| 27/10/05 |
No Job Yet |
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Just thought I'd stick in a quick update - in case anyone is still checking.
My bag still has not turned up! So I think I'll have to give up any hope I had of ever getting it back. Oh well I have travel insurance!
I am still hunting down a new job, had a few interviews, and have a few more lined up in both Leeds and Manchester, so everyone wish me luck.
I have been keeping myself busy, I thought it wise to start doing something IT related, or the interviews could have proven embarrasing having not touched a computer for 3 months! My new Venture is TeachersTalk Forums this is an online community for Teachers NQT's and PGCE students to share their knowledge and experience, or just to have a moan about school life! Please feel free to pass the link on to any teachers you know. |
| 22/08/05 |
I'm Home! |
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Well I made it back to Britain safe and sound, getting to Heathrow at 7pm on Saturday, and after a long coach journey made it to Leeds for 5am. I did go out and get very drunk on the Thursday night with my fellow travellers at the hostel (well it was my last night!) I don't remember getting back to the hostel, but I do remember waking up at 11 the next morning, when my flight was at 12! Suffice to say, I made it to the airport with 20 minutes to spare, but wouldn't let me on the flight! So I had to pay $100 to get the ticket changed to a later flight that days Whoopsy!
My rucksack, which has made it on and off numerous busses, planes and across several borders, didn't have quite so much luck and is currently missing in action. Apparently it could be anywhere between here and Chile, and I play a waiting game now to see if it turns up!
So apart from losing all my new cothes, and my souveneirs (cheap tat!) I have lost a litre of whisky, which I am most cross about! |
| 17/08/05 |
Uyuni Salt flats |
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On Saturday evening I headed out on a bus to Southern Bolivia to do a 3 day trip in a 4x4 to the Salar de Uyuni (Salt Lake), Lagunas, and Geysers.
The overnight bus down there was on a par with the bus to La Paz - it Froze! - but this one had the added bonus of not being on proper roads, they shoved the 5 gringos on the back seat of the bus (the worst place to be if you are expecting comfort!) so after a freezing night of having my teeth shaken out I arrived in Uyuni at 5am. Luckily for me I had this booked as a tour, so I was picked up from the bus and taken to a hotel, where I could get a few hours sleep before my 10 o'clock start!
Day 1 The next morning I was pushed from the tour company I booked with to another one that had a seat free, so I ended up spending the next 3 days with a group of French people who were all friends!!!! (no comment!) Luckily (I guess) they spoke English, some better than others.They were alright, but spent a lot of the time behaving like kids and after the second day they were relly starting to get on my nerves!
Anyhow, the first day we headed out to see a train graveyard (there was apparently a massive one on the fourth day, but I only had 3 days as I headed across the border to Chile, rather than returning to La Paz), after that we went straight out to the salt flats (they were huge - 6000 square metres, the largest concentration of salt on earth - it took us 2 hours to drive all the way across - and that was at speed!) We stopped at a little village where they mined the salt, and you could buy salt carved souveneirs, a little further in there was a hotel right in the middle, built completely out of salt blocks, even the furniture inside!
Apparently there is water underneath the salt and in one place the hard crust is broken through with pools of really clear water, where all the chemicals and water react and bubble up to the surface, it looks like a hot pool, but its really cold, and is just where the gas is being released.
A little further on an we stop at Isla de Pescada, this is a larage island in the middle of the flats that is covered in giant cactii, we stopped here for lunch, followed by a short hike across the island. Its amazing to think that however many millions of years ago this entire island was completely below water!.
Day 2 We headed out to a small village that was obviously a remnant of the rail network that used to run through bolivia (it was almost like a ghost town, we were the first tourists there that day, and after another car pulled up, the children appeared, to get their Bolivianos for having their photos taken!) I got quite arty here, as their was lots of ice, being lit in amazing ways by the sun.
Just a quick note: this area is at an altitude of around 3,500 - 4000 metres, at this altitude it is very cold, and there is a constant wind that really chills you (even though the skies are beautifully blue and clear, and the sun is still really hot)
We carried on to the first of a few Lagunas, this is where we saw wild Flamingos. Carrying on along the track we passed a couple of places wher the constant wind had eroded the rocks to form all sorts of strange shapes - one being named the Condor rock. The last Laguna of the day was Laguna Colarad (red lake), I don't know why it was red - but it was - and it VERY cold here, the wind meant that you didn't want to stay outside too long without some serious insulating layers on! We stayed the night in a dorm at the side of this lake
Day 3 The third day began witha short trip out to the Geysers (I was expecting huge jets of water, but it was mainly all gas!) The landscape here was fascinating, with craters, gas jets, and bubbling mud, I could have stopped here and watched the pools of mud for hours!
