Now that could do some damage. That is what I said as we walked through the Incan Museum.
Ohhh ... obsidian ... as I looked at the arrow heads.
We walked and walked.
What did you say Dad (Can't do some punctuation as the keyboards are so different in South America) I said.
Come over here.
So I came running. Skulls! Ready deep skulls! With a hole in the sides of their heads! It was from trappanning. We kept on walking.
We spotted pottery from three and a half thousand years ago.
We finally saw a black cage with windows. MUMMIES! FREAKY!!
There were small mummies, big mummies, scary mummies. They were bound in cloth rope. One was even in a clay barrel. We walked gain till we came to the end of our trip where we saw things for sale. We looked at a knife that had awesome carvings. By Zahn
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Independence Day in Cusco
Don ...Don ... De ... De ...De ... Don ... Don! Music boomed from trumpets and saxophones as they paraded around the main square, dominated by uniforms.
Guns and machine guns were held by every member of the armed force. Mortars and Howetzers set everywhere. There were people on the jeeps and people just walking, people that marched and people that just sung.
They marched on and on waiting for the signal to stop. The parade stopped and the forces stood completely still. We looked around to see everyone looking skyward so we looked up as well. We saw two men abseiling (repelling) off the roof of a buildin. As they did so, a gigantic Peruvian flag unfolded itself and looked amazing.
Independence day in Cusco on PhotoPeach
So after all of this in the heat of the day, we walked back to our hotel and guess what Zahn found ... 500 soles(250 NZ). We didn't know who had dropped it and we didn't hand it into the police because it we did they would have taken it and kept it for themselves. So lucky old thing got to keep it.
That night we went out for dinner. We saw a girl with her nose pressed against the windaw and her bulging eyes staring at the food left on tables. So when the customers had left, she and her little brother walked in, slid into the table and ate the food. Dad showed them more food, bought them an Inka cola each and they both sat down, enjoyed the meal and walked out with grins on their faces. Not knowing when their next meal would come they went outside, still dirty, to sit in the cold.
But as I sat there, with our table packed with food and us dressed like kings and queens beside our parents, I noticed the poverty of the life these children had. No parents, no opportunities, all dirty and sad. My luxurious life and them with nothing. By Amber
Guns and machine guns were held by every member of the armed force. Mortars and Howetzers set everywhere. There were people on the jeeps and people just walking, people that marched and people that just sung.
They marched on and on waiting for the signal to stop. The parade stopped and the forces stood completely still. We looked around to see everyone looking skyward so we looked up as well. We saw two men abseiling (repelling) off the roof of a buildin. As they did so, a gigantic Peruvian flag unfolded itself and looked amazing.
Independence day in Cusco on PhotoPeach
So after all of this in the heat of the day, we walked back to our hotel and guess what Zahn found ... 500 soles(250 NZ). We didn't know who had dropped it and we didn't hand it into the police because it we did they would have taken it and kept it for themselves. So lucky old thing got to keep it.
That night we went out for dinner. We saw a girl with her nose pressed against the windaw and her bulging eyes staring at the food left on tables. So when the customers had left, she and her little brother walked in, slid into the table and ate the food. Dad showed them more food, bought them an Inka cola each and they both sat down, enjoyed the meal and walked out with grins on their faces. Not knowing when their next meal would come they went outside, still dirty, to sit in the cold.
But as I sat there, with our table packed with food and us dressed like kings and queens beside our parents, I noticed the poverty of the life these children had. No parents, no opportunities, all dirty and sad. My luxurious life and them with nothing. By Amber
Our last day in Bolivia
Our last day in Copacabana and our last day in Bolivia. We walked around and found a red bus. As we started our journey, we went really slowly and it felt like we were going in circles as we headed out of the city. We soon got to the Peruvian border and we headed into Peru.
