100 day life upside-down update!!

Well, this isn´t very exciting... But I cant find a scale in this Country anywhere!!
I think I´ve lost a little weight, I´ve been really well behaved (the odd bottle of wine excluded) this whole time.
Will keep looking out for one, I think I need to know too... Sorry, but at least its still on, any tips or bagging out welcome!!!

Bolivia is trying to kill me!!!!

The fantastic Internationally approved medicine, well I´m allergic to it!!!!!
I woke up the day after the first shot and couldn´t friggen move... Works out if you´ve already got a touch of Arthritis, which I have from Ballet and Obesity, it brings it on even earlier and more crippling. It´s called Arthralgia, and apparently it´s rare, but a little common with Verorab... YAY!! Also woke to a sexy hard lump on the back of my hand caused by the same shit, that´s called a Ganglion... So yeah, at least if what my Mum used to tell me is true, things come in 3´s, so I should be all smooth sailing for the rest of my time here!! - Either that, or I´m just not quite getting the hint!!
Had the second shot this morning, and already feeling my bones seize up. It kinda reminds me of the pain I felt when I had Dengue Fever in Indonesia a few years back. That´s nicknamed the bone-breaking disease; quite a good discription really. Now that was really bad... This is a picnic next to that 10 days of living (very almost dying) Hell.
-I love travelling, but sometimes I cant help but think it doesn´t like me all the time!!

If I wasn´t signed up for this, and didn´t see it as part of the Adventure, I would be sitting on my safe little porch, covered with a blanket, with a coffee and a good book. I love both... Just ones a little more thrilling.

RABIES... Si, Por Favor!!

