Guatemala City /Antiqua

We had one hell of a bus ride from Granada/Managua in Nicaragua to Guatemala City. This 17 hour bus journey involved three border crossings (into Honduras, El Salvador, and eventually Guatamala) and a bus change. But we arrived safe and sound in our hotel in Guatamala city. Bernard and I couldn't get over how much Guatamala City look and feels like little United States, with locals speaking English with distinctly American accents. We had a quick bite to eat at an Italian restaurant, then slept soundly for 10 hours in our wonderful business class hotel – it was worth every penny for that kind of comfort.

The next morning we set off for Antigua. It rained pretty much all day – so although we explored a little of this charming town on foot, it wasn't until the next day when the clouds disappeared that Antigua showed us just how quaint and charming it really is. We bought more souvineers, and I even salivated over some of the great quality jewellery they had in stock. Last night we had a lovely evening talking to the manager of a Thai Restaurant who also played the piano for us (and other diners of course). Today we came across an awesome looking wine bar, so we're heading there for dinner and drinks tonight. Antigua is a great little town – understandable why people stay longer to learn some spanish or some other activity. The ruins are lovely and when the clouds eventually lift from the Volcanos, the views are quite something. Tomorrow afternoon we fly to Flores to see the ancient Maya Ruin of Tikal. I'm very much looking forward to that.

Isla de Ometepe

This island is pretty unique place, formed by two volcanos in the middle of Lake Nicaragua. Its only just over an hour's taxi ride from Granada – and another hour by ferry. We stayed in a fabulous cabin just outside the main town on the island. The German owner was quirky, as were other guests there, but we had a lovely time. The sun was shining on our full day of activities – so much so that Bernard and I got rather burnt. (It still surprises us that despite our fantastic tans, we can still burn so easily.) We hired scooters and set off to explore the island – 16km into our ride, mine broke down, so Bernard stayed with the scooter whilst I drove back to town. An hour later problem was solved – the owner's brother was to be our guide for the day, so he took me on his motercycle and Beranrd continued on the scooter.

We saw lots of stunning birds, capuchin monkeys, howler monkeys, iguannas, lizards and butterflies. We went swimming in the “Eye of Water” water natural spring which was great fun, had a lovely lunch on the beach between the two volcanos, and finished off the day looking at a green lagoon and a sandbar that has created a natural pier with great views of both the volcanos. We enjoyed a few beers, played cards with others, and were pleased that the weather showed us a little kindness whilst we were there. Because for the four days after Isla de Omtepe it rained constantly – to such an extent that we even bought an extra half-day accommodation in Granada whilst we waited for our 3am nightbus to Guatamala City.

Granada

Couldn't help but sing the song Granada in my head whilst wondering around the streets (even though the song is about Spain, not Nicaragua). Lets be honest, Nicaragua is cheap, the countryside is lush and gorgeous, though if Bernard and I hadn't become such seasoned travellers, I can safely say that at times I would be quite unnerved by this country. There is still an edge here – the kids beg in the streets because they want to buy western food, not because they are hungry. And they are strong, if you say no, they just stand there and ask again. If you are forceful they will mock you and sometimes even swear “F**k you” to your face. You get looked at with distrust and some degree of jealousy. But, on the other hand, a smile and friendly “Buenos Dias” from us would evoke lovely big open smiles from so many locals. Where there is tourist infrastructure it is clearly influenced by the States – understandably when you see many American retirees living here. We spent a full three days in Granada – probably more than we needed given it rained a lot of the time were were there.

Our one sunny day we went to Masaya, a lovely market town about half an hour outside of Granada. We took a local (chicken) bus which took forever as it slowly ambled through the streets looking for passengers. But we did get to watch Hellboy in Spanish so it was quite a novel experience. We bought lovely hammocks and wondered around the streets soaking up everything. The one memory that will stay with me of Granada is the “family of rocking chairs”. There are no sofas/lounges in people's homes – rather every member of the family has their own rocking chair. So in every house you'd pass you'd see about five or six rocking chairs clustered around the coffee table. At night time you'd see families rocking away whilst watching a novella (soap opera) or chatting over the day's gossip.  

Monteverde

As mentioned before, the sun shone the morning we left Arenal so on the jeep-boat-jeep connection to Monteverde we got a great view of the volcano and the surrounding area. The road to Monteverde was a little bumpy and hilly, but was just wonderful when we arrived, if perhaps a little American (as is the rest of Costa Rica though). We stayed in a nice little hostel, met a lovely English couple who in so many ways were carbon copies of Bernard and I. We went on night walks in the forrest and continued to see amazing wildlife – more sloths, glowing fungus, tarantulas, vipers (snakes), amazingly bright fireflies. We went on the most amazing zip line – the distances were so long that a few times Bernard and I went together (when that happened we went incredibly fast). The highlight for me was doing the Tarzan swing – scary and exhilerating.

