The end of the road!!

Sunday Session in Arequipa

So after the trek we headed back to Cuzco for a night and then on to Arequipa in Peru. In Arequipa I met Geraldine, Breda and Marky Mark for one last time. We arrived on a Sunday and there was nothing to really do because everything closes on a Sunday so we did the obvious thing and  went all day drinking :-) This was great craic and we all got pretty shit faced playing drinking games.

Alpaca shop Arequipa

The next day we did the worst "free" walking tour I've ever been on. One of the lads  doing the tour couldn't speak a word of English and I was really hungover and couldn't understand a word he was saying. They did bring us to a cool Alpaca Shop where we could see how they make all those Alpaca Jumpers.  This was grand but I was really hungover so yeah I didn't give a shit. Anyway the guy at the end basically for
ced us to give him a tip by saying shit like "although this is free you have to tip us ". I'm pretty sure he didn't grasp the whole FREE part of his advertised free walking tour. I tipped him five soles or something cause I was to hungover to deal with his crap.

The only good thing about the walking tour is they brought us to a cool potato restaurant. So after the walking tour we headed back to get lunch. The restaurant was called Hatunpa and if you ever go to Arequipa check this place out. The food is amazing and they have about a thousand different potato's.

The next day as our final thing to do together we all went white water rafting. This was unbelievable and an absolutely amazing experience.

White water rafting

White water rafting 

That night we grabbed dinner in a fancy restaurant that had some strange guy playing strange songs like the Titanic theme song on some weird instrument.  This was our final meal together before we all went our separate ways so we all got drunk again on cheap red wine.

The Next night we had to say our final goodbyes which got fairly emotional. Geraldine, me , Rodger , Mark and Breda had met crossing the border into crazy Bolivia  five weeks ago and what a journey it had been since then. From the salt flat tour to death road I couldn't have asked for a better group to travel with. I've said it before and I'll say it again but thanks for the laughs and having the craic. You made my time in South America better then I ever could have imagined and I'll see you in Amerstdam (that includes you too James ).

After that me and Rodger headed on to Arica in Chile. We had a bit of trouble crossing the border because for some reason our taxi driver assumed the Dutch man was Irish and filled out some form he needed to cross the border wrong. We managed to be friend a Chilean couple who could speak English and we jumped in a taxi with them on the other side to get to Arica.

We booked into a weird hostel run by some doge guy near the bus station. We left the next day and booked into a surf hostel with an amazing breakfast and the best dorm I have ever stayed in. Me and the kid  were mad up for going surfing but the day we got there they said the waves weren't to good. Chile is ridiculously expensive so we couldn't afford to go out so we stayed in the hostel had the craic and drank cans.

Surfing in Arica, Chile 

The next day we went surfing with this crazy surfing instructor . He put us in his dodgy car and off we went to the beach(although he had to stop at his house on the way). This guy was mental and his surfing lesson consisted of two sentences - 1- Swim and 2- Jump on board. The whole thing was pretty funny but we got in and gave it a go. Although the instructor got out after five minutes because he said it was too cold. It wasn't cold at all. I actually thought it was fairly warm but yeah he was mental so we just left him to it.

After a couple of hours surfing we headed back to the hostel. Me and Rodger got cans and had our last cans and final smoke together. The next day we were flying to Santiago together where I was staying but the kid was catching a connecting flight to Buenos Aires.  The flight turned out to be good craic as it just felt that we were moving on to our next destination but when we got to Santiago the reality that we were coming to end of our time in South America set in.

Rodger had to wait a couple of hours for his flight so I hung around the airport with him for a couple of hours until we had to say our  final farewell. We had a coffee and had the craic but then it was time to go so we hugged out and made plans to stay in touch and off I went into Santiago on my own again.

Thats pretty much the end of my time in South America. So much more happened then I could write in this blog but I tried to cover the main things. All the little jokes, singing , drinking and general banter along the way I will never forget but most of all I will never forget the people.As cheesy as it sounds I think I have made some friends for life along the way. Marky Mark , Geraldine , Breda, James  and the Kid thanks for the laughs and I'll see you all for the reunion in Amsterdam ( oh and Markus I'll drop into Norway for that oil).

People often ask  will travelling change you and I will never be one of those pretentious people who thinks there better than someone just for going travelling. For me travelling around south America taught me to let go and to me that is one of the greatest feelings ever. The feeling of just letting all your stresses, worries, opinions and differences go and let south America take hold. This feeling I will never forget. If you are considering going to South America I can't tell you to do it and hey maybe you wont like it but from experience once south America grabs you, picks you up and takes hold of you  you will never look back. So hey go for it and jump straight in.