Yesterday started out well... I woke up to fruit salad, yes, finally the homestay family is realising when I said I didn´t eat bread, that I didn´t!
It was about 6 minutes after breakfast that wasn´t all that good. Seeing the time, I raced out the house and started my long but quick walk to my Spanish courses here in Sucre. I was making good time, and just passing a slow walking Bolivian, I´ve noticed they all kinda walk slow, maybe that is why I was the one who then got attacked by a rather cute, small woolly dreadlocked doggy. The little freak jumped out from nowhere and caught my right arm with his sharp teeth and strong mouth, the little shit stayed there hung on until I finally was able to fling him off. It was now I noticed that he looked a little crazy, and not like a healthy house dog. The man I was passing, made a weird half smile, half grimace face at me. He then started rambling a very quick little passage of Spanish at me, but what I got from it was the words `Vacuna´ and `Rabia´ while pointing at the demonic barking creature... Yeah, well lucky the dog didn´t break my skin I was thinking, as the man started his super slow walk again. I crossed the road, not wanting to pass him with my rude hurried rush, as I looked down at my arm to inspect the wound... Oh Shit! Two fang marks, one deciding it would take awhile to bleed, but when it did come, it came with a little gush, while the other was a good inch of ripped off layers of skin, with the blood looking ready to pop through. Oh well, I´ll just get to school, wash it off, the teachers will know what to do. When I get there, I report that I´m a little late because I got bit by a dog, and would like something to clean the wound with. Instantly the questions come flying. Was the `perro´ on the `Calle´or from a`Casa´(street or house dog)? What did it look like? Big or small? `Have you had your RABIES shot? Rabies is extremely common in Sucre in street dogs. Especially if they bite, it means they´re crazy!´ Okay, so I´ll have to get a shot, how bad could it be? I get my arm cleaned up with something that stings, end up doing my class as I haven´t got anything to worry about for a while. It´s not til my breaktime where a dutch girl gets out her Guidebook and shows me that the first 12-24hours of a bite is the most crucial, that I begin to get a little thought of maybe getting the vaccine as soon as I finish class.
The teacher gives me a map to the hospital, which is only a couple of blocks away, and tells me that the vaccine is free, so not to worry. I walk upto where I was directed, its not there. Redirected another few blocks away. I cant find it. My own fault, it was behind me all along, so eventually found it. It was only sign posted in huge red writing `HOSPITAL URGENCIA´ I can understand how I missed it. Walking in, I get escorted by the security guy, he seemed friendly so I don´t think it was that he thought I´d pocket expensive hospital drugs and equipment, maybe just a novelty to have someone walk in with no apparent `urgencia´. The place looked deserted. Other than doctors and nurses in white coats, there was no one there. It was literally the first time I´d ever been to a hospital and not had to wait for hours. A doctor came out, shook her head at the bite wound, put some gloves on, then started stinging the shit outta me with her so called cleaning. She then told me in Spanish, that there was no vaccine in this hospital, that I had to go somewhere else, and that the visit to the `urgencia´ wasn´t free. Seems the nurse didn´t feel charging me was appropriate, thankfully, and gave me directions to the Vaccine place. Banco de Vacuna, had to walk another million miles away, OK not that far, but it was hot, and I was hungry, my food at the homestay would be waiting for me right now on the kitchen table. Get to my destination after a few wrong turns, and an extra hill to climb, to find that the place is on siesta, great gotta wait another hour until 2pm, I can do that. Wait, wait, 2.03pm where is anybody? wait, wait, wait, 2.47pm a lady shows up, with a baby! Manager to work out the place doesn´t open until 3pm, well my day so far has been so fantastic, I don´t know why I´m surprised. After sticking it out, letting the woman and baby go first, oh and another woman and her puppy go second, I get inside the dark little room, with a man that looks like a safari hunter, and he gives me the paperwork for the vaccine to read over. It all looks okay, its in English, seems to be Internationally recognised, Yep, I´m getting it! Only 1,120.50Bolivianos! What? What happened to free? Oh there is a free one, its just not recognised anywhere outside of Bolivia, which one would I like?? Oh shit, I´m terrible at descision making... Where´s my girlfriend when I need her? She´d tell me which one I should get. I ask for as much details about the free one, which obviously I´d prefer, and ask to come back after consulting Australia... it was easier to say a whole Country, than continue explaining what an Insurance Company was. I get in hold of my guys in Oz, after 7, yes seven break ups in my call that I was paying for, the nurse I spoke to said the local drug was not a good substitute, and just pay for it and keep the receipts... Like I have always said, cant afford insurance -cant afford to travel... So thank you Allianz! (If you let me down.....)
Go back, ask for the vaccine VERORAB that was recommended, the safari suit man then gives me a perscription, what now? I have to go to the pharmacy, buy the drug, come back and get my needle, oh yeah, and I´ll need five of them. One for straight away, another on day 3, then 7, then day 14 and finally 28. I race to the pharmacy, ask to get my 5 doses, get told to sit down and wait, only thirty minutes while they get the drug sent in from somewhere else. By now its 5.18pm, the Vaccine place closes at 6pm, but if I run, and it only does take 30minutes I should make it. Thirty minutes later... where is it? I ask the lady, she says only 10 more minutes, I explain that I don´t have that long, that I need one right now, she says she has three, that she was waiting on the other two. I give her my passport and ask to take just one now and I´ll come straight back for the others. After a bit of stuffing around, with putting things in bags, and another bag with ice so it doesn´t get warm... its almost 6pm, people are wearing jumpers and long pants, and she knows I´ve got a 6-8minute run ahead of me... I dunno! Anyways, I run my guts outs, and make it as the safari man is cracking open a can of beer with a mate and yelling at the football his watching on a tiny black and white TV. He reluctantly pulls himself away, to wipe a little alcohol on my arm and stick a needle in me. JOB DONE!!! I walk back to the pharmacy, where I´m made to wait another 35minutes for the delivery, I´m relieved I have some spanish now and could leave with one earlier. I am getting the worse headache of my life, and to add to it my cards don´t want to work. I now have to run a few more blocks away to find an ATM, find one, no problems... Hallujah! Return to pay an incredible amount of money for here especially, and head for home medication in hand. Of course that too didn´t go smoothly, with my taxi driver getting lost going a shortcut that I didn´t know, taking a detour, to me getting out that taxi to walk aimlessly for about 20minutes before catching another taxi to somewhere I knew and could direct him by myself... All in all, my lunch didn´t taste too bad at 9pm!!

