Mission: Moto Taxi!!

For those of you who haven’t had the pleasure of riding a Moto Taxi , you haven’t lived yet! It’s probably the crappiest mechanical jigsaw puzzle that sounds like it should be going 100 mph ...but doesn’t. Imagine a small motor bike, cut it in half, find an old back seat of a car and weld it together with any odd piece of metal. Complete the look with a sunshade over the top and ‘BAM!’, you’ve got a moto taxi! Probably the most fun you can have on three wheels for under a dollar.  My question was: “When do I get to drive one myself?!”.  Which is where this story is going...

Beautiful Mancora...

I was stuck in Lima for 2 weeks waiting for a new passport as my old one was rain damaged. So I opted to wait out of the city. I travelled to the north of Peru, a few km from the Equadorian border, to a surf town called Mancora.  I arrived in the afternoon after a short plane ride and an hour long taxi drive from the airport which included a free lecture about how dodgy Mancora’s men are and how crazy the town is.

It didn’t take long for me to feel at home. I was lucky to find ‘probably the best hostel in Peru’ Kokopelli ( www.hostelkokopelli.com) which is run by 4 travel buddies who dreamt of creating the perfect hostel and succeeded!

Kokopelli - Our Paradise Hostel

Mission Accomplished!!

 Partying 24/7 is hard not to do here and in doing so I befriended many including  3 particular travellers – Marelli , a girl from Lima who works and lives in Mancora. Ruben, a nutter, from Germany who was travelling South America and Ammon, the mathematical genius surfer from Oregon, who was on the lookout for the perfect wave. We were inseparable and they too had the moto taxi itch.  

Ruben perfecting his MotoTaxi skills!!

We had heard that somebody knew somebody who hired a moto taxi for a few dollars and drove it all day. We were mislead, of course. It wasn’t as easy as we’d thought. The four of us as well as Dan ‘the rock climber’ (another friend of ours from the hostel) headed downtown asking every Moto Taxi driver if they would hand over their vehicle for the day (note: there’s at least 2-3 moto taxis to every metre in this town). We were laughed at! We thought if we could offer the guy the same amount of money he would earn in a whole day then he would agree and he would get a day off to go surfing!!! The attractive offer didn’t work and it was getting late but we refused to give up! We almost ran out of town when we were finally pointed to the direction of somebody who might be interested. We found ourselves at the doorstep of a moto taxi driver’s house where we were greeted by his wife and kids. She had to make a few calls so we waited down the street full of anticipation, while enjoying a local ice-cream. It took us back to childhood.

                      

Helping Our Vehicle Move....

Finally somebody arrived with the moto taxi. We were in fits of laughter as the woman explained it had only one break and it was a bit tricky to ride. None of us were very experienced with motorbikes and this one needed an expert. Ruben was the closest to being one, so full of confidence he took it round the block for a test drive, stalling every five seconds. The owners looked a little apprehensive about handing it over, but with a little humorous persuasion, we were off! Of course, jumping into a moving vehicle to avoid the embarrassment of stalling again. It was priceless! 

Armed with a camera and a massive grin we set off to the next beach, far from police patrols and ongoing traffic, beeping at every person we passed just to blend in. The ride there was not short of laughs. In fact we could hardly breathe the whole time as we watched Ruben struggle to manoeuvre our vehicle, not forgetting to jump out at every slight hill to push it up the road. We probably spent more time out than in! It took us half an hour to get to the ‘5 minute away’ beach, but it was worth the laugh.

Ammon trying to explain why we have no dinner...

Happy Days!! :)

We had just got there when Marelli remembered she had work in 5 min! While Ruben was obliged to take Marelli to work, Dan joined them and Ammon and I decided we would catch our dinner. We had it all planned out from the start. Hire a moto taxi and drive around all day. Catch a hand full of crabs and have them for dinner! Easy right?  An hour and a few cuts and bruises later we were left with one crab and a crushed dream. Slightly defeated , we let the crab go and met up with the others to watch the sunset over this beach. The sunsets in Mancora are amazing, each day more stunning than the last.

The adventure wasn’t quite what we’d expected but it was amazing nonetheless. In fact we all met up that night, of course got drunk again and retold the story over and over as if it was new, not forgetting the most repeated phrase of the day : “¿Por qué no?”  . Epic.

Clare Borg for www.barephotography.net

BARE has gone international!

Here's a quick update for you....Clare will now be working with promoting BARE & any sales in the Northern Hemisphere & Mo will be looking after the Southern Hemisphere. We have some projects in the pipe line so keep an eye out for our work. Thank you to everyone for your continued support!