 Here's a video slide show just for the craic  because I have a lot of time on my hands at the moment !

Next stop New Zealand and the Magic Mike stray bus !

Salkanty Trek to Machu Picchu

Well so I've been a bit behind with this and at this stage nobody probably cares but I'm bored in Sydney waiting to start my job so heres what happened after I got off that fucking mountain.

After we got down we went straight back to La Paz and booked into a 3 bed private room in a fairly nice hostel and got drunk on cheap wine. The next day me and Rodger were leaving to go to lake Titicaca and Jesus was supposed to leave and go back to his girlfriend who was working on a monkey sanctuary at the bottom of death road. That plan soon changed when we got drunk and me and Rodger convinced Jesus  to come to lake Titicaca with us even though he had already been there.

The next day we all headed off on the bus to Copacabana and booked into  hostel for 30 Bolivianos(about 3 euros ). Here we met Mark and Breda again and we all went out for a Mexican with a dutch couple we had met along the way as well. After we all headed out to a strange little bar and got drunk. Mark and Breda were leaving the next day to go to Cusco and start their Machu Picchu trek so we said our goodbyes and me and rodger said we would meet them in Cusco before their trek started.

Rodger and Jesus at lake Titicaca

The next night it rained I think and we got drunk again. The following day it was sunny and me,Rodger and Jesus climbed the hill near the lake and sat their looking at the lake for the day and talking.  Jesus had told us about a really good 5 day trek  to Machu Picchu called the Salkanty trek . I had never done a 5 day trek before but it sounded like good craic so me and Rodger decided we would do that.  (on a side note , it actually works out cheaper to do a trek to Machu Picchu as getting the train and entrance fee almost costs the same. The trek cost $220 for five days with food and accommodation for 4 of the 5 ).

Anyway we all got drunk again in the room and then Rodger passed out as usual and me and Jesus went to get more drink and stopped in at that doge pub for a pint . Here I convinced JC to come with us to Cusco the next day. Since we were locked it seemed like a great idea so we decided we would stick together and all head to Cusco together.

The next morning me and Rodger got up really hungover to catch the bus to Puno and then another bus from Puno to Cusco. Jesus woke up and decided he wasn't going to come with us after all as it didn't make much sense for him to go back to Cusco! Me and Rodger had to run to get the bus so we couldn't really argue with him. We hugged it out with JC and said are hungover goodbyes and legged it to get the bus.

(Jesus it was some craic travelling with you, wherever you are now I hope your still saying really inappropriate things and pissing in Bottles :-))

After the worst bus journey ever we arrived in Cusco at around eight at night and booked into the eco back packers hostel. The Next day we booked our Salkanty Trek to Machu Picchu set to leave 3 days later. We then moved to another hostel where Mark and Breda were staying. That night we all went to Paddy's bar which is apparently the highest Irish bar in the World. Here I made everyone drink a really bad pint of Guinness.

The Following day we were all going to our meetings about our treks to Machu Picchu . Here we met Edalf ( a welsh guy) and Emily (Canadian). They were a couple who had met in London. We also met Herman( pronounced like German) an Argentinian from BA who was here on a holiday for a week to do the trek. This turned out to be the group of people I mainly stuck with for the entire trek.

After our meeting we went back to hostel and said goodbye to Breda and  Marky Mark. We decided we would all meet again with Geraldine in Arequipa after the trek.

Herman,Rodger,Emily,Me and Endalf first
day of the trek

Next morning me and Rodger were being collected at 4.30am to start the trek. We drove for a couple of  hours to the beginning of the trek. Here we were put into groups of 18 people  and all started walking . There was Dutch in the group, English and the guys we had met the night before at the meeting. There was also a group of crazy Brazilian girls who turned out to be great craic.

The First day involved a lot of walking but it was a lot of fun as we were all walking,talking and eventually singing so the walk didn't seem to bad and the sun was shining so it all went grand the first day.  We reached our camp site got our tents went for dinner then had a couple of drinks and went to bed as we were up early the next day.

Rodger and me at the top

The next day we had to walk 19km and walk up to a height of 4600m. Again this probably seems grand but walking to that altitude is never really easy as the air becomes so thin . Hard to explain but it ends up being fairly tough and you end up constantly chewing coca leaves,eating chocolate bars ans drinking shit loads of water. After we reached the top we had to trek down then through the jungle to reach where we were staying the for the night.

