Dave in America

Dave in Americahttp://daveinamerica.blog.co.uk/en-UKhourly82000-01-01T12:00+00:00Dave in Americahttp://daveinamerica.blog.co.uk/http://data5.blog.de/design/preview/80/758039cba590b18a21e006a00e1d45_160x200.jpgYosemitehttp://daveinamerica.blog.co.uk/2005/07/26/yosemite/2005-07-26T19:48:08+02:00 <p>Had the best time in Yosemite national park. Its a stunningly beautiful area with impressive granite rock formations and masses of pine forest. We got out and did a few walks, one on the 'mist trail', getting soaked walking up past a couple of waterfalls on the Merced river; the second to Glacier Point, a hardcore four mile climb up a mountain rewarded with stunning views across the valley. On our last day we hired a raft and rowed our way down the river for a few miles, stopping off at beaches to chill out, and at bridges to jump off into the freezing cold water! Could have spent so much longer in Yosemite, we met people who'd been going there every year for their whole lives and still found new things to do there, its a wonderful place. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://daveinamerica.blog.co.uk/2005/07/26/yosemite/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>Had the best time in Yosemite national park. Its a stunningly beautiful area with impressive granite rock formations and masses of pine forest. We got out and did a few walks, one on the 'mist trail', getting soaked walking up past a couple of waterfalls on the Merced river; the second to Glacier Point, a hardcore four mile climb up a mountain rewarded with stunning views across the valley. On our last day we hired a raft and rowed our way down the river for a few miles, stopping off at beaches to chill out, and at bridges to jump off into the freezing cold water! Could have spent so much longer in Yosemite, we met people who'd been going there every year for their whole lives and still found new things to do there, its a wonderful place.

]]>Los Angeleshttp://daveinamerica.blog.co.uk/2005/07/26/los_angeles_1/2005-07-26T04:35:48+02:00 <p>LA was loads of fun. A very touristy experience, we visited Hollywood, and got very excited about the names of stars in the pavement, and their footprints in the concrete. We also spent a day at universal studios, seeing film sets and riding on rollercoasters, and checked out Venice Beach. Another stand-out experience from LA has to be the Greyhound station, which more closely resembled a homeless night shelter, and left us with the distinct feeling that we were lucky to escape! That said, both the Greyhound to LA and from LA on to Yosemite were on time, maybe they're not so bad afterall! </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://daveinamerica.blog.co.uk/2005/07/26/los_angeles_1/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>LA was loads of fun. A very touristy experience, we visited Hollywood, and got very excited about the names of stars in the pavement, and their footprints in the concrete. We also spent a day at universal studios, seeing film sets and riding on rollercoasters, and checked out Venice Beach. Another stand-out experience from LA has to be the Greyhound station, which more closely resembled a homeless night shelter, and left us with the distinct feeling that we were lucky to escape! That said, both the Greyhound to LA and from LA on to Yosemite were on time, maybe they're not so bad afterall!

]]>Sedonahttp://daveinamerica.blog.co.uk/2005/07/18/sedona/2005-07-18T22:07:28+02:00 <p>Although the Grand Canyon was amazing, the real highlight of the time in Flagstaff was visiting the nearby state park of Sedona. This is an area of amazing red sandstone and green forests, and we spent a day there hiking and swimming in the rivers. We did the hike first, a knackering treck up to cathedral rock, which is one of the impressive lumps of uneroded sandstone that are dotted around the park. It was unbelievably hot, so having climbed back down the hill, we headed for a couple of spots by the river to swim and cool off. At the second of these was a 30 ft high cliff off of which people were jumping into the river below. Not really sure what came over me, Mike and Matt, but we decided to give it ago, and it genuinely was terrifying, it was such a big drop that as I fell I had a lot of time to think about just how incredibly stupid I was being, and just how little I could do about it! The video footage, taken with much style by Beth, tells the story much better than I can. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://daveinamerica.blog.co.uk/2005/07/18/sedona/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>Although the Grand Canyon was amazing, the real highlight of the time in Flagstaff was visiting the nearby state park of Sedona. This is an area of amazing red sandstone and green forests, and we spent a day there hiking and swimming in the rivers. We did the hike first, a knackering treck up to cathedral rock, which is one of the impressive lumps of uneroded sandstone that are dotted around the park. It was unbelievably hot, so having climbed back down the hill, we headed for a couple of spots by the river to swim and cool off. At the second of these was a 30 ft high cliff off of which people were jumping into the river below. Not really sure what came over me, Mike and Matt, but we decided to give it ago, and it genuinely was terrifying, it was such a big drop that as I fell I had a lot of time to think about just how incredibly stupid I was being, and just how little I could do about it! The video footage, taken with much style by Beth, tells the story much better than I can.

