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Elvis Lives Tour
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Elvis Lives Tour

May 2016 - April 2019 Leia mais
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    Pacific to Caribbean in 4 hours!

    21 de setembro de 2017, Panamá ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Back in the Caribbean again :) And fortunately far enough away from any nasty hurricanes.

    The drive from the Pacific Coast, departing from the amazing Johnny Fiestas hostel at Las Lajas over the mountains to Bocas Del Toro, was gorgeous. The western side was a beautiful open hillside with some big trees, but at the 1,000m top was cloud forest and then down into lush tropical rain forest. It's definitely warmer this side, and we spent a hot night in a parking spot waiting to get the early boat out, and leaving Elvis settled.

    We're arrived in the islands of Bocas Del Toro (literally mouths of the bull) and after a bit of trouble found a room that would take Maya. I call it a room but at midday it was more like a sauna, so headed out to find the nearest beach. We were pretty unimpressed with this hot & expensive party town so jumped in a water taxi over to Bastiamento Island, and it was a different world! No cars and just a couple of paths winding across the island - much like Little Corn Island in Nicaragua.

    We lucked out and got a fantastic room built out over the water, so instant dips to cool down and a lovely breeze. The first day we walked 20 minutes across the island to Wizard Beach, which makes it into our top 10 beach list - and considering how extensively we have travelled that's quite an exclusive list! The next day we chilled, and on the 3rd day we kayaked out to hospital point on the next island over for snorkelling and relaxing in a private bay.

    A couple of quick water taxis and we were back at the van, having picked up a guy we shared a boat with for the drive back across the mountains. Guess where we ended up - Johnny Fiestas of course!    Leia mais

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    Panama City

    29 de setembro de 2017, Panamá ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    It was allegedly a 5 hour drive to Panama City, and it was a pleasant enough drive until we reached the edge of town. We got screwed over by not knowing they made both lanes of the motorway one-way so we got massively hooked up in rush hour traffic so the last 10 miles probably took us 2 hours!

    In the morning we headed to the customs place to get the vehicle inspected in the morning, then back again in the afternoon to pick up the stamped paperwork. We had to spend some time hunting around for a specialist RV part that I thought I might find in a marine store and eventually got lucky, but did mean a lot more time in traffic and visiting some areas of town that I'm sure most tourists avoid.

    Then we headed out on the causeway which provided fabulous views back across the modern city which had a skyline to make Manhattan jealous. We had a nice night having a couple of cold ones looking across the bay, although at half 2 in the morning some rich youngsters turned up, complete with gull wing super cars and stereo systems louder than most night clubs! After half an hour I'd had enough and was about to start the engine to find somewhere quieter when they disappeared as quickly as they'd arrived.

    In the morning we drove back out of the city alongside the canal, stopping to watch a massive boat go through the locks. They actually build the tankers with the size of these locks in mind, and now they are talking about having to make a larger canal for super tankers. The Chinese are looking at building something through Lake Nicaragua which would completely destroy that amazing place, so I hope they just beef up the existing waterway. Interesting fact - the largest tankers pay up to nearly half a million dollars, so you can understand why Panama is a pretty developed and wealthy country. The lowest recorded cost was half a dollar, for a guy who swam the entire length!    Leia mais

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    1

    Colón

    1 de outubro de 2017, Panamá ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    We had a couple of spare days before loading so we drove over to the Caribbean coast again and spent a couple of days chilling out. I left Jo & Maya at a hostel near the marina and drove back to Colón. It was very strange to spend a night without company but in the morning rain I drove to meet our shipping agent. We had arranged to share a container with a couple of aussie dudes, and we drove down with another couple of cars for the loading.

    I had to drive up onto the back of a pick up truck, which then raised its bed so we could drive into the container. We measured a few weeks ago and knew it would be tight for height, but we ended up having a few inches to spare. It wasn't quite so generous at the sides, and the folded in wing mirrors had less than an inch of leeway, but without much ado I squeezed Elvis in.

    From there we breezed through customs and that was it - hopefully we would see Elvis again in Columbia!

