Comments on: A Change of Plans

By: Karin and Coen

Karin and Coen — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 11:31:03 +0000

Hi all,

Just wanted to let you know we are in Salta, awaiting you guy’s. If you are still in the neighborhood. Find the biggest swimming pool in the world [I guess] and we are sitting right next to it! It lies in the municipal campground.

By: Shreesh

Shreesh — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 01:00:24 +0000

Hi Mike,

We are headed towards Chile and then to Salta after staying a few days in San Pedro Atacama. I would love to get recommendations re:Salta from you!

By: fred

fred — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 23:13:05 +0000

To Pramod Taskar: High altitude is not to be trifled with! The best plan is to go lower if its not working out for you. Paradoxically, low Oxygen can cause the very organ of reason, the brain, to malfunction just when you need it most – to make the life-and-death decision to back off and go down. You did the right thing!

By: Pramod Taskar

Pramod Taskar — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 20:36:38 +0000

We had to change our plans even though Shreesh was insisting. Health is wealth and every senior should give more time to adjust to the alttitude.
My wife had different alttitude sickness than mine. She lost her appetite and had bitter taste. Mine was shortness of breath and loss of appetite. At night, all of sudden I used to wake up with the feeling of drowning.
Neena supported my decision of not continuing to see Condors of Colca Canyon and Shreesh and Neena arranged a tour of Paracas, Pisco and Nasca.
And what a change! We could see the beauty of the flatlands where desert meets the ocean. Natural Cathedral and Caves show the power of sea in carving out different structures, a much more enjoyable sight than ruins of Machu Pichu. We got an opportunity of seeing Peruvian Galapogas, island of Bellestas. Mysterious line drawing of Nasca are mind boggling.
We changed for better.
Daddy

By: Michael

Michael — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 10:34:38 +0000

Neena and Shreesh,
Lynn and I just got back home to Pennsylvania after a month in Northwest Argentina, which was fantastic. I just found your site and now I’m enjoying South America (albeit vicariously) all over again. Too bad we couldn’t meet up! Anyway, we based ourselves in Salta, staying at Bloomer’s, which we can heartily recommend. Then we spent about two weeks on the road with a private guide, and another two weeks wandering about by bus on our own. If you are interested, we can recommend some very good side trips. Bolivia would certainly have been great – we heard terrific things about it and crossed the border briefly – but there are more than enough ‘consolation prizes’ in Argentina and Brazil to fill out your itinerary and your scrapbook. As far as the financial crisis here is concerned, I wouldn’t return unless you have some important business you just can’t conduct by phone or e-mail. We’ll just have to hope that Bernie and Barry can sort this one out over the coming months.

By: Neena

Neena — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 00:25:20 +0000

Hello Fred and Jerzy,
This is the conclusion we have come too also…But whether we go for the expensive Antarctica trip now is another matter altogether…
Jerzy, we will be heading into Brazil next, to catch the Pantanal. We will be hitting northern Chile and Argentina, then into Brazil via Foz du Iguazo.
Unless something happens to make us change our plan yet again….

By: Jerzy

Jerzy — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 21:07:37 +0000

So, after all, since you are skipping Bolivia, we may bump into you somewhere. Valparaiso? Punto Arenas? Or yet somewhere else?
And, by all means, don’t cut your trip short because of the Wall Street craziness. At least not for as long as you can get some cash out of the ATM’s.

By: fred

fred — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 16:50:43 +0000

I would recommend continuing your trip. Whatever the status of the economic meltdown here, I’m not sure it would profit you to return until the dust settles. There is little any of us can do at this point save read the ever more horrific new items – which you can do just as easily on your travels.