TravelStream™ news feed for member spog00 on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/spog00 en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Tue, 22 Sep 2009 09:12:20 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/spog00/1/1239737700/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/spog00/1/1239737700/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/spog00/1/1239737700/tpod.html Tue, 22 Sep 2009 09:12:20 -0400 Amazing Adventures of the American Unknown.

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Torres del Paine, Patagonia, Chile

Based in Puerto Natales, another beautiful town next to another massive lake, surrounded by more snow capped mountains. Here, we got ourselves sorted out for a weeks hardcore survival, including cooking equipment, and a lot of pasta!! The hostel people booked us onto a 7am bus to the park for the next day, and we were off into the wilderness! The road itself was a stunning drive alongside lakes and more mountains, for 2 hours or so, til we arrived at the park entrance for transfer to our first base camp. We selected an impressive spot at the bottom of a massive mountain towering right over our 'door' (we dont really have anything so sophisticated), got the tent set up and the kettle on for some soup. During this time we quickly became aware of the changeble weather here. While putting the tent up we were fighting against some seriously strong winds, followed by the all familiar patter of rain, followed by brilliant sunshine (forcing us to take off all the hats/gloves/coats etc we had put on during the wind/rain), and then just as everything was sorted we noticed some small white specks landing on the tent - snow!! Unfortunately (though probably luckily as well) it never really amounted to more than a few spots. During lunch we watched as badly done tents got blown around and prayed that with our the weight of our bags we would find ours in the same place and position as we had left it.We took our chances and, having already been advised that the walk to Las Torres (meant to be one of the highlights of the park) was at the end of a 4 hour trek (and then another 3 home again!), left that for tomorrow and found a gentler start to practise walking again(!), and to make the most of the afternoon. Started walking along a road, with the mountain we were camping next to in clear view the whole way. As we climbed higher and higher the road turned into mud paths and we began following streams leading through colourful autumn trees. Of course, the further the path went up, the more the views expanded over the park, some gigantic bright blue and green lagoons came into view. The scenery was enough to take away the little breath that the wind left you.We ended up walking through a number of woods, finally deciding to head back again after about 2 hours, before the sun started going down. The best bit of this walk is that the campsite at the end of this path - and therefore this entire route - is technically closed for the winter at the moment, and so we were completely on our own with nature. So much so in fact, that just after we turned around, about 30 horses entered the field running past us, all well fed and clearly owned by the park, but essentially set free around these fields. Quite an impressive sight - especially when you remember our backdrop. The walk got even more impressive as the skies cleared, and our mountain was joined by 2 massive towers with more rocks etc, so we sat down to enjoy our Bariloche chocolate and enjoy the spectacle!On our way home - while posing for more pics of 'our' mountain, we met with a young brazilian senorha, and decided the plan for tomorrow would be to get up really ridiculously early in the morning, and head for the famous Torres!Imagining that sunrise over our mountain might be really spectacular - yet not knowing when sunrise was - we got up at 5.30, and headed out of the tent into the freezing morning to find everything still very much pitch black. Neither of us had slept well - the cold was extreme, and even the arctic style sleeping bags didnt seem to be that much help! But we were up already, so got some breakfast and went to meet Vanessa. Finally set off around 8am, slightly cloudy, very fresh morning, but we were too excited to be feeling the full extent of the cold by this stage - or our bodies were soo numb by this point we couldn't feel anything... We walked over wobbly suspension bridges, across bubbily streams, before the inevitable 'up' started, soon joined by the first drops of rain.In good, old, autumn rain fashion, it showed no signs that it wanted to stop, but it was still early, and as we had found yesterday, the weather can change pretty quickly here. As we walked on hopefully, along the sides of massive hills, with the river below, we could only imagine the scenery we were missing as we buried our heads deeper into our hoods (and hats, scarfs, coats, jackets, other jackets, gloves.... you get the picture) and fought harder against the winds. Finally we came to another campsite where we had hoped to pick up a coffee or even a mate (the drink as opposed to a companion), but the entire building was locked and chained with no signs of anyone apart from more soggy tourists. Another 2 hours later, trudging through woodland, and admiring the increasing waterfalls on the other side of the valley, we arrived at the next 'camp'. But this was a camp in the loosest sense of the word, a hut, a toilet - without a sink - and a nice cosy rangers office (strictly private and out of bounds to us toursits - lucky bastard!!!). We hid in the hut trying to recover a little energy and morale by eating pringles - we had packed the cooking equipment and of course pasta, but had forgotten the water to cook the pasta in. I'm quite sure we were carrying more than sufficient water in our clothes, but somehow we weren't that desperate. We did use the fire to heat our hands a little however!The way back was much the same - long, wet, windy and cold. The rain had caused all the little streams we had hopped across without problems on the way up, to become raging torrents of chocolate coloured water, and we were left with no option but to wade through a couple - at least we couldn't have got any wetter! At one stage the crossing was completely covered, with the water falling over the edge of the rockface just downstream making it too dangerous to wade. Some people in front of us had managed to find a tree branch, lay it across the river and managed to climb over. We were incredibly lucky to be making it at the same time as them - since even as we were crossing the makeshift bridge, the water was rising over the ends, in another 15-30mins or so the branch could be completely submerged as well!! We took photos of a before and after on the river - staggering the difference!Arrived back to the camp hugely disheartened not to mention soaking wet, freezing cold, and tired! Ordered chips and sausages and a large nescafe (Colombian coffee doesn't seem to have reached anywhere in Chile, and we cant wait to get back to some real stuff!) to cheer us up a little, but with the rain still going and the clothes having no chance of drying by tomorrow for another trek, we made the difficult decision to head back home tomorrow morning.Got up early, early again! Still