Sunday June 15th
At about midday we crossed the Irish coast, somewhere near the cliffs of Moher, and with that I was home.
And thats it.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Tour of the eastern seaboard airports
Saturday June 14th
We landed in Atlanta pretty much on time. It was a fairly easy flight, no entertainment, so sleep was actually quite easy.
Even though I was flying straight through to Dublin I still had to do the immigration checks, I was using an internal flight on the way. They were fairly simple though, except for giving a fingerprint it was no more difficult than anyone else. The conversation with the guy in immigration was interesting. He asked for my address, I gave it, and he then says, "Oh Malahide, that's a really nice seaside place, I like it". Yep, he had been there, he said he worked in Dublin (I took this to mean the immigration pre-clearance there), and used to have to go to Ballsbridge as well. He was even able to give me the result of the Lisbon referendum, although even the US papers ended up covering that.
I had 4 hours in Atlanta, and its a nice airport, fairly large, but easy enough to move around. I'd a McDonalds breakfast in one of the most efficient McDonalds I have ever seen, and looked at all the planes taking off. However its not really a plane spotters dream, all the planes are Delta. I refused to pay 35 cents a minute for Internet, mostly because the previous day I had paid 35 cents for 30 minutes.
The second plane, an internal flight to JFK via Dulles, was quite late departing (prompting a quick lunch stop in Seattle Coffee Co - not Starbucks). I may have contributed slightly to the 1 hour 40 minutes delay (maybe 5 minutes) as my mobile phone, or cell as they call it here, fell out of my pocket as we were sitting waiting to board and I had to run back from the plane to get it before it caused a security alert. The flight was a bit bumpy, it was a reasonable sized jet (76 seater), but one of those with engines at the back. For some reason I always feel these are less stable in flight.
We landed in Washington, and again had to get off and reboard for security reasons. We then sat on the runway for another hour due to some of the worst rain I have seen on the trip (and remember I've been to rainforests). The visibility was pretty much zero it was so heavy, and when the lightning came the baggage handlers and refuelrs had to abandon us to seek shelter. Even when the rain cleared we were told we still had to wait because rain in New York had shut down JFK.
Due to all the delays I only had 2 hours in JFK instead of the 5 I had been expecting. This should still have been enough to do the transfer except for the fact that I decided to have dinner in Burger King, for speed, only to discover the slowest BK in the world. They had no systems in place to ensure that orders were being met, unlike the ones in the McDonalds in Atlanta earlier.
Anyway I needn't have worried. As was the standard for the day there were more delays, getting the plane from the hanger to the gate, so we were an hour late getting on the plane. Then the real delay started. It began to rain, and this rain was the worst rain I had seen on the trip (and remember I've been to Dulles). We then had another 2 hours on the stand waiting, all the while with a fuel pump attached, while the weather was deemed too dangerous for the refueling to continue. Nice. And the baggage handling was constantly on again off again as the lightning continued. And even when it all stopped it took another hour to get the refuelling sorted out.
This would have been pretty annoying, but at least this 757 had a decent entertainment system, unlike its sister plane which flies to the poorer continent. I watched all the TV available, but the films just weren't very good, so then I had to move onto the games. Even when we moved off the stand, all that happened was that we joined a queue of over 60 planes waiting to take off. It took 2 more hours to take off.
And if that wasn't enough, we had turbulence after take off, which meant sleeping wa difficult, and dinner ended up at 3am. This is compared to 9pm which it should have been. Thankfully I had gone to Burger King after all, there were people around me who were beginning to get quite hungry. However evertnually this was over and we got a small amount of sleep, before we were woken for breakfast.
We landed in Atlanta pretty much on time. It was a fairly easy flight, no entertainment, so sleep was actually quite easy.
Even though I was flying straight through to Dublin I still had to do the immigration checks, I was using an internal flight on the way. They were fairly simple though, except for giving a fingerprint it was no more difficult than anyone else. The conversation with the guy in immigration was interesting. He asked for my address, I gave it, and he then says, "Oh Malahide, that's a really nice seaside place, I like it". Yep, he had been there, he said he worked in Dublin (I took this to mean the immigration pre-clearance there), and used to have to go to Ballsbridge as well. He was even able to give me the result of the Lisbon referendum, although even the US papers ended up covering that.
I had 4 hours in Atlanta, and its a nice airport, fairly large, but easy enough to move around. I'd a McDonalds breakfast in one of the most efficient McDonalds I have ever seen, and looked at all the planes taking off. However its not really a plane spotters dream, all the planes are Delta. I refused to pay 35 cents a minute for Internet, mostly because the previous day I had paid 35 cents for 30 minutes.
The second plane, an internal flight to JFK via Dulles, was quite late departing (prompting a quick lunch stop in Seattle Coffee Co - not Starbucks). I may have contributed slightly to the 1 hour 40 minutes delay (maybe 5 minutes) as my mobile phone, or cell as they call it here, fell out of my pocket as we were sitting waiting to board and I had to run back from the plane to get it before it caused a security alert. The flight was a bit bumpy, it was a reasonable sized jet (76 seater), but one of those with engines at the back. For some reason I always feel these are less stable in flight.
We landed in Washington, and again had to get off and reboard for security reasons. We then sat on the runway for another hour due to some of the worst rain I have seen on the trip (and remember I've been to rainforests). The visibility was pretty much zero it was so heavy, and when the lightning came the baggage handlers and refuelrs had to abandon us to seek shelter. Even when the rain cleared we were told we still had to wait because rain in New York had shut down JFK.
Due to all the delays I only had 2 hours in JFK instead of the 5 I had been expecting. This should still have been enough to do the transfer except for the fact that I decided to have dinner in Burger King, for speed, only to discover the slowest BK in the world. They had no systems in place to ensure that orders were being met, unlike the ones in the McDonalds in Atlanta earlier.
Anyway I needn't have worried. As was the standard for the day there were more delays, getting the plane from the hanger to the gate, so we were an hour late getting on the plane. Then the real delay started. It began to rain, and this rain was the worst rain I had seen on the trip (and remember I've been to Dulles). We then had another 2 hours on the stand waiting, all the while with a fuel pump attached, while the weather was deemed too dangerous for the refueling to continue. Nice. And the baggage handling was constantly on again off again as the lightning continued. And even when it all stopped it took another hour to get the refuelling sorted out.
This would have been pretty annoying, but at least this 757 had a decent entertainment system, unlike its sister plane which flies to the poorer continent. I watched all the TV available, but the films just weren't very good, so then I had to move onto the games. Even when we moved off the stand, all that happened was that we joined a queue of over 60 planes waiting to take off. It took 2 more hours to take off.
And if that wasn't enough, we had turbulence after take off, which meant sleeping wa difficult, and dinner ended up at 3am. This is compared to 9pm which it should have been. Thankfully I had gone to Burger King after all, there were people around me who were beginning to get quite hungry. However evertnually this was over and we got a small amount of sleep, before we were woken for breakfast.
Monday, June 23, 2008
TerrifiQ
Friday June 13th
Today it is time for me to go home. But not before I decide it is time to make a major change to my travel plans. Up until now I have been planning on going home via Sao Paulo, but it would leave me sitting there for up to 20 hours, and overall it was going to take me over 48 hours to get home. So I decided to jack that in, and find a flight via the US. I found a reasonable flight which was Delta all the way through the US, and would get me home at least 12 hours earlier than the other route.
After doing that my final day in Quito was slightly more compact, so I have to rush doing my task for the day, going up the TeleferiQo. This is yet another cable car up a mountain to get a view of the city (done that before). But this is the biggest of them, going up 1000 meters to look down at Quito from 4050 meters. It really is amazing. If anything the top of it is a bit too high for good views, and the old town area and the basilica are blocked by a hill with mobile phone masts. I only spent 40 minutes at the top, partially because of my tight schedule, and partly because there isn't that much up there, but at $4 even just going straight up and down would be well worth it.
After that I had to get back down, have a big meal in case the airplane food wasn't that great (and I watched a pretty good football match between France and Holland), collect my bags, say goodbye to Marika our tour guide, and Colin our driver, and then it was off to the airport to begin the long journey home.
Quito airport is not the best airport in the world. There is very little to do in the pre check in area (in fact other than toilets there are no facilities at all), and not much after check in either. It is definiely not the best to have to wait around in and as I was waiting for my late booking to be confirmed I had to do a bit of waiting. Because I had left it late to book online, less than 8 hours before take off, I was unable to get confirmation that I was on the flight. In fact because nobody came back to the Delta desk, I never got confirmation, but just ended up checking in anyway. And luckily they let me on.
As this is a flight from a dodgy airport to the worlds biggest target (that is the United States in general, not Atlanta in particular, as far as I know there are no threats to Atlanta itself) there is a lot of security. Not only do the Ecuadorians check your bags, and do it as well as anywhere else, but the airline seems to have to do it as well to satisfy the American's paranoia.
The plane into Quito was delayed 45 minuts which meant an extra 45 minutes in this restaurant wasteland, so it was just as well I ate earlier, but eventually we were off to Guayaquil. This is actually the largest city in Ecuador, and it is on the coast. Because Quito is at altitude the planes can't take off fully loaded with fuel to fly to the States, so we have to stop here. It is a much newer and nicer airport than Quito, but we literally only had to get off the plane and reboard (for security reasons - get used to them) before we were off to the US. I think some people managed to find something to eat, there was a shop selling prawns, and only prawns, but it was after midnight so all I wanted was to get back on board and get to sleep.
Today it is time for me to go home. But not before I decide it is time to make a major change to my travel plans. Up until now I have been planning on going home via Sao Paulo, but it would leave me sitting there for up to 20 hours, and overall it was going to take me over 48 hours to get home. So I decided to jack that in, and find a flight via the US. I found a reasonable flight which was Delta all the way through the US, and would get me home at least 12 hours earlier than the other route.
After doing that my final day in Quito was slightly more compact, so I have to rush doing my task for the day, going up the TeleferiQo. This is yet another cable car up a mountain to get a view of the city (done that before). But this is the biggest of them, going up 1000 meters to look down at Quito from 4050 meters. It really is amazing. If anything the top of it is a bit too high for good views, and the old town area and the basilica are blocked by a hill with mobile phone masts. I only spent 40 minutes at the top, partially because of my tight schedule, and partly because there isn't that much up there, but at $4 even just going straight up and down would be well worth it.
After that I had to get back down, have a big meal in case the airplane food wasn't that great (and I watched a pretty good football match between France and Holland), collect my bags, say goodbye to Marika our tour guide, and Colin our driver, and then it was off to the airport to begin the long journey home.
Quito airport is not the best airport in the world. There is very little to do in the pre check in area (in fact other than toilets there are no facilities at all), and not much after check in either. It is definiely not the best to have to wait around in and as I was waiting for my late booking to be confirmed I had to do a bit of waiting. Because I had left it late to book online, less than 8 hours before take off, I was unable to get confirmation that I was on the flight. In fact because nobody came back to the Delta desk, I never got confirmation, but just ended up checking in anyway. And luckily they let me on.
As this is a flight from a dodgy airport to the worlds biggest target (that is the United States in general, not Atlanta in particular, as far as I know there are no threats to Atlanta itself) there is a lot of security. Not only do the Ecuadorians check your bags, and do it as well as anywhere else, but the airline seems to have to do it as well to satisfy the American's paranoia.
The plane into Quito was delayed 45 minuts which meant an extra 45 minutes in this restaurant wasteland, so it was just as well I ate earlier, but eventually we were off to Guayaquil. This is actually the largest city in Ecuador, and it is on the coast. Because Quito is at altitude the planes can't take off fully loaded with fuel to fly to the States, so we have to stop here. It is a much newer and nicer airport than Quito, but we literally only had to get off the plane and reboard (for security reasons - get used to them) before we were off to the US. I think some people managed to find something to eat, there was a shop selling prawns, and only prawns, but it was after midnight so all I wanted was to get back on board and get to sleep.
Save the best till last
Thursday June 12th
This is the actual last day of the trip. Some people are leaving before the end of the day, and it is all a bit sad. It is like the last day of school. There are some people you may see again, some you may never see again, and some you don't really want to see again. And some you really do.
Anyway before Sara left we went down to the Old Town part of Quito to see the old colonial architecture. We've been to some UNESCO heritage city centres in south America, but this is by far the best (they give out this status a bit easier in South America to prevent local governments from destroying them). The highlight though is actually quite new, the Basilica. It is modelled on Notre Dame, and it is pretty amazing.
We had a nice dinner in a restaurant on the main plaza. It was a bit misleading though, it is described as a balcony restaurant, so we were expecting overlooking the plaza, instead we got overlooking a courtyard in the archbishops palace which is now a food court.
After that it was time to drop Sara off at the airport, before heading to lunch with some of the others. We made our goodbyes then because most of them would be off in the morning, and as I was feeling a bit unwell again (I will be really glad to leave South America and the sickness that it often brought me).
This is the actual last day of the trip. Some people are leaving before the end of the day, and it is all a bit sad. It is like the last day of school. There are some people you may see again, some you may never see again, and some you don't really want to see again. And some you really do.
Anyway before Sara left we went down to the Old Town part of Quito to see the old colonial architecture. We've been to some UNESCO heritage city centres in south America, but this is by far the best (they give out this status a bit easier in South America to prevent local governments from destroying them). The highlight though is actually quite new, the Basilica. It is modelled on Notre Dame, and it is pretty amazing.
We had a nice dinner in a restaurant on the main plaza. It was a bit misleading though, it is described as a balcony restaurant, so we were expecting overlooking the plaza, instead we got overlooking a courtyard in the archbishops palace which is now a food court.
After that it was time to drop Sara off at the airport, before heading to lunch with some of the others. We made our goodbyes then because most of them would be off in the morning, and as I was feeling a bit unwell again (I will be really glad to leave South America and the sickness that it often brought me).
Bye Bye Gaucho
Wednesday June 11th
Today we reach Quito, and say goodbye to Gaucho (our trucks name). Hooray. I think a lot of people are beginning to get a bit sick of travelling about on the truck. I've only done about 7000 km on since Santiago, those who have been on it since Rio have done over 21,500 km. Thats a lot of travel.
So this is our last day on the truck, and our last full day on the tour. We had a bit of time to do some more shopping in Otavalo before we left for Quito. On the way we visited the other Equator monument and took all the obligatory photos.
The traffic was pretty bad in Quito, but eventually we got to our hotel and we were able to have a quick look around the new town section of Quito, which is where we were staying, and which is where all the tourist nightlife is. In fact other than Cusco it is really the most touristy place we have been. It is almost like Kho San Road in Bangkok for the amount of backpackers there. So once again it is like the end of my trip is mirroring the beginning of my trip.
We finally were able to get laundry done, but unfortunately it was too late for some of my stuff, which had suffered too much from getting damp in the rainforest and not being able to dry out. It didn't really matter, I was going to have to leave some stuff out in order to bring home some pressies (and someone elses pressies as well) and this just helped me make the choice.
In the evening we went to a place called Vino y Tapas, an all you can east and drink Wine and Tapas bar. I wasn't looking forward to this, as I don't drink wine, but amazingly they gave free beer for those who didn't drink wine. I will repeat this, for $16 you get all the food you can eat, and all the beer (or wine) you can drink. So a fair bit was drunk, and eaten, before some dancing in a dodgy club. It was a good final night together for the group.
Today we reach Quito, and say goodbye to Gaucho (our trucks name). Hooray. I think a lot of people are beginning to get a bit sick of travelling about on the truck. I've only done about 7000 km on since Santiago, those who have been on it since Rio have done over 21,500 km. Thats a lot of travel.
So this is our last day on the truck, and our last full day on the tour. We had a bit of time to do some more shopping in Otavalo before we left for Quito. On the way we visited the other Equator monument and took all the obligatory photos.
The traffic was pretty bad in Quito, but eventually we got to our hotel and we were able to have a quick look around the new town section of Quito, which is where we were staying, and which is where all the tourist nightlife is. In fact other than Cusco it is really the most touristy place we have been. It is almost like Kho San Road in Bangkok for the amount of backpackers there. So once again it is like the end of my trip is mirroring the beginning of my trip.
We finally were able to get laundry done, but unfortunately it was too late for some of my stuff, which had suffered too much from getting damp in the rainforest and not being able to dry out. It didn't really matter, I was going to have to leave some stuff out in order to bring home some pressies (and someone elses pressies as well) and this just helped me make the choice.
In the evening we went to a place called Vino y Tapas, an all you can east and drink Wine and Tapas bar. I wasn't looking forward to this, as I don't drink wine, but amazingly they gave free beer for those who didn't drink wine. I will repeat this, for $16 you get all the food you can eat, and all the beer (or wine) you can drink. So a fair bit was drunk, and eaten, before some dancing in a dodgy club. It was a good final night together for the group.
Back North
Tuesday June 10th
We left the springs and headed for Otovalo. For weeks this has been built up as the best markets in South America, and while they are good, they are no South East Asian markets (especially the Chatachuk market). Still it did bring me full circle, I visited a big market right at the start to buy all the bits I thought I would need on my travels, and now I visited a big market at the end to buy some presents.
Mind you I did need a bit of help to do it, I'm not really good at presnt buying. So Sara was willing to lend a hand, and I would like to think I helped in her purchase decisions, but lets be honest, I didn't.
One thing to note is that Otovalo is in the Northern Hemisphere, or as I like to call it when the Aussies were around, the better Hemisphere. It is our only night in South America on the correct side of the equator. We did stop at the correct equator today, but we only had time for a few photos. We will go to the incorrect equator tomorrow, the official monument which is slightly inaccurately placed, where we will take more photos.
We left the springs and headed for Otovalo. For weeks this has been built up as the best markets in South America, and while they are good, they are no South East Asian markets (especially the Chatachuk market). Still it did bring me full circle, I visited a big market right at the start to buy all the bits I thought I would need on my travels, and now I visited a big market at the end to buy some presents.
Mind you I did need a bit of help to do it, I'm not really good at presnt buying. So Sara was willing to lend a hand, and I would like to think I helped in her purchase decisions, but lets be honest, I didn't.
