A most Patagonian adventure

As we mentioned we decided to semi blow the budget and head down to El Calafate to the National Park of Glaciers. I have to say it was worth every penny. In El Calafate is the Perito Moreno Glacier that is an active advancing glacier 5 km wide and 60m tall. We took a walk and a boat to get up close to the glacier as it carved icebergs into the lake. It was a spectacular and beautiful sight that was only slightly spoilt by constant drizzle and extreme cold! The photos and video are pretty great (Maura takes the scenery shots I do the animals) so hopefully we´ll get them available to view soon.

The next day, after an evening of entertainment with 6 Irish lads, we decided to try our hand at bird watching and headed for a walk to a near by lake to watch halks ducks and flamingos. The highlight was later in the day when all the flamingos flew in from far away places and we got to watch a steady stream of them coming in to land as the sun set behind them.

We then headed into the national park to a town called El Chalten, this town is in the shadow of the well-known Fitz Roy mountain part of the Cerro Torres mountain range. It is surrounded by glaciers and snow capped mountains. We ended up doing two monster hikes that left my feet and legs battered but they were seriously lovely walks. I would highly recommend it! We attempted to summit one of the mountains but were turned back by snow, rain, gales and the fact that our wet weather gear was over 300km away in El Calafate (idiots!). Still a super time.

We have now arrived in Buenos Aires, with only a couple of minor hick ups on the way (the fact I had two very sharp kitchen knives in my hand luggage going through security was one). We are staying in a very budget part of town but it hasn´t stopped us enjoying this beautiful city. Maura will update you on all of that in the next post.

Thanks very much for reading and have a very Happy Christmas and a crazy New Years!

Trekking, trekking and more trekking....

After a few days of living the high life Maura decided that it was time for me to lose the extra pounds I´d gained so we shipped off to St Martin De Los Andes south of Mendoza. St Martin is at the top of Patagonia and is a small town surrounded by lakes, mountains and lots and lots of hiking trails. We put these to good use with a couple of days of energy sapping forced marches up and down large hills. It was a fantastic couple of days and I even got to lead the march which of course resulted in a bit of off trail activity (I wasn´t entirely lost - just a little.)

Next stop was Bariloche further into Patagonia. Again this was a lake surrounded town with stunning scenery and beautiful walks - not sure why we ended up in an Irish pub then! Still we managed to get a couple of great walks in there as well. We were going to head to Chile next but decided that whale watching was more important so we took the famous route 40 across Argentina to Puerto Madryn.

Puero Madryn was a great experience where we hoped to catch Orca´s eating seals off the beach. Unfortunately there is only a 3% chance of seeing this (not mentioned in any of the tourist books). We didn´t even get to see Orcas which was a shame but fantastic viewings of right whales, sealions, Elephant seals, foxes, ostriches(!) an amardillo and tons of pinguins (spelt how the spanish say it) made up for it.

We have now decided to break the bank and head down to the Glaciers of El Calafate (something we can´t afford but have to see), we have just got off a 25 hour bus and we are now going for our beautiful dinner of bread and water....... just kidding we just spent 2 quid on a steak as big as my head, can´t wait!

Bikes & Wines

Our first stop in Argentina was to the beautiful city of Mendoza. As I may have mentioned previously, this is Argentina's wine capital. We spent our first day there wandering around the very pretty streets, and managed to find ourselves a great little parilla (bbq place) where the three of us (including our new friend Keith) chowed down on all sorts of delicious meats as well as a bottle of red, yum! We then signed ourselves up for a bikes and wines tour the next day.

This tour is pretty self explanatory... the bus takes you out into the Maipu Valley where you are dropped off at the bike rental place. You're then given a pretty basic bike and an even more basic map of the area and the different bodegas you can go and visit. Our first stop on the tour was of suprisingly not a bodega but a little farm shop specializing in olives, chocolate, and liquors (namely absinthe.) So after a flaming shot of the latter, we hit the road for the bodegas and wine tastings. Unlike France and other places, wine tasting in South America is pretty laid back which suited us and our little bike posse just fine. I think we managed to visit ever bodega listed on the map... and may have possibly been asked to leave the last one we visited as they wanted to close before we cleared them out of stock! Obviously our trip provided us with valuable knowledge on how to taste the difference between a younger and older Malbec!

