My Books
A vine old time! Hanging out at La Casona, Matetic Vineyards (near Valparaiso, Chile)…
Behold the beefy, meaty treat before you… mmmmagical! I can’t even remember exactly what this dish was, but it was flaky and covered in gravy and the sweet potato crispy things were surely crafted on another planet… one of gastronomical greatness (or perhaps just by the awesome Chef Matías Bustos here at La Casona’s restaurant, Equilibrio just 40kms away from Valparaiso). After a few glasses of wine, I do get carried away. But look at this place! Matetic Vineyards is an …
Posted in Latinalicious, Latinalicious - The South America Diaries, South America, Uncategorized Tagged Chile, food, La Casona, wine Comments Off
12 hours in Iquique, Chile (and some sea lions)…
Technically, we should be on a bus right now, heading down to San Pedro de Atacama – the gateway to the driest desert on earth. There are parts of northern Chile that have never seen rain, ever. It’s basically uninhabitable. I’ve never been, but I’m imagining it looks a bit like this: It rained on our parade today though. Having reached the bus terminal with a plan, it emerged that there were no buses heading south till 11.30pm. We found …
Posted in Latinalicious - The South America Diaries, Random Ramblings, South America, Uncategorized Tagged Chile, Iquique Comments Off
Saved by an otter in the Pantanal… (Dragoman Rio-Cusco Part 2)
The Brazilian Pantanal is probably one of the most incredible, alive places on the planet – a living, breathing organism spitting out birds before your eyes. Being amongst it feels like being in a 3D nature documentary. When the Dragoman truck pulled up at the Posada Rio Claro today after a three-hour drive along the most scenic road ever, it wasn’t long before we were ushered onto some boats for a river cruise. Look at how happy we were to …
Posted in Dragoman, Latinalicious, Latinalicious - The South America Diaries, South America Tagged Brazil, Pantanal 1 Comment
A moment to breathe…
I love this. Especially as I sit here listening to a 70-year old man in his bathroom near my hammock attempting to cough and snort his innards up into his sink. Ah, travelling. You do have to have a sense of humour. Let it go… let it out… just breathe…
Posted in Latinalicious, Latinalicious - The South America Diaries, South America Tagged Brazil, Travelling Comments Off
Chasing aliens and how a truck is not a bus… (Dragoman Rio-Cusco, Part One)
This is Dave. He’s driven the equivalent of the circumference of the earth four times in the last eighteen months, which is 150,000 kms. That’s a hell of a lot of driving. As you can see, Dave is slowly but surely becoming the Dragoman truck itself. He dresses the same, sometimes he guzzles his fuel, and he does make a series of loud noises… although to be fair this is usually when he’s commanding someone to do a series of …
Posted in Dragoman, Latinalicious, Latinalicious - The South America Diaries, South America Tagged Alto Paraiso, Brazil, Dragoman Comments Off
Rio Carnival versus Spalding Flower Parade…
Now. The 2013 Rio Carnival has been insaaaaaane, yes, but I couldn’t help compare it to my beloved Spalding Flower Parade, which happens every year in the town I grew up in, in England. This parade features vast amounts of tulips, which are grown in the local area and everyone acts very wholesome and demure as they sit on big floats covered in flowers, waving. It’s fucking FUN, I’m telling you. So, Rio… well. The Sambadrome was something else entirely. …
Posted in Latinalicious, Latinalicious - The South America Diaries, South America Tagged Brazil, Rio, Rio Carnival 2013, Spalding Flower Parade Comments Off
An ode to Crepes & Waffles…
Oh Crepes & Waffles! I will miss you so. You’ve been a staple in my Colombian adventures but alas, alack, today I must fly to Brazil and leave you behind. So I’ve written this small poem to say thank you for your yumminess, because I will never forget you. And neither will my thighs. It’s a bit of a shit poem… yes. But I like to think it’s the thought that counts. You’re sticky and sweet You’re a great place …
How NOT to spend a day in Bogota…
I just saw an old man walking with a limp outside the hostel and the sight of him made me cry. I get emotional when I’m tired, but when he saw me I just felt like a tool. I am just WAY too tired to be awake… but my problem is I can’t seem to sleep. Instead I shall ramble to you, blog… I’ve just had the most ridiculous few hours of my life. I had every intention of going …
A river of bliss and the wicked witches of San Cipriano…
As Juan Manuel shot around another corner with the velocity of an astronaut attempting to launch us horizontally into the side of an alien planet, the three of us grabbed what we could in the back… namely each other… and said a small prayer that we’d make it to San Cipriano alive. Me, David and Noah only wanted to go tubing, for God’s sake, but it was looking highly likely we’d end up nose-first in the back of a cattle …
Posted in Latinalicious, Latinalicious - The South America Diaries, South America Tagged Cali, Colombia, day trips, San Cipriano Comments Off
La Pinta Boogaloo and a meat appreciation seat…
Shopping in Cali is waaay sexier than anywhere else in the world… as demonstrated by Kelly here: It’s also way more interesting, thanks to things like this brand of ice-cream here… See, people? Ice-cream can be as politically incorrect as you like in Colombia but as long as everyone’s smiling, everything’s OK. And trust me, in Colombia, everyone is always smiling. We certainly were after we mastered salsa and took to this club the other night: Back to the supermarket. …
Posted in Latinalicious, Latinalicious - The South America Diaries, South America Tagged Colombia, La Pinta Boogaloo Comments Off
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