The Weapon has bean Unleashed, but still not up to scratch

Before I get into our final night in Bogota, I just got to make a quick comment on how bad my spelling is in that final blog, obvious that someone was rushing me along in the internet cafe!

Now with that off my chest I get stuck into indulging all details of our final night in Bogota, the city that never sleeps! We started with a few brews around at the hostel, down the road for some Argentinian (still lovin it!) Steak & Wine, back to the hostel for a few more drinkies before we jumped into a 45 minute cab ride around Bogota trying to find this club called Cha Cha, located on the 42nd floor of the old Hilton building. Finally got there, awesome views, danced the night away, back to a friends for a bit in the morning, before being dragged back to the Hostel and down the road to the local milk bar for a brekafast beer with my new pomey mate Clyve (disgusting english habit I know).

Home to rest, up too soon and headed back to the airport to fly into Cartagena, old Colonial town with a fort wall built around the historical part to keep out pirates (was trying to upload photos but Colombia's internet connections are even worse than Bolivia, pretty funny considering it's about 10 times more expensive, sorry but more waiting will just need to take place, plenty of caribbean shots will be uploaded however when we hit Miami). Checked out some sites the first couple of days then headed out on a boat to Playa Blanca, a really remote beach where accomodation = hammock and shower = swim in the ocean. Lots of fresh fish, seafood and cold enough beer to keep our bellies full and plenty of sun, beach & reading to keep us busy throughout the 3 days that were to be had doing nothing at all! If your ever in the neighbourhood, be sure to drop into see Hugo (the guy that runs the restaurant, come bar, come accomodation on the beach) and he'll be sure to treat you like kings!

Back to Cartagena where the only accomodation we could find also rented rooms by the hour, but the cheap price, air conditioning, cable TV & good location helped us to forget about that all too quickly! Out for dinner, picked up a box of Cohiba's for $20, then home to bed. Set the alarm so we could go check out some more islands and hang out in a resort all day, but when it went off we couldn't be arsed so it was straight back to sleep. Spent some of the day trying to fix the 2G Memory Stick that we had bought in Bogota unsuccesfully, so we ended up having to buy a new one which is a nasty kick in the arse, we were able to get our photos off the MS though which was a decent enough bonus. I just gotta wait till we get to Miami now so I can claim it on warranty - Cameras & I really don't see eye 2 eye.

Headed further North East on our gradual travels into Venezuela, coming to rest in a small peacefull fishing village called Taganga where Lilla & I have rented an apartment for a week whilst I get my Advanced SCUBA Certificate and we check out the nearby National Park & Beaches. It's good being able to cook and prepare 3 meals again and the fruit variety here is amazing!

Fly from Caracas in a week and a half, drawing to an end 5 1/2 months in South America, won't be the last time we're down this way though, there is too much to come back and see still!

You win some, you lose sone......

Well we finally, after a no show over NYE in Valparaiso, Chile & a shanty town set-up in Cusco, Peru we finally had some luck when we arrived in Quito with our old worst enemy 'Couchsurfing'.

We spent our last day in Machalilla NP back at Los Frailes beach, hiking around to other coves, bays & chilling out before jumping on one of the trusty overnighters to Quito. We rocked up late (what a surprise) and jumped straight into a cab headed for Kristin's house (our newest couchsurfing companion). We made just in time, she was waiting out the front for a cab on her way to work, so she let us in and quickly showed us around the joint which was awesome! Great views, excellent area, our own room, the cutest cockerspanuel in the world named Percy, a fridge full of beer and a lounge room full of DVD's. Paradise!

We headed into the trendy area of town for some breakfast and a walk around before deciding to jump on a trole (cable car get-up) to head into the old part of town for some chilling and photos. Make it to the plaza, go to rip out the beast and what the fuck!? No camera! My bag was zipped up the whole time, my hand in the pocket of my wallet and my other over the zip of my bag, turn the bag around and what do we find, a nasty slice through the bag just big enough to get a hand in and a camera out!

I'm guessing that it was a middle aged couple who I got jammed in between on the trole (very unsuspecting, but most profesionals are) so we headed to the police for yet another police report (my insurance company either doesn't believe me by now or hates me) and back out onto the streets to try and find another, after losing the photos this is the worst part of having your camera nicked in South America, cause they're either really shit or expensive. We gave up not too long afterwards, headed to the most awesome supermarket we have seen since Brasil and back to Kristins for some DVD's, gourmet deli food and brewskies. Out for Indian for dinner and back room to some more couching around which is really good after being on the move now for almost 5 months.

