sounded like a fuck load, but after a bit of research it is only $42 Australian. Once settled in and after a shower and shave of the legs, we were off to eat and to change money.
San Pedro is a beautiful little place. It is still located in the dessert so water is scarce and the ground is bone dry, but the local fauna seems okay with its surroundings with trees and grass and greenery most areas. It looked very different to anything we had seen in Bolivia. In fact, I think it was probably more the people than the plant life that seemed different to us. Not only were there more ’holiday makers’ about, as opposed to ’backpackers’, but there was a definite, dare we say, sense of style amongst the denizens. San Pedro had a lot of boutique shops, not little road side tables with cheap hand-made wares. There was also a lot of hand made specialty goods. Gorgeous original prints, shirts and jewellery from crafted from various metals. I could’ve spent large there! Okay I did buy myself a Christmas present which I love immensely.
San Pedro is also known for its star-gazing tours that Mel and Andrea had recommended. We went and booked for that evening, getting in just in time as after that evening they were closed for five days due to the full moon. We paid, got our tickets, and agreed to be there at 8.50pm…
For lunch Pete (the gringo) got the biggest burger ever and the bread was soft for once! Another marvellous gift Chile can offer. We had been missing fresh bread that didn’t feel like it was three days old. Pete thinks this was the first miracle caused by the second coming of Saint Peter to San Pedro. Dinner was the real divinity though. We went to a restaurant that served well Chilean food, but surprisingly tasted European. Pete had chicken stuffed with goats cheese with a corn sauce and fried potato. I had pork that was cooked to perfection with a mash of something, roasted red capsicum and the juices of the pork drizzled over. I even got to have wine which had been a while. The flavours were amazing, the food was actually hot, something that didn’t happen all the time in Bolivia.
Excitedly we finished our meals with the anticipation to go off to our pre-arranged star-gazing tour. We got to the shop and strangely it appeared to be locked up for the night, with a sign on the door stating it would be open again in five days time after the full moon had passed. In truth we were a couple of minutes late, but it wasn’t yet nine o’clock, and we were left scratching our heads. ‘Maybe waiting in the wings they will sweep passed in a jeep’ we thought? As we were standing there utterly perplexed, shop- keepers begin to tell us in educated tones that the company were indeed closed for the evening. Even a restaurant worker who was in the street giving out business cards came to us saying that the company would do another tour later if we wanted to wait two hours- we had missed the first. We checked our watches again telling him our story, explaining to him that they simply couldn’t have left without us-surly it had only gone nine. The punch line came like a small Peruvian pickpocket that had just nabbed $120 U.S when he man looked at his mobile and said casually-’Actually, it’s ten pm, Chile is an hour ahead of Bolivia'. Needless to say we were pissed off. ‘Where’s fucking Waldo’, we thought, and why didn’t the man who was so concerned with time mention that we needed to put our watches forward on hour? We had completely missed the star-gazing tour! We stood there a bit flabbergasted, didn’t really know what to do. Of course I had a rant and rave and we went back to the hostel. Things weren’t looking up. Not the perfect ending to a wonderful day, but at least we changed our watches just in time to avoid another potential disaster, missing buses came to mind.
On Sunday we went for a walk around the town. It was like an oasis in the middle of the desert. When we got to the edge of the town, after walking past green fields, rows of olive trees and houses, it was just dry mountains, rocks and dust. Again it was a pretty laid back day and we were feeling like it was a real holiday- sun, wine, afternoon naps and oh the food!
Monday afternoon we were booked in for a mammoth bus ride. We were going to La Serena which is the second biggest city in Chile; a city located on the coast sixteen hours from San Pedro. We organised ourselves in the morning, scraped around for any books in English for Pete so he wouldn’t get bored. He only found Dan Brown. He had to buy it too, not exchange. We stocked up on the water and snacks and made sure we were dressed for any kind of heat or lack thereof on the bus. We hopped on the bus at 2.30pm, knowing we wouldn’t be free till 6.30am the next morning. We said goodbye to San Pedro, our beautiful desert oasis, peped and preped for the next leg of our trip!
written by  Pete+Rochelle on December 25, 2010 from San Pedro de Atacama, Chile

Finally!! The ocean!!
La Serena, Chile
Mon 20th- Wed 22nd Dec
Lets just start off by saying that Pete has way too much time on his hands at present, so even though events are seemingly told through my perspective, this entry is in fact saturated with Peter's rose coloured prose. In fact, it was Peter who has written Rochelle's disclaimer, go figure.
The sixteen hour bus ride went well… to begin with. The buses’ hidden discomforts and demons were a process of discovery. Initially we felt pampered by the seats allowing us to almost rest horizontally, with the bus set to a cool temp, and above all, knowing there was a toilet and yes there was a key for it, and yes the bus company knew its whereabouts. Perfect, we thought, the only hiccup being that we were sitting opposite the toilet, no biggie...To set the scene, picture a Amityville Horror, Chevy Chase-Vaccation movie crossover then you're there. The first problem Pete discovered was the toilet door. It didn’t want to stay closed and kept on swinging open and slamming into his chair, arm or head depending on his state of conscienceness-the door was fucking possessed! A problem he tried to resolve by pushing his big boots against it for resistance, the catch being every time someone went to the bathroom they never put the boots back-the people on the bus were in on it too! Which bought us to our second problem. The smell. Even if you only went for a pee, the smell after flushing was horrendous- It loomed. Pete hardly slept a wink at all because his nostrils complained so much. Between his sensitive nose and the demon door, not to mention the air-con being switched on and off, the ride made a good recipe for sleep depprevation and a good case for paranormal activity. I managed to get a few hours which was good enough for me. The nice thing about the trip though was smooth roads Chile had pathed for us. A luxury that Chile's neighbours sadly couldn't afford.
We arrived in La Serena tired, stiff and hungry. There was a man waiting at the station offering rooms at a reasonable price so of we went. Dumping our stuff and ripping apart our bags, a ritual which we have become accustomed to, we then ventured out into the city to find a café. We found one that served a great bacon eggs and fried tomato. Impressed with the cafe's array of delectables we also got a side of scones with cream and jam then proceeded to roll ourselves back to the hostel to sleep the morning away. Our nap didn't allow for disruptions, we were too tired.
Revitalized we headed back out again to take a look at sea level. La Serena is the second biggest city in Chile (after Santiago of course) and it was full of department stores, business-people, churches and dogs!!! So many dogs that we have made a game of counting them. Its called 'The Slum Dog Game.' It goes like this: two people, in competition with eachother, must battle to spot as many slum dogs as they can. The victor is the person who has counted the most slum dogs that day, and who wins the satisfaction of being the one who had counted the most slum dogs that day. Its harder than it sounds. Over here dogs are sneaky fuckers that could be hiding anywhere-under, on-top-of, in, spaces, places that you wouldn't first suspect. We even found a dog in a cage at a zoo! Apparently, Chile has cleverly adopted a similar notion to ''hang a picture on a wall to make it arte." Perhaps they're on to something. Which begs the question when is a slumdog not a slumdog? When you're in La Serena the answer becames somewhat clear- find it in a zoo, then count on it being exotic.
We walked to a shopping centre which was like another world long forgotten. Back-to-the-future. We ate a Big Mac and then regretted it half an hour later-its true they taste the same the world over-like a rubbery burger impostor. We walked the streets and looked at all sorts of shops, people, bought food and cooked dinner at home which was novel. It is a treat when we get to have a home cooked dinner, as a lot of our hostels and accommodation so far have'nt had, kitchens, kitchettes or even fridges to work with.
Tuesday we decided to walk to the 'playa'. And, no we didn't walk down some seedy ally to meet a tanned pimp wearing a lama fur coat and loafers to score high grade blackmarket corn, instead we walked the longest most boring street to arrive at Le Serena's seemingly most prised possession- its beach. Having not seen the ocean in many moons, since Miraflores in fact, we were hoping for some type of spiritual reunion that only the ebb of the Pacific's waves can provide. After a steady forty minute walk we found guarding the beach Le Serena's second most prised possession their quirky looking lighthouse (see picture) but unfortunately not much else. Only the odd market stall, a slum dog or two and a one massive empty green space framed with tiny grey grainy matter where the beach was ment to be. It was windy and the dark turqueoise sea was swollen and choppy. The final rub came just when the sun block came out and the sun didn't and when we were told we couldn’t even walk along the beach! That the only access to the 'beach' was from whence we came.
From what we saw, or rather didn't see, the Le Serene's public face certainly needed a lift. With no tourist friendly esplanade or even ricketty woodern walkway running parallel to the beach for to exercise your legs or camera, the city's council are really keeping the vail on the bride with this one. Maybe they're doing the world a favor, who knows. Ironically it must be told, for a beachside city, La Serena comes across as remarkably industrial to the passerby. Reducing its promises of golden sands and laidback lifestyles to mere tokenistic smatterings of iconography that glow on walls and shop windows for the locals that frequent its commerial precincts and glow even brighter to the wide-eyed yearning tourist.
We then went to the Japanese garden. It was a very beautiful, peaceful place and we enjoyed the work that had gone into it, but I think we mainly enjoyed how green it was. We were still getting reaquainted with grass, flowers and plants.
Across the road from the gardens was the zoo. We excitedly made our way there and entertained the parking lot attendants/car detailers as we looked for where we needed to pay when in fact we didn't need to. It was pretty small and very dry and again it was funnily to see in the first viewing pen a bitch with a litter of pups. Pete said that I couldn't add the dog to my 'Slum Dog Game' tally because the rusted metal cage domestified the dog and the suckers on its tit. The next rare species to be hunted, captured and displayed were a billy goat, some sheep, a rabbit… we then realised it wasn’t a real, REAL zoo, it was more like a children’s one. A one with training wheels, a zoo to support your shaky reality untill you can grasp the mind altering concept of the giraffe. We did enjoy seeing an Ostrich though, and fair enough the ostrich isn't without its strangeness; its those huge eyes that do it, they stare straight through you. I peace- offered it some grass then we split.
We walked back through town, eyeing the shop posters promoting something the city couldn't provide. We stopped for a beer and went back to the hostel to get ready for our seven hour bus ride to Santiago in the morning.
written by  Pete+Rochelle on December 27, 2010 from La Serena, Chile

