TRAFFIC IN BOBOTA SPECIAL
Horns, tiny taxis, buses of all shapes and sizes, chaos, gridlock, mayhem, where to start. I have been fascinated with the traffic in Bogota.
A city of 8 million, double that of 20 years ago, no effective public transport system, I guess we should have expected what we experienced. However we could never have visualized it until we saw it.
There are no trains or trams, in Bogota and no bus ways as we know them, other than a couple of revolutionary new lines. The bulk of transport needs are met by small capacity buses 14 to 24 seats and taxis.
The minds eye image I will carry with me will be three lane roads with no markings and up to 5 vehicles abreast continually jostling for space and someone else’s territory.
Firstly the Taxis, thousands of small yellow cars everywhere either with passengers or cruising for the same. Predominantly Hyundai Getz or similar with a minority a little larger, seeking any available space equal to their width irrespective of the general lane formation, or lack of. Constantly honking to clear their way or to admonish another driver attempting to take theirs. Two speeds, stopped, the most prevalent, or flat out.
Apparently the government sponsors underprivileged people into the cabs to give them a means of income. Hyundai must be laughing all the way to the bank. The other night I had the fortune! to sit in the front seat of a Getz sized cab with 4 other passengers in the back seat including Michele, I jest not, as it weaved its way back and across three unmarked lanes through Bogota traffic at up to, an occasionally over 80k. Forget white water rafting or bungee jumping or jumping out of a plane with or without a parachute , this is the adrenalin thrill of a lifetime. I have always had a life expectation of 90, I have had to revise this back to 87. In less than 15 minutes I lost at least 3 years. The one really good aspect is the fares, probably less than single bus fares in Brisbane. I gather this is another Government ploy to keep private cars off the street.
Now the buses, possibly my favorite obsession. As noted above except on a couple of newly created routes 99.99% of Bogota is served by buses one up from a mini bus. The best way to describe them is a cut in half Brisbane bus, seating from 14 to 24-30 but carrying twice that many in peak hour. They are this size as nothing larger would be maneuverable enough to survive in the traffic. Many shapes, sizes, and styles, all multi coloured with a 700 x 700 sign in the front window telling you the major roads they service, their ultimate destination and their price. One size fits all the fare is the same no matter how far you travel, the only difference is the quality of the bus and the time of day, either 1100, 1200, or 1250 pesos say 60 cents with an extra 50 pesos after 7.00 pm. No formal bus stops, you just look for the right sign in the window and hail the driver who will then, with out indicating, head in the general direction of the kerb, from three lanes out, cutting off any body else. As there is an almost continuous train of buses, at any point in time several buses will be either going for or leaving the kerb
dodging other buses, taxis and private cars all with horns blazing. It’s a constant kaleidoscope of movement and noise. Absolute and continuous chaos and mayhem results with passengers alighting and getting off with the bus hardly stopping and never parallel to the kerb.
All this with apparently no policing whatsoever. Speed limits, traffic lights, any semblance of road rules totally ignored.
We were told the Bogota definition of a nano second, the time taken between the light turning green and the man in the car behind honking his horn. Horns are honked even in the most ridiculous circumstances, such as gridlock which in Peak hour is most of the time. A 10k trip can take up to an hour and a half in peak hour.
And all this with private car owners only allowed to use the roads in peak hour 2 days a week, although hell knows how this is policed. Total tidal flow is also employed from 4 to 7 in the evening on some made roads which make going in the direction of the city also all but impossible.
On two occasions we were forced to abandon cabs stymied by gridlock and walk to our destinations. Bogotarians seem to accept all this with a fateful resignation and I’m told the road toll is relatively low, possibly explainable by the low average speed grid lock allows! We saw only two relatively minor accidents.
Now for the open road, possibly an even more frightening experience. Our journeys were generally on the main road north, which to be fair will be duplicated over the next few years, but is currently mostly single lane each way.