One thing to note is that Otovalo is in the Northern Hemisphere, or as I like to call it when the Aussies were around, the better Hemisphere. It is our only night in South America on the correct side of the equator. We did stop at the correct equator today, but we only had time for a few photos. We will go to the incorrect equator tomorrow, the official monument which is slightly inaccurately placed, where we will take more photos.
Upgrade
Monday June 9th
Today we headed to the hot springs at Papallacta. It got a bit messy because in the Lonely Planet it talked about a luxurious resort there, and mentioned nothing else. However when we arrived we were staying in a hostel. It was OK, but its version of a spring was just a swimming pool with hot water, and in fact it was empty when we arrived.
While lunch was being made we wandered up to the other hotel to see what it was like. It was pricey, comparatively, but it was so much better. The rooms had underfloor heating, and the coldness of the rooms in the other place was one of the main complaints. So there was a decision, by some, including me, to upgrade.
It caused a small amount of resentment amongst others, some good natured, some not. We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing in the real hot springs, even though this isn't really me, it was quite enjoyable.
Later we had dinner in the hotel. Everyone ended up having to come up to this hotel for dinner as it was the only decent grub around. However there was still no access to laundry, mostly because of the fact that we are only staying a single night in all locations before Quito. This is becoming a little bit of a problem.
Today we headed to the hot springs at Papallacta. It got a bit messy because in the Lonely Planet it talked about a luxurious resort there, and mentioned nothing else. However when we arrived we were staying in a hostel. It was OK, but its version of a spring was just a swimming pool with hot water, and in fact it was empty when we arrived.
While lunch was being made we wandered up to the other hotel to see what it was like. It was pricey, comparatively, but it was so much better. The rooms had underfloor heating, and the coldness of the rooms in the other place was one of the main complaints. So there was a decision, by some, including me, to upgrade.
It caused a small amount of resentment amongst others, some good natured, some not. We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing in the real hot springs, even though this isn't really me, it was quite enjoyable.
Later we had dinner in the hotel. Everyone ended up having to come up to this hotel for dinner as it was the only decent grub around. However there was still no access to laundry, mostly because of the fact that we are only staying a single night in all locations before Quito. This is becoming a little bit of a problem.
Now this is the best view
Sunday June 8th
Today we finished in the jungle. Or so we thought. It turns out that even though our itinerary had us listed as staying in the town of Tena, we were actually in another jungle lodge about 10k out of town.
Now this wasn't as bad as it sounds, the view from the balcony of the rooms was amazing, beating even Banos for the title of the best ever hotel view. We were on the top of a cliff 100 feet about the river and with the whole Amazon jungle heading off towards the mountains and volcanoes in the West. Combined with an amazing sunset it made sure that the hotel lived up to its name Shangri-La.
The other reason this wasn't as bad as it sounds was that we did actually stop in the town of Tena for some lunch and to use the internet (well we had been without it for 3 whole days). Tena wasn't as good as it sounded in the guidebooks.
The only thing we lacked with our schedule was a laundry. This meant that the stuff that had gotten dirty and wet in the jungle still wasn't able to dry out (it is damp in the rainforests, who knew). The laundry may not make it to the next laundry opportunity without getting ruined.
Today was the birthday of Kenlo, one of the guys on the trip. So the drinking in our new hotel was quite intense for some people, although amazingly I was not one of them. As a present for Kenlo, Jason set us all up watching the Futurama feature file, Bender's Big Score, on his laptop. It was OK, a better movie than the Simpson's movie, but there wasn't enough Zapp Brannigan in the movie for our liking.
Today we finished in the jungle. Or so we thought. It turns out that even though our itinerary had us listed as staying in the town of Tena, we were actually in another jungle lodge about 10k out of town.
Now this wasn't as bad as it sounds, the view from the balcony of the rooms was amazing, beating even Banos for the title of the best ever hotel view. We were on the top of a cliff 100 feet about the river and with the whole Amazon jungle heading off towards the mountains and volcanoes in the West. Combined with an amazing sunset it made sure that the hotel lived up to its name Shangri-La.
The other reason this wasn't as bad as it sounds was that we did actually stop in the town of Tena for some lunch and to use the internet (well we had been without it for 3 whole days). Tena wasn't as good as it sounded in the guidebooks.
The only thing we lacked with our schedule was a laundry. This meant that the stuff that had gotten dirty and wet in the jungle still wasn't able to dry out (it is damp in the rainforests, who knew). The laundry may not make it to the next laundry opportunity without getting ruined.
Today was the birthday of Kenlo, one of the guys on the trip. So the drinking in our new hotel was quite intense for some people, although amazingly I was not one of them. As a present for Kenlo, Jason set us all up watching the Futurama feature file, Bender's Big Score, on his laptop. It was OK, a better movie than the Simpson's movie, but there wasn't enough Zapp Brannigan in the movie for our liking.
Still in the jungle
Saturday June 7th
Today we visited some indigenous families to see how they live. We also got demonstrations on how yuca chicha and ceramics are made. Yuca, also called cassava, is widely used in Ecuadorian cuisine, and is nice enough fried or in bread, but the chicha (home brew) was pretty bad, it tasted like bread. Not as nice as the corn chicha from Peru.
The other 'highlight' of the day was building a raft and sailing it down the Napo river for about an hour and a half. It was very wet and not as fun as it sounds. It is not that hot in this jungle for some reason, and it takes forever to dry out.
And that was about it. As usual in the jungle, the day ended with some beer and cards. And this time some local kids dancing to help distract us.
Today we visited some indigenous families to see how they live. We also got demonstrations on how yuca chicha and ceramics are made. Yuca, also called cassava, is widely used in Ecuadorian cuisine, and is nice enough fried or in bread, but the chicha (home brew) was pretty bad, it tasted like bread. Not as nice as the corn chicha from Peru.
The other 'highlight' of the day was building a raft and sailing it down the Napo river for about an hour and a half. It was very wet and not as fun as it sounds. It is not that hot in this jungle for some reason, and it takes forever to dry out.
And that was about it. As usual in the jungle, the day ended with some beer and cards. And this time some local kids dancing to help distract us.
Who thought this would be fun
Friday June 6th
Today we went on a jungle trek. This involved a 1 hour boat ride, a 3 hour walk (all fine so far) and then a 1 hour wade down a stream at waist height. This last part was not as enjoyable as it sounds.
From a zoology point of view, we didn't see any mammals, and birds were in short supply, but we did see loads of insects and one of the worlds most poisonous frogs. The ants were particularly interesting, and surprising tasty (lemon ants, they did taste a bit sherbety). We also saw a load of plants, and Fausto, our guide, did take time out to do a number of Blue Peter type show and tells where he made all sorts of useful things from the materials lying around in the jungle, including the poison that the locals use in their blowpipes.
After a surprisingly good packed lunch provided to us by the lodge, we headed downstream to visit a museum with loads of indigenous stuff, animal traps, cooking and blowpipes. We had fun trying to hit targets with the blowpipes, they were surprisingly easy to use.
After the museum we headed back and met up with our now recovered sick crew. And in the evening, as well as our usual drink and cards, we also had a visit from the local Shaman, who tried to cure our sick and wounded.
Today we went on a jungle trek. This involved a 1 hour boat ride, a 3 hour walk (all fine so far) and then a 1 hour wade down a stream at waist height. This last part was not as enjoyable as it sounds.
From a zoology point of view, we didn't see any mammals, and birds were in short supply, but we did see loads of insects and one of the worlds most poisonous frogs. The ants were particularly interesting, and surprising tasty (lemon ants, they did taste a bit sherbety). We also saw a load of plants, and Fausto, our guide, did take time out to do a number of Blue Peter type show and tells where he made all sorts of useful things from the materials lying around in the jungle, including the poison that the locals use in their blowpipes.
After a surprisingly good packed lunch provided to us by the lodge, we headed downstream to visit a museum with loads of indigenous stuff, animal traps, cooking and blowpipes. We had fun trying to hit targets with the blowpipes, they were surprisingly easy to use.
After the museum we headed back and met up with our now recovered sick crew. And in the evening, as well as our usual drink and cards, we also had a visit from the local Shaman, who tried to cure our sick and wounded.
A different jungle
Thursday June 5th
Today we went to the jungle. Hooray. I had already had about as much jungle as I cared to see and could have done without it. In fact I volunteered to stay behind looking after the sick, but I was outvoted.
Unlike in Bolivia this time we were pretty much able to drive into the jungle. We got the truck to a landing point, and then we were only a 20 minute boat journey to the lodge we were staying in. In comparison to the one we stayed in when we were in Bolivia, this lodge was luxury. But not as much luxury as the one across the river, which in jungle lodge terms was 5 star accommodation. Our guide told us we were staying there as a joke before we rounded the corner to see ours.
After lunch in the lodge (the accommodation may be better but the cooking isn't quite up to the same level) we went to see animals in an animal sanctuary. These animals are the animals we couldn't see in the jungle because the Ecuadorian jungle is just too developed. All the animals have left years ago. We saw a number of animals, some we had actually seen in the wild, like capybara and monkeys, and some we hadn't seen, like ocelots and some other weird rodents. But we didn't see any sloths or armadillos, which I was sort of holding out for.
The animal sanctuary was a volunteer run organisation, populated mostly by Germans girls. We had a drink with them, and then headed back to our lodge, where we had dinner, drinks, and played cards. Yes one thing this jungle has over the jungle in Bolivia, the easy availability of drink.
Today we went to the jungle. Hooray. I had already had about as much jungle as I cared to see and could have done without it. In fact I volunteered to stay behind looking after the sick, but I was outvoted.
Unlike in Bolivia this time we were pretty much able to drive into the jungle. We got the truck to a landing point, and then we were only a 20 minute boat journey to the lodge we were staying in. In comparison to the one we stayed in when we were in Bolivia, this lodge was luxury. But not as much luxury as the one across the river, which in jungle lodge terms was 5 star accommodation. Our guide told us we were staying there as a joke before we rounded the corner to see ours.
After lunch in the lodge (the accommodation may be better but the cooking isn't quite up to the same level) we went to see animals in an animal sanctuary. These animals are the animals we couldn't see in the jungle because the Ecuadorian jungle is just too developed. All the animals have left years ago. We saw a number of animals, some we had actually seen in the wild, like capybara and monkeys, and some we hadn't seen, like ocelots and some other weird rodents. But we didn't see any sloths or armadillos, which I was sort of holding out for.
The animal sanctuary was a volunteer run organisation, populated mostly by Germans girls. We had a drink with them, and then headed back to our lodge, where we had dinner, drinks, and played cards. Yes one thing this jungle has over the jungle in Bolivia, the easy availability of drink.
Not exactly the day I had planned
Wednesday June 4th
Most everyone else went canyoning, but I didn't really see the point of jumping down waterfalls into pools of water. So I just spent part of the day walking around the town of Banos. It is a really lovely town, or at least its setting is. It is totally surrounded on 4 sides by tall mountains (well a volcano on one side), and it has a river flowing down a deep gorge running through it. And probably most spectacularly of all it has a 100 meter waterfall dropping down one side of the mountains into the town. This happened to be the view we had out of our hotel, probably the best view we have had from any window.
Well me walking around Banos isn't all that happened today. There was a bit of an illness for someone else, and I did end up having to accompanying them to the hospital as there was nobody else around, so I got to see the inside of an Ecuadorian hospital in a tiny little town. And truth be told it was fairly OK. There wasn't as much equipment as you might see at home in even a GPs office, but it was clean and it had enough equipment to do the required tests. And it didn't cost that much. So it was nowhere nearly as bad as it you might have imagined.
Most everyone else went canyoning, but I didn't really see the point of jumping down waterfalls into pools of water. So I just spent part of the day walking around the town of Banos. It is a really lovely town, or at least its setting is. It is totally surrounded on 4 sides by tall mountains (well a volcano on one side), and it has a river flowing down a deep gorge running through it. And probably most spectacularly of all it has a 100 meter waterfall dropping down one side of the mountains into the town. This happened to be the view we had out of our hotel, probably the best view we have had from any window.
Well me walking around Banos isn't all that happened today. There was a bit of an illness for someone else, and I did end up having to accompanying them to the hospital as there was nobody else around, so I got to see the inside of an Ecuadorian hospital in a tiny little town. And truth be told it was fairly OK. There wasn't as much equipment as you might see at home in even a GPs office, but it was clean and it had enough equipment to do the required tests. And it didn't cost that much. So it was nowhere nearly as bad as it you might have imagined.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Puncuated by Punctures
Tuesday June 3rd
Today was a long bus journey to Banos. It was made all the longer by the drama of a big burst on a tyre, and therefore another tyre change. In fairness Colin and Pete are getting faster at doing them, and the rest of us have learnt that it is best just to stay out of their way. Too many cooks and all that.
More worrying was the load of smoke that started pouring out of the engine later. This caused a quick evacuation of the truck, and an appearance from the fire extinguisher. But it seemed like it was just another in the long line of oil leaks, which were supposed to have bene fixed weeks ago.
All this and we were still trying to find whether or not Banos would be there or not. The town of Banos is near a volcano called Tungurahua, which is currently slightly active. That day it was on Orange Alert. We had no idea how serious that was, but it turns out its been like that for a while. Its been a good while since the town was evacuated, although it did get a rattle of the windows only the previous week. Anyway we eventually got to Banos (which literally means bath, and like the town in Enlgand it is the sight of natural spas), although it was dark.
Also today we eventually figured out why the phones weren't working. Ecuador, in its bid to become the 52nd state of the US, seems to be using that stupid frequency that is only used in the States. But at least in the states they use another frequency so tri-band phones will work. To use your phone in Ecuador you need a quad band phone, and I had thought mine was, but it turns out it is only a tri-band like everyone elses.
Today was a long bus journey to Banos. It was made all the longer by the drama of a big burst on a tyre, and therefore another tyre change. In fairness Colin and Pete are getting faster at doing them, and the rest of us have learnt that it is best just to stay out of their way. Too many cooks and all that.
More worrying was the load of smoke that started pouring out of the engine later. This caused a quick evacuation of the truck, and an appearance from the fire extinguisher. But it seemed like it was just another in the long line of oil leaks, which were supposed to have bene fixed weeks ago.
All this and we were still trying to find whether or not Banos would be there or not. The town of Banos is near a volcano called Tungurahua, which is currently slightly active. That day it was on Orange Alert. We had no idea how serious that was, but it turns out its been like that for a while. Its been a good while since the town was evacuated, although it did get a rattle of the windows only the previous week. Anyway we eventually got to Banos (which literally means bath, and like the town in Enlgand it is the sight of natural spas), although it was dark.
Also today we eventually figured out why the phones weren't working. Ecuador, in its bid to become the 52nd state of the US, seems to be using that stupid frequency that is only used in the States. But at least in the states they use another frequency so tri-band phones will work. To use your phone in Ecuador you need a quad band phone, and I had thought mine was, but it turns out it is only a tri-band like everyone elses.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Cuenca
Monday 2nd June
We spent today walking around Cuenca Its a pretty enough town, but no more so than others. The Cathedral is quite impressive, the Museum of Modern Art isn't. Somehow museums in South America just don't measure up.
Cuenca has a decent amount of restaurants and shops but doesn't seem to have too many tourists. The locals do seem much more westernised than in most places in South America, except maybe Miraflores in Lima and Santiago. I think it is the dollar influence. Also the majority of foreigners are US for the first time, definitely a result of the dollar. Its not only tourists, who don't want to have to change money, but even businesses are US owned, I guess because there is no currency risk.
Obviously we are pining for a bit of western efficiency after weeks in South America as we found a really good english language second had bookshop which was owned by a nice American women, and a really good sushi restaurant also US owned. These places had lots of change and knew how to implement good customer service. This is so unlike other businesses in South America which sometimes frustrate you because of their lack of customer service (although not the hotels).
We spent today walking around Cuenca Its a pretty enough town, but no more so than others. The Cathedral is quite impressive, the Museum of Modern Art isn't. Somehow museums in South America just don't measure up.
Cuenca has a decent amount of restaurants and shops but doesn't seem to have too many tourists. The locals do seem much more westernised than in most places in South America, except maybe Miraflores in Lima and Santiago. I think it is the dollar influence. Also the majority of foreigners are US for the first time, definitely a result of the dollar. Its not only tourists, who don't want to have to change money, but even businesses are US owned, I guess because there is no currency risk.
Obviously we are pining for a bit of western efficiency after weeks in South America as we found a really good english language second had bookshop which was owned by a nice American women, and a really good sushi restaurant also US owned. These places had lots of change and knew how to implement good customer service. This is so unlike other businesses in South America which sometimes frustrate you because of their lack of customer service (although not the hotels).
Payback
Sunday June 1st
Today was an early start, and it was even earlier for those of us who were late out last night. Jason wasn't too popular for his extra early wake up call, although ironically the people who it was directed at were the ones who didn't hear him, the rest did. But he was suffering on the road today.
Today was the day we crossed into Ecuador. The border crossing, although still involving a load of different checkpoints, was still quite easy compared to the others. Nothing much happened in this one for once.
The Ecuadorian roads are a lot worse than in Peru, but they aren't the worst. The first dozen service stations we pulled into weren't great, they didn't even have diesel, but eventually we got to one that did. And it only cost a dollar a gallon, which made our driver happy., But what made the rest of us happy is how well the shop at the service station was stocked. It was as good as one here. It beats Peru on that score, so we can take a bit of hardship on the roads. You have never seen a dozen magnum ice creams make people so happy. And spending dollars makes it seem like you are spending a real currency again.
We got to our destination Cuenca which is the third biggest town in Ecuador, and still we couldn't get any mobile coverage. It is a nice looking place, but there is one problem, there are no restaurants open on a Sunday evening. Well luckily there is always one and we were able to find it, but it really was quite deserted, a bit like Christchurch was in New Zealand.
Today was an early start, and it was even earlier for those of us who were late out last night. Jason wasn't too popular for his extra early wake up call, although ironically the people who it was directed at were the ones who didn't hear him, the rest did. But he was suffering on the road today.
Today was the day we crossed into Ecuador. The border crossing, although still involving a load of different checkpoints, was still quite easy compared to the others. Nothing much happened in this one for once.