Being inside of a Mountain isn´t Fun!

So I was in Potosi Yesterday, got there the day before. I had already heard all sorts of exciting stories about the famous Mine they have there. I´d heard there was accidents occasionally, but that was mostly due to the dynamite being used, which wasn´t allowed generally in the times where tourist go through it. I also heard of the risk that there MIGHT be some TRACES of asbesdos, but you can buy a mask at the market if you´re really worried about it. So I was looking for a supermercado (supermarket) the day before, and asked for dirrections from a boy inside a tourist information booth (ie; place that sells there own tours), while in there I enquired about the price for the mining tour, he first said 80Bs, where I asked for cheaper he went straight to 60Bs, he was a nice kid, a genuinely nice kid, and he clearly didn´t know the art of bargaining down a price toughly. So I decided, F*** it, I´ll do, everyone does, that´s the main reason for coming here really, not for my reason of breaking up the journey to Sucre from Uyuni. I booked for the 9am tour the following day. After booking it, I met loads of people who had done it and said they loved it, and only a couple that thought they wouldn´t take the risk... The risk, how risky could it be? Hundreds of people do it everyday, and companies all over town advertise it as the best thing to do in Bolivia. I woke up early the next day, mostly due to the freezing cold that the weather turns at this altitude (4060 metres) during the night, and possibly from a little bit of nervous belly. My partner always says I worry about things if I hear bad things about it, yet would never worry if I did anything with my `ignorant bliss´ on. I packed my things, had a coffee, breakfast was Pan (bread) so I couldn´t have it; still on the strict carb reduced diet. Walked down to the agency where I was to be picked up, and noone was there. All signs had disappeared and nothing around me now looked the same. It was 8.52am, I´ll give them another 18minutes, then I´m putting it down to a`not to be´ situation. At exactly 9.09am a little Bolivian woman came running, well scuffling down the street, yelling out apologies in Spanish, she then walked me with not a single word except for ¨Vamos¨(lets go) almost half way across the city, and down a tiny alleyway to a place where a group had already formed of other worldly tourists of all different ages and nationalities. This is the place where our guide (one guide, nine of us) got us to put on wet weather pants (mine were a little on the snug side), rain coats, find gumboots that fit (wellies for the poms again), put on hardhats and get our helmet torch fitted with the around the waist belt battery pack. We all looked so darn attractive... Then into the minibus, where we stop at a highly priced; to Bolivian standards, market where we had to buy at least one or two presents to give to the miners once we´re two kilometres deap inside the Mountain. I heard that the dynamite is extremely bad for the enviroment, plus the most expensive so I didn´t get that, also the cigarettes were the cheapest, but I didn´t want to be responsible for further life threatening lung problems to the miners, so I opted for the 2litre bottle of soft drink and a bag of cocoa leaves. I also bought 3 cheapo masks, to wear 2 at a time, and swap over to the 3rd if and when the first lot gets too dirty, I am clearly the most paranoid, as most the other of the group don´t bother at all, but some buy one, or decide that their scarf might be enough. This is also where I heard the funniest bargain I´d got all day; one soft drink is 5Bs, and one bag of leaves is 5Bs, but the lady will sell them to you together if you like, both for 10Bolivianos... Wow, 2 for 10Bs OR 2 for 10Bs!! We all jumped back in the bus to head for the mountain. At the entry point we were told that it will be cold at the beginning then get hotter once we´re further inside, we also had to hide our presents until we got in far enough that the miners would deserve our gifts. Torches on, then an order sortted out, I was to go first out of the tourists, directly behind the guide which was okay with me, where he put me, later to discover this was his way of finding out if I had a boyfriend or not, and if I was travelling alone why not try a nice Bolivian man... Him perhaps?? At the gate, which we all noted was locked and had to be opened by a girl that the guide first had to find, and then she waits until we all get inside and locks it again, my heart is already getting higher up my chest. What, its locked, we´re actually getting locked into the Mine? ¨Don´t worry... hahaha¨ that was pretty much the guides favourite line. The mine was tight, and very small, I had to walk completely crouched down to about a metre in height for a good part of it. We then had to crawl ¨like babies¨ which was okay, I was expecting that much, then a few standing upright spots where we could all cram together allowing the odd miner to pass on his way to