March sometime...Mo in Iquitos.The Peruvian Amazon

 I took a flight to Iquitos in the Amazon. Iquitos is only accessible by plane & boat. When I arrived it was 7pm at night & the wall of sweltering heat hit me as I got off the plane.  I was so excited to be in the Amazon although I’m technically on the outskirts it’s as close as I had time get. Mt first impression was…”OMG it’s really dirty & everyone is sketchy”…funny as that remained my impression for the next 3 days. I stayed in a hotel with cable the first night then in the morning I caught a tuk tuk to my floating hostel. The roads a jam packed with motor bikes & the town has a very wild wild west feeling about it.

                                                          Tuk Tuk's of Iquitos & Camiri

I was greeted by 3 dogs at Camiri Floating Hostel. (find it thru http://www.hostelworld.com )

Once again so excited! A floating hostel (with dogs!!)yay! I walked cautiously over the floating boardwalk to the main hostel. Marcel greeted me & showed me to my room…along another floating boardwalk.

Camiri Floating Hostel. My room & a permanent resident

That afternoon I tagged along to go to the famous Belen markets where the locals go to buy pretty much everything to support their daily lives. This is what I wanted to see!!!

The markets are large, some under cover because it rains a lot. I walked thru the “butchery”, big carcasses of all types of animals with flies buzzing around & children sleeping next to them.

 Then up to the witches markets; this is where you can buy assorted venom’s, anaconda skin, leopard fur, monkey hands & of course San Pedro & Ayahuasca & many other love potions & magically (illegal) tonics. I was awe struck…this is fucking crazy!!!! The best street was yet to come though…the illegally caught assorted meats road.

                                                                   Dried meats & Fish.

     Belen Market                         Vultures watching the streets            Ayahuasca                  Leopard Skin

So imagine a dirty street lined with stalls, covered with tarpaulins & on those tarpaulins hundreds on vultures. Then look at the ground, it’s filthy with rubbish & meat waste, wet & muddy, bikes everywhere, smells damp & unpleasant, then  you see a caiman skin in the gutter... on this street you could buy anything that they had fished out of the Amazon river & more. The more being monkeys they steal from their families & turtles they kill inhumanely because they are so hard to kill. This was an experience. I hate to say it but everything I ate in the 3 days I was there came from Belen markets…it was tasty & I didn’t get sick.

       Caiman              Turltes & Gizzards & Eggs                          Potions          Monkey hands& snake skins

The harsh reality is that the people of the Amazon have done this for years; it’s their way of life. Yes they probably are getting greedy but the majority of the food caught is for locals, the love potions & tonics on the other hand are for tourists. I questioned my morals many times whilst in Iquitos & out of curiosity broke some too… I tasted a Turtle. But this is what travelling is all about.  I wouldn’t try it again but now I have an opinion. (the caiman was good too J)

My experience of Iquitos & the Amazon River was truly eye opening & amazing. (I did see more than the markets) It is such a beautiful part of the world that is being destroyed daily to make way for Industry & farm land. Please if you do anything in your lifetime go the Amazon Jungle.

                           Views from Camiri Hostel. A storm brewing & a breath taking sunset.

Llama, Llama, Llama!!!

Yes... we have been slacking with our blog but we are stranded for a few days waiting to leave London, which gives us the perfect opportunity to let you know what we’ve been doing for the past few months.....

We got to Peru still grieving for Argentina so the first few days was hard to adjust. Especially because we were staying in an area called Miraflores in Lima (this place could be anywhere in the world; very touristy, full of fast food franchises and everyone speaks English ie Boring). Miraflores gives a whole new dimension to touting. It’s like a scene from Fear and Loathing Las Vegas where everyone jumps out at you from nowhere trying to sell you venues that you don’t want to visit...scary!!  

Infrastructure is good, the city is very well maintained. Judging by the big malls on most street corners, this place must generate alot of money. 

We have decided that anywhere with a Starbucks cafe .....(and McDonalds, BurgerKing, KFC, PizzaHut..) is lacking what we are looking for.

We decided to head for the mountains as soon as possible. We caught the bus (www.cruzdelsur.com.pe) towards Cusco. The trip from Lima to Cusco takes 24hrs. Not the most fun ride ever (15 hrs of windy roads tends to cause a domino effect vomit session...) , but with the right amount of sleeping pills you should wake up fresh as a daisy on the other side. Wish we knew that before....

