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.
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