    We then had 3 days to kill before our yacht sailed, and there really wasn't much around so we chilled at the hostel and explored the local bays, islands and marinas.    Leia mais

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    Into the Great Wide Ocean

    10 de outubro de 2017, Caribbean Sea ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    (RIP Tom Petty)

    With Elvis safely packed up for his voyage, we boarded our sailing boat for a 5 day trip through the San Blas Islands.

    After reading a few horror stories online we were pretty pleased when we met the great crew, boarded the gorgeous yacht and got to know the cool bunch of companions for our voyage.

    On the first day we visited a heavily populated tiny island to get some cultural insight into the Kuna people. We were greated by all the kids hurling themselves into the water (admittedly after the candy we had thrown them), and explored the island. It's crazy that is was probably only 50 metres across yet had at least 40 houses on it, with large families living in each. The whole island can't have been more than 2 feet above sea level but these people have seen what's happening to sea levels and have already bought land on the mainland.

    The next day we sailed on a bit and visited a couple more islands, this time with only one family inhabiting them. After a couple of beers and a game of volleyball we headed to Julio's, and kicked off the night with some strong coco locos (rum in a coconut) and a delicious barbecue. From there the night got progressively more crazy, with people partying hard into the small hours then passing out on whatever bit of the boat they could find. The crew said it was one of the wierdest nights they've ever had!

    Needless to say the next day was a little subdued, but we did visit the most amazing sand bar perched out in the ocean. It was only 5 metres wide and 25 long, but bright white sand surrounded by the most gorgeous turquoise waters and incredible reef. That night we ended up on another island for a bonfire and party, although it was noticeably more constrained!

    The following day we chilled until about 5, after which we headed out of the reef & islands into the ocean. Immediately we were hit with big rollers, and the front of the 70 foot yacht was pitching up and down several metres, occasionally dipping into the next wave. I was feeling fine until I spent 5 minutes below deck, after which I quickly resorted to the sea sickness drugs, which combined with a few earlier tinnies made me pretty drowsy. Fortunately it calmed down after a couple of hours and we managed to get a bit of kip. In the morning we woke to a clam ocean but not a speck of land in sight, and we cruised all day until we got into Cartegena in the small hours.

    We've seen some incredible beaches and islands on our travels, but this place was unsurpassed in beauty and tranquility. We also lucked out with our fellow passengers & crew that made this a utterly wonderful experience that we are unlikely to top. Even Maya had made a new bestie in Coco, and despite never being on a boat before loved every minute of it.    Leia mais

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    111

    Finding Elvis

    12 de outubro de 2017, Colômbia ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    We arrived in Cartegena a couple of days after Elvis. The sailing trip through the San Blas was unbelievably stunning, but after 5 days (particularly after a rolling last 40 hours) we were glad to get off the boat. We checked into a hostel around the corner and I immediately set off to start to find Elvis.

    As we got there some folks we knew from loading, who flew instead of sailing, were just finishing off. It sounds like they had a bit of a nightmare with customs twice blocking the release of their vehicles. At one stage they had them out of the containers only to be forced to reload them, and pay for the privilege.

    Knowing this we were expecting a difficult few days. Fortunately I had Greg, our container partner, alongside me and the two of us muddled through the bureaucracy. Customs had also opened and blocked our container, but as we weren't there we didn't get hit with all the extra charges the others did.

    After 2.5 days we finally freed ourselves of red tape and Elvis was released into South America!

    We somehow managed to squeeze him into the front of hostel despite being a foot too long, but finally we could relax and enjoy the city of Cartegena.

    Its a gorgeous city with a huge marina and an old town with massive defensive walls. It is crazy hot - taking on even León, Nicaragua and probably winning. When I got the van out of the port it was 47C inside, and walking around the town was a sweaty business, even in the evening. As the sun went down and the temperatures settled around 30C for the night, the old plazas started to get packed with people - either enjoying the amazing street food, chatting over a cold beer or for the more energetic salsa exercise classes in the square.

