Graçias Seńor Jesus

Ladies, Gentlemen and any of the other 62 genders you can officially identify yourself as Buenos Dias, Mucho Gustó.

As seems to be the running theme with this blog, we've had something of a break between posts. South America has so very much to offer it's been hard to peel myself away and deliver some hard hitting, informative yet entertaining content. Thankfully today is your lucky day!

To give you an idea as to how much has gone on in the last 28 days I will now list all the places I've visited with a handy map at the bottom for those that don't like to read.

Santiago - Chile
Valparaiso - Chile
Mendoza - Argentina
Santiago - Chile
Sao Paulo - Brazil
Río de Janeiro - Brazil
Ilha Grande - Brazil
Paraty - Brazil
Sao Paulo - Brazil
Florianópolis - Brazil
Foz de Iguacu - Brazil
Puerto Iguazú - Argentina
Tucumán - Argentina
Salta - Argentina
Cafayate - Argentina
Purmamarca - Argentina
San Pedro de Atacama - Chile
Uyuni - Bolivia
Potosí - Bolivia

So, as you can see theres been some ground covered. The vast majority of travel has been on buses which sounds terrible and at some points it has been a real war of attrition. Thankfully the quality of buses thus far has been pretty decent. A word to the wise for anybody travelling South America, if you get the opportunity to pick your seats on a bus, go downstairs on the double deckers, it's worth the extra money. Rather than being fed crackers, Dolce du leche and horrific coffee you actually get real food and wine! *Not every journey*

Having put in several 11+ hour stints on these buses it's worth me passing on these little nuggets of wisdom; bring your own toilet roll, bring snacks, bring a book, bring a bloody jacket/blanket and lastly, try and get the bus when you're tired! On the whole most buses have been really good specifically Brazil and Chile. Properly comfortable chairs, WiFi, A/C, USB charging ports and even movies. Sadly as progress north continues into the less developed countries the quality has dropped. I'm currently travelling on a bus in Bolivia where I barely fit in the chair.

That's the first and last time I'm going to write about buses, but think about me throughout the next 4 months, squashed into tiny chairs for small people whilst you lounge in normal people sized transport. Saying that, if you're on the the Harrogate to Leeds train, I don't miss that cattle truck one bit.

So, travelling and stuff, yeah...

After a 12 hour flight from Auckland to Santiago and a 17°c temperature jump it really felt like I was in South America. However the jet lag was heavy! A 13 hour time difference and 31°c everyday made it a real nightmare to get my shit together. Well, that and I met some awesome people and went out every night for the first 3 days. Santiago wasn't a huge culture shock and to be honest it took until Salta to real feel anything like what you would imagine. Chile, Argentina and Brazil were so well developed in the areas I visited initially I could have been anywhere in the world.

Rather than go through exactly what I've done in each place  I've compiled a highlight reel, complete with photos and anecdotes.

Chile - Photos
As you may have seen on Facebook, Latin America is blessed with awesome street art/graffiti. Here's an album documenting my favourites so far.

Valapariso, had by far the most varied and visually enjoyable street art, not to mention being a really cool city!

Santiago - I was lucky enough to meet some really cool Chilean people (not to mention the legends in my hostel) who took me under their wing. Roof top birthday BBQ's, nightclubs playing banging techno until 8am and of course delicious craft beer. I also had an unreal sandwich at Funete Alemena

San Pedro de Atacama - The start of our desert adventure. On first glance, it doesn't seem like there's much going on in San Pedro. When I sent a photo to Jonny Amaku he calmly asked if I had gone to Afghanistan!

Sat in the desert near the Chilean, Bolivian and Argentinian borders this town is where all the good tours and adventures start. Surrounded by volcano's and the Andes mountain range San Ped is picturesque. Without a doubt the most comfortable bed I've slept in since leaving England was in SP and I have to thank Kezia for picking Hostel Ayni, that and she's generally been okay company thus far.

Desert Valley bike rides, abandoned pre-colonial forts, fording fast flowing rivers on said push bikes, stunning landscapes in Valle de Luna, delicious pizza, feathered Charizard hats *see pics* and potentially radioactive Fanta made SP a great place.

Argentina - Photos

Mendoza - Wine, steak, great Aussies, beautiful tree lined streets this place is the tits.

Salta - The first time I actually felt like I was in South America! Not much to do in the city but a great place to do day trips from. The painted hills, Cafayate and Purmamarca are places of real natural beauty. You may be wondering about the title of this blog post now. Well, whilst in Salta I came across the best bumper sticker ever, but didn't have my phone to snap a shot. It was essentially a motivational quote/meme with the words "Gracias Señor Jesús" which really tickled me!

Puerto Igazu - I don't care what anybody says, the Argentinian side of Igauzu falls is much better than the Brazilian one, I've done both and can confirm!

Brazil - Photos

Sao Paulo - Nick Pawley and Dri are saints and I can't thank them enough for their hospitality. Sao Paulo for most people can be a scary and dangerous city. Knowing people on the inside makes a big difference. The food here is incredible and Sao Paulo is a very cool city, despite being absolutely massive.

Ilha Grande - There are no words to describe this island paradise off the coast Brazil. What used to be the Brazilian answer to Alkatraz is now a lovely little holiday destination. Beautiful beaches galore and spectacular lagoons make for plenty of day trips. Being intrepid explorers meant exploring the abandoned prison and finding a nearly empty beach was necessary. On the walk back we acquired a wonderful street dog who guided us through the dense forest all the way to the other side of the album, here's to you señor doge.

Bolivia - Photos

I've just got here but let me tell you trip from San Pedro to Uyuni Is worth the money. The landscapes and wildlife you will see are immense. There was even a hotel made out of salt! Obviously I had to lick the wall to check it wasn't a scam.

Potosí - A really cool city with more fried chicken and mobile phone shops than I can shake a stick at. More updates to come ...

Well there you go, 28 days of travelling compacted into one magical blog post.

If you've made it this far well done and thank you.

Until next time...

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