There seem to be three challenges to drivers, attempt to do three times the speed limit, see how many vehicles you can pass on double lines, trucks get double points, and see how many other cars you can run off the road, with or without assistance from the horn. Every kilometer is filled with apprehension and excitement particularly if you are used to right hand drive and sit in the front passenger seat. The front floor in Hernando’s car must be worn thin by my attempts to brake. Much less stressful in the rear seat.
The narrowish nature, aligned with the average state of the roads, constant curves and hills, and the trucks and buses closer to the city, make any journey a trial and lengthy.
As in an earlier post a less than 200 k journeys will take 4 to 5 hours.
The saving grace for us was that we were chauffered by our host Hernando who must be Bogota’s number one driver. His weaving, hole-dodging, truck avoiding, and general skills are amazing.
If I ever want to be super rich I want one of three franchises in Bogota, either the Hyundai taxi business and I jest not I saw a dealer for Hunyadi taxis, the franchise for the curved black tarp covers that cover all trucks no matter what size, very few pantechs here, or be the man who supplies replacement parts for, and repairs, car horns.
The only other comment I can offer is that from our few hours there, Lima is worse in all respects particularly the state of the roads which are at best atrocious.
PS. Some of the apparent grammatical errors above are due to the key board which wont allow me to use most of upper case options in the number row, question marks, brackets etc, one of the hazards of travel and foreign language key boards!
Sunday, September 30, 2007
OUR LAST DAY IN BOGOTA
We started our day with a delightful breakfast at Myria’s sister Esperanzaand her husband Enriquo’s (I think that is how you spell his name ) beautiful apartment. We had a traditional breakfast with Tamal, which is corn meal cooked with other things like garlic, a small amount of meat and other things I cannot remember, all wrapped in banana leaves and cooked for some time, the whole dish takes around 5 hours to make, but the resultant taste is delightful. We also had little flat discs which were eggs coated in batter and about the size of a 50 cent piece. Homemade muffins and fruit juice and chocolate (hot) not cocoa but real drinking chocolate which comes in bars which are then heated and melted( beautiful), they usually melt special cheese in it as well. The fruit in Colombia is delightful and there is a wide variety all exotic fruit that we do not get, and when they are served as juice, they are beautiful. Myriam’s sister is just as hospitable as her sister, it was very nice to have another meal in the home of a local, it was very special for us to be invited to eat with them.
We then went to a fruit market., I have never seen so many different types and varieties of fruit in one place at once, we tasted some of them and one of the sellers gave us a fruit tea drink. Our hosts did some shopping which we dropped home to their place and then we hit the shops. Bought a couple of things, then back to Myriam & Hernandos for lunch. This was a special soup with corn, chicken and other delightful things which was served with avocado, which was served sliced into the soup, then we had a dessert which was a cheese served with caramel sauce.
We had a rest after that and did a bit of blogging and getting ready for that nights gastronomic delights at yet another restaurant well known in Bogota. It was the restaurant of a musicians brother, and he was a muso as well. The food was once again brilliant and then they played some latin music and people danced and sang along with the music, the atmosphere was really exciting. It was a great day for our last day in Colombia. We got home latish, finished our packing as we had an early start next morning, as we set off for Quito our next stop before heading for Le Cocoa where we head down the Napo river and our canoe trip.
We went to so many places that we had trouble remembering what they were all called, in hind sight we should have taken down the names of all the places so we could have put them in this blog which is a sort of diary.
I am having a bit of trouble typing as my ring finger and little finger on my right hand are still swollen and black and typing with them is a bit of a trial. I hope they are better by the time I get back and that I don’t have any permanent damage. Oh well.
Generally we are having a great time, even though we were told that lots of places in Sth America are dangerous, we haven’t at any time felt threatened, but we do take care, and of course we do stand out a bit. One of the locals told us not only are we white, but we are tall. It is amazing that so many people speak ‘Inglis’. This country is different to any place we have seen before, it is really beautiful, picturesque and unique.
Well will sign off, anyone who reads this is welcome to make comments, we look forward to reading every day to see of anyone has made comments. For the Colombians who may read this, I hope I have got all the things I have said correct, apologies if I offend.