Oh ... I forgot ...By the bus station in Copacabana we went to a church with gates protecting it and a market to the side where I bought my first present. They were having an impressive ceremony. There were lines of people who had bought their cars to be blessed. They decorated them with flowers, then the priest would bless the car and the motor, then they would let off fire crackers. Then they would squirt the car with wine. Then we went to this big bunch of shops. We saw foosball so we had a game. Dad and I won. While we were eating at a market, some Argintineans came in and started singing and playing music. Mum had fried trout.
Back to the bus ride .... As soon as we got into Peru, we saw a few differences such as tuk tuks and cyclos.
We stayed in Puno for the night but in the morning, as we left, we got into a taxi. But it got stuck in a traffic jambecause of a parade to celebrate independence day in Peru. Because of the traffic jam, we had to jump out and get another taxi to the bus stop.
When we were half way on the bus to Cusco, a lady walked on selling a traditional meal of mutton and potatoes. It was quite like a hangi. There was a peruvian man on the bus called Henry. In Cusco we shared a taxi with him to our hotel.
Our hotel is actually a school. It surrounds a basketball sized court. Three sides are the school and one is the hostel. It is run by really nice nuns. By Zahn
Oh ... I forgot ...By the bus station in Copacabana we went to a church with gates protecting it and a market to the side where I bought my first present. They were having an impressive ceremony. There were lines of people who had bought their cars to be blessed. They decorated them with flowers, then the priest would bless the car and the motor, then they would let off fire crackers. Then they would squirt the car with wine. Then we went to this big bunch of shops. We saw foosball so we had a game. Dad and I won. While we were eating at a market, some Argintineans came in and started singing and playing music. Mum had fried trout.
Back to the bus ride .... As soon as we got into Peru, we saw a few differences such as tuk tuks and cyclos.
We stayed in Puno for the night but in the morning, as we left, we got into a taxi. But it got stuck in a traffic jambecause of a parade to celebrate independence day in Peru. Because of the traffic jam, we had to jump out and get another taxi to the bus stop.
When we were half way on the bus to Cusco, a lady walked on selling a traditional meal of mutton and potatoes. It was quite like a hangi. There was a peruvian man on the bus called Henry. In Cusco we shared a taxi with him to our hotel.
Our hotel is actually a school. It surrounds a basketball sized court. Three sides are the school and one is the hostel. It is run by really nice nuns. By Zahn
Where are we going...
Heading to Copucabana...
As soon as i woke up we rushed out to the market for our final fruit salad in Sucre before the taxi arrived. No luck...we were eating our fruit salad IN the taxi. As soon as we got to the airport we went and checked in. Oh no! Our plane was delayed by an hour. From in the air i saw rugged terrein that was higher than the clouds...amazing! After landing we caught a three hour bus to Copucabana. I was reading most of the time. Through the window there were pigs on a lesh and llamas all over the place. Pa, Amber and I keep swapping seats.
Then we stopped! Were we there i wondered ... No ...We stilll had a short bus ride and a short boat ride. VRrrrr as we hopped on the boat. we went across on one boat and our bus went across on another. we hopped off and continued to Copacabana. We got there perfectly fine. By Zahn
Today was a what are we doing day. So we walked out the door of our hotel with pot belly stomachs full of the delishimo breakfast we had at Hotel Utama. We went for a wander and found what i like ton call the god looks over me hill. It 3966 metres high and covered with crosses. Christians believed that by throwing pebbles onto the crosses, god would look over them.
There were two hills and when we got to the top of the first hill we found a gorgeous black dog (black labrudor) who followed us upm to the top of the second hill. Then he waited for us to give him some food. He sat staring at us with his bulging black eyes. As he sat sulking on and on he made Zahn and i feel sad and want to take him home with us, but he already belonged to some one.
When we got to the bottom of the hill we spotted a boat that all the indigenous people sailed on...so we hopped on too. After the three hours it took to get there, we realsed we did not know where we were going but managed to make our way safely to the island of Isle del Sol. When we got to the island we saw pack donkeys and llamas. But the poor animals were being whacked and whacked...animal cruelty! By Amber!
