Monthly Archives: February 2010

Goal 80 – “…and there you will always long to return.”

“When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.” Leonardo da Vinci This morning was beautiful, and the winds were light, but as I waited for my fourth flying lesson, the winds picked up […]

The best pub in the world…. possibly!

Once again, if I needed proof that it is almost always best to say “Yes” to unexpected invites and offers, last night was a great example. After drinking far too much beer while in Rio for Carnival, I have since had a week off, and have had no beer at all while here in Port […]

Tricky landings.

My second day of landings was pretty windy, but Gerhard suggested we should still go up and see how I managed. He wanted to take me out to the training area, away from the main airport, where there is a smaller grass strip, where we could practice more touch and go landings and take-offs. The […]

Taking to the skies.

I was woken early by my phone. Gerhard said that the weather looked much better, and would pick me up in about twenty minutes. After finishing the final details of my Student Pilot Licence application, and sending it off, we headed to the airport, and after a detailed initial briefing, we were off. Our plane […]

Expecting to fly.

I have always been interested in flying, and it has long been a dream of mine to have my own plane, and be able to fly when and where I want. The first step towards this is to actually learn how to fly, and for my 100 weeks flying goal, my aim is to fly […]

Last days in South America.

My friend Bek from Australia lived and worked in South America for a couple of years, and she emailed me with several suggestions of things I should see or do here. Her top recommendation, an absolute must, she insisted, was to go on a favela tour with the guys from www.bealocal.com So once again it […]

Birdman of Rio.

On his last day in Rio Val was very keen on taking a dual hang glider flight, and so after another late night we got up early and headed off to the far end of the Metro system, and took a taxi to Sao Conrado, where we met hang glider pilot Konrad. The wind wasn’t […]

Goal 79 – Redemption… finally.

I met fellow Aussies Paul and Kristi in the backpacker hostel that I stayed in while in Santiago, and as we were all going to be in Rio for Carnival, we had made tentative arrangements to meet up. However, Carnival, as you can imagine, is pretty wild, and plans tend to change at short notice, […]

Goal 78 – Carnival in Rio.

We flew into Rio from Iguassu, and after a bit of negotiation with a group of taxi drivers, managed to find someone who would take us to Fabio’s home for what seemed like a reasonable fee. Fabio is another couchsurfing contact that Val arranged for us, and he has a great little appartment in the […]

Goal 77 – Hablo Espanyol (solo un pocito!)

As I crossed from Argentina to Brazil, I think I am probably leaving the last Spanish-speaking country on my 100goals journey, as Brazil is mainly Portuguese-speaking. I am really pleased with how my Spanish has improved. I am nowhere near fluent, and struggle a lot more than I do in French, but I can still […]

Goal 76 – Iguazu, another incredible waterfall.

After the long drama at Lima airport, Val and I had to find an alternative way to Puerto Iguazu, the town on the Argentinian side of Iguazu Falls. With our newly purchased, and ridiculously expensive tickets, we flew that evening to Santaigo, and got a little sleep overnight at the airport. In the morning we […]

Peru plane problems.

The alarm woke us early, and we headed by taxi for Cusco airport, for our first flight of the day to Lima, where we would have a few hours to wait for our onward flight to Buenos Aires. However, today, things were not going to go to plan! The weather in Cusco didn’t seem too […]

Last day in Cusco.

We had one day left in Cusco, and our host Ronnie suggested we should go on a bicycle tour to see another Inca site called Moray. We met with Ronnie’s pal Alex, who would be our guide for the day, and were issued with cycles. The first thing I did, of course, was check which […]

Mal de altura!

I would have had a great day in Cusco yesterday if it wasn’t for the awful altitude sickess that made the day pretty miserable. At over 11,000 feet above sea level, it is a very sudden change from Lima, and on my arrival day, apart from a little dizziness and plenty of huffing and puffing […]

Machu Pichu misery.

My goal of seeing Machu Picchu has increaced in difficulty, it would seem almost to the point of being impossible. A week or so ago the Cusco and Machu Picchu area suffered torrential downpours, resulting in mudslides and avalanches throughout the region. On the Inca Trail, the four-day trek leading to Machu Picchu, a local […]

Lima, Peru.

Lima is an interesting place, filled with unusual contrasts. I arrived late on Saturday evening after my flight from Easter Island to Santiago, and my connection from there to Lima. Despite it being well after midnight when we landed, the line to go through immigration was enormous, and took over an hour. After collecting my […]