We also went to visit a wonderful butterfly garden – on the way there we walk through a lovely misty forrest area and saw a large family of capuchin monkeys. They were so playful and curious about us! When we arrived at the butterfly garden it started raining and my heart sank – butterflies don't tend to fly when its raining. But the lady was great – she showed us around the bug collection first (and boy are some of these bugs HUGE) and by the time we made it to the butterfly enclosures the rain had stopped, it warmed up and the butterflies were floating around so magnificently. As with all things in the cloud forrest area, by the time we finished our tour, we had a few moments to admire the hummingbirds before the rain started again. Monteverde was just lovely – we ate at a local style restaurant a lot and occasionally ate western food – though our hostel cooked delicious pancake breakfasts which can make any stay feel a tad more luxurious. When it rained we watched the spectacular lightening displays coming in from the pacific. I'd recommend this place to anyone in a heartbeat.

Volcan Arenal

We haven't really had good luck when it came to volanco climbing/watching. We've seen so many wonderful pictures of friends standing close to lava, and had hoped that Costa Rica's most active volcano would step up and show us what its all about. However, it wasn't the case. We arrived in beautiful mountains of Costa Rica and weren't entirely sure there was a volcano nearby – in actual fact, Arenal hides in clouds so much that we only saw it for a brief moment on the final day as we were checking out of our hotel. Arenal hasn't had an eruption since early October 2010 so there was no lava for us to see. And, like our time in the mountainous area of Panama, it rained pretty heavily for a lot of the day. We pottered around town buying wooden souvineers, eating in American style restaurants – I had my first proper salad for some time – quite the luxury.

On our day trip, we visited hanging bridges reserve and had a fantastic morning with mother nature. I spotted some howler monkeys (we heard them later on), we saw many species of birds, Costa Rica's famous blue jean frog (its tiny and red with bright blue legs, like its wearing jeans), snakes, Peccory (wild pigs) and sloths. After lunch the heavens erupted and it rained well into the night. So our walk on the edge of the volcano was sodden but interesting, and the luxurious hot springs were fantastic, but felt tepid as the cold rain fell. The moment the rain stopped the hot springs definetely felt hot. The springs were fantastic – they were certainly the poshest version we've ever been to - we had a drink poolside (and yes, they were pricey too) and then had a lovely dinner before returning to our hotel and then our jeep-boat-jeep connection to Monteverde the next morning.

San Jose

We flew from Bocas del Torro to San Jose because of the difficulties we had flying into Panama without a proof of onward journey. It seems to be somewhat of a catch 22, for we had the same problem trying to fly into Costa Rica – therefore we bought another flight from San Jose to Nicaragua right there at the airport so we could land in Costa Rica. These sorts of things don't seem to be as problematic at bus border crossings, that's for sure.

So we arrived safe and sound in San Jose. Not much to say about San Jose – we stayed two nights a week apart in a darling hostel owned by this adorable Nicaraguan gay guy called Frederico. The hostel was just wonderful – art deco interior and full of great people. A whole bunch of people (including Bernard) watched the final NBA match of the playoffs – thankfully Miami lost. We soaked up lots of hints from travellers who had already been further north. We didn't really do anything in San Jose but it was a convenient place to visit as part of your onward travelling.

Bocas del Torro

Ah, wonderful Bocas del Torro. After crossing over the continental divide to the Carribean coast, we had days and days of glorious weather in Bocas del Torro. We stayed in another guesthouse on the outskirts of the main town. Bocas is a bit on the pricy side so we made thorough use of our superb kitchen most days. Ham and cheese toasties with hot sauce has certainly become a favourite. Bernard was quite at home at the guest house, watching hummingbirds buzz around the feeders whilst sitting lazily in a hammock. The first few days took a little getting used to the intense sunshine and heat. One afternoon we rode for 40 minutes on the guesthouse's pushbikes to a lovely surf beach. The bike ride was magnificent, following the coast most of the way, spotting birds and listening for other wildlife. There was no surf – just dead flat – but a great afternoon regardless.

We spent two of our days snorkelling amongst the reefs and islands. We saw lots of vibrant corral one day, and the other day, swarms and swarms of fishes. Bernard was even lucky enough to see a shark and another large sting ray. We went sloth hunting and even saw one moving. We spent to Red Frog beach - saw the Red Frogs courtesy of the young boys selling viewings for a dollar. Had a beer/wine relaxing whilst the sun went down. We dined over the water a few times and the rest of our time relaxed in what was Panama's little slice of heaven. Bocas del Torro has definetely been one of the highlights of my trip thus far.

David/Boquete

OK, I've done it yet again – not kept up with my blogging and so now have to write at least ten entries all at once. All I really remember of my time in the highlands of Panama was rain. It rained when we were on the incredibly cramped bus from Panama to David City – it rained when we arrived in Boquete and pretty much rained every day from 11am to dawn. We stayed in a lovely guesthouse just out of town, owned by an American who married a lovely Panamanian woman. The guesthouse was an extremely comfortable place to be for a few days of wet weather, in that we were very fortunate.