As soon as i woke up we rushed out to the market for our final fruit salad in Sucre before the taxi arrived. No luck...we were eating our fruit salad IN the taxi. As soon as we got to the airport we went and checked in. Oh no! Our plane was delayed by an hour. From in the air i saw rugged terrein that was higher than the clouds...amazing! After landing we caught a three hour bus to Copucabana. I was reading most of the time. Through the window there were pigs on a lesh and llamas all over the place. Pa, Amber and I keep swapping seats.
Then we stopped! Were we there i wondered ... No ...We stilll had a short bus ride and a short boat ride. VRrrrr as we hopped on the boat. we went across on one boat and our bus went across on another. we hopped off and continued to Copacabana. We got there perfectly fine. By Zahn
Today was a what are we doing day. So we walked out the door of our hotel with pot belly stomachs full of the delishimo breakfast we had at Hotel Utama. We went for a wander and found what i like ton call the god looks over me hill. It 3966 metres high and covered with crosses. Christians believed that by throwing pebbles onto the crosses, god would look over them.
There were two hills and when we got to the top of the first hill we found a gorgeous black dog (black labrudor) who followed us upm to the top of the second hill. Then he waited for us to give him some food. He sat staring at us with his bulging black eyes. As he sat sulking on and on he made Zahn and i feel sad and want to take him home with us, but he already belonged to some one.
When we got to the bottom of the hill we spotted a boat that all the indigenous people sailed on...so we hopped on too. After the three hours it took to get there, we realsed we did not know where we were going but managed to make our way safely to the island of Isle del Sol. When we got to the island we saw pack donkeys and llamas. But the poor animals were being whacked and whacked...animal cruelty! By Amber!
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
The Potosi Mines
Awesome!! I get to wear a miners helmet with a light and a jacket and a pair of red overtrousers tucked into long gumboots!I got my mask and got on the bus to go to the Miners Market.
WOW! Dynamite I said as soon as I got into the building. But it wasn't as I imagined it. I thought it would be red but it was a grey wobbly substance. There were also coca leaves. The miners used these to nimb their feelings so they didn't know how hungry they were and how hard they were working.
After this we went into the mines. I was freaked out because there was Llama blood on the entrance like a splattered grapefruit and the dead Llama was on a building to the side.
When we finally went into the mines, it was hard to breath as we took our train ... well walked single file into the mountain like a train.
We found Tio, the devil of minerals. The miners worshipped him.
Our guide told us of a sickness called Siliconocous. Little did we know that he had it. You get it from all of the dust in the mines and there is not a cure for it.
To get to level two, we had to crawl. We met up with our first miners. They were shovelling dirt into carraiges. There was a tonne of dirt in each carraige. Then they pushed the carraige with the dirt in it. We started walking down again and we found more miners. They were filling up rubber buckets. As one was filled up another fell down. It was like a pattern as the mechanical winch pulled them up the hill.
Next we went down to level three. It looked dirty, smelt dirty and sounded dirty!
When we got out we were told how all of the minerals were taken out of the rocks in the refining plant. There were no safety barriers.
I felt sad that the life for the miners was so bad but I was happy to get out of the mines! By Zahn
Gross! Do I have to wear these horribly ugly mine clothes!!
We had just arrived at the mines and were putting on the ugliest clothes ever! They were ... battery packs, head lamps, helmets, overpants, jackets that were waterproof, bandanas or masks and belts. Just as I was thinking this would be the worst part, little did I know that a. we would be seeing dynamite and b. we would be trudging through the dark muddy tunnels on our hands and knees.
Next we walked into the Miners Market. It was where the miners shopped and was full of gifts that tourists could give to the miners. It had juice, dynamite that anyone could buy, coca leaves and water. We bought them juice and coca leaves.
After all of our sopping we went into the actual mines. As we entered the mines, I had that feeling that everyone gets when they are afraid. There was even Llama blood on the wall! Am I making you scared! Well I should be because at that sight I was scared!