the centre, and we could hear of stories of the past, the silver industry in the 15th Century, and the very weird papermache statue of the Devil with a huge penis, and why he is the God of the Mountain. That was really creepy, we had to throw 96% alcohol over him and his penis, and light a cigarette and put it in his already burnt out mouth. The grosses part was the smell, when someone questioned it, the guide pointed out the Llama foetus that was put there at carnaval. It was so dirty and rubbish was everywhere at this particular location, also our guide had a few good sized mouthfuls of the 96% that made me feel really assured. He was also stuffing the side of his face with the cocoa leaves that were bought as one of the gifts; I would like to note that nothing is more unattractive than a face that looks like you have a whole grapefruit stuffed down one side, oh and the spitting of the leaves excess juices... hmmm hot!! So back on our way, oh thats pretty we all say, look at the silvery glitter, lets all touch it like we have been encouraged to do the whole way until now, so we do, to have the guide say, ¨Oh don´t touch that, its asbestos!¨ HOLEY SHIT, WHAT?? I´ve just had my hands in asbestos, FUCK FUCK FUCK... Where is my water? I pore water all over my hands and pray to God that 10-15 years down the track I don´t regret this day with all my might. I thought there was only traces, now that he shows it to us, I ask is that asbestos, ¨Yes, that is and that over there, oh and through here, and that pretty white is also asbestos¨ I hate him for letting me in here, and its too late to go back, I say I´m scared and want to leave, but I´m the in the minority, so its not possible. I feel my heart pound harder and harder, and every breath is becoming harder to take, with the marks, the dust, the crouched over walking, the altitude (we´re up another coupla 100 metres) and the lack of oxygen as it is in here. We do one more crawl through an even smaller tunnel, doing the army on the belly-crawl over sharp rocks that look an awful lot like those that were asbestos. I decide not to ask anymore, whatever damage has been done is done, and with no way of leaving the group, and no desire to be by myself in this dark and scary tightly enclosed place, I know that all I have is this flimsy mark that I´ve doubled up with, and the hope that I am one of the lucky ones that doesn´t get sick from exposure in years to come. We are nearing our 2 kilometre final destination before turning back, when we see Men hauling full train/carts of minerals and rocks, four of them are needed with all of there bodyweight and strenght to control and move the carts. The guide then screams ¨RUN RUN RUN, GET OUT OF THE WAY... OVER THERE... JUMP JUMP JUMP¨ Everyone then scrambled to a small cut out in the walls where even the four oldies of the group had the shit kicked into them with the scare of one of the carts flying past us, with two miners running for their lives in front of it, and two behind trying in vain to slow the train down. It´s here that the guide tells us we need to be careful, that the carts weigh 2 tonnes, and thats the main cause of accidental deaths down here. What? Why are you only just talking about deaths now?? Sitting in out extremely tight group in the cut out of the wall we need to sit here a little while longer while the miners get there carts all sortted out and where they want them, occasionally pulling one into our little space to make way for another cart going the other way. This is so friggen scary, I can´t see me wanting to leave this dusty little space in the wall to get back in the path of the carts again. I hate it down here, please God or whomever you are that looks after me, please give me strength to get out of here, please get everyone in this Mountain right now out safe and to their families or respective Hotels and Hostals? Please please please!! We have to get out of the way now, and one of the miners asks if anyone has a gift of a drink, I quickly get mine out, I respect these crazy guys a whole lot more, but cant work out how anything can be possibly worth this danger everyday? The man is grateful and continues with his three amigos to push a cart up the slope, the slope that already made a cart fly past me, that could trample him if they arent all putting in every ounce of their brute force. Retelling this story is again making my stomach churn and yucky... I still don´t understand why any amount of money could be worth this, but then again I was born in one of the few lucky countries where I won´t starve to death, where I can house my family if I had one, get an education to better my chances to up my station, get top health care and medicines, and have systems in place like workers safety. Why was I born so friggen lucky? And why weren´t they? It´s so unfair! It just doesn´t make any friggen sense!! I hate this mine, I hate every fucking inch of it, I am struggling with the grief of finding out that most miners do only have 10 years of hard labour ahead of them