Easter Island - Last stop ... for now

Wednesday Feb. 20, 2013
The plane land on the island at 6:30am. I go to a hotel named "Chez Cecelia". The lady tells me that she will have something available but only in the afternoon. No problem, so I leave my bags there and head out in the direction of the trail that will lead me to the "Rano Kau" volcano top and the archeological site of "Orongo". What a view from up there on the town and the ocean. The crater is very impressive and "Orongo" is quite an interesting site. I get back in town and go back to the hotel and the lady tells me to pick my bags that she will bring me to her hotel house where she as an available room. We are almost all the way out of town and I would have to walk 30 minutes to get in town or have to take cabs every time. She had not told me that earlier, a little later she gets mad at me because I booked a tour to the Maoi sites with an agency downtown when she had already told me that she organized tours (Can I choose who I want for my tours, please). Not long after I go back to town to find another hotel because with the attitude she gave me and the dump she brought me too does not please me at all. I find another room, private this one, in town for only a few more dollars a day. I take a cab and go back to the other place and take my bags back and leave without saying thanks. She was asking 45$ US a night for a room shared with her nephew, no personal lockers for my valuables and the front door to the house doesn't lock. So I went back to Hotel "Atariki", where she asks 50$ US a night and I'm right downtown.

Mirador "Rano Kau", volcano crater

"Rano Kau"

View on the ocean from "Orongo" site

April 2013 Calendar - Desktop Backgroung

Cusco in Peru was a wonderful town to visit. While you are there take the time to visit the many archeological sites around before going to Machu Picchu.

There are many sites around Cusco Tambomachay, Puka Pukara, Q'enqo and Sacsayhuaman are right by the town itself. Pisac is only half an hour away and on your way to Aguas Caliente stop in Moray, Maras and Ollantaytambo. Look around because there are also many more site to see nearby. I always suggest to visit all the sites you want before going to see Machu Picchu. Once you'll see this last one all the others will seem less interesting even though they really are worth visiting also.

How to install :

Click on pictures to get full size image. Then click the right side mouse button and choose 'Save Picture As' or 'Set As Background Image'.

Forastero Guest House

Forastero Guesthouse was a very nice place to stay. Very quiet place and quite a nice house. Not many people were in the hostel when I was there and the place was always good. The facilities were complete in every way, except that there was only one shower.

 It was good while I was there because we were few in the house, but I can guess how crowded it can get if the place is full. Beatrice, the owner, was very helpful and very nice, she also speaks pretty good english if it is needed for you. She also has a service for tour booking.

    

Outside view of the house and the entrance

 

 The yard and another outside view

The kitchen is very big and well equipped, there is also a computer with internet available in the upstairs TV room, also Wifi that worked very good. It is a little walk from the Plaza 25 de Mayo (5 blocks), but it can easily be done even with your luggage.

 

The Entrance Hall

Breakfast was included, which is bread and jam and you can ask for eggs if you wish, it also includes coffee or tea. You can also sit outside in the very nice backyard. I stayed in Forastero for 6 days and I have had a very good stay in the guesthouse. If you are looking for a party place or a place to meet many other travelers it is definitely not the place to stay.

 

Downstairs living room and dining room

One thing to take into consideration is that at the time I was there, there was no lockers that you could lock you stuff in inside the rooms. I just dont like leaving my stuff around the room, luckily I was alone in my room the whole time.

 

The kitchen and smaller dining room

 
The prices for the beds are the following (these prices might differ a bit they were the ones effective in December 2012 and taken by Hostelbookers website, please look it up it might change in time or be lower directly at the hostel) :

3 Bed Dorm - Mixed (Shared bathroom) - 45 Bolivianos

Double Garden View (Shared bathroom) - 50 Bolivianos

2 person Garden View (Shared bathroom) - 50 Bolivianos

Deluxe Double Garden View (Private bathroom) - 90 Bolivianos

 

Upstairs Living room (TV and computer room)

Here is a complete list of the amenities you will find here :

-24 Hour Reception (to this I must say that you might have to ring the bell a few times)
-24 Hour Security
-Airport Transfers
-BBQ area
-Bicycle Hire
-Bicycle Parking
-Book Exchange
-Breakfast Included
-Cable TV
-DVD's
-Free City Maps
-Free WiFi
-Housekeeping
-Internet Access
-Kitchen
-Laundry Facilities
-Luggage Storage
-Meals available
-Outdoor Terrace
-Parking
-Safe Deposit Box (Front Desk)
-Tea/Coffee Making Facilities 
-Towels Included

Example of rooms

   

Upstairs and downstairs washrooms

 So all in all I did like the place and if you are looking for a quiet place to stay in Sucre I would recommend Forastero Guest House anytime.