Group at 4600m

This was grand until it started to rain and there was mud everywhere . Downhill trekking through mud and rocks isn't that much fun but we sang a few songs and had the craic with the crazy Brazilians so it was actually good craic.

Eventually we reached the camp site for that night had dinner and a few drinks and went to bed.  The next day involved more trekking and a stop to hot pools which was cool and nice and relaxing after all the walking.

That night we had a party around a camp fire. Myself ,Rodger, Endalf , Emily ,Herman and the loco Brazilians all got really drunk on wine and Inca tequila and danced around the camp fire all night.

Night at the camp-fire 

In bits hungover we all got up the next day and headed off to trek to Aguas calientes. This was pretty cool as you walk along the train tracks through the jungle. We ended up walking for a good bit with out guide Ed who gave us cool info about Machu Picchu.  Eventaully we reached Aguas Calientes and checked into our hostel. That night he entire group went out for dinner and then me,Rodger,Endalf,Emily and Herman went back to our hostel had a few drinks and watch the Miami Heats beat the Spurs in the NBA final.

Machu Picchu

The next day we got up at 4am to start the trek to Machu Picchu. This involved walking up loads of steps in the dark and singing the rocky theme song over and over again. Eventually we reached the top and joined the line to get into Machu Picchu. We hadn't realised it until we got there but the day we arrived at Machu Picchu was actually the winter Solstice which was a pretty big deal at Machu Picchu and to the Incas.

As we walked into Machu Picchu we were completely blown away. To say this is one of the most amazing things I've ever seen is an understatement. The town nestled with the mountains is a spectacular display of Inca society that leaves you standing there completely in awe and wonder.

While I didn't have a spiritual awakening (Gap Yaahh) it was unbelievable to watch the sun rise over the mountains and shine over the alter in the middle of the courtyard( this only happens on the shortest day of the year).

Rodger,Endalf,Ed,Emily and me

We finished our tour with our guide Ed and then decided to walk up Machu Picchu mountain. We all thought how hard can it be we've just trekked through the mountains for 4 days. This wasn't our smartest move . The mountain itself was just over 3000m which we though would be grand. It wasn't grand. It was thousands and thousands of endless steps which after trekking for 4 days with blisters on our feet we eventually made it to the top to see some spectacular views of Machu Picchu.

The way down was fairly tough as well but eventually we made it back down and spent the rest of the day exploring the ruins of Machu Picchu. Then me and Rodger ran all the way back down the steps to machu Picchu. By the time we got back to the hostel we could barely stand. Check out the picks !

Me at the top of Machu Picchu Mountain                  

Endalf,Rodger,me and Emily 

Machu Picchu

Herman,me and Edalf half way up Machu Picchu
 Mountain

Just wanted to say a big thanks to everyone in the group on the trek especially Endalf ,Emily,Herman,Rodger and the Crazy Brazilians. All the walking, talking and singing made the whole trek itself better then reaching the destination ! Wherever you are I hope your all still singing and having the craic :-)

A few things you cant be at on a trek

Don't take Valium at all while drinking wine - you cant be at that lads !

Don't forget to bring a waterproof cover for your bag and have to buy a giant red poncho to cover your shit .

Don't think you don't need hiking boots. You do . If you plan on trekking up and downhill for five days bring a decent pair . Don't rent a pair off some doge shop in cusco !

Don't forget Motillium !always bring Motillium !:-)

An alcoholic, a prescription drug addict and Dutch man try to climb a mountain.

So I've been a bit behind with the auld blog. So I'm skipping ahead a bit.   Basically did the salt flat tour with the group I crossed the border with.  Me and rodger were in a Jeep with Nate dog aka the throat and Mia his girlfriend(we nicknamed nates the throat because he always had a sore throat and wore a neck scarf so we had the craic and took the piss about it). Nate dog if your reading I hope your throat is better and all is well ixn Slovenia:-).

Breda, mark,Géraldine and James were in the other Jeep and we met everywhere along the way.  Anyway we all had a lot of fun and became really good friends. The salt flat tour was amazing and something I will never forget.  After it me,  rodger, Géraldine, mark,breda and James all got a taxi to potosi which is the highest City in the world. Over 4000m above sea level which also made it very hard to breath even walking up the stairs. Here we stayed in a hostel that remidnded me of the hotel from the shining. We basically ran the place and got drunk and cooked in the kitchen most nights.  Here is where we went to the llama sacrafice and got drunk with all the miners and basically had the craic.
After that we got a taxi to sucre. The taxi man drove on the wrong side of the road and hit a dog while the song lady in red played on the radio. It was all a little mental but hilarious at the same time.

