Arequipa

Nine hours on a crowded overnight bus is not a good way to start the day... Its even worse if ya didnt get any sleep the night before that either... I have come to the conclusion South Americans have an extremely unhealthy obsession with their car horns and they're not the usual beep beep variety either. They use them 24hours a day and there's no escaping the craziness!!

Anyways, I am now one sleepy little chicky but we have arrived in Arequipa this morning and have a free day to recover before heading off for a night in the Colca Canyon tomorrow where we get to go to some more hot springs and condor spotting!!

Good news - I got my emergency passport issued to me today. Hopefully this as well as a copy of my old one and the police report will still get me on the Inca Trail... At the very least, if I can't go on the trail, I will still be able to catch the train up to Macchu Picchu from Aguas Calientes.

I'm off for a mega nanna nap (or should I say a little afternoon laydown in my undies...) now and I'll wriet more when I return from the Colca Canyon. The Internet in this hotel is free and about the best I've come accross lately!!

Nasca

Okey dokey.... Have I had some more adventures or what?...

After having Bill leave the tour in Huanchaco we moved on to Lima and met up with the new people on our tour as well as saying farewell to some of the existing members. The only original (Galapagos) members now is me and Micky with Rich, Kerry and Timmy (from Quito onwards) staying on too. Bella and Jodes have gone on to Cusco to start the trail but we should meet up with them again in Cusco after they have finished and before we start...

Lima was a nice city but once again I have some tragic news to pass on...

Ted has now also left the tour however it was not of his own decision... He was nesting happily in my bag with my camera, purse, passport and mobile when some lovely fecker decided my bag would look better on him... We were eating in a restaurant and I had it the strap over my chair and the bag on my lap however the sneaky prik has still managed to take it away...

So... After two hours, lots of swearing and a cop statement later we got to the consulate and ordered me a new passport which is due to arrive in Arequipa or Cusco soon so I'll be legitimate again.... Fingers crossed it arrives or I wont be leaving the country much less doing the Inca Trail...

Is it wrong that I'm more upset about losing Ted than the financial loss of a phone and camera or even losing all the photo's since Quito?...

Anyway, we're now in Nasca and I'm looking forward to the flight over the Nasca Lines tomoro before we go on to Arequipa on an overnight bus... Everything is all good. I still have some cash and cards as well as maintaining my sense of humour and I'm still looking forward to the rest of my trip!!!

Huanchaco

Thats the name of the place we stayed at last night and tonight... Very pretty!!

As mentioned yesterday we visited Chan Chan and the Moon Temple today and an otherwise great day has been marred by a very sad accident...

Its with great sadness I have to tell you all our good feathery plastic friend Bill has decided to leave the tour. He was last sighted splashing around the fresh water pond in Chan Chan with the locals and altho he was collected back into the pocket bus it seems he has climbed out the back window and made a waddle for it... A frantic search was made upon dicovering his absence however not even a feather has been located.

Needless to say his lifelong friend and travel partner Ted is completely inconsolable at his best mates shock departure however he has vowed to keep smiling and continue on the tour and then reconsider his options upon his return to Australia.

Best of luck to you Billy Boy. You´ll be sadly missed by all who have enjoyed your adventures but especially by me and Ted. xx

Trujillo, PERU

Another day, another beautiful town on the coast of Peru. Today we are in Trujillo but actually staying at a place just outside that I have no hope of spelling or even pronouncing...

Last night we stayed at Chiclayo. This is one of the biggest cities in Peru but hasnt had much in the way of tourism yet so isn´t really worth much of a mention. In the morning we bussed out to the Sipan Museum which was very interesting and that was followed by a four hour bus trip here. Tomorrow we are off to visit Chan Chan and the Moon Temple which apparently are very inportant historical sites... Our guide Tito has talked them up so fingers crossed its fun...

After Trujillo we are on to Lima and then our cool little group is split up and Micky, Kerry, Richo, Timmy and I head off further south with some newbies before going on to Macchu Picchu...

