tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9080157001720898484Thu, 10 Dec 2009 08:15:30 +0000An impromptu five-month stint in Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Brasil and Colombia.http://peru.liztay.net/liz.tay@gmail.com (liz)Blogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9080157001720898484.post-2861089571077003751Sun, 28 Oct 2007 02:35:00 +00002007-10-28T01:44:45.312-03:00On our third night aboard the M. Montiero, I came down with a fever. My wildly swinging temperature demands coupled with the multitude of insect bites all over my legs led Jim to suspect malaria. The next morning, a far more likely culprit was found: the rather dubious mince that was served at dinner.Of the nine gringos aboard the ship, two others suffered the same food poisoning symptoms as I. http://peru.liztay.net/2007/10/cant-stop-here-its-bat-country.htmlliz.tay@gmail.com (liz)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9080157001720898484.post-6786458386509731485Mon, 22 Oct 2007 16:30:00 +00002007-10-28T01:34:49.802-03:00Gathering all our willpower about us, Jim and I finally left Rio de Janeiro on the afternoon of October 15th. A six-hour-long bus ride took us to Sao Paulo, where we spent two nights in one of the city's best neighbourhoods, Jardim Paulista.We stayed at the unimaginatively named "Pousada & Hostel Sao Paulo", which although relaxed and welcoming, was located a little too far from the city centre, http://peru.liztay.net/2007/10/gently-down-stream.htmlliz.tay@gmail.com (liz)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9080157001720898484.post-1818676050603462279Sun, 14 Oct 2007 16:22:00 +00002007-10-28T01:30:24.293-03:00While at a nightclub in Rio de Janeiro, I met an Australian expatriate and his Brasilian best friend who had found each other through the surf. Perhaps what they say is true, and the beach culture that is so prevalent in Rio is largely universal.In any case, Rio de Janeiro is a city that reminds me much of home. We're staying at the very friendly "Stone of a Beach" hostel by Copacabana beach; a http://peru.liztay.net/2007/10/copa-de-vida.htmlliz.tay@gmail.com (liz)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9080157001720898484.post-6257881671566153015Sat, 06 Oct 2007 16:18:00 +00002007-10-28T01:22:04.747-03:00We had some initial trouble in finding a hostel with vacancies on our return to Buenos Aires, but eventually found a spot in the very good Portal del Sur hostel. After a week away in the snow and with much more travel planned, our time back in Buenos Aires was spent desperately savouring our last few big city Argentinean meals. Springtime Buenos Aires had transformed, in our absence, from a http://peru.liztay.net/2007/10/onwards-to-brasil.htmlliz.tay@gmail.com (liz)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9080157001720898484.post-7633707708841957513Sat, 29 Sep 2007 16:14:00 +00002007-10-28T01:17:36.231-03:00On Saturday, September 22, Jim and I finally left the comforts of Buenos Aires for a week on the snowy slopes of Cerro Catedral, Bariloche. We each paid US$1000 for the week through a Buenos Aires travel agent, and were very pleased with our package which included ski passes, return air tickets from Buenos Aires, and accommodation at Village Catedral, which I found to be the perfect ski resort athttp://peru.liztay.net/2007/09/snowploughing-for-fun-and-glory.htmlliz.tay@gmail.com (liz)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9080157001720898484.post-1653930071634733168Sat, 22 Sep 2007 15:57:00 +00002007-10-28T01:13:37.810-03:00With an excellent exchange rate and a smogasbord of places able and willing to accept foreign spending, our days in Buenos Aires were spent living in excess. Numerous trips were made out to the Casino Flotante at Puerto Maderno. More numerous yet were visits to our local mall, Abasto, which housed shops, a Hoyts cinema, and an indoor theme park named Neverland.A few days were spent wandering the http://peru.liztay.net/2007/09/porteno-life.htmlliz.tay@gmail.com (liz)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9080157001720898484.post-9096319973263922628Sat, 08 Sep 2007 21:47:00 +00002007-10-28T01:17:54.906-03:00Not long after we had settled into our Buenos Aires apartment (read - I had my belongings suitably strewn everywhere), I found paradise: Abasto. My little pocket of capitalist glory amidst the third world, in the form of a five-storey, air-conditioned shopping mall.Then again, it's not like the rest of the city even appears to be a part of the third world in any way, shape, or form. The city is http://peru.liztay.net/2007/09/what-it-feels-like-for-girl.htmlliz.tay@gmail.com (liz)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9080157001720898484.post-6633649170381544861Sat, 25 Aug 2007 21:37:00 +00002007-10-03T18:50:14.881-03:00The 40-hour bus journey from Santa Cruz, Bolivia to Buenos Aires, Argentina was a lot less painful than I had expected. The previous, very lazy week in Santa Cruz could well have eased the journey, having provided excellent training for remaining seated with nothing but sleep, movies, conversation