In sucre we did a trek to some Dinosaur foot prints which was cool and all got drunk  together a bit more:-) loads of stuff happened in between but I'm trying to speed this up.

Next stop la paz. It was Rodgers birthday so we organised a party and a cake and we all chipped in and bought him death Road for his birthday. That night we all went for dinner and went out to celebrate the kid's birthday.

Death Road was unbelievable and not dangerous unless you take your eyes off the road (last person to die on the road was a Japanese tourist who was trying to take a photo of her boyfriend and cycled straight over the edge). Everyone says they will go really slow down the road but after about five minutes you bomb it down and forget all about how dangerous it is.  Plus you can't really go slow because your down hill mountain biking.

Anyway after death Road there was an anniversary party in our hostel. Here we bumped into jesus.  Jesus was a Dutch guy we met on the walking tour of la paz.  I couldn't say his Dutch name and he looked like jesus so I called him that and the name stuck.  We all got drunk again to celebrate death Road and jesus arriving at our hostel.

The next day really hungover is when we made a pretty retarded decision.  Myself Rodger and jesus wanted to do something different in la paz. Not the same jungle trek that most people so we thought Hey let's trek up a mountain to 6000m above sea level. It is apparently the easiest one in the world. To put it into perspective mount kilamanjaro is 5985m above sea level but technically it is obviously way harder.

So we thought Hey how hard can it be let's trek up hyuana potosi mountain.  So we went into the tour office in bits hungover and booked it.  Obviously they told us that all equipment was provided and that we didn't need our own hiking boots. So jesus and Rodge were like grand because they had converse on.  Rodger actually had hiking boots but didn't bring them because they said they would provide them. ... they didn't...Never believe a Bolivian.

The next day we went to get fitted with the equipment like jackets, crampons and a fucking ice pick. The  equipment was fairly shoddy and threy were literally just  throwing helmets and shit at us.  Anyway I was still a bit fucked from the party the night before last and at this point i started to think what the fuck am I doing.  But I got on with it and thought Ah sure it won't be two bad they won't just let us climb up a mountain without harnesses or being attached to something by rope.

So we all got in the van and hit base camp one. I think this was at 4400m above sea level.  We met the rest of the group and jesus introduced us a me a prescription drug addict, himself an alcoholic and Rodger as the Dutch man.  Everyone laughed but jesus wasn't joking.  The others in the group talked about other mountains they had climbed and again at this point we should have thought what the fuck were we doing. There is only fucking hills in Ireland and the Netherlands is something like minus twenty below sea level.  None of this set off alarm bells and off we went to hike to the practice area.  The practice area was a good hour and a half hike over rocks and along ledges that was really dangerous with sheer drops. At this point we realised they were lying about the equipment.  We had to carry our boots,crampons, ice pick and other equipment will hiking almost vertically uphill over icey rocks and they wouldn't let us put on the equipment until we reached the training point.  Jesus and rodger were wearing con like runners and were slipping all over the place. The guides just had a good laugh about this.

After an hour or two hiking with equipment on our backs  absolutely  sweating even though it was fucking freezing out we reached the training area.

I thought that since this was a vertical glacier of ice and a training area that they would at least have pins secured in the glacier and we would be roped together. Not in fucking Bolivia.  Bolivia have no search and rescue, they have no helicopters and the guides aren't trained in first aid or anything like that.

So they showed us how to put the crampons on once and generally had a good laugh at us stupid gringos. They then showed us how to walk up the glacier side ways in the crampons and how to walk up vertically and walk straight down the glacier. They made us wear a harness each but this was pointless because they didn't attach us to anything by rope even though they had fucking loads. They then showed us how to climb the glacier with just our ice pick (this was fairly dangerous because they only gave us one ice pick each).

This was all pretty dangerous but also a lot of fun and we hiked back to base camp one feeling good.  The guides still seemed a bit uninterested in our safety but we thought Hey how bad can the next day be.

The next day was supposed to be the easiest day and only hiking for three hours up to 5300m. This sounds grand unless you have actually been fairly high above sea level you wont completely understand the affects it can have on your body.

Anyway we set off in high spirits thinking it would be an easy day.  We left at about mid day and Again we had to carry all our stuff on our backs and werent aloud to put on our boots or crampons until we got past the hike over slippy icey rocks.  Again this was really dangerous and pretty much any wrong foot and your off to your death. As we were hiking a fog came in and it began to hail and snow. So there we were on the side of a mountain at nearly 5000m with our back packs in our back hiking vertically up a mountain and not able to see where we were going.   Eventually we put the gear on and began hiking through snow.

