Later Argentina....Whats the Craic Bolivia?

Well, there has been a veritable smorgasbord of activity since the last interweb update. Argentina has been told to go away in favour of Bolivia but I shall be acquainting it again sooner than I thought (more on that later). We had a run in with some English middle distance atheletes (again....later) and we saw some surreal sights in the desert.....all good fun and making us grow up as men and not young boys getting there faces wiped by a hanky.

The rock....Patagonia bound apparently
Added Wahurford tinker for continuity......

Last time we was in Iguazu wannit...that was almost a month ago so the details can be quite hazy so give me a minute to collect my thoughts and do this thing........here goes.

Went to Cordoba from iguazu, Cordoba has 7 Universities so mucho banter was expected but everyone was on winter break for 3 weeks so they were all gone on our arrival...booo to that. Still though much dancing and revelry was enjoyed and we visited Che Guevaras childhood home in Alta Gracia, which was a very nice place in its own right withought the input of the bearded revolutionary.

We left Cordoba after just 3 days and made our way to Salta, closer to the Bolivian border, whic was in fact closed at the time...hmmm.

Salta had great empanadas and bikes fit enough to carry our buff bodies for two days. We cycled to San Fernando and hiked in the hills for the day,even punctures cuoldnt stop our juggernaut of outdoornes, really good, and a return to the outdoor stuff after our city hopping of the past 2 weeks.

We hung about salta for maybe a few days too long but its a real nice place and the weather was good, met some folk from buenos aires (namely dangerous dave…careful folks) and had a laugh. Actually went for the best meal yet, a friend from b.A brought us to this out of town local place she had been before and, gauchos playing there guitars impromtu between courses, fantatic stuff, we felt a bit out of place but its good to get off the gringo trail every now and again.

The boy would sleep anywhere...afer a cycle in Salta

Up in the hills acting the maggot...Shaney B, a true revolutionary
We returned to cordoba then to celebrate my birthday. A few friends made their way over from Mendoza so we said we World go and meet them as we had spent the last few weeks with them and fun was bound to be had.....it was and thats the end of it. We met simon flynns doppelgnger from belgium who astounded myself and pete with his likeness and crazy antics...some craic.

3 days of chilling out were needed in Cordoba, longer for me as I stayed to collect the atm cards at last, so I caught up to the lads in San Salvador de Jujuy. Only spent the afternoon there before jumping on a bus to la Quaica, the last Argentinan town before the border. The bus was incredible, the landscape was lunar, although I havnt been to the moon yet id say it looks like what we saw. Sun going down etc, really great and the best bus trip yet.

We stayed in La Quaica before walking to the border the next day, its immediately apparent that your leaving Argentina with its fancy everything to Bolivia with its basics. Its a different place altogether (obviously you say) but you really do notice.

The train from Villazon (the Bolivian end of la Quaica) to Tupiza was again fairly mindblowing, valleys, gorges etc, would reming you of the grand canyon but alas, like the moon, I havnt been there so my contrast has no depth to it at all.

Well, the silver Fox would have ben proud of us, nolongger were we in Tupiza that we were up and riding, horse that is, the silver fox wouldn have been proud otherwise. because of our lack of experience in the equine world we immediately chose the 2 day longfest trek, naturally, we dont do things in half here people. I chose to name my Horse ´Steve Cram´after the docile silver medal winning olympian, hoping his temperment wouldbe similar. little did i know that he had no idea of who steve cram was and decided to be the complete opposite, i.e a crazy volatile galloper of a beast. Peters ´Seb coe´wasnt much different but shanes ´sonia´could be seen lagging behind, urinating, similar to our most famous athelete.

We arrived at a tiny village after 8 hours in the saddle, our bottoms like supermodels and our gaits like John Wayne, to have a cool night being caterd for by a Bolivian woman in her house, very surreal altogether.

The ride home was immense, along a dried up riverbed, and we got a hold of the galloping toward the end so all was well.

Not stopping there we signed up for the 4 day jeep trek to the Salar de Uyuni for the next day and the other various surreal wonders of the desert. Everybody does it but in fairness, It was some spectacle, the whole thing. The Lagunas, the vastness of the desert and the surreal standing stones and salt flats. Amazing is the only word. Our group were nice and our guide was cool so all in all it couldnt have been better.

So now we find ourselves in Toposi, after the flats yesterday we jumped on a bus here, 4.5 hours later than expected (that would be 4.30 in the morning) we arived, no hostel and ended up sleeping on the floor of the reception of some dodgy hotel. Not what you want to do after 4 dys in a jeep but sure its part of it....supposedly.....gimme a jacuzzi and a thai massage anyday...

The boyos and our wagon....it was meant to be...

Steve Cram, Human, Olympian, Friend of Seb Coe, Docile.

Steve Cram, Horse, Smelly, Tried to bite Seb Coe repeatedly, Volatile.....
Laguna Verde...

Sunset at Laguna Colorada...fantastic

Early morning at Salar De Uyuni
Sunrise at the same surreal spot...

When the boy brennan finally gets round to making an album....cover!

Rumours of a cork senior hurler arriving and me heading to patagonia with him are circulating as we speak, we´re hoping for the rock but we might have to make do with Kevin Hartnett............I´m holding out for the rock though.......

Later homebirds!