TravelStream™ news feed for member sianandjim on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/sianandjim en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Sat, 24 Nov 2007 12:38:32 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sianandjim/careerbreak06/1179178500/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sianandjim/careerbreak06/1179178500/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sianandjim/careerbreak06/1179178500/tpod.html Sat, 24 Nov 2007 12:38:32 -0500 The Silk Route to South America - or how we´re getting from Azerbaijan to Argentina in just under twelve months!

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

NYC, New York, United States

We'd had to get to the airport in Guayaquil early in the morning and so by the time we'd spent several hours kicking our heels in Florida and then taking the onward flight to JFK, it was getting pretty late. We'd decided to take the train into Manhattan and arrived in Grand Central Station just as the heavens opened - so we were expecting to have to wait forever for a cab, but we walked a few hundred metres away from the crowds and managed to catch one straight away.We got the driver to take us down to West 10th Street to the appartment we'd be living in for the last few days of our trip. Bonnie, our host, was hanging out of the window as we pulled up and legged it down the stairs to help us with our bags.  For the five or so days we were in the Big Apple we were going to live like true New Yorkers thanks to Bonnie, a long standing family friend, who'd given us the use of her Greenwich Village studio as a wedding present. We climbed the three flights and got shown around our new home, before heading out to the 24 hour diner around the corner for some much needed midnight supper.We had a lovely lie in the next day and only made it out to meet up with our university friend Hamish who's now working in the city. He walked across from his appartment on Hudson and Spring and we walked down the street to catch up with Bonnie at her bookshop. She runs a secondhand cookbook store and so like a good foodie she recommended a fantastic Italian place for brunch nearby. We were lucky enough to get a table for three without having to wait for ages and tucked into eggs benedict and perfectly cooked steak.As the weather was so nice after we'd eaten we took a walk - first we ticked off some household chores for Hamish and then we strolled up to his appartment. I was already in love with New York again, but visiting our friend's flat was enough to confrm that I would love to live out here if we get an opportunity in the future. His place was really nice, but after a cool drink we set out to walk along the Hudson down to the tip of Manhattan. We stopped for a drink or two as the sun was setting and then hunted down a Japanese restaurant for the best sushi since Japan in November.Bonnie sets her own hours in the shop and so when she offered to take us on a culinary tour of the Lower East Side on her day off on Monday we couldn't believe our luck. Suitably warned by my mum and sister who took the tour in January, Jim and I didn't eat too much breakfast before we met up as we wanted to be able to sample all the delights along the way.As I write this the tour is not available commercially, but it really ought to be. Bonnie's family is New Jersey Jewish and the culinary heritage her parents and community bequeathed her is extraordinary. Our first stop was Yonah Schimmel's Knishes bakery on East Houston. These things are yummy - like kosher cheese and onion pasties, but quite dense so we just shared the one between us. From there we moved onto Russ & Daughters - a beautiful deli a few doors along. We sampled some wonderful smoked fish (that reminds Bonnie of her childhood) and browsed the shelves as Bonnie filled the shop owners in on our amazing trip. The next stop was very welcome although maybe a little out of place - Il Laboratorio de Gelato. The chilli chocolate flavour was stunning, the delayed kick was incredible, although it did overshadow some of the tamer flavours.So after ice-cream what would you choose to eat next? Pickles of course! Just along Orchard Street in the heart of the old garment district we came across Guss's Pickles. I'm not sure whether Guss was the man we met or not, but he and his mum were what you think of as typical New Yorkers - chatty and a bit cheeky. We bought several different types of gerkhins and some pickled tomatoes. We also got chatting to a couple of other out-of-towners - a couple on holiday from Florida, who couldn't believe that Bonnie was a local - they said she was far too friendly to live in Manhattan!So now our culinary tour is beginning to sound a bit like a pregnant woman's list of cravings, but don't worry it doesn't stop here. After the pickles our next two stops were for baked goods - bialys (like denser biegels, without the holes in them) at Kossar's Bakery on Grand and mohn (poppy seed) cakes and other delicacies on Grand and Broadway. By this stage we were inevitably feeling quite full so we browsed through the stalls in the Essex Street covered market, only stopping to buy cheese. We still haven't had enough of that after our prolonged stay in Asia - the greasy tasteless stuff they try and pass off as cheese in south America is really no substitute!Our last stop on the tour was at a place that Bonnie has only recently rediscovered - she used to be brought to the Economy Candy store on Rivington as a child, but had no idea where it was, until she stumbled across it while out walking with a friend. This place is amazing - somewhere Willy Wonka woud feel right at home. I went crazy filling a little basket with everything from licorice to chewing gum and even a cool old-skool t-shirt. After all this walking and eating we decided we needed a sit down so we found a small Italian place in the middle of China Town for a well deserved drink. Now it may surprise you, but after all that eating we still decided to meet Bonnie for dinner that evening. After she'd taken Floppy for a walk and we'd dumped all the goodies and freshened up, we went for food in a nice Asian fusion restaurant near her shop. It was lovely and relaxing hanging out in her neighbourhood and so nice wandering back to the appartment very full and slightly tipsy.We've visited New York