We started our day with a delightful breakfast at Myria’s sister Esperanzaand her husband Enriquo’s (I think that is how you spell his name ) beautiful apartment. We had a traditional breakfast with Tamal, which is corn meal cooked with other things like garlic, a small amount of meat and other things I cannot remember, all wrapped in banana leaves and cooked for some time, the whole dish takes around 5 hours to make, but the resultant taste is delightful. We also had little flat discs which were eggs coated in batter and about the size of a 50 cent piece. Homemade muffins and fruit juice and chocolate (hot) not cocoa but real drinking chocolate which comes in bars which are then heated and melted( beautiful), they usually melt special cheese in it as well. The fruit in Colombia is delightful and there is a wide variety all exotic fruit that we do not get, and when they are served as juice, they are beautiful. Myriam’s sister is just as hospitable as her sister, it was very nice to have another meal in the home of a local, it was very special for us to be invited to eat with them.
We then went to a fruit market., I have never seen so many different types and varieties of fruit in one place at once, we tasted some of them and one of the sellers gave us a fruit tea drink. Our hosts did some shopping which we dropped home to their place and then we hit the shops. Bought a couple of things, then back to Myriam & Hernandos for lunch. This was a special soup with corn, chicken and other delightful things which was served with avocado, which was served sliced into the soup, then we had a dessert which was a cheese served with caramel sauce.
We had a rest after that and did a bit of blogging and getting ready for that nights gastronomic delights at yet another restaurant well known in Bogota. It was the restaurant of a musicians brother, and he was a muso as well. The food was once again brilliant and then they played some latin music and people danced and sang along with the music, the atmosphere was really exciting. It was a great day for our last day in Colombia. We got home latish, finished our packing as we had an early start next morning, as we set off for Quito our next stop before heading for Le Cocoa where we head down the Napo river and our canoe trip.
We went to so many places that we had trouble remembering what they were all called, in hind sight we should have taken down the names of all the places so we could have put them in this blog which is a sort of diary.
I am having a bit of trouble typing as my ring finger and little finger on my right hand are still swollen and black and typing with them is a bit of a trial. I hope they are better by the time I get back and that I don’t have any permanent damage. Oh well.
Generally we are having a great time, even though we were told that lots of places in Sth America are dangerous, we haven’t at any time felt threatened, but we do take care, and of course we do stand out a bit. One of the locals told us not only are we white, but we are tall. It is amazing that so many people speak ‘Inglis’. This country is different to any place we have seen before, it is really beautiful, picturesque and unique.
Well will sign off, anyone who reads this is welcome to make comments, we look forward to reading every day to see of anyone has made comments. For the Colombians who may read this, I hope I have got all the things I have said correct, apologies if I offend.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Michele had yesterdays go as I was too embarrassed and anyway I have to let her have a shot at me sometimes!
Wednesday after an easy start we went north to the Cathedral of Zipaquira or the Salt Cathedral, truly amazing a Cathedral cut out of solid salt 60 meters underground, 25 metres high and 80 or so metres long with a huge cross at the end. Its not just the Cathedral itself but the various stations of the cross and other chapels no the way down a sloping tunnel and around the main hall. There is also a reception/conference hall beside the Cathedral. Unfortunately the walls etc are black (the natural colour for salt before it absorbs water) so photos a problem. Brett you were right well worth the visit, Michel was particularly taken with it.
Lunch followed in restaurant in a Spanish style Casa with the traditional courtyard, beside a lake in a town (can´t remember the name) which was totally rebuilt when the lake was created (to supply water to towns and cities north of Bogota).
The country side was not dissimilar to country side world over except that the architectural style is local with Spanish and Indian influences. Many of the houses are in the throes of additions and it is apparent that many will take a long time. It is common if not prevalent, for the houses to be in this state both in the poorer parts of Bogota itself and in the country side. Brick (solid and most often super brick style) is almost totally the medium used and on a later trip we came across a whole valley of brick works with Kilns fired up varying in size from one or two small hand brick kilns to larger brick works similar to our circa 1960. Apparently suppliers buy up from all the small brick works and then retail out. I also gather that other than medium rise permits and regulations are rarely obtained or recognised.
