Copacabana Beach

The man must be in his late sixties, but he is as agile as a twenty year old, as he beats out a rhythm on his drum and moves his feet across the pavement, in time to the samba beat. Vicki and I are sitting at a plastic chair beach bar, on Copacabana beach, sipping Brahma beers, in [...]

Welcome To Rio … Now Give Me Your Money

We`ve decamped to the upscale neighbourhood of Ipanema, to see how the ultra rich of Rio live. It`s an expensive neighbourhood and our accommodation is ultra pricey to match – it is also a dump! We instantly decide to just spend one night in our cardboard box and move elsewhere. The one night proves more [...]

El Choro

 

Not content with cycling down 3,500 odd metres, in altitude, we decide to hike down via the incan trail known as El Choro. Most people tend to do it with a guide, but various people I speak to say it is not necessary.
We get a tip from a dutch couple about an australian archaeologist who is [...]

Monkey Hug

OK its not an orangutang, but Vicki finally gets to hug a monkey.
These guys were great fun too – they nagged each other like an old married couple.

Gravity Assisted

The disclaimers we sign are ominous, and hint at possible death and at best a probable maiming. It´s also an expensive business, risking one´s life on a bike ride, but we have chosen the best guides with the best safety record – only a single death the salesperson proudly tells us (an elderly overweight man, [...]

Isla Del Sol

All the locals we meet make it clear that we can camp pretty much where we like – and there is no fee. We choose and idyllic sandy beach directly below the incan ruins. For the two days that we are resident, apart from a large population of flying insects, the beach remains deserted.

On the [...]

The Virgin of Copacabana

She lives in a box, as most statues of Mary and the Saints, do around here, on the top of a tall hill, on the outskirts of the small and holy town of Copacabana, overlooking the clear blue waters of Lake Titicaca. It is a short exhausting climb past the thirteen crosses, each depicting a [...]

101 Shoeshines

My hiking boots prove a big hit with the shoeshine boys in Sucre, as they all insist on giving them a polish, for a couple of Bolivianos – every day. It gets so they just see me crossing the plaza and come running with the wax. Eventually, for the longevity of my shoes, I have to bribe them [...]

The Worst Tourist Attraction in South America

The promise of seeing thousands of dinosaur footprints is too much for me, and together with a ride in the dinotruck seems like a worthwhile way to spend an afternoon in Sucre – Vicki doesn´t take much convincing. This turns out to be a big mistake. The ride, through typical Bolivian Mad Max traffic, takes [...]