We realised last week, in a flurry of addition, that South America is about three times as expensive as South-East Asia, so our budget isn’t going to last as long as we’d hoped. In fact, it looks as if we’ll be heading home to South Africa in about a month.
At first, I was really disappointed. We’re in Brazil at the moment, heading to Argentina next, but we’re going to have to miss out Peru and Ecuador, and I’m not going to be able to see my dear friend who’s working in Ecuador at the moment. We’re also not going to be able to stay the full length of time, which is such a shame.
But in the same breath, I have to say that both Mark and I feel so LUCKY to have been able to have this opportunity: to travel together, to discover so much about travelling with diabetes, and to have had so many extraordinary experiences.
As if to prove this point, we spent 22 hours on a bus yesterday to bring us to Iguazu Falls, the most extraordinary waterfalls you can imagine – 275 individual waterfalls all in the same area. It’s mindblowing. Amazing. I’m going to take some video tomorrow to show you how incredible it is… And we’re staying at the simply wonderful Hotel das Cataratas, which is inside the National Park and a TWO MINUTE walk away from the Falls.
So really, who am I to complain if we have to come home a little early? We’re feeling like the luckiest people in the world right now.
Here’s hoping this is an extremely lucky week for you too!
So here’s the first of our South America video diaries (we skipped out a week of video diaries while we jetted back to South Africa for insulin- and family-time, so we’re now on Week 17).
I must admit, the beginning of our time in Brazil had me feeling a little discombobulated – mind in one place, emotions in another, body somewhere else entirely. I suppose that’s what you get for trying to visit 3 continents in 1 week! And now? You’ll have to watch to find out…
As well as to see some of the truly amazing sights that we’ve been lucky enough to see since we got here.
And finally, my favourite, we discovered a slice of Brazilian forest heaven in the mountains near Petropolis. Take a look:
And finally, in case you’ve been curious about the amazing hotels we review for Just the Planet, we’ve started a new kind of video – Luxury Hotel Moments.
Here’s one from Copacabana Palace, the fabulous hotel we stayed at in Rio:
And click through to this one from the lovely Green Bridge House.
All in all, a pretty special week, I’m sure you’ll agree!
So we’ve been in Brazil for a week, and I feel as if we finally have enough of a taste of it to make a few observations…
But first, an update!
We arrived in Rio de Janeiro after what can only be described as a week of madness. South-East Asia to South Africa for a whirlwind in-and-out visit to pick up fresh insulin and say hello to our families. Then off to South America, another 5 hour time difference, and a whole heap of jetlag. We were in Rio for 3 nights, right on Copacabana Beach, luxuriating in the delicious glamour of it all and soaking up a few sights (mainly the beach and the beautiful Sugar Loaf mountain, where you swing between two incredible vantage points on cable cars).
Then we headed off to the mountains surrounding Petropolis, to a wonderful little hidden gem known as the Green Bridge House, home to some remarkable views, stunning nature, and delicious food. Really delicious.
After our two nights of peace we headed back to Rio for a night, mainly to check out the Corcovado (or Christ the Redeemer, as he’s also known) – the most famous landmark of Rio, and to buy some extremely cheap Havaiana slops.
And then we boarded a bus for Paraty, where we are now, a charming little seaside town that’s been declared a UNESCO National Heritage Site, and feels to me like a little European village – it’s all cobblestones, horse-drawn carriages and charming cafes.
So now! A few brief impressions:
* Brazilians are reallllly confident. Everybody walks around in skimpy outfits (tiny tank tops, miniscule shorts, crop tops, you name it), no matter what their body looks like, or how old they are. I like it!
* Everybody is really tanned. Seriously tanned. Chocolate doesn’t even begin to describe it. I feel pale.
* It’s crazy expensive. Obviously we’re still in a South-East Asian mindframe, but everything seems to cost at least three times as much as it did in Asia, and more than it would at home.
* It is so beautiful. The bus rides double as scenic journeys, even if you’re only going an hour (as we did on our way the mountains around Petropolis).
* The food is dangerously delicious, and full of carbs. I mean, everything is a carb – loads of white bread, deep fried pastries, deep fried snacks, meat and cheese. I’ve had to hold back (a lot) on the diabetic front, or I’d be gorging myself and taking massive doses of insulin… I’m already on far more than I was in South-East Asia!
More observations tomorrow, I promise. Sorry for the long gap in communication – internet has been a little tricky to come by of late.
To make up for it, here are some views from the last few days…
In Rio de Janeiro. Brazil. South America.
Not sure what day it is.
Hell of a long journey to get here.
Woke up at 4.30am, got to bed at 2.30am. Went through passport control (long long long lines) 3 times between Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro alone. Six times altogether. Exhausting.
South-East Asia, South Africa and South America all in one week.
Yikes.
A little tired.
As you can imagine.