The air thinned which made it hard to breathe. Not sure what to expect we trudged into the depths of the tunne ... into the dark, the cold, the wet, the muddy.
At level one we eyed and sat down beside Tio, the devil god of the tunnel. He had coca leaves and bottles all over him. With only half a penis and a tough life he was still surviving.
At level two we clambered down the steep slopes on hands and knees. We saw miners shovelling the rocks into tyre made buckets and hauling them up the hill.
And at the last but not least, level three, we saw the miners having trouble with their mine cart. It all our group feel sad and realise that life in the mine was not as easy as we thought.
We came out of the mine to see the refining plant where they took the rocks and put them through a series of proceedures to remove the minerals and silver and to leave the excess rock.
So after that it bought us to the end of our day ... and I can tell you now, It wasn't the most fun experience I have had but it was definately the most interesting. By Amber
After this we went into the mines. I was freaked out because there was Llama blood on the entrance like a splattered grapefruit and the dead Llama was on a building to the side.
When we finally went into the mines, it was hard to breath as we took our train ... well walked single file into the mountain like a train.
We found Tio, the devil of minerals. The miners worshipped him.
Our guide told us of a sickness called Siliconocous. Little did we know that he had it. You get it from all of the dust in the mines and there is not a cure for it.
To get to level two, we had to crawl. We met up with our first miners. They were shovelling dirt into carraiges. There was a tonne of dirt in each carraige. Then they pushed the carraige with the dirt in it. We started walking down again and we found more miners. They were filling up rubber buckets. As one was filled up another fell down. It was like a pattern as the mechanical winch pulled them up the hill.
Next we went down to level three. It looked dirty, smelt dirty and sounded dirty!
When we got out we were told how all of the minerals were taken out of the rocks in the refining plant. There were no safety barriers.
I felt sad that the life for the miners was so bad but I was happy to get out of the mines! By Zahn
Gross! Do I have to wear these horribly ugly mine clothes!!
We had just arrived at the mines and were putting on the ugliest clothes ever! They were ... battery packs, head lamps, helmets, overpants, jackets that were waterproof, bandanas or masks and belts. Just as I was thinking this would be the worst part, little did I know that a. we would be seeing dynamite and b. we would be trudging through the dark muddy tunnels on our hands and knees.
Next we walked into the Miners Market. It was where the miners shopped and was full of gifts that tourists could give to the miners. It had juice, dynamite that anyone could buy, coca leaves and water. We bought them juice and coca leaves.
After all of our sopping we went into the actual mines. As we entered the mines, I had that feeling that everyone gets when they are afraid. There was even Llama blood on the wall! Am I making you scared! Well I should be because at that sight I was scared!
The air thinned which made it hard to breathe. Not sure what to expect we trudged into the depths of the tunne ... into the dark, the cold, the wet, the muddy.
At level one we eyed and sat down beside Tio, the devil god of the tunnel. He had coca leaves and bottles all over him. With only half a penis and a tough life he was still surviving.
At level two we clambered down the steep slopes on hands and knees. We saw miners shovelling the rocks into tyre made buckets and hauling them up the hill.
And at the last but not least, level three, we saw the miners having trouble with their mine cart. It all our group feel sad and realise that life in the mine was not as easy as we thought.
We came out of the mine to see the refining plant where they took the rocks and put them through a series of proceedures to remove the minerals and silver and to leave the excess rock.
So after that it bought us to the end of our day ... and I can tell you now, It wasn't the most fun experience I have had but it was definately the most interesting. By Amber
Sunday, July 17, 2011
The Miniature Market - Sucre
Mini houses, money, cars, furniture, truck & tools...the list continues on. They had it all. The
market that evening was called the miniature market. It was on only one day per year and the reason they had it was becuase Bolivians believe that if the by something minitature it will become real later in their lives. It is good luck. By Amber.
market that evening was called the miniature market. It was on only one day per year and the reason they had it was becuase Bolivians believe that if the by something minitature it will become real later in their lives. It is good luck. By Amber.As soon as we got there we saw MONEY. Really small money, as small as a bus ticket. After that we saw fortune tellers. They would melt aluminium then put it in cold water. They would look at the shap of the metal as it hardened to tell us our fortune!