dark again. Had to pack the tent up while it had stopped raining, but the boots were still soaked as were our only trousers. So this involved Ali running around in just his boxers and freezing boots hanging things to dry in the wind!! Pretty sight first thing in the morning as you can imagine! The sun finally started coming up turning our mountain a pretty pink colour. Finally looked like being a good day, but our decision had been made.Met back with Vanessa the Brazilian, and caught the bus back to the entrance to the park, to catch another bus back to Puerto Natales. The second bus takes a slight detour around the park to drop and collect more people, stopping for lunch at Lago Pehoe, where you can catch a (very expensive) ferry across to more trekking options. We didnt have lots of money for the ferry, but there was another hike from here to a viewing point of more of the parks towers - Los Cuernos.The weather was finally clear(ish), the walk was easy (ish) - at least til the top of the first hill. Here you are more out in the open, and the wind took advantage of that, and you get blown half way back down! Around 30mins of walking horizontally, faces almost in the ground against the wind, we started to hear another roaring sound over the gusts. Soon a huge waterfall came into view, with rainbow colours rising from the spray. Approaching the rail, I nearly got blown off the mountain, so I held on tight to the rails for a quick photo shoot, then continued on with the trail. So far we had been walking along wide gritty roads, with a magnificent view already of 'Los Cuernos'. After the waterfall the trail became a little more rugged and I found myself walking through huge shrubs, all decked out in autumn colours, splashing through more puddles getting even wetter! Every 10mins or so the clouds cleared a little more from the top of the towers and it was time for another photo shoot! Having passed black beaches with mountains rising over the lakes, more bushes and trees and hills we finally arrived at the viewing point. Another massive lake, with the reflection of the mountians, even more wind, but stunning views all round. Shame we didnt have any chocolate left to enjoy here as well! Defintitely worth the battle.Eventually we were back on the bus heading out of the park. But we had one more surprise in store. As we are passing more green lagoons, the bus stopped - there are hundreds of chilean condors flying overhead and landing on the hillside right next to us. Looking just as impressively gigantic as the Peruvian ones, but by the time we got out they had landed already, so didnt really get any pics.Overall, even given our relatively limited time here, we decided it was worthy of its title as most spectacular national park of South America, and definitely a place we would both love to return to - at least some day when they can guarentee no rain!! We stayed a few more days in Puerto Natales enjoying their views over their own lakes and then organised passages to our next port of call.....Hope everyone is cool, hasta luego!
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Bariloche adn the Lakes district, Argentina

Arrived to San Martin de Los Andes, Argentina, with persistent rain still following us! Got ourselves booked into a hostel, and set about exploring a little. By pure chance we passed the people that had given us a lift here, and arranged to watch the Chile vs Uruguay match with them after some pizza. The argentinians aren't known for their love of Chileans, so we had to keep the yelling to a minimum, but spent most of the night drinking some (finally) good beer and chatting. After the match, we decided to go and have a look at the lake at night. Its a shame, because its really beautiful, but there is no light whatsoever so the view is completely lost. Pacho kept trying to convice us to stay an extra night in San Martin, and that way we would travel down to Bariloche with them. Having this on his mind, they turned up the next day early at the hotel, with all the information about the local camping club, prices and availability. They dropped us off and after promising to meet them for lunch afterwards we were left to set up our palace! MMM...we started walking into town, and soon realized it wasn't the best day to be wandering around, least of all for an obvious British Gringo like Ali. It was a Bank Holiday and not any but the Maldives (Falklands) one... so as you can imagine the English aren't what argentinians are hoping to see. Nonetheless... having looked around and noticing that actually many of the argies were spending their holiday out of town (it was like a ghost town, all the shops shut and all) so we decided it was about time to find a good argentinian steak. We met up again with Pacho and Ximena and found a restaurant that they had recommended to us at the hotel, the night before... The steaks were massive (Pacho had a 500grm steak... mental!!) and a distinctive taste that confirms all the hype! After that we had a wander-around time and after a nice meal of pizza and beer, head back to the palace... promised to be picked up at around 10am the next day to head down to bariloche. The road trip was stunning! although we didnt do the cross of the lakes by boat... we drove by the side of all of them. It was beautiful!!! turquiose waters, trees, impresive massive mountains and animals... we couldnt have asked for better to be fair - there were even parts we did with nice weather!! Just before Bariloche we stopped at a town called Villa de Angostura for lunch and a second massive and delicious steak. Another really beautiful little town, full of houses all made in wood and snow caped mountains surrounding it. At last got to Bariloche, and after finding the hotel for the night... we had to say goodbye to Pacho and Xime. We decided to stay in Bariloche three days... and oh surprise surprise it rained the WHOLE time. It is a really nice town with a massive lake just in the middle of it, all in wood like a typical patagonian town. We quickly found out why it is famous for its chocolates. Even Caro who doesn't like chocolates was going absolutely mad... so we decided to have a walk around all the shops and we soon found ourselves lunching on free samples, filled with cherries, nuts, whiskey and god know what else! Delicious! Just by the side of our hotel we found the most amazing and beautiful restaurant ever like something straight out of the Hobbit - low ceilings, little windows and a massive circular door, all in wood, with fire place and trees going inside it and coming out the roof. It was bizarre but beautiful! We basically spent the three days walking around the shops, the weather never getting good enough to justify the money for the natural park just the other side of the river. :( Still spectacular and somewhere to come back to in a summer sun! After that we went to Rio Gallegos, were we stayed one night and then headed ourselves back to Chile stopping in Puerto Natales... the Torres del Paine stop-off town.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/spog00/1/1238623560/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/spog00/1/1238623560/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/spog00/1/1238623560/tpod.html Wed, 08 Apr 2009 20:57:13 -0400 Amazing Adventures of the American Unknown.