But now staying in the simply glorious Copacabana Palace (till tomorrow).
Yup, you guessed it, right on Copacabana Beach. In Rio.
Quite surreal.
Especially seeing as I have that song in my head on a constant loop.
You do too now, don’t you?
Co-pa-ca-ba-na!
South America already feels more familiar.
Potatoes. Meat. (Beans). Fruit.
Loving it!
Will report more coherently when the fog of tiredness lifts completely.
I’m guessing tomorrow. Or the next day.
10 hour time difference between today and where I was a week ago.
Enough said.
I know I’ve been a little slack with the blogging lately, but there’s been so much going on (i.e. our ENGAGEMENT! Which I still can’t quite believe!)
We’ve also been out of internet contact for the last 2 weeks or so… So to catch you up on everything I’m going to give a quick run-down with links to our Best Moments from all over so you can see what we’ve been up to:
Two weeks or so ago, we headed to the island of Lombok, below Bali, for a couple of heavenly days by the black sand beach (crazy – black volcanic sand!)
Then we went to the Gili Islands for three days of decadent beachside lazing about… And diving. Incredible diving! Extraordinary coral and marine life, really like diving in a gigantic aquarium. And I saw my first giant turtle! Wow.
From Gili Air we headed to Amed, where we spent Christmas (and got engaged! Did I mention that? Is it getting annoying yet?)
Amed is a charming little fishing village, very un-touristy, where we spent five nights and had a whole heap of lovely experiences – We went diving around a shipwreck (wow! unbelievable) and I did my first drift dives (very exciting, past the most amazing coral pyramids and over a coral wall into vast blue nothingness);
We swam with a turtle on Christmas Day (it was my Christmas wish – giant turtles are simply amazing in real life and when we went out to snorkel I told Mark all I wanted for Christmas was to swim with a turtle. And we did! He found one and we swam wit it for twenty miraculous minutes);
We indulged in a Balinese feast, with all kinds of traditional dishes and bamboo wreaths that signify ‘forever love’ (a mere two days before our engagement – it obviously worked);
We hired a motorbike for a day and drove past some incredible views and vistas – the real Bali as far as I’m concerned;
We visited the Royal Water Palace and swam in cold spring water baths built for the king (cold water! A rare thing in these parts);
And then….
We flew to Jakarta (yesterday afternoon) and decided to splurge on a nice hotel to properly celebrate our engagement and ring in the New Year in style. And what style it was! A gala dinner with TURKEY (heaven heaven heaven! We didn’t get any for Christmas and I was so sad) and piles of delicious food with… An Indonesian Beatles cover band! They were amazing. Check them out. Seriously cool.
If you’re looking for some more in-depth footage of all we’ve seen (rice paddies, beaches, islands, me in a wetsuit and some incredible views) as well as how the last two weeks have been for both of us, check out our latest video diary, live on YouTube here.
And now it’s 2010! And we’re flying out of Indonesia tonight (at midnight) and heading home for 3 days to refuel on fresh insulin (which I desperately need – my night-time insulin hasn’t worked properly the last two nights) and then we’re off to South America! So when next we speak I’ll be saying ‘Hola!’
It’s part of our Round-the-World Travelling with Diabetes journey, and essentially what it is is a wee bit of inspiration for all of us… Obviously my chronic condition is diabetes, because that’s what we’ve had to live with, but what we want to say is that no matter what your condition - whether it’s something emotional or mental or physical – no matter what’s holding you back, you can take heart in the fact that it is possible to follow your dreams.
As an illustration of this, we’ve had a handmade heart made in every country we’ve visited. The end of Vietnam was such a whirlwind that I didn’t have a chance to post our Take Heart Vietnam video, but here it is now:
And then here’s the one from Indonesia:
Which do you prefer? (I love them both – you know how I feel about hearts!!)
I am SO happy! I can’t even tell you. I’ve been grinning nonstop since yesterday evening (yes, all through the night – I hardly slept a wink!)
So here’s how it happened…
Yesterday around 6pm Mark told me he had a surprise for me, and that I had to meet him on the beach in half an hour… We’ve been staying in a charming little fishing village called Amed, on the North coast of Bali (in Indonesia) for the last five nights, and we’ve loved every second of it. Not at all touristy (unlike the rest of Bali), fantastic scuba diving, incredible snorkelling, and superb grilled prawns and Indonesian delicacies eaten right on the beach. Divine.
So I head down to the beach and there’s a part of me that’s thinking, ‘Is he about to propose?’ because it was all so mysterious. But I had a feeling he might propose on Christmas Day and he didn’t, so I didn’t want to get my hopes up.
I walk to the restaurant where he said he’d meet me, and what do I see? No Mark. But the waitress was all clued up, handed me two fresh mango juices (our favourite, unbelievably sweet and fresh and yummy) and told me to wait a few minutes.