    It's one of the most stunning cities I've ever visited, but the heat, dragging Maya around on a lead, and partying with our boat mates had taken its toll and we soon got desperate to get back into the countryside.

    Fortunately we had a spot nearby recommend to us, and we found the most welcoming hosts in Gloria & Alviero. They were super helpful, and even spent a couple of hours patiently chatting to us in our bad Spanish. We discovered an ants nest had taken hold under the bed so we had to strip and clean the whole back of the van out, which was probably long overdue.    Leia mais

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    Ciudad Perdida - encontrada

    1 de novembro de 2017, Colômbia ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    Phil was feeling under the weather so just us girls (Maya & me) decided to do the 4 day Cuidad Perdida (Lost City) trek to find the city in the mountains above Santa Marta where the Tayrona people fled to after the Spanish conquestadors started massaracing them. Feeling a little apprehensive we were picked up & met our hiking group who were a couple from London, Katie & Danny, we got on immediately and spent the whole 4 days chatting & laughing (sometimes in the face of adversity!)

    We only walked for 4 hours the first day & although it was quite tough as it was up & down & very muddy, it wasn't too bad & our guide Gabriel was wonderful at helping us when we needed it. We were pleasantly surprised at the first camp, where there was a place to swim and we each had a bed with a mosquito net - luxury compared to camping! The second day was a big one - up at 5:30 & walking an hour later, by the time we reached the lunch spot & a well deserved swim at a beautiful natural swimming hole we were drenched in sweat. Unfortunately the hardest part was yet to come with a very muddy steep uphill section which took us over an hour. Gatorade which I would normally not drink tasted amazing (if v expensive!) from the little tienda (shop) at the top. 10 hours after starting we stumbled into camp just in time for a quick swim & shower before it got dark.

    Day 3 dawned & we were all excited to be heading to the Lost City. We had to cross a fast flowing river before we started the 1200 steps which took us up to the city - wow it was worth every step - terraces which would have had round houses on were perched on a ridge with the Sierra Nevada mountains rising above us. As we took in the view we heard a huge military helicopter which proceeded to land on the area where the chief's house would have been. Some dignitaries from the military disembarked & were happy to say hello, let us explore the helicopter & pose for photos with a bunch of gringos!

    We watched enviously as the bird took off for its 20 minute ride back to Santa Marta, a journey that was going to take us 2 days! We reluctantly left the city & retraced our steps back along this ancient pathway, spending another night camping on our way back.

    I was very glad to get back, peel off my disgusting clothes & jump straight into the shower. It was a real adventure, with some very tough days of 7 - 8 hours walking but it was brilliantly organized - excellent food & comfortable beds, especially considering everything has to be bought in by mule! Definitely my highlight of Colombia so far, but we've obviously got a lot more to see (touch wood).    Leia mais

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    2

    Fixing Elvis

    16 de novembro de 2017, Colômbia ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    Since getting to Columbia Elvis has been a little noisy. It sounds just like the rear differential problems we had when first got the van, which wasn't a cheap fix, so we're keeping everything crossed it wouldn't be that bad. We tried a couple of local mechanics who didn't have a clue so in the end we drove 3 hours to Riohacha, where we had someone highly recommended.

    We met up with Mr Washington and he soon had the back half of the van in pieces. The problem was wear in the gear/pinion which had left a sharp edge on the cogs. Unfortunately the used part he had on site was even noisier than the original, so he then went to the Venezuelan border where he was sure he would find the part, but frustratingly he returned empty handed. He eventually ground off the sharp edges and reassembled everything, but it was still a little noisy so we had to find the part. After a couple of nights sleeping in his yard/workshop and a couple more in hotels in town when Elvis was up on chocks we'd had our fill of sleepy Riohacha and decided to head back to Taganga, where we had a great hostel with pool to work out what to do next.

    After much confusion over the correct part we eventually ordered one from Amazon, to be delivered to the hostel. Despite it being in stock a few days later it still hadn't shipped. We were harassing Amazon's customer service daily and not getting a straight answer (from India). We eventually ordered the part again as instructed but it still didn't ship. We then ordered from another company and it shipped the following morning!

