No sign of Dame Edna

Originally uploaded by m_hagen

Montevideo is the capital of Uruguay, and we're here for Carnaval. Ok, so it's not Rio, but I'm thinking I'll save that for my 40th birthday, and make the family come too, but that's a whole different subject...

So, Montevideo. Carnaval. We managed to get some tickets to see the contest between the two best murgas that Uruguay has to offer. Each troupe has 17 performers and 45 minutes to do their thing. There is a lot of singing some sketches, fabulous costumes and general hilarity. We managed to get the general gist of the shows, but I only wish I could have understood all the jokes...

Mmmmm carne

Originally uploaded by m_hagen

The historic quarter (Ciudad Vieja) of Montevideo is home to the Marcard del Puerto. They grill meat here. Any piece of meat that you could possibly want, including some that you may not.

I ordered the 1/2 portion of 'pork'. It was delicious, so tender and juicy, although I drew the line at some of the not so cruncy (think hairy) skin. Michael ordered a Bife de Chorizo, plus a sausage, just incase he didn't get enough meat.

Delicious. Really delicious.

Cobbled streets are not good for the ankles

Originally uploaded by m_hagen

Colonia is a UNESCO world heritage town, which means it's pretty! Oh, and full of history and beautiful colonial buildings. There's also a beach on the Rio de la Plata (no surfable waves) and some tasty restaurants.

Our favorite activity: buying a bottle of Uruguayan vino tinto from the market, borrowing some glasses from our hostel and sitting on the rocks overlooking the river at sunset.

So we stayed a few days, wouldn't you?

Uruguay cars

Off to Uruguay

I emailed a hostel in Colonia (Uruguay) for a reservation, and being a smartypants I thought I'd use my new Spanish skills. So, I wrote to them in Spanish. And they replied - in Spanish. And now I have to figure out what the hell they are saying, in their ridiculously complicated and ridiculously long email, that I am sure doesn't answer any of the questions that I asked.

¿Hay alguien que hable ingles?

Hehe! I have now completed my Spanish classes, after the final lesson I was given a beautiful certificate. The certificate proves that I showed up to class, every day. I may have been a little sleepy (tengo sueño) and in need of some coffee (a cortado, if you please), but I was there in body.
What the certificate doesn't prove is whether I paid attention, or actually learned any Spanish.

Spanish Lessons

Originally uploaded by m_hagen

Our fantastic spanish teacher, Miranda, got straight to the point. I know the photo isn't great, so to save your eyes I will highlight some of the words we learned here:

por cerveza y vino:

en jarra / en chopp / en botella

¿Qué van a tomer? - What would you like to drink?

Quisieramos ....... - We would like............

¿Eggs or lettuce?

We found a really great lunch spot just across the road from the language school. It´s called La Continental, and they serve delicious empanadas, pizzas and salads. So, I have been ordering a mixed salad every day as a way of getting some vegetables into the diet.... Today I ordered my entire lunch in Spanish. Which is why I ended up with eggs, and no lettuce.

ladyhedda doesn´t speak much Spanish, so she´s using her Indonesian - but it´s not working.

So, it turns out that the guy at the cash desk in the internet cafe doesn't speak Indonesian. Nor does the lady in the supermarket, or the old man on the street.. I tried.
We're two days into our Spanish lessons, and boy are they tough. It´s an immersion course - and I think i am fully immersed, and sinking fast!
Gotta go, homework to do....

ladyhedda is wondering if a diet that consists entirely of red meat and red wine can be good in the long run.

I´ve looked for the vegetables on the menu and I can´t find them anywhere.

Our plans for South America.....

The current plan is to try to make it overland from Buenos Aires back to Los Angeles... Of course, this will depend on the ever dwindling finances.... So, if you'd like to join us for any part of this trip then go ahead, and book the ticket!
We're going to start off with our Spanish lessons here in BA, and then head to Uruguay before Michael gets on a plane to Chile for some surf.
I am going to explore Mendoza, Cordoba and work my way down to Bariloche (in the North of Patagonia). Hopefully Michael and I will meet in Bariloche in late February. From there we'll bump our way down Route 40 and into Tierra del Fuego and Ushuhia - the Southernmost city in the world.
Then, it's back to Chile for Michael because Richie is flying in on March 18th (for 6 weeks), and they are planning to surf surf surf.
I will head back to Buenos Aires to meet the fabulous Clairey for some tango shmango fun and more. We (Claire and I) will then head up to Iguazu Falls and into Brazil for Salsa and Pantanal travels...
After I've put Claire on a plane home, I'll be making my way over to Bolivia to meet up with Michael & Richie.
That is as far as we have got with the plans, which brings us up to the middle of April ish...
After Bolivia, it will be into Peru then on to Ecuador (Galapagos anyone?) and then north to Colombia and Venezuela....
Sound like fun? I hope so.