]]>Grand Canyonhttp://daveinamerica.blog.co.uk/2005/07/18/grand_canyon/2005-07-18T22:00:04+02:00 <p>The point of going to Flagstaff was as a base to visit the Grand Canyon, which was awesome! We went on a tour with the hostel, and stopped at various points around the canyon to admire the view, which was very impressive. Its just so big, not really just one canyon but loads of them interlinking, so deep you can't see the bottom, and so wide you can't make out any detail on the other side. We did a short hike part of the way down into the canyon, which was a lot of fun except for the fact that the path that had seemed very easy to walk on the way down, became a rather tiring effort on the way back up! Californian Condors and massive ravens circled round overhead all day, and thunderstorms rattled around overhead, it was a very atmospheric, unforgettable experience. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://daveinamerica.blog.co.uk/2005/07/18/grand_canyon/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>The point of going to Flagstaff was as a base to visit the Grand Canyon, which was awesome! We went on a tour with the hostel, and stopped at various points around the canyon to admire the view, which was very impressive. Its just so big, not really just one canyon but loads of them interlinking, so deep you can't see the bottom, and so wide you can't make out any detail on the other side. We did a short hike part of the way down into the canyon, which was a lot of fun except for the fact that the path that had seemed very easy to walk on the way down, became a rather tiring effort on the way back up! Californian Condors and massive ravens circled round overhead all day, and thunderstorms rattled around overhead, it was a very atmospheric, unforgettable experience.

]]>Greyhound 2http://daveinamerica.blog.co.uk/2005/07/18/greyhound_2/2005-07-18T21:51:25+02:00 <p>Getting from Albuquerque to our next destination, Flagstaff, was again a nightmare, huge delays with no explanation as to what was going on. The busses are driving us crazy! </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://daveinamerica.blog.co.uk/2005/07/18/greyhound_2/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>Getting from Albuquerque to our next destination, Flagstaff, was again a nightmare, huge delays with no explanation as to what was going on. The busses are driving us crazy!

]]>Albuquerquehttp://daveinamerica.blog.co.uk/2005/07/14/albuquerque/2005-07-14T20:43:51+02:00 <p>Albuquerque was lots of fun. The town itself isn't that exciting, but the surrounding landscape is very impressive. We hired a car and drove around visiting extinct volcanoes surrounded by huge craggy lava flows full of caves, we saw a soda dam which is a great big rock formation made out of calcium carbonate bubbling up out of a natural spring, and we also saw a lot of the native american sites that are dotted around this area. The landscape is really impressive, some of it is rocky and dessert-like, some is full of pine forests, and all of it is almost completely deserted. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://daveinamerica.blog.co.uk/2005/07/14/albuquerque/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>Albuquerque was lots of fun. The town itself isn't that exciting, but the surrounding landscape is very impressive. We hired a car and drove around visiting extinct volcanoes surrounded by huge craggy lava flows full of caves, we saw a soda dam which is a great big rock formation made out of calcium carbonate bubbling up out of a natural spring, and we also saw a lot of the native american sites that are dotted around this area. The landscape is really impressive, some of it is rocky and dessert-like, some is full of pine forests, and all of it is almost completely deserted.

]]>Greyhoundhttp://daveinamerica.blog.co.uk/2005/07/14/greyhound/2005-07-14T20:37:36+02:00 <p>Whenever I have met Americans on this trip and told them I waa going to be travelling around the states on the Greyhound busses, they have looked kind of horrified and asked me why on earth I would want to do that. I think I might now understand why...</p> <p>We were trying to get from Austin, Texas, to Albuquerque, New Mexico, which involved a pretty horrific 16 hour journey with changes in Dallas and Amarillo. The busses, as per usual, were late, and me and Mike ended up on a different bus to Matt and Beth. Matt and Beth's bus left about 5 minutes before ours, but in between the two there was an accident on the interstate, and whilst the other two made the connection at Dallas, me and Mike got held up for an hour and missed it. On arrival at Dallas we were told that we had a 5 hour wait for the next bus, which would get us in to Amarillo in the early hours of the morning, and then involve another 5 hour wait for the connecting bus to Albuquerque. We wouldn't be arriving until late afternoon the next day, and would be pretty much wiped out for the next day as well after an epic 24 hour journey. Fortunately we had met a Buddist monk on the journey from Austin, who was up for sharing a taxi to Fort Worth. He also happened to have the number for a couple of airline companies, so me and Mike decided to ditch the Greyhound and fly to Albuquerque! The flight, fortunately, passed without major incident, and we got to the hostel at 11:15 that night. Unfortunately, we had not been able to get through to the hostel on the phone to let them know we were coming, and they had closed at 11:00, so we were left in a kind of dodgey looking area of town, with nowhere to stay! We ended up checking into a motel, which was just like in the movies, and was a very random way to end the oddest journey of my trip so far! </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://daveinamerica.blog.co.uk/2005/07/14/greyhound/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>Whenever I have met Americans on this trip and told them I waa going to be travelling around the states on the Greyhound busses, they have looked kind of horrified and asked me why on earth I would want to do that. I think I might now understand why...