a couple of times before, so on Tuesday we decided to prioritise taking advantage of the weak dollar and to do some shopping instead of sightseeing. I had a wonderful time in the bargin store Century 21, although I'm not sure it was Jim's idea of heaven. We also made stops at Macy's (definitely rates above Bloomingdale's for customer service in our book), Gap, H&M and the Apple Store - we had fun shopping although it was difficult to restock our wardrobes after a year - I mean we've been living in sturdy shoes and combats for 12 months, it's difficult to imagine having anything else to choose from.Despite all the shopping, we had quite a leisurely day, but we did have to race to get back to the appartment and change into our new outfits, before meeting some more friends for dinner. It's hard to believe that our university friend Anna, and her husband Mark, have been in the Big Apple for over two and a half years now. While we've managed to catch up on a couple of occasions back in Blighty, we were looking forward to chatting over dinner. We met in Mid Town and Anna took us to a very cool cocktail bar, hidden above a Korean restaurant. The sort of place you see in Sex and The City, but could never find without a local (rather like when we visited the now-famous APT in the Meat Packing district several years ago with our friend Gus, it was so cool then that even he wasn't sure we were in the right apartment block when we rang the bell!). After some alcoholic refreshments and hearing all about Mark's plans to resign from his job the following day so they can both move back to London (yippee!), we walked the short distance to the restaurant. Again we enjoyed some great food and crawled into bed quite happily after walking the short distance back to West 10th Street.Wednesday was our final day in the city and the last full day of our year long trip! It's difficult to come to terms with it being over so imminently and inevitably we both feel as if we could have spent far longer here - and longer on the road altogether. Over the course of our travels we passed through 30 countries (ok so we're counting North Korea here too, even though we only technically stepped into the country for a few minutes in the negoiation room of the joint UN / North Korean administered Demilitarised Zone!) and so where better to end our trip than at the United Nations?We didn't even know you could visit the UN until someone suggested that we might like to try and recreate scenes from the film The Interpreter with Nicole Kidman. So we made our way up town and joined the queues of school children for security. While we were waiting to buy our tickets we got chatting to a postman from Brooklyn who was entranced by our travels. His incredulity about some of the places we visited was further enhanced by the temporary photo exhibition on display in the lobby. The nearest montage was made of pictures of Turkmenistan - we told him we'd been there and you could almost see his mind working on how much it would cost to send a postcard there.The tour was interesting and we got to see a few of the committee rooms, have our picture taken in the main conference hall and ogle a few of the presents awarded from different countries around the world, including a particularly un-PC large ivory carving from China (apparently that was given before the trade ban). After having a look around we went down to the basement and sent some postcards with special UN stamps from the special United Nations post office.Our final touristy-thing in New York was a trip to the Top of the Rock. We've climbed the Empire State building before and Jim visited the Twin Towers, but neither of us had climbed the newly refurbished Rockerfeller Centre. It was quite a cool experience - you walk through an area with lots of history of the building - newspaper cuttings give the context of the Wall Street crash - and we posed for a mock-up of that famous black and white photo of workmen eating their lunch precariously balanced on a steel gurder hundreds of metres above street level. Then we got in the lift - as soon as the doors closed we were treated to an audio visual history of the Radio City Musical Hall which was housed in the tower when it opened. The views when we reached the top were great, although the glass visors and art deco style pillars made photographs quite difficult. one thing we could see clearly was the Empire State building - really stunning. Another thing that was beginning to become clear was that a storm was brewing on the horizon.We grabbed some lunch and then walked across to Anna and Mark's appartment for a cup of tea. Their place is a two bedroom penthouse half way up Central Park, with great views of the Hudson River.  We also had great views of the storm - we abandoned the idea of a walk through the park and stayed put and had a cuppa instead.  When the rain finally  eased off the three of us (Mark was still in work, trying to resign!) ventured out as we still had a few more things to buy. We swung by Macy's and Anna gave me the thumbs up on a dress I'd be undecided about and then she took us to the runners' shop Jack Rabbit. We both wanted new trainers and much to everyone's amusement we tried some on and ran on the treadmill - I pretty much knew what I wanted, but Jim was horrified to find that he doesn't look as good jogging as he thought he did!We waved goodbye to Anna outside the shop and had to sprint back to the appartment - we were late for our final dinner with Bonnie. We picked her up at the shop and wandered along to a Mexican restaurant nearby.  We had a lovely meal, but we were both aware that the taxi was going to arrive very early the next morning, so we really needed to get back and try to squeeze all our new purchases into our backpacks. We said a fond farewell to Bonnie and Floppy and walked back to the apartment for the last time. Tonight was our last night in a foreign country!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sianandjim/careerbreak06/1178988420/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sianandjim/careerbreak06/1178988420/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sianandjim/careerbreak06/1178988420/tpod.html Fri, 06 Jul 2007 14:19:42 -0400 The Silk Route to South America - or how we´re getting from Azerbaijan to Argentina in just under twelve months!