Cusco,Peru

Cusco is at an altitude of 3300mtrs and boy do you feel it when you arrive. We had trouble breathing and walking short distances for the first few days. The local remedy for this is fresh coca leaves either chewed-which is bitter-or in a tea. Our hostel (http://www.flyingdogperu.com/) had ample supply of coca leaves luckily because I (Mo) was sick THE WHOLE TIME. I guess I don’t have the genes that adjust to altitude.  So in the week before the Inca Trail our preparation and acclimatizing consisted of getting thru the 200 DVD’s our hostel had. We had a plan as well...don’t leave the couch so other people can’t come and pick DVD’s. Then we made alliances with our friend Chris from Washington. Ace guy!!!!

All this time watching DVDs wasn’t in vain , we did find the best movie ever made in Argentina : academy award winning -  “Los Secretos de sus Ojos”(The Secret in their Eyes), we watched it 5 times and need to own it.

Supermarket shopping is not that cheap in Cusco so we opted to eat out most days, it’s cheaper and so yummy. Whether it’s an upmarket restaurant or a corner shop, all the food we came across was delicious and fresh.

You must not leave Peru without trying their traditional dish the Ceviche. We have had it before, but never as good as this...

Right to left - Carmen our Adopted Peruvian mother, her son Carlos and our DVD mate Chris!!


Our first night we stumbled into the first (i.e. closest to our hostel) restaurant we found. The Fat Duck is run by a woman named Carmen and her two sons Carlos and Danny. It’s pretty much like eating at your mum’s house. We instantly made friends with Carmen and visited daily to exchange language English/Spanish lessons! We have found a surrogate mother, sibling or father everywhere we’ve been so far which is so awesome!! Especially when you are sick...

PISAQ AND ITS ARTISAN MARKETS

Carlos, being an archaeology student offered to take us for some ruin tours which was very interesting and economical for us too. We spent the next week walking around town, shopping at artisan market’s (which is inevitable their clothes are sooo warm and colourful!) and swapping life stories with the “Fat Duck “family...

Then the day arrived...the 3^rd March. We were up at 5am all packed with our hiking kit, shoes, rain gear, compass, beanies and excitement. Our guide Jorge came to get us and we went to meet the bus. Our tour was small, just Clare, Bianca (our new friend) and Mo. The bus took us to the starting point which is a check point on the raging Urubamba River (marked KM 82). After 2 hours of messing around and waiting – we had no porters or something- we got our passports stamped and started hiking...YAY!!

By the time we headed off the rain had set in nicely making the ground muddy. We walked for about 5 hours to our first camp site where we joined up with another group. Dinner was served and we all went to bed by 9pm...big day tomorrow.

THE MACHU PICCHU INKA TRAIL TEAM!!!

  4^th March- Dead Woman’s Pass- AKA hardest day of the Inca trail.

We were up early again ready for action; sleep was ok for a tent. After a little pep talk we marched off to conquer Dead Woman’s Pass which sits at 4200mtrs. This was by far the hardest thing I have EVER done! It took us 9 hours...in the brochure it says 3.5/4 hours. BOLLOCKS!! We had to walk up a mountain...no joke!!  The trail was at a 45 deg angle, it was cold, raining and hard to breathe cause of the altitude. I had to have some oxygen half way (more for the buzz than anythingJ). But when you get to the top its far from over....you have to walk down 3000 steps of all different shapes and sizes.  When we finally arrived at the camp site our whole group was chilling & playing poker...the look on their faces when we arrived was priceless.

TOP OF DEAD WOMAN'S PASS (ABSOLUTELY EXHAUSTED)

At this point I don’t like life, everything hurts, it’s muddy and cold, I stink and the toilet is over a 2 bridges and thru some mud...then it’s just a hole in the ground.

WET AND COLD BUT ALWAYS FED WELL!

Day 3 consisted of a thank you coca leaf ritual to Pachamama- mother earth, and walking a long way but up no more mountains, then down 2000 stairs to where there were hot showers and a BAR...thank god. Our final meal was very grand....chicken legs, pizza slice, pasta salad, rice, soup and no dessert. You should have seen what the other groups ate....this is what happens when you go with a cheaper tour!?!