Here is where things got a bit mental.  I think the guide lost the path because of the fog and snow and we ended up hiking pretty much up vertically and everywhere you looked there was sheer drops but all you could concentrate on is where to put your foot next to make sure you don't slip or fall (keep in mind it was still snowing and we couldn't see very far ahead because of the fog).

The guides didn't really care and just kept shouting vamous a la playa and hey chicas grande titas at the top.  thinking this was hilarious which it was for five minutes then it got old.

Anyway I got really bad altitude sickness going up and was very dizzy. I also couldn't regulate my breathing to maximise the amount of oxygen I was getting.  This is fairly dangerous on the side of a mountain like this.  I can't explain how difficult it was to get to base camp two but to say it was the most mentally challenging thing I've ever done and one of the most physically challenging.  Every step required so much energy and having alltitude problems and not being able to breath made it one of the most intense situations I've ever been in.

Eventually I made it to base camp two and just fell on the snow. I was really dizzy and felt like shit.  Most of the other lads were also having altitude  problems. Two were sick and another was also really dizzy.

We arrived at five o clock and went to bed at seven because we had to get up at 2am to climb to the top. 

I thought it would be a good idea to take some valium to sleep. This is not a good idea at altitude because valium is a muscle relaxant, your heart is a muscle and actually needs to not be relaxed at high altitude because it has to pump faster to get more oxygen to the brain because the air is so thin. Anyway I never thought of this at the time but sure were all still alive so it's grand.

The next morning myself and Rodger decided not to go to the top. We had heard about a ridge at the top of compact snow with sheer drops on both sides that you have to walk along with one foot in front of the other for around twenty minutes. so we decided that the whole fucking thing was crazy dangerous and that we liked being alive. 

Jesus then decided at the last minute he wanted to try and get as far as the ridge and then rodger decided he would go as far as the ridge as well and then come back.

I then really wanted to give it ago but I was still dizzy and I knew if I couldn't get my breathing under control again then we would all have to turn back.  So I decided that I wouldn't go up plus I was dizzy and thought it was going to be crazy dangerous (which it was). So off Rodge and jesus went.  They made it another two or three hundred meters and then had to turn back because Rodger got really bad altitude sickness.

They banged on the shack that was base camp two door and said we could all go back down together.

This was really fucking dangerous as it was dark we couldnt see where we were going and the guide just kept laughing saying HEY GRINGO...YOU WANT YOUR MOMMY GRINGO.... This didn't fucking help at all since we were sliding all over the place coming down a fucking mountain.

Eventually we made it back to base camp one and none of us fell over the edge to our deaths and we all collapsed in the lodge and looked pitifully at the poor souls who had arrived full of life to try climb the mountain the next day.

Out of seven only two made it to the top and they said it was really dangerous getting there. 

Although this is probably the stupidest thing I've signed up to I don't regret it at all. It was an  experience I will never forget for the rest of my life. It has set the bar. I will forever compare everything to the mountain. Whenever I think something is tough or hard to do I will and have just thought at least I'm not on that fucking mountain!

Salta to Bolivia

So I partied in Buenos Aires for a week most of which I cant go into great detail about but lets just say I stayed in the millhouse hostel(anyone who has been to BA will know what that means). Here I met some cool people to party with but also some not so cool people. The hostel was full of English students on there gap year. If you watch the video below it will basically some up the type.