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Guayaquil, Ecuador

We've survived the last overland leg of our epic journey. We arrived safely in Guayaquil after possibly the scariest bus journey ever. For once it wasn't that the driving was especially bad (although it was up there), but the danger of being held up a gunpoint like the poor unfortunate travellers we met in Cuenca. The precautions we'd made weren't tested in the end and so when we got to our hostel we dug out the memory cards for the camera and put our wedding rings back on.Our hostel, despite being described by the Rough Guide as the best one in the city, was severely disappointing - how I'm not going to miss lumpy foam mattresses, peeling paintwork and dodgy showers! Part of the reason we'd chosen to stay there was the advertised restaurant which turned out to be non-existent. When we asked if there were any food places nearby we were told there was a Chinese place across the dual carriageway, but comically one of the men in reception advised us against eating there as many non-Ecuadorians find "Chinese food very strange if they're not used to it"! I couldn't help myself - on reflection I was quite rude, but before I knew it, I was busy telling him that we'd just spent over two months travelling in China and were quite accustomed to the cuisine (I could see Jim cringing!).After walking around the block checking out the other food options - all of which looked deeply unappetising - we braved the Chinese and ate really well. Bizarrely, Chifes as they're known here, are extremely popular - very much the British equivalent of popping out for an Indian.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sianandjim/careerbreak06/1178831820/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sianandjim/careerbreak06/1178831820/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sianandjim/careerbreak06/1178831820/tpod.html Fri, 06 Jul 2007 14:17:29 -0400 The Silk Route to South America - or how we´re getting from Azerbaijan to Argentina in just under twelve months!

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Cuenca and Ingapirca ruins, Ecuador

The journey from Otavalo back into Quito was quite eventful, as usual we were packed into the bus with a million others, and as usual we were the only non-locals. What isn't quite as usual though is that the man in the seat behind us tried to steal the contents of one of our bags. It was on the floor between Jim's legs and he casually reached down and tried to undo the zip. Fortunately the bag was stuffed with unwieldy large hammocks and Jim felt his exploratory fumblings. He lifted the bag up and placed it on his lap, but didn't say anything to the bloke. In hindsight we'd have loved to have made a fuss, but couldn't quite believe he was so brazen about it.When we got back to the capital we had a mad rush to get back to our hostel and pick up our bags before getting the taxi to drop us at the airport for our flight to Cuenca. This part of the journey was uneventful, although we arrived late, hungry and wet as the heavens had opened. My cold and cough, picked up in the cloud forest, had got much worse and so we collapsed into bed, postponing our sightseeing until the morning.We managed to drag ourselves out of bed relatively early the following day. I was feeling a little better and so we decided to catch a bus out of the city to the site of Ecuador's most famous Inca ruins at Ingapirca. This is about 3 hours by bus from Cuenca. The journey took us through some beautiful countryside and when we arrived we were pleased, but not entirely surprised, to see that we were amongst only a handful of visitors to be there.Ingapirca roughly translates as "Inca Wall" and was built during the Inca expansion into Ecuador towards the end of the fifteenth century. After a delicious set lunch we set off on a tour of the open air sight with two other older couples. Our guide was a young local man with a clear passion for the subject. He told us it was constructed on an area that had been occupied by the local Canari tribes for about 500 years and showed us where the conquerers sometimes made use of previous structures when erecting their own buildings.I haven't been to Macchu Picchu yet, but Jim has, and says the Peruvian site isn't that much bigger than this one, but was overrun with tourists when he visited nine years ago. It was really nice to be able to wonder around and not have to fight to get photos without huge tour-groups in them.We arrived back in Cuenca and decided to buy our onward bus ticket to Guayaquil. We'd just bought them when a young woman with a backpack on approached us. We think she was Israeli and she looked quite harassed. She asked if we had a hotel and asked us to write down the address as she'd just been robbed and lost her guidebook. We thought maybe she'd fallen victim to some chancer trying to rummage in her bag, like we nearly had, but while Jim was jotting down the details for her, she told us what had happened.Her and her friends had just got off a bus from Guayaquil. Half way through the four and a half hour journey, three of their fellow passengers got up and pulled out guns. They demanded everybody hand over their valuables and even went so far as to pistol whip a few of the older women who were too slow handing their stuff over! Needless to say we were shocked - you read about horror stories like this, or hear of it happening to a friend of a friend, but never before have we met anybody it's just happened to!After hearing this story we decided to go out for dinner and a few drinks - dutch courage you could call it. We picked this great place that had live music and before we knew it it was really late.The following day we packed up our bags (not easy with quite so many hammocks!) and went for a wander around the city. Cuenca is a beautiful old colonial town with lots of churches and squares to explore. We walked around the centre, which has been awarded UNESCO World Heritage status, visiting the impressive New Cathedral, apparently over two million bricks were used in its construction and its blue Islamic-looking domes dominate the city's skyline.Across the square is the beautiful Old Cathedral (El Sagrario), it's now a museum. The interior has been elaborately painted and is unlike anything we'd ever seen - really lovely. We also stopped off at the small, but colourful nearby flower market. We had a lovely time, the sun was out and we enjoyed a stroll down by the river. Now here's a fact for you - do you know that Panama hats are originally from Ecuador? No, neither did we. But apparently in 1910, when the Panama Canal was being built, these hats became popular among the workers. They duly returned to the US and called them Panama hats.But they've always been made in Ecuador: for generations, the indigenous people on the coast have been using local straw to create finely woven hats. The trade has moved inland, and Cuenca is now the major hub for the production of Panama hats. So of course we had to go shopping - we toured the showroom, tried some on and then settled on a lovely fine classic Panama for my dad. We watched them steam it into shape and then fold it up and box it for the trip home.After shopping we had a little time for a brief lunch and then we had to collect our bags for the bus journey to Guayaquil. After hearing about the armed robbery we were slightly nervous especially as we didn't want to lose the camera and all our photos just a week before going home, so we took some precautions. We removed all the memory cards from the camera bag and I hid them down by top. We placed our wedding rings in our shoes and secreted all our documents in a special leg money belt.  But would that all be enough?
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sianandjim/careerbreak06/1178830980/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sianandjim/careerbreak06/1178830980/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sianandjim/careerbreak06/1178830980/tpod.html Fri, 06 Jul 2007 12:46:54 -0400 The Silk Route to South America - or how we´re getting from Azerbaijan to Argentina in just under twelve months!