    The end of our problems you would think... but even though it got from the states to a nearby city in a couple of days we were still no nearer getting our hands on it. After a few more days of craziness we decided to drive down to the place it was being held. It was only a couple of hours down the road, but we hadn't planned on the Bolivianos games being on and road cycling being run without shutting the roads to traffic so we eventually got to Barranquilla in twice the time.

    THEN WE GOT ROBBED! We were sitting in traffic with the windows down as usual and all of a sudden an arm appeared through Jo's window and grabbed the phone we were using for GPS from the dashboard. I jumped out and chased, leaving the car in the middle of a busy road, but realistically I had no chance of catching a local weaving his way through a crowded market place. By the time I got back to the van there were a bunch of police, and we had to follow them to the station. Initially I thought we might be in trouble, but they were friendly and helpful enough although there was really nothing they could do.

    Fortunately I'd backed up the photos recently so losing it isn't a huge deal, but obviously annoying. Jo gave me a hard time when I brought 4 phones with me, but after one getting stolen from Jo's rucksack on a Nicaraguan bus we are now down to the oldest two.

    After all the drama picking up the part from FedEx was surprisingly simple, and we found a mechanic in the city to install it the next day. We spent the night on the street smack in the middle of the city, but frustratingly we needed another small part so we had to spend a second night, this time locked into the mechanic's yard. The work was finished just as it was getting dark and a huge downpour turned the road into a river, so we spent another night at the yard and headed off early the next day.

    Despite all the amazing photos on Instagram & Facebook the truth is travelling isn't always that glamorous. This run of bad luck we've had has meant we really haven't seen much of Colombia despite being here over a month and we have been regretting our decision to ship south, but I'm sure all that will change when we get back into the swing of things.    Leia mais

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    Long Overdue Catch Up

    20 de novembro de 2017, Colômbia ⋅ 🌧 10 °C

    This is a bit of a wierd post, as we're over a month out of date on the blog and need to get it back up to speed.

    Not sure why we neglected our blog after so long (can you believe over a year and half on the road now?!) - I think it's because we had a bit of a bad run of luck which has meant we were stationary for a while so not much to report back. Also all this bad luck has also meant our spirits are at an all time low, combined with the unavoidable pull of home at this time of year, has made this the toughest travelling period so far.

    A brief summary of bad stuff that's happened since we've hit South America :

    > customs opened our container, charging us extra for the privilege
    > rear differential part needed replacing, wasting about a month and a lot of money
    > fridge stopped working - major problem not having cold beer!
    > we both got a really nasty eye infection that was going around the hostel
    > we still have a mystery gas leak (aside from Maya) or more likely a dodgy propane sensor
    > our air-con died. OK, so we had only used it half a dozen times, but when you need it - you really need it.
    > someone robbed the phone off the dash as were driving - this was the worst one by a long way.

    There's a bunch more but you get the idea. It's come as a bit of a shock as we've had a surprisingly easy run down so far. Sure, Mexico broke our suspension (twice) which is normal wear and tear on those roads, and we've had some work on the brake and alternator, but all things considered we've had a good run.

    This is all very unfair on Colombia, which is a fantastic country to travel in but it's certainly been a rough time for us since we set foot in South America.

    To get us back up to speed we're going to post a bunch of mostly short blogs and then hopefully get back on the horse again!    Leia mais

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    3

    High As A Kite

    21 de novembro de 2017, Colômbia ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Most people will have never heard of Canyon De Chiamocha - think Grand Canyon but maybe just a tad less grand. Even so, driving up onto the one of the two massive ridges that run the length of the country gave us incredible views and more importantly we were finally away from the oppressive heat of the Colombian Caribbean coast.

    We camped at some cabanas right on the lip of the canyon in a lovely little spot with views to die for and gorgeous sunsets. We met Jose & Marc, 2 French dudes on bikes, who we bumped into a few times as we all headed south.