EVERY ITEM OF CLOTHING ON TO KEEP WARM IN OUR TENTS

The 4^th day of the Inca trail is a very important one. This day is more of a race between all the groups on the trail. Everyone wants to be the first one at the Sungate. So basically we were told to wake up at 3 am. Get ready and packed and to be at the last checkpoint before it opened at 5am. We were the first at the checkpoint and were determined to be the first at the Sungate. Mo and I were doing so well until we hit the steep bits... Bianca took one for the team and got there first J

READY TO RUN TO THE FINISH LINE  5AM 

We got to the Sungate at 7.30, completely drenched, drained and almost defeated. It was hard to appreciate the beauty of Machu Picchu after those four days, not only because of what we went through physically but we saw a whole different side of the trail; One we weren’t expecting....the porters.

The porters on the trail carry an average of 25-30kg each on their backs; they have to get to all the sites before us so they have time to set up camp, then they cook and clean with such pride you wouldn’t know they’ve done the same trip as we did. For me it dampened the trip a bit. I mean fine, it’s their way of life , they earn good money and they are treated well for the most part, but it still felt like exploitation, and I felt a little ashamed to be a part of it.

Apart from that, Machu Picchu is absolutely breathtaking! The setting, the history behind it and the fact that’s it’s a mission to get there makes it more appealing.

WE MADE IT!!!!

It wasn’t over yet though. We had a 2 hr tour around the ruins in which most information went into one ear and out the other. So picture 15 people all with head in our hands trying to keep our eyes open whilst being taught about the most important history of Peru. Will have to buy a book....

After that it was lunch and a long awaited train ride back to our hostel where we passed out till the next afternoon.

After meeting some great people in Cusco we said we’d be in La Paz, Bolivia at a hostel called Loki, with a haphazard plan to meet up, then BAM!!!! We had a crew.

Ok...so we haven't been slack, we've been ...travelling. And when we get an internet connection that actually works you will here all about...Peru and Bolivia.

Having a wiki wiki wiki time XXXXXXXXX laters Mo

Top bunk, Bottom bunk, Squeaky bunk, 3 bunks high....

9^th February...19:30...raining...We just fished a piece of garlic out of our keyboard that has been there for a week, Clare can blow up her hoodie and we are surrounded by 2 huge dogs...Lola & Bruno and sat in a mountain retreat lodge at the base of the Andes. It’s feels as if it might snow.

Quite a change from Buenos Aries where we have been for the last week...it’s hot and humid there.

Buenos Aires was exactly how we imagined it and more! If you take a dash of Paris, a seasoning of Rome, the cabs and streets from New York and abit of London style...now get everyone speaking Spanish...and Bam you have Buenos Aires!!!!

The porteños which are BA natives are really lovely, whenever we stopped  and were lost...which happened the first few days, someone stopped to help us out everytime. Working out the subway is simple and cheap (30cents per trip) and planned out like the London underground, this is how the city opens up to you. San Telmo markets on a Sunday are brilliant selling antiques and handicrafts, stuff stuff and more stuff!!!!  

The city is full of museums and art galleries which are fantastic if they’re your thing and if you can understand Spanish. We preferred to just walk around the streets and photograph buildings and street art, making sure to stop somewhere for empanadas at lunch time. 

We did this also because our hostel was terrible! We should have suspected so from the pictures on hostel world but for some reason we decided to stay anyways. It was dirty & felt like a squat house/abandoned warehouse where raves are held. Parties most nights upstairs, no hot water...then no cold water...and it smelled of weed. Keep in consideration the humidity of the week....YUK!!!! (We made the fatal error of paying for 7 nights...so new rule...*book 2 nights only and take it from there...)

Have I mentioned the steak yet.....this picture says it all!!!!

Argentina is a beautiful country but unfortunately we couldn't see it all so we had to decide on 1 place to go and spend some time taking in this beautiful place. We narrowed it down to Foz do Iguazu, Patagonia, Antarctica (for shits and giggles...but apparently anyone under 50 years old is too young to go there....) & Mendoza.... now anyone who knows us will know what we picked... Mendoza, the Wine Country!!!!

It was a great bus trip, 15 hours, top and front seats, but when we arrived in Mendoza city is wasn’t exactly the picturesque vineyards and mountains and fresh air we were craving. Determined as ever we did some research and found a small hostel less than 2 hours away from the city, in the mountains, with no internet, no phone reception, no pollution and even less people.

El Puesto...is 9 kms up a mountain. Overlooking the hostel are the snow capped mountains and foothills of the Andes, you can see them when it’s not raining.

We had no idea we’d be in our thermals let alone sleeping under 3 big blankets...it’s a refreshing change and we love it here!!! 