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Panguipulli, Patagonia, Chile

Having decided to originally cross into Argentina via the Cruce de los Lagos, Puerto Montt (Chile) to Bariloche (Argentina!), we then looked at costs of around $160 each, looked at our banks and decide that actually hmm.. No. This is a border crossing made using several ferry/bus combinations over the Andes via the apparently spectacular Lakes District. We had decided instead on a simple overnight bus Santiago to Mendoza as we are now becoming accustomed to. Suggesting this to Cami though, she suggested we look at a different lake and a different crossing that Raimundo had done awhile ago.  So reluctant to take another bus, and excited at doing at least a kind of cruce de los Lagos we set off for Panguipulli (another 10hrs in a bus). We arrived at 9am, and booked ourselves on the next much smaller local bus to Puerto Fuy (another 2 and half hours). On arrival our ferry was waiting, so enough time to grab the waterproof coats from the bags before jumping on. Up to here had been fine, all the transport was easily available, cheap, organised. But once we landed the other side of the lake, we would be stranded, as there are no formal bus links from Puerto Perihueico across the border to San Martin de Los Andes - our argentinian stop for the night. We were aware of this before we left, and since hitching is fairly common in Chile didnt think it would be too hard, and if nothing appeared there were hotels (or a hotel) on the other side to try again in the morning. The ferry set off then, and we started looking for some potential lifts. Only 2 cars and a bus got on the ferry so we looked a little limited from the start. First option: local bus full of school kids on vacation. Thankfully no space left! Second option: small renault full of 5 oaps. Erm.... In truth didnt even bother to ask. Third option: old couple who turned out to be Americans, would have been happy to take us, but we hadn't noticed they had left the car on land, planning on a simple day trip on the ferry there and back. Last option: young couple heading to San Martin that say they are happy to take us! Wooo!! What luck.  Now we had sorted out what we were doing we could properly enjoy the breathtaking scenery. Surrounded by mountains on both sides,  perfectly still water in front and behind, and a delicious cool breeze in your face. And all for free!! - Due to some confusion some where along the line nobody charged us the normally $1 fee! Easily the cheapest and most stunning way to cross a border! While on the ferry we met with a couple of other people doing a cycling tour of patagonia - having covered over 3000km in 3 months. Really amazing stories, and ended up envying them for the experiences though knowing full well neither of us are quite insane enough to attempt it for ourselves. When we arrived in Puerto Pirihueco we couldn't believe how lucky we were not to have to stay here - any signs of hotels or construction had long ago been deserted and left to ruin, and the next sign of civilisation would have been a good hour or so walk - worse with the weight of our bags!! We did get the lift to the border though and were met with the stupidest officials we have ever met. Looking confused at the passports, Inglaterra? Thats in the Soviet Union right???? It took a hell of a lot of control not to roll on the floor laughing at them. Anyways, finally in Argentina!! Hope everyone is good - hasta luego!!
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Santiago, Chile

After another annoying border crossing and 35 hours straight in 3 buses and a taxi (not including all the time wasted sitting in bus stations waiting for the next one!), we arrived to Santiago exhausted and more than a little smelly. We were invited to stay at Camila's and Raimundo's house, who are friends of one of Caro's aunt and general family friends. Although they had been expecting us we were way to embarassed to arrive straight there, so we booked a hostel for the first night.  It was nice, cheap, and in the very centre of the beautiful Barrio Brazil, so perfect for knowing the city and getting cleaned up! After sorting the room out and having a shower, we wandered off with a couple of suggestions from our host written on a Santiago map. We walked to the centre were we found the main plaza and buildings. Although Santiago is a very beautiful city with the Andes just by the side of it, the colonial heritage is minimal if any! Add to that the amount of earthquakes they have, the amount of history that Santiago stays with is very little. Our main goal was to get to the central market. The guy from the hostel told us that was the best and cheapest place to find seafood and we were starving so we head there on quite a rush. It was crazy! Loads of restaurants and shops selling all kinds of fish, massive mussels, calamari, king prawns, and much more. We sat at a little restaurante, that if they hadnt recommended to us we probably wouldn't go there. We took the recommendation from our waitress and ended up with a "paila marina". Its like a fish stew, but mainly of seafood, with everything you can think of. Basically everything boiled with water and oil. After that we had a wonder around the market, impressed by the amazingly cheap prices (by chilean standards anyway), and the sizes! After lunch, feeling full and tired we walked to beautiful park called the Japanese Garden and just lay there for a couple of hours. That, followed by a beer in the main plaza was enough to call it a day, going to bed really early! Next day woke up a bit later that we wanted to, and after a trip on Santiago's underground got to Camila's house. Got settled, had lunch and in the afternoon met the rest of the family. All really cool, and Vicente and Camilo being our age promised a couple of nights out. Sadly and lamely we were way too tired.  