We did our first zip lining experience here – which was very good fun. We met a lovely Californian couple on their honeymoon and enjoyed bumping into them in Boquete and again in Bocas del Torro. One morning, it was raining very lightly so we walked up into the cloud forrest. We didn't see any wildlife to note, but it was great being in the great outdoors for a bit. After getting our feet completely soaked crossing our third huge puddle/impromptu creek, I gave up trying to avoid them and enjoyed (with childlike enthusiasm) walking directly through every subsequent puddle/creek we came across.

Apologies for absence in writing

I write this blog for my own purposes, but also to let friends/family know of my travels.  Given I have had such a prolonged absence from writing, I must admit to others and to myself that May was an emotional month for me.  I have been terribly homesick for England - especially so since parting ways with Mark back in Cusco. Everything kept me thinking of the UK - the Royal Wedding, people I met on the road, Harry Potter (!!!), even my dreams were full of England.  So I avoided emails and internet for some time.  Instead I buried myself in wedding planning and trying to enjoy being on the road.

Colombia soothed with its friendly locals and wonderful travelling without being saturated with extranjeros (foreigners).  Even still, I started to hint to Bernard that I am getting tired of travelling and want to go back to Australia sooner than later. About two weeks later, Bernard his this plateau in his enthusiasm and we decided to move more swiftly, much to my relief.

Every time I tried to write my blog, I had to be reminded of how I felt in Ecuador and so I gave up pretty quickly. But now, after nearly three weeks of good fun in Colombia & Panama I felt ready to write again.  I can't wait to get back to Australia - to see everyone again, proper time, not rushed visits, and to no longer live in a suitcase.  I can't wait to cook in a kitchen, to go vegetable shopping, to drink really good wine again.  I can't wait for time to go quickly so our wedding will finally arrive and I can see some of our mates from the UK again.

So I promise to myself to write more frequently because we're in the home stretch - in less than two months we'll be finished, so I must make the most of every moment, be patient when buses run hours late, when people party in the hostel outside my room on Fri/Sat nights. Because it will be over before I know it.

Lots of love to everyone.

Panama Canal

This was on my “must see” list for central america. Such an amazing feat of engineering, it was just awe-inspiring to turn up to the canal at 9.30am and see three huge Northbound vessels lining up to enter the Miraflores dock. We were fortunate that we read the guide books beforehand and found out that between 9 – 11am and 3-5pm are best times for viewing. We spent nearly three hours at the canal admiring the process – the largest of the ships was charged $40KUS to enter the canal – apparently this is ten times cheaper than the alternative sailing up to 21 days to circumnavigate south America. We viewed the muesum at the visitor's centre and noted how little was mentioned about the environmental impact of the canal and their expansion plans (which were passed by majority of 77% in a referrendum). But you can appreciate the economic imperitive to allow the canal to expand – after the US reaped the benefits of their initial investment, you can't blame the Panamaericans to want to benefit as well.  Well worth the visit.

After the canal we went and saw Que Paso Ayer? II (The Hangover II) for the bargain price of $3 - this was great fun being in air conditioned comfort after a few steaming hot days in San Blas.  Off to David/Boquete region tomorrow to chill out in the cloud forrest before heading to Bocas del Torro for some more snorkelling/island experiences.

San Blas Islands

Early start that's for sure. We got picked up at 5.15am for our 4x4 journey to the pick-up point for boats in the San Blas. Along the way we stopped to pick up more passengers – not usually a problem but these Israeli's were not particularly sensitive to the needs of others and they kept us waiting for over half an hour (without apology) because they weren't organised enough to go shopping beforehand. We eventually left and then took the rollercoaster ride on the new road through the jungle into Kuna land (Kuna are the people of the San Blas region and have complete Governance over their land) and eventually found ourselves on our boat, the Sailing Koala.

Fabian is a Colombian capitan who has been sailing backpackers and other tourists between Cartagena in Colombia to San Blas islands in Panama for 14 years. He is professional, polite and gets along well with the Kuna. It was hot hot hot on the water with little breeze and clouds, so Bernard and I were eager to get into the water – after an hour or so crusing we were taken to this lovely island where we were based for most of our trip. We snorkelled for hours around the reef using our new camera, realised we were getting burnt so tried to hide from the sun. We ate lobster for dinner that night, prepared by the Kuna on the island. We tried to sleep in our cabin, but it was just too hot with both of us in there, so I ended up sleeping outside underneath the stars. It was just lovely – then the sun rose and it got hot again. We saw dolphins – the first time I was swimming and they were about 3 metres away from me – the second time we saw a mother and baby swim right beside our boat.

We went diving off old ship wrecks (very cool), kayaed around the islands and ate fish, seafood, rice, chips and lentils for nearly every meal. When weather turned we enjoyed the comfort of the boat, sleeping well whilst it stormed outside, the gentle rocking motion soothing rather than disruptive. We visited a traditional Kuna village and bigger modern township of Carti – both lifestyles remarkably impovrished but resilient – the Kuna are in desperate need of better waste disposal (sewerage and rubbish). The traditional dress of the women is just lovely and the sense of community in this area is very strong.

