Hollywood then home…..

Well this final blog should have been written a week ago but life at ‘home’ has been so busy…. better late than never though.
Four nights in Hollywood was the perfect ending to our ‘big’ trip. Our hotel was right in the guts of Hollywood where all the theaters, Wax museum, shopping, and tours all left from.
First morning we went on a tour around the Hollywood Hills, Beverly Hills, Sunset Boulevard area and checked out the amazing homes of stars and celebs – valued from 5 -150 million. Some were pretty nice – others really ugly. That afternoon we caught a bus and went to a famous Farmers market and shopping area and enjoyed a delicous lunch there … no more Mexican….we’re so over beans and cheese.
Another day we caught a couple of buses down to Santa Monica Beach where we hired bikes and biked down to Venice beach along this big wide cycleway. Venice Beach is also known as Muscle beach … there are outdoor gyms where people work out on the sand. Had the close encounter with the “stars” another day… refer to previous blog.
Second last day in Hollywood Lyn and I went to Disneyland for the day while Joc took some buses and checked out downtown L.A. Lyn and I went on some quieter rides but all were fun. It is a magical place even for adults.
Last day we went along Sunset Strip and hoped to go into the Viper Room (Johnny Depp’s) club but of course it was shut so we checked out a few galleries there then back to Hollywood Boulevard for some final shopping.
Plane trip back to Sydney was bit turbulent at times… we all slept alot of the time though. Had to say Goodbye to Joc pretty well straight away though as she had a plane to catch to Coff’s Harbour. We all had mixed emotions at saying bye… sad to see Joc go but happy to be heading home to family and friends.
We’ve had the time of our live’s, seen so much in 6 weeks…. Mexico, Peru, Bolivia, USA….. all amazing experiences – can’t really name a favourite place. Oaxaca was special to me though…. Joc and I even thought we could ‘live’ there for a year 🙂 and just do our ‘art’ – another adventure oneday perhaps… the night at the Oaxaca cemetery was special too… moving for us all…we really like how they celebrate the “Day of the Dead” and create a party for their dearly beloved who’d died. Halloween which happens to be my birthday will have a whole new meaning now.
Anyway it’s great to be home… thanks all for following our journey….. Adious Amigo’s..
Rob…..Lyn……and Joc

Red carpet premier in Hollywood

Had to add a special blog… staying one street away from Hollywood’s red carpet street Hollywood Boulevard, and been watching people set up all day for the premier of “The Fighter”. Made sure we were down there tonight and hung out for several hours checking out the stars that arrived in all types of stretch limo’s and seriously flash cars. Got to say “Hi” to Helen Mirren, plus Russell Brand (who is seriously cute) also saw Katy Perry – close up, Christian Bale, Amy Adam’s and some famous Hollywood chick – “Laura” someone. Everyone was looking amazing…. the women’s dresses and heels …. just gorgeous. Was all very surreal…. and happens only in Hollywood…. 🙂

La Paz – Baja California

Well this will be our 2nd last blog, as our days are numbered now on this trip.
Spent the last couple of days in Mexico City cruising around more galleries and museums… Oh and Lyn went on an early morning Hot Air balloon ride around the Teotihuacan ruins. She had a beautiful time and enjoyed the experience with a French airline crew.
Arrived in La Paz – Baja, late one night and caught up with Jo Bird the next morning:) Was wonderful seeing Jo’s smiling face again and we cruised together for the next 4 days….walking here and there, eating and drinking Margarita’s at some of Jo’s haunts…Oh and suffering the next day. Hell we were glad when the planned sailing trip was cancelled. Jo’s son Dylan was also visiting the Baja so went to the yacht he was working on and enjoyed a catch-up. Our B&B “Casa Buena” was lovely and had wonderful hosts Milton and Susu, and their beautiful children Michelle and Arthur.
We hired a rental for 2 days and Jo became our “driver”… got to check out our wider surroundings and spent a few hours at beautiful marina facilities that were like a 6* resort. We lived the life of the rich and famous for an hour or so….
Yesterday we drove to a small beach town called Todos Santos – on the Pacific side of the peninsula. T.S is a real little tourist gem full of art galleries, shops and cafe’s. We also went to a deserted beach and just enjoyed the azure blue waters and watched Pelicans cruising by. This morning Jo drove us to San Jose del Cabo this time on the Cortez Sea side of the peninsula.- 2 1/2 hours away. The landscape between the Coasts is slightly hilly, desert like and filled with shrubby plants and thousands of large cactus. Jo dropped us off at the airport and it was sad to say “Goodbye” but hoping to see her and Billy in NZ next year.

