Wednesday, May 25, 2005

Galapagos Islands

Just back from the Galapagos Islands! Superb wildlife viewing and felt like I was in a David Attenborough documentary.

From Quito, Ecuador, we flew to San Cristobal where we boarded the Diamante, our yacht and home for the next week. Luckily she was a beauty and the crew was amazing. Our guide was even better and was one of the first inhabitants of Floreana island (just after all the mysterious disappearances took place) and a wealth of information. One of 12 children who were all delivered by her father, most of her siblings are involved in the conservation of the islands (one of them is involved in the eradiction of introduced species flying over the islands in a helicopter and shooting goats!).

For 8 days we walked amongst numerous endemic species of birds, mammals and reptiles and most of the time you had to be very careful not to walk on the wildlife!


unfinished

Wednesday, May 18, 2005

...and now I see

Why haven't I had one of these earlier?! Back in Lima and have just had a great massage from a blind masseuse somewhere in San Isidro, on recommendation by one of the twins we met up at the amazon lodge. To test if he was 100% I 'accidentally' dropped 10 soles on the ground to see if he would pick it up. He passed the test, plus for good measure, he bumped into the wall a couple of times so I'm pretty sure he was bonafide. As I lay there, I thought how surreal it was to be in Lima, having a conversation in castellano while being massaged by a blind masseuse.

So, after a coffee and massage with the twins, we were suitably relaxed and enjoyed Lima better than the first time we were here. One of the twins is an expat and has been living in Lima for 4 years working on human rights policies. She, and another guy we met who is also an expat, love Lima. He voluntarily teaches english to underpriviledged kids and is supported by donations from friends back home. Wonderful idea although not so sure my friends will be all that willing to financially support my holiday without being there!

Tomorrow we are off to Quito, Ecuador, and off to the Galapagos Islands sailing. Have been raiding all the book stores around Miraflores and San Isidro to find a good book to read while lazing on the yacht. The selection has been dreadful (and pricey) but fantastic for those who are fans of Danielle Steel.

Monday, May 16, 2005

In the Jungle

''GIANT ELECTRIC EEL ATTACKS CHILDREN'' is the front page headline of a newspaper I pick up on arriving to Iquitos. The frontpage shows a slain eel infront of a bunch of excited kids. Welcome to the jungle!

I think it was geography with Ms McCata (?) who inspired an interest to visit the amazon river and the jungle, so 18 yrs later we find ourselves waiting at the edge of the amazon river for a boat to take us 200kms upstream to start our jungle adventure.

We stayed at Mayuna Lodge, an eco lodge (very important), where for the next week we:
* Went birdwatching at the crack of dawn
* Swam with pink dolphins in the murky, chocolate brown waters of the amazon river
* Fished for piranha
* Ate piranha
* Caught anacondas and caimans by night
* Watched huge groups of monkeys jumping from tree to tree while tucans and macaws flew by
* Teased sloths (actually the guide did the teasing by pretending he was a hawke) perched high up in the trees
* Canoed our way through the jungle to spot tarantulas, more monkeys, bamboo rats, birds etc
* Walked through thick dense forest in jackets and gumboots with a machete loving guide and swarms of mosquitos who bit any bit of skin that was exposed and in fact bit through your clothes.
* Stopped by a local school for a bit of singing and games
* Feasted on golden catfish ceviche, corn tamales, palm hearts, fried bananas and little orange spheres of chilli
* Lazed about on hammocks

It was all good fun however the onslaught of viscious mosquitos immune to heavy duty deet and rubber was unbearable and after an owl decided to poop on our bed, we decided that we had enough of our jungle adventure and cut our visit short. 4 days was more than enough.

We headed back downstream to Iquitos where Dave drove the boat down the amazon straight for a hot shower and airconditioning.

Tuesday, May 10, 2005

Who would´ve known

So who would´ve known that 15 years after watching that documentary about the Incas and Machu Picchu and wishing I could see it that it´d come true?

Well, it really was an amazing experience and we spent several hours at the top looking down at Machu Picchu in total awe. We hardly spoke to each other. We then spent the entire day wandering around the ruins checking out the temple of the sun, the sundial, agricultural terraces, mortar room, temple of the condor, caretaker`s inn etc... Amazing feat for the Incans and also for Hiram Bingham to `discover` the lost city in 1911.

As mentioned, we didn`t hike up the inca trail however went through the Sacred Valley (Urubamba valley) which was very beautiful. Went through ruins and towns (Pisaq markets, Calca, Yucay, Urubamba, Chinchero) eventually to Ollantaytamba where we hopped on the train to Aguas Calientes at the foot of Machu Picchu for the night so that we could catch a bus up first thing in the morning before the bucket loads of tourists arrived.

Notes:
* Suggest more than a day to explore the ruins.
* There are alternative walks to the the inca trail that are less populated and remote. With around 500 ppl hiking the inca trail every day, we had heard the the route was getting too polluted and that you end up walking in a huge line with loads of ppl.
* Unesco is threatening to remove Machu Picchu's World Heritage status based on the Peruvian government's refusal to limit visitor numbers to the site. It was suggested that numbers should be limited to between 250 to 500 ppl a day due to adverse effects on the site(there was concern about the ruins slipping down the mountain), however current numbers are up to 3,000 a day. On a quiet day the number is around 800. Can understand why the govt hasn't acted. Great revenue for them based on the amounts they charge tourists.
* Would I come again? Yes, only to walk the inca trail despite the warnings of it being too populated. I think passing through the sun gate on the final day would be pretty special.
* Overall, never seen anything like it before and definitely unforgettable.

Friday, May 06, 2005

The naval of the world

Cuzco.....the naval of the world according to the incans.