Next day went with Camila and Lukas (youngest son) to the well known nearby towns of Viña del Mar and Valparaiso. Valparaiso is a very poor but stunning city!. Its a main port for Santiago but the city hangs from the mountains. Its a very nice contrast, similar to Nazareth in Portugal. The easiest way of getting to the top of the city, where you have an amazing view of the city and the port, is by lift. All over the mountain there some really old lifts that take you up and down the mountain. Although you can do it by car, its a cool and different way of knowing the city. Had a coffee, had a wander around, couple of pictures and then came back down. Afterwards headedto Viña for lunch. Took us a long time to get there. Apparently the socialist presidents (including the British Prime Minister) where in a meeting in Viña and loads of roads were closed so that made it about two hours in the car. Anyway we finally managed to see why Viña is so well known. It has beautiful beaches and amazing clubs and restaurants. We went to the one of the last beaches to have lunch, and Ali ended up having a delicious typical dish. It was a fillet of fish (congrio) topped with a mixture of salted seafood. Unusual but delicious. Came back end of the afternoon and after a nice meal and chat with everyone had an early night...way to much sleep to catch up on! On Sunday, having promised to watch the match Chile-Peru, with the family (very important - Chile hadnt beaten Peru in Lima for 24 years + they are bitter rivals) we decided to do a bit of tourism during the day. A couple of blocks away from their house there is a teleferic that goes up to a mountain where surpise - there is a mirador! So we got up on the teleferic to have a look around! It was really hot and that egg was like a bloody oven!!! But it was fun. Got to the top and after taking some pictures went to cool down with a nice chilean beer!  After went back home, had lunch of empanadas, and then went with Camila to have a look around the city. She showed us which was the road and the mountain were all the people from Santiago go skiing. Showed us a couple of neighbourhood universities and malls. After we had to rush back... it was match time! It was really cool to be there when Chile won. We were junping around with them, celebrating, drinking pisco sour and enjoying ourselves. Caro's dad had sorted us a visit to the oldest vine yard in Chile, Cousiño-Macul, so the next day we woke up early to sort out when we were going. We manage to organize it for that same afternoon. The vine yard is beautiful, and massive. We were surprise to realize is in the middle of the city. We had first the normal tourist tour around the vine yard, where they showed us the different containers they used a 100 years ago and the ones that they use now. They told us all the history of the vine yard and that now is owned by the sixth generation of the same family that started it.  We had a couple of tastes (four or five well-filled glasses) and then went with Matias (Caro's dad´s friend) around the countryside through the vines themselves. It was soo cool to see on one side the mountain, on the other the city and running through the middle the thousands of plants. He explained to us the different types of wine and we even got to try some wine making grapes! Next stop, Lakes crossing and finally... Argentina!   
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Lima, Peru

So after a nice day in Trujillo and a 10 hour bus drive we finally got to Lima, and it wasn´t long before we got ripped off. Realizing Caro´s uncle and aunt live on the outskirts of Lima, we asked three different taxi drivers to take us and all refused. As if we weren`t going to pay them! We eventually managed to persuade one to takes us, finding out afterwards he actually charged us at least three times more. Welcome to Lima! At last got to Carlos and Gladys house and after a quick shower and rest we went to town to have a look around. The historic centre of Lima is beautiful! The autumn hadn't quite started properly and there were still some left overs of summer, - the heat and sun made everything much nicer. The main plaza features an impressive central fountain surrounded by lots of colonial buildings. It was much cleaner than Quito, and even though we did more by car than by foot, I think we can safely say that we generally liked more Lima, although the two cities are very different. Lima was the most important city in South America in the colonial times and so has a massive colonial heritage. We went to the Franciscan Cathedral, were they have the catacombs of all the people that died in the colonial times, they even still use them for the Franciscan priests and nuns that die. Its amazing but quite revolting at times. There are holes full with human bones all over the place. But its quite impressive to see how they conserve them pretty well and with no smell! We had arranged to meet Gladys for lunch... and what a lunch! If you had ever heard that Peru is good for its seafood, whatever you heard is not enough. Its absolutely spectacular. They do the best cebiche in the world! This is pieces of fish  marinated with garlic and onions. There are different ones around the South American coast but the Lima one is the top of the top! And the way they cook the octopus is delicious, it even made Caro doubt in Portuguese octopus being the best! The next day we had an early morning, our plan for the day was the Pachacamac Temple. It was a temple done by the Lima indigenous for their god with the same basis of the huacas of el sol y la luna - being all built in mud and then covered. This one was done all by car getting off on the important bits. After climbing the temple we had an amazing view, having in one side the ancient sand city and very arid landscape, and on the other side the beach, mountains and greenery. The contrasts were stunning. We tried to visit a couple of museums in the centre of town but after finding out how crazy expensive they were, we gave up and instead went to a very cool shopping mall which has an amazing balcony with views of not only the city but the Pacific as well. After that we went back home and had a delicious lunch, including corn.Everything in Peru is served with corn, and there are like 20 something different types of corn, its crazy!  Friday woke up and having booked a bus for Arequipa for that night we began to pack and get everything ready. For lunch we joinewd Carlos in a Japanese restaurant with Gladys which again was delicious. We started with several plates of sushi followed by massive grilled king prawns. After that the four of us went home and after chatting with them for a bit and having a drink, head to the bus station for another 13 hours on a bus. Fun! We are going to do much more of Peru, including Machu Pichu, but that will be on the way back.Hope you are all good.Ali & Caro 