We were trying to get from Austin, Texas, to Albuquerque, New Mexico, which involved a pretty horrific 16 hour journey with changes in Dallas and Amarillo. The busses, as per usual, were late, and me and Mike ended up on a different bus to Matt and Beth. Matt and Beth's bus left about 5 minutes before ours, but in between the two there was an accident on the interstate, and whilst the other two made the connection at Dallas, me and Mike got held up for an hour and missed it. On arrival at Dallas we were told that we had a 5 hour wait for the next bus, which would get us in to Amarillo in the early hours of the morning, and then involve another 5 hour wait for the connecting bus to Albuquerque. We wouldn't be arriving until late afternoon the next day, and would be pretty much wiped out for the next day as well after an epic 24 hour journey. Fortunately we had met a Buddist monk on the journey from Austin, who was up for sharing a taxi to Fort Worth. He also happened to have the number for a couple of airline companies, so me and Mike decided to ditch the Greyhound and fly to Albuquerque! The flight, fortunately, passed without major incident, and we got to the hostel at 11:15 that night. Unfortunately, we had not been able to get through to the hostel on the phone to let them know we were coming, and they had closed at 11:00, so we were left in a kind of dodgey looking area of town, with nowhere to stay! We ended up checking into a motel, which was just like in the movies, and was a very random way to end the oddest journey of my trip so far!

]]>Austinhttp://daveinamerica.blog.co.uk/2005/07/13/austin/2005-07-13T21:04:26+02:00 <p>Austin was cool, a friendly, attractive city with lots of fun stuff to do. A highlight was heading down to the river a sunset to see 1.5 million Mexican Free Tailed bats fly out from under a bridge to go hunting for the night, a truely impressive sight. Spent a fun day on Saturday at Barton Springs which is a huge natural pool in which you can swim, do crazy dives off a spring board, and generally chill out in the sun. We achieved the impressive feat of passing a ball between ourselves 30 times without it falling in the water, it only took us about 2 hours! Also got a bit of cultural stuff in visiting the Capitol building, which is very impressive, similar to the one in Washington and actually taller. They have portraits of all the former govenors of Texas there, including of course, George W. Bush, who now wears attractive purple glasses and a green moustache thanks to a bit of subtle graffiti! Had a couple of cool nights out in Austin too- me and Mike saw a very good Country/Soul band. The only bad point of Austin was the hostel which was run with alarming similarity to a prison camp- we were locked out of our rooms for most of the day- some crazy woman had the gall to come in and try and wake me up before 10:00 every day. Its meant to be a hotel for goodness sake! </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://daveinamerica.blog.co.uk/2005/07/13/austin/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>Austin was cool, a friendly, attractive city with lots of fun stuff to do. A highlight was heading down to the river a sunset to see 1.5 million Mexican Free Tailed bats fly out from under a bridge to go hunting for the night, a truely impressive sight. Spent a fun day on Saturday at Barton Springs which is a huge natural pool in which you can swim, do crazy dives off a spring board, and generally chill out in the sun. We achieved the impressive feat of passing a ball between ourselves 30 times without it falling in the water, it only took us about 2 hours! Also got a bit of cultural stuff in visiting the Capitol building, which is very impressive, similar to the one in Washington and actually taller. They have portraits of all the former govenors of Texas there, including of course, George W. Bush, who now wears attractive purple glasses and a green moustache thanks to a bit of subtle graffiti! Had a couple of cool nights out in Austin too- me and Mike saw a very good Country/Soul band. The only bad point of Austin was the hostel which was run with alarming similarity to a prison camp- we were locked out of our rooms for most of the day- some crazy woman had the gall to come in and try and wake me up before 10:00 every day. Its meant to be a hotel for goodness sake!

]]>New Orleanshttp://daveinamerica.blog.co.uk/2005/07/06/new_orleans/2005-07-06T21:39:36+02:00 <p>On Sunday arrived in New Orleans to begin the North American section of the trip. Met up with Matt and Beth in the hostel, was great to see them, and catch up on all the news from home. As much as I enjoyed travelling on my own, it makes a nice change to have people around I've known for more than a couple of days.</p> <p>New Orleans is a really cool city. Most stuff goes on in the French Quarter, which is old and elegent, colourful wooden houses with iron balconies covered in flowers. Music here is brilliant, loads of proper fat old jazz men playing trumpets in tons of bars, and in the days there are loads of cool performers on the streets. It was Independence day on Monday, went down to the banks of the Mississippi to watch a firwork display then headed onto Bourbon Street to visit a few bars. Bourbon Street is crazy, full of neon signs and little kiosks selling cheep beers and disgustingly sweet cocktails of dangerous looking colours. As well as being the home of jazz, New Orleans is also the home of voodoo, and today we did an interesting walking tour to a historic Catholic cemetry, and met a practising voodoo preistess who talked untintelligably for a few minutes and made Beth inhale something from an umarked bottle. We are still waiting to see what effect this will have. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://daveinamerica.blog.co.uk/2005/07/06/new_orleans/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>On Sunday arrived in New Orleans to begin the North American section of the trip. Met up with Matt and Beth in the hostel, was great to see them, and catch up on all the news from home. As much as I enjoyed travelling on my own, it makes a nice change to have people around I've known for more than a couple of days.

New Orleans is a really cool city. Most stuff goes on in the French Quarter, which is old and elegent, colourful wooden houses with iron balconies covered in flowers. Music here is brilliant, loads of proper fat old jazz men playing trumpets in tons of bars, and in the days there are loads of cool performers on the streets. It was Independence day on Monday, went down to the banks of the Mississippi to watch a firwork display then headed onto Bourbon Street to visit a few bars. Bourbon Street is crazy, full of neon signs and little kiosks selling cheep beers and disgustingly sweet cocktails of dangerous looking colours. As well as being the home of jazz, New Orleans is also the home of voodoo, and today we did an interesting walking tour to a historic Catholic cemetry, and met a practising voodoo preistess who talked untintelligably for a few minutes and made Beth inhale something from an umarked bottle. We are still waiting to see what effect this will have.