There were toffeed strawberries, and I devoured them like a hungry
dog. By Zahn
And there were BB guns - all my dreams had come true. Targets were sitting in front of me waiting to be shot down. I shot dopwn 3 & got a chocolate bar. I had another go & got down 2. by Zahn. / Bang bang, what was that.? I looked around trying to find out where the loud noise was coming from. Suddenly I saw guns; BB guns with targets lining the walls. One shot missed, two shots missed. I don´t think my luck was going to well today. But Zahn with great skill managed to win two chocolate bars from the man and kindly gave one to me. By Amber.
Then I found my favourite game...fuseball. Dad & I against Mum &
amber. Mum & Amber won the first game but dad and I came back and won the next two games with the ball being a blur and me shooting the winning goal. by Zahn.
Just as we were walking home, we spied a crowd of people and wondered what was up. We saw flames and fireballs and people laughing. They were fire blowers, stuffing their mouths with Keresone and blew it onto a flame on a stick to make it light up and send it shooting into the air. It was pretty gross and I don´t think they knew how dangerous it was.
So we walked out of the great bustling crowds & started heading home, amazed by the colours, sounds and wildness of the miniature market. by Amber
There were toffeed strawberries, and I devoured them like a hungry
dog. By ZahnAnd there were BB guns - all my dreams had come true. Targets were sitting in front of me waiting to be shot down. I shot dopwn 3 & got a chocolate bar. I had another go & got down 2. by Zahn. / Bang bang, what was that.? I looked around trying to find out where the loud noise was coming from. Suddenly I saw guns; BB guns with targets lining the walls. One shot missed, two shots missed. I don´t think my luck was going to well today. But Zahn with great skill managed to win two chocolate bars from the man and kindly gave one to me. By Amber.
Then I found my favourite game...fuseball. Dad & I against Mum &
amber. Mum & Amber won the first game but dad and I came back and won the next two games with the ball being a blur and me shooting the winning goal. by Zahn.Just as we were walking home, we spied a crowd of people and wondered what was up. We saw flames and fireballs and people laughing. They were fire blowers, stuffing their mouths with Keresone and blew it onto a flame on a stick to make it light up and send it shooting into the air. It was pretty gross and I don´t think they knew how dangerous it was.
So we walked out of the great bustling crowds & started heading home, amazed by the colours, sounds and wildness of the miniature market. by Amber
Sucre
As soon as we got into Sucre, Dad told us it was a world heritage site which meant it had been recognised as a special place in the world. And I will tell you this, it was as beautiful as a peacock and I mean it.
I saw heaps of white washed buildings with there windows & doors locked as securely as a turtle inside its shell. After that we went to the Charange festival (national ukelele & guitar orchestra). Some young girls of about 15 were playing like pros. A man played an armadillo. It was a dead armadillo with a hole in the bottom. In the hole there was a rattle and the conductor used it as an instrument.
For dinner we went for a Bolivian BBQ. It was weird becuase they burnt plastic in the BBQ then cooked the meat on top. (This is a little bit silly becuase when people ate the tender meat, little they know they were eating plastic fumes. by Amber) The place was packed with Bolivians. By Zahn
I saw heaps of white washed buildings with there windows & doors locked as securely as a turtle inside its shell. After that we went to the Charange festival (national ukelele & guitar orchestra). Some young girls of about 15 were playing like pros. A man played an armadillo. It was a dead armadillo with a hole in the bottom. In the hole there was a rattle and the conductor used it as an instrument.