We spent another few days enjoying the town, exploring the massive park just outside the city, and eating enormous steaks along the way. It's no wonder that Mendoza is possibly one of our favourite places yet!

I thought they spoke spanish in Chile?!

So we've arrived back in South America... I won't say all in one piece as the bags arrived at least 2 days after us. Not ideal when you've spent the good part of 17 hours flying, missing connections, and negotiating the hostel situation in Santiago. (Oh, and did I mention that they don't speak Spanish in Chile?! They say they do... but it comes out sounding entirely different than anything we've heard before! And apparently Argentinians are worse... so much for those Spanish lessons.) In any case, that didn't stop us from enjoying our first couple days wandering around Santiago, a city that could easily be located anywhere in Europe... and a vast difference from any place we'd been previously on the trip.

We hit the road again pretty quickly and headed out for the beaches of Viña del Mar, and then down to Valpraiso. After lying on the beach for the first day in Viña, it was Tim's turn to decide what we did next. So I guess I shouldn't have been too surprised when we ended up in the city's massive casino till the wee hours of the morning. Needless to say the next day in Valpraiso was less than productive.

And now we've arrived in Mendoza, Argentina and have had our first few tastes of the local goods... steak and wine, and they were amazing. Since the region produces 70% of the nation's wine we've decided this is the place to hire some bikes and go and check out all the local wineries tomorrow... I can't wait!

biking, horsing and wedding.

Last time we undated this we were about to adventure off horseriding and cyling in Sucre. Both of thought Sucre was fantastic, Maura because of the gorgeous buildings me because you could buy plates of chips, sausage, beef and gravy for every meal!

The horseriding was fun although Maura had a certain amount of trouble steering Artoro away from the cliff edges. My horse Santana just spent the time biting everything in his path. It ended in a village drinking Chicha a local corn ber fermented with spit! with a 90 year old lady. Probably the reason we were reaching for the Pepto Bismol for the next week. The biking was also fun starting with two broken bikes in the first 100 metres but ending in a romantic canon swim and an opportunity for a mud bath.

We then headed off to Santa Cruz, not the greatest place on the planet with an enormous spectrum of rich and poor, the rich been drug dealers the poor being drug takers. We did however pay one dollar and go to the Zoo which actually turned out to be a great laugh.

Back in the UK we had a fantastic time meeting up with everyone on Thursday, then it was wedding madness which was brilliant fun. Friday a family dinner then the wedding itself. All very stressful for everyone except us who stayed in a local pub and got hammered everynight!

Let's go blow some sh*t up!

After the nightmarish night bus from La Paz to Uyuni... we opted to travel from Uyuni to Potosi in a slightly more civilzed manner, taking the trip during the day.

Potosi is a large mining city so we decided to do a tour of one of the working mines while we were there. This is basically where you spend 3 hours peeing your pants in sheer terror because of the threat of cave-ins, squishing yourself through tunnels built for dwarves, joining the miners in drinking the 96% alcohol they bring with them, and Tim's personal favourite... being able to buy your own dynamite to "blow shit up."

After being kitted out in all the gear - boots, coveralls, helmet and lamp - we headed off to one of the town's refineries to see how they process all the minerals they extract from the mountain. Next was a quick stop via the miner's market so that completely naive tourists could purchase as much dynamite as they could afford (not hard when it cost about $3!) Then it was straight to the mine (I think the only safety tip we got was how to turn your lamp on and off.) After a few minutes of walking through the first tunnel everyone needed to sit and take a rest. The combination of altitude, a lot of dust, darkness, and small spaces had everyone getting a bit nervous.

The second level we went through was probably the worst... having to crawl on your belly for half and trip down some very rickety ladders for the rest. I'm pretty sure Tim got stuck at one point but still won't admit it!

The 3rd and 4th levels down were a bit roomier, but much harder to breathe in. Tim managed to convince one of the miners to let him have a go at hammering one of the mineral lines... I think the miners words were "he hits like a lady." So after spending about 2 hours underground we finally re-surfaced, all in one piece... just in time to set off some dynamite.

Now I realize that the fuse they stick in dynamite lasts long enough so that it can be planted somewhere first, giving enough time to run away. I did not really understand however why the guide felt that there was still enough time for everyone to take their photo with a stick of burning dynamite... and I was not impressed when Tim handed it to me last.