Next stop was another lake, frozen over, but with the sun just starting to melt the edges, the top corner of this lake though had a hot pool, from natural hot springs, the water was really warm (amazing considering the freezing conditions) I stuck my hand in, but didn't fancy getting undressed in the cold wind, though there were a few brave souls who got right on in there! We headed then onto the last big Laguna for the day - Laguna Verde, this was apparently green due to the arsenic content in the lake, and was devoid of any life, because of the high arsenic content!
That was the end of my 3 day tour, and I headed across the border by bus to San Pedro de Atacama, where I booked myself a bus to Santiago - a 20 hours bus journey! |
| 12/08/05 |
Bolivia |
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Ok first off thank you to those that have sent me an email - I was getting fed up having to pay to check my email and not having anything to read!
For those of you that seem to think I've lost weight (just about everybody!) I have!
I got weighed at the airport in the jungle as they needed to know exact weights for the light aircraft - I was only 13 1/2 stone! I'm wasting away! Its not that I'm not eating, i've just done so much exercise, walked so many countless miles that I burn off everything I eat! - I do still have a very healthy appetite, and am really starting to crave fish and chips and hot mug of tea!
I have headed over to Bolivia, crossing the border on tuesday morning, after what has to be the worst bus trip ever.
Me and half a bus of tourists all got warned that the journey would be cold and told to take our sleeping bags! How cold could a bus be? Well freezing is the answer, the bus slowly got colder and colder, I went from being fully dressed (including jacket) to using my sleeping bag as a blanket, to ending up completely inside my bag all curled up trying to warm my toes up because they had gone completely numb!
Anyhow, I started in Copacabana at the side of Lake titikaka, and had a night on the beers with some of the people off the bus, then did an 11km hike across the Isla del sol (this is the birthplace of the Incas), it was a beautiful island, with some fantastic views, glorious beaches, and it was so quiet. You seem to get very little wildlife at altitude, so every now and then along the walk I just stopped to take it all in
I headed over to La Paz the capital of Bolivia on Thursday, and am sat here now, its still quite cold out of the sun, because where still at altitude, but the sky is a glorious blue and the sun is beating down.
I head out on a 3 day trip tomorrow for the salt flats at Uyuni, from there I will cross back over into Chile and head back down to Santiago to get my flight back next Friday! (I get back to Leeds at 5:15am on Sunday morning!) Yes its nearly all over, part of me is happy to be heading back (for fish and chips and proper tea) and part of me wants to stay out here for longer, as there is still so much to see, ah well maybe another trip one day.
For all of those of you who say you are soo jealous and wish you could do something like this yoursleves - there is only one thing thats stopping you - and thats you! I'm a lazy arse, and I've managed to do it - and am having a thoroughly good time too - so come on everbody, start saving those pennies and head out into the big wide world!
If anyone knows Kelly D's email, can they send her this link? Thank You. |
| 08/08/05 |
Rainforest - Manu National Park |
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Well I spent five days on a trip into the rainforest, inside the Manu National Park, with Pantiacolla Tours, outside of my flight this has been the single most expensive part of my trip!
It was a very worthwhile experience; I got bitten by bugs, though the DEET spray worked wonders. I sweat a lot in the humid conditions, and came back with everything I owned smelling (and being) damp!
Still no emails from anyone though! I am ashamed of you all. Apart from my parents – Thanks Mum and Dad!
Day 1 We were picked up at 5.30am and driven out to our ‘bus’, which was apparently too big to drive into the city centre.
This bit is copied from the Pantiacolla website Leaving Cusco we head over the Andes, stopping for a coffee at the beautiful colonial village of Paucartambo. Continuing, we climb to the highpoint of the Manu Biosphere at about 3,800 m before descending to the cloud forest. In these mysterious surroundings we take a hike to the lek of the incredible cock-of-the-rock, to see the 'performance' of the males right under our eyes. We spend our first night in the camping huts of Posada San Pedro (appr. 1,600 m).