Arriving in Panama City

After being checked very thoroughly by Colombian police at the cartagena airport (presumably for drugs) we arrived safe and sound in Panama City. After repeatedly trying to give directions to our hostel, (they are extremely complicated) we eventually arrived at our hostel. A slight problem with our booking but the hostel owner was so lovely and we had air conditioning in the room so we were happy enough. Went to an American influenced restauruant for dinner and ate really well for cheap and slept soundly that night.

Next day went to the biggest shopping mall we've encountered for many many years with quite competitive prices – much better than buying goods in South America. Our taxi journey was a bit difficult – the guy picked up other passengers along the way and so Bernard gave him less money – and he went wild. It upset me a bit, but all the locals were laughing when Bernard said “son of a bitch” to him in Spanish, so the guy drove off and the matter was resolved. Took me a few moments for my heart rate to return to normal, but once it did I thoroughly enjoyed myself shopping. We bought a camera we can use under water, I bought a new bikini and flip-flops, Bernard bought board shorts. Spotting a theme here? That's right, most of our highlights throughout central America is the snorkelling and beaches, so we have equipped ourselves appropriately.

Whilst at the shopping mall the heavens opened and monsoonal rain started (and lingered for the rest of the day) so no other sight seeing for us. We made our way to another hostel to pay for our tour to San Blas islands, then got another cab back to our hostel. On the way the wheel came completely off its axle and so we were stuck in the pouring rain in the middle of Panama City. Fortunately it wasn't really a problem – the city is pretty safe, we hailed another cab without too much difficulty and made it back to our hostel to dry off. The guests at the hostel were super lovely, so we ended up chatting to them for the rest of the day, we ordered pizza for dinner, packed our bags for San Blas.

Cartagena

Cartagena old town is just lovely. It isn't nearly as impressive as the walled city of Debrovnik, but it is very livable and remarkably modern. By that I mean that the spanish colonial architecture has been well maintained but also turned into modern comfortable living. The old town is expensive, but well worth staying in that part of town. We arrived mid afternoon in town, got ourselves comfortable in our charming little hostel before exploring some of the town for dinner. We paid over the odds prices but had a wonderful meal and coctails. The next day we headed off to the port to try and find a boat to sail to Panama.

The only boat leaving during the next week that wasn't full was small and operated by guys who didn't give the appearance or behaviour of professional captains – more like guys who just want to have fun sailing around on their boat and took backpackers with them to make some cash. Not what we were wanting for 2 days crossing the open seas. Other boats were being cancelled here and there, so it all seemd easier and more reliable to arrange boats to San Blas from Panama (which thankfully we managed to). We booked (expensive) last minute flights to Panama City and onward flights to Costa Rica.

We drank beer on the city walls whislt the sun set, and cooked ourselves up storm in the best hostel kitchen we've ever experienced – Risotto one night, fajitas the next night – I tell you we felt so at home in Cartagena – we would have loved to have stayed longer except it was prohibitively expensive to do so. Did we do anything in particular in Cartagena – well no. Its just a great place to wonder aimlessly for a few days.

Santa Marta and Tayrona NP

Welcome to the tropics! Most people come to Santa Marta to organise hiking tours to visit Cuidad Perdida (The Lost City) or to visit Tayrona National Park. We skipped the 20 hour bus journey and flew as flights were under $100US. We arrived it was hot hot hot and hadn't rained for days. Our hostel was great – a bit of a party place, but actually enforced its rules of 12am music off and bar closed. We met some nice people there and had a fantastic air conditioned ensuite room so we stayed a few days longer.

Bernard really wanted to do the lost city, but so many people said that walked in the wet season (ie May – September) made it a very difficult and at times quite miserable trip (ie hiking in soaking wet clothes/boots for 6 days). We understood why – two out of the four days we were in Santa Marta it rained quite heavily ALL day. But in between those days we had lovely hot weather. On those days we went to the cinema (watched the Fast and Furious 5) and went to the Tayrona NP to enjoy their isolated and pristine beaches. We even bumped into our Slovakian friends on the local bus which was a pleasant surprise. Santa Marta is a pretty grim town – getting home from dinner in nearby village of Taganga the road was blocked by burning car tyres. Even the taxi driver was aprehensive at this point, half expecting the car to be held up on the back streets we took to get back to the hostel. Nothing happened of course. Our few days at the Dreamer Hostel were really great and we were excited to be making our way to Cartagena and onward to San Blas.

Bogota, in all its wet glory

Poor ol' Colombia is being hit with one of its wettest winters in last fifty years. Never was that more evident then being in Bogota where it rained pretty much every day, and some days violently hard for the entire day. At that altitude (2700m) the town can get pretty cold and miserable in that weather. But Bernard and I made the best of it. We did a tour with our hostel of the local fruit market (lots of different fruit in this part of the world) then went to play Tajo which we had watched in Salento with some amusement. Its very hard to play and it took me at least my first beer to hit the clay pit – but by my second beer I had the knack and was beginning to play rather well.