Merry Christmas!!!
Santiago, Chile
Wed 22nd-Wed 29th Dec
After a non eventful six hour bus ride from La Serena, we arrived in Santiago, where we were to meet with an old school friend of Pete’s and his wife and new baby- Karim, Gigi and Renzo. Karim had supplied us with detailed instructions on how to use the metro before we left La Serena, so we were keen to see if it was as easy as he made out on the phone. It was thankfully!
Gigi and Karim
We got to Karim's place and met Gigi and Renzo. They have a lovely apartment and were offered our own room, the use of their swimming pool (which is great as it is pretty hot here), and a fantastic view of the Andes. I was pretty excited about that, as I didn’t realise that Santiago was so close to them and I didn’t think I would get to see them. They are big and grand, when they are not covered in smog.
Pizza cone
We spent the first few days doing nothing really. We went to a supermarket before Christmas which was insane!! The Chilians have NO trolley skills and have no qualms about cuttingh you off in the aisles. I learnt to close my eyes and let my trolley do the navigating. It’s the quick or the dead round these parts.
Chilean Chile dog
We went shopping one afternoon and Karim introduced us to Chilean hot dogs. No holds barred on these babies. The Chileans love to put avocado and mayonnaise on their traditional hot dog, we even had one with gherkins on it. They aren’t skimpy with the toppings either, as we bit into it all the filling fell out onto the plate. We think that the Chilian hotdog is so much better than its New York cousin, though its a tad confusing that call their so called 'traditional' hotdog the Italian. Go figure.
christmas breakfast
christmas day
Christmas was a quiet affair. We woke in the morning and had champagne with orange juice and ate chocolates for breakfast (can’t break with tradition) and received presents from Karim and Gigi- Chilean themed aprons. I don’t know if Pete knows how to use his. We spent the afternoon in and around the pool, then spent dinner with Gigi‘s family at her sisters place. It was a great evening with laughs all round. Gigi’s dad wasn’t shy taking the piss out of Pete, which I always love.
Everything seems to be done late here in Chile. They have daylight savings you see, and it doesn’t start to get dark here till 9:25pm. Therefore the Chilians don’t eat till 8 or 9. Christmas night it was ten pm then the turkey came out! Well it was actually steak but we didn't complain. The whole time shift was hard to get used to at first, but now we're comfortably waking up around midday, eating lunch at 3pm and having little snacks to keep us untill dinner. What we found amazing is that Karim doesn’t get to bed until midnight, and he must wake up at 6.30! This kind of lifestyle would kill us if we had to employ jobs into our routine as well!
Boxing day we went for lunch at a restaurant which serves lamb cooked over open flames. Its like a spit roast, but the meat has a rod through it and is resting to the side of the flame, not rotated over the top like I’m used to seeing. The restaurant was a bit smoky, but well worth smoke inhalation to see inventive cooking styles. When our lamb was served we were in awe of the two huge pieces sitting on our plates. We started off using cutlery but you had to revert to using primative techniques and rip the meat off the bone with our fingers. The meat was so tasty and more succulent then we ever expected. When I was feasting I kept thinking of my mum, and how much she would have been in heaven there. After licking our fingers we helped Karim with the rest of the meat left on the table, which was the best we have had in South America.
Pete and I finished the day by checking out the local shopping mall (dumb idea on boxing day) and cooling down at the local movie theatre.
On Monday we decided to venture downtown which is made easy as the Metro here is great, really easy to use and is essentially like Paris and London's. We thought we would go for a walk around the city starting with Palacio de la Moneda- the presidential palace which hoists the largest national flag we have ever seen.
We walked to the Plaza de Armas, the capitals main square where we had a sun screen stop. There was honestly not a cloud in the sky, and a themometer told us it was 36 degrees celsius. We hadn’t been in that type of heat for ages! We then walked to the arty district of Satiago where we stopped for some lunch, with cans of coke and loads of ICE on the menu!!!! Oh the joy and happiness frozen water can bring.
We carried on to Cerro Santa Lucia, a hill in the city that has a wonderful walk that allowed us to walk to the top and have a look at the city at 630 metres. The beautiful structure built around the hill used to serve as a convent and then a military station and still houses the most beautiful fountain and archway!! The restoration and care for the park is amazing and it was a truly lovely place to stumble across. We then went to go to the fine art museum, however it was closed on Mondays, so we opted for lying under a shady tree and read in a nearby park.
We had such sore feet from our day of walking. They were also dirty due to Chilie's pollution sticking to the sunscreen we applied to our feet. Pete’s feet looked like they belonged to a homeless person!
passed out on doggie snacks
Tuesday we went downtown again. This time we walked around trying to find a travel agent. Pete had looked up several the night before on the internet, but as we found the addresses we also found that the agencies no longer existed. We got the feeling that once you got into Santiago, you never could leave! We did find one travel agent that only dealt with flights so we got a little information there, but not what we were looking for as our budget at this late stage only allows for us to afford buses, trains, and peddy cabs.
After a feed of sushi that I had been hanging out for, we went up Cerro San Cristobal, a mountain that sits to the side of Santiago city. The mountain holds a tram and gondolas, which were unfortunately closed, museums and parks and a zoo- we had to keep with tradition and go there. It was a bit different than New York zoo as we got to see: monkeys, elephants, giraffes, lions, flamingos, emus, even llamas and kangaroos!! The zoo winds up the side of the mountain, and it seems that the animals there have the best real estate in the city, the view was pretty spectacular. The most exciting part was Pete finally being able to see a brown grizzly bear. The bear was quite social and was out of his cage having a nosey.
After climbing the hill to look around we hopped on the very steep tram to get us to the top of the mountain. Up the top not only was it a great view, but there was a church up their too- Ya soy La immaculate concepcion. A great monument of the virgin Mary was erected right up the top, and looks over the city and the open church below it. It took some faith getting to the top I don't mind saying.
We took the tram back down to the bottom of the mountain and walked to the metro, stopping along the way for a beer with all the trendy uni students in one of the bars that lined the street. And by a beer I mean a huge 1 litre size bottle.
At home that evening Karim was telling us little bits about the city while looking at our photos. He pointed out the telecommunications building and the fact that it looks just like a big old Motorola mobile phone. We didn't notice. He said it used to be the tallest building in Santiago, not by today's standards, and that it was since voted the city's ugliest. I personally think its great and a brilliant icon to have. It makes me laugh that it so obviously looks like a mobile phone and we didn't recognise. See if you can spot it.
Wednesday we got ourselves ready to leave for Vine del Mar, a city on the coast where we would all be spending new years eve and then a couple more days relaxing. Pete didn’t get up till almost 11am that morning. We're not counting sheep over here, we're counting lamas and it seems there are more to count. We went out for a coffee which was ordinary of course, yet they had the yummiest home made chocolates. After having an early dinner for a change we were off to Vina del Mar and 2011!!
written by  Pete+Rochelle on December 31, 2010 from Santiago, Chile