Day 2 At daybreak we continue by bus to tropical lowland rainforest. Here at the small village Atalaya at 650 m, we change into a motorized canoe to navigate down the turbulant Alto Madre de Dios River to Boca Manu. As night falls we make camp on one of the beaches.
There wasn’t really very much to see on day 2, we saw vultures, and some herons, and a few other birds, but the boat trip was good – nice and relaxing, and in the hot sun the movement of the boat created a nice cooling breeze. My digital camera unfortunately isn’t the greatest thing for taking photos of wildlife – especially at a distance, there was an American couple on the trip that had a ‘real’ camera, and when they get back to the states they are going to share their photos with the group. (there is still about 80 photos that I took to look at though!)
The night on the beach was an unforgettable experience!!!!! It was really hot and humid, and we stopped off at a little village where we had a few beers, and used the facilities, before crossing the river to a sandy beach area on the other side. This was our home for the night, there was no breeze and the conditions were harsh, there were swarms of sand flies, and other bitey bugs, that we had to try and keep out of our tents. We ate dinner in a sealed tent, with bugs being fished out of our food, and the frequent slapping of flesh as people got bitten. I spent the night sleeping in my shorts in a permanently soaked state!
Day 3 It was great to get off the beach and get back in the boat where the sand flies were blown away and we all got the chance to cool down. A 5am start ensured we got to the Manu River early, before other boats had scared the wildlife – and we weren’t disspapointed. Within the first hour on the river we saw a Tapir swimming across the river in front of our boat and head off into the jungle at the other side. This is an apparently very rare sight, as these are nocturnal animals that are very shy, and so get spotted very rarely! From this point on everyone was scanning the banks of the river with their binoculars for any signs of wildlife!
During the day we saw numerous Caiman, both the black and white variety (Caimans are very similar to crocodiles!) We saw a family of Capybara (huge beaver like aquatic Guinea pigs!) craossing the river, there was 2 on each bank as we passed through! Numerous types of birds, swallow, herons, snake bird!?, vultures, osprey…..
We made it up to our campsite (palm leave roofed huts! – but with a comfortable bed with mosquito net!). A late afternoon hike into the rainforest, took us to Lake Otorongo where we saw (from a distance) and atop a 15mtr lookout tower, a family of giant otters feeding in the lake!
We were attacked by a group of Spider and Cappuchin monkeys on the way back to camp! They were crossing the trees directly overhead, and dislodging loose branches, fruit and seed shells, one hard seed shell about 8 inches long and looking like a split in half banana buried itself an inch into the ground right in the middle of our group!
After our evening meal we headed out in the dark for a midnight bug spotting walk! We al had our torches at eye level scanning around the jungle looking for any kind of light to be reflected back at us! It sounds a bit dull but was actually really interesting, and we learnt quite a bit about the tiny wildlife, and dangerous bugs that live in the rainforest!
Day 4 Today we set of on another hike into the rainforest, this time heading for Lake Salvador, where we could take a Catamaran out into the lake to view the wildlife form a great vantage point. We spotted more Caiman, and watched a young hawk try to catch a Hoatzin! What we were really after seeing was the family of giant Otters that live in the lake, and it wasn’t too long before they obliged by popping up at the side of the lake, there was a big group of at least ten otters, and we got really close up (with the binoculars you could see them feeding really closely!) It was a really amazing sight and we watched them for about 30 minutes before the rainclouds closed in and we had to head back to shore before it started raining.
Our trip back to camp was a little hurried as by this time it was really raining heavy, and we all just followed our guide and trudged back through the wet undergrowth. We all got sufficiently wet (it was too humid to dry out our clothes so they stayed wet for the rest of the trip!) Our Lunch was brought forward and we got to the big dining hut just in time for it to really start chucking down, this was proper tropical downpour, I’ve never seen rain so heavy, and our guide said that this was the kind of rain that they normally get in the wet season and was pretty rare to be this heavy during the dry season!
After a couple of hours of playing cards the rain stopped and we headed back out for a 3-4 hour hike into the rainforest! We got a boat to the opposite side of the river, and trudged into the muddy forest, we saw more monkeys, this time the squirrel monkey and the wooly monkey, which we watched dangling from a branch solely by its tail!
I managed to see the back end of some kind of big rodent!
