stories & tips from my travels around the world…
El Mercado de las Brujas… the name just rolls off the tongue and straight into the cauldron. For some, it conjures up images of elderly ladies with sun-withered skin and charms strung around their neck who beckon you into their small, gritty stall decorated with shriveled animal parts for fortunes told. Continue reading “The Witches Market of La Paz”
Machu Picchu without the tourist crowds? It’s possible!
In a mountain jungle high above the clouds, I can look down upon a sprawling puzzle of stone, combined like an ancient God’s lego stash. Most pieces resemble the walls of houses or terraces with loose stones lying in the emerald green grass waiting to find their place in the rocky mosaic.
The sound of fossicking llamas floats on the breeze, as they keep the lawns trim. On the ancient stairs there is the scurry of furry chinchillas enjoying an evening dust bath and then my mate yelling from a ledge above, “This is fucking awesome! I can’t believe we have the whole place to ourselves!”
Continue reading “Machu Picchu Without The Tourists”
Nearly five kilometres above sea level, travelling 60 kmh+ down a highway in the Bolivian Andes, on a mountain bike competing with trucks, buses and cars, a solid rock cliff-face to my left and a 600m drop to certain death on my right, racing around hairpin turns and surrounded by the most beautiful scenery when I take the risk to look… I have never felt more exhilarated or had so much fun in all my life!
This is mind-blowing excitement at its best and I haven’t even hit the really dangerous section yet! Continue reading “Bolivia’s Death Road”
Some video from my trip to Bolivia where I watched Bolivian women dressed in their traditional frilly skirts beat the crap out of each other and men….great fun!
Continue reading “Bolivian Cholita Women Wrestling”
Video from my trip to Peru, complete with monkeys, talking guinea pigs and chinchilla’s I trained to roll over in time with the music!
Also, Machu Picchu, Cusco, Aguas Calientes, Pisac, Nazca, Amazon, Puerto Maldonado and Arequipa.
This video links with my written article from when I mountain biked down Bolivia’s Death Road with the company Gravity Assisted Mountain Biking.
Continue reading “Video from Mountain Biking Bolivia’s Death Road”
So I had this pre-misconception about South America. Before leaving I told my mother not to worry when she gets the phone call or email saying that I had been mugged… it was inevitable, it would happen, she had to expect it… I was!
Well, it never happened and from my own personal experience after travelling for 2 months through Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Peru and Chile I realised it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.
Of course people are mugged and pickpocketed all the time in South America, tourists are targeted, and there is the odd occasion of taxi drivers colluding with others to kidnap you, take you to an ATM and demand all your money.
Now the fact I had no problem doesn’t mean you won’t, but perhaps the simple precautions I took made a big difference to being targeted by thieves. Most criminals will do a quick risk calculation to see if they’re likely to get away with their crime before committing, so make it hard for them! Continue reading “How to Reduce your Crime Target Rating”