A very pretty town full of cobbled streets, clay orange roof tiles and plenty of churches. Despite the aggressive restaurant touts on Plaza de Armas literally dragging you off the street to come and have free pisco sours at their restaurant, the droves of tourists (mostly american) and the hoards of children forcing you to buy finger puppets even though your own digits, including toes, are covered in them, it is a very beautiful naval.

We had a frantic time trying to organise a 4 day hike up the incan trail to Machu Picchu but alas, it wasn´t to be. Prior to leaving Oz we heard that there was a new regulation to limit the numbers on the path and that you must book at least 6 weeks ahead to guarantee a place. Although we knew this, a number of travellers advised that it was possible to turn up and book a hike within 2 days. Unfortunately the first hike we could book was in July so we had to make alternative arrangements to reach Machu Picchu. Disappointed but tried to console self that Machu Picchu was the highlight.

Anyway, there was plenty to do around Cuzco including exploring the surrounding ruins on miniature malnutritioned horses....a very frightening experience for both Dave and the horse. In between trying to coax the horses to walk faster than a tortoise we saw some very interesting ruins:

* Tambumachay: Incan baths and centre for the worship of water.
* Puca Pucara: ´´Fortress watchtower´´, a checkpoint and administrative centre
* Q'enqo: a labyrinth used for worship and ceremonies. Loads of carvings, holes and canals and underground chamber, and finally,
* Saqsaywaman: Pronounced ´´Sexy Woman´´. Enormous, zig zag shaped fortress in the shape of a puma´s head (the zig zag being its teeth).

Notes:
1. The walk from sexy woman to the centre of town was lovely with great views of Cuzco
2. San Blas area - great place for artsy stuff and cool cafes and restaurants. Note ecclectic bar ´´Fallen Angel´´ with bath tubs filled with goldfish and used as tables
3. Most of the tourists at our hotel had altitude sickness. Couldn´t help but feel relieved as Cuzco is the lowest altitude we have been in the past few weeks so we were absolutely fine!
4. Not game enough to try cuy (guinea pig) yet.....

Tuesday, May 03, 2005

Peru

Peru has been a bit of a slap in the face since leaving beautiful, tranquil Bolivia.

Since crossing the border into Peru from Bolivia around Lake Titicaca into Puno, it´s been an onslaught of continual harrassment by local vendors, street touts, tour operators and huge groups of package tourists. A shock to the system and a rude interruption.

We only stayed in unattractive Puno to wait for the train run by Orient Express to take us to Cusco. In the meantime, we occupied ourselves with visiting the floating reed islands (Ouros) to investigate whether they were real or fake. There´s a rumour going around that the inhabitants are actually mainlanders who are ferried across to the islands in the morning before the tourists arrive and then taken back to Puno at the end of the day. Although a HUGE tourist trap, it was interesting (fake or not) to see how ppl lived on these islands where everything, including their boats, was made of reeds. We came across curious activity on one of the islands where we saw men and children hacking at the floor with saws and poles and discovered that the community was having huge disputes. To resolve the problem they decided to cut the island in half! Still undecided about the validity of the islands, we then went across to see the incan funerary towers which were of interest to Dave. These towers were colossal and I was quite impressed with the precise workmanship of the incans.

The train ride was fantastic and thoroughly recommended. We ´roughed´ it in backpacker class which we found was exactly the same as first class (silver service, food, entertainment) except for the seats and were grateful for the advice given by a local tour operator to not pay for first class tickets.

After 10hrs we reached Cusco.........

Sunday, May 01, 2005

Beloved Bolivia

My favourite South American country by far. The warnings (eg: food is terrible, transport not good, danger around the border) about the country, I found, were far from the truth and infact I found it a country with tranquil people, breathtaking landscapes, a fascinating culture and excellent food (especially the soups - quinoa es muy rico. Note, we were careful to stay away from the USD1.00 menu del dia (3 course set menu) although there was one time we accidently had it. We survived).

Even La Paz was an interesting place with it´s witches markets full of dried llama foetuses, pachamama and pachapapa statues, and other curious little ornaments to protect one´s home, health and wealth. For a small sum you could have your fortune read by one of the Quechua (indigenous) ppl on the street using coca leaves spread out on a colourful weaving, not that you`d be able to understand it. My castellano is challenged enough without having to comprehend Quechuan.

There have been so many prime opportunities for excellent shots but it was a little difficult to take them as the people are afraid of the ´´evil eye´´ of the camera believing that it will take their souls away. This also applies to their llamas and alpacas although a farmer on Isla del Sol in Lake Titicaca told me that his llama was prone to spitting if I took his photo. Anyway, I practised taking undercover photos as demonstrated to me by one of our mates which involves holding the camera by your leg and clicking away. This results in a lot of pictures of dirt roads though.

So, our journey took us from La Paz to Lake Titicaca where we chilled at Copacabana (yes, another town with that name) and then took a boat across to Isla del Sol, an high altitude (4,000m) island of 1,000 inhabitants whose primary activity is farming and fishing, where we did some walking and chilling. Fantastic to wander around the villages connected by pathways where the only means of transport are your feet. No vehicles, no roads. We did view some ruins (Chinkana - an Incan labyrinth) and other historical points of interest (sacred rock in shape of puma) in Challapampa, the northern end. The Incans believe that this island is where the sun dropped onto the earth to give birth to Manco Capac and Mama Ocllo, the first Incans. It`s still very primitive with it`s inhabitants living very simple lives. I loved watching the sunrise from our balcony and seeing a woman meticulously combing and plaiting her hair into 2 parts before donning her bowler hat. Sadly, we couldn`t stay longer.

It is a beautiful country and I love it all. This is a country I will definitely visit again. Hasta pronto Bolivia!