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Arequipa, Peru

Arequipa. City of tourism, foreigners and Volcano's. We were originally given the tour by our taxi driver - we had asked him how the hostel we were staying with was, at which he pulled a bad face, and told us of falling walls, bad hygiene and that he would guarentee 100% that we would not like it and have to change. After staying in some real shit holes in Venezuala we figured we would not be hugely disappointed by anything anymore, but agreed to go and see his recommendations anyways. Upside of this was a free tour of the city (we had agreed the amount before getting in, so all the extra movements were on his time). The buildings are of striking white walls, mostly colonial, and the main plaza is huge fronted by a massive cathedral. It also has the feel of character and life. A nice change from Cuenca, which although was pretty, lacked something of life.We finally found that our hostel wasn't falling apart, and in fact was one of the nicest ones we've stayed in so far. Balcony view over the calle almost reaching to the plaza,(the view, not the balcony). Dumped our stuff there, and headed straight back out for our own tour. First stop a mirador that the 'bible' - Lonely Planet - had recommended to see the whole city and volcanoes etc, but view was cloudy and most of the backdrops hidden. Undettered we headed instead to a nearby restaurant (also recommended!). Massive inside plaza with live band playing folkloric Peruvian music. Sat straight down, got some beers together and awaited 2 portions of fried lamb ribs. Simply amazing. And on top of everything, the beer is getting better!! Got cheeky towards the end asking for tasters of puddings so we didn't have to pay any more, but ate plates of seeds/corn. On our walk back to the centre we started looking into some tours. Theres a big canyon nearby (actually the deepest in the world), and since we had the weekend to waste, choose a 2 day tour of this, leaving tomorrow nice and early. Another night of no sleep then.Got up early as promised, and met with the rest of the group outside the hostel. A right mix we were. Us (Caro already being quite a mix), 2 Germans, Canadian, 2 Aussies, and another English gal. The bus started out through the desert roads, while the guide explained that this is one of the driest deserts in the world. Minutes later, drops of rain appeared on the windscreen.... It seriously is following us. Apparently we didnt get wet enough in Angel Falls.Our first stop was at a small shop. Our guide warned us that the altitude would be pretty extreme, a maximum of 4800 metres!, and so we should take things slow, and more than anything take lots of Coca. Yup, our first stop then was to buy sweets made from Cocaine leaves. Tasting like leaves - surprisingly - they dont make you high, but are renowned for reducing the effects of altitude sickness. Next stop was for té de coca, a hot drink made from cocaine leaves instead of normal tea leaves, also to relieve altitude sickness. Again tastes a lot like plant. But something we are likely to have to get used to (though hopefully not addicted). The whole journey was among breathtaking scenery, and hills filled with alpaca, llamas and vicuñas. Our guide helpfully (and annoyingly) explained everything 3, 4 or 5 times. Unfortunately his accent and the road noise meant you still didnt catch everything he said, and made you feel bad to get him to repeat again! One of the things we did learn (several times) though is that vicuña wool is around 10times more expensive than cashmere, and so anyone expecting souvenirs of this might be disappointed. Landed at last in Chivay, a smallish town near the valley where we were taken straight to an all you can eat buffet, including 3 dishes of alpaca meat. Tasting similar to beef, but softer. After we were taken to the hotel and given a few hours solo, to go explore or have a siesta before getting ready for a late night swim in some nearby natural thermal baths.The location was something else. The baths are obviously open, built on a hill, and you sit in the pool, with a cold beer or Pisco sour (national drink of choice) in your hand watching the light fade. And soooo hot. The heat mixed with the altitude (and the beer probably doesnt help) makes you feel quite dizzy after a while, but you still dont feel ready to leave!Once dry and cold again we were shipped to a local bar/restaurant for more food (another delicious alpaca steak) accompanied by a live band, and traditional dancing as well. But not dancing in anyway familiar to what you would see in an English bar. Nor even in your latino ones! Apart from the dress - the women normally in a long dress very flowery and colourful, and the poor bloke varying between shorts, jumpers and the last one wearing a full face mask. And each time he brought something along in his hand, an orange then a whip, and can't remember what else. The last dance involved him pretending to faint, and the women trying all sorts to get him back up, includin whipping him, before eventually burying his head under her skirt to provoke a reaction! 