I would give a 4 out of 5 note, taking a point out because of having only one shower and no personnal lockers in the rooms, but other than that it's very well.

If you would like to reach the Hostel, here are the contact infos : 


E-Mail : theadventurebrewhostel@gmail.com  
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/forastero.guesthouse

The adress is :  

394 Destacamento, 111 Street, Sucre, Bolivia

Nasca and Huacachina, Peru

Thursday Feb. 14, 2013
I must get up early again to go catch a bus for a 10-12 hour ride to get from Arequipa to Nasca. The bus leaves at 10:45am and we get to Nasca almost 12 hours later around 10:30pm. I get to "Nasca Trails Hostel" (40 soles for private room = 16$ Can.). The owners were waiting for me because I had made a reservation and they thought I would get there a bit earlier. I get to my room and go to bed not so long after because I must get up very early again in the morning.

Just before going for the plane ride

The monkey

The hummingbird

La Paz, Bolivia (3)

Thursday Feb. 7, 2013
We arrive in La Paz at 11am, a lot earlier than I thought. Me and Oscar (an Australian I met in the last few days), go to "Adventure Brew Backpackers" hostel near the bus terminal where I had spent a few days when I was in La Paz back in last September. I have a small headache in the afternoon due to the altitude, but I have a nap and feel great when I got back up. I meet up with another friend from Switzerland (Simon) at the hostel that I had met a few times before, but we had actually met the first time in this same hostel months before. We spent the evening at the bar having a chat and a few beers.

Friday Feb. 8, 2013
I got up that morning with an incredible headache, I blame the altitude but the beers from the evening before probably did not help either. I must get used to the altitude again, it will take a few days for that. "If I could give a good tip to anyone going in a high altitude destination like La Paz, I would say to stop in a place half way where the altitude is a little lower for a day or two. For exemple, I left Santa Cruz that is 300 meters and went strait to La Paz that is 3900 meters, I should have stopped for a day or two in Cochabamba that is at 2200 meters to get used to altitude a little more progressively." So on this morning even though I have that headache and the lack of appetite we leave at 9am to go for a tour in Tiwanaku that we had already booked the day before (50 Bob = 7.32$ Can.), an archeological site near La Paz. I have a very bad day because the aches just don't want to go away and stays all day and I also can't eat anything, or else I vomit in the next 15 minutes. Wheb we got back to town at 5pm, I go strait to bed and wake back up at 10pm, I get up for a little while and go back to bed at 11pm and spend the night waking up often because of the headaches.

Winks - A look at ...

Here you will find ''Winks'', which are a quick look at either a special building, a city, historical characters or even objects. I always love to know more about certain things and I am sure that I am not the only one. Being curious about the past of places and things is a big part of traveling. One wants to know the past to understand the present. These articles will be short and give the big details on different historical subjects.

So these will be my little ''Winks'' at the past.

The first installment is a bit of history behind the 'Chateau Frontenac' in Quebec city.

A wink at 'Chateau Frontenac'

The second post is about the ramparts and Citadel that still surrounds Quebec City

A Wink at 'Quebec city Ramparts and Citadel'

This third post is in honor of the northernlands 'Inuksuk'
A Wink at the 'Inuksuk'

Fourth post is in honor of my home town.

A 'Wink' at Rouyn-Noranda

Good reading.

My Bucketlist

Well here goes the Bucket List. Things I would love to see or do before I kick the bucket (that's still a long way to go), this is version 1.0 of the list. It surely will have other stuff added to it with time. I am not setting any limits of time like I've seen some do, wanting to do a 200 items list in the next five years. Nahhhh let's be realist, I do not pretend that all this list will be crossed out, but let's just say that if I would be able cross out 1/2 or 3/4 of it, I would be more than a happy backpacker.