 Then then got an 18 hour night bus to salta a town in northern Argentina know for its amazing Scenery.when I got on the bus they played pitbull songs for two fucking hours.For some reason everywhere I go in SA they play fucking pitbull.
When I arrived in salta i booked into a hostel with an English couple Louis and holly I met on the bus. I also met a Scottish guy James who was travelling alone also.
Anyway booked into the hostel in salta and met a Dutch guy Rodger who is nineteen and also travelling alone ( although for some reason he lied to me about his age for a couple of days which I tell everyone new person we meet.) I did a tour here to a town called cachi that was really high up above sea level.i got to see amazing scenery on the way to the town but there was nothing much in the town but a graveyard which me and Rodger wandered around (for some reason graveyards are tourist attractions in south America).
That night me Rodger holly and louis got really drunk in the hostel kitchen on our own. I was leaving the next day to go to la quece the border town in Bolivia and holly and Louis were going to tilcarra but we wanted to try and meet in tupiza to do the salt flat tour. Rodger had been in salta for six days and anyone who has
been to salta knows six days in salta is way to many. So I said hey Rodge you can't be at that and he decided to cross the border with me into Bolivia then on to tupiza.
We were getting a night bus to the border so headed to the bus station at half twelve. Here I bumped into James the Scot I had met on the bus from BA to salta. He was with an Argentinean girl Geraldine who could speak fluent Spanish. We all hoped on the night bus together. The bus arrived at the border town a little early and it was fucking freezing.after putting on all my clothes we rocked into this weird little bus shelter full of tiny little Bolivian people and about ten other back packers. We all huddled together and decided to cross the border together as it was still night and safer to cross the border in a big group. We were all going to tupiza and it turned out many of the people I met here were going to become a permanent part of my travels for at least a couple of weeks.
We crossed the border into Bolivia all together and then me and Rodger got a taxi with a Scottish couple mark and Breda to tupiza. This taxi cost 200 Bolivinos so between four that was five euro each. Just to put that into context that was 250km for a fiver.
We were all going to the same hostel or hotel mitru in tupiza which cost a tenner a night (this is actually expensive for Bolivia) but we said feck it sure it'll be grand. We had planned to do the salt flat tour the next day but decided to give it a day because the altitude kind of hits you like a tone of bricks.
After checking in to the hostel I went straight to the pharmacy.In Bolivia you can pretty much buy any drugs over the counter so I stocked up on tablets for my stomach and bought shit loads of valium :-) although for some reason in Bolivia they won't sell you valium unless you buy other drugs first. Like everything else in Bolivia this makes no sense at all.
Next stop  the salt flat tours.

Things you can't be at in bus station....

Things you can't be at in a south American bus station is sleeping in one.

After missing the bus we decided to get the earliest bus to Flori which was seven in the morning. There was no point in heading into Sao Paulo to get somewhere to stay for the night because by the time we got into the city we would nearly have to leave again. Sao Paulo is the biggest city in SA I think. There's eleven million people living in the city and the traffic can apparently be mental in the mornings.

So we decided to check the internet for somewhere close to the bus station to go. So we headed into the internet cafe in the bus station. Here we bumped into this American back packer from California who was an absolute bitch. she was around thirty five and had coloured dred locks in her hair. She was one of those has been back packers who refused to help us earlier when we were trying to buy tickets to Flori. Anyway I really wanted to punch her in the face but didn't. And who the fuck has coloured dred locks nobody because its not the fucking eighties anymore.

Anyway we tried to find a place near by on the internet but couldn't so we went to the information desk and asked there.

The woman at the desk was a bit mental and sent us down some weird under pass to a place there was apparently accommodation. There wasn't any there but there was a group of dodgy men standing around who were shouting taxi who followed us and then some favela kids who were definitely going to try rob us. Anyway we looked onto the street down below and just seen loads of dodgy characters and one neon sign saying hotel. This was definitely not a hotel. It looked like somewhere smack heads hang out which it probably was since there was loads of smack heads hanging around outside.

We legged it back to the relative safety of the bus station and picked a spot to sleep. Markus slept on the floor but I couldn't sleep. There was this tiny little Bolivian man sitting near by who was sneaking around and rolling something on the ground which to be honest was probably his own teeth. I stayed awake so the little Bolivian wouldn't rob us but then I eventually drifted off to sleep for a couple mins.

The station then got really cold and filled with loads of other dodgy people. I woke up and spotted the little Bolivian knocking around still so we moved to the other side of the station.

Here I managed to sleep for a bit but every time I woke up the station had filled with more weirdos. Eventually seven o'clock rolled around and we ran down to jump on our 12 hour bus journey to Flori.

The bus journey obviously took longer then 12 hours because the bus driver again was picking up people and dropping old ladies to the front door. Bus drivers in Brazil are sound like that.

When we got to Flori we checked into the hostel over looking the beach and went to meet (Marion and Paul the couple I met in rio) for a few drinks and a table quiz.

The table quiz was in an English bar and was probably the worst table quiz I've ever been to.It was run by this English yuppee who asked pretentious questions like name Steffi graphs parents. Who the fuck knows the answer to that!

The beach at Flori itself was unreal but unfortunately there was no waves so I couldn't bang out my amazing surf skills. Instead
we went sand boarding which was really cool and a good bit of craic.

After Flori we jumped on a bus to iguazu falls then crossed the border into Argentina to see the falls. Crossing the border we met to English girls and Portuguese guy who were good craic so we all crossed the border into Argentina together.

After checking into the hostel we had a look around Puerto iguazu where at the time motofest was on so the town had loads of Brazilian motor cyclists driving around all but other then that the town was quiet.