]]>Buenos Aires 3http://daveinamerica.blog.co.uk/2005/06/28/buenos_aires_3/2005-06-28T22:46:12+02:00 <p>Back in Buenos Aires, still having tons of fun. Have had a lot of good nights out, there seems to be an inexhaustable range of places to go in the evenings, restaurants, bars, clubs, live music. Consequently I am very tired and I spend my mornings sleeping. Still managing to see the sights though, its a great city for wandering around in, loads of really distinctive areas, some very rich, some very poor. Its especially fun on the weekends, when there are loads of open air markets and street performers. Also been making the most of the galleries and museums, and on sunday I went to see ballet at the Teatro Colon which was brilliant. When I'm not out and about doing such cultural things, I spend a lot of time at the hostel making the most of the free ping pong and pool tables! </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://daveinamerica.blog.co.uk/2005/06/28/buenos_aires_3/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>Back in Buenos Aires, still having tons of fun. Have had a lot of good nights out, there seems to be an inexhaustable range of places to go in the evenings, restaurants, bars, clubs, live music. Consequently I am very tired and I spend my mornings sleeping. Still managing to see the sights though, its a great city for wandering around in, loads of really distinctive areas, some very rich, some very poor. Its especially fun on the weekends, when there are loads of open air markets and street performers. Also been making the most of the galleries and museums, and on sunday I went to see ballet at the Teatro Colon which was brilliant. When I'm not out and about doing such cultural things, I spend a lot of time at the hostel making the most of the free ping pong and pool tables!

]]>The Iguazu Fallshttp://daveinamerica.blog.co.uk/2005/06/23/the_iguazu_falls/2005-06-23T17:03:33+02:00 <p>Not really sure where to start writing about Iguazu- I think the falls must be the most spectacular things I have ever seen. They are huge, and the water tumbles over the cliffs impossibly quickly. Walkways and boats take you close up to them, and you get absolutely drenched. There are actually loads off separate falls in the area, the largest and most impressive of which is the 'garganta del diabalo' (devil's throat) which is just gigantic! You can never actually see the whole thing because of the massive amount of spray and mist it chucks up, but you can hear it roaring from miles away. As well as being incredibly impressive, the whole area of the falls is also stunningly beautiful. The sun shines through the mist creating rainbows all over the place, and the falls are set in a jungle park, with brightly coloured birds, and butterflies bigger than my hand. It has to be said that the other defining feature of the park is tourists, there are tour parties everywhere, and I think I will inadventatly appear in hundreds of group photos. However unlike other places you don't seem to notice the amount of people, theres just too much else to see. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://daveinamerica.blog.co.uk/2005/06/23/the_iguazu_falls/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>Not really sure where to start writing about Iguazu- I think the falls must be the most spectacular things I have ever seen. They are huge, and the water tumbles over the cliffs impossibly quickly. Walkways and boats take you close up to them, and you get absolutely drenched. There are actually loads off separate falls in the area, the largest and most impressive of which is the 'garganta del diabalo' (devil's throat) which is just gigantic! You can never actually see the whole thing because of the massive amount of spray and mist it chucks up, but you can hear it roaring from miles away. As well as being incredibly impressive, the whole area of the falls is also stunningly beautiful. The sun shines through the mist creating rainbows all over the place, and the falls are set in a jungle park, with brightly coloured birds, and butterflies bigger than my hand. It has to be said that the other defining feature of the park is tourists, there are tour parties everywhere, and I think I will inadventatly appear in hundreds of group photos. However unlike other places you don't seem to notice the amount of people, theres just too much else to see.

]]>Buenos Aires againhttp://daveinamerica.blog.co.uk/2005/06/23/buenos_aires_again/2005-06-23T16:31:37+02:00 <p>Spent another cool weekend in Buenos Aires, theres just so much to do here. Went on a tour of the Teatro Colon, which is an incredibly ornate, ostentatious and impressive opera house, also went to a Guacho market which is the exact opposite, a place where the Argentine cowboys from the countryside come to sell stuff and sing songs and ride horses. A couple of good nights out, and the nicest steak I have ever had, meat will never taste the same again after Argentina! </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://daveinamerica.blog.co.uk/2005/06/23/buenos_aires_again/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>Spent another cool weekend in Buenos Aires, theres just so much to do here. Went on a tour of the Teatro Colon, which is an incredibly ornate, ostentatious and impressive opera house, also went to a Guacho market which is the exact opposite, a place where the Argentine cowboys from the countryside come to sell stuff and sing songs and ride horses. A couple of good nights out, and the nicest steak I have ever had, meat will never taste the same again after Argentina!