It was a little bit diconcerting being in Bogota – our safety briefing when we arrived at our hostel was pretty severe with neighbourhoods you simply must not visit – don't take you passport outside the hostel unless you absolutely must, and don't flash your camera around too much. Walking around we felt safe enough during the day, but didn't stray far from the hostel for our evening meals.

We visited the Museo de Oro (Gold Museum) which is overwhelming with the vastness of the displays. You can see the craftmanship going from skilled to damnright impressive over the centuries – and the wealth of some of these indigenous tribes is incredible. After that we visited the Museo de Moneda (Money Museum) which had a lot of old machinery and currency – some of the Spanish coins from 18^th century were very impressive. Finally we visited the Botero Gallery right next door and particularly enjoyed the Mona Lisa – complete with an active volcano in the background. But we both agreed that the Museum of Antiquolla in Medellin is far superiour a collection.

Day trips in Salento

Our two big day trips included visiting a small organic coffee farm and were impressed that we understood the tour given in Spanish (he did speak slowly for us) and the coffee was lovely. The farmers drink up to 6 cups of their strong coffee a day – one cup was enough to keep me buzzing for hours. The walk to the coffee plantation was part of the pleasure – it was downhill on the way there, and quite a bit harder walk uphill back to the hostel. On the way we bumped into some locals who had their music turned up and were playing this weird game on their Sunday afternoon. They were throwing 2kg stones from 20 metres into a clay pit trying to hit a target. I squeeled rather loudly (much to the amusement of the locals) when one lad hit the target and the gun powder exploded with such a loud bang. I was not expecting that. We were enchanted and watched the game for a further 15 minutes before heading down to the coffee farm. On our way back a few hours later they were still at it – but this time everyone was drinking beers and a crowd of men were watching. So we stayed for another half a hour to watch them. It was a wonderful afternoon.

Our second day trip (well afternoon trip) was to visit the Valle de Cocora – incredibly impressive sight – this valley contains the worlds tallest palm trees, and they are the second tallest trees in the world after the Redwoods/Sequollas in California. It had been extremely wet in the region so the bridge to cross into one of the paths was washed away – it was being re-built as we were there. That meant we took a steep hike onto some farmer's land (as everyone other visitor, Colombian and foreign, was doing) to get amongst some of the trees. We would have walked for longer except I kept slipping and lost my confidence on the trail – and a big storm was blowing into the valley. Catching the jeep back to Salento was quite an experience – the jeep was very small, so small that Bernard wouldn't fit in very comfortably so he stood holding on the back – much like how we used to hold onto the back of the ute on the farm. It made for a wonderful afternoon and fantastic time in the Zona Cafeteria.

Beautiful Salento

What a wonderful place to visit – a bit of a mission getting to Salento from Medellin – we had to wait an hour for a cycling race to finish and our weekend bus meant a 7 hour journey ended up taking 10 hours. But in the end we got to our countryside hostel without any problems. Here we encountered nothing but friendliness – we were overwhelmed by how genuine everyone was – the countryside was just gorgeous. It was the weekend so Salento was full of people from the nearby city of Armenia who were there to enjoy the food (trout) and sit by the main square drinking well into the evening.

Our hostel was run by volunteers so though they were lovely it was all a bit hap-hazard – we even had to change rooms during our stay as a favour to them. But we met some wonderful Slovakian boys (5 boys travelling rapidly through Colombia over 16 days). We bumped into them at the hostel, then later again at the Coffee Plantation, and then enjoyed their company drinking at the hostel til 1am – and yes, Bernard actually went to bed before I did!!! Would you believe it, but we even bumped into them a week later on a local bus to Tayrona National Park. Impresive. I think these infectious young (but mature) men really topped off our Salento experience with their good humor. We even managed to catch up with some other friends we keep bumping into along South America.  

The incredibly surprising Medellin

Welcome to Colombia. How wonderful it was to leave Ecuador and arrive in Colombia. Poor Ecuador – we really needed a change. We caught the local bus into Medellin town centre and marvelled at how easy it was to take the metro – so incredibly clean and efficient (and cheap). Our hostel was in a lovely residential area and we felt for the first in a very long time, like we were in a truly modern city, safe and comfortable. Funny really, because the only reason we went to Medellin is because of Entourage – a show that Jen Holdstock got me into, and Bernard and I both enjoy quite a lot. We're so glad we went.

