Well guys sorry for the lack of posts recently, but life has seemed to slow down after south america. Doms recent tale has inspired me to at least update you thus far.

As far as I remember I left you in southern Argentina where I had hiked up to Torres del payne in Chile and was heading for Bolivia.

Well after some humorous border crossings including passing the Chilian border 3 times in one day, I finally arrived in Bolivia. It was very different from the european styling of Argentina and reminded me alot of Kazakhstan and after hearing so many stories of tourists being mugged there after seeing the place it was a little easier to understand why. I mean at least Brazilians have the beach these guys just have rocks. An interesting fact about Bolivia is that they actually have a navy despite being landlocked, it consists of a fenced off area of Lake Titicaca and there was sightings of uniformed men in a swan paddle boat.

Anyway I met up with some fellow british folk on the final bus journey to the border and continued on with them for a tour of the Solar de Uyuni. This included a 5 day jeep tour around Bolivia to finish at the salt flat itself. But let me tell you, 5 days in a cramped Land Crusier listening to crazy Bolivian folk music isnt as great as it sounds but fortunately my brain over time is good at making dyer situations seem humerous and the salt flats more than made up for the God aweful food. Had a nice surprise waiting for me when I returned to semi-civilisation when I found an email from Quantas telling me that they had changed my flights and had effectively given me 1 day to get from the middle of Bolivia to Santiago in Chile. This coupled with their call-centre being "down" did cause me a little panic for a day or so but finally got it sorted.

From Chile I flew out to New Zealand and was greeted by a Kiwi border guard at 4 in the morning asking me whether I had been to Kazahkstan because of the Borat movie, after seeing the visa in my passport. I said yes. New Zealand was astonishingly beautiful but after spending more time in South America then I had planned, I only had 3 weeks to explore.So to make the best use of my time I hired a campervan and toured around seeing lots of sheep and spectacular scenery. Although one Kiwi didnt like me badmouthing the Franz Joseph and Fox glaciers as crap compared to the Moreno, it appeared that suddenly I had become a glacier expert of the course of 4 weeks. I enjoyed my time touring around, sleeping on beaches, by fjords and the like but it did hurt my wallet and so when I flew out to Australia, work became the order of the day.

So far Sydney has been really enjoyable although very expensive and the weather does get bad here which they dont tell you about on their cheesey visit australia commericals! But even working isnt so bad here,I mean there are worse commutes then passing the Opera House and Harbour bridge at sunset every evening. Although I think the 4 month break has probably affected my opinion on work somewhat.

So its work for the next few weeks then i'm planning a diving trip (well not personally planning in the logistical sense)to the great barrier reef and then its off to Africa, which I just cant wait for. Think this really could be the jewel in the crown of my trip. Little worried about flying into Jo'burg after speaking to a South African resident about some of the stories she has heard but apart from that its all good. Think I'll just try and blend in,shouldnt be too hard I've heard there are plently of 6 foot tall, very white, ginger haired africans about.

So probably until Africa, thats all.

P.S I've already got several travellers interested in the Pan Am, now all we have to do is organise the thing.

Ok so all of this Bad Colonies talk brings me to this blog. I need a new gig. I used to run pro sporting events. My work involved marketing, sales and heavy duty PR. Who needs someone like me? Dom, see you in Beantown. We will NOT eat beans, but sushi I hope. I need a GOOD fix before I head back to the land of salt, Bonaire.

without looking, i know it's been awhile since i've added any utterly useless content to the ole website. well, it's been a long year in nukular wonderland, and that’s my only excuse.

so i’m currently barreling across upstate NY on the way to bristol, VT. just passed the exit for the Jell-O Museum and Gallery and a deer twitching by the roadside (didn’t hit it). a little prodding from the Beck and the fact i’ve got little to do for the next couple hours has inspired a few notes.

Jell-O Trivia #1:
The first four Jell-O flavors were orange, lemon, strawberry, and raspberry. Lime was introduced in 1930.

picked up a couple of traveling companions (kaela and clifford – the little big red bobble-head dog) outside minneapolis last week. threw a little party at her place on friday. bud light pony keg got the better of me. tweaked my back trying to ice the thing down. at least the contents were kind enough to help numb the pain afterwards. drove to chicago on sunday through rain and shine. by “drove” i really mean "chauffeured in reclined discomfort." thanks kaela. saw a pumpkin on top of a grain silo in wisconsin. silly cheeseheads.

i haven’t been back to my apartment in chicago since sometime in march. and i could probably count on one hand the number of days i’ve been there so far this year. but what’s a fella to do but pay the rent, shred the endless stack of credit card offers, swap out winter jackets for shorts and a wiffle ball bat and press on.