Staying at an iconic hotel in Hollywood called the” Magic Castle”. Great to be in the States…. no more Spanish…. no more Mexican food 🙂 but now paying in American dollars (of course) so that’s definitely a downer. A Peso went a long way in Mexico.
Will check out a few usual L.A. places over the next few days.

La Paz-Lima- Mexico City

We were pleased to get back to La Paz after our Southern trip. We managed to squeeze in just a spot more last minute shopping, and went for a tour to Valle de la Luna or “Moon Valley” which is an area of eroded canyons and pinnacles located 10 km from the city. From there we went to the Killy Killy lookout for spectacular 360 degree views of the city.The buildings are mainly earth coloured and blend into the hillside.
We had become quite fond of La Paz and spent many enjoyable hours wandering the steep cobblestoned alleys among the colonial buildings and markets.
In the afternoon we flew to Lima, a 2 hour flight, and stayed the night at a nice hostel near the sea before heading off the next morning on a 5 hour flight to Mexico City.
Little did we know that we were arriving in the middle of the celebrations for 200 years of independence, and after booking into our hotel we walked onto the street to the Zocola, or square into a spectacular laser, light, sound and story show. There were pictures being projected onto the cathedral and palace buildings to illustrate the history of the country.
Now they have worked 24 hrs a day dismantling all the scaffolding etc and are busy constructing a huge ice skating rink! There is so much to see here, there are countless grand buildings,art galleries,museums, sculptures, murals,live entertainment, the list goes on. Today we went to the artist Frida Kahlos blue house in the suburb of Coyoacan. Her belongings were still in the house, including her bed where she did a lot of her painting due to her spinal injury. Some of her paintings there also and photos. Afterwards went to Xochimilco where there are 180 km of canals with islands of reclaimed land around.originally an Aztec growing area.The locals spend their weekends cruising around on colourful punts, sometimes with a Mexican band on board. Small boats cruise past selling food,drinks, clothes, jewellery etc. We had a corona whilst peacefully sailing along. Only 2 more nights in Mexico City before flying to La Paz – Baja Peninsula to catch up with our amiga Jo.

Salar de Uyuni, Potosi and Sucre – Bolivia

Left La Paz last night and caught a bus down south to a small town called Uyuni It’s where you have to go to take a tour out to “Salar de Uyuni” – the Salt flats. You wouldn’t go there otherwise as it’s a dusty dirty desolate town. The bus trip there is enough to put anyone off…12 hrs. First 7 hrs were OK but the last 5 were on an unpaved deeply corrugated road that shook you to bits. Hell on Earth… and we forgot the sleeping pills and drugs!!! Anyway we obviously survived it. Got to our hotel 7am and had a l.o.v.e.l.y shower and breakfast before heading out on our 1 day tour to the Salt flats.
We were driven out in a 4×4 along with 4 other tourists. Our first stop was to “Cementerio de Trenes” – the graveyard of rusting locomotives… maybe 20 odd engines and carriages. They looked like something out of a Mad Max movie. Next onto a very basic wee factory in a mud brick building where two little old ladies were bagging the salt from a huge pile then sealing the bags over a gas flame. Carried out into the plains and saw men with picks and shovels making 3-4 ft high mounds of salt then a truck would come along and the men would reshovel it onto the back of the truck. It’s all done by hand – no machinery here.
Checked out the original salt hotel… everything including the furniture was made from blocks of salt. It is now a museum as it was an environmental concern when it was a hotel.
We arrived at Salar de Uyuni… the world’s largest salt flat which sits at 3653m and blankets an amazing 12,000 sq km. It was part of the prehistoric salt lake, Lago Minchin. This blinding white desert is spectacular and we visited this cactus island “Incahuasi” which is about 30kms into the salt flats. The landscape was volcanic rock, shrubby plants and 1000’s of giant cactus….some 900 years old. Rob was lucky enough to see a vizcachas (long-tailed rodent, related to the chinchilla). This critter was one of a marooned colony from many years ago. There were also Llamas munching on shrubby bushes.
Joc, Lyn and I mucked about out on the plains and took some illusion photo”s. This whole area is a photographers dream.
Back into dusty Uyuni about 4 – found a reasonable place for dinner…bed early. Off to Potosi tomorrow with our private driver.