Sorry I havent been in touch mobile wise lately... telstra has no agreements with any companies in Ecuador so i havent had reception for the last two weeks and if anythings been sent to me then chances are its been wiped... Fortunately Peru has great reception and I´m looking forward to hearing from ya´s!!!

Mancora, PERU

I think its Wednesday today and last night we arrived into Mancora on the coast of Peru. Its a gorgeous little coastal town full of surfy types and bars... We´re only here until this afternoon and then we´ll be on the road again to another beach lodging i cant remember the name of right now but am pretty sure the night after that will be Trujillo...

After we left Baños we travelled on to Riobamba which was a fairly unremarkable except it was where we were to board the Devils Nose Railway train the next morning. Unfortunately due to last weeks earthquake in Lima (apparently 7.6 on richter scale but we never felt a thing...) part of the track was broken so we didnt get to go as far as the Devils Nose. Instead we unloaded at another place I cant recall the name of and had a further five hours via bus to Cuenca. The four hours we spent on the train was fun and as usual Micky found a harem of local women to chat to...

Cuenca was a lovely city and the first place we´ve been so far where you can drink the water... During the day we went out to the Ingapirca Ruins (Incan and Cañar) and then our guide Rodrigo took us to a local bar as it was our last night with him and I think I´ve developed a taste for the South American specialty, Pisco Sours... Noice!!!

Yesterday we bussed it for about 5 hours before crossing the border into Peru then a further two hours to get here so we arrived after sunset and its been a pleasant morning exploring the town and meeting the people. This is definitely somewhere you could set up a little surf shop and just chill for the rest of your days...

Still in Baños

Finally... A sleep in and a slow relaxing day... Our only commitments today were optional activities and I chose horse riding halfway up a volcano in the morning and canopying in the afternoon. The horse riding was pretty tame as my horse Pinto didnt seem to like going uphill... He didnt have such a problem going downhill but still didnt do more than a trot... The flying fox was also fairly PG rated coz we weren´t allowed to go down in the Superman position... :)

We get to sleep in again tomorrow and we´re looking at finding some more thermal spas or having a massage as there´s place everywhere for them. Even the hotel maid does a one hour reflexology massage for only $10!! Sometime tomorrow we´re also looking at hiring a quad bike ($10 an hour) and cruising around town. Baños is alot nicer and slower paced than Quito with quiet streets and friendly locals. There is also plenty of adventure and relaxation stuff to do here, one could easily stay for weeks and not get bored!!

In the afternoon we are off to Riobamba before getting up nice and early on Sunday to ride the Devils Nose Railway on to Cuenca.

Baños

HOLA!!

OH.... MY... GOD....!!!! To say I saw some nature yesterday was an understatement!!! I was right there in the thick of things... Let me explain...

On Wednesday we caught the LOCAL bus from Quito to Tena (four hours) and then another one about one hour away into Amazon jungle territory... The lodge we stayed at (Cottococha) was really nice and right on the river so after so long on the bus we thought we´d have a swim only to be warned not to piss in the river coz there´s those wonderful little critters called Penis Fish swimming round... Noice... We also got a ¨safety briefling¨of sorts at the lodge as there´s TARANTULAS and snakes and stuff getting round as theres no electricity and you´re walking around by candle light, you need to be VERY careful...

Anyways.... More about yesterday...

It all began with a humungous grasshopper on our doorstep which had mysteriously lost half his legs... Micky and I debated over whether it was more humane to leave it to nature or kill it and put it out of its misery.... Five minutes and one squashed hopper later we mosied down to the river to go tubing... The tubing was pretty cool but the rapids were pretty tame. The freakiest thing about it was having someone crank up Men At Works ¨Downunder¨as we floated past... After disembarking our tubes it proceeded to piss down for about an hour while we motorcanoed further down river to an animal rehab centre. While on the boat no less than three spiders thought it would be fun to crawl up my leg and have me scream my poor little heart out... The last one got squished on the side of the canoe as a reminder to all others not to venture near me... Then, as soon as I got back on land another one scooted up my legs...