The next day we hit all the black markets in town in hope of tracking the sucker down with no luck. Eventually got around to checking out the old town (in a cab) and then headed home for more munchies & laziness on the couch iun front of the tube. An early start to Thursday saw us taking a walk in th close by Parque Metropolitina with Kristin & Percy before heading North to the Equator to watch toilets flush in opposite directions and all sorts of craziness. Back to Quito, to the Airport and on on our way to the Kidnapping & Coffee capital of the world, Colombia!

A tranquil night last night in the hostel, gave us an early start to the day out to the Mercado Negro where we picked up my 4th Digi Cam in South America (shocking I know). Some sightseeing today and off to the Caribe tomorrow for mor beach, sun & surf! Photos will be along soon when we get the new weapon into action!

So much for chill time....

Well we finally escaped the tranquil days and chaotic nights of Mancora with 1 last BBQ storm, followed by a few last Maracuya (Passionfruit) Pisco Sour's (gonna miss those things) @ Iguana's and a bit of Johhny B Good Rocketfuel on the beach.

Home to pack the bag, I`m shoking at not having anything organised, a kip rather than sleep before we were up again and on our way. The bus taking us onwards into Ecuador supposedly comes between 8 & 9:30, usually arriving in Mancora at around 8:15 for the onward journey. So we get there about 20 minutes early in time for breakfast which really hit the spot, back across the road and into the shade to wait & wait & wait & wait, by this time Lilla has fallen asleep leaning against her backpack on the footpath and it was about 9:15 when I start to lose my patients and go and ask the lady in the office what's going on. 'It will be here in 10 minutes', so about 20 minutes later it finally arrives and we were on our way to Guayaquil, the biggest city in Ecuador and a real shit hole. The plan was to get in and get the hell out as soon as we could headed straight for the coast.

After a couple of hellish border stops and pretty much nothing else we finally arrived in Guayaquil around 6ish, as opposed to our 3:30 ETA (not bad for Ecuador apparently). We grabbed our stuff and headed straight for the bus station for a direct service to Montañita, to no avail, wouldn`t you know it that if we had of arrived on time we would of made the last direct service at 4:30. We had the option of grabbing a bus to some small crappy town and changing across, but the last thing we really felt like doing was spending a night in the middle of no where after the hellish day we had just had, so we grabbed tickets for the following day and headed, on Lilla's request, to the Sheraton! Who says that backpacking has always gotta be about shitty dorm rooms and cold showers?

Driving through the city we could really notice the effect that the introduction of the US$ has made on the country. Lots of big US Brands everywhere and probably plenty more poor people than what there was 6 years ago. The Sheraton was just what the doctor ordered, it was pretty funny rocking up showerless with an hours kip the night before, sweating like pigs at the bus station and probably pretty stinky, not to mention Lilla coughing and sneezing all over the porters with our poorly packed, dirty back packs over one arm and a whole heap of last minute things that didn't fit in, in plastic bags in the other into this $200 a night hotel. A wickedly hot shower, some mini bar action and cable TV did it for us perfectly before heading across the road to Ecuadors biggest mall, still on the hunt for an i-pod charger and some beard/hair combo clippers.

It was unbelievable, the first shop I spotted in the mall was an apple shop and had anything you've ever dreamed of, including a charger, which is weird considering no one in Peru even knew that they existed. Found some beard & hair clippers, but no combo action. Think the hair and beard is just going to have to grow freely until Miami. Upstairs to Tony Roma's Ribhouse (big US chain) for dinner & I went straight for some Buffalo Wings & Baby Back`s, thanks for the advice Craig which I think came from some conversation in a Restaurant in Auckland somewhere. Back across the road to the Sheraton for some more cable and about the comfiest bed in South America.

A nice little sleep in, left only 1 thing to do before check out; ROOM SERVICE! And I tell you what that $14 was like the best $14 ever spent since my deposit on my round the world ticket. We ate until we could no more, then grabbed our stuff and headed back to the bus station where we were finally on our way to chill time in Montañita. We spent the afternoon admiring the sunset

& taking it easy in the hamaka

before heading out for dinner and deciding that Montañita was a pretty relaxed kind of place, even though there seemed to be more restaurants, bars, pubs, clubs & gringos, everything seemed real tranquil & chill and it shouldn`t be too hard a place to wind down from our non-stop Peruvian party mode. That was until we bumped into an Aussie guy called Tim that we had met in Brasil and he pretty much told us that we couldn`t be any further from the truth. Oh Shit!

We decided to call it a night and headed to bed early still feeling the full affect that Mancora left on us, and catch up on some R&R. That was until about midnight when the local club opened up and the beats came a pounding through our window, we both spent the next 7 hours tossing and turning until it finally closed for the night.