Trip to Potosi (4 hrs) was through amazing barren desert, with little mud brick homes along the way. Quite a few Silver mines – the largest being owned by en ex-Bolivian President. Seems the working conditions over here in the mines are atrocious and accidents are a common occurrence. Ironic to be writing about mining accidents now we know about the Pike River tragedy….bloody sad for so many people.
Anyway the landscape consisted of large canyons and mountains of many colours….layers of different minerals (reminded me of the painted desert in the US). Also saw many Llamas and some Donkeys.
Lots and lots of roadworks along the way.
Potosi (the highest city in the world) and due to silver mining was once an extremely rich city that even bankrolled the Spanish economy for several centuries. Having said that we were seriously disappointed at not finding any silver shops….plenty in La Paz though.
We spent an hour checking out Santa Teresa – an old convent dating back to 1651. It is now a museum. We saw the nun’s bedrooms, dining room and even a chapel which had 19 burial chambers in it – two opened but covered in glass – you could see the skeletons. Many beautiful art works, sculptures and exquisite embroidered priests clothing.
Another driver, another 2 hr trip – to Sucre this time…. Our driver thought he was a racing car driver and Joc and I had “Stop” and “Now” worked out in Spanish if he attempted to overtake near a corner one more time.. Think he understood the profanities that came out of our mouth’s and settled down – a bit.
Sucre was a stunning city with a rich colonial heritage. Many of the buildings were whitewashed… also lots of beautiful white churches with BIG bells and bell towers. Our hotel the De Sur Merced was rather grand…our room had a chandelier, antique furniture and the first decent light we’ve had all month, oh and also the best breaky. Bit quieter today being Sunday but it didn’t matter as our hearts weren’t in it …. Thinking of home and miners.
This morning awoke to rain and the initial prospect of plane not being able to take-off as no radar here… everything’s done via visuals.
We were faced with the prospect of another 12 hr overnight bus trip…we weren’t happy BUT then the skies cleared enough and we flew out to La Paz.
Here now….repacked….bed…hasta luego