At the rehab centre we met toucans, macaws, ducks, capiburras (?), wild boars and a few different types of monkeys before heading on down to the ocelot (like little cheetahs) cage... Well, this was where it got interesting... Have you even seen a tiger mark its territory by spraying some wonderful piss??? Well, the Ocelot decided I was gonna be his.... Soooooooo fowl!!!! I was covered from head to toe in cat piss!!! The guide said she´s never seen it before so I guess I was lucky... somehow...

BUT, that wasn´t the last of it... On the way out of the rehab centre all the other animals could smell me... The birds avoided me, the monkeys went a little crazy and an anteater thought my toes would taste nice... Icky... Then, at lunch I got attacked by a ginormous wasp before heading on to a local tribe and having their dog think I was his next meal... All this time all I could smell was cat piss and even now my bag has a nasty odor I dont think I´ll be rid of for some time... I pity my fellow travellers for having to put up with the stench too but they´ve been very nice about it seeing as it was such an entertaining time...

Even after all that my adventure in the Amazon was pretty cool. We saw a little snake when we got in last night and I think we saw a tarantula in hiding but wasn´t too keen to investigate - just in case...

Today we got into Baños after a five hour local bus ride and my backpack has been soaked thanks to the Amazonian weather and our bags being on top of the bus... hopefully I´ll have dry clothes tomorrow as we´re off horseriding and canopying (like a flying fox). Should be fun!

My spanish is getting better everyday altho the locals generally speak too fast to understand what they are saying. Fingers crossed I´ll be pretty fluent by the time I get to Mexico and I´ll left to my own devices for a while... eeek....

Last day in Quito

We had a huge day today!! Jodes, Bella Micky and I left the hotel early for the girls to climp up the hill and see the statue before we all jumped on a bus out to some thermal pools at Pattalacta. Micky and I wondered around the Old Town section of Quito and found a shop to download my pics taken so far onto a dvd and also had a drink at the juicebar next door.

The above pic was taken at the thermal pools we found today. The temperature of the pool we claimed was scorching but there were others of different temps and a freezing cold river ran right behind them all so you could dunk in there for an invigorating change. We spent a couple hours here before heading back down the hill for some lunch and then played hackysack while waiting for the bus to take us all the way back to Quito again...

I still cant get over how cheap it is here... This is my spendings for today...

Bus to town $0.25

Pics to DVD $5

Fresh juice $0.50

Bus to Thermal pools $2 (1.5hour drive)

Entry to pool $7 (technically expensive entry for SA but very worth it)

1 can Heineken $1.30

Lunch $4.50 (chicken soup entree and trout main with a juice)

Bus back to Quito $2

Internet $0.60

Hot choc $1

Two loads of washing $6 (washed and folded by hotel)
Dinner $3

BARGAIN!!!

This pic is from when we returned from the Galapagos. This sea lion had just plonked himself on the seat at the bus stop and was dozing away... And the one below is from our very amusing night at Karaoke... This is me and Louise (aka Grande & Poco) singing god knows what... I havent laughed so hard in ages!!!

More pics added for Sugarloaf & Corcovado below...

2nd last day in Quito...

Another lazy in Sunday in Quito and its raining again... We´ve been amusing ourselves for the last couple days walking and taking crazy local transport around this pretty place. The main centre of Quito is pretty easy to navigate but you really do get four seasons in one day here so unless you´re prepared to suffer being either drenched or sunburnt you need to have your raincoat, umbrella and suncream on hand at all times... :)

Yesterday Micky, Bella, Jodes and I caught the bus out to the Equator. There´s actually two places that claim to be on the equator and unfortunately the most touristy one is the wrong place. Micky got caught with that the first time he went out so this time we made sure we got to the right one.