Our New years trip
Vina del Mar, Chile
Wed 29th Dec- Mon 3rd Jan
Count the dogs!! 1,2,3..
Wednesday night Karim drove us the two and a half hours to the sea side city of Vina del Mar. As we approached the twin cities their luminescent glow was overwhelming, with hundreds of thousands of lights welcoming us, making our first impression a memorable one. On one stretch of the coastline sat our destination of Vina del Mar, and to the cities left was its older neighbour -Valapriso. Karim had organised for us to stay at a Bed and Breakfast near the beach so we could easily attend the New Year’s celebrations and witness the fireworks extravaganza, which was to be the biggest in all of Chile apparently. He dropped us off, and we called it a night.
Thursday we went for a walk around the Vina del Mar. Karim was exacting, our hostel was only a couple of streets away from the beach! We walked along the cities esplanade to look for somewhere to get some breakfast as our Hostel only served cold toast with a side of bitter coffee. Hailing from Hervey Bay where you can’t walk along its esplanade without tripping over a café or some type of eatery, we were surprised that there wasn’t a single shop, café, kiosk to take our tourist dollars and feed our gringo bellies. We walked along the beach front, counting dogs and trying to read bible revelations that were written on the rocks. They were written in Spanish of course and ironically floated betwixt the ungodly sight of the rubbish that littered the otherwise picturesque scenery. It made us feel pretty proud to come from Australia and New Zealand. We may get some rubbish on our beaches, but nothing like what we have seen here. Not to ‘trash talk’ Vina del Mar exclusively on this enviro-eyesore either, for most of the communities, towns, cities that we have visited in ‘all’ countries in South America have taken their waste management out- with- the- trash so to say, with literally piles of rubbish and discarded material which aim to challenge the senses upon confrontation. I was surprised to hear that even Santiago doesn’t have domestic recycling bins in the scheme of things either.
We walked past a restaurant that looked like some kind of ship that had crashed into the shore, the cities casino, a floral clock and a bunch of Christians that were on some type of rally. One of them even ran up to us to give us a hug and told us that God loved us! We should have told him that cleanliness is next to Godliness and to clean up the fucking beach and to hose down the bums that have be it prime real estate, but again communications were down.
We ended up in the town centre with all the shops and finally found something to chew on there. We had a little walk around the centre, then ended up back on the beachfront. The esplanade took us past a market, military buildings, cannons that lined the boardwalk and finally to where guys and gals were doing tricks on bikes and rollerblades. From what we saw, although Vina del Mar’s beach isn’t well kept its well used, and as the afternoon wore on more and more people arrived to soak up the afternoon/evening sol.
One of these folks was a young guy practising his ‘free-walking’, moves on the beach. We saw him doing back flips off a high wall onto the beach. We asked to take some photos which he happily agreed to. He was using objects surrounding him as props for his flips. He was amazing to watch. We also saw some great sand art and a man that did spray paint art, but on the cover of books. A big day for artistic inspiration!
New Years Eve!! Our day was spent looking around Vina del Mar a little more. Pete then had an afternoon nap, while I wrote postcards and had a vaso of wine at a nearby corner café. Not realising what time the shops closed we almost missed them, lucky we found one with its door half closed so we could get some drinks and supplies for the evening. After having our last meal for 2010, a Chilean hot dog, we stayed at home until we joined the masses down the beach a bit before midnight. There were thousands of people crowding the promenade, covering the beach and filling the beachside apartment balconies. All ages were out and there was a real buzz of celebration in the air. As midnight approached the vibe got electric and the people started chanting and screaming, the energy was contagious. Congenially no fights broke out and we didn’t see any drunk people falling over themselves or slum dogs- something unfortunately we think we would have seen in our home countries in great supply. There was not a big police presence either, which was interesting to see due to the size of the crowd.
The countdown was a little vague as there was no loud speaker or radio to keep time. We got the hint that we were in the future when people up the beach started screaming, hugging and kissing. Then the fireworks began. There was about six different points where the fireworks were set off over the water, and we had picked the perfect spot as one of those points was right in front of us. The fireworks lasted for about twenty minutes and didn’t disappoint. When it finished we made our way back up the beach with the masses of others to our hostel and called it a night watching TV. Talk about party animals!!
Saturday.
After a sleep in to recover from our ’big night’ we walked into town and went to Quinta Vergara, a beautiful park that had huge roses of every colour and even had trees from New Zealand. On site is Palacio Vergara, an old palace and in the grounds there is also a huge newly erected open- air amphitheatre that would be amazing to listen to music in. We had a look around, went up to a lookout that didn’t really show us as much as we expected, then headed back to the hostel.
Karim picked us up that evening to take us to dinner. He had a special restaurant in mind which was located in Concon, another little costal town not far from Vina del Mar, usually only fifteen minutes drive away. We had forgotten about it being New Year’s day and therefore it took us over an hour to get there. To add hunger to car-cabin-fever there was a great big line up out the door of the restaurant! Two and a half very hungry hours later we arrived back in Vina, only to end up going to a restaurant two blocks away from where we were staying!! We did get to have an English speaking tour and did see the sunset sink into the ocean, so it wasn’t all bad. Pretty funny though-thanks Karim.
Sunday.
We hopped on a bus to get us to Valparaiso, the city down further on the coast surrounded by hills- Vina’s more worldly and slightly stern older sibling. We looked at the its port and walked its streets at sea level, which were tattooed with uninspired graffiti. It struck us that every direction seemed dull and grey and there were an insane amount of low hanging overhead powerlines that make the phrase ‘watch your head‘ seem more urgent.
Walking up the city’s steep sprawling hills the scenery started to change with more vibrant colours appearing. The greatest part for me were discovering the decorative murals that were to be found around almost every corner: garage, door, wall.
The houses higher up into the hills were famously colourful with a lot of character and as we walked we would get a great view of the harbour. There were cool little shops and stalls scattered around the place too. We walked so much that day and were happy to put our feet up when we got back to the hostel!
We drove back to Santiago on Monday after Pete and I had to yet again walk around for ages to find breakfast. This time we found a McDonalds where we ate cheese burgers. Back at Karim and GiGi’s place we had a lot of washing and organising to do as we had booked an overnight bus to Pucon- Karim’s home town- middle Chile.
Until next time we write, take care of yourself and we both hope that 2011 brings you all health, happiness, laughter and adventure xx
written by  Pete+Rochelle on January 9, 2011 from Vina del Mar, Chile

Action packed adventure.
Pucon, Chile
Wed 5th-Sat 8th Jan
Tuesday night we caught, you guessed it, another overnight bus! This time it was a comfortable ten hours only to the picturesque town of Puno. We must have appeased the bus God some how. The toilet worked, we weren’t next to the toilet door, we were given blankets and pillows and the seats went back quite far. Hugging those Christians must have payed off……we thought. The realities of bus travel again came back to kick us in the rear when around 7.30am, after the bus stopped at some small town to let people off, it decided that it didn’t want to start again. The bus had broken down!! After trying to sacrifice a small yet hugely annoying child in order to get our motor running, we excepted our fate. We had to wait in the stuffy fart-ridden bus for three hours while bus driver/mechanic tried to bring the bus back to life. Not a child tantrum too soon, finally the bus company brought in another bus to replace the smelly broken one so we could be on our way. Problem solved? Not really. The bus they brought in was smaller then the original one, so, Pete and I and another couple had to stand in the aisles as there were not enough seats! About half an hour into it, some lovely people all decided to squish together in their seats so we could sit down. After so much bus travel and so many uncomfortable incidences, were hoping that we have our fair share of bus scares to remedy the next potential bout of travel hiccups.
When we did finally make it to Pucon we were four hours over schedule, but still five hours under slept. We did our usual routine and found ourselves a bed and went out to scavenge for a bite. We were starving since we had planned to be in Pucon for breakfast. We then went into one of many travel agencies that organise tours for the many adventurous trips they have on offer in and around Pucon. This is the place to be if you want adrenaline pumping adventure, just don’t forget your wallet. Absolutely free on the other hand and perhaps Pucon’s best attraction is its green fields, flora, lakes and snow capped volcano. The volcano is spectacular. We were fortunate enough to have its beauty staring at us even when we showered. A perfect view of Volcan Villarrica as we looked out of the our bathroom window!
Thursday.
In the afternoon we were booked to do Hydro-Speed. For you people in the dark, its a newly evolved German water-sport which sees its victim hanging on to dear life and a small dolphin-nose shaped piece of foam as they plummet down grade three white-washed rapids! Sounds like fun-we thought so too. On our way to the tour company we anxiously walked around Pucon, had a look at the beach and dipped our toes in the lake. We made it to the tour company and were whisked off in a van to head to a river a bit out of town. There we changed into wetsuits and slipped into our flippers, helmets and piece of foam, which didn’t exactly inspire much confidence. Then flop, we were in the water to get instructions on how to navigate the rapids and how to consume oxygen in the likely event of capsizing. The water was freezing! After practising the moves and getting used to kicking with the flippers, we were off, or should I say the current took us.
There were ten of us in the Hydro-Speed posse in total, of all nationalities. Three brave women and seven giddy men being watched by four guides- three in the water and one in a life raft. Having someone watching us from all angles was reassuring, as was the option to abandon the rapids to retreat to the raft when you felt distressed. In fact the instructors insisted on the policy that if they thought you would drown or that you looked like you weren’t having fun they would pull you out of the water breathing or not.
To begin with the current carried us down stream in its steady, gentle flow. The scenery was gorgeous and it was so peaceful…. then we hit the first rapid. The idea to conquer the rapids was easy, we all had to try and stay in line with the first guide as the currents were trying to pull us in different directions and try to aim for the highest waves which are normally caused by two currents coming together. We had to go head first in to the waves and come out the other side. Easier instructed then done. Trying to see anything with water in your eyes and stealing a breathe before the next wave crashes on your head is tricky. Especially when you’re meant to be making sure your were on the right side of the river and not going to plough head first into a half submerged boulder. We thought ‘what have we signed up for?‘ The river had shallow sections of water which meant your legs would cop a battering. Pete often complained that he had hit a rock or three. After being battered by the first couple of rapids the other two girls and one of guys were out. They were only halfway through the course! As our guides were prepping us for the last rapid, I thought that I wanted out too. The last rapid was a class three, that’s mild in Merrill Streep- River Wild terms, but bigger than any of the ones we had already done. I told one of the instructors that I wanted out, he said, ‘No you’ll be fine!’ He held onto my foam dolphin and rode through the first wave with me. That’s when shit went wrong. I must have breathed in a litre water and spent the next minute choking it back up, while trying to breath in between other waves offering me a drink. Just say I panicked a bit. I finally calmed down towards the end of the rapid, when I caught my breath, then we had a gingerly ride down river to meet up with the tour bus. When we hopped out our toes were so numb we couldn’t feel them, but once out of the water we warmed up pretty quick. We were in a bit of shock but we couldn’t wipe the smiles off our faces. It was an experience we will never forget, but after a deep review perhaps not one we are willing to repeat. If you want see the video of my near death experience or pictures of Pete looking more of a dick then usual then check us out on this link:
Photo section on the left hand side, click on ‘see all’ and find 06 de enero de 2011 for our photos. You’ll see Pete’s face, can’t miss it. Underneath the photo section is where you can find the video, look for 6 enero,noon [HQ] in the ‘see all’ section. It doesn’t last very long, the music is pretty loud though so be warned and wait till the end as you’ll see me not looking very impressed being lead through the last rapid.
Friday.
We awoke early to get ready for our next adventure, a 2847 metre walk to the top of the volcano. Our bodies were a little sore form the day before. Pete’s thigh got a bit of a battering and it was sore when he walked, not good when your about to climb for five hours! We arrived at our meeting point and hopped in a van with six others and was driven to the base camp. From there we got a ski lift which would eliminate 40 mins walk, which our legs didn’t disagree with, then started a slow zigzag walk up the side in the snowy mountain. We stopped a few times for water and a nibble on a chocolate bar or two.
The higher we got the more thick and sludgey the snow was. We had ice picks to help us with balance, but it was still really slow going, though quite funny too. Pete thought he was Sir Edmund Hillary for a minute or two.
Once we reached the top we couldn’t really see into the volcano as it was thick with toxic fumes and eye-watering smoke and it hit our throats pretty hard too. The view at the top looking down was needless to say but I’ll say it anyway, remarkable. (See Pic).
The way down was why we endured the climb to the top. Tobogganing!! We had to put on a layer of protective clothing from head-to-foot, then headed to a section of snow where other tourists had crafted arse-made snow chutes. There we hopped on our little seats and slid our way down. I can’t tell you how much fun this was. When we slid down we really picked up some speed. The only problem was that the people in front of us didn’t dare to go fast and a couple of times there would be pile ups. Pete was getting the shits due to one German bird who always ended up in front of him and who would go real slow. The last slope was a long one and at the end both Pete and I spun out, which was a bit freaky. We were wet through and through, cold, but extremely happy. It was a definite delight highlight.
That evening we had booked to go to another one of Pucon’s attractions: the thermal pools. Our bodies were in need of some good R n’ R. We arrived just as night was falling, which was around quarter past nine. The setting was beautiful. We were dropped off at the top of a hill and had to walk down to the bottom where there were several open rock-pools with trees surrounding them and a flowing stream to the side. We walked down the stairs and found ourselves at the first pool which we thought we would try. It was so hot. It was like trying to hop into a really, really hot bath. Pete loved it and was moving around in it. I had to hop out after a little while, I couldn’t cope!
We tried another one that wasn’t as hot, then sat by the creek with a beer. Some english people came by and had a dip in the cold creek before heading back to the hot pools. I had to give it a go. It was freezing, I ran in, sat down, then ran out to hop back into one of the hot pools. It was lovely to lay back and look at the stars while soaking my sore body in hot water, listening to the stream running over the rocks. Bliss!
Saturday we were up early, much to our bodies disagreement, again to catch a six hour bus to Puerta Montt, our gateway stop over to Isla Grande de Chiloe, that is if the bus gets us there. Will write you then!!! xxx
written by  Pete+Rochelle on January 11, 2011 from Pucon, Chile