The Ecuadorian roads are a lot worse than in Peru, but they aren't the worst. The first dozen service stations we pulled into weren't great, they didn't even have diesel, but eventually we got to one that did. And it only cost a dollar a gallon, which made our driver happy., But what made the rest of us happy is how well the shop at the service station was stocked. It was as good as one here. It beats Peru on that score, so we can take a bit of hardship on the roads. You have never seen a dozen magnum ice creams make people so happy. And spending dollars makes it seem like you are spending a real currency again.
We got to our destination Cuenca which is the third biggest town in Ecuador, and still we couldn't get any mobile coverage. It is a nice looking place, but there is one problem, there are no restaurants open on a Sunday evening. Well luckily there is always one and we were able to find it, but it really was quite deserted, a bit like Christchurch was in New Zealand.
An amazing recovery
Saturday May 31st
Today was another beach day in Mancora. So it was again get up late, lie on the beach, walk around, and eat and drink. I guess I really should have looked at the brochure a bit more carefully before signing up for this leg of the tour.
Mind you due to the problems with the malaria tablets I still had no appetite and I did have to come home early from dinner again. However after a couple of hours rest I did suddenly feel better and so when everyone else came home from the pub at midnight, I was well enough to be persuaded by Jason to go out for a couple more.
So we went out from 12 to 2.30. We met quite a few English and Israelis. These and Americans tend to be the youngest travellers you meet, so I think I was the oldest out by a long way.
The best part of the night was a grreat cat fight betwen an English girl and an Irish girl. First a few drinks got chucked, then there was hair pulling and all that. It was good, but unfortunately it did result in the bar being closed for the night and us all having to leave. Also Jason did get splashed by the drinks. I really don't like saying this but the Irish girl looked like a right hard bitch. I wouldn't fancy fighting her.
The night ended with a singsong back in the hotel. Unfortunately the only person singing was Jason, and the rest of the crew, who were fast asleep, weren't too appreciative of it (and it was shouting not singing).
Today was another beach day in Mancora. So it was again get up late, lie on the beach, walk around, and eat and drink. I guess I really should have looked at the brochure a bit more carefully before signing up for this leg of the tour.
Mind you due to the problems with the malaria tablets I still had no appetite and I did have to come home early from dinner again. However after a couple of hours rest I did suddenly feel better and so when everyone else came home from the pub at midnight, I was well enough to be persuaded by Jason to go out for a couple more.
So we went out from 12 to 2.30. We met quite a few English and Israelis. These and Americans tend to be the youngest travellers you meet, so I think I was the oldest out by a long way.
The best part of the night was a grreat cat fight betwen an English girl and an Irish girl. First a few drinks got chucked, then there was hair pulling and all that. It was good, but unfortunately it did result in the bar being closed for the night and us all having to leave. Also Jason did get splashed by the drinks. I really don't like saying this but the Irish girl looked like a right hard bitch. I wouldn't fancy fighting her.
The night ended with a singsong back in the hotel. Unfortunately the only person singing was Jason, and the rest of the crew, who were fast asleep, weren't too appreciative of it (and it was shouting not singing).
Music Madness
Friday 30th May
We had another half day on the beach, meaning we just sat, walked and swam, before we moved to Mancora, another beach resort. The only difference is that his has bars and so has a lot more surfers and assorted hippies hanging around. They are noisy as well.
I was fairly crocked from the malaria tablets which I had started taking again in preparation for going into Ecuador. As a result I had to go to bed early, at 9pm immediately after dinner. I fell asleep immediately and awoke at 2am to have very loud Madonna, U2 and Bon Jovi blaring out of some nearby bar. This went on until 5.30am and so I didn't get all the sleep I needed.
I did however get quite well bitten by the mosquitos. I blame this on not being able to drink because of my medication related illness. The times I have got badly bitten in the past have all been when I have not been drinking. I don't know if this is medially sound but I think drinking may be better than the anti-malaria tablets.
Note, for anyone actually contemplating the drinking instead of tablets appraoch in the tropics, you should note that I was Ok on Malarone, my first set of anti-malaria tablets. It is only now I am on Doxycycline, the only tablets I could get for my extended stay, that I have been feeling ill. The moral of the story, go with what your doctor recommends, not some free tablets you pick up on the street.
We had another half day on the beach, meaning we just sat, walked and swam, before we moved to Mancora, another beach resort. The only difference is that his has bars and so has a lot more surfers and assorted hippies hanging around. They are noisy as well.
I was fairly crocked from the malaria tablets which I had started taking again in preparation for going into Ecuador. As a result I had to go to bed early, at 9pm immediately after dinner. I fell asleep immediately and awoke at 2am to have very loud Madonna, U2 and Bon Jovi blaring out of some nearby bar. This went on until 5.30am and so I didn't get all the sleep I needed.
I did however get quite well bitten by the mosquitos. I blame this on not being able to drink because of my medication related illness. The times I have got badly bitten in the past have all been when I have not been drinking. I don't know if this is medially sound but I think drinking may be better than the anti-malaria tablets.
Note, for anyone actually contemplating the drinking instead of tablets appraoch in the tropics, you should note that I was Ok on Malarone, my first set of anti-malaria tablets. It is only now I am on Doxycycline, the only tablets I could get for my extended stay, that I have been feeling ill. The moral of the story, go with what your doctor recommends, not some free tablets you pick up on the street.
Its not cricket
Thursday May 29th
Today we sat on the beach and played cards, ate and drank. There isn't much else to do on the beach. At least the water was warm enough to swim in this time.
However that evening the beach was invaded by a plague of crickets. There were quite a lot and it was pretty annoying. It didn't really disrupt us too much, although a few got caught in the tents and kept some of us awake.
Today we sat on the beach and played cards, ate and drank. There isn't much else to do on the beach. At least the water was warm enough to swim in this time.
However that evening the beach was invaded by a plague of crickets. There were quite a lot and it was pretty annoying. It didn't really disrupt us too much, although a few got caught in the tents and kept some of us awake.
Watch out for the bumps
Wednesday May 28th
Today was a big long flat journey in the truck to the beach. Well it was flat except for the speed bumps which we hit at speed while I was up in the front of the truck. There are only two jobs to do when you are co-pilot, navigate, and spot speed bumps. We did take a wrong turn once, and hot two speed bumps, so I wasn't really on form today.
Anyway thats basically what we did for the day. We got to the beach in the semi-dark which made setting up our tents on the beach a bit tricky. After that we just had dinner and we sat around drinking.
Today was a big long flat journey in the truck to the beach. Well it was flat except for the speed bumps which we hit at speed while I was up in the front of the truck. There are only two jobs to do when you are co-pilot, navigate, and spot speed bumps. We did take a wrong turn once, and hot two speed bumps, so I wasn't really on form today.
Anyway thats basically what we did for the day. We got to the beach in the semi-dark which made setting up our tents on the beach a bit tricky. After that we just had dinner and we sat around drinking.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Mud glorious mud
Tuesday May 27th
Today we visited Chan Chan and the Temple of the Moon (the Temple of the Sun was closed for repairs). These are large pre-Inca buildings made entirely out of mud. Chan Chan is a big city with temples, streets and houses all made from mud. The Temple of the Moon is more of a pyramid like structure made out of mud bricks.
They were pretty cool, but not all that I had hoped for. The BBC program I had seen Chan Chan on must have had a lot more access to the site than we did. We only saw a small part, and weren't really there for that long, but it was still good.
The Temple of the Moon was better though. This may partially have been because when we got there they were filming some sort of ad for it (or the beer that sponsors the site, we weren't sure). We thought we mightn't be able to get to see it because of the film crew, but instead they actually wanted us to be in the ad, they needed a group of tourists to stand and look interested in what the guide was saying. To sweeten the deal we got a free bottle of water before shooting, and a free bottle of beer afterwards. So maybe thats why it was better.
Anyway after all that we got back to our beach side resort for a late lunch, and then we spent the rest of the day lazing by the pool, and playing pool (and drinking more beer).
Today we visited Chan Chan and the Temple of the Moon (the Temple of the Sun was closed for repairs). These are large pre-Inca buildings made entirely out of mud. Chan Chan is a big city with temples, streets and houses all made from mud. The Temple of the Moon is more of a pyramid like structure made out of mud bricks.
They were pretty cool, but not all that I had hoped for. The BBC program I had seen Chan Chan on must have had a lot more access to the site than we did. We only saw a small part, and weren't really there for that long, but it was still good.
The Temple of the Moon was better though. This may partially have been because when we got there they were filming some sort of ad for it (or the beer that sponsors the site, we weren't sure). We thought we mightn't be able to get to see it because of the film crew, but instead they actually wanted us to be in the ad, they needed a group of tourists to stand and look interested in what the guide was saying. To sweeten the deal we got a free bottle of water before shooting, and a free bottle of beer afterwards. So maybe thats why it was better.
Anyway after all that we got back to our beach side resort for a late lunch, and then we spent the rest of the day lazing by the pool, and playing pool (and drinking more beer).
Best drive so far
Monday May 26th
I should have been home by now. But instead we were driving from Huaraz to Hunachaco, back on the coast.
This is a very long days driving (again) but it is probably the most spectacular in terms of scenery that we have had so far. We were driving down an amazing gorge and we had to go through 47 tunnels (someone else counted not me). It took 4 hours to go down and it was quite bumpy, and even abit scary when passing oncoming trucks. The road was generally only wide enough for one of us, and the sides of the gorge were steep. In fact it took so long to get down that I think by the end we were getting a bit sick of it, despite the scenery never letting up. When we hit the PanAmerican highway and sea level I think we all cheered a little.
In the evening we went to met one of the people who left in Lima and who had travelled up here independently. We went to a really good BBQ place where the food was cooked right in front of us.
I should have been home by now. But instead we were driving from Huaraz to Hunachaco, back on the coast.
This is a very long days driving (again) but it is probably the most spectacular in terms of scenery that we have had so far. We were driving down an amazing gorge and we had to go through 47 tunnels (someone else counted not me). It took 4 hours to go down and it was quite bumpy, and even abit scary when passing oncoming trucks. The road was generally only wide enough for one of us, and the sides of the gorge were steep. In fact it took so long to get down that I think by the end we were getting a bit sick of it, despite the scenery never letting up. When we hit the PanAmerican highway and sea level I think we all cheered a little.
In the evening we went to met one of the people who left in Lima and who had travelled up here independently. We went to a really good BBQ place where the food was cooked right in front of us.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Downhill maniac
Sunday May 25th
Today we tackled some of the adventure challenges that Huarez offers. Specifically we went trekking, ice climbing and downhill mountain biking. The walk and the climb were OK, but the ica wall that we climbed wasn't that impressive looking. It was as big and steep as they prmised, about 14 metres nearly vertical, but it was all dirty looking and didn't really make for good photographs.
You climb the ice wall using ice picks on each hand and crampons on your boots. So you put in the right ice pick, the left ice pick, the right toe, and then the left toe. However I had forgotten about the broken toenail I had sustained playing beach volleyball the week before, so when I began climbing it was right ice pick, left ice pick, right toe, and then aaagh. It was quite painful and so I struggled up the wall. I made it about 90% of the way before I had to give up. And I couldn't do the second one. I was pretty disappointed, but what can you do. If I had remembered to pad my toe I probably would have been OK.
After this and a walk back to our bikes, it was time for downhill mountain biking. The road we were biking down was pretty hairy, there were some steep bits off the side, and the beds were quite sharp, but it was really the fact that the road was so stoney for the fist half. It took a while to get used to how much punishment the bike, and me, could take. But after about 15 minutes myself and Kenlo had it sussed so we took off. We were doing pretty well in keeping up with the guides at this stage, so it then turned into a race. I think it was fairly level.
But then we hit a much flatter road and that is where I took off. I was just using standard cyclign positions, tucking down for downhills, taking corners at low angles etc, but they said I was like a maniac down the hill. I didn't think so, I was being quite careful to make sure I slowed around any blind corners. Anyway I guess I'd have beaten the rest, including the guides, into town by about 10 minutes except I got a puncture about 4 k from home and had to wait 8 miuntes for my support.
We all enjoyed Chilli heaven so much the previous night that a load of us went back again this night. It was almost as good (but never quite, I think its the fact that this time there are expectations where as the previous night there were none).
Today we tackled some of the adventure challenges that Huarez offers. Specifically we went trekking, ice climbing and downhill mountain biking. The walk and the climb were OK, but the ica wall that we climbed wasn't that impressive looking. It was as big and steep as they prmised, about 14 metres nearly vertical, but it was all dirty looking and didn't really make for good photographs.
You climb the ice wall using ice picks on each hand and crampons on your boots. So you put in the right ice pick, the left ice pick, the right toe, and then the left toe. However I had forgotten about the broken toenail I had sustained playing beach volleyball the week before, so when I began climbing it was right ice pick, left ice pick, right toe, and then aaagh. It was quite painful and so I struggled up the wall. I made it about 90% of the way before I had to give up. And I couldn't do the second one. I was pretty disappointed, but what can you do. If I had remembered to pad my toe I probably would have been OK.
After this and a walk back to our bikes, it was time for downhill mountain biking. The road we were biking down was pretty hairy, there were some steep bits off the side, and the beds were quite sharp, but it was really the fact that the road was so stoney for the fist half. It took a while to get used to how much punishment the bike, and me, could take. But after about 15 minutes myself and Kenlo had it sussed so we took off. We were doing pretty well in keeping up with the guides at this stage, so it then turned into a race. I think it was fairly level.
But then we hit a much flatter road and that is where I took off. I was just using standard cyclign positions, tucking down for downhills, taking corners at low angles etc, but they said I was like a maniac down the hill. I didn't think so, I was being quite careful to make sure I slowed around any blind corners. Anyway I guess I'd have beaten the rest, including the guides, into town by about 10 minutes except I got a puncture about 4 k from home and had to wait 8 miuntes for my support.
We all enjoyed Chilli heaven so much the previous night that a load of us went back again this night. It was almost as good (but never quite, I think its the fact that this time there are expectations where as the previous night there were none).
It gets chilli.
Saturday May 24th
This was an early start, as it was a long day on the truck. We were going to Huaraz, the adventure sports capital of Peru. Its not really a pretty town, but it is set in some spectacular scenery. We are back at altitude, so it does get cold again.
Anyway as we spent all day on the truck we didn't really have much to do. We did finally meet the new girls from America, who hadn't actually met up with us before.
Other than that the only thing of note was a very nice meal in a restaurant called Chilli Heaven, where the chillis really did flow.
This was an early start, as it was a long day on the truck. We were going to Huaraz, the adventure sports capital of Peru. Its not really a pretty town, but it is set in some spectacular scenery. We are back at altitude, so it does get cold again.
Anyway as we spent all day on the truck we didn't really have much to do. We did finally meet the new girls from America, who hadn't actually met up with us before.
Other than that the only thing of note was a very nice meal in a restaurant called Chilli Heaven, where the chillis really did flow.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Another free day in Lima
Friday My 23rd
After not having a free day in La Paz, we have two in Lima. Although technically this was teh first day of the next trip. The way it works is that there are a load of 3 week trips from city to city, and people can join of leave at each of these cities. So this time we were losing 6 people from our trip, and gaining 2 new people. Or so we thought. In fact they were supposed to turn up last night, but they could not be found. It caused our tour leader a bit of stress. But luckily they turned up this morning. They had misread the dates and their bus to Lima was an overnight one. So I guess this is why we try to have free days around the changeovers.
As for the rest of us, we basically sad more goodbyes to people leaving. It could have been me.
In between I did a bit of sightseeing to take a few photos with my new camera, and I went to the Inquisition Museum to see all the torture equipment. It wasn't great. Other than that and more internetting I didn't really get much done.
In the evening a few of us went to a tapas place near our hotel for dinner. However it closed at 6, so we had to go to a different restaurant across the road. And that one still closed at 9. It seems to be a common thing for restaurants to close early in the centre of town, which is why we ended up going to Miraflores the previous nights. In fact it was the same in Santiago, so I guess its just one of those things you have to be aware of when in a big town in South America.
After not having a free day in La Paz, we have two in Lima. Although technically this was teh first day of the next trip. The way it works is that there are a load of 3 week trips from city to city, and people can join of leave at each of these cities. So this time we were losing 6 people from our trip, and gaining 2 new people. Or so we thought. In fact they were supposed to turn up last night, but they could not be found. It caused our tour leader a bit of stress. But luckily they turned up this morning. They had misread the dates and their bus to Lima was an overnight one. So I guess this is why we try to have free days around the changeovers.
As for the rest of us, we basically sad more goodbyes to people leaving. It could have been me.
In between I did a bit of sightseeing to take a few photos with my new camera, and I went to the Inquisition Museum to see all the torture equipment. It wasn't great. Other than that and more internetting I didn't really get much done.
In the evening a few of us went to a tapas place near our hotel for dinner. However it closed at 6, so we had to go to a different restaurant across the road. And that one still closed at 9. It seems to be a common thing for restaurants to close early in the centre of town, which is why we ended up going to Miraflores the previous nights. In fact it was the same in Santiago, so I guess its just one of those things you have to be aware of when in a big town in South America.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
The best place to watch Indiana Jones 4?
Thursday May 22nd
Today was a free day in Lima. Technically it is the last day of the tour. I was too busy trying to sort stuff out, new camera flights etc, to do anything really touristy like visit any of the sights. Of course I did sepdn 2 hours in cinema watching Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. It was opening day in Peru, and we were in the first showing of it in a cinema on the main pedestrianised shopping street in Lima, and there were only about 20 people there. It was the English language version though, maybe the Spanish version next dorr had more people in it.
However what made it cool is that is is set in Peru. None of us knew that, so when they started talking about Cusco and Nazca lines and so on we were all looking at each other saying cool, we were only just there. I'm glad I saw it in Peru, rather than waiting until I got home. I'm not going to review the film, but I thought it was pretty good, similar to the others, except for the last 10 minutes which is a bit xfilesish.
One other thing, probably the best thing of all, was the price. 4 Soles, which is just less than a Euro. When you think about how much it costs to see a film in Dublin its best to watch them here.