Next day we went to iguazu falls which to be honest are probably one of the most amazing things I've ever seen. The sheer size and volume of water  that passes through the falls is incredible. We then did the boat trip under the falls which was incredible and you get completely soaked doing it but well worth it just to see an entire boat of people giggle and scream like school girls.

The next day myself and the norweign had to part ways because I was heading to Buenos Aires and markus was heading back to Rio.

Big shout out to markus it was greet craic travelling with you and best of look on your travels.Don't forgot I still want that barrel of oil when I get home. If you ever plan a trip to Ireland to see how the poor people live let me know and I'll show you around the mean streets of Dublin.

Next stop Buenos Aires....where everything got a little crazy.

Paraty to Sao Paulo bus station

So after leaving rio I decided to head to a small colonial town four hours away called Paraty.

I arrived in Paraty and rocked up to hostel where I met Paul and Marion the couple I met in Rio. After settling in we all rocked up to the bar which was on the beach. After a couple of minutes this Australian guy in his 40s joined us. The only way I can describe him is as one of the most annoying people I have ever met. He was biking across SA but had apparently also biked across every country in the world and he literally would not stop talking about him self.Its hard to explain how annoying he was but lets just say after about two minutes I wanted to shoot him in the face.

After a couple of minutes a norweign guy named markus joined us so I no longer had to listen to the annoying Ozzy.

After a couple of beers I explained to Markus the economic situation in Ireland and asked would he mind maybe giving us back our oil. He said that if I was stuck for a job I could come work in his norweign mansion because in Norway they employ people from poor countries just for the laugh.

He also bought me a beer and called it norweign guilt beer which was cool but I wasn't letting up on the oil thing. So he promised to send me a couple of barrels of oil whenever I got back to Ireland.

After a few more beers myself, markus Marion and Paul decided to go on a Jeep trip to see some waterfalls because lets face it everyone loves a good waterfall.

The next day we got in the Jeep which was apparently from the Korean war(this was definitively not true). The guide seemed like a nice guy but couldn't speak much English but did drive around for around an hour so I could get batteries for my camera.

Anyway we drove out into the Brazilian country side to the first waterfall. To reach the waterfall you had to cross a rope bridge so that was cool. It all seemed very tropical and sunny etc so I was happy enough. The waterfall it self was more like a downward bend in a river as apposed to an actual waterfall It was a cool place to get in for a swim though.

After a couple of minutes we moved on to the so called second waterfall which again not so much a waterfall fall more like water falong at a small incline over some rocks. This did have really large flat stones running down it to a pool at the bottom. The rocks were unbelievably slippy and you could slide down them which was good craic. The Brazilian guy working there could surf down the rocks and do really impressive tricks which was really cool.

After that we decided to give the tour a second chance until the guide decided to bring us to some weird hippy house in the jungle.

He brought us in to the house and said we could order food although to me it looked just like some ones house. They were all in the kitchen making a Salad and one women was breast feeding. It was all very strange and I don't really know what the whole thing was about. I'm pretty sure they were growing pot and making clothes out of plants and shit which they were trying to sell. Anyway we high tailed it out of their to the next waterfall.......

That again wasn't really a waterfall. There was water and I suppose technically it was falling but not much I've seen better water falling in the shower.

We were all fairly hungry so we didn't stay long and moved on to a kilo restaurant in the middle of know where. (a kilo restaurant is a restaurant that you pay for your food per kilo. Its like a buffet but they weigh your plate at the end. If your clever and don't put really heavy things on the plate you can eat cheaply. These restaurants are very popular in Brazil).

After food and a few beers the guide brought us to a beach and then just walked off and drove a long beside us at the edge of the beach as we walked along the beach.Again I'm not really sure what he was at. He was kind of mental. At the end of the beach you could jump into the sea and get covered in this weird mud that looked like oil which was cool.

After that we went back to the hostel to have beers again.I was due to check out the next day but decided to stay another night and do the boat trip to some Brazilian islands the next day with Marcus.

The boat trip was good and it brought us to some beeches and we seen some great views of Brazilian coast line. Although to be honest after the first one they all look the same. I do enjoy a good beach though.

On the boat trip we met a really cool couple Alex(from England) and Jane(from Canada). We ended up sitting with them the entire day on the deck of the boat having a few beers which continued on to beers on the beach outside the hostel.

The next day Marcus was supposed to be heading to ihla grande an island near rio famous for its beautiful beaches. Marcus had become somewhat obsessed with this island as he wanted to fulfil his life long dream of playing a pirate on a pirate island. It was the reason he spent weeks growing a pirate beard.