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Otavalo, Ecuador

The market that's held in the town of Otavalo, seventy miles north of Quito, is supposed to be among the best in the world. It was high on our list of things we wanted to see on the continent but, because we were running out of time and our Galapagos cruise had run from Saturday to Saturday, it meant that we weren't able to go on the weekend when it's in full swing, but instead went on a Wednesday. We weren't disappointed. The livestock and fruit and vegetable markets weren't open, but the tourist-oriented fabric stalls were all set up, their owners prowling the square looking for business. We obliged picking up several gorgeously soft alpaca blankets and ponchos and more hammocks than anyone could reasonably shake a stick at. Jim has this idea of setting up a backpackers' hostel in the UK when we get home. We've learnt quite a bit about what makes for a good hostel while travelling this year and often it isn't rocket science (clean sheets, friendly people, safe environment...) and what makes a really great hostel - hammocks are high on that list. So we bought some as presents and some for the as yet nameless hostel.Back to Otavalo and we broke for some lunch in one of the cafes on the square before resuming our retail therapy. We've got better at bargaining this year, but still end up paying more than others do, just because we feel there's no point in making yourself and the vendor feel terrible over 10 pence. We still did very well and ended up practically staggering back to the bus, pausing only to buy some new bags for our purchases on the way.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sianandjim/careerbreak06/1178744160/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sianandjim/careerbreak06/1178744160/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sianandjim/careerbreak06/1178744160/tpod.html Fri, 06 Jul 2007 12:46:35 -0400 The Silk Route to South America - or how we´re getting from Azerbaijan to Argentina in just under twelve months!

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Quito, Ecuador

When we got down to Nanegalito from the cloud forest lodge we had to run to catch the bus back to the capital. It had actually already set off, but one of the many food vendors trading through the open windows whistled loudly for the driver to stop. We got on gratefully and settled down for the two hour journey.   About an hour into it we passed the equator and all its paraphernalia at the Mitad del Mundo. I had really wanted to visit this, but we were running out of time and choices had to be made. We opted for the drive-by viewing and reading about all the cool stunts you could try in the unofficial museum (balance an egg upside down on a nail anyone?).  We arrived back into Quito just before lunchtime, so checked into our hostel and sorted out our clothes for our last laundry of the year (!) before going for some food. After lunch we'd decided to walk around the historic centre of Quito, but first we needed to go to the airport to buy tickets for our flight to Cuenca the following day.  Plane tickets here are a bit like bus or train tickets at home - you don't always have to buy them in advance, but we didn't have much leeway so wanted to have them in our hand before turning up at the check-in desk.  Chores completed we got a taxi to drop us off at the Plaza San Francisco and went for a hot drink in an open air café next to the grand Jesuit church to recover from the effects of altitude again. It was a great place for people watching, older American tour groups and young Ecuadorian out-of-towners vied for space to photograph the massive building while shoe-shine boys and souvenir sellers tried to distract them.  Once we'd finished our drinks we dodged the crowds to take our own pictures and took a peek inside. The construction of the church started in 1536, shortly after the founding of Quito. The interior is suitably grand with lots of gold-leaf, but it pales into insignificance when compared with our next stop - La Compania. The altar and main decorations inside this church weigh an estimated seven tonnes!  It's so over the top, and while beautiful it's run more as a museum than a church now, so you don't see any of the locals coming in off the street to pray to the Virgin, just tourists trying to take photos surreptitiously (it's not actually allowed, but please don't tell on us).  After looking around the square we walked down the road to the Plaza de la Independencia - this square was first laid in 1534 and contains all the city's most important civic and religious buildings. We didn't bother going inside - many of them are closed to the public anyway - but took a seat in the sun for a while and planned our next move.The last church we visited was just up the hill from the square. La Merced deserves a mention for it's spectacularly tasteless statue of Jesus which was surrounded by several different coloured neon halos. Definitely worth a photo. We finished our walking tour of Quito by doing a tour of the Plaza Santo Domingo - a smaller square without any tourists, but some nice architecture. We had a dinner in a great Italian restaurant and got a relatively early night. We managed to see pretty much all we wanted to, although we didn't make it up the cable car - it climbs to over 4,000 metres above the city, but the weather was never really clear enough to get out there, so we've got something to do next time we find ourselves here.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sianandjim/careerbreak06/1178743080/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sianandjim/careerbreak06/1178743080/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sianandjim/careerbreak06/1178743080/tpod.html Fri, 06 Jul 2007 12:45:55 -0400 The Silk Route to South America - or how we´re getting from Azerbaijan to Argentina in just under twelve months!