    

- Skydive anywhere in the world

- Go to Australia

- Go to New Zealand

- I have got to see the pyramids (Egypt)

- Go see the northern lights way up north (where they are the nicest)

- See Machu Pichu (Peru) (Awesome, just awesome) - August 2012

- Hike the Bruce Trail in Canada

- See the Canadian Rockies (oh yeah, that's done)

- Hitchhike across Canada (almost done, but missing a few spots)

- Climb Mount Kilimanjaro (Africa)

- Go for at least a three to six month tour across Europe

- Take a picture of myself with monkeys (anywhere) - Sept. 2012 (Rurrenabaque, Bolivia)

- Go to any Desert on earth (Atacama Desert) - Oct. 2012

- See the Great Wall of China

- See Atacama Desert (Chile)- Oct. 2012

- See Easter Island Chile), Feb 20 to 27, 2013

- Set foot on at least one deserted island

- Become at ease with speaking Spanish (I still need a lot of practice)

- Write a book (any kind) and have it published

- Visit Lake Titicaca (Peru, Bolivia) - Sept. 2012

- Go to Madagascar (Africa)

- Try Bungee jumping

- See all new seven Great Wonders of the world

- Climb a Volcano (or more than one) (Villarrica Volcano, Chile) - Nov. 2012

- Take a picture of a different place for 365 days in a row

- See Iguazu Falls (Argentina-Brazil) - Janv. 2013

- Ride a camel in the Sahara Desert

- Visit Ushuaia (Argentina) - Southernmost town before Antarctica - Dec. 2012

- See Stonehenge (England)

- Visit every Central American countries

- Spend a few days in the Amazon Jungle - Sept. 2012 (Rurrenabaque, Bolivia)

- Visit every major Island in the Carabbeans

- Try to get a royal guard in London to laugh (or take a stupid picture with one)

- Go on a Safari picture Hunt in Africa

- See Yellowstone National Park (US)

- Go to the Rio De Janeiro Carnival

- See Angel Falls (Venezuela)

- Visit every South American countries

- See Ayers Rock (Australia)

- Go on a Hot Air Ballon Ride

- Take the first plane on of nowhere with the next available flight

About my Itinerary

A map of the road I took in South America

I started in Lima, Peru, then went from Peru to Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay before coming back through Bolivia and Peru again. I finished the trip again in Lima after doing a short trip to Easter Island.

 

About Me

Who I am :

My name is Normand Boulanger and I am a young man of 37 years old man looking forward to traveling even more. I have some college studies in translation, where I learned Spanish and some German (which I actually don't really remember). Oh, and I also speak with ease both french and English. I also have done a year in computer programming, loved it but just could not see myself working in between four walls all day long.

I have been a dreamer since forever. Sometimes it's a good thing and in others not so good. Dreaming is believing anything can happen.

I have worked many jobs in many different places, from being in cleanup guy, to a journeyman, to butcher, technician and others. I think it's time for me to get out there and live what my dreams tell me I should live. What are dreams good to, if you never get around to realizing them.

It was not an easy decision to take. I needed much inspiration by others that went and did what was needed to get on the road. I read many good blogs and websites. One day I actually met and shook hands with someone that came back from a RTW trip only a few months before and I read their blog (his and girlfriend), and my decision was finally made.

I now have traveled through 6 countries of South America. I dream of traveling a lot more in the next few years. This is traveling with only a backpack and some good shoes.

On this site I am sharing photos, videos and a complete logbook of the places visited with tips & tricks everywhere on the way..

Find me here :

Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/TourBackpacker

Twitter : https://twitter.com/TourBackpacker

Google Plus : https://plus.google.com/u/0/117387668908427107275/about

You Tube : http://www.youtube.com/user/norm2204/videos

E-Mail : tour_sa@hotmail.com

My Home

Just for the people that are not from my part of the world. I simply wanted to show you where I’m from on a map. I introduce you to Rouyn-Noranda in the region of Abitibi-Temiscamingue in the western part of the province of Quebec in Canada. The region has 5 main towns that are Rouyn-Noranda, Val d'or, Amos, La Sarre and Ville-Marie. 

Here is a map. Where the arrow is, that’s my birth place. It is at 650km north of biggest city of the province, which is Montreal.

The climate in Quebec is really different between summer and winter. In the summer time the weather will go to around 30° Celsius in the warmest moments and in the winter time it’s the opposite it will go down to -30° Celsius in the coldest times.

The longest day of the year, is June 21st and the sun-up is at around 5am and sun-down is close to 9:30pm, a little more than 16 hours of sunlight and 8 hours of darkness. For the shortest day of the year, December 21st, sup-up is around 8am and sun-down around 4:30pm, so the opposite of summer, 8 hours of sunlight and 16 hours of darkness.

Having such a big difference between summer and winter, the scenery's change a lot. You can see pictures of my region in the Picture Tab in the top menu.

My home town is Rouyn-Noranda, I have lived there for most of my life. But I also lived in LaSarre, St-Jerome, Montreal, Joliette, Quebec and I also spent close to five years in Alberta, Canada, In the following towns, Brooks, Calgary, Trochu et Elnora.