Jell-O Trivia #2:
Bill Cosby has been a spokesperson for Jell-O since 1974.

so what’s the score? what’s comes next? not really sure. time to scratch that wanderlust itch again i suppose. the lady and i are on the way to VT. going to say hell-O to some friends. maybe a day of lawn games. bocce ball. horseshoes and high-life. perhaps croquet and a “Welcome Back Wiffle” if the spine allows. then on to maine for a Lobster Fest of sorts in the woods. don’t know much other than host is a friend of mine…who spins tales of music, beer, motorcycles, and more crustaceans than one could care to eat. stay tuned on that. the rest of the summer is up in the air. there are a few known events in the schedule spread across various states but the majority is undecided.

Jell-O Trivia #3:
The people of Salt Lake City consume more lime-flavored gelatin than any other city in the United States

travelling nitty gritty:
starting odometer 11093 – rosemount, mn 4/3/07
leaving chicago – 11550-ish 4/5/07 8:45am
travel times nothing like what i remember from years past. i clearly drive slower. can’t help it. the state of illinois has been rough on me in ’07.
the pimpala's radio has been subject to a sonic roller coaster of Cubs radio broadcasts, dylan, billboard 80’s albums, hank3, the pussycat dolls, jj cale, the be good tanyas, the boss, garth brooks, etc. suggestions welcome. nothing is too good, bad or ugly to blare.

Jell-O Trivia #4:
March 17, 1993, technicians at St. Jerome hospital in Batavia test a bowl of lime Jell-O with an EEG machine and confirm the earlier testing by Dr. Adrian Upton that a bowl of wiggly Jell-O has brain waves identical to those of adult men and women.

note to andy:
appreciate the tales from south of the equator. keep it up, man.

note to ironsides:
best of luck.

note to all:
for anyone who still checks up on this page from time to time, the pan-am rally is still in hearts and minds of the badcolonies. just been difficult to put much brain time to it lately.

photo accompaniment coming soon. i'll get these internerdery skills dusted off soon enough.

later.
dominic

trivia courtesy The Jell-O Museum and Gallery

The last time I wrote I mentioned that Brazil was my favourite country on the travels so far, well we may have a new leader and I have a feeling this wont be the last time I update the list. Argentina has been amazing! The country basically has everything, great food, amazing cities, majestic landscapes, beautiful girls and everything is ridiculously cheap. We were told before we arrived of $5 steak well those guys were way off the mark as we found quality $3 steak. Gotta love a little economic recession. Well enough humping of the proverbial Argentinean leg and more of what I´ve actually been up to.

We crossed the border from Brazil and were greeted by the amazing Iguaçu falls which was a pretty good introduction to the place it has to be said. I was a little apprehensive about our first overland border crossing with Russian borders still relatively fresh in my memory but stampy stampy occurs alot faster in south america for some reason (take note for the Pan Am) and after 5 minutes we breezed through with the shocked looks and dropped jaws still plastered on our faces.

From the falls we took a bus which was the most luxurious method of transport I have ever taken, (not entirely sure whether that says more about me or not) but you can trust me it was impressive, think first class airline service and your about there, with fully reclinable seats, big steak meal and of course champagne whilst you watch your God awful movie. Anyway we arrive in Buenos Aires (B.A) which had be built up be pretty much every traveller I had met claiming it to be THE city in south america, some claim considering the company it keeps, but they weren't far off and I think had it not been for Carnival in Rio it may have a contender. One highlight has to be during a Boca Juniors game where at half time they showed highlights of Maradona, (not the best thing for an english football fan to see) but they continued to chant his name constantly for 30 minutes into the game. He still is a God for these people you see his face and virtually everything out here. After chilling out, eating ourselves silly and watching the Argentinean girls go by we headed down to Patagonia. Felt a little weird buying winter clothes in BA in 30 degree weather, but it was definitely worth it.

Visited the San Moreno Glacier which was stunning. Its the most active glacier in the world (or so we were told) and breaks at least once every half hour and is cracking almost constantly which sounds like gunfire or when they use explosives to clear snow in the mountains. Anyway I was impressed. From there we crossed over another border into Chile where we went to the Torres Del Payne national park to camp for a few days.


This is where I realised how ridiculously unfit I was but it was fun non the less, especially the way we camp, full on pasta meals, ipod playing the background and of course in Chile, a nice bottle of wine. Since then I have been heading back up north with my eyes on Bolivia and the salt flats in the south east which are supposed to be spectacular. Unfortunately that has meant I´ve spent less time in some really nice towns and cities like Barriloche and Mendoza than I would have liked but its all in the name of progress (or maybe photos) Im currently near the border and should be there tomorrow but needed a little rest after two 19 hour bus rides back to back just 2 days after a 30 hour one.
So thats it, if I survive Bolivia there maybe another story to tell, but until then.