Montañita basically means hours on the beach, so when we finally dragged ourselves out of bed and the sun was shining we fely blessed and headed straight there for the day. A mid afternoon nap put us around drink time (it was Saturday afterall), a quick run to the bottle-o and the plan to have a few quities around home before we head out turned out nicely when we met a couple traveling together in the hostel who we continued to party the night away with. A few too many drinks saw everyone in bed early except me which is when I bumped into this shady Dutch characters

along with Timmy boy and a few other misfits at the hostel across the road.

We continued to fiestar with the best mobile cocktail unit in town

before I called a night and went home for another long sleep in.

Sunday & Monday were spent in much the same way, beach during the day, dinner and a few drinks at night. We keep looking for hostels that have a kitchen so we can save a bit of money and cook (not that it happens very often), but the food is just too good and cheap in a lot of these places, that it just seems like a waste of time. Monday night turned a little bigger when some Maltese lads got involved in the shenanigans and things got a whole lot messier from there. I did happen to meet a cool guy out though named Bamba,

he was the Judo champion in Senegal and competed in the Sydney Olympics, he has moved to South America to learn Caiporera (Brasilian Martial Arts/Dance) and kick my arse

(all friendly of course) About 4 Lilla gave up the chase and headed home, I crawled into bed after a sunrise and some final beers on the beach around 9:30. So much for chill time.......

Beach, dinner & drinks continued the week away until we decided that we really had to move on to quieter times and headed North to a quaint fishing village called Puerto Lopez on Thursday. We came up here to check out the National Park Machalilla, it's beautiful beaches and islands nicknamed 'The Poor Persons Gallopagas', cause we just aren`t going to make it there this time round.

After an early night on Thursday (finally), we went and checked out Los Frailes beach in the Park yesterday which was a real nice change to the stereo pumping, table and umbrella ridden beaches that you usually come across in these parts of the world.

A very beautiful and relaxing day was had followed by an awesome dinner at this Italian joint last night with 2 of the shady dutch characters, Florence & Stuart (or something similar in Dutch) that followed us up here.

Up early today for a horse ride along the beach and through the mountains,

leaving us very soar and tired. An afternoon kip led us to the local net cafe (these things are in serious abundance in even the smallest towns in SA, it's crazy!) to blog it up before ringing mum for Mothers Day, heading back to the best pizza in town and maybe a few drinks out. Off to one of the 'Poor Islands' tomorrow for some hiking, snorkelling and kayaking. Which then leaves me with the toughest decision to make for the week, should I go scuba diving on Monday at the other 'Poor Island' or should we just head back to Los Frailes and soak up the sunshine before heading back to the mountains and onto Quito? It's a tough one I know.

Mountains to Big FO Cities & onto Sunshine, Surf, Beach & Killer Seafood

Well as mentioned we were saving ourselves for one last big nighter with the 2 Irish lads, so we opted for a quick bite to eat and a movie on Sunday night so we mossied on down to the local Aussie pub for some munchies where we met a couple of guys from Ocean Grove, had a few drinks with them before heading out to see our movie. When we realised that that cinema wasn't gonna play what we wanted (works on a voting system), we headed back to the pub for a few more.

Decided to venture around for the Cusco freebies, before once again landing in Mama Africa's where nights tend to get longer and longer. Bumped into another couple of Aussie girls and a guy named Sean whom we met in the Brasilian Amazon with whom we continued the night onwards. At 3 we decided it was time to drag ourselves away before we cause ourselves some real damage and spend our entire last day in Cusco in bed. We had arranged to meet up with a few of the guys at Jack's for Breakfast, but there was no way we could get ourselves out of bed in time for that arrangement. When we did manage to get up though, Jack's was still on our mind so we ventured up the hill for one last session.

Spent the day relaxing, packing (which sux after you have pretty much settled into one place for 12 days) and doing a few last minute bits and pieces here and there, before settling down for some din-din and heading out one final time in the city that possibly never sleeps, Cusco. What was going to be not such a late one, ended with us getting back to the hostel just in time to finish the pack, shower and head straight to the airport for our 10:55 to Lima. The plane was a fantastic resource for sleep before landing in Lima, jumping in a cab and heading straight for the Palermo, Docklands, North Sure of Lima which is Barranco. The first thing we noticed after the enormous size of the city and terrible traffic conditions, was the amount of junk food outlets there are here, so americanised, our mouths were watering already considering our condition!