We rode the metro cable car network over the poorer areas of town – amazing views and clearly a lot of poverty in Medellin – some of the dwellings in the slums were so precarious that we wondered how many people were swept away with landslides every year. We took the cable car up to a national park literally just on Medellin's doorstep. The park wasn't that impressive in its own right, but walking around in a big park then catching the $2.50 cable car back into town was fantastic fun. Later we visited what has to be one of the highlights of my trip – the Museo de Antiquolla had a huge wing of Botero, a fabulous artist from Medellin. Botero gave so much of his most valued works for free to the museum (especially so after the death of Escobar). He is such a clever commentator on art, society and modern life. After the muesuem we had drinks at a local bar - imagine a small off-licence that has a 4 table patio out the front – that is a local bar! Fantastic.  

Galapagos – the highlights

We spent 5 days in the Galapagos – it was wonderful to be there amongst nature that is so uninhibited around humans, though I must admit that I was expecting something different. Our time in Africa and Manu had set our expectations rather high – although we saw lots of wildlife, we kept seeing the same things over and over again (marine iquanas, sea lions, turtles, boobies, frigits, darwin finches). The best bits of Galapagos was seeing a Killer Whale swim by, seeing fur seals, swimming with sea lions, turtles, penguins and sting-rays, amongst many other species of fish, and meeting some lovely Americans (New Yorkers) on our boat. The staff on the boat were fantastic – we ended up translating for our non-Spanish speaking companions when the staff were wishing the women Feliz dia de la Madre (Happy Mother's Day). I didn't sleep particularly well several nights on the boat due to rough seas, and found myself with terrible land sickness when we landed on our final day. It took a full 24 hours for the worst of the symptoms to die down, although Bernard probably suffered with it for longer than I, a full 2 days later in Quito.

In the end we spent another few days in Quito, relaxing in the comfort of our friendly hostel. Our plans to see Otovalo market on a day trip were thwarted by unusually heavy traffic, and so we splurged on our final night with the best sushi I've had for ages. Really unique flavouring of sweet, sour and spicy. Delicious. We even had entre, main and desert – a real indulgence and a great way to finish in Ecuador.

Our Galapagos adventure

We continued to be plagued by our Ecuador curse, as we were informed the night before our departure to the Galapagos that our itinerary had been completely changed because of the National referendum on the third day of our tour – the changes ensured that all crew members were able to be near a township in order to vote. Whislt I am all for people exercising their constitutional rights, we bought our tour not 3 days before, specifically because of the yacht's itinerary. Staff would have had full knowledge at that time that the intinerary woud be subject to change, and yet we were not told anything until 6pm the day before. We were seriously unpleased and wrote a very firm email to that extent. The next day our flights were two hours late, meaning our first “day” on the cruise was already cut short. Needless to say I was a little grumpy when I arrived at the islands.

But then we arrived at our luxury cruiser and all my disappointment disappeared. The Grand Odessy was superb – our room as big as a 4-star hotel room, L'ocataine toiletries, a big shower; an entire upper deck with two jacuzzi's and 4 super-king size beds to lounge on; and an extra large sofa and dining room on the lower deck. We ate our lunch (at 3.30pm) then headed to Darwin conservation centre to see Lonesome George and all the other land tortoises in the centre's breeding programme. We arrived at the centre, and bang – there are marine iguanas in their dozens on the pier. They don't move a muscle when you get near them, so you take your photos, step over them and be on your way. At the centre we also saw our only land iguanas with their impressive yellow/orange colourings.

We met our other passengers and were only a group of 10, not 16 – whereas we bought the very last cabin. It appears that as a result of their mismanagement of the itinerary changes, three other couples cancelled their tour. As a result of our complaint and the complaints of others, the owner of the yacht made the necessary arrangements and paid the fines of the crew so that the intinerary would remain unchanged. All of us on the tour were very thankful for this move, but were disappointed at how the matter was handled.

Ecuador – thwarted day by day

We turned up to our hostel in Guayaquil to find that they wouldn't let us in. Literally - we waited on the street talking to someone behind metal bars at the entrance to the building. Whilst Bernard talked to someone on the phone when we realised that there was double booking, the hostel was completely full and we were on our own to find a suitable alternative. We were feeling particularly on edge having read that Guayaquil isn't particularly safe at night, wondering around from hotel to hostel in search of a place to stay. We eventually found a room at the Hilton. Naturally we paid much more than we intended, but we got a fantastic room, the last they had available. We asked why the city was so full and found out that a medical conference was taking place in the city – with 2500 delegates and only 1500 rooms in luxury, first, second and third class lodgings. We at least had a comfortable place to stay – nay, luxurious place to stay for a night. We watched TV – ordered room service (I had a salad – a luxury in south america) and hoped that we would find somewhere else to stay the next day.

It didn't happen. The city was full. So we booked cheap flights to Quito, found a place to stay there and headed off without further delay. We got a free transfer to the airport and were bumped onto the earlier flight.  Our luck is changing, we though.  Then we arrived in Quito, took an expensive taxi to our hostel through what looked like an incredibly grim part of town. We walked around Quito to find somewhere to have lunch – it was Saturday afternoon, many shops were closed, locals were out in force (a signifnant enough number were intoxicated) and the entire time didn't see many other tourists and were constantly stared at and were even called gringos to our faces. My blond hair seems to draw some attention. It did make us slightly nervous and wondered why Quito is hailed as such a lovely place to visit. We ordered pizza that night – simply unable to face walking around for somewhere to find dinner.