    Soon after we set up camp and got a brew on there was suddenly a dark shadow above us. Barely 20m up there was a tandem parapenter swooshing overhead. The next day we walked 5 minutes down the road to the take off point and watched Jose & Marcus take to the skies. I had a slightly dodgy stomach and we were enjoying the high altitude climate so we deferred a day.

    Fortunately it was another beautiful morning, and we soon found ourselves running down a very very steep mountain before gently gliding away into the canyon. It was way more smooth and comfortable than I was expecting, and only mildly disconcerting that when you looked down you saw nothing but feet and valley floor! We cruised out to the middle of the canyon and caught a thermal off a small ridge. It was pretty small so the man in charge threw us into a tight spiral, and all of a sudden the smooth ride was over! We topped out at around 2,000m along with a couple of turkey vultures hitching the same lift.

    We banked high above Elvis and rode the thermal along the main ridge to the national park buildings. Now we had plenty of height I asked for some tricks in the way down and nearly regretted it! He quickly threw us into tight figure of eight and the centrifugal force pushed us 45° to the side. Earlier I saw a solo glider do a repeated full somersaults over his chute, so I was a little nervous about what might come next but fortunately we just did a few more spins before touching down to a pretty soft landing.

    It was a great early birthday present so thanks to family back home for making it happen.    Leia mais

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    Camino Real

    23 de novembro de 2017, Colômbia ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    After our parapenting adventures we headed down from the top of the canyon to a town called San Gil. Spent a very relaxing night in a campsite by the river and were so relaxed we drive off without Maya the next day! No harm she didn't even notice we'd gone when we went back!

    Drove up to the beautiful colonial town of Bariachara - really stunning and such a lovely atmosphere. There was a free camping spot which just felt so safe & friendly we had no worries about parking up for the night. Starting almost from this very point there is a very old pathway to another a neighbouring town, Guane so we walked the old stone path that wound along the valley side and had a nice lunch. We enjoyed the hike it so much that instead of getting the bus back we ended up walking - Maya was delighted.    Leia mais

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    Villa de Leyva

    29 de novembro de 2017, Colômbia ⋅ 🌙 26 °C

    We left the San Gil area & headed off the beaten track on a windy, occasionally paved road to a great little spot that some earlier overlanders had discovered. A short walk from the road is a river that runs over smooth rock bed but has sudden & deep round holes - a bit like Swiss Cheese! Maya discovered this the hard way by happily trotting along in the very shallow water until suddenly there was no hard ground beneath her & she had an unexpected swim!

    We spent a fun afternoon here and found a lovely camp spot at a local swimming hole, although we did have to drive through a river crossing to get there. The next morning we visited the nearby town of Guadeloupe, which had a nice hustle & bustle about it along with some incredible BBQ (basically half a cow on a fire) that the chef took great pride in letting us taste - we of course bought some for our lunch.

    We continued on to the colonial town of Villa de Leyva, an incredible town of white-washed houses, cobbled streets and the biggest town square in Latin America. The scenery here is stunning, with glorious rolling fields and the high peaks create a lovely microclimate.

    This was also to be where Phil would start a new decade!

    On his birthday after an early round of Bucks Fizz we rode our bikes to look at the worlds most complete example of a kronosaurus (marine dinosaur). At 110 million years old it made Phil feel less ancient and I managed to find him another big fish as he’s become accustomed to on his birthday! We cycled on to see the calendar of the Muisca people who were the inhabitants here before the Spanish came along and massacred them. The calendar consisted of precisely placed phalic stones arranged so that the first light of the day would cast a shadow over other stones so they could follow the equinoxes for planting and harvesting. We had a wonderfully enthusiastic guide that really gave us an insight into the Muisca society and science behind the calendar. We finished off the ride with the obligatory tea & cakes.

    The previous evening we had a lovely meal in a fancy restaurant, where the owner tickled the ivories in the background, but I'd spotted a fondue restaurant and didn't see why I couldn't have two birthday meals. Unfortunately when we arrived ravenous after our long ride and wanting to ease the aches with a massive cheese overdose, they were shut despite earlier telling us they would be open.