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Santa Lucia Reserve, Ecuador

Jim has become obsessed with Toucans.  I blame the current edition of the Rough Guide to Ecuador which has a particularly bright one on its front cover.  His new obsession has led him to book us two nights in the Bosque Nublado Santa Lucia. We arrived back in Quito from the Galapagos (really feeling the altitude this time as we flew, rather than coming overland from Colombia) and spent a night in a hostel in the old town. By chance it turned out that we were staying on the same street as the bus company that runs buses north of the capital to the cloud forests around Nanegal.  We decided we'd get the 10am bus the following day and so spent the evening relaxing and reflecting on the amazing time we had in the Galapagos The bus journey to Nanegal was relatively uneventful, except for the burst tyre we suffered just outside Nanagalito - there was a huge bang, but the driver carried on until we got into town when he enlisted the help of some passengers to change it.  The bus got really busy in this town with people and animals all down the aisle.  The experience of getting really close to the animals in the Galapagos wasn't quite the same as sharing our seats with a cockerel in a rice sack.We got the driver's mate to drop us at the side of the road by the reception to the Santa Lucia Cloud Forest.  We were met by Katherine, a woman from London helping out for a few weeks, and Jorge our guide. We hopped into a minibus which drove us through a little village to a river where we had to get out and start the walk up to the lodge. The guidebook particularly recommended this place as it's a community run eco-project. We weren't quite sure what to expect, but we'd been told it would take about an hour to walk up the hill so we'd packed extremely light. This was lucky as we soon discovered that "cloud" forest is obviously just a romantic synonym for "rain" forest. It started chucking it down very soon after we got out of the minibus.  We both had our anoraks with us, but stupidly hadn't thought to bring any drysacks so the few clothes we'd brought started to get quite wet. Luckily Jorge offered to put Jim's big camera inside a bin liner he was carrying so that was spared a soaking. After about a 10 - 15 minute walk along the road we came to the trail. There was a sign marking 3.2kms to the lodge and judging by the bit we could see it was all going to be up hill.It took us over an hour to reach the top. We only took one break to catch our breath, as we'd got to the stage when we both just wanted to get there. The trail was steep and quite difficult in some places - we really didn't stop to admire our surroundings too much as the weather was decidedly minging.The lodge, when we finally got there, was very nice. The four people swinging on hammocks on the porch looked pleased to see us. We were soaked through and really thirsty. After gulping down loads of homemade lemonade we had a quick tour and then settled down to a delicious hot lunch. After we'd finished eating we got chatting to the two other travellers staying there. Morgan and Tania are a Canadian couple studying in Toronto; they'd arrived the previous day and were keen to join us on a bird walk the following day. We discussed the options with Jorge and decided we'd get up ridiculously early (3:45am!) to leave the lodge at 4am to go and see the mysterious Cock of the Rock Lek. I have to admit that neither of us had ever heard of this bizarre ritual until we got to Santa Lucia, but it sounded as if it would be worth checking out. At least that is if the rain ever subsided!Once we'd both eventually dried out (I was practically sitting on top of the wood burning stove in the end) and luxuriated in the lovely (hot!) showers with the best views we've had from a bathroom since the Gibbon Experience in Laos, it was about time for dinner. It was a delicious homemade pizza, salad with vegetables from the garden and a well-deserved bottle of wine. As well as Tania and Morgan there were two English volunteers Nicholas and Tim at the lodge. We were told that they didn't mind having slacking tourist staying as it meant they got cake for pudding in the evening. Apparently if we weren't there, there was none for them. Despite the bottle of wine and the bonhomie we were tucked up in bed by about nine - I think the prospect of climbing out from under the covers so early was making us a bit sensible.When the alarm did go off it was a bit of a shock. We got dressed in the dark (the lodge has no electricity) and were outside in our Wellingtons and head torches in no time. The walk was going to take about an hour and a half. We set off in single file in the pitch black - it was quite eerie.Now for the idiots guide - a Lek is apparently where male birds congregate to attract the attention of the females nesting nearby - it's a bit like a disco for our feathered friends. They get there and make an almighty noise and flash their feathers in the hope of winning a mate. The male Cocks of the Rock we were hoping to see are bright red with a black tail and grey wings. They're about as large as pigeons, but prettier and much noisier.  We arrived at the Lek site a few minutes before the birds did and so the five of us waited quietly for them to fly in. We knew straight away when they did - the noise was striking. We managed to get quite a good view although getting photos wasn't easy. The Lek was discovered a few years ago, but it has moved by a few dozen metres. Jorge said he thought it was because of the people coming to watch - some aren't as quiet as others.  After about forty minutes the birds flew off and we walked back down the path a short way to have breakfast. Jorge did us proud - he gave us tea, apples, homemade bread, jam and biscuits. While we ate he explained that September was the best time of year to see the Cocks of the Rock as there could be as many as 25 - 30 of them - we saw about 8 or ten of them. By the time we'd eaten it was just coming up to eight o'clock. Jorge asked what we wanted to see next - of course Jim lobbied hard for toucans so we set off back along the way we'd come. We were going much more slowly than on the way there so could take time enjoying all the orchids and other plants. We failed to see many birds at all for the few couple of hours and Jim and I were seriously thinking about turning back - it was 11am, we'd been up for over seven hours and been walking for most of that time. We were hungry and tired, but then we saw a toucan and forgot all about our gripes. They were amazing! So cool and nonchalant! We followed this first one for about an hour - he was perched quite high in a tree and just sat there for us to take pictures. After that one we caught another half or dozen or so. They were brilliant and made up for us being cold, tired and having wet feet! Several dozen photos later, we got home for a late lunch and spent the afternoon reading, lazing around and watching dozens of different humming birds from the hammocks.  Dinner was welcome later and then another early night. The soaking we got the day before had given me a chill and I was feeling a bit sorry for myself. We woke the following morning to see a lovely blue sky - so unfair that the weather had cleared just as we needed to get back to Quito.  We went outside to marvel at the view and then had some breakfast. We left at just after eight to walk back down to the road with Katherine and another of the guides. The walk was much easier on the way down - and the views were gorgeous - it all made up for the pretty miserable walk up.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sianandjim/careerbreak06/1178386560/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sianandjim/careerbreak06/1178386560/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sianandjim/careerbreak06/1178386560/tpod.html Wed, 27 Jun 2007 17:22:52 -0400 The Silk Route to South America - or how we´re getting from Azerbaijan to Argentina in just under twelve months!