As dusk fell we headed back to our pick up point but had our way blocked by a fallen tree, we all waited patiently while our guide went off to try and find the trail at the other side, and apparently got lost and popped up 15 minutes later behind us, we all then turned around and followed him for 5 minutes back along the path we had just came along, before he realized he was and we had to turn back around again and headed back to the fallen tree!!!! By this time light levels were getting low and we waited while the guide climbed over the tree to find us a wait out, where he apparently found the guys who drove our boat, who had obviously gotten worried enough to follow the trail back from the end point for about 10 minutes into the rainforest to come and find us! But we made it safely back to camp.
Day 5 The last day! an early start, and a wake up by the howler monkeys! (a really strange noise – more like barking than howling) to be on the boat to get across to the Boca Manu airport in time for our 10am flight (we all knew it would be late – everything in Peru is) After a long trip down river we made it to the airport (see the pictures!) the plane arrived and took another group that were waiting first! But came back for us and we were on our way by about 2.30. At the airport there was actually a bird a Gouan that we didn’t see in the rainforest, but was in the terminal and apparently quite tame!
A quick word about our guide Arto (Finnish) he is apparently the best guide out there, and he really knew his stuff (apart from getting lost in the jungle!) When we went to the park rangers office on day 3 to sign into the Manu reserve there was a book on sale about the Manu park, and we noticed it had actually been written by our guide, so we were literally with the man who wrote the book on the Manu rainforest! |
| 07/08/05 |
Where is Everyone? |
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Well I've just returned from a 5 day trip to the rainforest, and had exactly 0 emails to read on my return!
I know your all reading my journal, and how many per day, so one of you could at least send me an email to let me know that you're all still alive! |
| 02/08/05 |
Nazca - The Lines |
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Well I had 5 days to kill between my return from Machu Pichu, and my rainforest trip, which starts tomorrow, so I decided to jump on an overnight bus on saturday to Nazca, do the half hour flight over the lines, and catch an overnight bus back to Cusco on the sunday.
I'm glad to say everything went according to plan (I'd wanted to see the Nazca lines at some point on my trip, but didn't know where to fit it in, this is probably the more expensive way, but at least I've seen them!).
The bus down was easy enough, apart from the woman who got on after 3 of the 12 hours, with a small baby, that after about 1am decide to keep waking up and crying every couple of hours, doesnt matter how loud your headphones are, the little bastard kept waking me up! I got woken by the hostess on the bus at about 6am and dumped in the street, in what looked the middle of nowhere, still trying to open my eyes, I was accosted by 3 different peopl all trying to sell me a trip in a plane. I picked one that said I could spend the rest of the day free by the pool at a hotel!
Anyway, once the clouds cleared we went up in our light aircraft (3 people per plane!) and did our half hour flight over the famous Nazca lines, it was over so quickly, and I don't think the photos have come out that well (I'll upload, and hope they're okay). Anyway I got to sit by the pool at a nice hotel for the rest of the day, catching some sun. The guy who collared me off the bus, also sorted out my return bus, it was Perus independance day last week, and all the buses were full with peruvians travelling to see family, so I ended up on more of a local bus, but at 9pm at the bus office, there were more gringos than locals! |
| 29/07/05 |
The Inca Trail |
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Right well I have just spent 4 days trekking up and down mountains, seeing Inca ruins, getting very tired, making my muscles ache more than they ever have before, and getting eaten by flies - all to see Maccha Picchu (I should have just taken the bus!)
Day 1 (12km) We were picked up from our hostels at 5.30 - 6am on Monday morning (we made the hostel get up and make us breakfast first, which was very much needed) The Group of twelve that made up our trek were all shuffled onto the bus and driven two and a half hours out to the km 82 (Huayllabamba) to start the Inca Trail, picking up 20 porters on the way!
Crossing the suspension bridge over the Vilcanota river, after the checkpoint where you have to show your passport and get your 4 day pass for the trail, we began the trek! The first day is the ´easiest´ a 12 km hike up 300m to our first camp at Wayllabamba. Altitude = 3000m It was a lovely hot sunny day and was relatively gentle till we got to our first steep hill, this is where we saw the porters slowing down, so we got really worried. (The porters were apparently carrying up to 35kg of gear and took the entire trek at a run! - most of us were lucky to manage to do more than a crawl!)
We passed through a few ruins on the way (I can´t remember the full story behind each, but Llactapata was an agricultural settlement, that I have some nice photos of, provided food for the area)
We stopped for tea at around 10.30, where we were all completely surprised by the excellent service, there was a good size tent for us all to sit in shade from the sun, we got a drink of tea/coffee/chocloate, a huge dish of popcorn and some biscuits, we were all expecting to be sitting on a rock drinking boiled water!