But after good sleep and hearty breakfast at our friendly hostel, we set off in search of last minute Galapagos tours. We soon realised that on a Sunday the town was pretty much closed, even for tourism, so we wondered around Quito “New City” and discovered that the city really does have some rather nice parts. The next day we booked a last minute cruise to the Galapagos – OK the last minute price was an absolute bargain, but still broke my budget for Ecuador. But we are hopeful that it will be one of those once-in-a-lifetime opportunities and worth every penny.

We then wanted to get to Banos (a town I had wanted to visit for some town) only to find out from the owner of the hostel that the Volcano Tungurahua had been active the last few days and had perpetually covered Banos in thick layers of ash. We were informed the area was not safe to visit which put a real spanner in the works. Great. The only place in Ecuador I really wanted to visit I can't. So we changed our plans once again and booked another three nights in Quito and decided to take day-trips to other spots as we felt like it. Ecuador really wasn't showing us its best colours. Later that day we headed off to a western style supermarket – could have spent $100 on all the fantastic cheeses, meats and other luxury items from home. Instead we bought all one needs for a super veggie pasta. My body in particular was delighted with such a feast.

Heading North – Lima, Piura and crossing the border

We flew from Cusco to Lima, a pleasant hour or so trip much shorter than the 20hr bus ride, and only $30US more each. We arrived to a sunny Lima into the Miraflores district (aka gringo central). We only had a day in Lima and in the end we didn't leave Miraflores – we were planning on heading into historic centre, but time just got away from us. We had a lovely day relaxing in town and by the beachfront.

We took our next flight to Piura – a working class town in far north Peru. With hindsight we should have flown into a more touristy spot closer to the coastal Ecuador border, as it would have signifiantly reduced our travel to the border. We arrived around 8pm, took a taxi to our hostel which was comfortable enough – complete with copy of Mona Lisa and other intersting paintings (see Bernard's blog). We had outstanding value Chinese food for dinner – I order prawn noodles, and were given close to two dozen large size prawns in my dish. Piura is not a touristy place, so everyone in the restaurant looked at us with some amusement. Even finding a suitable hostel took some research. But in the end we had a good sleep, awoke at 7am to watch parts of the royal wedding (I got to see the balcony kisses live) before heading off to catch our bus into Ecuador.

We arrived good and early for our bus - the terminal of which wasn't in the safest part of town. The the security of the service in Peru was outstanding – fingerprinting, camera footage of who was in the bus. The bus did take a lot longer than expected. We didn't reach the border until well into late afternoon. We hadn't had any lunch stops either so we braved a local chicken and chip stall but fortunately didn't experience any tummy upsets. We crossed the border to Ecuador and realised we weren't going to arrive in Guayaquil until 9pm. We weren't particularly impressed with security in Ecuador – they picked up passengers everywhere along the road regardless of whether seats were available and several local men gave Bernard and I particuarly filthy looks and made us very wary. But fortunately we arrived safe and sound in Guayaguil and ready to explore Ecuador.

Cusco – birthday antics and friends

We arrived back in Cusco on Easter Sunday, the same day as my dear friend Mark Nisbett arrived in town with his parents and our friend Julie Barnes. It was just wonderful seeing people we knew so well. And Mark came with a care package of all sorts of things we needed from the UK which was greatly appreciated. My Wild Rose Beauty Balm from Neal's Yeard (they should pay me for this) is heavenly!!! 

That night I went to Easter mass at San Blass church – the service was entirely in Spanish but was exactly the same as catholic services from home that I said all the right responses in English, much to the amusement of those around me. I took the Gideon's bible with me from the hotel (as it was in English) which was handy. I was mightily amused when Bernard told me later that somebody had stolen the bible from the room – it was a favourite hiding spot of his. It didn't occur to him that I might take it with me to church.

Afterwards I caught up with Mark and Julie B. We went out to dinner every night they were in Cusco but consumed a restrained number of alcoholic beverages given the altitutde. Although in altitude it really dosn't take much to bring on a hangover. On the 25^th we had a special dinner to celebrate my birthday on the 26^th which was just lovely and we stayed out until 12.30am which is impressive for me. During the days we went to visit various Inca ruins around town and soak up the last of Cusco's offerings. I even had an interesting time getting my legs waxed. It took such a long time and was painful enough for me to ask her to stop after an hour and half. Procedure done correctly, just wrong type of wax for the altitude etc. Lost in translation methinks. Eventually, after eight days in Cusco (in total) it was time for us to leave – we headed north whilst Mark etc headed off to do the Inca Trail. Fantastic catch up, and can't wait to see Mark again in April 2012.