For dinner we went for a Bolivian BBQ. It was weird becuase they burnt plastic in the BBQ then cooked the meat on top. (This is a little bit silly becuase when people ate the tender meat, little they know they were eating plastic fumes. by Amber) The place was packed with Bolivians. By Zahn
La Paz to Sucre
On the 14th we caught the taxi to the bus station. The taxi driver was very aggressive, and beeped his horn a lot.
After some mucking around we finally got on the bus. The bus looked as clean as a peacock. We had a little trouble finding our seats as they had been double booked. With this solved we were on our journey to Sucre. The bus driver was a purring cat and never beeped (his horn). By Zahn
We had a great bus as our bed folded out but not even an hour out of town, our bus broke down and we had to change buses. So after all the commotion, we headed off on our journed again. I settled in for the night & had a great sleep. By Amber
The toilets on the bus were locked as they didn´t want the hassel of cleaning them. Not very fair on a 12 hr trip. I bought a bottle of yoghurt and peed in this when the need arose. The heater was on full, all the windows were shut and the bus didn´t have any personal air cond vents. It quickly became quite suffocating until I convinced a french guy to open his window a little. mum & dad hardly slept a wink and were quite strung out by the time we arrived some 15hrs after we first set out. By dad.
The bus jolted to a stop. I looked out of the wind ow & found we were still 3kms from Sucre. Creak went the stairs as i went down them. by zahn.
We decided to walk to Sucre because their was a blockade. There were rocks all over the road and all the buses, trucks & passing cars had pulled over to the side of the road. After walking through the blockade we saw heaps of people protesting for better jobs. They had lit truck tyres on fire on the road and pulled over branches & rocks. by amber
Once through the blockade, which was being filmed by TV crews, we caught a small bus into town.
After some mucking around we finally got on the bus. The bus looked as clean as a peacock. We had a little trouble finding our seats as they had been double booked. With this solved we were on our journey to Sucre. The bus driver was a purring cat and never beeped (his horn). By Zahn
We had a great bus as our bed folded out but not even an hour out of town, our bus broke down and we had to change buses. So after all the commotion, we headed off on our journed again. I settled in for the night & had a great sleep. By Amber
The toilets on the bus were locked as they didn´t want the hassel of cleaning them. Not very fair on a 12 hr trip. I bought a bottle of yoghurt and peed in this when the need arose. The heater was on full, all the windows were shut and the bus didn´t have any personal air cond vents. It quickly became quite suffocating until I convinced a french guy to open his window a little. mum & dad hardly slept a wink and were quite strung out by the time we arrived some 15hrs after we first set out. By dad.
The bus jolted to a stop. I looked out of the wind ow & found we were still 3kms from Sucre. Creak went the stairs as i went down them. by zahn.
We decided to walk to Sucre because their was a blockade. There were rocks all over the road and all the buses, trucks & passing cars had pulled over to the side of the road. After walking through the blockade we saw heaps of people protesting for better jobs. They had lit truck tyres on fire on the road and pulled over branches & rocks. by amber
Once through the blockade, which was being filmed by TV crews, we caught a small bus into town.
La Paz
This morning we woke up knowing we had all had a good sleep except me. I had had a bad dream and was yelling out gobble d gook to mum. Anyway by the time we woke is was about 10am so we zoomed to the 5th floor for breakfast.We only got to LP last night and caught a mini bus to our hotel. as we walked into our hotel and opened the great big wide doors we saw gorgeous murals surrounding the walls of the hotel. Our mouths
dropped open.We dropped our bags off and went exploring the busy streets. One of the things we saw was the witches market. It had lama fetus´ and real dried lamas that were babies tied up by their necks. It was pretty freaky.
We wandered around the bustling markets, street to street, eyeing up the lovely lama ponchos and jumpers. We walked to a nice restaurant on the cobbled streets where we had a burger & chips and mum had chicken soup, it was really delicious. By Amber (abbr)When we got into LP the first thing we saw were alley ways weaving together like squirming snakes. We finally found our hotel.