As I said I didn't see much of Lima, but from what I did see it is a bit weird. It is very noiy or one thing (car horns are beeping everywhere) and there are some weird public behaviours. For example while getting lunch in KFC (some of the other lads were suffering withdrawal symptoms from fast food) I went to look out the window and was treated to the sight of two lads pissing against it. Again on one of the main streets in Lima, not exactly what you would want. (OK this happens in Dublin as well, but at 2am not 2pm).
In the evening we went back to Miraflores for dinner. This was the goodbye dinner for some of the group but it turned into a bit of a fiasco. The taxi drivers didn't know where to take us, they took us to the wrong restaurant, and the traffic was very busy. We should have been (and eventually were) in a shopping centre called Larco Mar which is probably more western than most Irish shopping centres. It was an amazing design, etched into a cliff overlooking the ocean, and it had all the big name chains there. But we were in a local fish restaurant which was amazing, if a bit slow in serving.
The biggest part of the fiasco was after dinner when we tried to have a last drink with our departing comrades. We struggled with the choice of watering holes available in this complex, and in the end after two hours of debate, and 5 bars, we only had one drink before we headed home. Sometimes we are better off in the small towns where there is less choice and we only have ourselves to entertain us rather than having us look or the happening place.
Today was a free day in Lima. Technically it is the last day of the tour. I was too busy trying to sort stuff out, new camera flights etc, to do anything really touristy like visit any of the sights. Of course I did sepdn 2 hours in cinema watching Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. It was opening day in Peru, and we were in the first showing of it in a cinema on the main pedestrianised shopping street in Lima, and there were only about 20 people there. It was the English language version though, maybe the Spanish version next dorr had more people in it.
However what made it cool is that is is set in Peru. None of us knew that, so when they started talking about Cusco and Nazca lines and so on we were all looking at each other saying cool, we were only just there. I'm glad I saw it in Peru, rather than waiting until I got home. I'm not going to review the film, but I thought it was pretty good, similar to the others, except for the last 10 minutes which is a bit xfilesish.
One other thing, probably the best thing of all, was the price. 4 Soles, which is just less than a Euro. When you think about how much it costs to see a film in Dublin its best to watch them here.
As I said I didn't see much of Lima, but from what I did see it is a bit weird. It is very noiy or one thing (car horns are beeping everywhere) and there are some weird public behaviours. For example while getting lunch in KFC (some of the other lads were suffering withdrawal symptoms from fast food) I went to look out the window and was treated to the sight of two lads pissing against it. Again on one of the main streets in Lima, not exactly what you would want. (OK this happens in Dublin as well, but at 2am not 2pm).
In the evening we went back to Miraflores for dinner. This was the goodbye dinner for some of the group but it turned into a bit of a fiasco. The taxi drivers didn't know where to take us, they took us to the wrong restaurant, and the traffic was very busy. We should have been (and eventually were) in a shopping centre called Larco Mar which is probably more western than most Irish shopping centres. It was an amazing design, etched into a cliff overlooking the ocean, and it had all the big name chains there. But we were in a local fish restaurant which was amazing, if a bit slow in serving.
The biggest part of the fiasco was after dinner when we tried to have a last drink with our departing comrades. We struggled with the choice of watering holes available in this complex, and in the end after two hours of debate, and 5 bars, we only had one drink before we headed home. Sometimes we are better off in the small towns where there is less choice and we only have ourselves to entertain us rather than having us look or the happening place.
Lima bound but no pictures
Wednesday May 21st
Today we headed off for Lima. But I made a horrible discovery, I couldn't find my camera. A quick check of the camp site turned up empty. I had last had it at about 5pm by the pool, and I guss it went AWOL while sitting around in the dark. There were other travellers and staff all around the campsite, so I have no idea what happened. When I went to bed I thought I had put it in my bag earlier that evening, but obviously not.
Interestingly my Israeli shadowers were at the camp site. Not making any accusations but these guys have been following us since the jungle 3 weeks prior. They popped up in 3 locations since. Its not paranoia, but as the saying goes "once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, three times is enemy action" (from Goldfinger).
Anyway we headed to Lima, but not before a trip to the Ballestas isands. These are islands that are covered in Bird Shit. Wars have been fought over them for control of the nitrate deposits, and they are very smelly.
We saw a fair bit of wildlife, sealions, bats, loads of birds and even some penguins. But I haev no photos (actually I lost about a weeks worth of photos as I hadn't backed up in a while but I can get some back from others on the trip).
Then it was onto Lima while getting updates on the Champions League final by text. The fact that ManU won for me, plus some people were on their last truck journey before leaving in Lima, meant there was a party athmosphere on the truck, and a lot of drink.
Lima is big, the biggest city I've been in since Bangkok. It is pretty westernised too. We went out for dinner to Miraflores, which is a rich suburb away from the centre where we were staying. But I think the drink on board the truck meant the others couldn't really stay out late, although I was up for it.
Today we headed off for Lima. But I made a horrible discovery, I couldn't find my camera. A quick check of the camp site turned up empty. I had last had it at about 5pm by the pool, and I guss it went AWOL while sitting around in the dark. There were other travellers and staff all around the campsite, so I have no idea what happened. When I went to bed I thought I had put it in my bag earlier that evening, but obviously not.
Interestingly my Israeli shadowers were at the camp site. Not making any accusations but these guys have been following us since the jungle 3 weeks prior. They popped up in 3 locations since. Its not paranoia, but as the saying goes "once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, three times is enemy action" (from Goldfinger).
Anyway we headed to Lima, but not before a trip to the Ballestas isands. These are islands that are covered in Bird Shit. Wars have been fought over them for control of the nitrate deposits, and they are very smelly.
We saw a fair bit of wildlife, sealions, bats, loads of birds and even some penguins. But I haev no photos (actually I lost about a weeks worth of photos as I hadn't backed up in a while but I can get some back from others on the trip).
Then it was onto Lima while getting updates on the Champions League final by text. The fact that ManU won for me, plus some people were on their last truck journey before leaving in Lima, meant there was a party athmosphere on the truck, and a lot of drink.
Lima is big, the biggest city I've been in since Bangkok. It is pretty westernised too. We went out for dinner to Miraflores, which is a rich suburb away from the centre where we were staying. But I think the drink on board the truck meant the others couldn't really stay out late, although I was up for it.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Oasis in the desert
Tuesday May 20th
A short journey today, less than 3 hours, to Huacachina our target destination the previous night. We even managed to stop at a tower to view more Nazca lines. You get a bit of a view but not much better than teh planes.
Huacachina is literally an oasis in the desert. A little lake nestled in amongst monsterous sand dunes. Most of the rest went off to do sandboarding, but I needed to do some work on the internet to extend my trip. I just about got it done as the interent place closed at 3pm (normally they are immune to siesta) so I had to head back to our hotel and laze around the pool waiting for the others to come back. That is pretty much all we did for the rest of the night.
A short journey today, less than 3 hours, to Huacachina our target destination the previous night. We even managed to stop at a tower to view more Nazca lines. You get a bit of a view but not much better than teh planes.
Huacachina is literally an oasis in the desert. A little lake nestled in amongst monsterous sand dunes. Most of the rest went off to do sandboarding, but I needed to do some work on the internet to extend my trip. I just about got it done as the interent place closed at 3pm (normally they are immune to siesta) so I had to head back to our hotel and laze around the pool waiting for the others to come back. That is pretty much all we did for the rest of the night.
Safe Flying
Monday May 19th
Today we had a half day journey to Nasca where we were supposed to get a 2 O'Clock flight to see the famous lines. But due to typical South American efficiency, it was nearly 3.30 when we took off in our 6 seater single engined plane. We weren't sure why the delay bu it managed to annoy us all.
The flight itself was OK (for me). There i no other way of seeing the lines but in order to see them the pilot does a lot of acrobatics. It makes it a bit of a job to hold in lunch. But I was OK. The figures themselves are a bit hard to see at some points, you have to be almost directly over them. I did miss a couple of them. Some of them were OK though, but photos were a bit hit and miss (mostly miss).
I said I wasn't ill, but I did nearly chuck it when I saw Jono take the controls. Now I know he has a pilots licence and is trained in single engine prop craft, but we were on a commercial flight and he does't have a commercial licence. In no way should the pilot haev offered him the controls.
I was furious, not really with Jono, who just took an opportunity when he was offered it, without thinking of the consequences (sound familiar). No my fury was at the pilot but I was hardly in a position to do anything until we landed. In the end I just went to Marika the tour leader and said they should seriously think about using these guys for flights as they are obviously unsafe. There wasn't much else I can do, except to say do not use Aero Condor for Nazca flights.
We ended the night playing pool and table tennis in Nazca (all the commotion and delays meant it was too late to move on to our intended destination, so we camped in Nazca. It worked pretty well.
Today was also the day on which I got the bright idea of extending my trip by a couple of weeks to Quito. I had already decided not to go to Rio, and was actually coming home a week early, but once I made sure I could afford it, I thought why not stay. I want to see some of Northern Peru, and Ecuador sounds nice too.
Today we had a half day journey to Nasca where we were supposed to get a 2 O'Clock flight to see the famous lines. But due to typical South American efficiency, it was nearly 3.30 when we took off in our 6 seater single engined plane. We weren't sure why the delay bu it managed to annoy us all.
The flight itself was OK (for me). There i no other way of seeing the lines but in order to see them the pilot does a lot of acrobatics. It makes it a bit of a job to hold in lunch. But I was OK. The figures themselves are a bit hard to see at some points, you have to be almost directly over them. I did miss a couple of them. Some of them were OK though, but photos were a bit hit and miss (mostly miss).
I said I wasn't ill, but I did nearly chuck it when I saw Jono take the controls. Now I know he has a pilots licence and is trained in single engine prop craft, but we were on a commercial flight and he does't have a commercial licence. In no way should the pilot haev offered him the controls.
I was furious, not really with Jono, who just took an opportunity when he was offered it, without thinking of the consequences (sound familiar). No my fury was at the pilot but I was hardly in a position to do anything until we landed. In the end I just went to Marika the tour leader and said they should seriously think about using these guys for flights as they are obviously unsafe. There wasn't much else I can do, except to say do not use Aero Condor for Nazca flights.
We ended the night playing pool and table tennis in Nazca (all the commotion and delays meant it was too late to move on to our intended destination, so we camped in Nazca. It worked pretty well.
Today was also the day on which I got the bright idea of extending my trip by a couple of weeks to Quito. I had already decided not to go to Rio, and was actually coming home a week early, but once I made sure I could afford it, I thought why not stay. I want to see some of Northern Peru, and Ecuador sounds nice too.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Beach day
Sunday May 18th
Today was a free day at Puerte Inca, our resort campsite. And except for a brief walk up the rocks to see some ruins which were there, and some penguins which were not, we did little else. There was a fair bit of sitting by the pool, which as readers of old will know is not my favourite activity, but for once it was enjoyable.
We did try to liven it up by playing a bit of beach volleyball. Besides the fact that we all sucked, I did managed to smap off half a toenail at one point when diving for a ball. But that was about the extent of effort on this day.
The evening finished off in a similar fashion to the previous night, drinking around the campfire, although without the dodgy clothes, and the other tour group, who had left.
Today was a free day at Puerte Inca, our resort campsite. And except for a brief walk up the rocks to see some ruins which were there, and some penguins which were not, we did little else. There was a fair bit of sitting by the pool, which as readers of old will know is not my favourite activity, but for once it was enjoyable.
We did try to liven it up by playing a bit of beach volleyball. Besides the fact that we all sucked, I did managed to smap off half a toenail at one point when diving for a ball. But that was about the extent of effort on this day.
The evening finished off in a similar fashion to the previous night, drinking around the campfire, although without the dodgy clothes, and the other tour group, who had left.
Sweet sea level
Saturday May 17th
All our problems for the last 4 weeks have been blamed on the altitude (well not last nights issues), but from today we are no longer able to use this excuse. Today we are back at sea level. It was a fairly OK drive as we are now on the PanAmerican highway. The drive was mostly through desert and wasteland until we came around a corner and saw the sea. At this point pretty much everybody on the bus cheered. Mind you it was a bit weird, as it was also a place where a tsunami wiped out a town.
We lunched by the sea and then continued on with the sea on one side, and desert on the other, to our campsite which was also by the sea. Literally. Our tents were no more than 10 metres from the sea, in a nice cove. There was a hotel nearby as well so we could get some beers.
That evening we had a bad taste party, basically where everyone is dressed up in bad taste by someone else. I had a sarong and frilly blouse bought for me, but it was too chilly to wear except over my tracksuit. We stayed up quite late partying around our campfire, and we were joined by some colleagues from another tour, an overland truck from Toucan tours going in the opposite direction.
All our problems for the last 4 weeks have been blamed on the altitude (well not last nights issues), but from today we are no longer able to use this excuse. Today we are back at sea level. It was a fairly OK drive as we are now on the PanAmerican highway. The drive was mostly through desert and wasteland until we came around a corner and saw the sea. At this point pretty much everybody on the bus cheered. Mind you it was a bit weird, as it was also a place where a tsunami wiped out a town.
We lunched by the sea and then continued on with the sea on one side, and desert on the other, to our campsite which was also by the sea. Literally. Our tents were no more than 10 metres from the sea, in a nice cove. There was a hotel nearby as well so we could get some beers.
That evening we had a bad taste party, basically where everyone is dressed up in bad taste by someone else. I had a sarong and frilly blouse bought for me, but it was too chilly to wear except over my tracksuit. We stayed up quite late partying around our campfire, and we were joined by some colleagues from another tour, an overland truck from Toucan tours going in the opposite direction.
No title can describe this
Friday 16th May
Today was a free day in Arequipa. It is a really nice town, in the centre at least. Obviously on foot it is hard to venture out to the suburbs. Actually most of the group went on a reality tour (also called a slum tour) which enabled them to see the real poverty in the city. They seemed to enjoy it, but I cried off the tour citing the cold which I have had for a few days as an excuse. Nothing to do with the fact that it was quite a late night last night.
Anyway while they were away Sara and I took in some sights, bumped into Fiona again, had some coffee and found an Alpaca museum, which was really good. It showed us all the parts involved in making the various Alpaca clothing we have seen, and also showed us some Vicuna wool. This wool is so expensive that a scarf costs $600. Its the first time I have seen scarves locked in display cases like jewelry.
After the Alpaca museum, we went for a really good lunch in a rooftop terrace restaurant overlooking the square. It was a pretty spectacular setting with the Cathedral and mountains providing a dramatic backdrop.
After lunch it was off to see Juanita. She is a frozen mummy, a girl of about 14 who had been sacrificed by the Incas 500 years ago. She had been found not too far from Arequipa and is probably the most famous inhabitant. It was a good museum tour, and we had the campest museum tour guide showing us around. We ran into our stalkers, Fiona and Ail, again.
After doing a small amount of shopping (for a party we were having the next night) we headed back to the hotel and had some drinks on the lawn. I had a few beers and was fine until I went up to the room to get something or other. When I get there who do I find but Jono and the 2 local slappers all on his bed (not naked but getting there). I was pretty shocked and left again in a hurry - for the rum the rest of them were drinking. Of course as I left so quickly I forgot something, so I had to head back. This time the lights were off and one of them was now in my bed (please no jokes about joining in - they were barely 18). At that point I got fairly annoyed. His own bed is one thing but mine is another.
At this point it all got a bit messy. Somehow our tour leader got wind of this, and decided it was a security risk for my stuff to be in that room with those girls, so she got the hotel staff to evict them. To be honest I was never worried for my stuff too much (although in hindsight I probably should have been), I was just wondering where I was going to be able to sleep later. Luckily there were spare beds in some of the other rooms so I was able to bunk there for the night.
Now all this was before dinner, not after. After my beers I did start hitting the rum, so by the time dinner came along I was well drunk. Hence I had no idea what I had for dinner (although I have since been told by others). It was a messy end to the night, worse for my new room mates as due to my drunkenness and cold I did snore a bit.
I'm not trying to excuse my drunkenness, but of all the freaky things that have happened on this trip, this has to be the weirdest, hence I did have to have a few drinks to calm down.
Today was a free day in Arequipa. It is a really nice town, in the centre at least. Obviously on foot it is hard to venture out to the suburbs. Actually most of the group went on a reality tour (also called a slum tour) which enabled them to see the real poverty in the city. They seemed to enjoy it, but I cried off the tour citing the cold which I have had for a few days as an excuse. Nothing to do with the fact that it was quite a late night last night.
Anyway while they were away Sara and I took in some sights, bumped into Fiona again, had some coffee and found an Alpaca museum, which was really good. It showed us all the parts involved in making the various Alpaca clothing we have seen, and also showed us some Vicuna wool. This wool is so expensive that a scarf costs $600. Its the first time I have seen scarves locked in display cases like jewelry.
After the Alpaca museum, we went for a really good lunch in a rooftop terrace restaurant overlooking the square. It was a pretty spectacular setting with the Cathedral and mountains providing a dramatic backdrop.
After lunch it was off to see Juanita. She is a frozen mummy, a girl of about 14 who had been sacrificed by the Incas 500 years ago. She had been found not too far from Arequipa and is probably the most famous inhabitant. It was a good museum tour, and we had the campest museum tour guide showing us around. We ran into our stalkers, Fiona and Ail, again.
After doing a small amount of shopping (for a party we were having the next night) we headed back to the hotel and had some drinks on the lawn. I had a few beers and was fine until I went up to the room to get something or other. When I get there who do I find but Jono and the 2 local slappers all on his bed (not naked but getting there). I was pretty shocked and left again in a hurry - for the rum the rest of them were drinking. Of course as I left so quickly I forgot something, so I had to head back. This time the lights were off and one of them was now in my bed (please no jokes about joining in - they were barely 18). At that point I got fairly annoyed. His own bed is one thing but mine is another.
At this point it all got a bit messy. Somehow our tour leader got wind of this, and decided it was a security risk for my stuff to be in that room with those girls, so she got the hotel staff to evict them. To be honest I was never worried for my stuff too much (although in hindsight I probably should have been), I was just wondering where I was going to be able to sleep later. Luckily there were spare beds in some of the other rooms so I was able to bunk there for the night.