]]>Whaleshttp://daveinamerica.blog.co.uk/2005/06/16/whales/2005-06-16T16:29:15+02:00 <p>Spending some time in southern Argentina on the Peninsula Valdes, which is basically a massive wildlife reserve. Hired a car with some friends yesterday and drove around, saw some really cool stuff- massive elephant seals that way 2,500 kilos, huge great big ñandus that are like ostriches, and armadillos which are the oddest animals ever, like a superfast hedgehog in a tortoise shell. We almost ran one over. The highlight however was taking a boat out into the bay to see the Southern Right Whales, who turn up here around this time of year. They were gigantic, covered in crusty barnacles, and seemed as interested in us as we were in them. At one point four of them swam right up to the boat and stuck their heads out of the water to say hello! My photos unfortunately were pretty average and couldn't capture how impressive a sight it was, but it doesn't matter- the whole experience really was unforgettable. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://daveinamerica.blog.co.uk/2005/06/16/whales/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>Spending some time in southern Argentina on the Peninsula Valdes, which is basically a massive wildlife reserve. Hired a car with some friends yesterday and drove around, saw some really cool stuff- massive elephant seals that way 2,500 kilos, huge great big ñandus that are like ostriches, and armadillos which are the oddest animals ever, like a superfast hedgehog in a tortoise shell. We almost ran one over. The highlight however was taking a boat out into the bay to see the Southern Right Whales, who turn up here around this time of year. They were gigantic, covered in crusty barnacles, and seemed as interested in us as we were in them. At one point four of them swam right up to the boat and stuck their heads out of the water to say hello! My photos unfortunately were pretty average and couldn't capture how impressive a sight it was, but it doesn't matter- the whole experience really was unforgettable.

]]>Same old Arsenalhttp://daveinamerica.blog.co.uk/2005/06/12/same_old_arsenal/2005-06-12T22:17:30+02:00 <p>Last night I decided to go to the football, went to see Boca Juniors, who randomly enough were playing a team called Arsenal. (No relation to the English team apparently). It was a pretty average match, Arsenal won as you would expect. The Boca crowd however, was a spectacle in itself, they sung non stop at the tops of their voices for the whole 90 minutes, and when Arsenal scored they just sung even louder. They waved flags, and had drums and trumpets, and didn't really seem to care what the score was at all. And this was just a pretty unimportant league match, apparently when Boca played against River Plate in the derby, you could feel the whole stadium shaking! </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://daveinamerica.blog.co.uk/2005/06/12/same_old_arsenal/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>Last night I decided to go to the football, went to see Boca Juniors, who randomly enough were playing a team called Arsenal. (No relation to the English team apparently). It was a pretty average match, Arsenal won as you would expect. The Boca crowd however, was a spectacle in itself, they sung non stop at the tops of their voices for the whole 90 minutes, and when Arsenal scored they just sung even louder. They waved flags, and had drums and trumpets, and didn't really seem to care what the score was at all. And this was just a pretty unimportant league match, apparently when Boca played against River Plate in the derby, you could feel the whole stadium shaking!

]]>Buenas Aireshttp://daveinamerica.blog.co.uk/2005/06/12/buenas_aires/2005-06-12T22:10:38+02:00 <p>Currently in Buenas Aires which is an absolutely incredible city! Its big and old, with impressive buildings and leafy plazas. There are tons of museums and galleries, and on the weekends there are huge markets selling people carved out of matchsticks and antique trelephones. The city is the home of tango, and everywhere you go there are people dancing it on the streets, as well as musicians and human staues, and some people that just stand around wearing strange clothes, who I can't really tell whether they are street performers or just slightly odd... Nights out here are amazing, no one even eats until 11 at night, the pubs and clubs don't open till 12, and no one arrives until after 1. This has meant that I haven't actuially seen a morning since I have been here as I have been sleeping, but I'm sure they are very nice too. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://daveinamerica.blog.co.uk/2005/06/12/buenas_aires/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>Currently in Buenas Aires which is an absolutely incredible city! Its big and old, with impressive buildings and leafy plazas. There are tons of museums and galleries, and on the weekends there are huge markets selling people carved out of matchsticks and antique trelephones. The city is the home of tango, and everywhere you go there are people dancing it on the streets, as well as musicians and human staues, and some people that just stand around wearing strange clothes, who I can't really tell whether they are street performers or just slightly odd... Nights out here are amazing, no one even eats until 11 at night, the pubs and clubs don't open till 12, and no one arrives until after 1. This has meant that I haven't actuially seen a morning since I have been here as I have been sleeping, but I'm sure they are very nice too.