¡Hola!

We´re in Buenos Aires, and we´re eating red meat, and drinking red wine. I am in heaven.
We´re staying in a family home in the central area. We´ll spend the next couple of days exploring, and on Monday it´s back to school for both of us.
We have 4 hours of group classes scheduled each morning where we´re hoping to learn the basics, followed by lunch, and then an hour of private lessons (the two of us and one teacher)...
In the private lessons we´ll be sure to get the answers for all the important phrases. Such as:
Where are the waves?
Are there any waves?
What is the swell like?
What about the wind direction?

We're leaving NZ today

And I am sad, so sad.....

But, we're headed to South America and adventures new! Our flight has been delayed by 4 1/2 hours.... I am ready to fly NOW. Please Aerolineas Argentinas, hurry the damn plane up.

Tongariro Crossing

Here are some photos of my recent hike in Tongariro National Park. It's a beautiful walk - and challenging too, as you are walking on volcanic scree.
The walk is 18 1/2km from start to finish, and I added in a wee side trip to the Summit of Mount Tongariro. In total I hiked/climbed/slid for 22 1/2km (13+ miles).

Michael has been on Great Barrier Island - surfing. Who´d have thought it.

It's sorted

We fly to Buenos Aires on January 18th. We start Spanish lessons on the 21st. Should be interesting!

So, we have another car (a van) and we are exploring some of the North Island. Hot Water Beach today, and tomorrow.... We'll see....

Going slow today...

Today my head hurts. I appear to have a hangover. I think it may have something to do with the copious amounts of beer we drank yesterday evening. I blame Dave Decker. It's all his fault. It seems that if you meet in a pub, drink beer, and then continue drinking more beer until 3am that your head will feel slightly tender when you wake up.

A city...

We're in Auckland, and we're organizing. We have tickets to confirm, accommodation to find and Spanish lessons to book!
We still haven't confirmed when we're flying to Buenos Aires. Our tickets are currently for January 8th, but for a multitude of reasons we are trying to push out the dates by a week or 10 days.
Of course, we went to the Aerolineas Argentinas office this morning only to find that they are not open at the weekend, nor is their call center available, nor can anyone else help us.... So, we're waiting until Monday to find out what our options are....
If we can change the tickets then Michael will be heading to Great Barrier Island for some surf, and I will be heading to Tongariro National Park for more tramping.
Auckland is fine for a couple of days, but it's not a place I want to spend much time. I thought Wellington was way cuter... Oh well.

Happy New Year!

Originally uploaded by ladyhedda

We spent the last hours of 2007 in a van, at the beach with views of the mountains behind us. It was the perfect place for us to reflect on a year that was spent entirely on the road....

We began in Thailand, where we welcomed 2007 with Christine and Mike. January to March was spent in Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. We met some amazing people and shared some pretty horrific (hilarious?) bus/boat/truck journeys along the way.
In April we met up with Michael's parents for a couple of weeks lazing in the sun on Bali. We were also paid visits by Ryan, Richie and Carolyn. (Why'd everyone pick Bali to meet us?) Michael and Richie headed to Sumbawa with Ian for a boys surf camp, Christine and I decided to hit the shops in Singapore and do some diving in Malaysia. Despite a small hiccup with the exit stamp on my passport (i forgot to get one - oops) we were allowed back into Singapore just in time for me to surprise my Mum & Dad at the airport.
After tracking down Michael in Flores we continued on an Indonesian adventure with time in Timor, Rote, Sumba and Lombok. After which I made a whislestop trip to the US and then got all dressed up for Vicki n Tim's wedding in the UK. While I was hanging around waiting for my niece to be born Michael got bitten by a mosquito so I made a dash for Medan to keep the patient company.
India Mae Staines was born on August 15th. By all accounts she's keeping my brother and Emma on their toes.
After 5 months in Indonesia I finally managed to persuade Michael to head somewhere new, so we bought ourselves a van in Darwin and drove through the red center of Australia. When we'd used up our 3 months we sold poor Henry and jumped a flight to Christchurch, which brings us all the way up to now.
We're currently in another van heading North. This van is rented, but we did get a great deal to relocate it to Auckland for NZ$5 per day.... So, to Auckland it is!

The whole year has been absolutely amazing, we've had adventures aplenty and made great friends along the way. We're incredibly fortunate to be on this journey, and happy that you make the time to share it with us.
So, I raise my glass and say 'Happy New Year' to y'all. Where will you join us in 2008?