    The drive out of town up through a high pass was even more spectacular, with landscape reminiscent of the states albeit it on a smaller scale.    Leia mais

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    Salty Goodness

    30 de novembro de 2017, Colômbia ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    I can't remember let alone pronounce the name of this nice little town that is made famous by its stunning salt cathedral.

    You start by walking down a tunnel oozing with salt and are soon 200m below the surface. This used to be an active salt mine, but as techniques progress they start mining the next layer down. They're currently mining level 4 down, using water which creates huge bottle shaped caverns. Previously they used long corridors and they spent 11 years converting this layer into a cathedral.

    There are 14 stations of the cross carved into the long rectangular caverns. Each cross is many metres high so you can imagine (or just look at the photos!) how impressive they are when lit up. Then you hit the main cathedral on a balcony looking out over 3 massive caverns.

    As you delve to the far end there's a super tacky light show and lots of tourist tat, which did make it feel a little less reverent although a lot more Colombian.    Leia mais

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    Al Bosque (Into The Woods)

    4 de dezembro de 2017, Colômbia ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    After Elvis ground his way out of the incredibly steep side of Medellìn's valley he then had to negotiate some amazingly twisty back roads that Wales or NZ would be jealous of. Smoking hot radiator and brakes we finally pull in to Al Bosque Glamping and are immediately calmed by the relaxed nature of this great camp ground. As the crow flies we're probably less than 10 miles from where we started but way higher up at 2000 masl so the air is cool and clean, plus there are views to die for.

    We stayed here a week and made good use of the two cable cars that run from the national park down into the city, connecting with the metro that runs the length of the city.

    Maya loved this place and was immediately one of her resident pack, eating with them and following people out on walks. We took advantage and left her a couple of times as its not really fair to her being pulled around on busy streets.

    We needed to leave as I'd stupidly only brought 2 months worth of insurance, thinking we might be in Ecuador by now, and knowing there were loads of places to buy it. There are, but as it happens not for foreigners so after a wasted day in horrible Rio Negro we returned to Al Bosque and I spent the next day traipsing around the city sorting it out.

    Still a great place to stay and really nice host, David.    Leia mais

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    Don Pablo's Medellìn

    5 de dezembro de 2017, Colômbia ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    Just as we were climbing out of Rio Claro Elvis's brakes failed!! Actually that's a bit melodramatic, we did have a leak in one of the brake tubes but we still had a decent amount of braking power.

    We're really lucky on the timing as the day before we had descended around 2000m and then bombed it up the first decent highway I've seen here. I heard a bit of a bang, the ABS and brake lights came on the dash, and then the brakes were a little squishy but they weren't too bad.

    We decided to head to nearby Medellin as our friends had created a new iOverlander spot (THE app for travelers with vehicles) for a brake specialist for their Dodge. On the way we came to a sketching halt (OK, not quite!) as we recognised Pablo Escobar's famous Hacienda Napoles from the Narcos Netflix show.

    After crawling down the crazy steep road (in 1st gear for a lot of it) into the valley that contains the city as it seemingly pushes its edges further up the slopes, we then had to contend with Friday afternoon rush hour traffic. There's only really one main road and it follows the river through the city. It's formed of two roads in both directions, each with 3 lines (therefore 12 total), with few places to switch between them. As we were travelling at 5 mph we had sufficient time to work it out and it only took us and hour and a half.

    Frustratingly when we got there the guy said he didn't have a scanner for our vehicle, so we found the mechanics' area and got a recommendation (courtesy of iOverlander) who fixed the broken tube. They also sorted out the mildly irritating issue of having to have the hazard lights switch on for the indicators (blinkers to the yanks) to work, and the broken windscreen washer that comes off in heavy rain (hardly ideal!).

    We finished up around 6pm and were so glad we knew of a hostel (you can guess how) that we could park outside of not that far away, even if it did take us the best part of an hour to get there.

    We spent a 3 nights here enjoying the modern city and we even took in a big cup semi final game for Athletico National. The open stadium was amazing with the city lights stretching up outside of it and the fans were typical south american (i.e. Non-stop singing, drums & general pandemonium behind one goal). It was weird to see it go straight to penalties without extra time, but the home team blazered their first two wide and never recovered.    Leia mais

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    Guatape

    14 de dezembro de 2017, Colômbia ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    We eventually made it to Guatape, where we met Bernadette & Regina a German couple who we later spent Xmas with.