Another highlight to our stay in Potosi was that it was the city's 199th anniversary while we were there... giving us a chance to check out all the local festivities, including never-ending parades and kids lighting off firecrackers. Even the President came for the day.

We've now arrived in Sucre for a couple days of horseriding and mountainbiking...

The Salt Plains of Uyuni

From La Paz to Uyuni is a relatively short 8 hour bus journey which by our standards should have been a blast. Unfortunately no one had told the Bolivian government that tourists like roads that are paved, not just mounds of dirt and large rocks to drive over. This resulted in us arriving in Uyuni for our Salt Plain tour in not the best spirits.

Still we got into our jeep for our 3 day tour with mounting excitement, especially as I had bought lots of props for amusing Salt Plain photos (beer bottles, plastic dinosaurs and silly hats.) Our driver seemed to be on a mission to beat the record for shortest tour ever so at every attraction we always seemed a bit rushed arriving at the hotels hours before anyone else. But when given lemons Maura likes to make lemonade so we spent our spare time on extra hikes back to the Salt Plains and the lagoons just to get an extra couple of photos!

The Salt Plains were fantastic and very interesting we even got to visit a cactus island and stay in a salt hotel (a bit of a gimmick if I´m entirely honest). The second day of the tour involved visiting an active volcano, seeing thousands of Flamingo´s (much to photographer Maura´s delight) and seeing some multi coloured lagoons.

The third day we got up early to visit some geysers and some hot springs. Again this was slightly rushed by our guide obviously wanting to get home to his wife! The whole experience was fun as our group got on very well again. Two Swedish girls who talked a lot about their new South American boyfriends who they were trying to import home! And a very nice Canadian couple who terrified us all with conspiracy theories about everything in existence....

Although the Salt Plains tour was slightly spoilt by a poor guide, there were some fantastic things to see and I enjoyed the sights of the Atacama desert I just would have liked to have spent longer at each highlight.

Next we went off to put a large fat man into a small hole.

Tarzan & Jane take on the Amazon...

Rurrenabaque is a small town on the Bolivian side of the amazon jungle and where we had booked a 3 day tour of the pampas region (lots of small rivers and wildlife) then a 2 day tour deeper in the jungle to stay under the tree canopy and with LOTS of spiders! Because it's over a 20 hour bus ride from La Paz (almost half of which take place on the world's most dangerous road) we decided to splurge and take one of the small daily flights up there which woudl only take 45 minutes... in theory. In fact, it took us more like 2 days, 45 minutes, multiple trips back & forth from La Paz airport, and a couple extra nights in the hotel before we finally got there. As we would see (and feel!) when we landed in Rurre, is that there is only a very small narrow dirt landing strip in the jungle and when it rains, which it tends to do there, it becomes a massive mud pool and all flights are then postponed until it's drier. In any case, we finally got there, after just a slightly bumpy ride over the Andes.

Once we landed, our tour guide picked us up at the airport (I use that term loosely) in the jeep en route to the boat that would take us to our camp for the first couple night in the pampas. The pampas region is an expansive area of small rivers, wetlands, and with loads of biodiversity. After only a few minutes in our narrow riverboat we had already seen lots of caimans, alligators, turtles, monkeys, too many birds to even name, and capybaras (extremely large "rodent" type animals that love the mud!) We even managed to see a couple fo pink river dolphins before arriving at our camp... which provided the perfect excuse to get in for a swim with them in order to cool off! A lovely sunset and a few cold beers later and we were all tucked up under our mosquito nets and ready for bed.

The next day our guide took the group to look for anacondas in a swamp. I'm pretty sure our effort was a lot better than the rest of the group who all lounged in the shade under a tree for an hour or so as Tim & I mucked through the swamp... intentionally looking for anacondas, and trying our best to avoid the snapping alligators and hidden bees nests. Unfortunately the only thing close to an anaconda that we saw was a dead snake or two floating on top of the water... apparently the weather has been far too hot for much of anything besides the birds to be living in that swamp. That afternoon we jumped back in the boat and headed down to a more secluded part of the river where we were handed some fishing reels and bits of meat in order to try and catch pirañas, on purpose. It took only about 2 seconds before I felt some nibbles on my line, so I quickly pulled it up to see that they had absolutely devoured the meat but not the hook. A few more goes at this and it became very clear that the pirañas had become quite accustomed to boats of tourists feeding them meat. I did however manage to catch a monster which the guide rather harshly called a "sardine." Still, it didn't make it any less delicious that evening when we grilled it up for dinner!