Now all this was before dinner, not after. After my beers I did start hitting the rum, so by the time dinner came along I was well drunk. Hence I had no idea what I had for dinner (although I have since been told by others). It was a messy end to the night, worse for my new room mates as due to my drunkenness and cold I did snore a bit.
I'm not trying to excuse my drunkenness, but of all the freaky things that have happened on this trip, this has to be the weirdest, hence I did have to have a few drinks to calm down.
Colca Canyon
Thursday 15th May
It was an early start for the Colca Canyon tour. The reason for the early start, we were off to see some condors. Unlike other animals on this trip they didn't disappoint. We went to a viewing point called Cruz de Condor at 9am, and as if on some schedule they appeared. It was pretty impressive seeing them soaring about, although there were so many people there it felt more like an amusement park that wildlife viewing.
The condors may have been amazing, but the canyon itself was a bit disappointing. It was not as sepctacular as I expected. After all this is a deeper canyon than the Grand Canyon itself (and not even the biggest in the world, there is another nearby even deeper). I don't know why, something to do with the perspective effect from the mountains behind, but it didn't appear to outdo the Grand Canyon. That was my opinion and I haven't been there, but those on the trip who have been to the Grand Canyon felt the same.
The only good thing is that it finally warmed up after last nights coldness. Of course the warmness was helped by the fact that we lunched at hot springs, where most of us (even me) took a dip. They weren't too hot, but at least they weren't that smelly.
After that it was off to Arequipa. It wasn't as long a drive as some of the others, and it was on a better road. We hit the high point of the whole tour on this trip, a pass at 4,900 metres. We got out at that point and looked around. The number of piles of stones for Pachamama was amazing (the local mother earth goddess, who is honoured by piles of stones at mountain passes). I did add a stone to one and made my wish.
Then it was downhill to Arequipa. This is the largest city we have been in since Santiago. We got all the usual safety warnings, but it seemed quite nice. A group of us went out to get a kebab for dinner and so were walking along looking in kebab shops when we saw Ali and Fiona from our Lares team. Its a small world in South America. Stupidly we didn't go into the little kebab cafe they were in and instead went for a big kebab restaurant. The food in our place was really good, but the service was terrible. Nobody got a drink before their food, and some drinks even arrived after the food had been finished. We wanted those drinks free, but instead the restaurant offered Zambuka shots as compensation. As we didn't order these we left them in protest, a tough decision.
After dinner we went to a night club called Deja Vu where there was a live band playing. There was a lot of dancing. My roomie, Jono, pulled two local birds, but before I headed off he did give me most of his money and his credit cards, just in case he was getting in over his head.
It was an early start for the Colca Canyon tour. The reason for the early start, we were off to see some condors. Unlike other animals on this trip they didn't disappoint. We went to a viewing point called Cruz de Condor at 9am, and as if on some schedule they appeared. It was pretty impressive seeing them soaring about, although there were so many people there it felt more like an amusement park that wildlife viewing.
The condors may have been amazing, but the canyon itself was a bit disappointing. It was not as sepctacular as I expected. After all this is a deeper canyon than the Grand Canyon itself (and not even the biggest in the world, there is another nearby even deeper). I don't know why, something to do with the perspective effect from the mountains behind, but it didn't appear to outdo the Grand Canyon. That was my opinion and I haven't been there, but those on the trip who have been to the Grand Canyon felt the same.
The only good thing is that it finally warmed up after last nights coldness. Of course the warmness was helped by the fact that we lunched at hot springs, where most of us (even me) took a dip. They weren't too hot, but at least they weren't that smelly.
After that it was off to Arequipa. It wasn't as long a drive as some of the others, and it was on a better road. We hit the high point of the whole tour on this trip, a pass at 4,900 metres. We got out at that point and looked around. The number of piles of stones for Pachamama was amazing (the local mother earth goddess, who is honoured by piles of stones at mountain passes). I did add a stone to one and made my wish.
Then it was downhill to Arequipa. This is the largest city we have been in since Santiago. We got all the usual safety warnings, but it seemed quite nice. A group of us went out to get a kebab for dinner and so were walking along looking in kebab shops when we saw Ali and Fiona from our Lares team. Its a small world in South America. Stupidly we didn't go into the little kebab cafe they were in and instead went for a big kebab restaurant. The food in our place was really good, but the service was terrible. Nobody got a drink before their food, and some drinks even arrived after the food had been finished. We wanted those drinks free, but instead the restaurant offered Zambuka shots as compensation. As we didn't order these we left them in protest, a tough decision.
After dinner we went to a night club called Deja Vu where there was a live band playing. There was a lot of dancing. My roomie, Jono, pulled two local birds, but before I headed off he did give me most of his money and his credit cards, just in case he was getting in over his head.
Still Recovering
Wednesday May 14th
Most people still looked like they were recovering from the exertions of Cusco (the trekking or the partying, you decide) today. We were travelling from Cusco to Chivay and it was a usual truck day, long boring and bumpy. We did reach a new high point as well, at 4,800 metres.
Still we were doing well enough time wise until about 5Km from our destination we got a puncture. It took an hour to sort out, as it turned out the rim of the wheel suffered structural damage, and it was freezing standing around while the spare was put on.
When we eventually got to Chivay it was still cold so we went to a restaurant that promised and open fire. There was one, but it was tiny, a couple of matches wopuld provide as much heat. Still the meal was excellent value, the best in Peru so far. The women who owned the restaurant was a Kamuka groupie, she actually had baby clothes for her kid with Kamuka on them. Slightly strange.
The only disappointment with Chivay, the Irish pub was closed. To put this in context, Chivay is a tiny town with less than 5,000 inhabitants. The fact that it had an Irish pub was used as proof that they get everywhere. But apparently they can't always survive.
One final thing, to tell how cold it was in Chivay, when we got back to our hotel they guy was giving out hot water bottles because that is how cold it gets.
Most people still looked like they were recovering from the exertions of Cusco (the trekking or the partying, you decide) today. We were travelling from Cusco to Chivay and it was a usual truck day, long boring and bumpy. We did reach a new high point as well, at 4,800 metres.
Still we were doing well enough time wise until about 5Km from our destination we got a puncture. It took an hour to sort out, as it turned out the rim of the wheel suffered structural damage, and it was freezing standing around while the spare was put on.
When we eventually got to Chivay it was still cold so we went to a restaurant that promised and open fire. There was one, but it was tiny, a couple of matches wopuld provide as much heat. Still the meal was excellent value, the best in Peru so far. The women who owned the restaurant was a Kamuka groupie, she actually had baby clothes for her kid with Kamuka on them. Slightly strange.
The only disappointment with Chivay, the Irish pub was closed. To put this in context, Chivay is a tiny town with less than 5,000 inhabitants. The fact that it had an Irish pub was used as proof that they get everywhere. But apparently they can't always survive.
One final thing, to tell how cold it was in Chivay, when we got back to our hotel they guy was giving out hot water bottles because that is how cold it gets.
Another bit of a waste
Tuesday May 13th
Well obviously after such a long day the previous day a lot of this day was spent just relaxing around Cusco. It was very similar to the last wated day, just slightly different restaurants and pubs involved. Also I did try to go to a couple of museums, but they were a bit disappointing. We did meet up with some of the Inca Trail people and swap stories and look at photos. Our snow photos were particularly popular.
And that basically was that.
Well obviously after such a long day the previous day a lot of this day was spent just relaxing around Cusco. It was very similar to the last wated day, just slightly different restaurants and pubs involved. Also I did try to go to a couple of museums, but they were a bit disappointing. We did meet up with some of the Inca Trail people and swap stories and look at photos. Our snow photos were particularly popular.
And that basically was that.
Machu Picchu
Monday May 12th
We got up early for Machu Picchu. A 4.30 wake up call in fact. The hostel actually provided breakfast for us at that ungodly hour. Then we set of to get the first bus up to Machu Picchu. Jose, our guide had said we needed to be at the bus stop just before 5.15 to get the first bus. So at 5.14 we arrived, and got in the queue. We were only 10 from the front and so we were going to get on the first bus. Jose really was right though, by 5.17 if we had arrived we would have been on the third bus.
Anyway the ascent up to Machu Picchu from Aguas Calientas is prtetty cool, another trademark South American switchback road. But it was pre-dawn and raining so the view was not as good. We were there before 6 and pretty high up in the queue (the people staying in the actual Machu Picchu hotel did get in the queue before the first bus arrived). Still thanks to Jose we actually got to a really good place for first light photos. Still it was quite cloudy when we arrived and we didn't think we would get many good photos, but then just before dawn the clouds parted and we were treated with the sight of Machu Picchu in all its glory. It was amazing.
After a while taking our postcard pictures, we headed off on a tour and had Jose explain everything to us. Like all our guides in Peru he knew his stuff. The only pity was that the weather began to close in on us again. The rest of the group wanted to climb Huayna Picchu, a hill overlooking the town that gives a great view normally, but I didn't think there would be much of a view with the weather, and so I just took a few photos of other bits and got Sara lost while looking for the exit. We eventually found our way back out, and got the bus back to town. We could have walked like most others, but it was too wet.
When we got back to the town we had the best bowl of soup I have had in a loing time. Probably because I was so wet. Got to say it wasn't the best day for seeing Machu Picchu but it was still great.
As we had got to Machu POicchu early we were heading back to Cusco early as well, on a train at 1.37. As we waited for it we began seeing our Inca Trail colleagues who had got there after we did and had now come down off the mountain. So we got a few stories swapped before we got away.
The train and bus journey home was intersting only for the fashion show that they gave us on the train. the steward and stewardess after giving out the snacks started dressing in all these llama or alpaca clothes and parading them up and down the train in order to get us to buy them. All the stewardess managed to get though was her photo taken 100s of time by a few dodgy looking Russians on the carriage. They were also the same guys who bumped into my back as I was taking a drink from my water bottle causing me to get the tiniest chip in one of my teeth.
When we got back to Cusco it was shower and shave time, followed b y a quick sleep. That evening the 6 of us from the Lares group arranged to have a group meal, and they kindly allowed me to bring along Clare and Paul who were also in town that night before they departed for the Sacred Valley. It was great seeing them and comparing notes since we last met in Santiago.
The night actually turned into quite a session. We met Jose in the Irish pub, and he dragged us off to a number of local clubs. Clare and Paul sensibly didn't get dragged beyond the Irish bar, they did have to get up early after all, and in the end the others from Lares did leave early as well. So in the end it was just the 3 from Kamuka Lares, Jason, the one person from the Kamuka Inca Trail who made it out when they got back (at about 10 to be fair) and Jose.
In the end we did do the 24 hour challenge, we got up at 4.30 am and we stayed out until 4.30 am.
We got up early for Machu Picchu. A 4.30 wake up call in fact. The hostel actually provided breakfast for us at that ungodly hour. Then we set of to get the first bus up to Machu Picchu. Jose, our guide had said we needed to be at the bus stop just before 5.15 to get the first bus. So at 5.14 we arrived, and got in the queue. We were only 10 from the front and so we were going to get on the first bus. Jose really was right though, by 5.17 if we had arrived we would have been on the third bus.
Anyway the ascent up to Machu Picchu from Aguas Calientas is prtetty cool, another trademark South American switchback road. But it was pre-dawn and raining so the view was not as good. We were there before 6 and pretty high up in the queue (the people staying in the actual Machu Picchu hotel did get in the queue before the first bus arrived). Still thanks to Jose we actually got to a really good place for first light photos. Still it was quite cloudy when we arrived and we didn't think we would get many good photos, but then just before dawn the clouds parted and we were treated with the sight of Machu Picchu in all its glory. It was amazing.
After a while taking our postcard pictures, we headed off on a tour and had Jose explain everything to us. Like all our guides in Peru he knew his stuff. The only pity was that the weather began to close in on us again. The rest of the group wanted to climb Huayna Picchu, a hill overlooking the town that gives a great view normally, but I didn't think there would be much of a view with the weather, and so I just took a few photos of other bits and got Sara lost while looking for the exit. We eventually found our way back out, and got the bus back to town. We could have walked like most others, but it was too wet.
When we got back to the town we had the best bowl of soup I have had in a loing time. Probably because I was so wet. Got to say it wasn't the best day for seeing Machu Picchu but it was still great.
As we had got to Machu POicchu early we were heading back to Cusco early as well, on a train at 1.37. As we waited for it we began seeing our Inca Trail colleagues who had got there after we did and had now come down off the mountain. So we got a few stories swapped before we got away.
The train and bus journey home was intersting only for the fashion show that they gave us on the train. the steward and stewardess after giving out the snacks started dressing in all these llama or alpaca clothes and parading them up and down the train in order to get us to buy them. All the stewardess managed to get though was her photo taken 100s of time by a few dodgy looking Russians on the carriage. They were also the same guys who bumped into my back as I was taking a drink from my water bottle causing me to get the tiniest chip in one of my teeth.
When we got back to Cusco it was shower and shave time, followed b y a quick sleep. That evening the 6 of us from the Lares group arranged to have a group meal, and they kindly allowed me to bring along Clare and Paul who were also in town that night before they departed for the Sacred Valley. It was great seeing them and comparing notes since we last met in Santiago.
The night actually turned into quite a session. We met Jose in the Irish pub, and he dragged us off to a number of local clubs. Clare and Paul sensibly didn't get dragged beyond the Irish bar, they did have to get up early after all, and in the end the others from Lares did leave early as well. So in the end it was just the 3 from Kamuka Lares, Jason, the one person from the Kamuka Inca Trail who made it out when they got back (at about 10 to be fair) and Jose.
In the end we did do the 24 hour challenge, we got up at 4.30 am and we stayed out until 4.30 am.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Lares Day 3
Sunday May 11th
I felt a fair bit better today when I woke up, and it didn't feel as cold. So when we got our wake up call at 6am, I was a bit shocked to see all the white outside. About 3 cm of snow had fallen overnight, and that was what had caused the tents to collapse. Because we hadn't seen the snow that night, it was a bit of a shock to us. But it was warmer. The layer of snow did sort of act like an insulator from the wind, so I did have a better nights sleep (except for the bit where the tent was on my face).
Anyway after breakfast we set off. Today was nearly all downhill, descending from 4200 down to 3000. It was not too hard, and as ususal we were passing kids and handing out weets ( you aren't reall supposed to give sweets, but we were out of all the other presents). We did have about an hour and a half in the snow, because it was a slow start to the descent, and it was 4000 before the snow disappeared.
Overall it was a fairly easy walk. This time we did see some Inca ruins on our trip, as we headed back towards the sacred valley. I did have other things on my mind, the Premiership was finishing up that day and it was a big showdown between ManU and Chelsea. Obviously I wasn't going to get to see it, but as we got closer to civilisation I was checking my phone to see if I had coverage.
And just as we got to our lunch stop I did. It was good news, ManU won. That made me feel a lot better, and I managed to eat a reasonable sized lunch.
After that we headed to Ollantaytambo, where we had been a few days previously. It was a festival day (and also Mother's day in Peru, also a big day) and so there was a lot of dancing in the streets. We had an hour to wait for our train connection to Machu Picchu, so we persuaded our guide to take us to a local corn beer house. This is a local brew that old ladies sell to locals, and which sort of tastes like a cider and white beer cross. It was OK, but you wouldn't want to drink more than a pint. I only had about a third of a pint I guess, the guide had a fair bit more. The weirdest thing about this 'pub' would normally be the Guinea Pigs running about the floor, but to be honest we are kind of getting used to this.
Then we were on the train. It was a spectacular journey, but we were all a bit too tired to do anything about it. We just ate our airplane style meals they gave us. We got to our destination, which is the town of Aguas Calientes. When we got there, there was another party on the street. We checked into our hostel, had a few normal beers, and then headed out to the town square where it seemed like the entire population of the town was out dancing. The pubs were doing 4 for the price of 1 happy hours, but we could only stay for 1 round (which was 4 drinks) as we had to be back in bed by 10.30 so we could get up in time to see Machu Picchu.
I felt a fair bit better today when I woke up, and it didn't feel as cold. So when we got our wake up call at 6am, I was a bit shocked to see all the white outside. About 3 cm of snow had fallen overnight, and that was what had caused the tents to collapse. Because we hadn't seen the snow that night, it was a bit of a shock to us. But it was warmer. The layer of snow did sort of act like an insulator from the wind, so I did have a better nights sleep (except for the bit where the tent was on my face).
Anyway after breakfast we set off. Today was nearly all downhill, descending from 4200 down to 3000. It was not too hard, and as ususal we were passing kids and handing out weets ( you aren't reall supposed to give sweets, but we were out of all the other presents). We did have about an hour and a half in the snow, because it was a slow start to the descent, and it was 4000 before the snow disappeared.
Overall it was a fairly easy walk. This time we did see some Inca ruins on our trip, as we headed back towards the sacred valley. I did have other things on my mind, the Premiership was finishing up that day and it was a big showdown between ManU and Chelsea. Obviously I wasn't going to get to see it, but as we got closer to civilisation I was checking my phone to see if I had coverage.
And just as we got to our lunch stop I did. It was good news, ManU won. That made me feel a lot better, and I managed to eat a reasonable sized lunch.
After that we headed to Ollantaytambo, where we had been a few days previously. It was a festival day (and also Mother's day in Peru, also a big day) and so there was a lot of dancing in the streets. We had an hour to wait for our train connection to Machu Picchu, so we persuaded our guide to take us to a local corn beer house. This is a local brew that old ladies sell to locals, and which sort of tastes like a cider and white beer cross. It was OK, but you wouldn't want to drink more than a pint. I only had about a third of a pint I guess, the guide had a fair bit more. The weirdest thing about this 'pub' would normally be the Guinea Pigs running about the floor, but to be honest we are kind of getting used to this.
Then we were on the train. It was a spectacular journey, but we were all a bit too tired to do anything about it. We just ate our airplane style meals they gave us. We got to our destination, which is the town of Aguas Calientes. When we got there, there was another party on the street. We checked into our hostel, had a few normal beers, and then headed out to the town square where it seemed like the entire population of the town was out dancing. The pubs were doing 4 for the price of 1 happy hours, but we could only stay for 1 round (which was 4 drinks) as we had to be back in bed by 10.30 so we could get up in time to see Machu Picchu.