Then we started walking along the road. We found cobbled roads. They were as bumpy as a cobbled road is. We saw many shops with everything imaginable in them, from lama fetus´and musical instruments made from sheeps toe nails. By Zahn (abbr)
Friday, July 15, 2011
Chile to Bolivia
On Monday we caught the plane to Bolivia. We had to get up at 5.15am. I was really sleepy and didn´t want to get up.
As soon as the taxi arrived we were off on our way to the airport. Then we had to wait 2 and a half hours till the plane was ready. We searched around for a place to eat breakfast. We couldn´t find a cheap enough place so we had to go to Dunkin Donuts!! I got two sweet donuts which I was amazed I was allowed. And a coke! Mum and Dad said these breakfasts were really rare for us!
Then we had to go through customs. It was a really long wait. When we finally got on our plane we got ready for our 2-3 hour long plane journey. This plane was really boring. They gave us headphones and we had a radio on our armrest.
I was next to the window. The plane finally wobbled forward and I was really excited about the plane ride now!
The plane surged forward, gathering speed every second until we lifted up into the air and we went up up up until we were above the clouds.
Through the cloud we saw desert. I was amazed. The clouds looked like fluffy whit pillows in the sky.
We finally landed, got off the plane and went into the airport. Now we had a 2 hour wait in the airport. I started reading my book, then Amber, Mum and I went off to explore the airport. We found 2 shops that sold coloured stones and there were some really cool stones that were magnets. There were heaps of them and I wondered how much they were so I asked the lady about them. I didn´t get what she was saying so I said, "Don´t worry". It turned out that you had to buy a bag. The bags were really small and you had to try to cram as many as you could into the bag. And they were about $30 NZ fo a bag ... Rip off! In the end I decided not to buy them, we went back to dad and got onto the plane.
Now this plane was to La Paz Airport. The flight was only for an hour so it was not long. We still had radios on our armrests but we did not get headphones and that was annoying.
Surging forward through the air was awesome ... except my ears kept on popping! Stupid altitude!
Then I looked out the window to see the clouds. They were HUGE!
Before I knew it the flight lady said into the microphone, ¨We are landing. Please go back to your seats and make sure that your seat is upright.¨ Then we landed at La Paz Airport ... YAHOO! - By Zahn
Today we were off to Bolivia. We flew flew soaring over the wide open grey sky. We all felt excited to head off on the next leg of our journey but felt we did not spend enough time in Chile!
In Bolivia we will go to the bustling markets. We expect them to be full of the amazing things we have read about; especially the witches market!
Our family will spend the next 2 weeks exploring Bolivia and then we will enjoy another 2 weeks in Peru. We expect Bolivia to be a very cold country, especially in the mountains where we are going.
The plane ride to Bolivia was long but quite enjoyable... although I was happy to hop off! So we landed in a town that was pretty much dead. The airport had about 20 people in it. We had to wait here for about 3 hours until we caught our next plane to La Paz. We wanted to head out of the airport and into town but it was 41 km which was too far. Then we caught an hour long flight to La Paz.
We jumped onto a minibus and headed down the hill into the sweet smell of LaPaz.
We found our hotel. It was absolutely lovely. It was decorated with murals all over the walls of the hotel. We quickly settled in. - By Amber
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Auckland to Santiago
Today was amazing. We flew from Auckland to Sandiago. We were really excited and luckily Zahn and I managed to survive the long exhausting trip on the plane. We were very onto it by picking the right seats ... we got T.V. seats! When we were half way there we looked out of the window to see the great big blue sky and fluffy, giant white clouds below us.
We managed to soar onto the runway landing safely and soundly. We jumped out of the plane and ran to find the dark blue bus we would be travelling on. Zahn and I were hoping that it would be a double decker bus because there aren´t any in New Zealand. Sadly it wasn´t but to my suprise we managed to find our hotel without any help ... NOT! Finally we found our hotel, got settled into our room and went exploring. We found a small market by the zoo. we didn´t find anything to buy except candyfloss ... yum tum. After a little more walking we came across a South American reastaurant the we automatically fell in love with. We had a lovely waitress from America who had been working there for 2 days and was aiming to become fluent in spanish.