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Black Turtle Cove, Ecuador

DAY EIGHTIt was the final morning of our trip, but somehow we agreed we'd have the earliest start yet, we set off in the dingy shortly after 6am and we could see straight away that we weren't the first. There were two other little dingies making their way into the mangrove surrounded cove too. Maria had warned us that we might not see very much so we didn't have our hopes up too much.We passed some Blue-footed Boobies and Brown Pelicans sat on a rock at the opening of the cove. Juan, who was skippering the dingy, soon spotted a family of three Eagle Ray skimming through the water just next to us. We motored into the cove and then turned off the engine and Juan and Maria rowed us to where one of the other groups were staring intently into the shallow water. They moved off as we approached and we got to glimpse the object of their fascination - several White-tipped Reef Sharks of different sizes just resting on the bottom.We watched them for a while then moved off, we saw a bright Eagle Ray glide passed us and got our first sighting of a couple of Black-tipped Reef Sharks. The cove was deceptive as it looked like a fresh water lake you might find in the south of England somewhere, but then we'd spot the sharks or a Marine Turtle and we'd remember where we were. After the Turtle we saw a few birds, a couple of Lava Herons, a Yellow Warbler high in the trees greeting you with his beautiful song. Apart from the bird song and the sound our oars made in the water it was wonderfully silent. At least that was until Juan and Maria paused looked at each other and then raced to get the engine started again. We didn't know what was going on until Maria explained that they could hear a large group of Blue-footed Boobies fishing. We weren't really sure what the fuss was about until; we rounded the corner and saw them. There were hundreds of birds flying in tight packs. When one broke off and decided to drop like a stone, then all of them would follow. Slamming themselves, head-first at high speed into the inky waters they created violent splashes all over the place. The view was mesmerizing. I'd read that they have special air pockets in their skulls to prevent them hurting themselves when they Plunge and now I knew why, it was really extraordinary.It got even better though. The birds had gathered and looked to be flying off when they suddenly rounded and headed towards us. One or two started to dive right next to us and before we knew it, we were being dive-bombed by hundreds of birds. How none of them ended up in our dingy I don't know, but the noise and splashes were quite incredible. Only a few minutes earlier Jim had been bemoaning the fact that he hadn't been able to capture a Booby hitting the water - now he was hard pressed to miss them. Who can say if it was really rare to witness that, but Maria told us she hadn't seen a show like that with so many birds for two years.We watched transfixed for a few minutes but then it became obvious that the boat was slowly but surely starting to take on water. We needed to head back to the mother ship. We left the boobies bombing our the other two dingies. Our timing was great as we got to see a glimpse of a large Galapagos Shark swimming out of the cove just ahead of us.Breakfast should have been a sad event as we were just getting reading to disembark for the last time, but we were on such a high again we really didn't mind. The last eight days had been truly amazing and definitely a highlight of our whole trip. We packed our bags and said goodbye to the crew before bundling into the dingy to be dropped at the bus stop where the adventure began. When we got to the airport we visited the shop Maria runs with her husband we got her specially designed Galapagos stamp in our passports and stocked up on tacky souvenirs. About an hour before our flight Maria showed us into the air-conditioned VIP lounge and after a final group photo we waved her goodbye. We shared a drink with our fellow passengers and boarded the plane. Isolde, John and Herman disembarked in Guayaquil for their onward flight to Costa Rica and we said goodbye to Kevin, Brigitta and Pat when we got to Quito. A taxi took us straight back to our hostel in the old town. Having flown in we noticed the altitude a lot more than before and so we just had a quite dinner alone and had an another early night, although we couldn't get to sleep right away as we were just reminiscing about all the amazing sights we'd been lucky enough to see over the last week.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sianandjim/careerbreak06/1178296740/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sianandjim/careerbreak06/1178296740/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sianandjim/careerbreak06/1178296740/tpod.html Wed, 27 Jun 2007 17:14:40 -0400 The Silk Route to South America - or how we´re getting from Azerbaijan to Argentina in just under twelve months!