The last day of our pampas tour we took a very early morning boatride out to see the sunrise and enjoy a few moments before the blistering heat and profuse sweating began all over again. Then it was off for another swim with the pink dolphins before heading back to Rurre.

The jungle tour was a little less enjoyable for me as I'd managed to catch my 72nd case of the "south americas" and spent the first day being very ill in the bush. Tim managed to go out on a walk through the forest to see snakes, tarantulas, and some very very old trees. The night walk a little later on was my first chance to see the tarantulas too... in hindsight, probably not the best idea to go searching for large hairy spiders before bedtime!

Our last day in the jungle we went for another walk... this time to go searching for jungle pigs. I'm not quite sure whether we heard or smelled them coming first... but there were loads of them crowding around a wateringhole. Then it was back in the boat for Rurre to catch our plane back to La Paz.

Next adventure on the list is the Salt Plains of Uyuni...

The Best Day of Tim's Life (a.k.a High Altitude Golf in La Paz)

Our first stop on the Bolivian leg of our journey was supposed to be a small town just to the northeast of Lake Titicaca called Sorata. The big pull for us going there was that a small tour operator there offered a 5 day mountain bike and riverboat trip to the amazon jungle near Rurrenabaque. It sounded like loads of fun so we showed up at the tour place on Saturday afternoon in preparation for the trip to leave the following Monday... no one there. Well, it is South America after all so we weren't too concerned. Next day... still no one there. Finally at about 9pm the lights go on and we wander over and chat with a guy there who knows the actual guy who runs the trip... but he's not there. He shows up about an hour later and tells us that the trip that was supposed to leave the next day was in fact not going to go until the following Thursday. That was the end of Sorata... the next morning we were on a bus to La Paz.

Arriving in La Paz is really a breathtaking sight. The city practically clings to the walls of a canyon surrounded by snowcapped peaks. We planned to stay for a couple of days so that we could wander around and see the sights... and of course, so Tim could check off number one on his list of things to do in South America - play golf at high altitude. The first test would be to actually find the golf course... after a bus ride, a missed stop, and a cab ride later we were there. The course was beautiful with panaromic views everywhere, making my job as assistant caddy (Tim & a mate Mario had to each hire one separately) that much better. Getting used to hitting at altitude didn't seem to take much time as both of the boys got off to a good start. After the first nine holes and only a few missing balls it was time for a quick cold drink before heading out to finish the last nine. Considering the language barrier between the players and the caddies... I think they did rather well at taking instructions and doing their best to avoid the water hazards. And I'm sure Tim would like me to mention here too just how well he did actually play... riiiight. Seriously though, I don't think I've seen someone so happy to smash a little white ball around for a few hours... the beaming smile wouldn't leave his face for the rest of the day!

Machu Picchu "the lost city of the Inca's" was..... lost.

The Inca trail was described to us as tough but worthwhile and I´m chuffed to report that both of us were able to complete the trek without too much discomfort. The first day was spent walking along the side of the Ulatambo river getting to know the guides and the 14 other fellow walkers.

Fortunately we were very lucky and the group got on brilliantly with people from Germany, Poland, the US and Australia. Some people even laughed at my jokes which was a real treat! The first night was spent in a small campsite just above the cloud forest. The toilets on the trek left a lot to be desired but we somehow managed to get by.

Day 2 was the really tough day including the walk up to Dead Womens Pass, which at 4200 metres is the highest part of the trek. It was at this point that one girl broke down completely and had to be carried by one of the porters! Maura and I were the first two up as we had the power of the Rocky soundtrack blasting over the Ipods.

Day 2 also saw us spend some time at a couple of Inca sites that were used as messenger homes and sacred sites. the guide gave us a lot of quality info about the fact the Inca´s performed brain surgery and successful blood transfusions. They also invented Penecillin, bad luck Fleming! It´s just a shame that they liked to hump their own sisters and as a result all died of Hemophillia...

Day 3 was relatively easy and was more a chance to get infront of other groups at the campsite near Machu Picchu. We arrived after lunch and were able to take a hot shower, a luxury that we desperately needed. A few beers were then consumed to celebrate arriving so close to our destination.