Lares Day 2
Saturday 10th May
The tents may have been comfortble, but I wasn't. I spent a large part of the night awake with stomach problems. I actually think I had them for a few days, but my body was able to resist until I did all the exercise yesterday and it needed its strength for that. It wasn't that I was having problems with things coming out of either end, but I was just in a lot of pain, couldn't really eat too much, and definitely couldn't sleep.
So not a great preparation for the hardest day of the trek. We got a nice breakfast, which I didn't eat much of, at 6am. However the guides did make me some celary tea which they said would settle my stomach, and in fact it seemed to. So off we set.
As I said today was the hardest day. We left our site at 3650 and we climbed to a pass at 4200. Then we had to drop down into another valley at 3500 and back up to our lunch site at 3700. Again we stopped along the way to get glimpses of local life.
Anyway the morning wasn't too bad. It was after lunch (which was great but I was unable to eat much of) that it got hard. Then had to walk up to 4500 meters. As I had no real energy left, due to the lack of food, I really struggled. In fact I was last up the pass. Yesterday I had stayed at the back to keep Sara company when she was struggling, today I was at the back because I had to be.
Having said all that I was only 15 minutes or so behind the rest, so it wasn't too bad. We had a little ceremoney to celebrate reaching the top point of the trip, and then we began our descent.
It was a great sense of achivement anyway getting to 4500. Its a good bit higher than the highest part of the Inca trail, and in fact even when we descended to our campsite at 4200 we were as high a they got. I had to sleep immediately we got to the camp site, I was a bit wrecked after the 18k, considering I had only 3 hours sleep the night before, and then when I got up for dinner, an hour later at 6, I was shocked by how cold it had got. It was bitter.
However our guide did had a surprise for us, a bottle of rum, which mixed with some hot water, lemon and a few other things, made for a very warming cocktail. Even with my dodgy stomach it was the right thing to have. That, and a decent dinner, left us all warm, but because it was so cold outside, at minus 7, we just had to go straight to our tents and get into our sleeping bags and hope we could sleep the cold away.
No such luck. Just before midnight I was woken by a sound and felt the tent on my face. It had partially collapsed. I had no idea why, and was just getting my shoes on to go out and see when one of the porters came along and shook whatever had been on the tent off and fixed it up. It was too cold to open the tent up to see what it was so we just thanked him and tried to get back to sleep, although there was a bit of a commotion outside so it wasn't easy.
The tents may have been comfortble, but I wasn't. I spent a large part of the night awake with stomach problems. I actually think I had them for a few days, but my body was able to resist until I did all the exercise yesterday and it needed its strength for that. It wasn't that I was having problems with things coming out of either end, but I was just in a lot of pain, couldn't really eat too much, and definitely couldn't sleep.
So not a great preparation for the hardest day of the trek. We got a nice breakfast, which I didn't eat much of, at 6am. However the guides did make me some celary tea which they said would settle my stomach, and in fact it seemed to. So off we set.
As I said today was the hardest day. We left our site at 3650 and we climbed to a pass at 4200. Then we had to drop down into another valley at 3500 and back up to our lunch site at 3700. Again we stopped along the way to get glimpses of local life.
Anyway the morning wasn't too bad. It was after lunch (which was great but I was unable to eat much of) that it got hard. Then had to walk up to 4500 meters. As I had no real energy left, due to the lack of food, I really struggled. In fact I was last up the pass. Yesterday I had stayed at the back to keep Sara company when she was struggling, today I was at the back because I had to be.
Having said all that I was only 15 minutes or so behind the rest, so it wasn't too bad. We had a little ceremoney to celebrate reaching the top point of the trip, and then we began our descent.
It was a great sense of achivement anyway getting to 4500. Its a good bit higher than the highest part of the Inca trail, and in fact even when we descended to our campsite at 4200 we were as high a they got. I had to sleep immediately we got to the camp site, I was a bit wrecked after the 18k, considering I had only 3 hours sleep the night before, and then when I got up for dinner, an hour later at 6, I was shocked by how cold it had got. It was bitter.
However our guide did had a surprise for us, a bottle of rum, which mixed with some hot water, lemon and a few other things, made for a very warming cocktail. Even with my dodgy stomach it was the right thing to have. That, and a decent dinner, left us all warm, but because it was so cold outside, at minus 7, we just had to go straight to our tents and get into our sleeping bags and hope we could sleep the cold away.
No such luck. Just before midnight I was woken by a sound and felt the tent on my face. It had partially collapsed. I had no idea why, and was just getting my shoes on to go out and see when one of the porters came along and shook whatever had been on the tent off and fixed it up. It was too cold to open the tent up to see what it was so we just thanked him and tried to get back to sleep, although there was a bit of a commotion outside so it wasn't easy.
Lares Day 1
Friday May 9th
Today was an early start at 6am. We were seen off by our tour guide, who looked suspiciously like she was on her way into the hotel from a night out. As they hand over their charges to local guides for the trails, this town is where all the guides get to party.
Anyway the three of us from the group met with the three others who would be doing the trek with us, a couple from England and Ireland, and a girl from Australia. We had a 2 hour drive to our breakfast point, and then another hour to our drop off point for our trek. We were already in quite a remote area but we were walking into even more remote areas. But our guide, Jose, did seem to know his stuff, and we did have porters and horses to carry our heavy gear.
In fact for those who don't know how this sort of think works, ou really only have to carry your own day pack with a few bits and pieces. All the hard work is done by the porters. They set up camp before you get there, and take it down after you leave, and they still get between the two faster than you do. Some of it is due to their comfort with the altitude, but also just the fact that we are all really city people in the west these days.
Still today wasn't too bad. We started at 3700 metres, and walked up to a pass at 4400 metres. We were fairly fast going, and in fact got to our lunch spot before they were ready for us, so they moved lunch to after the pass. The scenery was pretty spectcular, and as this is supposed to be a cultural trek (rather than the archelogical trek of the Inca trail we got to meet some of the local kids and give them little presents (marbles, ballons that sort of thing).
Once we reached the top, the walk downhill was fairly easy. In total the walk was 12k. Our camp site was at 3650 and was pretty cold, not too far off freezing, but the tents were pretty decent, and we had good floor mats (much better than my cheap one). The meal cooked for us was pretty outstanding, it is amazing what these chess can do with just two rings on a gas stove. As it gets dark early here, 6ish, by about 9pm it seems like a lot later. So it was off to bed early, as we were going to have a hard day they next day.
Today was an early start at 6am. We were seen off by our tour guide, who looked suspiciously like she was on her way into the hotel from a night out. As they hand over their charges to local guides for the trails, this town is where all the guides get to party.
Anyway the three of us from the group met with the three others who would be doing the trek with us, a couple from England and Ireland, and a girl from Australia. We had a 2 hour drive to our breakfast point, and then another hour to our drop off point for our trek. We were already in quite a remote area but we were walking into even more remote areas. But our guide, Jose, did seem to know his stuff, and we did have porters and horses to carry our heavy gear.
In fact for those who don't know how this sort of think works, ou really only have to carry your own day pack with a few bits and pieces. All the hard work is done by the porters. They set up camp before you get there, and take it down after you leave, and they still get between the two faster than you do. Some of it is due to their comfort with the altitude, but also just the fact that we are all really city people in the west these days.
Still today wasn't too bad. We started at 3700 metres, and walked up to a pass at 4400 metres. We were fairly fast going, and in fact got to our lunch spot before they were ready for us, so they moved lunch to after the pass. The scenery was pretty spectcular, and as this is supposed to be a cultural trek (rather than the archelogical trek of the Inca trail we got to meet some of the local kids and give them little presents (marbles, ballons that sort of thing).
Once we reached the top, the walk downhill was fairly easy. In total the walk was 12k. Our camp site was at 3650 and was pretty cold, not too far off freezing, but the tents were pretty decent, and we had good floor mats (much better than my cheap one). The meal cooked for us was pretty outstanding, it is amazing what these chess can do with just two rings on a gas stove. As it gets dark early here, 6ish, by about 9pm it seems like a lot later. So it was off to bed early, as we were going to have a hard day they next day.
Sacred Valley
Thursday 8th May
Today we were doing a tour of the Sacred Valley. This is a valley outside Cusco which has loads of archelogical sites from the Incas. For those doing the Inca trail it was the beginning of their trip to Machu Picchu, although us doing the Lares trek were actually going to be able to spend the night back in Cusco.
The trip started with the short drive to Sacsayhuman, the main palace of the Incas in Cucso. It is perched on a hill overlooking the town and you get some good shots of the town. But it is impressive, the Spanish mostly took it apart to build other buildings when they conquered the town but it must have been massive. We didn't really have much time to explore the ruins though, as we had to get to the Sacred Valley.
After a slightly unneccessary stop at a local market (where the others still bought stuff despite having seen it all before) we reached the valley. The scenery was pretty spectacular. We had a few stops for scenery shots before we reached the Inca town of Pisac. These ruins were massive, extending over a very large area, and it took us 2 hours to walk round them with our guide, Martin. He was very good and gave us a lot of background information, and made the tour quite informative.
After we went for lunch in the current town of Pisac. This is a small little town with a very crowded main square. We had an hour and a half for lunch and we needed every bit of it as we waited for our lunch to be served in a cafe on the side of the square. Luckily there were food vendors selling deep fried stuffed peppers, so we were able to buy from them to avoid starving while waiting for lunch.
After lunch it was on to Ollantaytambo, another big Inca site. But not before a quick stop in Urubamba. The mother of one of the girls on the trip had lived there for a while and we were going to speed through it. I thought she should get a photo of her in that town, rather than just see it from the bus, but she didn't really want to stop it for a personal photo. But I asked th tour guide to do it anyway, and she got the photo.
You would think we were getting sick of Inca ruins by now, but actually Ollantaytambo was as impressive as the others. It was similar, but what impressed me was the placement of it. They had managed to find a single spot in all the Andes where they could get the Summer and Winter solstices and the two equnioxes, marked by the shadows of the mountains. No man made standing stones here.
Interestingly enough the guide knew enough to compare it with Newgrange. The guides in Peru really know their stuff, but its not surprising, they have to do a 5 year university course to qualify.
We dropped off our Inca trail colleagues in Ollantaytambo, from where they would depart the next day, and myself and the two girls doing the Lares trek with me headed back to Cusco, and again to the Irish pub for dinner (the food was very good). As we had an early 6am start the next morning we didn't stay out late, but I did at least have one beer this time.
Today we were doing a tour of the Sacred Valley. This is a valley outside Cusco which has loads of archelogical sites from the Incas. For those doing the Inca trail it was the beginning of their trip to Machu Picchu, although us doing the Lares trek were actually going to be able to spend the night back in Cusco.
The trip started with the short drive to Sacsayhuman, the main palace of the Incas in Cucso. It is perched on a hill overlooking the town and you get some good shots of the town. But it is impressive, the Spanish mostly took it apart to build other buildings when they conquered the town but it must have been massive. We didn't really have much time to explore the ruins though, as we had to get to the Sacred Valley.
After a slightly unneccessary stop at a local market (where the others still bought stuff despite having seen it all before) we reached the valley. The scenery was pretty spectacular. We had a few stops for scenery shots before we reached the Inca town of Pisac. These ruins were massive, extending over a very large area, and it took us 2 hours to walk round them with our guide, Martin. He was very good and gave us a lot of background information, and made the tour quite informative.
After we went for lunch in the current town of Pisac. This is a small little town with a very crowded main square. We had an hour and a half for lunch and we needed every bit of it as we waited for our lunch to be served in a cafe on the side of the square. Luckily there were food vendors selling deep fried stuffed peppers, so we were able to buy from them to avoid starving while waiting for lunch.
After lunch it was on to Ollantaytambo, another big Inca site. But not before a quick stop in Urubamba. The mother of one of the girls on the trip had lived there for a while and we were going to speed through it. I thought she should get a photo of her in that town, rather than just see it from the bus, but she didn't really want to stop it for a personal photo. But I asked th tour guide to do it anyway, and she got the photo.
You would think we were getting sick of Inca ruins by now, but actually Ollantaytambo was as impressive as the others. It was similar, but what impressed me was the placement of it. They had managed to find a single spot in all the Andes where they could get the Summer and Winter solstices and the two equnioxes, marked by the shadows of the mountains. No man made standing stones here.
Interestingly enough the guide knew enough to compare it with Newgrange. The guides in Peru really know their stuff, but its not surprising, they have to do a 5 year university course to qualify.
We dropped off our Inca trail colleagues in Ollantaytambo, from where they would depart the next day, and myself and the two girls doing the Lares trek with me headed back to Cusco, and again to the Irish pub for dinner (the food was very good). As we had an early 6am start the next morning we didn't stay out late, but I did at least have one beer this time.
Friday, May 9, 2008
A bit of a waste
Wednesday 7th May
As we all had a big night last night, today, which was a free day in Cusco, was a bit of a waste. Or we were all wasted. All I did was walk around, take a few photos, and did a bit of shopping for the upcoming 4 day trek. We had a pre departure meeting with our guide, well the guide for the others, as I am not doing the Inca trail, I am on the Lares trek. This is mostl due to my laziness in organising my trip, and the fact that I only signed on for the LaPaz to Lima leg of the main organised trip only 3 weeks ago.
Still it will be a fun trip. There are two others from the main tour on the trip so I won't get lonely, which is a possible problem because unlike the highly used Inca Trail, the Lares trek is a lot less used, especially at this time of year.
After the trip we went to on of the Irish bars for dinner. This wasn't actually my choice, but obviously I went along with the crowd. It was OK, but no beer was drunk as we didn't really want to end up like we were that morning. After all we do have a big trip planned for tomorrow.
As we all had a big night last night, today, which was a free day in Cusco, was a bit of a waste. Or we were all wasted. All I did was walk around, take a few photos, and did a bit of shopping for the upcoming 4 day trek. We had a pre departure meeting with our guide, well the guide for the others, as I am not doing the Inca trail, I am on the Lares trek. This is mostl due to my laziness in organising my trip, and the fact that I only signed on for the LaPaz to Lima leg of the main organised trip only 3 weeks ago.
Still it will be a fun trip. There are two others from the main tour on the trip so I won't get lonely, which is a possible problem because unlike the highly used Inca Trail, the Lares trek is a lot less used, especially at this time of year.
After the trip we went to on of the Irish bars for dinner. This wasn't actually my choice, but obviously I went along with the crowd. It was OK, but no beer was drunk as we didn't really want to end up like we were that morning. After all we do have a big trip planned for tomorrow.
Cusco bound
Tuesday 6th May
For weeks now it has all really been about getting to Cusco, where we will obviously be based while visiting Machu Picchu. And today it is time to finally go there.
As Puno to Cusco, or vice versa, is a pretty popular tourist trail now, the road has been improved and as such we were able to make good time in our journey. To be honest there isn't too much to report on the journey, it was a fairly standard one. The trip is supposed to be one of the top in the world for scenery, but we must be getting jaded with mountains by now because we didn't really think so.
In fact the only intersting bit of the trip came when during our last stop for a toilet break, about an hour from Cusco. As we were looking out the window we noticed a farmer struggling with a sheep. And as we were watching, he took out a knife and slit its throat. Just what we needed to see at that point, a nice execution to make the day go faster.
Once we got to Cusco I went out for a little look around, and then later we all went for a group dinner and had some of the best steaks I have had in South America. Afterwards we went for a few drinks, which turned into quite a long session, and yet another night of dancing. I'm not sure what it is about Peru but we have danced all 4 nights here, and never one did it in Argentina or Bolivia.
For weeks now it has all really been about getting to Cusco, where we will obviously be based while visiting Machu Picchu. And today it is time to finally go there.
As Puno to Cusco, or vice versa, is a pretty popular tourist trail now, the road has been improved and as such we were able to make good time in our journey. To be honest there isn't too much to report on the journey, it was a fairly standard one. The trip is supposed to be one of the top in the world for scenery, but we must be getting jaded with mountains by now because we didn't really think so.
In fact the only intersting bit of the trip came when during our last stop for a toilet break, about an hour from Cusco. As we were looking out the window we noticed a farmer struggling with a sheep. And as we were watching, he took out a knife and slit its throat. Just what we needed to see at that point, a nice execution to make the day go faster.
Once we got to Cusco I went out for a little look around, and then later we all went for a group dinner and had some of the best steaks I have had in South America. Afterwards we went for a few drinks, which turned into quite a long session, and yet another night of dancing. I'm not sure what it is about Peru but we have danced all 4 nights here, and never one did it in Argentina or Bolivia.
Back to 'dry' land
Monday May 5th
Today we were actually up quite early as we were off on an early boat journey to another island. So in total we didn't really spend that much time with our new famnilies on Amantani island. But off we were to Taquile island (not Tequila island as we were hoping).
Tequile is a similar island to Amantani, but I guess it seems a slight bit richer, and yet it is probably even more traditional. We got a guided tour of the island, which involved walking up one side, it was quite steep but not really a problem, to the main square which was near the top of the hill. We wandered around there for a while before we were taken to a local restaurant for lunch, which was a traditional trout dish, with trout from the lake. It was very good, and made up for the fact that we hadn't gotten the trout I was expecting from our host families the night before.
After that it was down the even steeper other side of the island to where our boat now awaited us, before we headed back to Puno on the mainland. The journey itself was quite long, and hot, but we were still back in time for a quick explore of Puno in the daylight, we had only seen it at night before. Its not the greatest city in the world, but the one small tourist area is a lot more relaxed and secure than we had been lead to believe, and it definitely seemed a lot more western than Bolivia had been.
Speaking of Bolivia, we were intrigued to notice that the vote for Santa Cruz state to separate from Bolivia was passed, and Bolivia was now getting some travel warnings from some governments. It looks like we got out of there in time. We actually had been given some notice of this by our guides in Bolivia, but it is still interesting to think that we may have visited a country that may not exist in the future. OK it will, but Yugoslavia comes to mind.