]]>Atacamahttp://daveinamerica.blog.co.uk/2005/06/05/atacama_1/2005-06-05T23:03:47+02:00 <p>Just back from 5 days treking in the atacama desert which was absolutely amazing! The place itself is out of this world, hot and dry, rocky and dusty, most of the time we were walking in a river valley which at times became a canyon and involved us walking through the freezing cold river. Good way to keep cool though, the desert was hot. Excpet at night, when it was actually quite cold, about -10 degrees- we were sleeping in tents which was an incredibly unpleasant experience. The days more than made up for it tho, saw some incredible things. One day we visited a salt lake and saw loads of flamingoes, another we went to a geyser field, and saw lots of boiling water. The treking was hard, expecially becuase we were high up so oxygen was hard to come by, but all the cool things you see seem that much more impressive when you have walked a long way to get there. All in all had a fantastic time! </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://daveinamerica.blog.co.uk/2005/06/05/atacama_1/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>Just back from 5 days treking in the atacama desert which was absolutely amazing! The place itself is out of this world, hot and dry, rocky and dusty, most of the time we were walking in a river valley which at times became a canyon and involved us walking through the freezing cold river. Good way to keep cool though, the desert was hot. Excpet at night, when it was actually quite cold, about -10 degrees- we were sleeping in tents which was an incredibly unpleasant experience. The days more than made up for it tho, saw some incredible things. One day we visited a salt lake and saw loads of flamingoes, another we went to a geyser field, and saw lots of boiling water. The treking was hard, expecially becuase we were high up so oxygen was hard to come by, but all the cool things you see seem that much more impressive when you have walked a long way to get there. All in all had a fantastic time!

]]>Atacamahttp://daveinamerica.blog.co.uk/2005/06/01/atacama/2005-06-01T01:11:51+02:00 <p>Currently in San Pedro de Atacama, which is an oasis in the middle of the atacama dessert. The desert is very hot and very dry, and also very rocky and sandy. It may sound like a stupid idea, but tomorrow we set of on a four day trek through the dessert. If heat stroke/dehydration do not kill us, then the night time temperatures of -10 will probably finnish off the job (we are camping). Should we survive it however the experience will be well worth it, we've already done a couple of day treks and the scenery is awesome, unlike anything I have ever seen before. The sky here is a whole new shade of blue, and I've never been anywhere so quiet. When you are still you hear absolutely nothing. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://daveinamerica.blog.co.uk/2005/06/01/atacama/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>Currently in San Pedro de Atacama, which is an oasis in the middle of the atacama dessert. The desert is very hot and very dry, and also very rocky and sandy. It may sound like a stupid idea, but tomorrow we set of on a four day trek through the dessert. If heat stroke/dehydration do not kill us, then the night time temperatures of -10 will probably finnish off the job (we are camping). Should we survive it however the experience will be well worth it, we've already done a couple of day treks and the scenery is awesome, unlike anything I have ever seen before. The sky here is a whole new shade of blue, and I've never been anywhere so quiet. When you are still you hear absolutely nothing.

]]>Familyhttp://daveinamerica.blog.co.uk/2005/05/27/family/2005-05-27T17:04:10+02:00 <p>My parents and sister arrived safely this morning. It meant an early start for me, but I impressed them by arriving on time and having organised transportation back to the city. This has exhausted all my organisational ability for the rest of the tour. The plus point is my dads wallet, the services of which I have already availed myself. I think it will be a different kind of travelling for the next couple of weeks tho, we are staying in a posh hotel, and tonight are off to a concert rather than my more ususal friday night effort of beer and hot dogs. In santiago for a couple of days then off to explore the atacama desert. There will be flamingoes. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://daveinamerica.blog.co.uk/2005/05/27/family/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>My parents and sister arrived safely this morning. It meant an early start for me, but I impressed them by arriving on time and having organised transportation back to the city. This has exhausted all my organisational ability for the rest of the tour. The plus point is my dads wallet, the services of which I have already availed myself. I think it will be a different kind of travelling for the next couple of weeks tho, we are staying in a posh hotel, and tonight are off to a concert rather than my more ususal friday night effort of beer and hot dogs. In santiago for a couple of days then off to explore the atacama desert. There will be flamingoes.

]]>Santiago againhttp://daveinamerica.blog.co.uk/2005/05/26/santiago_again/2005-05-26T23:05:01+02:00 <p>Back in Santiago, again. This is my fifth time here, which owes more to a lack of planning and a really random route than any particular desire to keep coming back to the city- this is the first time I've actually spent longer than a day here. Santiago is pretty cool, nice to be in a proper big city after a long time in the middle of nowhere, its got a busy, fun atmosphere, especially in the evenings, however its a bit short on things to do. Been to a couple of unremarkable parks and museums, but nothing much more exciting. Tomorrow my parents and sister arrive and were heading north to do a walking tour in the atacama desert, should be amazing! </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://daveinamerica.blog.co.uk/2005/05/26/santiago_again/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>Back in Santiago, again. This is my fifth time here, which owes more to a lack of planning and a really random route than any particular desire to keep coming back to the city- this is the first time I've actually spent longer than a day here. Santiago is pretty cool, nice to be in a proper big city after a long time in the middle of nowhere, its got a busy, fun atmosphere, especially in the evenings, however its a bit short on things to do. Been to a couple of unremarkable parks and museums, but nothing much more exciting. Tomorrow my parents and sister arrive and were heading north to do a walking tour in the atacama desert, should be amazing!

]]>Champions Leaguehttp://daveinamerica.blog.co.uk/2005/05/26/champions_league_1/2005-05-26T22:50:42+02:00 <p>Watched the game in a grubby cafe with a half Hungarian, half Romanian Milan supporter. Not many of them about. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://daveinamerica.blog.co.uk/2005/05/26/champions_league_1/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>Watched the game in a grubby cafe with a half Hungarian, half Romanian Milan supporter. Not many of them about.

