South American Dreaming

This year I finally realised one of my lifelong dreams – to travel the bountiful continent that is South America. I can safely say it was everything I’ve dreamt of and more; the colours, people, music, passion and food, not to mention the cocktails, all marry together perfectly creating some kind of  magic. There were moments when crocodile hunting on the Amazon under an incredible star filled sky, sitting in a little bar listening to live percussion watching locals salsa  or dangling my feet in a water hole watching monkeys swing through that vines that I had to pinch myself. In only a few days I could clearly see why so many people rave about this place. The office and the challenges of the world of marketing seemed (and are!) a million miles away.

Brazil for the beaches, cocktails and parties

Rio is fondly referred to as the cidade maraviholsa (marvellous city) and it’s not hard to see why. Nothing can really prepare you for, nor no words are adequate to describing the energy, vibrancy and electricity of this place. Rio's two most famous beaches, Ipenema and Copocabana, where we spent most of our time, are framed with striking mountains and rainforests, the sea below lined with high rises. The beaches are all blue sea and white sand, dotted with colourful little bars to order a Caprihina, some fried chicken or coconut milk...whatever takes your fancy.

Jam packed with red and yellow umbrellas and chairs for as far as the eye can see doesn’t even begin to explain how crowded they are, but you don’t mind because there’s just so much to see! We spent the first whole day just sitting under umbrellas drinking beer and people watching. It’s fascinating stuff. Boobs, bums and men in teeny tiny shorts walking around like they are nobody’s business! These people ooze confidence and quite often burst spontaneously into song and dance right there in the sand gathering a crowd. This place is one intoxicating tropical cocktail.

The Amazon for a touch of nature

We headed deep into the jungle in Peru where we stayed in an incredible Eco-retreat on the Amazon river, hours away from any other towns or civilisation. We arrived in an open top boat and walked up some stairs through lush jungle to our little bungalow huts with tropical gardens, hammocks, luxury beds covered with princess nets and just candle light to guide our way (only electricity for a few hours a night). Night-time jungle treks to listen to all the animals (monkeys, birds, bats to name a few) and visits to local farmers where we were treated to 7 courses of incredible exotic fruit made this a pretty special few days.

Buenos Aires for wining, dining and shopping

This place is pure chic with its European style buildings, beautiful people and cobbled, tree lined streets. It reminded me of a combination of Europe and New York in the very best way. Walking down the street is a visual feast. Apartment living reigns supreme (but boy do they know how to do a rooftop with gorgeous gardens, pools and bars), many with opulent wrought iron balconies, flanking French shutters and framed by ivy covered walls. There are so many beautiful green spaces and sanctuaries in BA that is it easy to escape the hustle and bustle after and day of shopping and feel a million miles away.

Buzzy doesn’t even begin to describe the main shopping area where the stores and bars blend into one, with a bar amongst the racks in one and a DJ playing loud tunes atop a big podium. Basically shopping and clubbing combined. Potential to be very dangerous indeed. No one eats until really late and even our first night out at 9pm (which we thought was doing well), as we headed home at midnight people were just winding up. Kids are out with their parents for dinner at 10pm and the streets and outdoor tables are jam packed. Luckily the weather allows for it and it doesn’t seem to get below a balmy 30 degrees.

Machu Pichu for sightseeing

Machu Pichu is overwhelmingly beautiful. The scenery was ever changing with mist rolling in and out of the city creating an awe inspiring site - high in the mountains, the Incas selected this sacred place for its isolation, height for lookouts and fresh running water from the surrounding snow-capped mountains. After the Incas ran from the Spanish, the city was deserted and eventually over grown by jungle only to be rediscovered in the early 1900s. As you take it all in you can absolutely understand why this is one of the 7th wonders of the world. Were so glad we made it here.

We stayed

A variety of accommodation kept things interesting. The first two weeks we did an intrepid trip  with www.gadventures.com Peru and Bolivia which saw us reside in 3 star hotels, simple but perfectly practical especially as we were so busy hiking, shopping and dancing we were barely in our rooms. In Buenos Aires we took things up a notch and rented a private apartment with a roof top pool (perfect for GnTs on the deck at dusk) in a local neighbourhood with gorgeous little delis and cafes on every corner.

In Rio we tried out a growing phenomenon - www.airbnb.com – a great website where you can choose from over 35,000 types of accommodation, mostly staying with locals in their house for a more enriching travel experience. Just two blocks back from Ipenema beach, we stayed in an apartment with a local woman Anna and her endless rotation of friends. First impressions were somewhat interesting as I arrived on my own at 3am on the first night to her and her 23 year old daughter and drinking cocktails. But the Brazilians stay up late and love a drink. They made us feel right at home, taking us to a traditional Brazilian BBQ, cooking us New Year’s Eve dinner, making us breakfast, helping us book accommodation and teaching us bad, bad words in Portugese.

And I guess I saved the best for last as we backpacked our way down the South Coast of Brazil. Having not stayed in a hostel since I travelled Europe five years ago, I approached this part of the trip with a little trepidation, but I was not to worry. As long as you search the reviews these days and pick one with a good rating, they’re all pretty good and a fantastic way to meet some very cool like-minded travellers.

We ate

I must say I was a little disappointed with the culinary fare in South America, lots of cheese, ham and more cheese! And did you know that in Peru there is over 4,000 varieties of potato, of which we estimate we sampled about 2,000 of in one week alone. But stick to the local delicacies and you’ll have a good time. In Peru you can’t go past the ceviche - marinated raw fish which is ‘cooked’ by the acidity of citrus juice and usually includes chili, onion and lime. It is a delightful, refreshing hot-weather meal and reported by some South Americans as a cure for hangover.

We tried to immerse ourselves with the locals as much as possible and have tried some interesting Andean dishes including Al Paca stiry fry and a Guinea pig dressed in a cucumber crown and cape! In Argentina it would be a crime to miss their world famous beef. The only word to describe the taste and the size of the steaks here is OUTRAGEOUS and we had to get into the habit of sharing a main meal - even then we couldn’t get through half the portion of steak. These people sure are crazy carnivores.

We drank

You can’t go past a Pisco Sour to get the party started in Peru. An ice cold beer in the midday heat with the sand and your feet is a must in Brazil and as for their cocktails, wow, strong, cheap and delicious are their local favorites Caprihina and Caprioskas. Although we definitely drummed up some pretty pounding headaches thanks to immersing ourselves in this part of the culture!

Is it safe?

We’ve all heard the rumours of robbery and corruption from other travellers, but if you keep your wits about you (especially few cocktails in) and follow these simple rules you should be fine.

• Ladies – never walk the streets alone and night and use an over the shoulder handbag and always where across your body
• If using backpack, put it on your front in markets and crowded places
• Never take out anything you’d be upset about loosing
• Only take out the cash you need (no passport or cards etc)
• Back up photos constantly!
• Use a padlock with a number combination (people are known to cut the other ones)
• If travelling by bus, keep your bags with you not above you
• Watch taxi meters as you go so you don’t get ripped off
• If people are trying to rob you they usually try and distract you, or use a child or old person so be wary.

Best Memory

All my best travel memories included random chance meetings with locals. New Year’s night in Rio was pretty special - we joined 2 million others dressed in white on Copocabana beach for live music and a mind blowing 15minute firework display. The buzz and excitement was palpable. We meet some local Brazilians who took us up to their parents’ house for a meal at 1am and although we could barely speak the same language, had a fantastic few house samba dancing with the older ladies, eating and joking trying to piece together the puzzle of each other’s lives. We left baring gifts and a night to remember.