    It's a damn big rock! Fantastic views from the top over the man made lakes.

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    Steelhorse Christmas

    25 de dezembro de 2017, Colômbia ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    Steelhorse Finlandia is a new overlander spot being set up by a 30 year old British lass, Yvette, escaping from the London rat race. It's a gorgeous finca (farm) set in the glorious coffee region, and a perfect spot for Xmas.

    We were joined by a bunch of other travellers: fellow Brits Marcus and Julie in their beast of a truck, KP & Taylor from Oregon in their pop up truck slide-in camper, Felipe & Gabriella from Brazil in their beautiful new but old looking VW westie and crazy Brit Ben overlanding in a TVR! There was another half dozen vans of various shapes and sizes as well.

    Yvette laid on meals and activities so it was a really nice change from life on the road. We finally got to play Teco, which involves lobbing metal discs at a hoop of metal embedded in clay, hoping to set off the wraps of gun powder. On Xmas eve the Europeans celebrate so we joined in with the big BBQ, but not the 4am partying in the town! Christmas day was a nice lazy and overindulgent affair, as it should be! We found an amazing English-made cranberry and brie pie - super expensive but unlike anything we've had since we've been on the road so well worth it. There was a full traditional roast later on, and we ended up playing card games. I even managed to make a pretty decent fudge, despite having to improvise on a few ingredients.

    On boxing day we arranged a TVR vs a horse race - a bizarre spectacle but a lot of fun. The following day everyone packed up and set off in their different directions, but hopefully we will bump into our new friends again soon.

    Of course we would rather be at home with friends and family but for a Xmas on the road it was as near to a traditional one as you are likely to find abroad.    Leia mais

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    Trampoline of Death!

    2 de janeiro de 2018, Colômbia ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    There was no way I was going to miss driving a road called El Trampoline Del Muerte, despite Jo's understandable reservations!

    Either luckily or unluckily, depending on how you look at it (me the former, Jo the latter), we developed an all too familiar rattle at the front. We popped into a garage in the morning and were pleased to find we just needed to replace the washer and nut on one of the front shocks (again).

    More concerning was the fact that all the petrol stations didn't have any petrol due to the festivities. I reckoned we had more than enough to make it, but driving steep gravel roads wouldn't be at our usual mpg so we threw in one of our spare tanks and hoped for the best!

    Unfortunately best isn't how I could describe my driving as I neglected to take the handbrake off for the first 10km! In my defense the warning light is now continually on, but it was a pretty stupid move and the worst possible time to do it. I only realised was when I saw how hot the engine was - I've never seen boiling engine coolant before - so we admired the view for a while whilst I poured cool spring water over the radiator.

    After that it was pretty plain sailing - sure it was bumpy and slow, but the views were spectacular. The multi hundred metres near-vertical drops were a little disconcerting, and I was glad my mum wasn't in the car with her fear of heights.

    Luckily the first town on the other side had petrol, so we filled up (weirdly on super cheap petrol) and cruised on down to Laguna De La Cocha (which bizarrely translates to Lagoon Lagoon), where we spent a free night at a lovely garden restaurant as we brought a gorgeous meal (garlic trout) for the same as we normally pay to camp.

    I'm so glad we did the 4 hour drive as it saved us a 12 hour round trip on real roads, and it's experiences like this that you remember. Bring on the Death Roads in Bolivia & Ecuador!!    Leia mais

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  • Elvis LivesElvis Lives TourViajante

    Ecuador Frontera

    7 de janeiro de 2018, Equador ⋅ 🌬 1 °C

    7 hours! Our worst border yet and what a way to spend Jo's birthday! We were desperately trying to avoid crossing on this day but found ourselves out of things to do and were only a few days from our 3 month visa expiring.