5 minutes later she collapsed and he had to do the same. This went on for around quarter of an hour with various customers having a go as well. So strange. Maybe when we find a faster internet we'll upload some videos.Another early morning - leaving the hotel by 6.30am so we could make it to the next highlight/s of our tour. The mist and fog was thick, so we had a slight change of plan, and headed first to a mirador to look down on the canyon, and hopefully see some of the famous condors. But the mist was far too thick, and we eventually ended up almost losing the bus. We had gone for a walk to find another small lookout point, just about visible from the one where we all were, but as we got there the mist fell heavier and finding our way back was surprisingly difficult. On top of this the altitude really starts to hit, we walked pretty slowly around 500 metres in total, and by the time we found the bus, we were both out of breath and gasping for air! Unfortuantely due to the mist we never got to see just how deep the canyon is, gotta believe the facts. We stopped a little further down the road to try to see some Condors, the view now was over the valley, with the canyon running down the middle. The mist was pretty much gone here so the views were spectacular. After around an hour of waiting chatting to the locals selling their wollen stuff, we heard some shouting and general excitement, a condor!! There of the vulture family so pretty ugly really, but are the worlds heaviest birds, and have a wingspan of over 3m. Which is nearly twice the height of Caro. Really, really, bloody big. A couple entered the valley, and at the distance all you could really see where black lines, followed by shining white when the sun reflected off the top. Even from a distance they're quite a sight. After a while of trying to photo them at full zoom, and ending up with hundreds of pictures of sky, they finally started to approach us, til one flew right beneath our feet completely out of nowhere (and so noone had the cameras ready!). The size is just unbelievable. Next one swooped just a few metres over our heads, and everyone clicking madly on the cameras, hardly time to check if you got it, before another one followed, CLICK CLICK CLICK, and then a third right above us!! It was really as if they were putting on a show just for us (and the hundreds of other tourists that had joined us by this point). Very unique experience. That was pretty much the end of our tour, we felt majorly bummed not to have seen the canyon, but thrilled at our personal display of the condors. And all this (hotel and everything) for $20 each!Anyways, next stop Chile! Hope everyone is good!Ali y Caro
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Trujillo, Peru

Arrived to Trujillo suitably knackered, found a hotel, found food, went to bed. This wasn't originally a stop we had anticipated, simply somewhere to recover on the way to Lima, but we did some research and (Ali especially) got a little excited that nearby are a number of Pyramids! In our sleepy state last night, we booked ourselves into an all day tour.Next morning suitably refreshed (or a least a little bit) we got picked up by a van, and were taken to the first stop - Las Huacas del Sol, y de la Luna. These are ancient Moche pyramids dating from before Christ, and long before the Incas got here. And are simply stunning. You can still see almost all the colours on the walls, and all the drawings of their different Gods. We were only allowed to enter the Huaca de La Luna, which is basically a temple, because the sol one is not open for tourists yet. This temple is basically 5 in one. Each temple was meant to last a 100 years and after that they will cover it with soil and build a new one on top of it. There are some parts when you can actually see all the way down till the very first one. Making a wall of a total of 30 mtrs high. If it wasn't for the fact it was our first real day of heat since first arriving to the coast of Colombia, we would have learnt a lot more very interesting pieces of info. We hadn't given ourselves any time to acclimatize though, and so both walked around like zombies drenched in sweat dying for water - but we both agreed it was well worth the suffering.We were dropped off at a restaurant recommended by the tour company, and we ate some delicious sea food mixed with rice, preparing us for the afternoon's trekking around more archaeological stuff. This time was to the gigantic Chimu city, Chan Chan. They first dragged us round a number of fairly dull museums which neither of us were in the right state of mind for, and then we arrived. This didn't have the colours of the last place, but the sheer size alone was enough to impress. This is known as the biggest mud city in the world! And although not everything has been discovered and there is no tourist access everywhere, you can still get a good idea how big it would have been. Our final drop off was at the beach of Huanchaco, apparently the finest one in Trujillo....(though we're not sure how much competition its got). It was very beautiful though, and lined with reed boats, made in the traditional Indigeanous way.Next stop Lima!!
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Loja, Ecuador

Ok, this one's for you guys. We've (hopefully) made you jealous once or twice, but this one is for pity.We planned on leaving Cuenca, a short bus ride to Loja, followed by an overnight bus so we can be in Peru by the early hours of the morning. Easy right?! Hmm.Our first stop is the bus station in Cuenca, where we buy the 5 hours tickets to Loja with no snags, leaving at 4, planning on arriving at 9. We haven't been able to book the international tickets to Peru yet, since the company simply won't allow it, but they've assured us that at 9 there will still be plenty. We leave happy. Enjoying one of our first day time buses, driving through some lovely landscapes, watching terrible movies - anaconda, anacondas and orchids, snakes on a plane. Though thankfully we didn't have time to watch all of the latter. Arrived to Loja a little late, but still with plenty of time for tickets, toilets and possibly food. Got to the ticket office to find there was only one surviving ticket for that night with the company recommended to us, so we were stuck with running round the station finding another reputable company that was leaving tonight. Success!! Leaving in 3 hours time. Great, stuck in the bus terminal, at 10 at night for 3 hours. Internet cafe is shut so cant even waste time catching up with the blog. Finally find a 24hr cafe/restaurant place and get some fried egg on top