I will right a special entry on my fascination with Bogota traffic, suffice to say that the return trip was interesting and there was almost total gridlock well outside the city.
Another taste of Colombian food for dinner, Michele is really enjoying the varieties of fruit available to the extent that a trip to a fruit and veggie market was undertaken on Friday (but that is getting ahead).
A full on day and to bed tired but excited and a 7.00 o’clock start in the morning.
Keeping going, an early start Thursday as out target was some 4 hours away and also because it presented an opportunity for us to experience a traditional breakfast on the road. More exotic tastes and textures, we have concluded that Colombian life revolves around food with up to 4 meals a day and this does not include the nibbles and tastes that continually present as you walk around. I struggle to keep up.
On route to the days highlight, just before Tunja we stopped off at a memorial of the battle of independence, marking the battle of Boyaca where the Spanish were denied at a small, in fact very small bridge, no more that 1.5 m wide and 15 m long. I might not have the story correct but a 15 year old boy may have stopped a Spanish general from fleeing. There is an impressive monument to Simon Bolivar here although I understand he was not present for this particular battle.
On through Tunja (for a brief time the Capital of Colombia to the historic town of Villa de Leyva, historic as a town where several significant prominent figures in the independence movement lived round the turn of the 18th century and also because it is w well preserved town of that vintage. As with all Spanish towns the central focus is the main square with the church and administrative buildings on two sides. At Villa de Leyva the roads in the old core are all cobbled as is the whole square which must be over an acre in size. All the houses are whitewashed and many have beautiful balconies and gardens (and a lot both). We walked up a steepish hill to a beautiful Spanish style hotel which over looked the town, a great place for a rest and a beer. Back down the hill passed the market square with Aussie bottle brush trees (I am amazed at the amount of Aussie flora, particularly eucalyptus in and around Bogota. I gather there has been a concerted effort to grow these for timber with the predominant variety what I think are Tassie Blues).
Interestingly as V de L is in the valley to the west of Bogota and considerably lower in elevation the countryside was warmer, drier and harsher and certainly not a fertile.
Lunch was of course necessary and not he snack variety, after all Dinner was hours away!
The trip home was again something else (see yet to be written Traffic Special). Of course it involved a stop for food this time at a cheese shop where we sampled French style cheese with a jam like filling, in bars about the size of a wafer ice cream. This was just before the valley of brick works mentioned earlier, the smell of charcol was everywhere.
The trip home of less than 200k took well over 5 hours (see yet to be written Traffic Special), straight to another special restaurant run by yet another friend of Camilo´s. (did we mention that Camilo is a chef himself?). More exotic tastes, textures and experiences and even a few beers (local of course) for GAJ.
A somewhat exhausting day particularly for Hernando with all the driving.
We are having a ball and are totally overwhelmed by our hosts!!
See the Cats got up! What a result!
Wednesday after an easy start we went north to the Cathedral of Zipaquira or the Salt Cathedral, truly amazing a Cathedral cut out of solid salt 60 meters underground, 25 metres high and 80 or so metres long with a huge cross at the end. Its not just the Cathedral itself but the various stations of the cross and other chapels no the way down a sloping tunnel and around the main hall. There is also a reception/conference hall beside the Cathedral. Unfortunately the walls etc are black (the natural colour for salt before it absorbs water) so photos a problem. Brett you were right well worth the visit, Michel was particularly taken with it.
Lunch followed in restaurant in a Spanish style Casa with the traditional courtyard, beside a lake in a town (can´t remember the name) which was totally rebuilt when the lake was created (to supply water to towns and cities north of Bogota).
The country side was not dissimilar to country side world over except that the architectural style is local with Spanish and Indian influences. Many of the houses are in the throes of additions and it is apparent that many will take a long time. It is common if not prevalent, for the houses to be in this state both in the poorer parts of Bogota itself and in the country side. Brick (solid and most often super brick style) is almost totally the medium used and on a later trip we came across a whole valley of brick works with Kilns fired up varying in size from one or two small hand brick kilns to larger brick works similar to our circa 1960. Apparently suppliers buy up from all the small brick works and then retail out. I also gather that other than medium rise permits and regulations are rarely obtained or recognised.