On Day 4 we got up at 4 in the morning so that we could be ready to see the sun rise over the Machu Picchu site. Unfortunately the weather had other ideas! We raced up to the Sun Gate arriving just before 6 to be confronted with miles and miles of fog. No Inca ruins anywhere! We could either laugh or cry.... we chose the former.

Fortunately the sun decided to burn through the fog and when we had walked down to the ruins they were easy to see and really lived up to our expectations. They whole place is a brilliant example of some seriously perfect engineering. For example at the winter solstice a single sun beam shines through the sun gate (1 mile away on a mountain top) into the top window of the Sun temple. I can bore you with lots more stuff but I´ll save it for the pub when we get back!

We were given a guided tour of the ruins then let loose for an hour. Maura and I decided to run up the hill next to the ruins called Waynapichu to get an aerial view and we weren´t disappointed, the whole scope of the place is spectacular.

We then left Machu Picchu to spend some time in the hot springs of Aguas Calientes. Our bodies have been pushed by constant bug attack, some vomitting and a lot of very large Inca steps. I´m looking forward to a massage a lot!

Next stop is Sorata in Bolivia for Mountain Biking and Jungle trekking, I´ll let you know soon how we get on.

Back to school.....

We´ve now spent a week in Cusco and are very excited about our trek tomorrow when we start the Inca Trail. All our kit has been put together, including a whole shops worth of Coca sweets and Coca leaves. (To help with the altitude of course)!

The week in Cusco has been fun, we have done a lot of walking around the city, including checking out San Cristobal (a rubbish version of Rio´s Christ the Redeemer statue) , some Inca Ruins called "Sexywomen" and a lot of being molested by street sellers offering massages. It is a very beautiful city though and easy to relax in.

We spent one day rafting the Sacred River of the Incas Urubamba which was a lot of fun. The rapids were at class 2 and 3 so not massively scary but enough to get us throughly soaked. It was a great day with some cool people as well.

Another highlight has been the eating of Cuy (Guinea Pig). I must admit it was a lot more fun playing with my food than actually eating it. It tasted a bit like Pepperami (except the brain which was strangely creamy). The squeals of horror from the small child and the vegetarian on the next door table were like music to my carnivourous ears.

School has been interesting from a relationship point of view, I have struggled with a partner significantly better than me at Spanish and unknown to me a bit of a teachers pet as well. The fact I haven´t been able to answer one question all week has made learning tough.

I got what I needed from it though, the exact way to ask for a round of golf and how I can rent clubs once we get to La Paz!

We´ll be back from Machu Picchu next Wednesday so we´ll let you know how we got on!

Lake Titi & lots of Kaka

After a few great days trekking in the Canyon, we decided to have a couple of days of rest with two friends we'd picked up on the way. Mucho Fiestas followed and we ended up at the south of Peru at Lake Titikaka ready to visit the lake islands.

Lake Titikaka is one of the most commercialised places I have ever been with every corner, mountain top, church, or area of natural beauty covered in little old ladies selling silly hats and Alpaca jumpers. Mark and Cassey our friends were in there element paying over the odds for every bit of tat it was possible to buy - hysterical to watch for us as we turned down old lady after old lady!

Anyway that aside the floating Islands of Uros are one of the most remarkable things I have ever seen. Islands 50 metres across made entirely of reeds harvested from the lake and tied together with rope. Surely this must be totally unique? The locals were all so friendly we decided to do a trip to another island to stay with a family (this island wasn't floating though).

The Island of Amantani is 3 hours by boat from Puno and is very rustic and reletively unspoilt by tourists. We stayed with a delightful old lady who looked after us very well. Our first lunch was a bit excentric, 4 different types of potato in a small bowl. But we were eating what the family ate so no complaints from our side. The island was beautiful, with a fantastic view and a couple of fun walks. The highlight for me was watching my beloved dressed up in traditional Andean clothing and spun around a room in a traditional fiesta! (photos to follow I promise!)

Unfortunately my enjoyment of these events was tempered by the fact that every 10-15 minutes I had to rush to a small hole in the garden ..... well you get the picture. The next day we headed over to the Island of Taquile, a slightly larger island in the lake. The fun was seeing it before all the day trippers arrived from Puno, we had the island to ourselves for a little bit which was stunning (although there weren't a lot of Baños around!)