Our sleepy little stop over.
Puerto Montt, Chile
Sat 8th -Mon 10th Jan
We left Pucon early Sat morning with our bodies in even more pain then the previous day and not enough sleep from our late night at the pools. Packing our backpacks was a struggle as my arms hurt from using them while tobogganing down the volcano and Pete’s leg was in even more pain. What a pair we made. We hopped on the bus for our six hour day-bus to Puerto Montt. All good on this bus, except that they played the same Spanish song over and over again, for six hours. It got a bit monotonous.
A picture in our room!
We arrived in Puerto Montt bus station and were immediately offered rooms in hostels, or, should I say, people’s houses they have converted to some faux hostel. We took one lady up on her cheap offer and hopped on a bus with her to her home/hostel. The house smelt like old people and our room was situated right next to the road, a road which we were to discover had buses and trucks and loud cars travelling on it at all hours of the day and night. The little kid in the room next door also liked to play the drums, so trying to relax and watch TV with the sound of the drums and the traffic proved difficult at times, not to mention any kind of a sleep in the next morning. We found the supermarket and as well as getting supplies we also got a hot dog; they keep on getting better those Chilean dogs!
Sunday we went for a walk to get to the bottom of what Puerta Montt was all about. We got to the bottom quick. There really wasn’t a lot going on there. Okay, we went out on a Sunday, which means that just about everything was closed, but then again I think that even if the city was on fire there still wouldn’t be much going on. The best part of the look around was being dwarfed by a giant statue of a couple in the middle of light petting. We walked along the promenade and into the town, but there really was nothing to report.
Monday we booked a bus to take us to Isle de Grande Chiloe, an island to the side of Chile. Our bus wasn’t till early afternoon, so we walked down to the port. I’m so glad we did, because the area was Puerta Montt’s saving grace! It was a cute little area with heaps of little shops selling arts and crafts, mainly wooden made trinkets, and seafood caught and bought in from the local fishing boats. The port was old and well used, but defiantly gave some much needed character to a town. After our look around and a great round of Pete’s Dog Game, we were off to get our bags and head to the bus stop once again. Hopefully more adventure awaits. We’ll let you know how we go!
written by  Pete+Rochelle on January 15, 2011 from Puerto Montt, Chile

Our island getaway.
Ancud, Chile
Monday 10th- Wed 12th Jan
Killer hot dog.
Monday afternoon we dragged our stuff to the bus station and waited for the bus to take us to Ancud, a small town on the Isle of Grande Chiloe. While we waited we had the biggest hot dog yet. The thing was massive, filled with tomato, onion, even carrot then smothered in avocado and all the sauces. It was so big we couldn’t even finish them. Pete finally met his match!
We spent the next three hours on a bus, an hour of that on a barge in order to get us on the island. We arrived at our stop and our host from the hostel we were booked into was waiting for us. She had broken english and laughed excessively She took great care of us…a bit too much attention for Pete’s liking. So- much- so that when we asked if there was a kitchen to cook in (money is getting low, we have to eat in now days), Mirta and Peter, our hosts, gave us use of their own kitchen, and said we were a ‘special case’ and since the other guests didn’t have the same privilege we had to keep quiet about it and eat in their dining room. Hmmm…..
from the supermarket
After being shown our room and their kitchen we walked into the town centre for supplies and a look around. It was a little similar to Puerto Montt in that there was not much going on. We cooked dinner and ate with Mirta and her family. All conversations were in very broken english the up side being they organised a tour for us to see the penguins the next day as well as drawing a mud map showing us a walking track to see Ancud. We said goodnight as soon as we were able to and ran as fast as we could.
The saint to help catch fish!
Tuesday.
We took our map and walked around Ancud. We went to the top of a hill and took some photos. Up on the hill we saw the biggest pile of rubbish to date. It was like the town had made it the official dumping ground. Not the best look, but I guess it gave all the stray dogs something to rummage through. We then went down to a beach and walked along the coastline on rocks which was quiet pretty and very quiet. We saw the main square and walked through the streets, and that was Ancud!
That afternoon we were picked up and taken by mini bus with three others to a beach just out of Ancud where the penguins nested. The ride took us a bit over an hour, but we had photo stops along the way and it was beautiful scenery. Very much like New Zealand, rolling green hills with cattle grazing and the pacific ocean in the distance, yup I could be at home!
We made it to the beach and were fitted in our life jackets and jumped on a little wheelie trailer where we were wheeled out to the boat. We were then off around the rocks to spot the penguins. There were a few penguins out and about and we even saw a sea otter popping out of the water for air. But, after looking at the flightless birds shake themselves a few times, waddle a little and generally not do much, we were pretty much over it. They just aren’t as fun as monkeys or sea monkeys for that matter! It was nice on the water though and we can now tick penguin watching off our list.
Wednesday.
We had planned to go for a very big walk to find the open air museum I had heard about and was intrigued with. Instead we ended up packing up our things and moving town as Pete had a very big and painful blister on the back of his heel, one that disallowed him to wear his hiking boots. So we hopped on a hour and a half hour bus to take us down the island further to its capital, Castro, much to Mirta’s disappointment. She wanted us to just take a day trip there, as she kept on assuring us that there was nothing in Castro. There was nothing in Ancud! How could there be LESS in the island’s capital! We left anyway, promising we would be back to stay on our way back up from Castro to see the museum. Mum, you’ll be happy to know she even insisted I wear one of her woolly jackets when I was there as it was a bit cold. Mine weren’t good enough, I had to wear hers. Pete had issues with the whole smothering mothering thing but I kept on assuring him it was just good will, but if we don’t come back you’ll know where to find us……
!!!!!!!!!!
written by  Pete+Rochelle on January 16, 2011 from Ancud, Chile

Chiloe's capital city
Castro, Chile
Wed 12th-Sunday 16th
Castro, Chiloe’s capital, was a quiet escape for us. We spent a couple of days chilling out, looking around the town at its icons and watching too many bad movies on TV as we had a bit of rain over a couple of days. Again, a very small town, but was bigger then Ancud and we even had a view of the harbour from our window!
Some of Castro’s attractions we saw were: Iglesia Francisco de Castro, the towns main church, was nothing to look at from the outside, but once inside you could appreciate its beautiful wooden architecture; the Palafitos, old houses on stilts that line the water front, and of course, there were more markets and dogs than we could count. There was also a port where fishing boats leave from, and charters that take you to several other smaller islands in the area, a main square which really had nothing in it, only an information centre, and the most supermarkets we have seen in Chiloe yet.
On Friday we took a bus to see the National park, when we arrived there were no maps available so we had to take directions from a ranger who didn’t speak a jot of English, we just hoped we wouldn't end up on the presumed long list of missing persons in the area. As we walked we were attacked by these fucking huge black flies that would try to fly in our face as we were walking and they would bite when they finally got to land on your skin. These things were honestly four times bigger then the biggest March Flies you’re likely to find in Hervey Bay. Needless- to- say I was not impressed and spent most of the walk squealing like a little girl. Pete thought it was hilarious. When I wasn’t battling the flies though, the walk was most enjoyable and serene. We decided on a short walk, the bigger ones being twenty kilometres, and ended up walking through Sendero Interpretivo El Tepual, which took us through fallen trees and moss covered walk ways. Apparently because of the constant water in the soil, the trees ultimately rot in the earth and fall over, leaving a floor covering of wood pulp, which allows other vegetation grew on top of it. It really was different.
We then walked in the opposite direction towards the beach. It was a bit of a hike to get there, and once there the wind was blowing so hard that we were instantly covered in cold black sand and began to freeze. We did the sensible thing and turned around and went to a warm café. Along the way we said hello to some cows in between our dance with the monstrous flies.
On the Sunday we took another bus to the small town of Chonchi, were we were planning to take a ferry over to one of the many islands that dot the coast line of Chiloe. The night before we had gone out for dinner and had a little too much to drink, actually Pete was feeling a bit worst for wear in Chonchi and not happy with me ‘cause I wouldn’t let him sleep. We walked down to the port to find out where the ferry left from, only to discover it leaves from a different port, five kilometres away. The tourist information people in Castro really need to lift their game, we didn’t sign up for a marathon. We had a look at what Chonchi had to offer instead, which was a small smelly beach littered with evil looking dogs, a market, and, the coolest local man that had little shop with a display of accordions to look at, old and new. He even gave us a demonstration. Gosh he was good. So we bought one of his CD’s. That afternoon we packed our bags and planned to head back to Ancud the next day much to Pete’s displeasure.
Monday we were up early to catch a two hour bus back up to Ancud to finally see the museum I wanted to see before leaving the island. But I’ll save that adventure for the next entry. xxx
written by  Pete+Rochelle on January 21, 2011 from Castro, Chile