I will right a special entry on my fascination with Bogota traffic, suffice to say that the return trip was interesting and there was almost total gridlock well outside the city.
Another taste of Colombian food for dinner, Michele is really enjoying the varieties of fruit available to the extent that a trip to a fruit and veggie market was undertaken on Friday (but that is getting ahead).
A full on day and to bed tired but excited and a 7.00 o’clock start in the morning.
Keeping going, an early start Thursday as out target was some 4 hours away and also because it presented an opportunity for us to experience a traditional breakfast on the road. More exotic tastes and textures, we have concluded that Colombian life revolves around food with up to 4 meals a day and this does not include the nibbles and tastes that continually present as you walk around. I struggle to keep up.
On route to the days highlight, just before Tunja we stopped off at a memorial of the battle of independence, marking the battle of Boyaca where the Spanish were denied at a small, in fact very small bridge, no more that 1.5 m wide and 15 m long. I might not have the story correct but a 15 year old boy may have stopped a Spanish general from fleeing. There is an impressive monument to Simon Bolivar here although I understand he was not present for this particular battle.
On through Tunja (for a brief time the Capital of Colombia to the historic town of Villa de Leyva, historic as a town where several significant prominent figures in the independence movement lived round the turn of the 18th century and also because it is w well preserved town of that vintage. As with all Spanish towns the central focus is the main square with the church and administrative buildings on two sides. At Villa de Leyva the roads in the old core are all cobbled as is the whole square which must be over an acre in size. All the houses are whitewashed and many have beautiful balconies and gardens (and a lot both). We walked up a steepish hill to a beautiful Spanish style hotel which over looked the town, a great place for a rest and a beer. Back down the hill passed the market square with Aussie bottle brush trees (I am amazed at the amount of Aussie flora, particularly eucalyptus in and around Bogota. I gather there has been a concerted effort to grow these for timber with the predominant variety what I think are Tassie Blues).
Interestingly as V de L is in the valley to the west of Bogota and considerably lower in elevation the countryside was warmer, drier and harsher and certainly not a fertile.
Lunch was of course necessary and not he snack variety, after all Dinner was hours away!
The trip home was again something else (see yet to be written Traffic Special). Of course it involved a stop for food this time at a cheese shop where we sampled French style cheese with a jam like filling, in bars about the size of a wafer ice cream. This was just before the valley of brick works mentioned earlier, the smell of charcol was everywhere.
The trip home of less than 200k took well over 5 hours (see yet to be written Traffic Special), straight to another special restaurant run by yet another friend of Camilo´s. (did we mention that Camilo is a chef himself?). More exotic tastes, textures and experiences and even a few beers (local of course) for GAJ.
A somewhat exhausting day particularly for Hernando with all the driving.
We are having a ball and are totally overwhelmed by our hosts!!
See the Cats got up! What a result!
Friday, September 28, 2007
We haven`t had a chance to post any blogs for a few days as we have been on the go since we got to Bogota. But the story of how we got here.
We got up at 3am local time, which was 2am Colombia time, as we were being collected by a driver to take u s to the airport at 4am, so we get down stairs just in time for the driver to p ick us up. Off we went, but about half way there Geoff looked in his pockets to check he had everything to discover that his passport was not there, he said he thought it was probably in his bag in the back. We got to the Airport and I stood by as Geoff disgorged his suitcase all over the floor at the airport serching for the lost passport, to no avail. There was a lot of anxiety in the air, not only from me but for him. We rang the hotel as he thought he may have left it on the sofa. The hotel people went to look and we rang back 5 minutes later. Fortunately it was where he thought he left it. The hotel assured us that it would be safe in a taxi, so we waited.... about 20 minutes later this very worried taxi driver ran up to Geoff, he had his photo inside didn`t he. There was much relief as it was now back in his possession. I am now in charge of passports.