As Puno is so touristy, there is a bit of competition for western tourists amongst the bars. The benefit fo this is that we get free drinks. So we went back to the bar we had gotten free drinks from the previous time we were in Puno and got some more. We ended up with quite a long nights dancing, making it three nights dancing in a row. At leat this time we knew the songs, and even had a bit of control over what was played (Fame and Flashdance were requested because of Sara's legwarmers).
Today we were actually up quite early as we were off on an early boat journey to another island. So in total we didn't really spend that much time with our new famnilies on Amantani island. But off we were to Taquile island (not Tequila island as we were hoping).
Tequile is a similar island to Amantani, but I guess it seems a slight bit richer, and yet it is probably even more traditional. We got a guided tour of the island, which involved walking up one side, it was quite steep but not really a problem, to the main square which was near the top of the hill. We wandered around there for a while before we were taken to a local restaurant for lunch, which was a traditional trout dish, with trout from the lake. It was very good, and made up for the fact that we hadn't gotten the trout I was expecting from our host families the night before.
After that it was down the even steeper other side of the island to where our boat now awaited us, before we headed back to Puno on the mainland. The journey itself was quite long, and hot, but we were still back in time for a quick explore of Puno in the daylight, we had only seen it at night before. Its not the greatest city in the world, but the one small tourist area is a lot more relaxed and secure than we had been lead to believe, and it definitely seemed a lot more western than Bolivia had been.
Speaking of Bolivia, we were intrigued to notice that the vote for Santa Cruz state to separate from Bolivia was passed, and Bolivia was now getting some travel warnings from some governments. It looks like we got out of there in time. We actually had been given some notice of this by our guides in Bolivia, but it is still interesting to think that we may have visited a country that may not exist in the future. OK it will, but Yugoslavia comes to mind.
As Puno is so touristy, there is a bit of competition for western tourists amongst the bars. The benefit fo this is that we get free drinks. So we went back to the bar we had gotten free drinks from the previous time we were in Puno and got some more. We ended up with quite a long nights dancing, making it three nights dancing in a row. At leat this time we knew the songs, and even had a bit of control over what was played (Fame and Flashdance were requested because of Sara's legwarmers).
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Meet the family
Sunday May 4th
Today we were gpoing for a cruise on Lake Titicaca. The first part was a fun tuk-tuk race as they took us from our hotel down to the port. My one came last and no its not because of my weight - due to these big Aussies and Kiwis I'm not even in the top half of weights on the tour.
After that we were onto our boat, which was not really that big, but just about fir the 17 of us. The tour guide gave us a bit of a breifing and fancied himself as a comedian. Our first port of call were the reed islands near the shore. These are home to a few thousand people who live on these floating islands (they have to float as the lake level can rise and fall). It was a strange sensation to walk on the reed surface of the island, although they were 5 metres thick, you really did feel you might fall through at any moment.
The islanders treated us to a show about their life. Although it was heavily scripted, and aimed at sealling some hand made produce, it was still quite entertaining. They showed how they eat the reeds, and I got to taste some. It didn't really taste of too much though. Then they took us sailing on a boat made of reeds. These boats only last 3 months, but we are early in the 3 month tourist season so it was in quite good nick. The islanders lined up to sing us the traditional departure song, and then they sang row, row, row your boat, which was quite funny.
After that we were off to Amantani island where we were going to stay the night. It was a thre hour boat journey so pretty much all we had to do was sunbathe. We were going to be staying with some local families, two or three to each family. When we got there we were assigned to our families, and myself and Jono, my roommate, got Eustequea as our 'mama'. We then had to walk up to our house, and it was a reasonably tough walk up quite a steep hill.
We got our lunch at our new home, where we met Lise, the cute 4 year old daughter of our mama. We never met the papa though, I heard him, but I think he wasn't having anything to do with the program. Anyway we had bought presents for our mama, various bits of food, basically more than we were going to eat anyway, so we gave them to her, and in case there were kids, we had a few presents for Lise. We had no sweets though, there is suppose to be a problem with the kids teeth here, but Lise was brushing her teeth.
Anyway after that we headed to the village centre where we were to play a 6 a side match with the locals. At 4000 metres. It was tough going, and for the first time I felt the altitude, even though I probably only played about 10 minutes out of 20. The locals were winning 1-0 at that point, but I had to head because we were to go up to the top of the mountain at the centre of the island for sunset. And it was a spectacular sunset.
Still I think I can now say I have played football at a higher level than most.
After dinner, again from our mama, it was off to a dance. The locals dressed us all in local costumes and made us do the local dances. It was fun, but again quite tiring at that altitude. And I did have to dance a lot as Jono had done his ankle at football and was unable to come down to the dance, so I ended up dancing twice as much with Eustaquea. But it was a good night.
Today we were gpoing for a cruise on Lake Titicaca. The first part was a fun tuk-tuk race as they took us from our hotel down to the port. My one came last and no its not because of my weight - due to these big Aussies and Kiwis I'm not even in the top half of weights on the tour.
After that we were onto our boat, which was not really that big, but just about fir the 17 of us. The tour guide gave us a bit of a breifing and fancied himself as a comedian. Our first port of call were the reed islands near the shore. These are home to a few thousand people who live on these floating islands (they have to float as the lake level can rise and fall). It was a strange sensation to walk on the reed surface of the island, although they were 5 metres thick, you really did feel you might fall through at any moment.
The islanders treated us to a show about their life. Although it was heavily scripted, and aimed at sealling some hand made produce, it was still quite entertaining. They showed how they eat the reeds, and I got to taste some. It didn't really taste of too much though. Then they took us sailing on a boat made of reeds. These boats only last 3 months, but we are early in the 3 month tourist season so it was in quite good nick. The islanders lined up to sing us the traditional departure song, and then they sang row, row, row your boat, which was quite funny.
After that we were off to Amantani island where we were going to stay the night. It was a thre hour boat journey so pretty much all we had to do was sunbathe. We were going to be staying with some local families, two or three to each family. When we got there we were assigned to our families, and myself and Jono, my roommate, got Eustequea as our 'mama'. We then had to walk up to our house, and it was a reasonably tough walk up quite a steep hill.
We got our lunch at our new home, where we met Lise, the cute 4 year old daughter of our mama. We never met the papa though, I heard him, but I think he wasn't having anything to do with the program. Anyway we had bought presents for our mama, various bits of food, basically more than we were going to eat anyway, so we gave them to her, and in case there were kids, we had a few presents for Lise. We had no sweets though, there is suppose to be a problem with the kids teeth here, but Lise was brushing her teeth.
Anyway after that we headed to the village centre where we were to play a 6 a side match with the locals. At 4000 metres. It was tough going, and for the first time I felt the altitude, even though I probably only played about 10 minutes out of 20. The locals were winning 1-0 at that point, but I had to head because we were to go up to the top of the mountain at the centre of the island for sunset. And it was a spectacular sunset.
Still I think I can now say I have played football at a higher level than most.
After dinner, again from our mama, it was off to a dance. The locals dressed us all in local costumes and made us do the local dances. It was fun, but again quite tiring at that altitude. And I did have to dance a lot as Jono had done his ankle at football and was unable to come down to the dance, so I ended up dancing twice as much with Eustaquea. But it was a good night.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Trouble at the border
Saturday May 3rd
We left LaPaz for Peru today. But first we were going to visit the ruins at Tiwanaku. This is Bolivia's most important archeological site. It wasn't that impressive though, but it did divert us for a couple of hours and break up the journey. Not that I would know because I slept from La Paz to there. I was a bit unwell for the first time. I don't think it was the altitude.
After that it was a short run to the border with Peru, but when we got there we found it closed. It took a while to figure out what happened, and we only found out after we were stamped out of Bolivia, but the Peruvian side was shut down because a border guard had been shot earlier that day.
So there we were stuck in no mans land, with no idea when we were going to get across, so what else could we do except find some beer and have a drink. We even managed to find a wedding party to have a drink with as well.
Then a couple of hours later a mini miracle happened. The border crossing opened for foot travellers only, not our truck, and our tour leader managed her second crisis in a few days quite well. She found and chartered a private bus for us and our luggage. It was then a fairly straight forward journey to Puno, our destination for the night, and more importantly we weren't going to miss out on our Lake Titicaca excursion. Well Colin, our truck driver, would, but I guess you can't have everything. At the end of the day people were grumling about South American border crossings, but something like that would have shut down a border crossing anywhere in the world.
Actually the day finished on quite a good note. Puno is quite a touristy town, as the gateway to the lake, and so we were able to find a really good restaurant, and then a pub giving free drinks to get us in. We ended up having a dance in the disco for that pub, before heading back to the hotel.
We left LaPaz for Peru today. But first we were going to visit the ruins at Tiwanaku. This is Bolivia's most important archeological site. It wasn't that impressive though, but it did divert us for a couple of hours and break up the journey. Not that I would know because I slept from La Paz to there. I was a bit unwell for the first time. I don't think it was the altitude.
After that it was a short run to the border with Peru, but when we got there we found it closed. It took a while to figure out what happened, and we only found out after we were stamped out of Bolivia, but the Peruvian side was shut down because a border guard had been shot earlier that day.
So there we were stuck in no mans land, with no idea when we were going to get across, so what else could we do except find some beer and have a drink. We even managed to find a wedding party to have a drink with as well.
Then a couple of hours later a mini miracle happened. The border crossing opened for foot travellers only, not our truck, and our tour leader managed her second crisis in a few days quite well. She found and chartered a private bus for us and our luggage. It was then a fairly straight forward journey to Puno, our destination for the night, and more importantly we weren't going to miss out on our Lake Titicaca excursion. Well Colin, our truck driver, would, but I guess you can't have everything. At the end of the day people were grumling about South American border crossings, but something like that would have shut down a border crossing anywhere in the world.
Actually the day finished on quite a good note. Puno is quite a touristy town, as the gateway to the lake, and so we were able to find a really good restaurant, and then a pub giving free drinks to get us in. We ended up having a dance in the disco for that pub, before heading back to the hotel.
No Dangerous Roads
Friday May 2nd
The day did not start well at all. We were woken up at 5 in the morning by the sound of firecrackers going off in the street outside. The first of May is a holiday in bolivia, and fireworks are often let off on that day, but at 5am? I actually thought that the Israeli plan to take over the town by sending in thousands of tourists had failed and so they had gone for an out an out invasion instead (there were a lot of israelis staying in our hostel, and they didn't know how to talk quietly, or shut doors without slamming).
When I woke up for real later I had to change my emergency dollars into the local currency as I had run out, and unlike in La Paz there were no ATMs here. After that I had to buy some new clothes as I was literally stinking in the ones I had.
Refreshed then all we ahd to do was hang around the town until our flight, which the tour company managed to arrange for later that afternoon. All it meant was that we lost one day from our itinerary. However it was the day that we were supposed to be cycling the most dangerous road in the world. I was quite disappointed I didn't get to do it, but I guess my mum is happy I didn't do it.
We got back into La Paz with a bit of daylight to spare so I was able to look around the shops a bit. It looks like quite an interesting town, and it is a pity we weren't able to spend more time there. But the group wants to get to Peru and Lake Titicaca, so onward we march.
The day did not start well at all. We were woken up at 5 in the morning by the sound of firecrackers going off in the street outside. The first of May is a holiday in bolivia, and fireworks are often let off on that day, but at 5am? I actually thought that the Israeli plan to take over the town by sending in thousands of tourists had failed and so they had gone for an out an out invasion instead (there were a lot of israelis staying in our hostel, and they didn't know how to talk quietly, or shut doors without slamming).
When I woke up for real later I had to change my emergency dollars into the local currency as I had run out, and unlike in La Paz there were no ATMs here. After that I had to buy some new clothes as I was literally stinking in the ones I had.
Refreshed then all we ahd to do was hang around the town until our flight, which the tour company managed to arrange for later that afternoon. All it meant was that we lost one day from our itinerary. However it was the day that we were supposed to be cycling the most dangerous road in the world. I was quite disappointed I didn't get to do it, but I guess my mum is happy I didn't do it.
We got back into La Paz with a bit of daylight to spare so I was able to look around the shops a bit. It looks like quite an interesting town, and it is a pity we weren't able to spend more time there. But the group wants to get to Peru and Lake Titicaca, so onward we march.
Friday, May 2, 2008
Rain Delay
Thursday May 1st
Well we were able to get up at 5am this morning and find some macaws. But first you should have seen the size of breakfast the cooks prepared for us. We are seriously thinking about kidnapping them and bringing them on the truck to do our lunches and dinners when we are camping.
Anyway we travelled for 2 hours to try to find parrots, and although we saw all the same animals as before, we didn't see any macaws. So we headed back to the camp, and when we got back, wa dozen macaws flew over. Needless to say the group that didn't bother getting up early to go see the macaws were very amused.
We then had lunch at 9am. I'm not sure how my body copes with it all. But we had to leave early because our flights out of the grass field airport were at 3pm. The trip back was pretty much the reverse of the trip there, with loads of gators and capybara on the banks, sometimes very close. And the roads were as bad. Due to the previous days rain I was down to my swimmers as my only shorts to wear, and because I wasn't used to how they sit on me, I didn't manage to suncream my legs properly, so I managed to get a little sunburnt while on the boat and in the jeep home.
And that is where the fun started. We got back to the airline office in the town before heading out to the airport, only to discover that they whole of the previous days flights had been cancelled because of the rain, and those people were now on our flights.
The last thing we needed to hear, given how little clean clothes most of us had left, was that we had to stay another day. Actually it was worse than that, not only were we stuck in this jungle town with no clean clothes for the next day, we were no longer going to be able to clean our clothes in La Paz as we would now only be overnighting there.
We did manage to get 3 of our group out on a military plane, including one guy who was finishing on the tour that day. Ironically if I hadn't signed up for the next leg of the tour I would have been getting out at the same time. But I wasn't so stuck I was with the rest. Luckily Marika, our tour leader, was able to find decent accomodation, not an easy job at short notice for 16 people.
Due to the general disappointment in the group, there wasn't that much done that evening, we had a meal and a drink but that was about it.
Well we were able to get up at 5am this morning and find some macaws. But first you should have seen the size of breakfast the cooks prepared for us. We are seriously thinking about kidnapping them and bringing them on the truck to do our lunches and dinners when we are camping.
Anyway we travelled for 2 hours to try to find parrots, and although we saw all the same animals as before, we didn't see any macaws. So we headed back to the camp, and when we got back, wa dozen macaws flew over. Needless to say the group that didn't bother getting up early to go see the macaws were very amused.
We then had lunch at 9am. I'm not sure how my body copes with it all. But we had to leave early because our flights out of the grass field airport were at 3pm. The trip back was pretty much the reverse of the trip there, with loads of gators and capybara on the banks, sometimes very close. And the roads were as bad. Due to the previous days rain I was down to my swimmers as my only shorts to wear, and because I wasn't used to how they sit on me, I didn't manage to suncream my legs properly, so I managed to get a little sunburnt while on the boat and in the jeep home.
And that is where the fun started. We got back to the airline office in the town before heading out to the airport, only to discover that they whole of the previous days flights had been cancelled because of the rain, and those people were now on our flights.
The last thing we needed to hear, given how little clean clothes most of us had left, was that we had to stay another day. Actually it was worse than that, not only were we stuck in this jungle town with no clean clothes for the next day, we were no longer going to be able to clean our clothes in La Paz as we would now only be overnighting there.
We did manage to get 3 of our group out on a military plane, including one guy who was finishing on the tour that day. Ironically if I hadn't signed up for the next leg of the tour I would have been getting out at the same time. But I wasn't so stuck I was with the rest. Luckily Marika, our tour leader, was able to find decent accomodation, not an easy job at short notice for 16 people.
Due to the general disappointment in the group, there wasn't that much done that evening, we had a meal and a drink but that was about it.
Just like home
Wednesday 30th April
The cold wind of the previous night turned into rain. We were due to get up at 5am to see the sunrise, and all the animal activity at that time, but what our guides never told us was that if it was cloudy that trip was off, so we all got up early but we had no guides. So we all had to go back to bed and get up later for our next trip, to go hunting anacondas.
This involved going out into the pampas, to places where anacondas were know to live, and walking around trying to scare them into moving. And they live in a lot of mud, so we were walking around in a lot of mud, and getting wetter by the second. It was great fun. And we didn't get to see any snakes as it was too cold for them to be out (well one of the girls said she saw a small one, but nobody else did).
When I say just like home I do mean the weather. It was as cold and wet as a typical Irish day in spring or autumn. I'd say it was the first time on my trip that the weather at home was probably better than where I was (well maybe on the Tongariro crossing day as well).
When we got back to camp we were all too wet and muddy to do much else. A few people went piranha fishing, but as I had no spare clothes (we had been told to pack light) I has to stay in camp the rest of the day. It did get drier, and we did get to see some animals just around the camp, including some monkeys who live there, a toucan who flew over, and Pedro the alligator who lives right beside the camp. It might have been nice had we been warned about him, as a few people had been walking not too far from his den the day before.
We built a camp fire to dry out the clothes and in the evening we went to the sunset bar. It is a bar in the middle of the jungle, about 300 yards away from our camp by boat, that we were going to watch sunset from. But there was no sunset, like no sunrise. So instead we went after dinner, and had a good session with the guides and some other tourists, to drown our sorrows about being drowned during the day.
When we got back we had another drink, and then went to bed as again we were going to get up early in the morning. I did go to put the camp fire out with some water from a water bottle, only to find it was petrol. Luckily it was only a small amount, or I may have ended up hotter that night than the night before.
The cold wind of the previous night turned into rain. We were due to get up at 5am to see the sunrise, and all the animal activity at that time, but what our guides never told us was that if it was cloudy that trip was off, so we all got up early but we had no guides. So we all had to go back to bed and get up later for our next trip, to go hunting anacondas.
This involved going out into the pampas, to places where anacondas were know to live, and walking around trying to scare them into moving. And they live in a lot of mud, so we were walking around in a lot of mud, and getting wetter by the second. It was great fun. And we didn't get to see any snakes as it was too cold for them to be out (well one of the girls said she saw a small one, but nobody else did).