P.S. I had the most frightening incident of my whole trip in south america so far which should give you some indication of the place. I had, my haircut. At least the haircut lady found my miming and spanglish hilarious.

The Pan Am rally prep is under way. This will happen next summer (2008). If you would like to help with prep email me at nathaniel@badcolonies.org.

The Event of the Year

Waiting for wind

It´s been a while since my last entry, but surprisingly not a great deal has happened out here since. I worked my way up the coast from Rio to Salvador which was clearly in a carnival hangover as very little was happening in that town, other than the usual harrassment from the locals. Could not stand still there without someone coming up and asking for something or trying to sell you something. Was twice mistaken as an American and proceeded to get a drunken, spit infested lecture about foreign policy,how America has managed to piss Brazil off I´ll never understand. Moved further up the coast and found again more sleepy little towns, which for the people who I have met travelling so far seems to be fantastic, they seem content sitting on who could not have looked more Arian, has was called Christoph and could well have been a bond villan the way he talked, and when he mentioned about taking guns with him for protection on the best kitesurfing beaches that happened to find themselves in bad areas I became truely suspicious. So after a few days of drinking the southern Atlantic I became a kitesurfer which was really cool, definately helped that the water was as warm as in a bath and so inviting in 35 degree weather, definately beats the sub-zero North Sea thats for sure.

Surfing or at least attempting to on Ilha Grande

After all the curfuffel I headed up to another little village for a rest, hard work all this travelling lark. This one´s name was Jericacoacoa but being that Brazilian Portugese is one of the non-sensical languages of the world I was constantly being corrected on my pronounciation so ended up just calling it jerrikaka or Jerry which went down well with the locals. It was a really cool place, only 4 sandy streets wedged between a beautiful beach and a huge dune where we sandboarded, it is truely like sandpaper when you fall. To get there I had to take a troop carrier type vehicle as the place is only accessible by 4x4s. We arrived in the dead of night and it kind of felt like some sort of covert mission being run through swamps and across the beach under the cover of darkness, kind of like the army I´m guessing except without the danger and mass murder vibe. This place was good but it was rainy season which apparently meant something in that part of the country.

Rainy Season

After a quick nap there, I headed back to Rio and striaght to an island in the south called Ilha Grande, which was amazing if not a little touristy, always a bad sign when theres more english speaking people on the island than locals. Its basically a tropical island covered in rainforest, so explored there a little, going to the 3rd most beautiful beach in the world, although I couldnt see it, the scummy beaches of whitley bay in Newcastle take some beating.

Cumbuco

This is one of the best hostels, club in the basement like ye olde times, and yes the horse was riden

After all that I arrived back here in Rio, where I left you with my last message. Just seems I cant stay away from the place. Had a really strange yet familiar feeling coming back to the place, like returning home or something. Not sure if thats a sign to buy my own coconut stand and settle down here with my own shack or just because its such a beautiful city and one of the few places so far on my trip that always has something exciting happening. Think if I were to come here again it would be for the build up to Carnival and not the winding down.

Can't beat a bit of Rio

Was thinking as the emails from the Mongol Rally came in, how we spent 4 weeks out there and had so many amazing stories to tell and how I´ve spent the same amount of time out here and not nearly as much has happened. Still surfing and sleeping on a tropical beach in Brazil sure beats doing nothing at home.

Oh and we were right in that the rally is the trump card when talking to other travellers, doesnt really matter how long they stayed in Asia most are impressed by it, and it certainly entertains the masses.

Team Ironsides officially announces its participation in the 2007 Mongol Rally. This will mark the second involvement of a Bad Colonies team, and hopefully the start of something beautiful. After Wednesday's fiasco, we decided to attack the registration a little more systematically; with two supercomputers from either side of the GMT. (or a laptop and a dial-up connection from Columbo). After three minutes, JOya was able to get in, no problem. Pretty uneventful really, but exciting none the less, I have started breathing again, and my blood pressure has declined to a normal rate. Look for serious updates to follow, we will be setting up a team page on the Official Mongol Rally site so be sure to check it out. It feels good to be done and on our way. Forward Ironsides!

It is time to sign up for the Mongol Rally. Check out the latest on Team Ironsides' Team Page, including a new entry from Joya,

the big story here in sri lanka today was a mortar attack on a helicopter carrying foreign diplomats and a few VIP-type government officials who were visitting Batticaloa; a region in the East that has experienced quite a bit of violence. Guess who was also in the helicopter? Yup, the head of WFP, my father.

Read the full entry here.