Continuing on our trek it took another 5 and a half hours to reach Wayllabamba (I honestly can´t remember much about the first days trek!) At Wayllabamba we all got another surprise to find that the entire camp was already set up, the porters had got there so much earlier than us, all the tents were pitched and our cook had been very busy, typical meals for the entire trek were 3 courses, starting usually with soup, followed by a mountain of food - beef chicken, with rice, potatoes, vegetables, all cooked to a high standard, and even presented with the kind of touches you´d expect in a restaurant, not bad to say we were all crammed in a tent!
The end of the day came quite early - it got dark around 6-7pm, whilst we were dining, so it was torches out to head back to our tents for an early night (and early start - 6am!) Tents were 4 man with two people sharing, there were all couples in the group apart from me and a crazy girl named Lili who travelling alone so we ended up having to share a tent for the next 3 nights.
Day 2 (12km) Day 2 started with a wake up call from the porters, with hot cup of coffee to help us get out of bed, breakfast was served in the tent (apparently the same tent all the porters slept in in the evening, how they did this I don't know!) a beaker of very nice porridge, pancakes with caramel sauce, and more hot coffee, or coca tea. The nights sleep was the not the greatest, everyone had the same problem, the ground was uncomfortable, the matress rolls too thin, and by the end of night 2, everyone had sore hips from trying to sleep on their sides (I could't sleep on my back as I was too long for the tent!)
This was the hardest day, it says so on the website, and the people I've met that have done it say its a killer! this is another 12km, but its straight up, from 3000m up to the highest point of the trek at 4200m! (at this height the air is thin!) After about 1 and a half hours we stop at a camp site with toilets and have our mid morning tea break (popcorn and biscuits!) This day has turned into a blur of aches and tiredness, but we headed up into the cloud forest and had we not had to watch every step we made, to prevent a long tumble down the mountain, the view would have been amazing! We climbed up to dead womans pass (the highest point) it was a combination of rocky path and Inca steps (but mainly steps).
The weather was a little cooler, but it was such physical effort that you didn't stay cold for long.
The last hour up to the top was the hardest it seemd almost vertical with some of the steps being really high, and with the air getting thinner it was a real effort just to keep going. A few of us stayed together and had a good strategy of 10 minutes walking 2 minutes break, this kept us going all the way to the top, though the last 100 mtrs was harsh, you could see the top and the groups already up there, but the steps were so steep! We all made it with no casualties, it was really cold at this height, so out came the hat and gloves, and a pose for a group photo. Do you know what came next? Yup we had to go all the way back down the other side!
Just before we all set off the weather turned, and the clouds came down on us, after about 10 minutes of the knee battering downhil slog, the rain started, and made all the steps slippery, how we all managed to not hurt ourselves, I don't know, we all slipped around, and at 1 step there was a pool of blood, which must have been from one of the other groups! We even saw a tour guide from another group take a tumble! We all slogged it out going down from 4200 toa our campsite t Pacamayo at 3600m. We were all very glad that our tents were all up and there was hot coffee waiting for us, thankfully the rain eased a bit and we all sat huddled in our food tent, resting, and complaining about our knees.
The second nights sleep was much like the first, tents on a slope, so constant shifting back up the tent every hour or so and a very broken nights sleep.
Day 3 (15km) Day 3 started with the hot coffee wake up call, after breakfast we could see other groups climbing up the path out of the campsite, hitting the sun creeping into the valley, and stripping off a layer of clothes as they heated up. It was much the same for us as we set off, an hour or so of uphill climb brought us to the first pass with the ruins of Runkuracay, from there another hour up to the second pass Abra de Runkuracay (4000m!) around here the pass is almost completely original, so you know you are really treading in the footsteps of the incas.
An hour later and we reach the second pass, the sun was out and it was nice and hot as we reached Sayacmarca 'Inaccesible Town'. Our guide took us up the single flight of stairs that was the only access to this place, and gave us a guided tour of the ruins.
Next was down Inca steps and then back up again into more cloud forest, this is basically a side of the mountain that doesn't get much sun, so has lots of jungle growing on it, the trail goes right through this jungle and is nice and cool which was a welcome relief, as you climb back up this mountain you get some spectacular views of the valley below. Descending back down there's a very impressive tunnel carved out of the side of the mountain (why? because the mountain was in the way - so they just went through it!)
