TravelStream™ news feed for member zmasey on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/zmasey en-us Copyright ©2010 TravelPod.com Thu, 16 Jun 2005 04:30:11 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zmasey/south_america/1098917100/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zmasey/south_america/1098917100/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zmasey/south_america/1098917100/tpod.html Thu, 16 Jun 2005 04:30:11 -0400 A break from work...

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Newmarket, United Kingdom

Hello to all those that care to read on,

In case you don't know I'll explain my plans as everything is all pretty much mapped out, in true Masey fashion!
Perhaps amongst the more experienced back packers it's a bit wimpy, but to get round a huge part of South America at a well designed pace and in relative safety I've decided to do it group tour style.

The plan really goes like this:

February 5th 2005 Flight to Rio to join the aforementioned big yellow truck.



Travelling south through Paraguay and Agrentina until the southernmost town in the world and then north through Chile, Bolivia, Peru and Equador.
Finishing the trip on the big yellow truck in Quito, I then have a couple of weeks free in which to cruise round the Galapagos Islands.
7th June 2005 Flight Home and then I urgently need to find a job in order to pay the mortgage.





I can barely put the trip notes down for excitement, all the many things to see and do.
Walking the Inca Trail to Machu Pichu, white water rafting on the Riobamba, travelling in dug-out canoes through the Amazon rainforest, learning to Tango in Buenos Aires, staying with the locals in their homes made of reed on Lake Titicaca, the list goes on and on. Climbing Volcanoes, Glacier trekking and oh yeh packing up tents at some unearthly time in the morning in the rain, cold and wind. Hmmmm

Well that's all now, 3 months to go.

Did I mention that truck?



It's not just any ole truck!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zmasey/south_america/1116446760/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zmasey/south_america/1116446760/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zmasey/south_america/1116446760/tpod.html Sat, 28 May 2005 16:43:23 -0400 A break from work...

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Banos, Ecuador

Nina and Franco get a special mention here as were stayed at their place which is just outside Banos and they're are wickedly good fun swiss who have settled in Ecuador. There is a volcano warning for this area so there is no overnight stays in Banos, no volcanic excitement though.

Cannoying, what a strange activity, we spent half a down walking down a river, jumping down little waterfalls, rappelling down big ones with the occasional flying fox thrown in.
Much fun.

The rest of the time here was spent with walking to waterfalls and oooo guess what a little more shopping.

Ice cream cake, this also gets a special mention.
Rachel, tour leader, has taken great pleasure in taking the piss out of me the whole trip. To be fair most of it fairly justified.

Anyways a few weeks ago I was viciously lied to and told there was ice cream cake for dessert. How excited was I! Only then to discover it was bloomin fruit salad. My fav, NOT.

Anyways due to the distress caused, what do you think I got for dessert? YEH ice cream cake and a big knife to cut it with and it wasn't even my birthday.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zmasey/south_america/1116619560/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zmasey/south_america/1116619560/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zmasey/south_america/1116619560/tpod.html Sat, 28 May 2005 16:41:29 -0400 A break from work...

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The Amazon Jungle, Ecuador

What a place to spend my birthday, the Amazon Jungle.
We arrived at the Arajuno Lodge the day before, after the sweaty hot Pantanal I was a little dubious about this, but what a place.
Its owned by an American guy Tom, who is so enthuasiastic about what he does, amongst other things he does his bit to protect the Amazon by educating people on what harm is being done and giving locals less disastrious alternative.
Out largest source of oxygen is being distroyed and definately needs people to think more.

But anyways, the morning of my birthday was spent on a jungle walk then on joining the river I boarded the "throne", an inflatable chair and floated back down to the lodge.
After lunch we went to Amazoonico, a zoo where they look after animals and then try to introduce then, where possible back into the wild.
A water taxi back to the lodge was an interesting afair, we all had to get out and push over a shallow bit of river, I couldn't see alot as I'd been tied with ballons.

A native medicine women came and told us all up native medicines, healing and performed a group cleansing ceremony.
Now Karen, you will be surprised as for the bargain price of $5 I had my future told. I'll tell you all about it when I get back....

What else then, as it was my birthday, we had ballons, party hats and wine. Not the usual drunken afair but it was and absolutely unforgetable day.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zmasey/south_america/1116014760/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zmasey/south_america/1116014760/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zmasey/south_america/1116014760/tpod.html Sat, 28 May 2005 16:12:48 -0400 A break from work...

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Punta Sal, Peru

Ahhh, the beach.

Admitidly this place was lovely but there just wasn't anything to entertain myself with. As you may know I'm just not a beach person and I just couldn't take.

Bored bored bored.