of rice. Yum. Wasted the next few hours playing chess and watching the local homeless getting kicked out.Got on to our bus, decorated with sick green seats, and settled down with the door right in front of us, meaning all the people we pick up on the way are walking over us to get past. So we manage to change seats to the other ones with 0 leg room. I mean less than in a BA flight. So, 8 hours to The Border, we settle down to sleep.Around 3am, the bus stops. Drivers get off, and assuming this is a general toilet break, we doze back off. Every hour or so your body gets tired of sleeping soo uncomfortably so you wake up. And the bus is still sitting there. Eventually the sun rose around 7 and the few fairly comfortable sleeping positions were becoming less comfortable so we got off to ask around what is happening. Apparently there was a rock slide around 10pm last night and the road is unpassable (this was before we had even bought our tickets by the way). And this being Ecuador nobody would be turning up to even start clearing the road til 1pm. To be fair in the distance, though clearly in sight we could hear more rocks falling all the time. Anyway, we were still missing around 5 hours of our trip, and by the time the road was actually clear, we would still not be arriving til around 7 that night. This seemed excessive, so we persuaded some locals to show us a route around/pretty much next to the rock slides to get to the other side where there were also trucks and coaches waiting to pass. We managed to get a lift to the border town of Macará in a camioneta, where we then got down to do all our paperwork. The officials there started bitching and whining because we didnt have the papers that they were supposed to have given us in Esmeraldas, but finally he took his happy pills and let us pass. On the other side we were immediately ambushed by taxi drivers offering us a lift to Sullana 2 hours away. Passport control here were almost pleasant, giving the British passport the normal interested eye, chatting friendly and letting us pass sin problema! Very unusual to have such nice officially people. The police even sorted us out a 'reliable' taxi driver, and after he assured us and the policeman it would only be the two of us in the taxi we bundled in the bags and headed off. Within 30 seconds of starting the driver winds down his window and begins yelling at the locals. Then he stops, and 3 of them wander over with sacks of god knows what and start climbing in. So now we have the driver, 2 in the front seat, and 3 in the back, + all kinds of luggage in the boot. Seeing the 2 in the front seat, our english minds are thinking - soon as a policeman sees this we're getting pulled over. And sure enough, hello mr policeman how are you?? But turns out he didn't even seem to notice the people in the front - he had noticed the gringos in the back and wanted to stop us to say hello.On we go, and the taxi driver is still leaning out the window yelling at all the locals. Finally another family of 3 joins us. So now we have 2 in the front seat, the driver, 4 across the back, and 2 more wedged in the boot with the sacks and our far-from-small rucksacks. And on we went the 9 of us crammed into this 5 seater car, with the taxi driver still calling out the window for more people! We did eventually arrive to Sullana where the next bus (with no air conditioning) to Trujillo would be leaving in 1 hour - the ones with air conditioning of course didnt leave til 9pm!. It was now approaching midday, the terminal was sooo hot. This ended up being another 8 hours stuck in a bus, travelling through some spectacular desert scenery on all side. By the time we arrived we had been 28 hours on the road with no proper bed, stinking, tired and hungry. Note for next time - don't do it this way!Hope everyone is good! Hasta Luego!
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Cuenca, Ecuador

SO... after a long night of travels, we finally arrived to another colonial town - Cuenca. Luckily we had booked the hostel the night before so we didn`t need to look for anything. We basically arrived to  the hotel at 8am, said hi to the lovely guy and went straight to bed for a couple of hours. (it seems to be becoming a normal ritual for us)After a nice siesta and a hot shower  we went for lunch  and to do a bit of exploring. Apparently this is the 3rd biggest city in Ecuador but it has such an intimate feeling around the centre that you can almost belive nothing exists outside of it. Had lunch at a really nice restaurant, and after wandering around for a bit we booked ourselves in one of those citytours buses... heheIt wasnt as bad as they normally are... in fact it was pretty good! Our guide was really cool and interesting, telling us information about the places we were seeing, going slow enough in both languages so we could understand and take photos, and even warned us overhanging lines to prevent decapitation. Our only problem was the other Ecuatorians taking the tour, rude and annoying, and so when one of them got soaked from the rain collected on the top deck, a loud cheer went up!On the bus they showed us the different parks, monuments and churches in cuenca. We went through some lovely narrow streets lined with colorful, colonial houses. They showed us the oldest houses of Cuenca which are world heritage and took us along the river. After we went up to a mirador that has really nice view...unfortunately the rain had again caught up with us, and we spent most of the time exploring the little shop on top, filled with erotic pottery and intricate chess sets. We did step outside for long enough to take a couple of misty photos, and see another plane appearing to land in the main centre plaza. They dropped us back in the centre, and after having a delicious dinner of locro - potato soup (soups here are amazing, of course not as nice as Colombia but still amazing) we went back to the hotel and had an early night, even though it was Saturday! but we were knackered, and had another lots of hours of bussing lay in wait for us the following day while we headed to Peru.Hope you are all well... hasta luego!