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Santa Fe and South Plazas Islands, Ecuador

DAY SEVENOur guidebook said that the beaches and waters off Santa Fe island provided an excellent spot for snorkeling, but Maria assured us that that was no longer the case after a research scientist was lucky not to lose her arm after a recent attack by a Bull Shark. None of us fancied ending up the same way, so when she told us our itinerary would be slightly different to what we'd been expecting, we didn't argue. The waters were beautifully clear and I think we all scanned the bottom for any nasties as we took the dingy to the shore. The sand was pure white. We were greeted by some frisky Sea Lions, lots of bright crabs and a special breed of Land Iguanas. We took a stroll and noted lots of finches and mockingbirds, although I was extremely pleased not to have seen any of the island's rare Rice Rats. The landscape was very dry and famous for its cactus forests - some of them were about 10 metres high with thick spineless trunks.In the dingy on the way back to the boat we saw some Manta Rays and beautifully marked Eagle Rays. We had a two hour navigation north-east to the island of South Plazas so we ate on deck on the move. We kept scanning the horizon for Orcas or Killer Whales, unfortunately we didn't see any, but the captain did take us around Gordon Rocks. A pair of amazingly steep cliffs rising out of the water with birds nesting, sea lions basking and some scuba divers exploring the depths.South Plazas is a very small island (about 1.5 kms long and under 250 metres across at its widest point) and home to some very energetic Sea Lions. The young ones were racing around the coast and surfing in the waves. There were also some brightly coloured Land Iguanas - they were quite yellow, but they get even brighter in the mating season when they eat more cactus flowers in an effort to keep their strength up. They posed beautifully for us. We walked up to the highest point on the island and looked at the birds on the cliffs. As we were watching a couple of Frigatebirds soaring above Pat told us of a sequence she'd once seen on an Attenbrough documentary. The footage had showed a big Frigatebird catching a graceful Tropicbird and shaking it violently until the food fell out of its beak so it could steal it. No sooner had she told us than we witnesses it for ourselves - what an incredible acrobatic combative aerial dance they performed! Again so amazing.We watched other birds up there too including some Swallow-tailed Night Gulls, we could also see lots of fish (I think Maria said there were some Grouper there) swimming very close to the surface. Jim and a couple of the others saw what they think was a medium sized shark leap out of the water too. We got back to our boat and as we were so hot the captain said he stop on the way to Black Turtle Cove so we could have a final snorkel. Most of us were sat on deck enjoying the sunshine when one of the crew shouted that they'd seen some dolphins Jim, Isolde and I ran straight to the front and strained our eye, then we realised they weren't dolphins but Short-finned Pilot Whales. There were about 30 of them, but they were some way off and moving quite quickly. Omar turned the boat around and set off in their direction.He sped up and the movement of our bow wave must have attracted them because they came right up to the boat. It was incredible they surrounded us for a couple of minutes and then were gone, but again it's an experience we'll never forget. Jim was busy snapping away as we all excitedly pointed to the dark shapes in the water as they came closer to the surface. Unlike the Humpback and the Blue Whale we got to study this lot - they were bigger than the dolphins we saw and darker too - they looked black. They had large blowholes and short stunted-looking heads with tiny eyes set very low down on the heads. We were all on such a high after they left us - what an amazing sight.After that excitement I didn't want to go below to change into my bikini in case I missed anything, but in the end I did as we needed to be quite quick about the snorkeling. We pulled into a sheltered cove and swam off the dingy - boy it was chilly without a wetsuit. The captain and Maria came with us and we saw a Golden Ray, Sting Ray and some other small fish. We didn't hang about though. When we got back on board we realised there wasn't any hot water again (they later got some engineers onboard to fix the problem) so we had speedy showers.At dinner that night we had some cocktails and a whole series of toasts, we gave the crew their tips and thanked them profusely - it'd been an amazing week. Marco had made us another cake - (I'm not sure how he coped in that galley it always seemed so hot and he was in there for about 12 hours a day) and iced it with the message "Buen Viaje Amigos" - Safe Journey Friends. It was really touching.After dinner we made the short navigation to Black Turtle Cove and Jim and I sat on deck looking at the full moon and stars. David and the captain got torches and shone them in the water on some on the little sharks swimming around our boat and I went to bed feeling very happy.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sianandjim/careerbreak06/1178204880/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sianandjim/careerbreak06/1178204880/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sianandjim/careerbreak06/1178204880/tpod.html Wed, 27 Jun 2007 17:00:45 -0400 The Silk Route to South America - or how we´re getting from Azerbaijan to Argentina in just under twelve months!