Pig on a spit was vert nice though.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zmasey/south_america/1115755560/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zmasey/south_america/1115755560/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zmasey/south_america/1115755560/tpod.html Sat, 28 May 2005 16:10:03 -0400 A break from work...

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Kinda in the middle of the dessert, Peru

As I'm running out of time, these entries I'm gona make em brief and hopefully the pictures will say more.

The Chan Chan runis are some giant mud brick buildings that were built by a civilisation around before the Incas.
Again nobody knows a huge amount about them apart from the buildings they've left behind, most of which are still being uncovered and researched.

These buildings are immense and very impressive.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zmasey/south_america/1115493000/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zmasey/south_america/1115493000/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zmasey/south_america/1115493000/tpod.html Sat, 28 May 2005 16:04:43 -0400 A break from work...

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Lima, Peru

Like all good traditions, the drive into this major city commenced with watching Dirty Dancing and wine and ended with some good party music and Auld Land Syne.

As for the city, lots of shopping, eating and bars, we did end up going home after a punch up in one bar as glass flew about and some people got a blood splattering. We were assured by the locals that this really isn't a common event but back to the hotel seemed like the best option.

I did go to the Spanish Inquisition museum which told you all about old torture methods and had some "pleasant" models being tortured.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zmasey/south_america/1115406600/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zmasey/south_america/1115406600/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zmasey/south_america/1115406600/tpod.html Sat, 28 May 2005 15:57:02 -0400 A break from work...

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Ica, Peru

One helluva fun day in the Sand.
As the drive continued we gradually got into some massive sand dune terrritory.
After boarding some dune buggies with allegedly some top Peruivian Rally driver we went cavorting in the sand. Much fun as these buggies went up, over and down the sand dunes.

We camped up for the night in a dip in the dunes with nothing but sand as far as the eye could see, had a georgeous BBQ and went to bed.

Now my bed for the night was a cool one, although others have done it before now I've never been brave enough to sleep with the creepy crawleys.
But tonight was the night, with only my thermarest and sleeping bag, oh and a couple of others for company, I slept under the stars. Albeit I was on a bit of a slope but what a place to sleep. I survived the bugs. Hoorah.

Up with the sun the next morning we departed on our buggies and arrived at the top of a big dune.
Not snow boarding, but sand boarding, whooosh down the slope and we even didn't have to walk back up to do it again we got a taxi, (dune buggie in disguise). Think I might have to opt for snow boarding instead of skiing one year as I wasn't too bad.
Although I could only go down the dune in one direction which could prove a little dangerous on the piste.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zmasey/south_america/1115320200/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zmasey/south_america/1115320200/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zmasey/south_america/1115320200/tpod.html Sat, 28 May 2005 15:44:03 -0400 A break from work...

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Nazca, Peru

The Nazca Lines, pictures of a monkey, condor, hummingbird, spaceman and some other lines etched into the dessert by who knows.

Very strange, nobody knows how they were made or what they're doing there, there's not really much more to say except:

It was a very very bumpy plane ride and we had a quiet day.

So bumpy infact there ice cream did not cure the sick feeling. Urgh.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zmasey/south_america/1115147400/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zmasey/south_america/1115147400/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zmasey/south_america/1115147400/tpod.html Sat, 28 May 2005 15:27:07 -0400 A break from work...

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Arequipa, Peru

So the reason for the visit to Arequipa was to see the Ampautu maiden. Located in a refrigeration glass box Juanita is a properly mummified Inca Girl.
She was found by a mountain climber at the top of the Ampatu Mountain, believed to be an Inca sacrifice to the mountain she probably walked with an entourage from Cusco, drugged to keep her going and received a blow to the head and died at the very top of the mountain and left in the freezing cold conditions to die.
Even getting to the top of this mountain now is no small task, yet the Inca did it on several occasions and still there are traces of their paths.

Juanita was found curled up wrapped in clothes together with other offerings to the gods. In her glass box she is very small and still has hair and finger nails. Because she was frozen all her organs are still there and there is still blood in her body.

Way bizzare.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zmasey/south_america/1115050860/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zmasey/south_america/1115050860/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zmasey/south_america/1115050860/tpod.html Sat, 28 May 2005 12:39:29 -0400 A break from work...

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Colca Canyon, Peru

No nothing to do with Sesame Street.Colca Canyon is well known for Condor Sightings.
We made it there over a 4800m pass and a little more altitide sickness which caused a one time sick in a plastic bag on the truck. Lovely.
The Condors where pretty massive birds that use the thermals of the canyon floor to glide about.
Got some great shots and highly amused by the EOS300D camera club. There's 3 of us all with the same camera which just happened to be standing together taking exactly the same shots as the condors all flew about.

Thats all for condors, folk.
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