We then climbed back up again to the 3rd pass at 3700m just after this point is the ruins of Phuyupatamarca 'Town in the Clouds' This place is the best ruins we've seen so far, even though it was from above! More walking and another cave in the mountainside and we were getting close to Winay Wayna, where all the groups camp as its the closest campsite to Maccha Picchu. There are some impressive terracing near the campsite, and the ruins of Winay Wayna, that I didn't visit because as soon as I sat down, I found it very difficult to get back up again!
The campsite had a restaurant where we had our last big meal from our cook - he surpassed himself withe 2 different chicken dishes and a beef and cheese dish, with rice, pasta, potato croquettes and sweet potatoes, we all felt embarrased leaving so much food, but its difficult to eat big meals at altitude, and there was just so much. Anyway the restaurant served beer so we all had a cold one with our meal!
Before turning in for the night (at 8.30, it was a 4am wake up the next morning!) we tipped our porters and our cooks, got a rendition of the peruvian national anthem from them, as it was Perus Independance day the next day.
Day 4 (5km) After a half decent nights sleep (it was quiet and flat) we all had to get up and go for coffee and pancakes at 4.30, it was still dark and we had to be completely ready to start walking by 5.15am, to get to Maccha Picchu for sunrise. It was supposed to be 1 and a half hours walk to the sun gate, I think it took me two (my watch stopped 2 weeks ago so time has just lost all meaning; which is nice!) the first 45 minutes was in the dark, stumbling along by torchlight, but it started to grow light, before the sun fully came up, there was more cloud forest, and it seemed like I was following a path deep into an unexplored jungle (Indiana Walker!)
Just before the sun gate there is a flight of 50 vertical steps - I climbed these using my hands as well, with my pack on it felt as though I was going to fall backwards, without this crawl method! 5 minutes further and you reach Intipunku 'Sun Gate' where everyone sat down (after wrapping up warm and waited for the sun to come up across the mountains and light up Machu Picchu. The views from this spot were great, and it was nice to walk down from the Sun Gate into Machu Picchu in the nice warm sun.
(the only dissapointment we al felt, was that after 3 days of really hard physical work we had all expected to get Machu Picchu to ourselves for a couple of hours before the rest of the tourist got there, but we could see from the sun gate a steady stream of tourist buses heading for the main entrance.)
Our Guide took us on a tour of the site explaining the temples and altars and pointing out various interesting spots (I got bitten to death again by more flies!) After the 2 hour tour we had some spare time to explore further, or hike up Huayna Picchu, the big mountain to the side of the site, only 2 from our group were brave enough for this, it is nearly vertical, and the steps are a little treacherous. The rest of us found somewhere cool to take a break, and watch all the American tourists turn up!
Well what can I say - this has been the hardest 4 days I have ever had, but also the most challenging, rewarding, and I hope memorable. I have seen some beautiful views, and experienced something that a lot of people I have met whilst travelling, wished they could have done, so I feel quite priveledged too. The food was unbeleivably good, and I now have calves twice the size they were last week, its just a shame the pictures don´t do some of the sights justice. I met some interesting people on the way, and I'm really glad I had this experience - Enjoy the photos! |
| 29/07/05 |
Cusco |
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| I made it to Cusco on Friday last week, after being placed on a waiting list for a plane from Lima (Go knows why they couldn´t just sell me a ticket, cos there were plenty of empty seats on the plane) I paid for the Inca Trail trip and got my itinerary. I spent a couple of days aimlessly wandering around Cusco, theres lots of old stuff to see (I´ve chucked up some pictures) I stayed in a double room in a hostel so I could get a few good nights sleep before (and after) the Inca Trek. |
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| Just to let you all know - I updated the pictures! |
| 20/07/05 |
Huacachina (Wakacheena) |
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Well I spent a couple of nights in Lima, as most people had told me its not paticularly exciting, I went to the pub on saturday night with a few people from the hostal, where we were all handed an unusual contraceptive from girls wearing Lycra! (withoout too many details its a spermicide to be used 10 minutes before!) - obviously they're safety concious in Lima. Sunday I went into the centre with an Australian couple Nick and Laura, there was some sort of parade/festival thing going on, but there really wasn´t much to see.
I had a dominoes Pizza on Sunday night, an 8 inch pizza with coke for 10 soles (putting that into perspective - thats around 1.50gbp!)