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Quito, Ecuador

So after travelling in relative style (ie not by bus - but by plane!) we arrived in Quito. It wasn't all fun and games though - we had a little scary time in the border crossing in Esmeraldas, where having just got through security, there was a call over the radio "Señorita Carolina Matos to the security office". Crap, we had been told there was some friction between Ecuador and Colombia, but since she had entered with a British passport they wouldn't know anything right?? We were safe on that front, but there were again concerns of what she was taking in her bag - apparently it looked like she was going to sell stuff. Crazy people... Meanwhile, the plane is already boarding, and Ali almost with the rest, til at the last possible time Caro returns, but without bag. While sitting on the plane, and the hostesses going through all their emergency procedures, we can still see Caro's bag outside the plane and sitting ignored in the security office. We finally made enough fuss that they waited around to pack the bag, but all the same a worrying period.Now it should be noted that Ecuatorians have a reputation for being a little thick. Caro can fill hours telling stories of such incidents, but the best proof here is the location of the airport - right in the centre of the capital. The plane flies almost within touching distance of huge buildings, and frequently while in the centre you feel like you have to duck as they shoot just over your head. But thankfully the landing went smoothly. Caro's dad through various acquaintances had managed to book us a hotel for $15 a night, so we arrived, dropped the bags, and headed via the surprisingly excellent public transport straight to the historic centre to find food, and maybe a beer. While we were eating (I won't make you jealous over the prices here, but be sure it was dirt cheap) it started to rain. Seems like it has been following us since.... well since England probably. But this was real South American run-away-and-hide type rain. So deciding to explore another night we got some cabs to take us to some more party areas directly, where we found a pleasant spot offering cocktail happy hours. :)Got up pretty early the next day to start exploring. First stop El Panecillo (little bread - though no idea what that has to do with anything...), situated almost in the centre of Quito, on a huge hill, and sports a gigantic Virgin Mary on top. Apparently this is the site of the continents biggest nativity scene, though in march I guess we were more likely to see giant rabbits in time for Easter.... Anyway with all sorts of respect you can climb inside the Virgin for some great views of the city!We caught a cab back into the historical centre, and were dropped off next to a very impressive monastry... and approached by a very drunk local claiming to be from Hong Kong. Err... right, of course you are.Had another realy cheap, really good lunch, and started the walk towards another one of the most unmistakeable sights of Quito - La Basilica. A beautiful building, incredibly high, visible from just about anywhere. So we decided to climb it. Caro at least was a little put off at finding out it had 300 odd steps, but cheered up at the fact that you can get a lift to go back down again. The first 100 or so steps were great, just plain boring steps, with the occasional stop for a play on an organ. Eventually you get an entrance, with a long steepled roof, and an equally long wooden plank running end to end. It had rope safety, but this did nothing to console the mind from the worrying squeaking and twisting of the wood under your feet. You get to the end expecting some kind of relief. Nope. A steep ladder, with nothing beneath but concrete. But at least your feet cant fall off the steps cos of te flimsy chicken wire around the steps.. Except the last few, where the wire has fallen away...! We did eventually make it to the top, without any incident. To find another longer step ladder, reaching up to the very top of a tower. Under this was nothing, and it was pretty scary. In fact on the way down, Ali's legs were shaking so much that the whole ladder was shaking, making the legs shake even more!! On the plus side, the views from the top were stunning. Back down the ladder, across the plank of death, and there were more steps reaching inside the other two main clock towers. These had scary ladders but were nothing like what we had just done. From there you see clock machinery and all that. After all this we felt we deserved ice cream, and Ali tried Curuba (a fruit we had experienced in Colombia, but never in ice cream form.) Yum.The evening was spent at an old friend of Caro's from when her dad worked in Ecuador, so we visited and chatted of the world, life and everything. In case you weren't aware, Quito is below the ecuator. Something Ali was just a little excited about. In order to officialise this fact, we paid a trip to Mitad del Mundo - a town just outside of Quito, through which apparently lies the ecuator. There we booked ourselves on a trip to a nearby Sun temple, and also a volcanic crater. While waiting til they were ready we wandered round the various museums most of which not worth it, except the insectorium. This was one room filled with dead bugs. But not bugs that you can squash with you feet. These were foot sized beasts, massive rhino beetles, butterflies that could double as curtains, of amazing colours. Then in the centre of the room, to prove there were no tricks, actual living bugs. As big as your hand - spiders, worms, more beetles. Fascinating. Though a little off putting to think most of these are found in Ecuador, Peru and Chile....The tour started with a trip to the temple of sun. Apparently all rebuilt and renovated. You first enter a large circular room, with a pot in the middle, and a ray of sun beaming down through a hole in the roof. Apparently in the solstices, the sun lands in the middle of the pot and there are lots of parties. There our guide showed us some ecuator tricks such as balancing an egg on its edge and something with speakers that we didnt understand. Then he offered us to bask in the sunlight - apparently recharging your energy. So we all had a go, even if we didnt believe it, it made a good photo opportunity. Strangely, as Caro (Matos LUNA) went under the light the sun disappeared behind a cloud. We found out afterwards that the god of the moon (luna) is more powerful than the sun god..... Maybe there's more to this theology than we thought... The rest of the temple was disappointingly touristy, with shops, electricity, and carpet. Next stop a volcano!The very first thing our guide said was that we had been told a lie. This wasn't a crater. In fact it hardly resembled more than a valley surrounded by mountains. Absolutely stunning views, but not what we would recognise as a volcano. Down the bottom there were farms, and apparently just round the corner (like a few hours walk) there were hot thermals indicating the volcano was still active. But there wasnt much more of interest. So back to the ecuator then! We hadnt really had time to explore the ecuator part before our tours, so when we arrived back we pretty much ran (except it was really really hot, so all we managed was a kind of lazy stroll - but the intention was there). While its not much to look at, simply a red line leading up to an expensive museum, it felt awesome jumping hemispheres, and we actually spent quite an embarrasing amount of time just jumping over the red line. :) Anyways, that night we were booked onto the 10 hour bus to our next stop - Cuenca. Hopefully the energy we took from the sun today will keep us busy, cos we got a hell of a lot of buses coming up!Hope everyone is cool! Hasta Luego!
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