Puno + Lake Titicaca

Took a 1st class bus to Puno (478 miles away) and enjoyed rural Peru from our reclining bus seats. Many small farms – some terraced with maybe a few cows, donkeys or Llamas tethered so they couldn’t get to the corn, quinoa, potato crops etc. Then there would be a lady in full Peruvian dress with the big billowy skirts, bowler hat, embroidered shawl, sitting watching over their animals, sometimes the men or children did the shepherding too.
Anyway arrived in Puno and got our bags ready for an overnight stay on an island on Lake Titicaca.
Got picked up 8am and joined about 25 other tourists for our lake excursion. Took a boat to the Aymaran floating reed island village where the Uros Indinas had lived for many centuries. We were shown how the reed islands were made .. they were approx 1 mt thick and had 4 anchors so they didn’t move, but in saying that, you could see the island slightly bob up and down when you were on it. The locals showed us their handicrafts they had made which consisted of the usual Peruvian hats, ceramic jewellery, ceramic bowls, toy reed boats etc. Met up with a lovely Canadian woman – Maureen and we hung out together for the next 24 hrs. Nice to have someone else to chat to and of course her Spanish spaeaking abilities really helped us.
Lake Titicaca is so huge, it’s elevation is 3820m and the lake is 230 km long and 97km wide. It straddles both Peru and Bolivia and you can see the snow capped mountains of the Cardillera Real in the background. The lake water is sapphire in colour and very clear. At no time did you think you were on a lake – it resembled the sea totally.
Anyway arrived 3 hrs later to the Isla Amantani where we were all billeted out in our small groups with a Peruvian family – (Maureen came with us). Our host family consisted of Paoula, Dmitrius and 17 month son Yepherson. We were given our own triple room upstairs in a very basic but typical house. We had a late lunch of quinoa and vege soup then rice and salad…Joc and I being vegetarian had been worried about the food, and Lyn decided she wasn’t eating Coy (guinea pig).. it wasn’t a problem in the end as all our food was vego. Later we were expected to hike up this huge steep hill… mores stone steps up to Patchapapa – sacred mountain. The 360 veiws were amazing though. At 4100m this was the highest we’d been at so far. Back down the hill… Joc got sick.. headache… nausea… probably due to the altitude so took herself off to bed. After dinner that night Paulo got the authentic dress-up,s out and we were expected to don the billowy skirts, embroidered shirts and scarfs. We went down to the community hall and enjoyed listened and dancing to the school band which were playing traditional Peruvian music. We looked a sight but it was fun.
Next day we went off to Taquile Island… lunch…. another walk…up many steps….back into Puno via our very slow boat at 5pm. The whole experience was amazing but we all decided we wouldn’t do it again in a hurry. The hot shower was amazing. Another bus trip 8 hrs, including getting on and off the crowded bus a few times to go through Bolivian immigration, a stop at Copacabana( yes we did hum the song, although dont think its the town the song was written about) We also had to get off the bus to cross the lake on large dingys while the bus went over on a ferry.We were told to get off the bus in spanish, we didnt understand a word of it, someone translated for us, and Lyn said Im not getting on another boat” She wasnt feeling the best in the bum department.
We finally arrived to the impressive sight of La Paz which is set in a bowl like shape, you start at the top and wind down through the Shantytown to the main centre. There is a stunning snow capped mountain backdrop to the city. The last two days we have spent a lot of time roaming the streets dodging the chaotic traffic, checking out the witches market, where they sell Llama fetuses to bury in the foundations of new buildings for good luck, as well as amulets and herbal remedies. Also visited the art gallery. Staying at Hotel Rosario where Rob stayed exactly 30 years ago. Off on a new adventure tomorrow night, 12 hour bus trip to salt flats. Hasta la vista baby! P.S.Rob apologises for the photo’s i.e the double up’s x4 of Llama fetuses etc… this blog website is bloody temperamental… deal with it baby…….

Cuzco to Machu Picchu…

Just a quick update as we’re off on another adventure soon – over on some of the islands on LakeTiticaca… but that’ll be another story.
Anyway took a train from Cuzco to Aquas Calientes (the town beneath Machu Picchu) and arrived at lunchtime. The train trip took us through farm land and eventually up through the sub tropical forest where many beautiful flowers were growing wild. i.e Bromeliads, Impatients, orchids etc.
Early start next day to catch the first buses…. 100’s of other gringo’s had the same idea. Up onto Machu Picchu… and it was just like the postcard picture…bloody beautiful. We got some photo’s before the 1000’s of others arrived.
The Inca City of MP is comprised of temples, palaces, shrines, paths, streets, plazas and some dwellings. They think it was a place where noblemen and priviledged could go to. It also contained a vast area of terraces which were used for agriculture.
We decided to climb the extra mountain called Huayna Picchu, which is situated on a huge big rock behind Machu Picchu. The walk up was bloody hard. We went up early so it wasnt too hot. We had to stop frequently from scaling the steep stone steps and catch our breath, as did everyone as the airs a bit thin up there. The view from the top was amazing. Had a wee picnic up there and took the obligatory photos. Wandered around the ruins for a while when we got back down, no information at the site about the history so we had to make it up ouselves.
Waited around Aquas Calientes til 4pm then took the train back to Cuzco. Shattered.