Monday I headed off to Huacahina, this is an Oasis in the desert about 15 minutes from Ica (50 soles/8gbp for a luxury coach, with a nice ham sandwich even though it was only a 4 hour trip!) The Oasis really is beautiful, its small and is surounded by a few hostals and hotels. I stayed in Casa de Arena - this is the one everyone I met recomended as the party hostel! It had a pool and an organised Dune Buggy and Sand Boarding trip out into the dunes.
I met up with a girl called Becky and some norwegian guys called Yon and Bram, we did the dune buggy trip on wednesday morning (tuesday I just hung out by the pool and read my book - The Davinci Code - Its very good - read it!) The Dune buggy was awesome, by far one of the most fun things ever, we got Alfredo, the 'Loco' driver that came recommended by everyone, it was better than a roller coaster, and with the boarding down some huge dunes included, it was well worth the 5gbp for 2 hours! The rest of the time spent here was taken up with sunbathing by the pool (I might just come back with a tan yet!)
In the evenings there was a huge barbecue for 2gbp, with loads of food and free Pisco Sour (we got the food then stocked up on the free drinks before they ran out!) By far this has been the best part of the trip - though the inca trail is still to come!
I found the Davinci Code to be a book that everyone everywher had read, it started up many converstions with lots of people from all over the globe (thats how I met the norwegians!) I sold it for $4 to an israeli girl who hadn't read it yet. I only bought it for bus reading but couldn't put it down.
I have a few photos from Huacachina, but the last place you want to be taking your camera is down a sand dune! The sand really does get everywhere!) |
| 16/07/05 |
Colca Canyon |
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Well I arrived in Lima - the capital of Peru today (a 16 hour overnight trip from Arequipa, in a nice comfortable coach). The last 2 days I have spent on a trip to the Colca Canyon, near Arequipa. This was an excellent trip to see condors in the cnyon. The first day was an early start (4.30am!), this was instead of the usual 8.30 start to avoid troubles with a strike that was due to occur.
The drive up took us till 12:30, with a few stops on the way, the highest point being at 4900mtrs! (It was freezing at this altitude!). Because we got to the small town called Chivay (our home for the night) 4 hours early we were taken on a hike up a nearby mountain to see some ancient burial sites for the local royalty (there are pictures, next time I get to upload them!)
The hike was the first time I have felt the effects of altitude, the walking was not problem, it was only when we started to climb up rocky paths that I started to get really short of breath, a ten minute climb felt like I'd just done a 10 mile run!
After the hike we were taken to some hot spas where we got to spend an hour in a pool of natural hot spring water (very nice).
The second day we were up for a 6:30 start to the top of the Colca Canyon, (Chivay is at the bottom of the Colca Valley), we arrived at 9:30 after looking at some old churches along the way. The Condors were beautiful, it took them an hour to rise on the hot thermals from the sun flooding the Canyon, to the height of our look out point (condors have a wing span up to 3.5mtrs, and don't actually fly they just glide on the hot air as they whey up to 14kg)
One condor landed about 10 metres from where we stood and it was fantastic to watch them fly right above your head. We saw lots of Alpaca and Llama over the 2 days (they are peruvian camels - gogle them for more info) anyway I ate Alpaca steak twice during the tour, pleasant enough but not a paticularly interesting taste.
On tuesday morning in Arequipa I was woken by an earthquake at 7:15am!!!! It lasted about a minute, but it was only small and caused no damage! Arequipa is near to an active volcano named misti.
For those of you that asked (God your all nosey!) the girl in one of the photos is named Sophie, and I met her in the Taxi from the Airport, and we stayed in the same hostel so went and did the touristy sightseeing thing together in Arequipa.
Mick - the furry things were Guinea Pigs, and were housed in the old Santa Catalina Monastery (suspicially close to the restaurnt!) |
| 12/07/05 |
Finally Pictures!!! |
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| Yes - finally I have been able to upload some pictures! Its a bit basic for now, but when I get a chance I will make some notes so you know whaty your looking at! Clicky Here! |
| 11/07/05 |
Welcome to Peru |
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Hola! Here I am in Peru I made it to Arequuipa after a few more days of travelling.
I Crossed the Chile/Peru border on Sunday,had to get a shared taxi across the border to Tacna. By taxi I mean a large american car driven bysome random guy, who fills his car upwith 5 passengers and then drives across the border for 2gbp (I cant find the pound sign on this keyboard!).