before they die from cronic lung conditions, and that most miners start at 15 or 16 years old. My heart hurts just thinking about it, they smile at me as I walk by, two take my hand in the darkness to shake it and say ¨buenos tardes¨ (good afternoon). I hate this place! So we get up from our little safe place of watching the agony of hard labour infront of our headtorches, and make our way to the final place where our group will visit. I ask why we haven´t seen any other group for the last leg, to be told that the groups all go to different places once past the only entry and exit tunnel. We are now giving all the gifts we have left to the group of digging and cart pushing miners in this location, where we all take a few snaps then get told of the electric shaft lifty thing that is here. I have noticed this whole trek that the walls and ceiling of the tunnels are dodgy, and mostly held up with just wooden posts that are sometimes breaking, and we have to get around the pipes that contain compressed air, but in someplaces they look like they´re holding the place up too, with the help of some cleverly placed boulders/large rocks. Its now that I will never forget, my heart jumping outside of me, my throat wasn´t even high enough. As the guide was getting us all to inspect the digging, and as he now talks about the electric lift to the surface, I stayed back a little, not liking being ontop of the miners while they work, and enjoying the space away from the carts pushing past, when we hear a terrible noise. A really loud rumbling, the guide says not to worry its just a small rope being dropped. Small? Yeah, about 50metres of rope... CRASH!! ... SHIT THATS NO ROPE!!!! The loudest rumbling I´ve ever heard, and the walks and ground starts to shake, I´m close to the back, so we all start to RUN out of the way, boulders and smaller rocks are coming down all around us, and I hear a loud groin, or maybe I just heard more earth moving noises, but I do hear paniked voices in another language, but its now too dusty to see. We run until we can see and not feel anymore movement, I yell IS EVERYONE OK? DID EVERYONE GET OUT? The guide counts everyone, and I ask him if all the miners are okay? I think he just pretended to check, returning to say everyone was OK. We then start our very quiet trek back, taking a shortcut thankfully, but having to crawl literally over the top of miners working in the worse and tightest conditions imaginable, to see the light of the tunnel exit (and only entry) after about 30 minutes instead of another 2 hours. It´s here that the guide stops us to tell us of even more enlightening information. He explains how much (or should I say how little) they get paid, and I want to cry right here and now... I cant imagine working like this just to be on a slightly better off than the minum wage here, which is about 400Bs a month, about $80. The draw is, if you´ve done it a few years you could live long enough to get to where the really good and expensive minerals are, and be on a pretty good wage by then, you just are not allowed to die within the first ten years, thats the catch you see, because not many do! Once we are out, I feel physically ill, I want nothing more than to get out of these disguising clothes, and tourist costume, so I strip them off right there. I am wearing my clothes underneath, but I even choose to take the boots off and walk back to the bus barefooted than wear these asbestos covered clothes any longer. One lady decides she wants to walk back, so the guide takes her things from her, she came prepared with all her things in the minibus, and we leave her there, as we venture back, some people excited by our close call, me very quiet, no I was completely silent the whole way, and a little while longer still. I went back to where I´d already checked out, paid a larger than probably normal amount to have a shower and to get cleaned up and changed out of these dirty clothes. Afterwards taking a walk to bump into the lady that walked back, she said just after we left a guernsy (not sure of spelling, but one of the people held beds for emergencies) was getting rushed in to the entry tunnel by some fast moving fellow miners. She said she waited for about 20 minutes, and a Man came out on it, his leg was badly broken and what she called smashed, her opinion was that he would become an amputee from the thigh for certain, there was blood everywhere from the breaks in his leg, and he just simply had his arm over his face, he made no sounds of his pain. The scary part is, he was the miner we had all just taken pictures of before the rocks started coming down. She managed to find out that it was the same incident by one of the other miners present. She also managed to find out why it happened. The electric lift was dropped, by the ropes becoming too slack, I guess that was the reason for the loud thump during the crazy rumbling. That poor man... and his family, they don´t get any insurance, I pray he´s okay!! Luckily noone died, I suppose... this time!!