We flew to Lima and were picked up by a very pleasant driver, who took us to Miraflores, the so called stomping ground for Peru`s wealthy families, where we met another lovely Senora who was very knowledgeable in the history of this lovely country. We took about 3.5 hours to trip all over the place and then returned to the airport for the onward flight to Bogota. The traffic was horrific, you take your life in your hands, while the drivers do battle with each other. Lima had these funnly little three wheel cars, which were taxis, they looked so dangerous, fortunately they are only allowed on side roads, so at least that relieves the other traffic from tipping one over if they ran into them. The also had small minivan buses which were all beaten up zigzaging through the traffic, causing havoc. At any time there would be several car horns going, as each driver tries to force his way in front of whoever is next to them. With our hearts in our mouth we arrived safely at the airport. Avianca airlines hand wrote all the boarding passes and a million other things to get you organized, it took for ever to get our boarding passes. So far we havn`t had any trouble with customs, but I won`t talk too soon.
We arrived at Bogota, about an hour later than we should have, so it was a long day. Camilo Zarate collected us from the airport and we arrived home here to a lovely supper and we havn`t stopped eating since. Our friends Hernando, Myriam, Camilo and Santiago have been very thoughtful and welcoming hosts. Looking through our Sth American book, Geoff`s bible on all things Sth American, we discovered that they have taken us to all the highlights of Bogota.
We got up at 3am local time, which was 2am Colombia time, as we were being collected by a driver to take u s to the airport at 4am, so we get down stairs just in time for the driver to p ick us up. Off we went, but about half way there Geoff looked in his pockets to check he had everything to discover that his passport was not there, he said he thought it was probably in his bag in the back. We got to the Airport and I stood by as Geoff disgorged his suitcase all over the floor at the airport serching for the lost passport, to no avail. There was a lot of anxiety in the air, not only from me but for him. We rang the hotel as he thought he may have left it on the sofa. The hotel people went to look and we rang back 5 minutes later. Fortunately it was where he thought he left it. The hotel assured us that it would be safe in a taxi, so we waited.... about 20 minutes later this very worried taxi driver ran up to Geoff, he had his photo inside didn`t he. There was much relief as it was now back in his possession. I am now in charge of passports.
We flew to Lima and were picked up by a very pleasant driver, who took us to Miraflores, the so called stomping ground for Peru`s wealthy families, where we met another lovely Senora who was very knowledgeable in the history of this lovely country. We took about 3.5 hours to trip all over the place and then returned to the airport for the onward flight to Bogota. The traffic was horrific, you take your life in your hands, while the drivers do battle with each other. Lima had these funnly little three wheel cars, which were taxis, they looked so dangerous, fortunately they are only allowed on side roads, so at least that relieves the other traffic from tipping one over if they ran into them. The also had small minivan buses which were all beaten up zigzaging through the traffic, causing havoc. At any time there would be several car horns going, as each driver tries to force his way in front of whoever is next to them. With our hearts in our mouth we arrived safely at the airport. Avianca airlines hand wrote all the boarding passes and a million other things to get you organized, it took for ever to get our boarding passes. So far we havn`t had any trouble with customs, but I won`t talk too soon.
We arrived at Bogota, about an hour later than we should have, so it was a long day. Camilo Zarate collected us from the airport and we arrived home here to a lovely supper and we havn`t stopped eating since. Our friends Hernando, Myriam, Camilo and Santiago have been very thoughtful and welcoming hosts. Looking through our Sth American book, Geoff`s bible on all things Sth American, we discovered that they have taken us to all the highlights of Bogota.