We have now taken a quick detour down to the Bolivian side of Lake Titikaka to visit Copacabana and the Isla Del Sol. We have been here two days and this is the longest I have been able to leave the hotel room! Hopefully we will get another shot when we travel past after Machu Picchu....

Next up is Cusco for a back to school experience - lets hope there aren't any tests!

Flight of the Condors....

Having arrived in Arequipa we first put all our clothes into the hotel Laundry, not the best decision when one hour later we decided to book into a two day trek in the Colca Canyon. Another purchase of clothes was necessary to ensure we were equipped for another high altitude trek.

The Colca Canyon is world famous for its condor population. Every morning as the sun comes up they ride the thermals out of the canyon and go in search for food. This gives humans an amazing sight as the condors fly past as close as 10 metres from the canyon edge. We got up at 3am so we could be at Cruz Del Condor the best viewing spot in the canyon. The condors were fantastic but the cynic in me couldn`t help but feel that it wasn`t entirely natural!

We then proceeded to trek for 7 hours from the canyon edge down to an Oasis at the bottom. This gave me my first opportunity to try Coca leaves, a local remedy to cure hunger, thirst, exhaustion and pretty much anything else! With a Coca inspired spring in our steps we managed to drag ourselves into a mini Eden with palm trees, swimming pools and a very welcome beer. Seeing as though there was no electricity we were quickly to bed once the sun had gone down.

A 5am start to climb the Canyon was not appreciated but making it up the majority of the way before the sun came up was necessary. It took us just under 3 hours, a bit depressing to get overtaken regularly by all the children on their way to school. The rest of the day was spent visiting the local thermal springs although I have to admit I appreciated the all you can eat buffet more!

Our training for The Inca trail is going well, high altitude trekking is now becoming easier as we get wise to the necessary preparations, early to bed and no booze! The Colca Canyon was a beautiful place and we both really enjoyed it.

Muggings: zero South Americas: I can`t count that high!

Doing Lines in South America...

So our first few days in Peru were a little less than welcoming. We made it over the border without any hassles... but arrived into Piura a little too late to catch the overnight bus to Lima so had to spend the night there. The next day we wandered around a town that has only 4 streets while we waited for our bus. The local museum seemed like a good way to kill time so we managed to get ourselves a one hour guided tour entirely in Spanish... I still don't think our guide had any idea we couldn't understand a thing she was saying! Anyway, we got onto our first night bus (equipped with fully reclining seats) and 18 hours later we were in Lima. Now the original plan was to skip Lima, change buses and continuing heading south... that plan got ditched the minute we realized that our bags hadn't caught the same bus to Lima and were actually still in Piura. I can't speak Spanish, but I'm pretty sure the dirty look I gave to bus operators could be easily translated! So since we had to spend the night, we decided to do it right and headed straight for the beach at Miraflores, one of the swankier neighbourhoods in town. A quick stop at the equivalent of the dollar/pound store for tshirts and pants, and a few pisco sours later, everything seemed to be back on track.

The following day we headed down south to Huacachina, a small oasis in the middle of the desert. The day after arriving we decided to go out for some dune-buggying and to test our skills at sandboarding. Needless to say we both made it down the dunes at rocket speed, throwing in a few twists and turns, and absolutely without any spills. (I think I'm still picking the sand out of my ears!)

After Huacachina, we headed off to Nasca to see the Nasca lines, ancient drawings in the sand. There best seen by air, so we took a 30 minute flight in a very small and bumpy plane. The lines were extremely impressive, however, the true highlight might have been the pilot blaring "Dangerzone" over the speakers as we were taking off!

Next stop was Arequipa to see the Colca Canyon, the second deepest canyon in the world...

A whale of a time!

So our few days in Puerto Lopez were brilliant fun, after sleeping through an earthquake, we spent our first day on a trip to the Isla de la Plata which is a poor mans Galapagos. We left harbour for a spot of whale watching. Sure enough after 20 minutes we came across a mother humpback and her calf calmly swimming along. After a couple of minutes of watching this beautiful sight two males came and started courting the female. This involved the males showing the female how powerful they were by flying out of the water at serious speed and crashing down next to the boat. The whales were about 15meters long at least so it was quite unnerving when they were crashing down next to our flimsy boat!
It was with out a doubt one of the greatest things we have ever seen. Maura even got a couple of good snaps (including a great one of the back of my head - sharp hair cut)

Isla De la Plata was very interesting, rich in bird life, we saw hundreds of blue footed boobies, albatrosses and red breasted frigate birds, we also managed to spot a turtle or two. There were also tons of manta rays swimming around the island. After a small lunch we did a spot of snorkelling off our boat which was great with good views of angel fish and other colourful fishes.