Lima to Cuzco

Arrived in Lima early on 5th November… got picked up from airport and went to Barranco Hotel… bit of a let down but only there for 1 night. Lima has a population of 7.6 million and overpopulation has earned this fast-moving metropolis a reputation as a polluted, crazy and dangerous place.
Decided to fly to Cuzco tomorrow as the two day bus trip totalling 23 hrs total seems too daunting. The only good thing re. the bus trip would’ve been a slower ascent to altitude.
Spent day checking out more markets and art galleries… lots of religious paintings here, beautifully done. Also booked plane tickets.
Out for dinner at a beachside restaurant then watched this spraycan artist create amazing futuristic / Sci-fi paintings. of course had to buy 2
Arrived in Cuzco next day another freaky plane landing… we screamed to a halt at the very END of the runway…
Cuzco is 3,360m above sea level and the first thing you notice is the thin clear air. You walk very slowly here.
Cuzco was the heart of the once-mighty Inca empire until the Spanish took them over. Its now the undisputed archaeological capital. The population here is about 330,000. The streets are nearly all one lane, steep, cobbled and only the smallest cars can negotiate them. They all have a narrow raised one-person footpath along the edge. Most of the buildings are built on the foundations of Inca ruins. You feel like you’ve stepped back in time being here. As you look out over the city you see many church domes and steeples and all the houses have large terracotta tiled roofs.
We all suffered from different degrees of altitude sickness. Joc was a bit worse than us but recovered within 12 hrs. We mostly had shortness of breath… a few steps to the toilet was enough to get you puffing also headache and light headedness. Everyone here recommends you drink Coca tea to help adjust to the altitude, (they even gave it to us on the plane), but all it did for us was put us in a mildly drugged state. Our dreams were fantastic though 🙂
The shopping here is amazing but it all gets repeditive after a while.
Today we went on a tour to the Sacred Valley and saw the amazing Ollyantambo ruins. You can’t even imagine how they were built – bringing these gigantic rocks from 9 km’s away using just slaves and ropes and and poles. Also went to a weaving demonstration using natural dyes from organic materials, producing beautiful colours/crafts.
Early start tomorrow… 5am … catching a train to Aquas Calientis, and the BIG one next day “Machu Picchu” 🙂

Oaxaca and Peru

Last nights party was still raging near our hotel. Fireworks – actually explosions were common….they shook our room. Caught a cab up to Monte Alban – an ancient archaeological site dated 300 BC and was inhabited for 13 centuries. These ruins were stone block const- ruction in a pyramid style with steep steps up the sides to a flat grassy top. These were amazing to wander around – about 4 football fields in area. There were many tombs inside the pyramids. The views of Oaxaca city in background were very impressive. While at the café we saw bright green native hummingbirds- only 3cm long, drinking nectar from big trumpet like flowers. They looked like big insects. There were bumblebees at the tree as well which were totally black.
Our new friend Jenny, the American lady who makes jewellery and who’s renting an apartment here for two months, invited us up to her place for a visit. We enjoyed a bottle of vino tinto on her rooftop terrace, and were joined by some of our other new friends who were staying at Casa Arnel. On the way into town Jenny showed us where two guys had been assassinated a few days earlier. It was a midday drive by – politically motivated. The big bloody area on the footpath was very apparent and on a nearby stone wall were the words “La Sangre” or “The Blood”. People are very political here and we see slogans and artworks with political messages everywhere, at the same time there are armed police everywhere – at the moment anyway.
We went to this cool restaurant with the intention of eating (as you do), but the service was extremely non-existent, apart from bar service. The Margaritas were delicious. We ended up eating almond biscuits and oranges for dinner in our room at 2am.
Yesterday we had a quieter day, got some washing done, sent some things home and found some time to do some more shopping…..
Sitting at Mexico city airport now waiting for our flight to Lima – Peru. The flight from Oaxaca to M.C. was scary on landing as we had an aborted landing at the last minute, not sure why, our Spanish is not quite up to it yet… anyway we ‘held’ at approx 2000mts for 20 minutes doing laps of the outer city. Lyn and I clapped when we landed.
Adios Amigos….

November 1st…. more celebrations

We’ve just arrived back to our quiet sanctuary from an evening of mayhem on the streets with thousands of people. Everyone is partying full-on. There are many brass bands playing….actually duelling – trying to outdo each other with their volume. Each band has an entourage with hundreds of people in costume…it’s like a ‘Wearable Art’ meets
‘Lord of the Rings’  meet  ‘Halloween’. Every now and then they move along the street …stop… then start up the crazy loud brass music again and everyone starts dancing again.  This total experience is punctuated with deafening fireworks. As I’m writing this the noise is so loud that I know that they’re walking down our street, this apparently goes on all night.  ‘Mothers little helper’ might be needed tonight. Earlier on today we walked up some back streets to a huge auditorium on the hill overlooking Oaxaca.  Would be amazing to experience a concert from up there.  When we got back we read that ‘robbers’ sometimes frequent the area…. We’re tired, a bit sunburnt but ‘happy’