and snacks as entertainment.Of course, there were a fair few annoyances on the bus that took some http://peru.liztay.net/2007/08/road-to-perdition.htmlliz.tay@gmail.com (liz)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9080157001720898484.post-5395547523430296764Sat, 18 Aug 2007 12:27:00 +00002007-09-28T10:34:57.047-03:00An undulating sea of sand stretches into the horizon. Devoid of colour, motion, and sound, the landscape is like a canvas not yet touched by the artist's brush. Sitting cross-legged atop a sand dune in the heart Santa Cruz de la Sierra's national park, it was as if I had entered limbo.Santa Cruz is an south-eastern Bolivian city that is 13 hours by road, or one hour by air, from the country's http://peru.liztay.net/2007/08/sunshine-lollipops-and-blue-skies.htmlliz.tay@gmail.com (liz)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9080157001720898484.post-7888925370317888087Sat, 11 Aug 2007 16:08:00 +00002007-09-25T13:12:01.713-03:00The bittersweet tang of freedom mixes all too well with loneliness. I couldn't help feeling at a loss as I finally awoke to an activity, and authority, -free Sunday. The next three days were spent chilling and regrouping in Cusco, with much sleep, magnificent dinners, and unhurried conversations over glasses of wine.It felt amazing to relieve myself of all unnecessary baggage at the local post http://peru.liztay.net/2007/08/brave-new-world.htmlliz.tay@gmail.com (liz)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9080157001720898484.post-7460986979515531708Sat, 04 Aug 2007 16:01:00 +00002007-09-25T13:07:42.419-03:00We kicked off our final week of the project with another Sunday morning visit to Casa de la Gringa's shaman, this time with Bill and Nikki in tow. While still entertaining, however, the new revelations of Saint Peter were not quite as breathtakingly awesome as the first visit for Joel, Jim and I. Worse yet was our late return to Cusco's city centre, which spelled trouble for making it back to http://peru.liztay.net/2007/08/farewell-to-you-my-friends.htmlliz.tay@gmail.com (liz)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9080157001720898484.post-7948541916152067161Sat, 28 Jul 2007 13:09:00 +00002007-09-14T11:04:58.625-03:00Our return to the regimented working week was marked by the addition of three new arrivals: Polly, Kitty and Rachel. Their introduction to digging brought the camp some excitement, with us old hats simultaneously working, singing and dancing to a Queen medley.However, our high spirits were not to last. Spreading illnesses and general lethargy made for a steep decline in motivation. I had hardly http://peru.liztay.net/2007/07/anger-is-gift.htmlliz.tay@gmail.com (liz)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9080157001720898484.post-2463945093212732175Mon, 23 Jul 2007 05:43:00 +00002007-09-13T15:19:28.093-03:00Suffered through a rather painful bus ride to the Manu National Park, which lies at the edge of the Amazon rainforest. Slept through a bulk of the stops, awaking only for lunch and to arrive at our rather basic jungle lodge. Far from my expectations of a relaxing mid-project break, there were no en suites, and no electricity except from the hours of 6 - 9pm.Struggled to get to sleep after the http://peru.liztay.net/2007/09/in-jungle.htmlliz.tay@gmail.com (liz)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9080157001720898484.post-620045301704404340Thu, 19 Jul 2007 02:51:00 +00002007-09-13T15:30:37.549-03:00I awoke with a combination of excitement, dread and sleepiness on Sunday morning, as a group of us volunteers headed out to the Sacred Valley for an attempt at paragliding. Take-offs were organised by passenger size, from smallest to largest person, which meant that I had to endure watching a fair few of the other girls getting strapped into the flimsy-looking contraption and run right off a http://peru.liztay.net/2007/07/say-my-name-say-my-name.htmlliz.tay@gmail.com (liz)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9080157001720898484.post-4000230099082774015Sun, 15 Jul 2007 00:48:00 +00002007-09-13T14:41:56.901-03:00A Sunday of waiting preceeded yet another week at Umanes. Had great intentions of calling home for my mom's 53rd birthday, but a lack of technology would have meant a 50 minute walk to the nearest public phone in the town of Chincherro, and a terribly difficult day of digging had me crying for sleep by lunchtime.Sarah, a co-volunteer, has aptly described our living conditions as "Big Brother"-http://peru.liztay.net/2007/07/can-you-take-me-higher.htmlliz.tay@gmail.com (liz)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9080157001720898484.post-5617054415245808480Tue, 10 Jul 2007 00:44:00 +00002007-08-25T21:48:26.583-03:00A late night on the town gave cause for us three to completely miss our 4am wake-up call, and consequently be forced to a five minute pack-and-go upon the 4.45am arrival of our airport transfer. Checked into our flight grumpily, and remained so until arriving at the Loki hostel and enjoying a nice, long nap.Met our fellow volunteers as they trickled into our 10-person dorm