The first day we went by taxi to a place called Monserate, which is at the top of a mountain which overlooks Bogota, we went up by Funicular, which rose really quickly over 300 mtrs. At the top we suffered a bit of altitude sickness (lack of breath) as we then climbed up further to a lovey chapel at the top of the hill. We took lots of photos including one of a statue of Guadaloope on the next mountain. The chapel and what it meant to the people of Bogota was evident when you went into the Chapel, it was such a quiet sanctuary from the rest of the bustle of life. We then went into town and walked around the Presidencial Palace and the Parliament, the three churches, La Terceri , Veracruz and San Francisco. The Gold Musuem Museo del Oro was next, this was absolutely spectacular, with exhibits that were so very old and the manner in which they were exhibited was beautiful, with one room you went into that was dark and then the whole thing lit up to take you around the room, which had over 20 thousand exhibits in the one room. Whoever worked out how to exhibit this particular room was a genius, it was breathtaking. Lunch was next, a place that specialised in prawns (a gastonomic delight) Museo Nationcial was next and then to Candelaria, which is Bogota`s Colonial quarter which is old Bogota. This was special too and we were so fortunate to have local people to show us around these areas as this is their heritage and we probably wouldn`t have gone there if they hadn`t taken us, as we wouldn`t have known about it. This is also the place that Camilo works, he is a Chef and has just secured a job as a teacher of very disadvantaged people, teaching them to be Chefs so they can go out into the workforce with a valulable talent, which can enable them to get good jobs. The other people at this place have helped to renovate under the tutelage of tradesmen, which has been overseen by an architect. Its not quite finished yet, but so far the results must be rewarding for all those involved in this worthwhile project.
We then took one of the colourful buses to Myriam`s sisters place. Geoff has been fascinated with the colourful buses here, they all look so different to each other and to anything we have seen before. We spent a very pleasant hour with another very hosptiable family who made us very welcome. We were invited back to have Desayanu (breakfast) with the family as that was the only meal we had time for. We then walked to Park 93 and had crepes at a waffle and crepe restaurant. Our first very pleasant day full of adventure on our well plotted tour with our team leader Myriam ( She sets a mean pace, with Geoff & Hernando bringing up the rear, talking most of the time!!) We will catch up with the next few days later we off to do some shopping) .
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Day two, Michele stiff and sore from the tumble, lucky it was a flat footpath.
Another lovely day here, the official first day of spring, walked around in a short sleeve shirt.
Pretty easy day, went on the half day tour which was interesting. Being Sunday nothing much was crowded as the locals seem to get up and around later in the day.
Would you believe the first stop was the scene on the Michelebusterbelle of yesterday. Saw the main central square and the old presidential palace and several of the inner suburbs.
For Sally, a couple of Kiwis (men 40 -50) on the tour had walked the trail and found it tough particularlly the third day. Also one never went to the toilet for 5 days as he could not face them (seemed a tough enough bloke in other ways!)
This arvo we walked from the fish market to the Funicular which takes you up a small mountain (passed the zoo) to a statue of the VM (there must be one everywhere) had a chair lift ride as well. By the time we came down (3.30) the place was beginning to get busy (just accidently found the delete button!).
A really lovely start to our adventures, Santaigo is such a lovely city although a bit hazy as it is set between the Andes (snow covered to the west) and a coastal range to the east
An early start tomorrow for Lima and Bogota, so early dinner and to bed. Will be hard to beat last nights dinner and the quality of the wine but!
Geoff 6.00 local time Sunday
Another lovely day here, the official first day of spring, walked around in a short sleeve shirt.
Pretty easy day, went on the half day tour which was interesting. Being Sunday nothing much was crowded as the locals seem to get up and around later in the day.
Would you believe the first stop was the scene on the Michelebusterbelle of yesterday. Saw the main central square and the old presidential palace and several of the inner suburbs.
For Sally, a couple of Kiwis (men 40 -50) on the tour had walked the trail and found it tough particularlly the third day. Also one never went to the toilet for 5 days as he could not face them (seemed a tough enough bloke in other ways!)
This arvo we walked from the fish market to the Funicular which takes you up a small mountain (passed the zoo) to a statue of the VM (there must be one everywhere) had a chair lift ride as well. By the time we came down (3.30) the place was beginning to get busy (just accidently found the delete button!).
A really lovely start to our adventures, Santaigo is such a lovely city although a bit hazy as it is set between the Andes (snow covered to the west) and a coastal range to the east
An early start tomorrow for Lima and Bogota, so early dinner and to bed. Will be hard to beat last nights dinner and the quality of the wine but!