Being at the base of the Andes, adventure activities are big business here; also big business is ACONCAGUA.....It stands at 6,962 m (22,841 ft) making it the highest mountain in the Americas and the 2nd most prominent mountain in the world.  So we being all adventurous now, we got up at 5am and caught 2 buses to Aconcagua national park in the middle of the mountain range and about ½ hour from the Chilean border. Aconcagua national park is stunning, and the mountains....well I think all we said the whole time was “WOW”. The photos don’t do it justice but you can see how magnificent they are.  

There are many treks you can do while at the park. We were convinced to take the shorter route which is about an hour’s walk in. It’s good for beginners and will get you back in time for the last bus out.     Note: there are few buses out of Aconcagua National Park and not much accommodation there either so time your trip carefully.  

The whole trip up there was overwhelming; the amazing scenery is a photographers dream. Mother Nature never ceases to leave us speechless. So we sat for a while at the top of the lookout post in awe of it all. Of  course not without our food stash that we prepared earlier in case we felt the slight feeling of hunger (this consisted of sandwiches with ham, vegemite , chimichurri, ketchup and avocado and a few pieces of fruit for the health!

Last Night In Our Beloved Buenos Aires

Knowing that we would be vegetarians for most of the rest of our trip, our good friends Martin and Daniel ( porteños that we met in a hostel in North East Brazil) offered to take us out to a proper Argentinian BBQ . We haven’t been this excited for food since breakfast!!!

Eager to make this a memorable dinner, they took us to one of the best places in town.  We started off with sipping on some fine Argentine wine and trying really hard not to fill up on bread! The meal started off with our new favourite eats – The Parrillada – an assortment of cows organs which include brain, kidney, blood sausage, intestine, ribs, chorizo and blood sausage all charred to perfection...yummm.Then came -The Parrilla- and sizzling hot plate with an assortment of Steak, Lamb and Pork....utterly mouth watering cuts of Argentine meat!

As we slowed down and tried not go into a food coma, we ordered some more wine and laughed till we cried with anecdotes from our different countries, childhood memories, drunken stories and of course “things invented in Argentina” which include the pen and bypass surgery which are still under debate on our part!

 One small cultural difference between Argentina and the rest of the world which moulds a child into the person they will one day become is their version of “The Tooth Fairy” .....”Raton Perez”, yes it’s a rat... Same occupation, same 50c under the pillow and he receives letters as well!!! Awesome....

This was one of the best nights on our trip so far which of course ended with a cigar and pact to meet up if not sooner, in 2031 for the ultimate trip at 50yrs old when we’ve finally earned the right to visit Antarctica! Thanks boys, we will miss you xxx

Oh! We forgot to mention the best dog ever! Signor Gomez has made a name for himself in his neighbourhood and he is a legend in his own right. French bulldog with the biggest attitude and the saddest face which will bribe you every time he eats your sofa...you can’t possibly hate him if you tried!!

After one hour’s sleep, we stumbled out of our hostel at 6am, caught a taxi to the wrong airport and then caught another one which beamed us to other airport on the other side of the city to catch our flight to our next adventure....Peru.

10 Tips for Backpacking to Brazil

1          Wear thongs in the shower for 2 reasons. (a) Don’t know how clean they are. (b) To    provide hot water an attachment is fitted to the showerhead and plugged into a power point...in the shower.   

2       Brush up on your Portuguese and take a phrase book with you, Spanish doesn’t help that much.

3       As in many places, carry your bag on your front in public areas.

4       Try to blend in. The stares will be considerably less.

5         Do some research on the area of Brazil you wish to travel to.  You must keep in mind that North of Brazil is considerably poorer than the South so any foreigner will look like a jackpot. Don't flash your cameras about and leave your hostel with just enough money for the day. 

6        Peak season is December – March. If you are backpacking ensure you factor this in as it is almost impossible to do Brazil on $20 a day. Everything in Brazil is expensive. Even trying to eat cheaply as you would at home is difficult. A can of tuna $5 and baked beans $10.

7       If heading to the North East coast Fortaleza is a good base, but the city itself is a ghetto hidden behind high rise hotels that line the beach.

8       Local bus service is pretty straight forward and cheap ($2) just beware of tiny turn styles if you are carrying a backpack. Long haul coach services are very efficient and comfier than planes. Just remember to take a blanket or your thickest hoodie as they tend to turn the A/C notch to freezing!

9       One odd thing to keep in mind, when boarding a boat or bus and you purchase a ticket...keep the ticket as you have to give it back when you get off...strange really.

10   Average prices for a few things. Hostels $20-$30. McDonalds $9. Postage for a     postcard $2. Bottle of water 1.5 litre $3. Marlboro Lights $7.

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