]]>FA cuphttp://daveinamerica.blog.co.uk/2005/05/22/fa_cup_1/2005-05-22T22:54:50+02:00 <p>Didn't see the game, but from what I hear it was a 9 goal thriller! </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://daveinamerica.blog.co.uk/2005/05/22/fa_cup_1/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>Didn't see the game, but from what I hear it was a 9 goal thriller!

]]>Communist nighthttp://daveinamerica.blog.co.uk/2005/05/22/communist_night/2005-05-22T22:53:14+02:00 <p>Currently back in Chile, got the bus from Mendoza to Santiago, and then immediately headed on down to Concepcion where I am staying with a contact I have been given out here.</p> <p>Had a very interesting first evening- it was someones birthday and so I was invited to a proper chilean fiesta. As it turned out, the group of people I was with was entirely composed of writers, musicians, feminists and socialists, I was asked soon after arrival to give an account of my political beliefs- I think the wrong answers may have resulted in some sort of excommunication or worse. By the end of the evening we were singing revolutionary songs, the choruses of which contained sentiments such as 'the people untied will never be defeated', and we were all addressing eachother as comrade!</p> <p>Was actually a really good fun night- they properly know how to party, and even though most people were over 30, they easily lasted till 5 o clock in the morning, whilst I flagged at about 2. I haven't actually had to koin the Chilean communist party yet, but there is a considerable amount of the weekend left, so I don't know if I rate my chances of survival... </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://daveinamerica.blog.co.uk/2005/05/22/communist_night/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>Currently back in Chile, got the bus from Mendoza to Santiago, and then immediately headed on down to Concepcion where I am staying with a contact I have been given out here.

Had a very interesting first evening- it was someones birthday and so I was invited to a proper chilean fiesta. As it turned out, the group of people I was with was entirely composed of writers, musicians, feminists and socialists, I was asked soon after arrival to give an account of my political beliefs- I think the wrong answers may have resulted in some sort of excommunication or worse. By the end of the evening we were singing revolutionary songs, the choruses of which contained sentiments such as 'the people untied will never be defeated', and we were all addressing eachother as comrade!

Was actually a really good fun night- they properly know how to party, and even though most people were over 30, they easily lasted till 5 o clock in the morning, whilst I flagged at about 2. I haven't actually had to koin the Chilean communist party yet, but there is a considerable amount of the weekend left, so I don't know if I rate my chances of survival...

]]>Mendozahttp://daveinamerica.blog.co.uk/2005/05/22/mendoza/2005-05-22T22:35:51+02:00 <p>Sick of the cold, I decided to head north to the warmer climes of Mendoza (Argentina still). This involved a 19 hour bus journey, bit of an epic, but not too bad- the busses here are amazing, big, comfortable, they have TVs, food and toilets, and a little man that comes round and tilts your seat back and puts a blanket on you when you want to go to sleep. I was adding it up, and I think I've spent about 70 hours on busses since I started this trip, which is probably more than the rest of my life put together!</p> <p>Mendoza was well worth the journey though. Its a big European style city, with cafes and Boulevards, it is in one of the biggest wine producing areas in South America, so I got an afternoon wine tasting in, and it is also right next to the alps, so I spent a day hiking around the foot of Ancongagua, the highest peak in South America. Over and above all of this, it was warm and sunny, which made a very pleasant change! </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://daveinamerica.blog.co.uk/2005/05/22/mendoza/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>Sick of the cold, I decided to head north to the warmer climes of Mendoza (Argentina still). This involved a 19 hour bus journey, bit of an epic, but not too bad- the busses here are amazing, big, comfortable, they have TVs, food and toilets, and a little man that comes round and tilts your seat back and puts a blanket on you when you want to go to sleep. I was adding it up, and I think I've spent about 70 hours on busses since I started this trip, which is probably more than the rest of my life put together!

Mendoza was well worth the journey though. Its a big European style city, with cafes and Boulevards, it is in one of the biggest wine producing areas in South America, so I got an afternoon wine tasting in, and it is also right next to the alps, so I spent a day hiking around the foot of Ancongagua, the highest peak in South America. Over and above all of this, it was warm and sunny, which made a very pleasant change!

]]>Barriloche 2http://daveinamerica.blog.co.uk/2005/05/17/barriloche_2/2005-05-17T15:29:53+02:00 <p>Had a really good time in Barriloche overall. Managed to get out for a bike ride and a run while the weather stayed nice, and had a really good evening on saturday when everyone in the hostel cooked something for a communal meal. I cooked pasta and as yet everyone is still alive. The communal meal turned into a full on fiesta and the Argentinian hostel owners put on the tunes and encouraged us all to get on the dance floor. Unfortunately anyone expecting some classy tango music was disappointed to find that the Argentinians idea of good dance music is almost without exception the same overplayed tunes from the 80's as in England. When YMCA came on I decided it was time to go to bed. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://daveinamerica.blog.co.uk/2005/05/17/barriloche_2/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>Had a really good time in Barriloche overall. Managed to get out for a bike ride and a run while the weather stayed nice, and had a really good evening on saturday when everyone in the hostel cooked something for a communal meal. I cooked pasta and as yet everyone is still alive. The communal meal turned into a full on fiesta and the Argentinian hostel owners put on the tunes and encouraged us all to get on the dance floor. Unfortunately anyone expecting some classy tango music was disappointed to find that the Argentinians idea of good dance music is almost without exception the same overplayed tunes from the 80's as in England. When YMCA came on I decided it was time to go to bed.