Once we found it (its kinda hidden down a dirt track and not obviousy sign posted) we were guided around by a local Ecuadorian who gave us the history of their indigenous people and also showed us a few tricks of things that occur only on the Equator Line. We managed to get an egg to balance on the head of a nail and the water goes straight down the drain (not swirling clockwise or anticlockwise) and for some reason your strength is somewhat drained... Some books and people claim these are really just tricks but if they are its a very effective show and we were all very impressed.

The night before we found a local karaoke bar that served Cerveca Grande´s (one litre) for $3... The eight of us completely overtook the place and left around 3am after drinking about 35 litres between us... Needless to say there was some very, very dodgy karaoke songs being sung but a great time was had by all.

Tomorrow we are off to some Thermal Springs which is another 2 hour bus ride to god knows where. Micky says he knows the way so figners crossed we make it home alive... :)

Buenos Aires, Quito and Galapagos

Hi All... Yes, I´m still alive... We just got back to Quito today and I´ve just found out one of the hotel maids has stolen my good goretex wind proof rain coat... NOT HAPPY!!! Anyway, the hotel is claiming no responsibility (???) so somehow I have to go find a new one... Thank god Quito it´s a big city and I saw some outdoor clothing shops earlier...

Anyways... On a more positive note the last week has been great fun. Sadly I was only in BA for one night but its a huge place. The main shopping street reminded me of Amsterdams but without all the pot smoke... It would be nice to see more of it during the day as we got in at 7pm and I left at 6am... D'oh...

As expected, my plane was delayed in Lima so I didn´t get into Quito til late afternoon. I met another person from my tour in Lima so I scammed a lift with her transfer driver to the hotel and munched out on empanada´s for dinner... Yummy!!


In the morning we explored the old town section of Quito and climbed up a zillion stairs to get to the statue on the hill overlooking the city. This place is some 2000m obove sea level and I was really surprised how big it is. In the afternoon we met the rest of our Galapagos group and left early in the morning to fly out to Quayaquill (??) and then on to the Island of Baltra in the Galapagos.

The Galapagos is sooo cool!! When you first get off the plane and see whats basically a desert landscape you start to wander if perhaps this place is severly over rated but as the bus takes you on to the ferry and then the next bus you start to see how much contrast there is here. Over the last few days we´ve seen sea lions, penguins, turtles, tortoises, land and marine iguana´s, sea snakes, starfish, blue footed boobies, lava lizards, dolphins and loads of different fish species... And thats just the animals...

We went snorkling four times and I got to swim with sea lions, penguins, turtles, sharks and stingrays. Because its all national park and the government is very strict on preserving the environment (you cant even flush your toilet paper...) this place is teeming with wildlife and plants and is completely litter free. I took photo´s with an underwater disposable camera and can´t wait to get the film back and start putting some of those and my other pics on too. Even the ducks have had an awesome time. They´ve even made a friend...

So... We´re back in Quito for the next few days. Jane and I will be going to the Equator tomorrow and a couple days later my Conquistador tour with Gecko´s begins but I´m sure I´ll be able to add more before we leave!!

Still in Iguazu

Today is our last day in Iguazu and soon we´ll be off to the airport to fly to Buenos Aires. Chances are we´ll have a huge delay before we get on the plane coz there is currently a shortage of pilots. Apparently they all got sent on holidays at the same time and no one had the brains enough to think they should keep some pilots to fly the planes...

Iguazu has been really cool. On Wednesday we went back to the Brazillian side and had our helicopter flight over the Iguazu Falls and then spent a few hours wandering around them and getting wet in the mist. Thursday we did much the same, but on the Argentinian side and got drenched on a boat ride that went under one of the falls. The falls and the national park are awesome.

Tomorrow (if the flight isnt cancelled) I leave BA to go to Quito and start my Gecko´s tour on Sunday. First stop on that trip will be the Galapagos Islands so I probly wont be able to update here until next week...