Our big adventure!
Ancud, Chile
Monday 17th Jan
We left Castro early so we could get to Ancud before eleven that morning. We went back to Mirta and Peter’s hostel and were greeted with smiles, hugs and kisses. “You are home! Welcome home!” said Mirta as she showed us to the same plain room that we where stuffed in previously. This was much to our disappointment as our bed sagged in the middle which made us uncomfortably rendezvous in its sinkhole in the middle of the night. We dropped off our stuff, and armed with the mud map Peter (the host) had drawn up for us and our raincoats, jackets as the weather looked bleak, we were off on our little adventure.
We had to walk into town to catch a bus. On our page of instructions from Peter were the names of the different buses that could take us to our out-of-the-way destination. I asked a man what time the bus was, and he told us that we had about an hour to wait. We sat on a plank of wood that doubled as a seat and a luggage storage unit that was located at the bus stop/back entrance to the adjoined supermarket and waited. The man in the know tried to have a conversation with me in Spanish which is always amusing which seemed to passed the time. We finally got on a little bus, filled with locals and asked the driver to let us know when to get off. Well, in all honesty I asked and he nodded , so we did what we normally do which was to pray and hope for the best mutual understanding there was or wasn’t.
Awhile later I spotted the name of the town that we wanted and waited for recognition from the driver. Just as I was getting a little worried he looked at me in the rear vision mirror and nodded, indicating for us to jump out. It was a miracle! He let us off at exactly the right place, just outside the museum. Okay perhaps miracle is too strong a term. In reality I suspect that he was just used to dropping the Gringos off in strange locations.
The wind was blowing a gale and the sky was grey, so we were forced to put on our layers and walk down a long driveway to get to the house/museum. This place was in the middle of no where. As we walked a man on horse back came past taking two cows to a paddock next to us. It was eerily quiet, with the only noises to be heard were Pete’s offers of “This is fucked, this museum belongs in a fucking museum man”, and the more welcoming, melodious tones of several song birds in the distance.
We arrived at a gate to a house that had all sorts of bones and old machinery in the yard. We thought this had to be the place and as we were reaching the front of a shed, a man came out of the house next to it. I asked him how much and he mumbled something at us. I gave him some money which he seemed happy with. Of course we didn’t receive change. This type of transaction is typical to nearly all South American countries, in fact, it would be fair to say- receiving change is like a Bolivian taking a holiday- it never happens.
We walked into the shed which was the museum and were greeted with old typewriters, bits of glass, crockery, badly stuffed animals, miscellaneous animal remains, shells, starfish and old coins. This place was the size of a one car garage, so it didn’t take us very long at all to look around and feel bemused. We finished off our look outside, in the yard, with a whale skeleton and some chickens. We even saw some pigs running past us up the path! Looking around the museum took us less time then it did to arrive there on the bus. Pete was not impressed with a look that could only be interpreted as ‘I told you so‘. The only thing to do was to take the long walk back to the town that we had passed, to wait for the bus, unfortunately the next one was two and a half hours away. I tried to sweeten the deal for Pete with the promise of a warm restaurant with hot chocolate when we got there.
Pete's loving it!!
We started the walk, and as we did the weather turned nasty. There was a strong wind coming off the adjacent lake and a light rain to boot. It was cold and grey and so desolate. I was actually quite enjoying the walk, we would occasionally be passed by cars, and trudged passed a couple of tents, but besides that there was nothing else to see. With the ominous weather it really made me feel that we were on an adventure. I think this pissed Pete off even more- joyfulness in the face of tedious discomfort. We finally made it to the town, only to discover it was the smallest town ever imagined, and the only two restaurants we passed didn’t make hot chocolate. One of them didn’t even have a menu, the waitress in a foul mood just started rattling off food items in Spanish so we didn’t stand a chance. We decided that instead of waiting the hour and a half that was left until the bus arrived, we would start walking in the direction of Ancud and try to hitch a ride; we had previous been assured by Mirta that this would be of no risk at all to our persons or our person’s personal possessions. We walked along the road and were passed by a couple of cars, then ended up being picked up by the most obliging car of all….a taxi! Not quite hitching-a-ride, but a lift all the same, and it cost the same as the bus.
We made it to Ancud and settled for hot soup as even there we couldn’t find hot chocolate. Pete was happy to be there, but happier knowing that we were leaving the next day. At least I got to see the museum, and yes, okay, cough, Pete was right, it was pretty much literally rubbish, but a day we will remember all the same.
Us with Pete and Mirta
The next morning we said goodbye to our new Chiloen family and goodbye to the quaint, sometimes charming, yet sleepy, very sleepy, oh so sleepy izzzzzzzzzzland.
written by  Pete+Rochelle on January 26, 2011 from Ancud, Chile

Too much beer?
Puerto Varas, Chile
Tuesday 18th- Saturday 22nd Jan
A four hour bus ride from Chileo will get you to the lake side holiday town of Puerto Varas, only half an hour above Puerto Montt, but a whole lot more picturesque. We made it to our hostel, which had been lovingly pre-booked for us by Mirta in Ancud. This hostel needs to be seen to be believed. It was an old, slanted, house with a zillion dusty rooms in the spurting vein of Stephen King’s the Shining! We were given one of the less creepy lodgings that owned a particularly mysterious model of sinkhole beds, with the sink only occupying one side of it. But shit it was cheap! We walked along the esplanade, found the information centre and a map, found the supermarket, got our supplies and called it a day.
We followed a ‘heritage’ walk around the town, which gave us a good look of Puerto Varas, it´s lovely catheral and took us past ye’olde German houses and any other old shite that the town’s maintainers thought to slap a ‘heritage’ sticker on to. We also had the privilege of watching a bitch on-heat being followed and harassed by about five other horny dogs. It was a little surreal, the dogs would gingerly walk down a street and in the middle of the road making cars stop and wait for the dogs to move. There were fights between the males and the female would get the shits and have a go at males that would be trying to mount her as she was walking. All this while avoiding being hit by on-coming traffic. Who said that us bitches can’t multi-task? I think it was the dizzying pinnacle of the Dog Game for us, and perhaps its strange end. We’ve not seen anything like it. Counting dogs is one thing, but being witness to pack rape is another charge.
That afternoon we went out for a beer before dinner. On the way to a pub we saw the exact same dogs again and had a laugh with a Brazilian family over it. They invited us to have a beer with them, next thing Pete was back at the hostel picking up his guitar and we were off to another bar to play music with them out the bar’s balcony. The Mum and Dad didn’t speak any English, but their son and his girlfriend did. All the guys played guitar and sang songs, with the dad even playing his original songs and music. We stayed out for a lot longer then we had thought we would and had a few more beers then intended, but made some new friends and have promised to visit when we go to Brazil. They were a great family and even though trying to have conversation could be funny at times it was interesting and a great night out.
Thursday.
We slept in and hung out in the morning. We were saving ourselves for the afternoon- The national beer festival had arrived in town!! After the night before we really weren’t in the mood for drinking beer, but, duty called and we had to do it. We walked to the tent that had been erected in the main square, and arrived to loud accordion filled music and the smell of hot-dogs. There were about fifteen different beer stalls selling lager and ales. One stall would be selling chocolate ale, the next coffee, one beer was even green! We had a look around and decided on the first beer to share, to ease into it. There were some pretty nice beers there, a couple not so good, but they went perfectly with a hot dog.
After a couple of different beers, we decided to go and try our luck at the Casino. It’s the biggest casino in the area and was either conveniently, or stupidly, right next to the beer tent. We had to pay to get in, something I’m not used to, but it gave a free Pisco Sours- yuck! We aren’t really fans, but I got one to sip on anyway and Pete tried his first (and last) Martini. We looked at the blackjack and roulette tables and decided on the ’safer’ bet of the pokies. We chose only the corniest and funniest to play. We bet $1000 pescos on at a time (about $2AUD) and proceeded to quickly lose about $10. Was the most boring time yet.
We met a funny little character on the way back to the beer tent, who seemed to be Pete’s best friend even though he was speaking slurred Spanish, and who though it would be a good idea to try and kiss me… a lot. We finally pulled him off Pete’s arm and went back to the tent, where there were even more people and the music still pumping. There were even kids running around in the tent, and none of the teenagers seemed to be trying to score a beer- that would never happen back home!! They would all be drunk!
Later on we went our for dinner at Dali restaurant. We had read in our Lonely planet book that it served tapas. Turned out they don’t, and we were the only people there, but we got a couple of starters to share and a bottle of wine which was fantastic. The chef came out to talk to us, and not only did she make all the food they serve (including the free little chilli chocolates at the end of our meal), but most of the jewellery and clothing in the little shop off the side of the restaurant as well. Very talented. So of course we had to purchase gifts from there. After finishing our second (!!!) bottle of wine in the coolest little wine bar they have in the building at around midnight we decided to call it a night. I pulled out the credit card to pay, and they didn’t have eftpos. Cash only, which we didn’t have. The waiter just told us to come and pay the next day!!! We gave him our names and the name of our hostel and I offered to leave my camera as security, but he said he didn’t need it. Fancy that! That wouldn’t happen round our parts either!
Friday
That morning we were feeling extremely sorry for ourselves. Don’t think we needed the second bottle of wine. I walked very slowly back to the restaurant to pay and take some photos, stopped in at the supermarket to get supplies and hopped straight back into bed. That was pretty much our day. I managed to get out of the bedroom later in the evening for a nice walk along the lake, and Pete managed later on with me to get pizza, then it was straight back to bed.
Saturday.
We were booked on an afternoon bus to take us to Valdivia, three hours up Chile. We decided to go to a museum in the morning that I had spotted on my walk the day before. It was a quirky little building, set up by a man of German descent and a wonderful artist who had small trinkets and antiques covering the small three level house. Where there wasn’t things of the old days there were his pictures, so many that some of them were even on the ceiling. After having a look there we headed back to the town centre for a hot chocolate before grabbing our stuff and hopping on the bus. Puerto Varas was a lovely little place, defiantly one that was pleasant on the eyes, ears, but not sure on the head when Beerfest is in town. It was our wettest town yet, with the most rainfall we have been witness to thus far, but that was still menial to what we have be seeing in Queensland! You can exchange sunshine for beer tents and bedridden hangovers quite easily so it seems.
written by  Pete+Rochelle on January 29, 2011 from Puerto Varas, Chile