    Luckily we bumped into KP & Taylor so at least we had someone to chat to. We then headed to an overlander paradise, Finca Sommerwind, run by some Germans with tonnes over travellers - maybe as many as 15 which is easily double what we've seen anyway else on the trip. We also met the Brazilians from Xmas (Felipe & Gabriella) again, and Maya was delighted to be able to resume her wrestling match with Amora, their gorgeous puppy.

    It was really nice to hang around a lovely spot, with great facilities and a super cool bunch of people.    Leia mais

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    Guinea Pig Lake

    10 de janeiro de 2018, Equador ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    The scenary here is just mind blowing and we're in our element in Ecuador, with snow capped mountains, lakes, great hiking and free/safe camping.

    We thought we had better get our hiking legs back, and the 13km hike around Laguna de Cuicotcha (Guinea Pig Lake) looked just the ticket. The altitude wasn't bad at just around 3,000m but we felt it a little on the short punchy climbs. It was a lovely walk and it was great to spend some more time with KP & Taylor. The only annoying thing was that Maya wasn't allowed into the park so had to wait in the van :(

    The hike was only about 4 hours so we got back nice and early, and forgot about how powerful the UV is at this altitude so we promptly all got sunburnt.

    The camping spot just outside the gate was so nice we stayed a second night, and had another fire. This is precisely what we have been missing since we left the states. We were also joined by a French couple, who delighted us in bringing out moldy (ie authentic) cheese from home and a bottle of Pastis.    Leia mais

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    1

    Fuya Fuya (4,300m) @ Mojanda Lakes

    12 de janeiro de 2018, Equador ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C

    A long steep drive up a cobbled road brought us out to a gorgeous lake ringed by a vicious looking ridge of peaks, and a perfect spot to camp for the night.

    We set off on a cold morning - although luckily not as cold as our outdoor thermostat would let us believe, stating - 34C! We wandered over the paramo through some trails (probably animal trails) that got smaller & narrower but we eventually found our way to the main path up and after a fairly steep but short time made it to the top just in time for some incredible views before the clouds started to roll in.

    We then drove down to a lovely little hostel where we could cozy up by the fire all afternoon & drink some craft beer!    Leia mais

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    Otovalo

    13 de janeiro de 2018, Equador ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    We came here for the famous crafts market. It was OK but full of gringos... Bought a 'alpaca' blanket and a nice scarf. The animal market was interesting especially the the guinea pigs being sold in bulk ready for the BBQ!Leia mais

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    Imbabura - Almost!

    14 de janeiro de 2018, Equador ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    Phil finally persuaded me that we needed to try a peak called Imbabura that had been towering above our various camp sites for a week. We started off up the road, and then followed the signs up a cobbled road. It got pretty steep and Elvis kept finding gears we didn't know he had. The last couple of km turned into a dirt road, albeit a pretty good one at this stage, so we pushed on as high as we could knowing it would mean less metres on foot tomorrow. We found a decent place to camp and prepped for an early start. It promptly started to rain and continued throughout the night...

    The next day, early but definitely not bright, we started walking through the mist to the well trodden but steep and slippery path. It was pretty relentless uphill with the rocky scrambles a bit of a relief compared to the super slippery grass and mud sections. We got a 150m or so from the top when the freezing hail got worse and we started feeling the cold. There were a few locals who had helmets and better gear than us decided not to risk the summit so we followed their advice and turned around.

    The way down was harder than up! Phil & I both slipped over at least 5 times getting completely muddy on top of being soaked to the bone. The thing that kept me going was the promise of getting back to the van & heading back to Finca Sommerwind for their amazing Sunday cakes! Little was I to know the hardest and scariest part of the day had not yet started...

    What had been a reasonable dirt road had been turned into a thick muddy track by all the rain & at times Elvis's rear end was trying to overtake his front! We seriously considered that we may have had to stay up on the mountain and wait for the road to dry - I could see the promise of cake slipping away - however Phil let the tyres down which improved the grip & he brilliantly managed to inch down the road. I have never been so happy to see a cobbled road in my life. Happy ending - we made it in time for cake!    Leia mais

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