Anyway I suggested that he should come to florinopolis with me and after a few beers we had set a plan to head to Flori then into Argentina to iguazu falls. We legged it down to the bus station to book our tickets to Sao Paulo so we could get a night bus to Flori.  Sao Paulo is apparently the biggest bus station in the world although I'm not sure I believe that.

We hopped on the bus that was half an hour late and hoped we would make it to Sao Paulo bus station before half eleven at night to make the night bus to Flori....what could possibly go wrong you say...a lot..lots of things could go wrong and did go wrong.

In Brazil it seems they are not really big on time keeping.They're a very relaxed nation of people who are extremely friendly but not the best at being on time. Firstly the bus was half an hour late so we were cutting it fine already. Then it looked like the bus driver started dropping people off to their houses and taking de tours all over the place.

We made it to the Sao Paulo bus terminal with around two minutes to spare and legged it through the bus terminal to try jump on the last bus to Flori although ironically this seems to be the only bus in Brazil that leaves on time. When we reached the departure area at two minutes past half the bus had gone... Resulting in what lead to myself and markus spending a night from hell in Sao Paulo bus station.

Things you can't be at in a favela

So I decided I'd get a favela tour because a few other people in the hostel were going on one so I thought feck it sure might as well.

The government in Brazil started pacification of the favelas to try tackle the crime rates in Rio a couple of years ago. This basically means they went in with loads of guns and tried to kill or remove the drug lords and gangs controlling them. The pacification of most of the favelas has been relatively successful to date leaving them a much safer place.

Anyway I went on the tour with about ten other people in a mini van. The favelas themselves are exactly what you would expect, tiny narrow streets with houses literally stacked on top of each other. The conditions seem fairly poor but the people seem really nice. Many of the people living there also work in little shops in the favelas themselves so they never really have to leave them.

The guide brought us down into the middle of Rio's biggest favela and showed us some gang markings and really dark narrow streets which seemed dodgy. He also showed us markings on the buildings that meant you could buy drugs there.(you can buy most drugs except crack cocaine.Apparently the drug lords think selling craic is taking it one step to far).

The guide then also said that if we were there to buy drugs he would leave us in the flavela to fend for ourselves which was nice of him.

He also said not to take to many pictures because the gangs and drug lords don't like journalist and might think you are one. For that reason I don't have any plus I think its not very nice to take pictures of poor people because they are poor.

Anyway that was not the general consensus of the group. There was one or two who had outrageously expensive cameras and were taking pictures of all kinds of mental shit like telephone cables. At one stage we nearly lost the guide because this English one with a massive camera had to get a picture of some fucking telephone cables. I said eh you can't be at that where the fuck is the guide gone if we lose him were all going to die here.So I pushed here and her stupid pretentious camera out of the way and legged it after the guide (only part of this might be true).

Eventually I manged to safely direct the tour groupback to the guide who was leaning against a wall a few hundred meters ahead smoking a cigar saying ehy you stupid criiingo why you not follow (also possibly not true).

He then told us about this cool project the government started in the favela. They built a massive sports centre with free membership for the people living in the favela but only if they enrol their children in school. The kids here love football and having access to this encourages them to go to school.

Things you cannot be at in a favela.

1.don't go on a tour there and try to buy drugs .The guide will leave you there and you will get shot. Sure you can't be at that lads!

2. Don't be a knob head tourist and bring a camera worth about a grand.Do what I did and bring a shit pink camera that nobody would rob and if they did well jokes on them cause the camera is fucking pink!

3. Don't take pictures of crap you can see at home. We've all seen telephone wires tangled together.Anyone over the age of sixteen will remember trying to untangle a load of it to connect the bloody internet.Again you can't be at that!

4. Don't stop to take pictures of crap when the guide said don't take pictures here..the gangs don't like it. Seriously what was her problem..I told her here you can't be at that!

5. Don't wear flip flops to a favela. There is rubbish everywhere and chickens and dogs and then more chickens.

6.Don't be an arsehole and start throwing money at the poor kids.you might think your helping but your not your just being a pretentious arsehole.

7. Maybe don't do a tour in general. These people are poor and are trying to live.Although some of the money you pay for the tour goes into helping them maybe just donate it to charities set up to help or go volunteer. Don't go in and stare at them and take pictures of them just because they are poor.

On an unrelated note that night I went out to a samba bar with a few people.On the way there myself and one of the other lads got jumped by a prostitute who tried to rob me.So I said here you prostitute....YOU CAN'T BE AT THAT!