Vamanos2006 Top Ten

A quick recap of the highs, lows and lessons learned on the Vamanos2006 trip around South and Central America this year. Hope you've all enjoyed reading about some of our adventures and mishaps over the last 11 months, its been fun sharing them. Here goes.....

TOP TEN LOWLIGHTS (from low to lowest)

10. Valdivia (ahh it wasn't really that bad, plus its the home of the Kuntsman miel - yum!)

9. Stale bread roll and Nescafe for breakfast, AGAIN, in Chile.

8. Gringo tax.

7. Sweating buckets in hammocks (bed for the night) on Lago Maracaibo, Venezuela

6. Finding someone had been playing with Kaz's mastercard in Brazil

5. Getting smacked by a bottle of wine some bright spark put in the overhead luggage rack on the crazy bus in Colca Canyon

4. Travelling overnight in freezer buses in Brazil and Venezuela

3. Italian diving squad

2. Not being able to sleep the nights before we had to get up at 3am for tours / buses

1. Sitting on the toilet - AGAIN!

TOP TEN TIPS

10 Never give exact money for anything, you need the change, yes you have a pocket full, but you'll need it, soon.

9 Ask locals how much they're paying, but keep lesson 7 below in mind too.

8 Buy flights in Brazil individually, its cheaper.

7 Pack LIGHT! You really don't need it.

6 When you want the price lowered, feign indescision

5 If the price is good, and you want it. BUY IT!

4 Drink as much Argentinian wine and eat as much Argentinian steak as you can, while you can.

3 Markets are cheap, but going to the source, if you can find it will cut out the gringo tax.

2 Fly if you can afford it- We spent a whole month in total on buses. It may be Cama Imperial class but its still 16hours, oh our backs...

1 Always take a poll of people when you ask directions and then go with the odds but still be prepared to get lost.


TOP TEN LESSONS LEARNED

10 Brazillian taxi drivers crossing borders care more about cheap petrol than your immigration status.

8 Market food may be cheap but antibiotics are expensive.

7 Just pay the gringo tax and get on with it!

6 Dont buy Merrel shoes, they'll fall apart in 3 months...

5 Never send post to Argentina. Who IS wearing Stu's travel undies and eating Kaz's vegemite?

4 If you know the answer you want to hear to the question you're asking, chances are they do too.

3 Just because you've seen 300 of them in the market, doesn't mean it won't look unique when you bring it home.

2 It always costs more to post it than it does to buy it, but you'll forget that in a years time so buy it!

1 No matter which of the 50-odd styles of tango you learn you still won't be able to dance in a Milonga without hurting people. But Chileno OAP's will love you for trying!

And a couple extra...

*Sign up to Skype, you'll occasionaly sound like a chipmunk on helium but its the only way you can afford to phone home regularly. Just remember to log out when your done.

*Budget from the start, although 2 months without a budget was brilliant 'cause budgets suck!


TOP TEN HIGHLIGHTS (Just kidding as if we could limit ourselves to just 10!)

13. Sand boarding the dunes of Huacachino - yee ha! (Just don't be tempted to drink the tap water after!)

12. Salar de Uyuni - for sheer wow, isn't that weird / beautiful / amazing factor!


11. Whale Watching in Puerto Lopez, Ecuador

10. El Chalten, rock formations in Andean Argentina. Great hike on Kaz's birthday
9. The Inca Trail - just for surviving it!

8. Rio de Janeiro - a picturesque capital and how much fun did we have buying diamonds ;-)

7. The Cordillera Blanca in northern Peru - scenic hiking with the novelty factor of mules lugging our camping equipment.

6. Los Gaviotas Estancia, Mercedes, Uruguay - giddyup, yi, ay a!
5. Buenos Aires - food glorious food, ditto shopping, drinking, dancing and the beautiful Opera House where we saw La Sylphide. A brilliant month.

4. Climbing Volcan Villarica in Chile and watching the erruptions from above

3. Torres Del Pain - hiking the "W", if you get the chance, do it! (Maybe in Summer though)

2. Los Roques - idyllic islands of Venezuela, nice!

1. Cateratas Iguazu - what a place, what a proposal, sigh.........
Parting words from Vamanos 2006.

Enjoy it while you can, nothing lasts for ever, which is equally applicable to chicken buses as it is to amazing trips. Even the darkest hour is only 60 minutes long (except if you are on a chicken bus where it feels like 180, and probably will be as the guy who whipped you on to it lied about it being direct). Thanks for coming along for the ride and wishing you all a wonderful Christmas and an adventure filled 2007!

Signing off,

Stu & Kaz xx