Missed communication
Valdivia, Chile
Saturday 22nd- Tuesday 25th Jan
We arrived in Valdivia early afternoon and started our way into its central business district, which was of course to be near the ‘Plaza De Arms‘. Before we could leave the bus terminal we were approached by a lady who promised a room that was ‘comfortably affordable‘; well affordable until the point when she wrote down that the room was to be $60 Aus dollars, about $40 dollars above our budget. So we high-tailed it out of there.
We started walking down the street toward the centre again in slight desperation when from the ether a fashionably-bearded man in a vehicle pulled over. Okay, so he only poked at a brochure and slightly informed us that he had budget apartments available, but we had ‘tango nada’. He told us his apartments were even more affordable than the last hostal we presumed to be affordable, this time we believed the hype and the spanglish. We went along for the ride and were again sold on his proposition after seeing that own kitchen, bathroom and lounge was on offer. Even our pockets agreed.
Sunday.
Being Sunday and South America, everything was closed. Yet we decided to go for a small walk and have a look around the city. While we were walking towards the city’s centre we passed a small roadside market next to an old Spanish tower. The market was about old trinkets, pictures, coins and books. Pete picked up a couple of books. Exciting, intriguing non-fiction on the topics of: How To Develop Your: ESP, and a highly sexually-charged poetry book by John Updike. Oh, and a really cool Spanish comic book too.
The town centre was pretty boring, with the only attractions being a shopping centre and buildings that lined the streets which were covered in graffiti. We made it to the city’s waterfront where the Feria Fluvial (a big fish and veg market), takes place right on the edge of the river. It was quite smelly and full of life with people jostling and yelling out in order to selling their product. We spotted the resident sea-lions too! Valdivia is home to about four of them that get a feed from the off cuts of fish from the markets. These creatures are huge and very cool to watch swim or sun themselves behind the fish stalls. While in the vicinity we were approached numerous times to go on one of the many boats that took tours up the river, but we had decided earlier to go the next day.
We then walked over the bridge to take us to Isla Teja, an island nestled next to Valdivia, which features a wonderful national park, botanical garden, museums and historic buildings. We started riverside and visited Museo Historico y Arqueologico: two museums that is. The first exhibited the history of a German settler who documented a lot of ecological information, animal habits, plants matter and such. All the information about the guy was again written in Spanish so we didn’t really learn too much. The second museum was a beautiful heritage house that was once a home for the early German pioneers of the area. It fashioned its rooms with furnishing of community’s early history. The old furniture was gorgeous, with the antic wooden pieces to die for- a Saint Sebastian painting was also pinned to the wall. We then walked to the botanical gardens and had an afternoon nap under a canopy of trees lying on its soft, moss covered ground. It was peaceful and cool and ever so relaxing. Isla Teja was defiantly worth the look and it was after all, a wonderful day out.
Our mossy bed
Monday.
We had booked a four hour boat tour that afternoon. We sat on the deck of a very full boat and sweated under Chile’s hot sun, with the extra discomfort of a heat enticing life-jacket. After half an hour of waiting we finally left the port with the tour guide explaining the surroundings, drum-roll in Spainish, therefore three quarters of an hour rocking in the boat, we had absolutely no idea what the fuck was going on.
We do know however that we did stop at an old building a way up river to have afternoon tea. The guide came over to see us and coughed up some English, just a little less than the tour-guide had promised the day previous. Therefore we were finally aware that we were on a tour to visit an old house that was erected during the time of Germany’s first tryst with Chile’s coastline. Our new found awareness of what we landed ourselves in made Chile’s historical background even more intriguing.
The settlement was on the edge of a national park which we only got to see for a moment as by the time we had our afternoon tea there was only a half an hour before we had to go back to the boat. Exploring our surroundings was limited to keep it brief, making broken agreements the flavour of the day. What got us on the boat was the understanding that we could enjoy a leisurely walk in the scrub.
On the ride back to port we stopped at the very small village of Punucapa, to see the oldest church in Valdivia. It was beautifully painted, quaint and wooden on a great big paddock with the grandest tree we have seen. This thing was huge and so majestic. We walked around the church then went to do some tree hugging. With a tree like this hugging needed to be done.
We made it back to Valdivia and despite our overall disappointment that we had with sights and lack of action at this late stage, we were impressed with Valdivia and what it had to offer. Isla Teja and Valdiva’s waterfront was quiet pretty, and to be honest we understand that all complaints must fall- on- deaf- ears when the sun shines on holiday makers who moan too much; especially those who have had the comfort of spending lazy afternoons sleeping their lives away on soft beds of moss! Really, despite all our set-backs, who has a comeback for that?
written by  Pete+Rochelle on January 31, 2011 from Valdivia, Chile

Living with the crazies.
Concepcion, Chile
Tuesday 25th- Friday 28th January
We had movies that were in English on our bus-finally! This might not seem like something write home about, but let me tell you that normally they’re in Spanish with Spanish subtitles! Go figure. We were so happy being able to follow the movie’s plot that we ‘almost’ didn’t mind that it was the worst E-grade crap we have ever seen. They were so bad they became enjoyable.
Conception is a city still recovering from major earthquake damage when a 8.3 earthquake hit them last year. It is also a university town so it has limited accommodation, with most of the rooms in town going to the student contingent. We were a little worried about the fact that our Lonely Planet bible only had three places listed in which to stay. Two were in the same building. We some how remained optimistic and when we hopped in a cab at the bus station we asked to be dropped off at the central plaza, hoping our luck would be there. As it turned out our cab driver ended up asking us if we had somewhere to stay and offered to take us to look at a place he knew. Well the room ended up more than our budget would normally allow, but we decided on ignoring that for one night so we didn’t have to stress. I have to admit by this time I had had enough of the whole trying to organise finding somewhere to sleep and trying to understand what people were saying and just wanted to stop thinking for a while. We still had the fun job of trying to find where the other hostels were that would hopefully be cheaper and more kind to our pockets in the coming days. To cut a long, very boring story short, we walked up and down the street the hostels were supposedly on to find that none of them existed any more. Awesome!! Luckily we found the information centre with the most helpful English speaking guy who had a list of places to stay and even rung them to get prices for us, because at that stage I was loosing faith in having any pleasure staying in Conception rapidly and was ready to just pack my bags and leave in the morning. Oh, I should mention this was the second spot for the information centre also- the first one wasn’t there anymore either. We checked out a place that was dirt cheap. It was very basic, but it had everything we needed so we booked in for the next two nights.
With that settled, we went out for dinner and saw everybody drinking beer with something around the rim. A customer told us what it was and said we should try it. Which we did, and did we regret it! I can’t remember the name of it, but its beer with lemon juice and a salty, chilli flaked crust around the rim of the glass. It was terrible, see pictures for more proof.
Markets!
We spent the morning watching the Mighty Boosh and Peep Show, an English comedy series which is quite funny, before heading off to our new hostel. We were then off to a café that had Wi-Fi before Pete and I went our separate ways, him to play guitar, and me to check out the huge craft fair that was on. It was pretty big, but filled with the same things over and over again. I’m getting bored of the same thing in markets all the time. Pete likes this though, as I’m not as excited to go to all the markets now and I don’t want to buy everything in sight.
Our weird little friend
That night we went to one of the many uni pubs for a drink. We were not far off leaving when this guy, Nickolas, who spoke very basic english approached us and told us that he had a friend who was Australian who would be so happy to meet us. We said “okay, where is he?” His friend wasn’t at the pub, and had to go through a series of phone calls to track him down. In the mean time Nickolas and his friend decided to sit with us, his friend not really speaking english at all and Nickolas just saying the same thing over and over again. “I love my friend and you met him make him so happy.” After over an hour of us waiting to see what was going to happen thinking that we were on the verge of another misadventure, Nickolas told us we had to walk fifteen minutes in the direction away from our hostel as Paul was at a restaurant. How do you tell someone who doesn’t speak English that if their friend was so excited to meet us why didn’t he come here? We left with the false promise of calling this Paul guy the next day and counting our loses.
Concepcion University
We had been told the university was quiet impressive and went for a walk through the grounds to check it out. We weren’t disappointed. There were lush grass areas, statues, big murals and even little ponds where swans and students hung out and mutually contemplate how the uni survived the devastating earthquake without much damaged? Pete was very taken aback by it, especially since the rest of the city was nothing to look at.
We made our way to the most exciting looking thing ever-Plaza Jurasica. It was park that had big plastic dinosaurs through it. We saw it in the cab on the way into Conception, and were excited about going there. The dinosaurs were huge and you were allowed to climb over them and do poser photos. There only ended up being about five Dinos though much to our disappointment. Still, we took our photos and it was the first of its kind on our trip, which is always good!
I need to mention that by this stage we realised why our accommodation was so cheap (check out the kitchen shelving). Pete realised after channelling his ESP that the hostel was more like a hospice. No one there spoke a jot of English, but one spoke enough to let us know that one of ladies staying there was crazy! Loco. Alright! How to make us feel comfortable! Our only real solace was our padded room where we had a TV that was burry and fuzzy. Pete had the hugest sneezing fits from all the dust and we were woken up one morning with shouts and screams! You get what you pay for!! Friday morning we didn’t even have showers as the water was either scorching hot or freezing cold. We just woke up, packed up our stuff, and got out of there as fast as we could. Truly you have to go to really conceive Conception!
written by  Pete+Rochelle on February 2, 2011 from Concepcion, Chile

