July 2003

July 4, 2003 - 9:02 a.m.

The Pantanal was fantastic - we drove through a state park on dirt roads and saw tonnes of animals including alligators, capybaras, emus, an anteater, wild pigs, deer, king fishers, macaws, toucans and lots and lots of other birds. We went kayaking on a completely flat (lake-like) river just to get even closer to the alligators. It is a super beautiful area but hot too - it got up to about 35 C so we were roasting.

Then yesterday we met up with some locals in Bonito and went kayaking with them on the river here. The water is crystal clear so you can see the fish swimming under you but the river is flat except for 6 small drops. It was worth going though just for the scenery (and the fact that it costs $50 per person if you want to raft it). As a bonus we saw an anaconda sunning itself on a branch right by the river and a couple monkeys in the trees above.

Michelle on Rio Bonito

Now we are drying our gear and then we plan to take off to check out the Foz du Igacu.

July 08, 2003 - 8:41 p.m.

Just a quick note to say that we are back in Argentina after seeing the Igacu Falls (both Brasilian and Argentinian sides). They were beautiful but VERY full of tourists. So we are glad to be on the road again and making our way to Salta through the Chaco.

Just now we were stopped by a traffic control officer who wanted to give us a ticket for turning left on a green light and where there was no sign indicating left turns were not allowed. Luckily we got out of that (I think Mark being a foot taller, much bigger and mad helped a bit). Crazy Argentinian road rules...

July 14, 2003 - 12:48 p.m.

Well Salta Argentia has been our home now for almost a week....Sunken in the gradual hills which begin the Andes, this place is really beautiful... and of course we have managed to once again find some kayaking friends with a sweet class III warm water run! The temperature at night is chilly but the water is still warm and keeping us happy. Two nights ago we even descended the river under a full moon which was a first for both of us! The guides here are all from different parts of the country and one is even from Peru so our days are filled with lots of Spanish practice as well. Today we are back in the main center to unite once again with Michelle’s crazy bro and sidekick malice...... hopefully we can get their frisbee tossing arms sore with some more days spent rafting with our new friends...... Maybe Michelle will get to see her brother trashed in a wave this time!

July 17, 2003 - 6:23 p.m.

So on Monday afternoon Mark and I met up with Steve and my brother in Salta and spent the night there comparing travel stories over wine before heading out the next morning to Salta Rafting. Steve and Mark (my bro) descended the river in a raft (though a lot of time was spent out of the raft and in the water) while the other Mark and I kayaked down. Super fun was had by all.

Yesterday morning Mark took Mark and Steve down a flat portion of the river in kayaks. They all survived - one swim by my bro in an eddy though. That afternoon we bid a sad goodbye to Salta Rafting (really great people there) and headed with Mark and Steve to San Salvador de Jujuy. We dropped them off at the bus station after a sweet steak meal.

Mark K, Steve and Mark B

This morning we entered Bolivia again. Definitely a shock after Argentina and Brasil (even though we had already been there). At lunch they tried to rip us off because we were gringos, the police here (at the toll stations) need larger bribes because we are gringos... definitely not the way to make us like this country. Hopefully we'll see a better side of it soon. Though so far the road has been good (250 km) but now we hit the dirt stretch so we'll see how that turns out.

PS Norman just hit 100 000 kms!!! (we have driven just under 25000 kms)

July 21, 2003 - 10:55 am

So Bolivia has been an experience for both of us. The dirt road was not too bad (though it took us 6 hours to go 300 km) and now we are in La Paz. On the way to La Paz we had some difficulties with corrupt military police. We discovered if I drove and talked to the police we were less likely to need to bribe them but it did not work for all...

So overall our impression of Bolivia has not been great and we would like to get out of this country. We think it would be better to take the bus and not have to deal with a lot of the hassles we've encountered.

That said it is very beautiful here and the roads we drove to get to La Paz were phenomenal - the mountains and jungle were fantastic. On our way here we stopped at Inti Warra Yassi, an animal refuge, and got to play with monkeys (they even used a comb to brush Mark's hair).

Looking for food

Yesterday, in La Paz, we met up with my brother and Steve again and Steve's brother Dave. Also out in front of the hostal we ran into an old family friend, Martin, who we did not even know was in SA. Small world, crazy times. So we had a bit of an Edmonton reunion.

July 25, 2003 - 3:33 p.m.

Well we made it out of Bolivia now including the rest of the Edmonton crew (Mark, Steve and Dave) in relatively easy fashion. All it took was for me to get the worst case of food poisoning in my life off of baaaad mayo. While I spent the evening in hurl mode, the others went off in a party fashion into the wee hours of the morning celebrating Steve-o’s b-day.

Now we are all in a recovery mood, and over the next day or two we’ll all be driving Norman up to Cuzco into gringo land. Crossing the border back into Peru was stressing Michelle and I out a bit, however it turned out easier than when we left. Copacabana gave us once again an opportunity to do some cheap shopping as well as roaming the spectacular Isla del Sol. So the next week or two will include some good friends and perhaps a united effort tackling one of the wildest rivers of the world.

Isla del Sol

Cusco here we come!

July 27, 2003 - 8:45 pm

From Puno the crew of us (Mark, Mark, Steve, Dave and myself) made our way to Cuzco only to find ourselves amidst Peruvian Independence Day celebrations (actual day is July 28). Crazy parties that we partook in last night.

The gringo to local population is about one to one here in Cuzco and so we hear more English now then Spanish. But we had a great time today wandering around the ruins in Pisac.

Tomorrow the lot of us is going on a 3 day rafting/kayaking trip down the Apurimac. Mark is safety kayaking and the rest of us are in the raft. Should be some crazy times ahead.