When I say just like home I do mean the weather. It was as cold and wet as a typical Irish day in spring or autumn. I'd say it was the first time on my trip that the weather at home was probably better than where I was (well maybe on the Tongariro crossing day as well).
When we got back to camp we were all too wet and muddy to do much else. A few people went piranha fishing, but as I had no spare clothes (we had been told to pack light) I has to stay in camp the rest of the day. It did get drier, and we did get to see some animals just around the camp, including some monkeys who live there, a toucan who flew over, and Pedro the alligator who lives right beside the camp. It might have been nice had we been warned about him, as a few people had been walking not too far from his den the day before.
We built a camp fire to dry out the clothes and in the evening we went to the sunset bar. It is a bar in the middle of the jungle, about 300 yards away from our camp by boat, that we were going to watch sunset from. But there was no sunset, like no sunrise. So instead we went after dinner, and had a good session with the guides and some other tourists, to drown our sorrows about being drowned during the day.
When we got back we had another drink, and then went to bed as again we were going to get up early in the morning. I did go to put the camp fire out with some water from a water bottle, only to find it was petrol. Luckily it was only a small amount, or I may have ended up hotter that night than the night before.
Welcome to the Pampas
Tuesday April 29th
Today we left the town of Rurrenbache to travel deep into the jungle to stay in a jungle lodge for two days. Or at least we thought it was the jungle. In fact it turns out it is the Pampas. To me its no much of a distinction, there are still rivers, trees, monkeys and so on.
Our trip started with a few hours in a jeep on some more dodgy roads, followed by lunch in the strangest restaurant I have been in. The restaurant had deer, pecary (types of pigs), parrots and even a monkey all wandering round while you ate. Its probably best not to think about how unsantiary it is, although in some ways it is no different to any other South American place where there are always dogs and/or cats hanging around as you eat.
After lunch we transferred to boats and sailed the rest of the way to the lodge. This was where we really began seeing wildlife. The boats were fairly slow going, so we saw lots of birds, aligators and caiman, some capaybara (the largest rodent in the world) and the highlight, some pink freshwater river dolphins.
Overall the trip took about 3 hours, and we then reached our destination, a lodge on the side of the river. It was fairly basic, although better than a couple of the camp sites we had been in. We even had a set of cooks rather than having to do it ourselves. And they did a good job immediately providing us with popcorn on arrival, and later a pretty amazing meal.
After dinner we went out for a night time safari, again on water. To be honest its pretty surreal, you don´t get to see much, except some eyes staring back at you from the water. We did see on big gator on a bank, and we sailed in close, until we got a little too close and he bolted. Of course we all jumped higher than he did, but luckily we didn't really rock the boat.
The rest of the night was spent drinking around the camp fire. Pretty OK, until on the stroke midnight, when amazingly the wind changed direction and suddenly became cold. All of a sudden the temperature dropped 10 degrees and so we all scattered and went to bed. And got into our sleeping bags. They told us to bring them, and we all laughed thinking why would you need them in the jungle, and now we know why.
Today we left the town of Rurrenbache to travel deep into the jungle to stay in a jungle lodge for two days. Or at least we thought it was the jungle. In fact it turns out it is the Pampas. To me its no much of a distinction, there are still rivers, trees, monkeys and so on.
Our trip started with a few hours in a jeep on some more dodgy roads, followed by lunch in the strangest restaurant I have been in. The restaurant had deer, pecary (types of pigs), parrots and even a monkey all wandering round while you ate. Its probably best not to think about how unsantiary it is, although in some ways it is no different to any other South American place where there are always dogs and/or cats hanging around as you eat.
After lunch we transferred to boats and sailed the rest of the way to the lodge. This was where we really began seeing wildlife. The boats were fairly slow going, so we saw lots of birds, aligators and caiman, some capaybara (the largest rodent in the world) and the highlight, some pink freshwater river dolphins.
Overall the trip took about 3 hours, and we then reached our destination, a lodge on the side of the river. It was fairly basic, although better than a couple of the camp sites we had been in. We even had a set of cooks rather than having to do it ourselves. And they did a good job immediately providing us with popcorn on arrival, and later a pretty amazing meal.
After dinner we went out for a night time safari, again on water. To be honest its pretty surreal, you don´t get to see much, except some eyes staring back at you from the water. We did see on big gator on a bank, and we sailed in close, until we got a little too close and he bolted. Of course we all jumped higher than he did, but luckily we didn't really rock the boat.
The rest of the night was spent drinking around the camp fire. Pretty OK, until on the stroke midnight, when amazingly the wind changed direction and suddenly became cold. All of a sudden the temperature dropped 10 degrees and so we all scattered and went to bed. And got into our sleeping bags. They told us to bring them, and we all laughed thinking why would you need them in the jungle, and now we know why.
Flying on a Bolivian Airline
Monday April 28th
Today we were flying to Rurrenbache. This is a small town about 400 km from LaPaz, but it is a different world entirely. LaPaz is a high altitude town, while Rurrenbache is a low altitude jungle town. You can drive, but it takes 18 hours (on a good day) so all us gringos fly down. The flight involves taking off at one of the highest airports in the world, and landing on a grass strip runway, that is only open if it hasn't been raining.
The group flew in two lots, for some reason all the couples got put on the first flight, and all the rest of us got on a second flight. Which meant I got a lie in, only having to be up by 7 (the first group had to be up at 5am). When we got to the airport we did discover there was a delay, although we did eventually get on the plane only an hour late. The airline was a relatively casual affair, but our pilot was Austrian and one fo the airlines founders, so it did feel safe enough. The plane was a small 19 seater, so our half of the group, all 10 of us, took up most of it. One of the lads who does a bit of flying was even able to go up front for take off and landing.
The plane did have some funny instructions for the oxygen masks, they have to be manually applied, but as I pointed out to some concerned colleagues, it doesn't really matter, we had just taken off from an airport that is higher than the level most planes are pressurised to. We were breathing fine there without masks.
Anyway the flight itself was pretty cool, we flew past the 6000 metre peaks at about the same level before starting the descent to the jungle floor. As I said we landed on a grass runway, which was a first for most people, and the airport was little more than a single waiting room. However it was not our airport. Due to the rain, we actually landed at Reyes airport, about 30 km away. So the airline had to get taxis to bring us to our destination. This was over a very bumpy road that took about 45 minutes to travel down, or it would have if we hadn´t got a puncture.
When we got to Rurrenbache it was pretty much what you would expect from a jungle town, a few dusty streets, a river (which eventually joins up with the Amazon) and a few hundred israeli tourists. Yep, for some reason it seems more than half the tourists in the joint were israeli. They were everywhere. I think its a plot to create a new state far away from the arabs. Anyway all we did for the rest of the day was stay lazing around in hammocks, internetting, eating, drinking and playing pool.
Today we were flying to Rurrenbache. This is a small town about 400 km from LaPaz, but it is a different world entirely. LaPaz is a high altitude town, while Rurrenbache is a low altitude jungle town. You can drive, but it takes 18 hours (on a good day) so all us gringos fly down. The flight involves taking off at one of the highest airports in the world, and landing on a grass strip runway, that is only open if it hasn't been raining.
The group flew in two lots, for some reason all the couples got put on the first flight, and all the rest of us got on a second flight. Which meant I got a lie in, only having to be up by 7 (the first group had to be up at 5am). When we got to the airport we did discover there was a delay, although we did eventually get on the plane only an hour late. The airline was a relatively casual affair, but our pilot was Austrian and one fo the airlines founders, so it did feel safe enough. The plane was a small 19 seater, so our half of the group, all 10 of us, took up most of it. One of the lads who does a bit of flying was even able to go up front for take off and landing.
The plane did have some funny instructions for the oxygen masks, they have to be manually applied, but as I pointed out to some concerned colleagues, it doesn't really matter, we had just taken off from an airport that is higher than the level most planes are pressurised to. We were breathing fine there without masks.
Anyway the flight itself was pretty cool, we flew past the 6000 metre peaks at about the same level before starting the descent to the jungle floor. As I said we landed on a grass runway, which was a first for most people, and the airport was little more than a single waiting room. However it was not our airport. Due to the rain, we actually landed at Reyes airport, about 30 km away. So the airline had to get taxis to bring us to our destination. This was over a very bumpy road that took about 45 minutes to travel down, or it would have if we hadn´t got a puncture.
When we got to Rurrenbache it was pretty much what you would expect from a jungle town, a few dusty streets, a river (which eventually joins up with the Amazon) and a few hundred israeli tourists. Yep, for some reason it seems more than half the tourists in the joint were israeli. They were everywhere. I think its a plot to create a new state far away from the arabs. Anyway all we did for the rest of the day was stay lazing around in hammocks, internetting, eating, drinking and playing pool.
Hooray for flat roads
Sunday 27th April
In my opinion flat roads are the signs of civilisation. And so we are back in some sort of civilisation today as we take the 12 hour journey to La Paz. To be honest there isn't too much to say about most of the trip except that we made very good time due to the fact that we were off the bumpy stuff. Also a lot of the road was flat, which is good as our truck can't really go up or down too quickly.
The highlight of the trip was the last hour, not because of drink for once (there was no drinking today after the last trip) but because of the approach into La Paz. La Paz is built in a sort fof crater, and the surrounding suburbs (known as El Alto) are about 400 meters higher than the city centre. To get from the outskirts to the centre you have to drive down a motorway which rings its way around the crater, providing some great views of the city. Unfortunately as it was the best road we had seen in weeks, our driver took the opportunity to speed down it, and so we couldn't really get decent photos. But it is amazing.
For some reason that evening out guide had booked us for dinner into an English bar. I enjoyed it, but I'm not sure the others did. I had a good chat with the guy who owned it, and commented on his musical designations. He labelled U2 as Britpop (?) and when I pointed out they are Irish, he apologised by playing the Pogues as an Irish band - I didn't like to point out that they are actually English. Still it helped me discover the other Irish in the bar, and meant I was able to stay chatting while the rest of the group (sensibly) headed home early before their early flights the next morning (I lucked out and am in a later flight).
In my opinion flat roads are the signs of civilisation. And so we are back in some sort of civilisation today as we take the 12 hour journey to La Paz. To be honest there isn't too much to say about most of the trip except that we made very good time due to the fact that we were off the bumpy stuff. Also a lot of the road was flat, which is good as our truck can't really go up or down too quickly.
The highlight of the trip was the last hour, not because of drink for once (there was no drinking today after the last trip) but because of the approach into La Paz. La Paz is built in a sort fof crater, and the surrounding suburbs (known as El Alto) are about 400 meters higher than the city centre. To get from the outskirts to the centre you have to drive down a motorway which rings its way around the crater, providing some great views of the city. Unfortunately as it was the best road we had seen in weeks, our driver took the opportunity to speed down it, and so we couldn't really get decent photos. But it is amazing.
For some reason that evening out guide had booked us for dinner into an English bar. I enjoyed it, but I'm not sure the others did. I had a good chat with the guy who owned it, and commented on his musical designations. He labelled U2 as Britpop (?) and when I pointed out they are Irish, he apologised by playing the Pogues as an Irish band - I didn't like to point out that they are actually English. Still it helped me discover the other Irish in the bar, and meant I was able to stay chatting while the rest of the group (sensibly) headed home early before their early flights the next morning (I lucked out and am in a later flight).
Monday, April 28, 2008
Beware of Mines
Saturday 26th April
Potosi was for years one of the richest towns in South America due to its vast silver mines. As such it has a rich heritage of colonial buildings, and the downtown is UNESCO listed for this reason. There is only one thing, this was built on the back of 8 million dead in the mines.
I'll just say it again, because it is pretty shocking, 8 million people have died in these mines in the 400 years they have been open. Most of them were natives or african slaves. But even until recently the deaths were still around 1 a week.
So with the most dangerous mines in the world on your doorstep, what else could we do except go down them. Only 7 of the 17 went, I think a few were expecting to see pretty horrific conditions. And while they were bad, nothing a westerner would put up with, they weren't as bad as I had been excpecting. But then we were going to be in the safe levels which are near the top, at 4250 metres, the new high point for the trip.
The trip to the mine actually starts with a trip to the market. This is so you can buy presents for the miners you meet on the trip, biscuts, cigarettes, coca leaf (to suppress hunger and allow them to work longer), and dynamite. Yep we bought dynamite, and ammonia nitrate , because dynamite on its own is not powerful enough. It was all pretty cheap too. And we bought a great big pumpkin, which wasn't that cheap. And I think we can guess what happened next to the pumpkin.
Yep it was blown up on some wasteland before we went down the mine. It was cool, but unforunately the shockwave seemed to jam my camera, so I wasn't able to take it on the mine (the seond time my camera has failed me on important occasions).
Being in the mine itself was pretty much what I expected, really like being in a cave with some climbing, crawling, watching out for holes, and so on. And our guide did give us a history, although she didn't really deal with the 8 million dead. There didn't seem to be a shrine or anything for them (or at least none that we were taken to). Which I think is a bit wrong, when 8 million people (or even 8000) die in any other place, they get memorials.
After the mine tour I just went back to the hotel, showered (it was very dirty in the mine, even with coveralls on) and then had a quick look around the buildings of Potosi. I didn't really think much of them, and if thats what it takes to get a UNESCO listing, you have to wonder how more places don't have them.
Potosi was for years one of the richest towns in South America due to its vast silver mines. As such it has a rich heritage of colonial buildings, and the downtown is UNESCO listed for this reason. There is only one thing, this was built on the back of 8 million dead in the mines.
I'll just say it again, because it is pretty shocking, 8 million people have died in these mines in the 400 years they have been open. Most of them were natives or african slaves. But even until recently the deaths were still around 1 a week.
So with the most dangerous mines in the world on your doorstep, what else could we do except go down them. Only 7 of the 17 went, I think a few were expecting to see pretty horrific conditions. And while they were bad, nothing a westerner would put up with, they weren't as bad as I had been excpecting. But then we were going to be in the safe levels which are near the top, at 4250 metres, the new high point for the trip.
The trip to the mine actually starts with a trip to the market. This is so you can buy presents for the miners you meet on the trip, biscuts, cigarettes, coca leaf (to suppress hunger and allow them to work longer), and dynamite. Yep we bought dynamite, and ammonia nitrate , because dynamite on its own is not powerful enough. It was all pretty cheap too. And we bought a great big pumpkin, which wasn't that cheap. And I think we can guess what happened next to the pumpkin.
Yep it was blown up on some wasteland before we went down the mine. It was cool, but unforunately the shockwave seemed to jam my camera, so I wasn't able to take it on the mine (the seond time my camera has failed me on important occasions).
Being in the mine itself was pretty much what I expected, really like being in a cave with some climbing, crawling, watching out for holes, and so on. And our guide did give us a history, although she didn't really deal with the 8 million dead. There didn't seem to be a shrine or anything for them (or at least none that we were taken to). Which I think is a bit wrong, when 8 million people (or even 8000) die in any other place, they get memorials.
After the mine tour I just went back to the hotel, showered (it was very dirty in the mine, even with coveralls on) and then had a quick look around the buildings of Potosi. I didn't really think much of them, and if thats what it takes to get a UNESCO listing, you have to wonder how more places don't have them.
Don't drink on a long drive
Friday April 25th
Today was another of our long truck journeys, this time from Unuyi to Potosi. When I say long, I do mean time, rather than distance. This was only a 180 km journey, yet it was scheduled to take us 8 hours. Still that was quite short, so because of that we acually left at the reasonable hour of nine. As usual we fell behind, this time mostly because of extra road works on the 'road', which if continued will mean that one day this may actually resemble a road. A lot of the time we were on river beds.
The truck journeys themsleves are fairly boring things. The scenery is OK, but generally quite similair to what went half an hour before, so we don't sit there looking out the window. Instead people play music, read, watch their MP4 players, play PSPs, or drink.
Yep, we have fallen into a slight habit of beginning drinking when it looks like we are an hour or so away from the destination. But today all we had was a local vodka, which tasted rank. I still drank at least a 1/4 of the bottle. All would have been fine, except the bus then took one diversion too many, and broke a spring. Everyone got out, and a few people used the opportunity to take a leak. I was confident that we were only half an hour from the end and I would be able to hold off.
OK, you all guessed whats coming next, having to get the truck to make an emergeny stop so I could take a pee. All I can say in my defense is that the rest of the gits on the truck did start talking about the NASA lady who drove from Texas to Florida using a nappy, specifically to make me need to go. I will have revenge.
Despite all that I was still able to go out for a nice meal when we got to Potosi, and have a few more beers (unlike some others). This is the highest altitude we sleep at on this trip, 4050 meters, and despite the warnings about drinking at altitude, I have been drinking enough water to ensure so far no hangovers.
Today was another of our long truck journeys, this time from Unuyi to Potosi. When I say long, I do mean time, rather than distance. This was only a 180 km journey, yet it was scheduled to take us 8 hours. Still that was quite short, so because of that we acually left at the reasonable hour of nine. As usual we fell behind, this time mostly because of extra road works on the 'road', which if continued will mean that one day this may actually resemble a road. A lot of the time we were on river beds.
The truck journeys themsleves are fairly boring things. The scenery is OK, but generally quite similair to what went half an hour before, so we don't sit there looking out the window. Instead people play music, read, watch their MP4 players, play PSPs, or drink.
Yep, we have fallen into a slight habit of beginning drinking when it looks like we are an hour or so away from the destination. But today all we had was a local vodka, which tasted rank. I still drank at least a 1/4 of the bottle. All would have been fine, except the bus then took one diversion too many, and broke a spring. Everyone got out, and a few people used the opportunity to take a leak. I was confident that we were only half an hour from the end and I would be able to hold off.
OK, you all guessed whats coming next, having to get the truck to make an emergeny stop so I could take a pee. All I can say in my defense is that the rest of the gits on the truck did start talking about the NASA lady who drove from Texas to Florida using a nappy, specifically to make me need to go. I will have revenge.
Despite all that I was still able to go out for a nice meal when we got to Potosi, and have a few more beers (unlike some others). This is the highest altitude we sleep at on this trip, 4050 meters, and despite the warnings about drinking at altitude, I have been drinking enough water to ensure so far no hangovers.
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