Check into the hostel and head straight for Miraflores, the Gold Coast of Lima for the biggest Burger King Burger I have ever seen. All I ordered was a BDCBD (Dickie & Adelle, I know that you know what I'm talking about) and I ended up with the same thing about 3 times the size, it was better than Christmas Day! Headed back to the hostel for a wee kip, a look around Barranco before getting stuck into what the Peruvian Coast is known for; Seafood!

Early night left us with enough energy to head down to Lombarco, a shopping complex built into the side of a cliff specifically for the Mariott hotel across the road but boasting a Starbucks & a Hooters. We grabbed a Frapacuinno (god how well the sit on a warm day) and made a decision to return for Hooters (Lil was as interested as I) before grabbing a bus for Downtown Lima. Close to an hour later when we finally arrived (traffic is very bad), we headed into the Plaza de Armas to check out the Presidential Palace among other things,

before heading into Bario Chino (Chinatown), the biggest in Latin America. Chowed down on a monstorous, awesome meal before jumping in a cab nad heading out to another mall where we thought we finally may be able to find a charger for my i-pod which went missing with my bag in Bolivia.

The drive ot there was interesting enough with the taxi driver warning us to take our sunglasses off so that we would not be robbed as we drove through the biggest and most notorious Mercado Negro in Peru, where the taxi driver told us that 'If your house is ever robbed, you can be guaranteed to find all your household belongings here. Including your staircases.' As we rounded a corner where sure enough there was thousands of house fittings strown across the street.

When we reached the mall, we hunted through every eletrical store we could to find to no avail, apparently the wall chargers haven't been released here in Peru yet. You can't even buy a new i-pod that comes with one, have to make do with crappy computer charges for the time being and put up with my battery runnning flat on those over nighters, until Miami anyway. Oh the glories of being able to buy anything and everything in less than 6 weeks are starting to feel like a miracle come true!

Anyway spent the rest of the arvo grabbing a movie and checking out some local fashion before heading back to the hostel for a couple of bevvies and left over Fried Rice from Lunch, another early night in honour of our carefree times in Cusco. The next morning we decided that we had seen enough of Lima and it was time to move onto some real beach action, you know where the beaches aren't polluted and the sun is plentiful. With a few questions asked around the hostel we decided it was time to head for Mancora, right up the Far Northern tip of Peru, a few hours from the Ecuadorian border. Pack the bags and head for the bus terminal where to our delight we were greeted once again with the joys of Argentinian bus travel, minus the beer, whiskey & champaign (not bad I suppose).

On our arrival in Mancora we checked into the local HI joint with a shady garden and hammocks abound. Headed straight for the beach were work on our tan was in much need. Friday night started out slow, we asked for the best seafood in town and was directed to a restaurant off the beaten track where no-one else was eating.

We decided to give it a go anyway as I was hungering for some Cebiche (fresh seafood & fish marinated in lime, onion & chilli served raw with sweet potato) which I had checked out in Lima and had become an avid fan. After dinner we mossied on down the main street checking out a few places before meeting up with a heap of guys from our hostel. Had a few drinks with them before we all moved onto another bar where we met up with an Australian girl, Alice (who the f..k is?) and her Peruvian boyfriend Johnny with whom we continued to party the night away with.


After taking it easy in Lima it was time to destroy the dance floor with an all night fiesta that lasted way into the following day. By the time we managed to crawl home to bed


Saturday had almost come to an end and we managed to sleep our arses off all the way through till Sunday.

Breakfast, Beach, Sun & a killer Argentinian Steak for Dinner saw us back at the hostel not too late to polish off a couple of brewskies in the warm coastal atmosphere with our fellow hostelians.

Monday saw us up early for Lil's surfing lesson with Johnny boy which she did pretty good at, more sun and seafood and taking it easy on the beach and a few naps in the hammocks.

Life is really hard when your living the winter months away 3 degrees south of the equator.

Another seafood extroadinare for dinner with Alice & Johnny, before an early morning fishing expedition in the morning with the lads from the hostel.

Johnny cooked up a super mean BBQ of fish & spuds with our catches, whilst Lil & I prepped up Passionfruit Pisco Sours, a nice twist to the local traditional drink and we settled in for a mean feast last night with all the guys before heading down to the local for a few to end the night nicely.

Back down to the beach today where the waves are pumping through,

the flying sand in the face drove us to the internet cafe to catch up on a few things and find some accomodation in our next surfing village Montañita, in Ecuador where we head off to tomorrow after another seafood BBQ with Johnny B Good & Alice this evening. Hopefully the sun will be shining and the ocean producing some nice clean breaks so I can actually start to get better at this surfing thing.