Sorry everyone!
Chillan, Chile
Hey! Sorry we haven't updated you all for a little while, we have had limited use of expensive and slow internet. We have a couple of entries left to do to finish off our South American adventure, once Pete has edited my spelling they will be up! Bear with us- its almost over! xx
written by  Pete+Rochelle on February 13, 2011 from Chillan, Chile

To boredom and beyond.
Chillan, Chile
Friday 28th-Sunday 30th
Have you ever been so disappointed by something, yet at the same time been so pleasantly surprised? This, people, was our experience in Chillan, a town so well known for absolutely nothing that even our friend Karim was surprised we were headed there. Here’s the thing though, our Lonely Planet bible told of a couple of small attractions that we thought were worth a look, so we took a chance on it. Once we were there we thought we had taken a wrong turn into Snores-Ville, yet we were soon to discover that that if you add a splash of good- humoured human nature to any tragic tale you’re more than likely to conjure a happy ending.
Check the chips that we got!
On its surface Chillan was a quiet, spread- out town, one and a half hours as the bus drones, inland from Concepcion. Graffiti and murals were abound, as were the car-part, bit-part stores. A place where we had a big lunch and four beers for only $17AUD. You will be also pleased to know that Chillan boasts cheap accommodation too, devoid of crazy folk!
Our first ramble we went on was to the information centre to find out about the places that interested us, which were: the great murals that ‘represented Chile’s cultural maturity‘, a huge weekend market, and beautiful waterfalls that were a bus ride away but rumoured to be well worth the discomfort.
The broken musuem
Our first disappointment was hearing that the building the murals were in was closed due to earthquake damage. Oh well, still things to do, we thought. After that knock back we asked about getting to the waterfalls, to which we were assured it was very easy to get to as buses left every half hour from the local transport station. Something for us to do after the markets the next day. At lunch we looked at a map and booklet on Chillan we got from the information centre and saw a museum that looked interesting. It had the word music in the description so of course Pete wanted to look. It was a few blocks away but we went for a walk in the scorching heat only to find that the building was not only closed, but completely destroyed from the earthquake the town had last year. Oh well, still more to do tomorrow, so we thought. We did go out for dinner at a great little buffet restaurant so at least our bellies were satisfied.
Saturday morning we headed to the markets. Rumour had it that they filled a whole city block and to be fair they were rather large looking. They were filled to the brim with the greatest amount of fruit and veg we had ever seen. The souvenirs took up a small fraction of the stalls, all of them pretty much selling the same tacky token trinkety thing. Not as we were anticipating, but the bananas tasted fan-tastic. We weren’t worried though, because we were off to see some waterfalls!
What were we thinking? That there was something to actually do in this part of the world? Well we were wrong again. We made it to the bus terminal around 11.30pm, only to find that the buses stopped going out there at 10.30! That’s right, so by now we were well and truly over it. Nothing had gone our way and we had seen jack-shit in two days, from a town that seemed to have a lot we were given little. To add insult to irritation, we couldn’t get back into the hostel. It was one of those places where you didn’t have a key to get in, you had to ring a buzzer and someone came to the door. That’s what’s supposed to happen anyway. We knocked and knocked and waited and yelled until finally someone from a hostel across the road came over with a key and let us in. Apparently the owners had gone out. How nice for them! Maybe they knew something we didn’t and had some thing to do!!
Disillusioned, we opted to go out for some afternoon drinks when we were invited into another room in the hostel by a bunch of Chilean guys who were in a band. We ended up spending the afternoon playing music with them and speaking very broken english. They were a lively, friendly bunch with big personalities and amazing musical talents that played traditional Chilean music. We received free cd’s and Pete even had them playing along to his music as well! Merrier from meeting the guys we headed off out for dinner where we ended up in a quiet restaurant that had wi-fi. It didn’t want to work on our computer so they gave us their computer to use. They also used the computer for translating so they could explain the menu to us. We were given free nibbles, our glass was never empty long and our waitress tried so hard to have conversations with us. Then, when we decided to leave after midnight, they offered us a ride home. The hospitality we received from this family which owned the restaurant, and the fact it was pretty much the first place where we had people go out-of- their- way for us was another bonus to our otherwise boring evening.
Pete and the band
We were quickly reminded of the situation we were in on arriving at our hostel. Upon pressing the buzzer to get in, yep you guessed it no one answered. After ten minutes and calling and knocking on the front door and it being about half past midnight on a dark street, we decided to go and harass the man across the road again. He didn’t come over to let us in this time, but called them the owners of our hostel, and five minutes later they showed up in a car, no apologies, tango nada. The worst part is being angry with someone who doesn’t speak your language. Whatever you say they just look at you and shrug. They could have at least told us where the party was.
Chillan. A funny little place where even the tumbleweeds grind to a holt. At least when we were mind numbingly bored we could always count on counting dogs.
Check out the dogs nose!
The church
written by  Pete+Rochelle on February 15, 2011 from Chillan, Chile

Goodbye South America
Santiago, Chile
Monday 31st Jan- Wed 2nd Feb.
So we have finally come to it- the end of our South American journey. Arriving in Santiago we again stayed with Karim and Gigi for our last couple of nights, did last minute shopping in the city. The real fun started when we had to pack our bags and after a lot of grunting and shoving, we did a lot better than we expected. We still had kilos to spare. We decided to end our big holiday in style with a tour of the local and internationally renown vineyard: Concha y Toro. Gigi brilliantly helped us with booking the tour and getting all the information for the metro and taxis, as the vineyard was situated a bit out of town.
The day was hot with not a cloud in the sky, perfect conditions to indulge in fine wine. The vineyard was so very grand. Our tour guide, Philippe explained that the big colonial building on the vineyard grounds was the ‘summer house’ of the founders. If this was their ‘summer house’ I would have liked to have seen the size of their other seasonal digs. The ‘summer house’, overlooked a beautiful park that occupied sheep, horses with its deliciously green grass, and the adjacent fields played host to giant trees that lined dusty well warn paths. Philippe informed us that we weren’t allow to enter any building as they were now used as offices so we couldn’t go inside for disturbing the workers.
The stunning grounds.
Purple grapes were abundant swinging on grapevines situated next to the house. Philippe told us the difference between growing green and purple grapes. He said the green grapes were grown down by the coastline more, as they loved the water and the winds and that the purple grapes needed really dry and still conditions, so inland protected by the Andes were their spot. Which explains why New Zealand makes a better white then a red; its simply not dry enough. The vineyard used a drip- feed- process to water the grapes. This technique made the vine think that from the lack of water in the soil it was on the verge of dying (a bit grim I know), so the vine put all its energy and nutrients into its fruit. From this process which really is the agricultural cousin to Chinese water-torture, you’re left with a rather small bunch of grapes due to the lack of water in the fruit, but one hell of an intense flavour. Their motto was quality over quantity when it came to their grapes, a sentiment that was to be trusted after we tasted their wine. After Philippe’s rehearsed speeches we were allowed our first glass, a wonderful blended chardonnay and Philippe showed us how to smell and taste the wine. He also topped our glasses up when we were finished. Good Philippe.
We were then shown the big cool rooms where the barrels of wine were kept, and the original cellar, which was over one hundred years old. This thing had been through major earthquakes and was still standing! We were told the story of their signature and original wine, Ciaballer de Diablo, or The Cellar of the Devil. On creating his signature drop, legend has it, he stored it in the cellar for safe keeping. In a short while he then began noticing that barrels were mysteriously disappearing, so to stop the theft he started a rumour that the devil lived in his cellar! Strangely everyone believed the tale and not another barrel was taken! Who needs CTV when you have superstitious Catholics I say. We were afforded another top-notch wine, a Cabernet Sauvignon. A bit too intense for me but Pete was satisfied.
Can you make out the devil at the end?
We finished off our day with lunch and more wine in the restaurant and was serenaded by three American singers that we had met on the tour who sang on various cruise ships. They sang ‘Danny Boy’, which was quite surreal considering our surrounding I thought, but they sang beautifully.
It was a very long trip back to Karim’s with our heads full of wine, our condition providing the only cure for to suffer Santiago’s simmering- hot, jam-packed metro cars-sleep
Little Renzo!
It was a perfect ending to our stay in the great continent. Things had gotten a little unexciting towards the end, but Santiago came through for us. After a sad goodbye to Kairm and his family (who, by the way have one of the cutest babies ever!) we were on our way to a thirteen and a half hour plane ride with english movies (yes!!) and losing a day to time difference. We were ready for english speaking people, cooler weather and my Mum's cooking in my home country of New Zealand. So we'll let you know how that one goes soon! Please excuse the speed of the blogs- internet availability was the reason for a while, now taking a holiday from our holiday is. We are almost at the end though, what a trip it has been!!
written by  Pete+Rochelle on February 18, 2011 from Santiago, Chile