The Day After Hell! ...+ a Sucre Restaurant Review

After the day I had Yesterday, which I will write about in the next post I wanted to have a day to myself of a little Bolivian priced luxury. After a hot shower that actually included a razor for legs and pits, I put on my nicest dress (only one thats clean) and tights, with a purple neck scarf, with matching thongs (flip flops for the Poms) and sunnies. I got all my washing together, checked out of my Sucre Residencia that I found at 11pm last night, and set out to find a laundry. To my good fortune there was one directly across the road, 3kilos for 30Bs (Bolivianos, about $5). I don´t think the men here have seen a woman before, its as if I stepped back in the Middle East or Morocco again, I´ve had to use my scarf as a cleavage coverer before someone had an accident. I didn´t get any attention in Argentina and not much in Chile, but here where most the Bolivians are native/indigenous my lighter skin and height is popular again apparently. So walking around Sucre I felt like a coffee (cafe con leche) and finally after a search found a place that had outdoor seating with a patio courtyard through glass doors off the main street of Espana. The restaurant was closed as they were busy cleaning everything including every chair in the large nicely decorated dining area, but with my bad spanish I was able to ask for a coffee and sit outside. After my coffee which consisted of a sachet of instant coffee and a jug of hot milk, I paid my 5Bs (90cents) and set off for a little more exploring. I stumbled across a little hairdressing salon where again with my bad spanish, but perfect universal sign language I asked if I could get my caterpillas (eyebrows) waxed. Yep, for 15Bs I could. An excruciating fifteen minutes later I was off on another walk again, feeling much lighter in the brow department. I walked awhile, talked a little to locals, then found myself again out the front of the restaurant I was at earlier, which was lucky because I was busting for the loo and I always prefer a nice Baños (WC) over a publico squat with no toilet paper. When I went inside to do the honourary buy something because I just used your toilet thing, I saw what looked like the most delicious and colourful salad buffet, so I inquired about that then. I found out that it is part of the set lunch menu, where you serve yourself for the first course, then get a soup, a main meal, and lastly a dessert, all for 44Bs (about $8). I couldn´t possibly resist. So I took a sit, to stand right back up again for the self service, which had anyones flavour dreams catered for, but especially those health conscious or vegetarian, I decided to have one or a little of everything... Well, not disappointed, it was great. The rest of the courses came out promptly when the cutlery was put down, and I´ve gotta say, so far Bolivia has the best flavours for me in South America by far, as they actually do spicy and a homemade chilli salsa comes out at every place I´ve visited so far. Yay, for spices and flavour!! I finished up the eating with a fresh fruit salad topped with yoghurt, and couldn´t have been happier... Until I had my glass of red wine out in the beautiful quiet courtyard that is! One perfect lunch, costing me about $10 including tip, a bit of a slurge for here, but well worth it. Here the main meal is lunch too, so like Yesterday I will eat big during the daytime meal, and wont eat much tonight. That brings me to now, just filling in my time before collecting my freshly cleaned clothes... Gotta love clean clothes day!! Oh yeah, for anyone ever in the area, the restaurant is called La Fontana, on Calle Espana in Sucre, they have the set lunch menu for 44Bs everyday, with about 6 or 7 choices for mains, always including a vegetarian choice, or will if you can ask in spanglish, and about 3 choices for dessert. The drinks including cocktails and fresh juices will set you back around $1.50-$2. Open from 12noon to 10pm. As you can probably tell, I am recommending this place! =) Now for getting the courage to talk about my big day Yesterday.....

2 week update... on the 100day challenge!!