Geoff 6.00 local time Sunday
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Hola Amigoes
Three landings completed, 18 to go!!
The eagle landed at about 1.00pm Santaigo time (3 am Sunday in Brisbane). The flight was fairly uneventful if not tediuos with only a few minutes in Sydney and an hour or so in Auckland. Even so the departure from NZ was 8 hours after we left Brisbane, (Boy am I going to have fun with Spanish spell check, it shows every word as an error!).
Lan is definately not Qantas in terms of service, with the food fairly basic, but edible and the movies not flash, we saw the middle but not the beginning of Oceans 13 between Sydney and NZ and then missed the start again on the third leg. Got the gist though. Both managed to get a fair sleep so although we arrived a bit jaded not too jet lagged.
On arrival found the transer to the hotel (thanks Michael) and recieved updated Spanish lessons from the very nice driver. Un packed and went for a walk in the area around the hotel, a commercial and resturant area.
Decided to get adventourous and tried the metro and went to ¨down town¨, luckily we were helped by a couple of friendly locals in both spanish and in english.
Visited the Santa Lucia park and look out and decided that Saturday is ¨love¨ and ¨dog¨day in Santiago, young couples cuddling everywhere and dogs just lying around (not a leash in sight). Tried to suggest to Michele that the former might be contageous and that we did´nt have a vaccanation for it?
No buskers which surprised us, however Michele endevoured to fix that by havind a major fall walking alond the footpath. Not too good after it and may have damaged a pinkie. As I write this she is asleep upstairs with ice on the finger. May need xrays!!
Off to din dins in a mo.
Hasta Luego
G and M
Three landings completed, 18 to go!!
The eagle landed at about 1.00pm Santaigo time (3 am Sunday in Brisbane). The flight was fairly uneventful if not tediuos with only a few minutes in Sydney and an hour or so in Auckland. Even so the departure from NZ was 8 hours after we left Brisbane, (Boy am I going to have fun with Spanish spell check, it shows every word as an error!).
Lan is definately not Qantas in terms of service, with the food fairly basic, but edible and the movies not flash, we saw the middle but not the beginning of Oceans 13 between Sydney and NZ and then missed the start again on the third leg. Got the gist though. Both managed to get a fair sleep so although we arrived a bit jaded not too jet lagged.
On arrival found the transer to the hotel (thanks Michael) and recieved updated Spanish lessons from the very nice driver. Un packed and went for a walk in the area around the hotel, a commercial and resturant area.
Decided to get adventourous and tried the metro and went to ¨down town¨, luckily we were helped by a couple of friendly locals in both spanish and in english.
Visited the Santa Lucia park and look out and decided that Saturday is ¨love¨ and ¨dog¨day in Santiago, young couples cuddling everywhere and dogs just lying around (not a leash in sight). Tried to suggest to Michele that the former might be contageous and that we did´nt have a vaccanation for it?
No buskers which surprised us, however Michele endevoured to fix that by havind a major fall walking alond the footpath. Not too good after it and may have damaged a pinkie. As I write this she is asleep upstairs with ice on the finger. May need xrays!!
Off to din dins in a mo.
Hasta Luego
G and M
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Michele and Geoff are off overseas, this time to South America. We leave on September 22nd and arrive in Santiago where we will stay two nights. We will then fly to Colombia to visit with the Zarate family who we have got to know through Lesley's boys. Hernando, Myriam, and Camilo visited us last year. From there we will visit Ecuador and stay in Quito for 2 nights and at Sasha Lodge, (an eco resort) for 4 nights. After Ecuador we join a tour of Peru and Bolivia visiting the Inca sites and sights and Lake Titicaca. Then to Buenos Aires for 3 nights and on to Iguassu to see the falls (Geoff's long held ambition) and to Rio where we will stay right on Copacabana Beach (well in an adjoining hotel any way). Rio to Santiago and then to Easter Island for two nights before returning to Santiago. Home again on October 28th.
We will keep you posted.
Michele and Geoff
We will keep you posted.
Michele and Geoff
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