Home sweet home
Auckland, New Zealand
Friday 4th- Sunday 13th Feb.
What would be the most exciting things about going home? Seeing all the family? Yes. Mums’ cooking? Of course yes. Receiving copious amounts of love from your nieces and embrassing your nephew? Defiantly yes. But the most exciting thing of all was ordering a cup of tea at the airport, in English! Complete bliss! Hearing someone say ‘sweet as’ also gave us a bit of a giggle.
The week was a very chilled out one. My Mum picked us up from the airport, drove us home, and we were greeted by the most amazing sight. Dozens of our photos from our trip all A4 size were covering the walls of our bedroom, going in the order of our trip. Mum had even carefully placed stickers on some of them. We weren’t expecting it and we stood there for ages just looking at our trip in big pictures in front of us. The great thing about it too was feeling excited and proud about our trip again. Our last couple of weeks in Chile hadn’t quiet gone to plan and we were feeling a bit flat about it all (as you may of guessed by the blog entries), so the pictures reminded us just how much we had done. So good on ya Mum!
Mum & Matt the cook!
My sister Tanya and her partner Karl put in the most brilliant welcome home breakfast of: sausages, bacon, eggs, tomato, mushroom, baked beans, spaghetti and much to Pete's delight- HP sauce. Thanks Sis! On the Saturday we had the ‘annual bbq’- so I could catch up with my old kiwi friends and their babies (ladies be warned- I think there is something in the water in Auckland, babies everywhere!).
The girls with a kiwi singer
On Sunday the girls and I also checked out a free music concert in the park that the council puts on every summer. A great excuse to sit on a blanket, eating icecream, listening to kiwi music with our friends Chris and Michelle and their two boys. Pete took this opportunity to stay have the house to himself and watch movies in silence. Our umbilical cord was finally broken!
Madison & Jayde
Brodie
We spent the week chilling out with the family, seeing my Grandad, catching up with friends and meeting avid blog fans (Hi Yvonne!). We spent a day at Auckland Museum with Madison, Jayde and Brodie, my nieces and nephew and Mum took us to a second hand shop so we could buy some new cheap clothes. How nice it was to get rid of the tops I had worn for four months to Tanya and wear something different!
Tanya & Karl
Our big excitement for the week was going to Tree Adventures. It’s a place where there is a series of courses that are erected between trees and you have to go over the obstacles to make it to the flying fox at the end of each course that gets you back on the ground. We were harnessed in at all times, starting low to the ground on the first course, ending up about eighteen metres above the ground on course nine. Pete had to stop on the fourth one- his height was restricting his movements with the safety wire and he hurt his arm, so he was on camera duty. Jayde and Madison made it to the highest course for them, course eight, even doing some of the courses twice. For ten year olds they were amazing, and every time I freaked out I looked at them swinging between trees up high and thought myself silly. It was a little scary, hard work, but great fun. My body hurt the next day, but it was worth it.
Gorgeous little Sabina
It was great as always to be in my home country with my family and for once it didn’t rain! We are now back in Australia, catching up with Pete's family in Mackay, getting to know his little nine month old niece Sabina and trying to get used to the heat while enjoying his Mums cooking. Its back to the real world for us, thinking about where we are going to live and getting jobs, all that fun stuff. What we do know is that we have had the trip of a lifetime, one that will keep us going for a while, and give us fuel for our next one. We saw some awe-inspiring sights, met some wonderful people and got to play with monkeys!! Defiantly a highlight.
So this will be the end of this blog. We hope that you have enjoyed our adventures, laughed at our misadventures as we have. We survived the Amazon, the Inca trail and most importantly, each other! Thank you for your comments and keeping up with us. So until the next trip, goodbye!!! xx Peter and Rochelle
written by  Pete+Rochelle on February 26, 2011 from Auckland, New Zealand

Roch, Chris, Montse, Pete, Ben, Lauren, Liz & Louise

Our guides

Pete's face says PAIN

Monkey magic!!

Super cool guys and our porters

The first sight

Made it!!!

Our tapas

The Cristo Blanco

The last supper

The view from our hostel

OUr homestay

There's Bolivia!!

Animal shell guitars

5430 meters above sea level!!

Check out the ice!!

Valley of the moon

Coca absenth

The church/womens prison!!

Dynamite!

95% miners alochol

Miners graves

Dust storm

Rochelle, Alex, Jordi, Maria, Gemma, Pete

Bolivian immigration

Border crossing

Pizza cone

Gigi and Karim

Chilean Chile dog

christmas breakfast

christmas day

Hairdryer barbequeing!

passed out on doggie snacks

A litre beer!

Andies in smog.

Count the dogs!! 1,2,3..

A picture in our room!

Killer hot dog.

from the supermarket

The saint to help catch fish!

Can anyone say annonymous?

Pete's sad face

Always a dick and balls somewhere!!

Pete's loving it!!

Us with Pete and Mirta

The beer tent

Upset because we didn't win.

A new friend that brought us beer!

Our mossy bed

Recycling in Chile!!

Markets!

Our weird little friend

Concepcion University

Check the chips that we got!

The broken musuem

Check out the dogs nose!

The church

Pete and the band

Little Renzo!

Check how they keep the drinks cold.

The stunning grounds.

Can you make out the devil at the end?

Matt & Meera

Karl & Chris

Rochelle, Andrea & Flynn

Mum & Matt the cook!

Chris & Brendan

Michelle

Alison

Gina, Maddy & Jayde

Chris and Sam

The girls with a kiwi singer

Tan & Karl

Chris & Leo

Jayde

Madison

Madison & Jayde

Maddies Bieber love

Brodie

Tanya & Karl

Gorgeous little Sabina

Dixon, our guide

Cooked Piranha

Nathan Street, main road down Kowloon

Hong Kong Island from the harbour

View from Victoria Peak

Aberdeen fishing village and surrounding city

Yuen Yuen Institute, one of the Temples

Small strip between houses in Fanling Walled Village

Sha Tau Kok, boundary town from Luk Keng Road

Luk Keng Village houses

Luk Keng Village, surrounding view

Sam Mun Tsai Fishing farm

Hong Kong Night lights

Us in Hong Kong

Washing hanging out the windows!!

Jo Mango playing at Union Chapel

Union Chapel Stained Glass

Pete in a red telephone box!!!

Pete & Big Ben

Horse back Police, Fulham

Roch, Bec, Pete, Sheree and Clare, Sat night drinks, Fulham

Big Ben and Westminster!!!

An amazing artist, Southbank

Graffiitti and tagging, skateboard area, Southbank

Skateboard area, Southbank

Sherees rocking horse!! Southbank walk

Roch and friend, southbank walk

Wooden sculpture, southbank walk

The Tate Modern Museum-too big to fit it all in!!

Afternoon drinks at the Tate Modern, overlooking St Pauls

St Pauls Cathedral and sky

The Globe

Pete doing Hamlet outside the Globe

The Anchor Pub, on the Southbank

Ruins of Winchester Palace

Southwark Cathedral, oldest Gothic Church

Watching the Posies at Relentless Garage, Angel & Islington

After having a pint at the pub I worked at about 8 years ago!! Kings Cross

Pete found a dingy live music and open mic nite venue. It looked great!! In Angel

The famous cock, where Roch had a great burger, Angel &Islington

More street and apartment living in the city

Get this-Condensed milk on toast- tastes like honey!!

Poeple living on top of each other

Butcher!! No fridges!!!

Bamboo scaffolding

Hong Kong City Lego replica

Hong Kong Island and historic boat

Tate modern museum

Thames river flood gates

London Bridge

Millinium Dome

Flood gate mechanics

Tower of London

Roch & Tower bridge

Pete at the Gluepot

Rochie's free Viking chips

Peel Castle

Castletown harbour

Steam train

St Michaels

Another of Peel castle

Our new German friends

Rochie & the sign!!

Bar inside hotel

The coolest bike

The icky urinals

House boat with letterbox!

need I title this one?

one of the little streets

the cute houses

in the main square

bikes in the main square

Angel of the north

Grandads place

Petes Mums place

It says- look up!!

Main shopping street Koln

Us and Maggies sister, Judith

The Don

The workers strike

The famous tower!!!

The Arc de triumph

Having the best crossiant in the world in Paris!!

The Hype of the Mona

our fireworks champagne

Camden markets

A Banksey in Camden

Sheree and Roch

Little Venice on Canal ride

Big house on the Canal

Us rugged up!

Church on the canal

Coming in to Camden

Camden market statue

Cyberdog at Camden markets

Pete & Liam

Ricky, Anna, Gemma & Rob

The biggest leave ever!!!!

Brick lane markets

Big bag of bones!

smoke in the sky

Peters fame

A room in the tower

Tower Castle

Tower castle

Traitors gate

Petes happiness in the rain!

A beef eater!!

The works at the tower

Grounds at the tower

check this armour

Little church in the tower

Early halloween surprise

tower castle

Pete & a hot dog!!

Romep & Juliet

Roch & a swan!

Pete tree loving

Ricky's little pad

Blue steel poses!!

A small door!!

A Shakespearean kitchen

Shakespears birthplace

Pete & Shakespear

Fishing on the Avon river

The Avon river

Church across the Avon

Shakespears church

Grounds at the church

Shakespears grave

Shakespears Batisim bowl

Shakespears Church

Housesat Straffoed-Upon-Avon

Street at Straffoed-Upon-Avon

our lovely afternoon tea

the sunset on the bus

Ree's puppy shakers

all the stuff in the restaurant!!!

Princess & the frog s&p shakers

Pete & boot s&p shakers

Little restaurant

Road kill cake

Disturbing cake

Roch eating toe cake

Bec & US

Sheree & Roch

Claire, Sheree & Roch

First glimpse of the city

Our little coffee shop

Grand Central train terminal

OUr little theatre

the flash McDonalds

ToysRus

A school

At Central park zoo

Check all the people!!!

Halloween parade

Halloween people

The New yeras ball

Worlds biggest button

Madison square garden

Empire state building

round pizza!!!!!

the bus tour

Matt Damons wedding office

Brooklyn bridge

NYC from sea

The statue!!!!

The statue!!

A school bus

Roch's big beer

Our small room

Driving Miss Daisy set

Roch & some NYPD Cops!!

Time square lights

BB Kings Blues club

The blues club

Our new friend

All the rubbish!

Our Halloween attempt

How they park their cars

The High line

From the High line

You can just see the train tracks

The high line from the ground

Us at Central park!!

Central park

A squirrel!!!

The most expensice, worst adaptor EVER!!!

The Dakota Building

Inca Gold, the peruvian fizzy