from various parts of http://peru.liztay.net/2007/08/sleepless-beginnings.htmlliz.tay@gmail.com (liz)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9080157001720898484.post-736903738790570905Tue, 03 Jul 2007 01:25:00 +00002007-08-25T21:47:31.653-03:00Yet another uncomfortably long bus ride took us across the international border between Peru and Bolivia, where Joel, Jim and I were oddly the only persons to be randomly searched for drugs and fake currency. Predictably, much bantering as to which of us most resembled a hippy drug addict ensued.Cobblestoned streets greeted us in the sprawling Bolivian capital of La Paz, making for a rather http://peru.liztay.net/2007/07/we-like-to-party.htmlliz.tay@gmail.com (liz)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9080157001720898484.post-1489816966398268036Wed, 27 Jun 2007 15:09:00 +00002007-08-22T14:01:32.954-03:00The much heralded festival of Inti Raymi came and went as we bypassed the crowded, tourist-ridden street festivals of Cusco to pander to our liquid needs.In fact, a bulk of our time during those three very lazy days succeeding the Inca Trail was spent either relaxing by the TV in our very comfortable rooms at the Hostal Tika Wasi, or exploring the culinary delights of the city. Our quest for foodhttp://peru.liztay.net/2007/06/lake-titicaca-oh-lake-titicaca.htmlliz.tay@gmail.com (liz)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9080157001720898484.post-4275457687473129287Sun, 24 Jun 2007 01:36:00 +00002007-07-03T00:03:39.608-03:00It was a torturously mountainous 40-or-so kilometres of the Inca Trail, but with those four long days of sleeplessness, rage, vomiting, and unexpected need for pants now over and done with, the experience was definitely one to remember.Our odyssey began early in the morning of Tuesday, June 19th with a day tour of Urubamba Valley, which is also commonly known as the Sacred Valley. With two new http://peru.liztay.net/2007/06/are-you-ready-boots.htmlliz.tay@gmail.com (liz)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9080157001720898484.post-7164632421960042857Tue, 19 Jun 2007 01:05:00 +00002007-06-25T22:42:01.125-03:00An early morning trip to Condor Cross proved to be a precursor of some overcrowded mountain walks to come. We steered clear of the tourist-ridden summit and stood guard at a less claustrophobic lookout, which afforded us views all the same of a couple of lazy condors starting their day. Condors were pretty, but not quite as impressively large as I'd hoped - a fact that perhaps could have been http://peru.liztay.net/2007/06/march-of-pigs.htmlliz.tay@gmail.com (liz)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9080157001720898484.post-3317451115068050832Sun, 17 Jun 2007 00:59:00 +00002007-06-25T15:34:37.317-03:00As previously mentioned, the beautiful city of Arequipa was made more beautiful yet by our resort, where my two roommates, Katie and Ellie, kindly granted me my own floor in a tri-storey triple room. Chilled by the resort pool and got my tan on all morning, before hitting the town for a very good meal (stew and potatoes rock!), and a visit to the Museo Santury.The latter is an odd, although http://peru.liztay.net/2007/06/bedtime-tragedy.htmlliz.tay@gmail.com (liz)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9080157001720898484.post-4639550751782374686Thu, 14 Jun 2007 23:45:00 +00002007-06-24T21:38:46.577-03:00A mid-day bus ride from Lima to Pisco took us past depressingly derelict slums, sand dunes, and general dry, dusty countryside. Our destination town is small, and frighteningly... local. There is a stark contrast between our hotel, on the "nice" two-or-so blocks of town, and the danger zone that surrounds. Upon alighting at our hotel, Ricardo ogave us free rein to explore, with the stern warning http://peru.liztay.net/2007/06/dancing-in-desert.htmlliz.tay@gmail.com (liz)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9080157001720898484.post-5779336124987976163Tue, 12 Jun 2007 00:23:00 +00002007-06-25T22:50:44.854-03:00Peru is a land of extremes. Dusty clifftops are contrasted with lush, subtropical greenery. In the cities, the most glorious colonial masterpieces are interspersed with dilapidated shop fronts, and rooves are either intricately designed, or not there at all.Our tour kicked off in Peru's capital, Lima, where our streetfront room at the Hotel Kamana afforded us views aplenty of run down, roofless http://peru.liztay.net/2007/06/tour-begins.htmlliz.tay@gmail.com (liz)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9080157001720898484.post-8456283825288031271Tue, 24 Apr 2007 17:02:00 +00002007-04-24T14:40:49.257-03:00Tickets purchased. Tours finalised. Injections (mostly) over and done with. Now it's just a matter of counting the days until we finally get to leave the working world behind.45 days to go.As things stand, Joel, Jim and I plan to embark on what Joel has dubbed our 'Perudent Adventure', involving a three week tour from Lima in Peru to La Paz in Bolivia, followed by a five week volunteer placement http://peru.liztay.net/2007/04/time-goes-by-so-slowly.htmlliz.tay@gmail.com (liz)6