We managed to soar onto the runway landing safely and soundly. We jumped out of the plane and ran to find the dark blue bus we would be travelling on. Zahn and I were hoping that it would be a double decker bus because there aren´t any in New Zealand. Sadly it wasn´t but to my suprise we managed to find our hotel without any help ... NOT! Finally we found our hotel, got settled into our room and went exploring. We found a small market by the zoo. we didn´t find anything to buy except candyfloss ... yum tum. After a little more walking we came across a South American reastaurant the we automatically fell in love with. We had a lovely waitress from America who had been working there for 2 days and was aiming to become fluent in spanish. After dinner we strolled back to our hotel. Dad, Zahn and I played some pool and mum was on the computer doing our blog.
After our game of pool we headed off to sleep ready for our plane ride the next morning.
I noticed ...
- Llamas are quite popular animals. Tourists can pay to sit on them.
- There are lots of stray dogs on the streets and nobody minds.
- Lots of people have handbag dogs with coats on them.
- They hold lots of markets and festivals.
- Everybody is lovely and always wanting to help you.
- Many walls have paintings and murals on them.
- Many of the restaurants have chips and burgers to sell. Lots also sell hotdogs.
- The cars drive on the opposite side of the road to New Zealand.
By Amber
On Sunday we got on the plane to Santaigo in Chile. I was really excited because there should be a T.V. on the back off our seat and that meant I could stay up all night watching movies and playing on the T.V. The lady at the checkout told us that there wasn´t likely to be a T.V. as the planes were older. I felt really really annoyed. We finally got into the plane ... there was a T.V. because the plane was a new Airbus 9320. Yahoo!!! It was fun staying up all night.
When we landed we got off the plane and went out off the airport. My feet were all dirty for being in the plane for 15 hours.Overall I thought that was one of the better plane rides. We were flying with LAN airlines and they were really awesome!
I noticed ...
- Chillean people lock their houses securely.
- They are really nice.
- Chips are common.
- They like llamas.
- People here eat alot of pork.
- Beer is sold in big bottles.
- There sren´t alot of beggars.
- There are a lot of cracks in the road.
- Pet dogs wear clothing.
- There are alot of stray dogs.
- Their candyfloss is really nice.
- Most people have brown skin.
By Zahn
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Our first day in Chile
As we jumped on to the bus and headed into Santiago it was great to get a feel for the area we were heading into! We couldn´t help but notice the similarities between Asia and South America ... dry open plains and make shift homes and street stalls. Plastered two storied homes lined the main road with rather simple abodes further back!!
Our thoughts on Santiago thus far ...
Our thoughts on Santiago thus far ...
- The gorgeous Chilean people have been so helpful and happy to help - Amber
- There aren´t many Chilean Pesos to the US dollar. - Zahn
- there were heaps of make shift shops crammed onto small sites.
- the candyfloss was a beacon to my tastevbuds, calling me to devour it with its soft fluffy texture
Some differences we have noticed so far ..
- there are lots of dogs on the streets. They are very relaxed though. - Pete
- PDA is ok in public. We are in the university area so there are a lot of young people. It seems ok to kiss etc in public.
- all of the houses and businesses are locked up securely with high iron fences. - Zahn
Friday, July 8, 2011
South America - July 2011
Tomorrow we leave for
... South America!!!
Well it certainly was a rush ... organising plumbing, school, home and family. We were incredibly relieved when we made it to the airport ... and with time to spare!!
I think we will need to leave Auckland Airport before it all feels real!! - Nicki
I think we will need to leave Auckland Airport before it all feels real!! - Nicki
I´m really excited but am really not sure what to expect - Amber
I think it is going to be an awesome trip and I will have some great experiences - Zahn
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