Less than two minutes later, I see Mark heading towards shore on a local fisherman’s boat. Looked something like this:
I climb on board and off we go, on a ’sunset cruise’, he tells me. So we’re sitting out there soaking up the view (a volcano, an island fringed with palm trees, an endless horizon in the other direction, the clouds streaked pink with sunset just around the corner, a half moon starting to rise) and sipping our mango juice.
Dusk is my favourite time of day, the ocean is my favourite place to be, I have a thing about endless horizons. And Mark’s all fidgety and looks nervous, so of course I’m wondering what’s up. Then he pulls out a dozen candles and lights them and I start to feel like I know what’s coming up…
After many more minutes of a really magical slice of my life, Mark turns to me and says, “Will you marry me?”
I was so happy I couldn’t even speak – crying and laughing at the same time, honestly it’s the best feeling in the world! But of course I said yes.
And then he gave me my ring – a bamboo ring he’d found in Thailand (and been carrying around for the last four months!) with strips of silver that he’d had a local silversmith in Gili Air (the island we were on last week) put in. I love it! It’s just perfect – I told him once that I wanted a ring I could swim in the sea with. It’s so me.
And now we’re ENGAGED!!! And we are both on Cloud Nine. It’s a lovely place to be.
Our latest video shows our most eventful two weeks so far…
As Mark puts it, “After flying in to Jakarta, Indonesia, we travel to Yogyakarta to see the Hindu temple of Borobudur. A diversion to the Bromo region to see the active volcano Gunung Bromo and then off to Bali. Add to this the drama of failing insulin due to exposure to heat while traveling and the past week or so has been a roller-coaster of highs and lows.”
I mentioned this fleetingly in my blog post about what we’ve learned in the last couple of months on the road, but I’d like to elaborate on it a bit… Only because I’ve suddenly had great insight into how much where you are affects how you are, and I want to unpick it a bit.
Let me set the scene:
We’re in Ubud, in central Bali, cultural heart of the island and home to endless rice fields, palm trees, red-roofed traditional houses and stone carvings of weird and wonderful creatures. Also home to a heck of a lot of tourist shops. The main drag is ridiculously touristy – it could be any main street in any country, in fact. But step just a little off this main street and it feels as if you’re in the country: roosters, birds, nature on all sides. The plan was to stay here for 4 days, but we couldn’t decide where to stay, and left it rather late. We eventually decided on Hotel 1, which got great reviews on TripAdvisor, and sounded lovely. Looked lovely, too, when we arrived, set in a tropical orchid garden and with really friendly staff. The problem came when we wanted to go to sleep, around 11pm, and our neighbours, a pair of long-stay women, decided to crank up the cheesy girl tunes (From a Distance and Forever Young, I ask you with tears in my eyes!) and cackle and chatter late into the night… I went out to ask them to keep quiet, but they were actually inside their room. It didn’t sound like it – the walls were made of bamboo, the windows had no glass.
We left early the next morning to find somewhere else to stay.
Hotel 2 seemed far better than Hotel 1. Much bigger room, great little balcony looking out over a rice paddy, free internet. We were really rather happy there till we were woken at 2am by noisy neighbours who had just arrived and wanted to talk (loudly) for an hour or so… I eventually asked them to keep it down, but they were up at 7am again, chattering away. Who was it who said hell is other people?
Again, though, we’d foolishly chosen bamboo walls and no glass in the windows. We wanted to experience ‘authentic’ Balinese life by staying in a home stay, i.e. you essentially stayed in someone’s home. We quickly realised we’re not cut out for communal Balinese life.
So finally, yesterday we found Blessed Hotel 3. Perched in the middle of rice paddies on all sides (take a look at the view from our balcony!) with a huge balcony, massive room and best of all, brick walls! We had the best sleep ever last night, entirely uninterrupted.
What it made me realise, though, is what a profound impact where you are has to how you feel. Yesterday morning I was exhausted, irritable, headachey and fed up. Yes, lack of sleep two nights in a row will do that to you, but so will being somewhere that feels wrong. The manager at Hotel 2 was awful, our shower stopped working (first thing in the morning) and he couldn’t be bothered to apologise for it, he didn’t seem to care that we were checking out 2 days early, we kind of felt like we were in the way. And I’m sure that contributed to how we felt: it was my first real day of travel fatigue.
But today I woke up to a cool breeze blowing through the room, in the middle of gorgeous views on all sides, and walked out to my balcony where the lovely manager brought us a delicious breakfast, with a smile. And I feel happy. Really happy. So pleased to be here, experiencing Bali, so eager to continue exploring and travelling for the next few months. I suppose I never realised how important where you are is to how you feel. Now that I have, I’m going to make sure (as much as I can) that we rest our heads in lovely spots.
PS – It makes me wonder, too, how important a lovely home is to our levels of happiness. Something to think about, hey?
