South America roundup
Allora...it's been a long time without blogging goodness. I thought before continuing I should quickly round up my travels in South America - especially Bolivia and Argentina.
Bolivia really for me, in the major part, beyond the interesting sights of La Paz and the mountain biking of the last post, was all about the salt flats - the salar - of the south. Pretty much all of southern Bolivia is desert spotted with salar (plural?), lakes and amazing mountains.
I took a 3/4 day 4WD tour of the salar, staying in random crappy places in the middle of nowhere along the way. It really is the best way to take in the immensity of the place - immensity both in terms of geographical size and also in terms of natural beauty. And it really is bella. Driving along one sees massive mountains cropping up everywhere; with green, white or red lakes scattered in the lowlands. Words can't come close, and photos don't really do it justice either, but check out my pics in this flickr set to see for yourself.
Crossing the border from Bolivia into Argentina was a nightmare...but also a fun over-tired journey with three aussie girls...so swings and roundabouts and all that. From Bolivia into Argentina was like travelling from night to day. The smells, the taxis, the people, the food...nearly everything different, and generally for the better! Well, at least better for me in my current state of mind. I was a bit sick of the relatively rough life in Peru and Bolivia and craving the touches of Europe which give Argentina its distinctiveness. Of course there are many many things more Argentinian grown as well...e.g. STEAK. So, so good. All the stories are true (if you're smart and find the right places to eat and the right ways to order). And then the local WINES. Right up there with the steak. Mmm.
After staying in a couple of smaller cities and living the argentinian good life for awhile I headed to the capital, Buenos Aires. I was fortunate enough to stay with a couchsurfer for the entire time I was there which was awesome. I met locals, found the best places to eat/drink/pub crawl etc. It was wicked auu. I spent about 2 weeks in BA doing the touristy things, partying, finding good steak and also getting a bit sick of only finding steak, pasta etc. Spice was lacking for real. I really loved the place. It has a really cool feeling, or vibe if you'll let me use that word. For such a cool city I haven't really got many photos...not sure why, I just wasn't very often in a photo taking mood whilst I was there. The few I have are here.
So that's all I can muster for south america...now for italy when I find more time. In short though, italy has been fairly awesome so far. I have been in Rome for 5 weeks now, and will be leaving this monday to travel up north to stay/work/live on a farm in the Marche region. And then after 15 days, move to another farm with the same family (they own both), in the Emilia-Romagna region - near Piacenza and Parma. It's organised through the Willing Workers On Organic Farms (WWOOF) programme and will be a great opportunity for me to live the traditional italian country lifestyle and get my language skills up to scratch.
Ciao a tutti