So 4.8kgs down... not as good as I´d have liked especially seeing I´m walking almost nonstop with calf muscles that are looking more like teenage mutan ninja turtle calves. BUT its a start, and an OK one considering my ever increasing inability to visit the toilet. It´s something I´ve never had go good for me, but seems to be really hard to manage at the moment, I hear it could have something to do with this altitude possibly!?!

Starting on Reviews...

I haven´t written any official reviews as such yet for this blog, as I guess I´ve barely introduced myself. Though its something i like to do, wherever I am I review things, eveyone does I guess. So now to the official start... I´m going to start with a place I´ve been recommending for years, to anyone in or visiting Melbourne. Its Mr Naturals Vegetarian Pizza bar, and its brilliant! Don´t be scared off by the `V´ word, the pizzas are delicious, and the odd one nighter away from meat might do you some good. It´s especially close to my heart because the love of my life is a coeliac and they do a Gluten-free base option. My personal recommendation would be the Spinach pizza...hmmmm... Its amazing! It´s heaped with the green stuff, then crumbled feta scattered, another melty cheese, and then finally topped with a raw egg that cooks when the pizza´s in the oven. The result is incredible. If you´re anything like me (and you´ll see this is something I add to almost anything) you´ll ask for a healthy shaking of the hot chilli flakes to be added before the cooking process. Yummm... sad now just a little. I´m in South America so no Mr Naturals for me, plus I´ve made myself hungry, and I´m in a hostel in the middle of nowhere with just a bottle of water. I should add too, that anyone (or place) I recommend will have no previous knowledge of me doing so, and I will not be getting any form of endorsement for what could look like advertising. I´m just jotting down my opinions, to my tastes, though comments and debates over rightness or wrongness is completely welcomed. I will also try snick a few recipes if its food I really enjoy, and there has been quite a bit of it lately! Oh yeah, Mr Naturals can be found in two of my favourite places to point out for those new to Melbourne too, the very cool St.Kilda beach/bayside area, and my local, Fitzroy where the people watching is amongst the best it the World. I should also note for any foodies that may want to know my foodie credentials, I did one fantasticly explorative year at chef school. And completed my Certificate 2 in Cookery at Victoria University. It was there I developed my love for fresh ingredients, alternative cooking styles, and food handling. Also my first Round the World Trip changed my life completely with the new concept of eating food with big ballsy flavours and changing this Vegetarian of 13 years, who didn´t really like many vegetables at the time, into someone who will try almost anything, and has developed a whole new opinion on what food is and should be! PS The story of why I am no longer a Vegie anymore is one of my favourite of all time, I hope that I one day can share it on here. Please note, I still have the utmost respect for Vegetarians, and still believe that is can be the healthiest of any lifestyles done properly (the way I wasn´t doing it back in the days pre-travel) and I love all kinds of vegie dishes nowdays.

Made it to Chile... Finally!

So I´m in the beautifully diverse country of Chile now, I´m now in Santiago, though only just. Have been in Valparaiso for the last few days... Very cool city! Got the fantastico oportunity to stay with a local thanks to my good friend back home that happens to come from this fine Country. The millions of roads all leading up different streeted hills, fit snuggly between the densely populated houses of a thousand colours, twisting and turning all the way up. A trip on the local Microbus is quite literally a rollercoaster ride, only cheaper and most certainly more dangerous. The brilliantly coloured buildings alone are worth the trip. All seemingly trying to get both the suns rays and a view of the bay, making sure they are noticed on their own behalf. I stayed with a young lady who owns the very funky and uber cool `Mora´ Cafe. The food there is a much needed change from the Argentinian Asado (bbq meat) diet. I actually had a salad that consisted of more than just tomato and lettuce... exciting!! I have asked her to give me the recipe for the Pastel de Zapella (may not be the correct spelling) though basicly its a delicious combination of vegies all cooked together, topped with a sweet mash of pumpkin... yuuummmm! I´ve decided that I´d like to add to this blog with the addition of both reviews and recipes. But now, I have to sign out a little earlier than I´d like as I have someone waiting for the hostel computer. Darn sharing, another one of those things deaply embedded since childhood as the right thing to do... Who likes doing the right thing?