]]>Fiat Uno Adventures....http://daveinamerica.blog.co.uk/2005/05/17/fiat_uno_adventures/2005-05-17T15:23:14+02:00 <p>Today I thought it would be a good idea to hire a car with some friends from the hostel and head out to explore some of the scenery of the Argentine lakes district. A 10 year old fiat uno into which we ained to fit 5 of us sounded like a good idea at the time, but after about an hour driving over unpaved roads covered in rocks, mud and snow we weren't so sure.... Still, the little car made it, and we got to see some amazing scenery, lakes, mountains, forests, and the massive, desolate patagonian plains. The sky here is bigger than it is in England. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://daveinamerica.blog.co.uk/2005/05/17/fiat_uno_adventures/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>Today I thought it would be a good idea to hire a car with some friends from the hostel and head out to explore some of the scenery of the Argentine lakes district. A 10 year old fiat uno into which we ained to fit 5 of us sounded like a good idea at the time, but after about an hour driving over unpaved roads covered in rocks, mud and snow we weren't so sure.... Still, the little car made it, and we got to see some amazing scenery, lakes, mountains, forests, and the massive, desolate patagonian plains. The sky here is bigger than it is in England.

]]>Barrilochehttp://daveinamerica.blog.co.uk/2005/05/17/barriloche/2005-05-17T15:18:42+02:00 <p>So, sick of the weather in Chile, I decided it was time to hop over the Andes into Argentina. I ended up in a place called Barriloche, where I was very excited to find my first bit of blue sky for 5 days. I also found an amazing hostel on the 10th floor of a run down apartment block with lifts that stop a foot below the level of the floor they are aiming for. Didn't seem too promising at first, but inside it was brilliant, mainly because of the view over the huge lake on which Barriloche sits to the snowy mountains beyond. The other good things about Barriloche are the steaks, which are massive and delicious. The bad things about Barriloche are the cold and the wind, which are intense. Still, at least it is not raining! </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://daveinamerica.blog.co.uk/2005/05/17/barriloche/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>So, sick of the weather in Chile, I decided it was time to hop over the Andes into Argentina. I ended up in a place called Barriloche, where I was very excited to find my first bit of blue sky for 5 days. I also found an amazing hostel on the 10th floor of a run down apartment block with lifts that stop a foot below the level of the floor they are aiming for. Didn't seem too promising at first, but inside it was brilliant, mainly because of the view over the huge lake on which Barriloche sits to the snowy mountains beyond. The other good things about Barriloche are the steaks, which are massive and delicious. The bad things about Barriloche are the cold and the wind, which are intense. Still, at least it is not raining!

]]>Rainhttp://daveinamerica.blog.co.uk/2005/05/13/rain/2005-05-13T23:39:33+02:00 <p>So overall, Valdivia and Puerto Varas were a bit of a wash out. Still managed to have fun though. The highlight of Valdivia was seeing the sealions at the fish market- they are massive, tame and lazy, they just lounge around on the front, waiting to be thrown the scraps the fishermen don't want. Puerto Varas was even wetter, and ended up going to see 'Kingdom of Heaven' at the cinema. An OK film. Next stop Bariloche, Argentina! </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://daveinamerica.blog.co.uk/2005/05/13/rain/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>So overall, Valdivia and Puerto Varas were a bit of a wash out. Still managed to have fun though. The highlight of Valdivia was seeing the sealions at the fish market- they are massive, tame and lazy, they just lounge around on the front, waiting to be thrown the scraps the fishermen don't want. Puerto Varas was even wetter, and ended up going to see 'Kingdom of Heaven' at the cinema. An OK film. Next stop Bariloche, Argentina!

]]>Puerto Varashttp://daveinamerica.blog.co.uk/2005/05/13/puerto_varas/2005-05-13T23:36:16+02:00 <p>Just rain. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://daveinamerica.blog.co.uk/2005/05/13/puerto_varas/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>Just rain.

]]>Valdiviahttp://daveinamerica.blog.co.uk/2005/05/13/valdivia/2005-05-13T23:35:47+02:00 <p>Rain and sealions. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://daveinamerica.blog.co.uk/2005/05/13/valdivia/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>Rain and sealions.

]]>Pucon 3http://daveinamerica.blog.co.uk/2005/05/10/pucon_3/2005-05-10T00:21:15+02:00 <p>All in all, Pucon was loads of fun. I was lucky to meet a group of really cool people there, I had great weather, and I really like the town, mainly because there were lots of good places to eat! Next I'm heading off to Valdivia, will see how that compares! </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://daveinamerica.blog.co.uk/2005/05/10/pucon_3/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>All in all, Pucon was loads of fun. I was lucky to meet a group of really cool people there, I had great weather, and I really like the town, mainly because there were lots of good places to eat! Next I'm heading off to Valdivia, will see how that compares!

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