The next day we hired bikes and spent the morning exploring Machalilla National Park (and fixing said bikes) including some beautiful beaches and look out points. Both of us then proceeded to get a case of the South Americas and were bed ridden for the next while!

It was then gently off to the city of Cuenca, a quaint town in the south of Equador. With colonial buildings and interesting churches it was a relaxing change from the beach. Two days there was plenty as it only took us two hours to walk every street! Cold water showers and a rock hard bed were not appreciated by our fair weather traveller (me!)

Next stop Pisco in Peru once we have completed our 20 hours of bus rides. It should be a good one!

Tally: Muggings: Zero (but one hooters hat lost) "South Americas": two

The adventure continues but first my take on buses!

So far our experience of buses has been mixed to say the least - there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to what goes on with the transport network. We decided to be different from what the guidebook suggested which was interesting to say the least. Our first journey was delayed as it became apparent that they hadn't completed the road we were meant to be travelling on - an enjoyable six hours was spent as they literally lifted rocks and dirt from in front of our bus!
Two tired and weary passengers then arrived at queveda to get on our next bus, fortunately they had a mechanic on board as the bus proceeded to break down every 20 minutes, never a good time especially when one of us had a bad case of "the south americas" .

Last night we decided to cross the border confident that we would arrive in the border town of Piura (Peru) to be able to get a night bus to Lima - we are still here, stuck as the Peruvians have never heard of such a thing as a timetable. They only go when there is sufficient demand and apparently two Gringos was not enough to interest them last night!

Week 1

So we´re off to a great start.. Had a couple very nice days in Quito wandering around the Old Town and taking a cable car up to one of the mountains overlooking the city and generally just trying to acclimatise to the altitude. We headed down south of Quito to a small city called Latacunga on Friday which we used as our base for a couple of day trips to Cotopaxi and Lake Quilatoa.

Cotopaxi is one of Equador´s most impressive volcanos and reaches about 6,100 meters high. Our trip started on Saturday with a drive through the national park, at which point Cotopaxi was totally covered in clouds... but by the time we parked the car and got our gear the clouds had lifted and the views were fantastic. The hike up to the climbers refuge was shall we say, less than fantastic. Walking up 300 meters at 4,500 meter altitiude is tougher than it sounds! Tim practically sprinted it of course knowing that lunch was waiting for him at the top! After eating, Tim and I continued up the mountain to reach 5,000 meters and where the glacier began. The view alone made the complete lack of oxygen and dizzy spells all worthwhile! Then it was down the hill to a very pretty lake and a bit of a hike before heading home.

The next day it was off to Lake Qiulotoa which is a massive volcanic lake about 3,500 meters high and surrounded by mountains - the sight of it was breathtaking. Tim and I had hired a guide for the day in order to drive us there and take us on a hike through the mountain paths that run along the edge of the lake. Apprently he wasn´t as keen as we were and dumped us with a local 10 year old boy who had the unfortunate task of trekking with us for 5 hours. Luckily for us he was really friendly and equally up for a sit down and a couple of sweets every 20 minutes or so! Although the trek was great fun... I´m now starting to have a few doubts about how well we´ll fare on the Inca Trail which is supposed to last 5 days, yikes! The drive to Quilotoa, through the Andean highlands, is considered one of the highlights of Ecuador.

Yesterday it was off to the coast which meant two bus journeys each about 6 or so hours long... mostly on winding dirt mountain roads. The first bus was delayed at some point in the mountains as apparently they were still building the road in front of us. And the second bus broke down about every half hour! But we made it to Manta, a fishing town on the coast, where we had a very interesting breakfast of fried fish eggs and bananas this morning.

Got on another bus after breakfast and are now in a small beachtown called Puerto Lopez. Tomorrow it´s off whale watching off of Isla la Puerta, and then to see more wildlife in Manchalilla National Park. But for the rest of the afternoon, I think it might be hammocks and cervesas for us!

Passport

The passport still hasn't arrived and we are getting very nervous - this trip could be very short and sweet!