Adventures in South America.

1. Buenos Aires -it was like an Indiana Jones scene or something, complete with rainbows! 2. Still Here -I spent the whole day playing in the river with the kids!
3. Untitled 1 -nowhere is accepting or changing travellers cheques or dollars. 4. Where Are The Andes? -the guy told us that there was a good chance the raft would flip on the next rapid...
5. Bloody Mountains -it was at that point I realised how much my level of fitness had declined from all those days sitting in with Chief, doing nothing but eating & watching bloody TV. 6. Torres del Paine -Logan & I were making up little fantasies about how we were walking through an enchanted forest & then passing trees that were the homes of elves & gnomes...

7. Chiloe & more National Parks -"please make sure that when I get into the shower, that any hot water anywhere is turned right off, never to be turned on again, at least in my presence, infact make it freeeeeeezing cold, so much that I can't even hold my hands under the tap to wash them"

8. Stalkers, cities & other cool stuff -I got on with him at first & we had a great time, but it soon appeared he had a bit of a crush & began following me all over the place, even to the point of missing out on some incredible sights in Puerto Varas
9. Wine, wine & more wine -Logan & I were giggling all the way home, having to leave the church of the Mary, protector of the grapes, as surely being drunk & disorderly in church is not good, right? 10. Red Rocks -All of us had set our own pace & the leader would stop every now & then & we would share our appreciation.  But, this also meant that we were pretty much alone whilst cycling, at times, I wouldn't see anyone for almost an hour & to be alone in all this was incredible.
11. All the colours of the rainbow -One of the Canadians was freaking me out because not only looked identical to, but had the same sense of humour & manner about him as Steve, one of my Bristol boys from Vegas... 12. Bolivia, cold cold Bolivia -At an altitude of 3.5000 meters you can imagine the cold...  Or maybe you can't.  Let me fill you in...  It was soooooo f*cking cold, I can't remember ever being so frozen!
13. Working in the highest city in the world -The owner is a funny Bolivian guy who visited England a while back & has since come back with all sorts of wild funny Englishisms! 14. What a Weekend! -After a walk and a few shots of paint stripper Pedro dragged me by the hand into the circle to join one particular group of dancers, I was encouraged to sing but just could not reach those notes!
15. Remoteness & Potatoes in San Pedro -Sorry...  This is the longest one yet, but I just can't see a way to cut any of this out. 16. I'm a Mum -We found a babies bottle & have been feeding him water & milk & since then, he is like new & I am the proud mother of this beautiful little animal who we named Monstrito...
17. Corruption & Civilization -they tried to tell us that it was illegal for a Bolivian National to be with a Gringa!  I was told that there were really bad people here, so I informed this guy that there were bad people all over the world.  This didn't put him off however & he went on & on, finally resorting to telling me that "yes, but here, there are people who'll take out your organs & sell them". 18. Last Holiday in Bolivia -We visited the house of Moto Mendéz, absolutely no idea who he is but apparently a great fighter of colonial times, however his house/museum was closed when we arrived, we managed to squeeze in 5 mins in the museum of Paleontology before it closed…then they closed the city and the whole country down for siesta… so we went home.
19. The Mines -I was getting very emotional at this point.  We had been meeting loads of miners along the way, good friends of Pedro’s and were giving out presents regularly and with gusto eager to help these poor souls.  Men sweating, wearing trousers only and helmets, cheeks bulging with coca leaves and despite this life, all wore big grins on their grimy, sweat marked faces. 20. The Long Journey Home, Part I -He realised that the extension stamp on my passport was on the wrong page where it said exit instead of entry and his eyes lit up... ‘problem’ he told me...  I began arguing and telling him there was no problem and he was the one with the problem and that he was just looking for excuses to take money from me, that I wanted to talk to the boss, that I wanted him to call or let me use the phone, of course he was ‘the boss’ and conveniently the phone ‘didnt work’!
21. The Long Journey Home, Part II -The day of reckoning had come, this time there was no turning back... I woke up to the rain coming down like never before!  No problem they told me, roads fine, vegetarian meals ordered, everything's good... 22. Emma's New Irish Pub: Opening Night -everyone that walked through that door got a FREE pint & Thomas, my partner, got through about the same amount himself!  Alison was to be collectiong glasses, but ended up sitting at the bar all night chatting & I was the honoured barmaid!  Loved, absolutely loved being back behind the bar again.  I was on a roll & we didn't stop serving till gone 2am!

 

The PHOTOhype Project, Est. 1997
Written By: Emma Andrews
Team England
E-mail: Emma@PHOTOhype.com