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Espanola Island, Ecuador

DAY SIXAgain we travelled overnight so when we got up for breakfast we were moored just off Gardner Bay on Espanola Island. We took the dingy to the shore and immediately spotted that one of the sea lion cubs on the beach was in a very poor way. He'd been attacked by a shark and had lost a lot of blood, his tail flippers were missing and a lot of his skin had been ripped off. Maria called to the boat for assistance and the captain came to take a look.  The sea-lion looked like he was in a lot of pain. We walked along the beautiful beach taking in the sight of all the sea lions, crabs and marine iguanas. There were more birds too - a Galapagos Hawk, some Mockingbirds, Brown Pelicans and some diving Blue-footed Boobies.There were a couple of other groups around, but not many people had noticed him quietly suffering down on our end of the sand. A few of us decided to go for a swim, it wasn't boiling and I think some people were definitely put off by the fate of the poor sea lion cub.When we were swimming around in the rocky shallows, Jim and I noticed a couple of Marine Turtles who kept popping up for air and then descending. One of the guys from another boat had finished snorkeling and offered us his mask Jim we took it, but without flippers it wasn't easy negotiating the rocks. Coupled with that the fact I saw a rather large White-tipped Reef Shark right by my feet I scrambled out. The guy on the other boat needed his equipment back so Maria radioed the Sea Cloud and got Juan to bring out our stuff. Brigitta, Kevin, Jim and I got kitted out and went searching for the turtles, we weren't disappointed as we followed one around for a few minutes just centimetres away from him. We could have touched his shell and I don't think he would have minded, but we just contented ourselves with marvelling and how amazing it was to be so close to one of them. He was just pootling around using his flippers to propel himself. After we followed him for a while we surfaced and went in search of the other one again we got really close - the water was quite murky so you had to get within a foot or so to see him clearly. Very exciting.In the afternoon we visited Punta Suarez on Espanola. It turns out that this is what a lot of our fellow passengers had been looking forward to most on our trip because of the special Waved Albatrosses. We just about managed to get out of the dingy without getting soaked - it was a tricky landing, but the huge waves were providing some great surfing opportunities for the Sea Lion pups. They looked as if the were having a great time - diving out of the foamy waters like dolphins.We walked from the beach up onto some wind-blown headland. I wasn't really sure what was so special about these Albatrosses, but then I saw one and began to see what the fascination was. I spotted a snow white head with a beady black eye and a hard, strong-looking bright yellow beak underneath one of the hedges. Then we turned a corner and were confronted with sight of a couple of dozen of them sat on the ground. It was all very quiet until a large male swooped down low and they became more animated. It wasn't until one of the birds landed though that we got to see their famous mating ritual.We watched transfixed as this beautiful bird swept low and then a few of us burst into involuntary giggles and he collapsed in an ungainly nose-plant, his tail feathers poking out of a nearby bush. He righted himself and hobbled over to one of the females. You can see why they spend most of their lives on the wing and only come back to the land once a year to mate - they're so ungainly when landing/taking off and walking it must be embarrassing for them!The new arrival greeted his mate with some squawking and then embarked on an elaborate dance where one of them strutted around like the Fonz in Happy Days and then faced each other and after a carefully choreographed dance which culminated in them bashing their beaks from side to side and one of them emitting a sound like a human laugh. It was fascinating. When we'd watched them for ages we crept away to go and see some other birds.We found some Hooded Mockingbirds, Nazca and Blue-footed Boobies (many of them also engaged in amusing courting rituals), Galapagos Doves, Red-tailed Tropicbirds, several different finches, Galapagos Hawks, and some Swallow-tailed Night Gulls. We posed for photos in front of the Lava Blowhole, so named as when the water's forced through it, it shoots into the air like a fountain and marvelled at the view from the cliffs. Another amazing day.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sianandjim/careerbreak06/1178108460/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sianandjim/careerbreak06/1178108460/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sianandjim/careerbreak06/1178108460/tpod.html Wed, 27 Jun 2007 16:39:30 -0400 The Silk Route to South America - or how we´re getting from Azerbaijan to Argentina in just under twelve months!

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Santa Cruz Island, Ecuador

DAY FIVEWe'd set sail from our dinner stop at Pinzon quite late and arrived in Santa Cruz's capital Puerto Ayora before midnight. I was asleep by then, but I did notice the engines going off. When I got up on deck in the morning it was strange to see all the other boats, water taxi and general hustle and bustle after having spent four days away from it all. It was going to take some getting used to.We ate breakfast and then set off in the dingy to be dropped off at the slipway. We got in pickups to take us to the Charles Darwin Research Centre. It was still early but there were other tour groups there already - again I was so glad we were on a small boat and were saved from the awful, very loud (I'm afraid mainly older American) tourists who made their presence known everywhere they went.We waited for them to move on before Maria gave us a chat about the different Giant Tortoises. We had no idea that there were so many subtly different types - not only are there variations between islands as you might expect, but on the larger islands like Isabella there are different species centred around the different volcanoes. They vary in size and shape of their shells - some are like frilly petticoats around the bottom while others are much flatter. We saw several different types including some enormous 100 year old males and some new babies - very cute. We also saw Lonesome George, so named because he's the last known Pinzon Tortoise in existence. Looks as if he may stay that way too as he apparently has no interest in mating.After the Research Centre we drove up to the highlands to Los Gemelos - two massive craters caused by volcanic activity thousands of years ago. The lava collapsed into underlying magma chambers. After a brief walk (where we saw a Galapagos Woodpecker, some Black Anes, Cattle Egrets, Darwin Finches and a beautiful Barn Owl), we drove to a reserve where the Giant Tortoises run (mmmhh on second thoughts maybe that's not the right word!) free. We found some big males hiding from the fierce sun. We saw another lumbering down the road who retreated right down inside his shell when we went to investigate.After the tortoise reserve we braved one of the massive lava tunnels the island is famous for and walked the whole length of it - something very few people do apparently, probably because about half way down the ceiling suddenly comes down to practically meet the floor and you have to slither through - not really my idea of fun.We got back into town at about lunchtime and ate on board. Then there was plenty of time for a quick nap before we were dropped off for a free afternoon to wander around the town. We needed a few things from the shops, once we'd bought them we went to an internet cafe, but soon left as I'd received some bad news. My 93 year-old grandmother had died that morning in hospital. We were both upset, but purely from a selfish point of view I wish I could have seen before she went. She'd survived nearly a year since I last saw her and we only had two weeks left to go. She was suffering though and I know in my heart of hearts it was for the best, I just wished I could be there for my poor mum.We went for a drink after that and reminisced about her - which made us both laugh and cry a little bit. We met up with the others for dinner and they were all really supportive. The crew had been working on the boat all day as we think there was something wrong with the engine. In order to give them enough time to finish their work we ate in the Angermeyer Point restaurant, which owned by the family who were running our cruise. The food was good and it was nice to get off the boat for a while. We set sail for Espanola Island at around 11pm.
]]>