You have to go through the Chilean border, drive for another 1/2 mile then go through the Peruvean border, it only took an hour - setting of at twelve and arriving at twelve (somehow I gained an hour crossing the border which threw me out a little!)
Then it was onto a coach for an 8 hour trip from tacna to Arequipa (more fun on the coaches - this one was not luxury, and when the guy in front pushed his seat back I was locked into position for the last 4 hours!) I did get a ham roll a biscuit and a boiled sweet to eat though (Id like to see that on National Express!)
The coach was quite entertaining though, for 7gbp I cant really complain, two made for tv movies my excellent meal and a crazy game of bingo that I opted out of. I figured it would push my limited Spanish a little far, and calling "Cassa" with all the wrong numbers would prove a little embarrasing.
Arrequipa is nice - staying in a decent hostal, and have spent the day wandering around an old 800 year old monastery, though the nuns are locked away in new buildings, and they dont even bring them out for show!
I have seen the ice mummy found in the mountains around cusco, its the best preserved frozen mummy in the world, is about 800 years old, and has been preserved in ice at the top of the mountains from the day she was sacrificed!
I have discovered that Peru is a WHOLE lot cheaper than Chile - I ate last night for about 50p - a dish called Lomo Saltados - a huge plate full of stir fried beef served with chips and rice!, I think my budget may stretch a whole lot further at these prices. |
| 10/07/05 |
Arica! |
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Ok so Arica wasnt really in the plans, but then again for this part of the trip I cant really say that I have any plans!! I stayed here for 2 nights and did the usual sight seeing on Saturday, found some interesting 'art' right next to Mcdonalds (yes they're everywhere!)
I think it must have been a study of the human body cos there were large photos of naked people of all ages and races, some painted - but all naked! Not sure its quite appropriate for a naked chinese pensioner to be shown next to the McDonalds Kids Club though!
Climbed to the top of El Morro - it's a big rock that was used to defend the city in times of war - got some great views of the city though, I need to find somewhere with USB so I can upload a few photos.
Anyhow Saturday night Roberto (the guy that owned the hostel) invited me out for a trip to the local nightclub (it was saturday - how could I say no!) He said we'd be going out late, I didn't realise that meant going out at 12:30! the club was empty when we got there - but was full by 1am.
Entry cost 4 pounds but that got me a free whiskey! - and they don't do measures - they just pour, so I must have had at least a quadruple, with a tiny bottle of coke to top it up! I got tired around 3:30 so had to come home but apparently the club goes on till after 5am - how do they do it? Allin all a good night out and so not what I would have expected to be doing! |
| 09/07/05 |
Im almost in Peru!! |
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Well im sat in an internet cafe in Arica which is just South of the Peru border I will hopefully travel across the border and get a bus to Arequipa tomorrow, (I cant get a hostel for tonight!)
I have just spent 28 hours on a bus from Santiago! (it was a luxury coach with huge reclining armchairs and foot rests, and got to watch 4 movies, so it wasnt that bad a trip.) I wsh there was more to see on the way but it was just mountains - and more mountains! |
| 06/07/05 |
I made it! (after a short delay!) |
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Well here I am in Santiago de Chile - I am a day late, my 18:50 flight from heathrow was delayed till 19:30. Then the man with the tractor that pushes out the plane decided to go on a break, meaning we lost our take off slot!
Anyway we finally took off at nine thirty! arriving in Madrid 11:30 British Time, 12:30 Spanish time, so I missed my 11:50 flight to Chile! I got put up in a nice hotel for the day with 3 free meals and an air conditioned room (I really needed that!)
Ended up on the next days flight - same time, but I couldn´t get my bag, as it was marked foir transfer to the next flight! So I spent all day in Madrid, plus the 13 hour plane journey to Chile, in the same clothes that I set off with on Monday morning! (and I thought the only thing I had to worry about was the fact I left my sunglasses at home!)
Santiago is erm lovely! kind of smogged over which leaves a constant dry throat from the pollution, I don´t like it much so far, so I´ve booked a coach for tomorrow to take me to Arica which is just South of the Peruvian border.
It´s 1 and a half days on a coach, but Peru is where I want to be - so thats where I´m going. No pictures as yet, cos theres not much in Chile (from the little that I´ve seen) to take pictures of! Plus I´m really confused trying to find the keys on this spanish keyboard!!! |
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