Easter in Cusco and the Sacred Valley

After getting back from the jungle we spent a few days reaclimatising to the altitude in Cusco. We also realised that it might have been worthwhile prebooking our activities to the Sacred Valley because Cusco was inundated with tourists for Holy Week. We rearranged our plans entirely to suit the train availability (we refused to pay $300 each for a 3 hour journey) but in the end things worked out really well.

The Monday after Palm Sunday is what those in the highlands of Peru consider the beginning of holy week – so we were able to witness the joy of a huge wooden crucafix being carried around the plaza and into the main cathedral. We happened upon this by chance, in trying to meet some friends in the pub we were blocked by parade of people and not five minutes later this huge black Jesus on a cross appeared in front of us. It took 22 men to carry the thing. It was breathtakingly beautiful. Women around us were weeping, and because we were so tall we lifted up local children around us so they could see. The entire plaza was filled with people – it was magical.

A few days later we set off with our small daypacks to find a local bus to the sacred valley. We were the only gringos in the bus – filled to the brim with locals, dogs, children and all. We spent the night in Ollantaytambo, visited the ruins and had one of our best value meals to date (fantastic mexican). The next day we spent the morning playing scrabble before heading to Aguas Callientes on the train. The journey was lovely but arriving in the town was like arriving in a circus. Our accommodation was overpriced but comfortable, and finding somewhere to eat was even more of a drama. Bernard's portion for his $10 meal was so inadequate that it felt like a joke. Welcome to the world of “rip of those visiting Machu Picchu”.

Being Good Friday I visited the church for about 20 minutes of reflection – and then during dinner much to my amazement locals brought another statue of Jesus through the town to do the stations of the cross. It was very special moment. The next day we woke early to take the bus up to Machu Picchu – but clearly not early enough. The queue for the buses up to the site for first light was over 20 bus loads long. Many had queued since 3.30am. But we were on the site by 6.30am and just like last time, it was cloudy and grey. We spoken to many exhausted folks who had completed the inca trail, and then pottered around the amazing sight. And, like last time, the clouds burnt off by 9.30am and everything looked spectacular – but with the site being full of tourists at this stage, we decided to take our last photos and go back to town. On our way out we saw a llama give birth – it was pretty amusing watching others try to absorb stuff like this – I'm a country girl – animals giving birth are par for the course. We spend the second night in town, having learned our lesson had a much better experience for dinner, before taking the second train out of town the following day.

A jungle under threat - drilling for oil and logging

That said, we did watch a film about Hunt Oil (an American company) that is heading into the area that borders Manu bioreserve in search for cheap oil. Their tactics are successful but despicable – they go into the indigenous communities, tear it apart by offering money to those susceptable to want of material goods – and wait for the community to implode. The national politicans are generally corrupt so I'm sure someone is benefiting from Hunt Oil's presence in southern Peru. Without strong national or local leadership they can waltz into the region promising new jobs, pay locals a pittance, and destroy the jungle because they don't have any environmental ethics. This isn't Shell we are talking about, but a low cost operator – they remove oil as cheaply as possible. It made me sick to my stomach – so sign any petitions you can to oppose Hunt Oil – not all oil companies are this ruthless. The amazon is too important for any of us to sit back.

The other negative side effect was seeing a logging path on one of the walking trails at Pantiacolla lodge. Darwin our guide grew up in the lodge – one of six lively boys and it is still owned by his family. The look on his face when he saw the truck tyre tracks heading from the mountain range to the river made my heart stop. Disappointment. Worry. Sadness. Uncertainty. He didn't speak for 10 minutes later – just trying to take it in. We were a bit more outraged and said such people should be punished if they were caught. Darwin takes a much more philosphical perspective – there isn't enough education for people in the jungle. They are poor and often desperate. Many just want an “easy life” - not to be rich as such, but they don't want to have to fight to survive every day of their lives. He was once a logger – not for long mind you – he quickly turned his knowledge of the jungle into something he can share with others through ecotourism. He hopes that others become educated enough to be able to do the same, but obviously quickly enough to maintain the pristine virgin rainforest of Manu. Later that night we talked about what we saw. There is practically no more mahoganny in the Amazon, and cedar is right up there in the endagered list. So next time you buy furniture, refurbish you house etc, be absolutely sure of the origin of your wooden products.

Manu cultural zone

Manu cultural zone is much larger than the reserved zone. The reserved zone is pristine virgin rainforrest with very controlled levels of eco-tourism and scientific research permitted. In the cultural zone and wider range of activities can be conducted and land is owned by others besides the State of Peru. Our days required longer times on the boat as going upstream takes considerably longer than our first day which was mostly downstream. We did see a Capybura on the river banks though. We stayed in a lovely cabin near the local airfield and did some wonderful spotting of frogs, spiders and other insects in their lush garden area.

The next day we stayed at Pantiacolla lodge, the family home of Darwin our guide whose family still owns the lodge. Bernard wasn't too impressed at an unexpected guest in our bedroom – a tarantula the size of his hand (Bernard would argue it was the size of your head). The young caretaker of the property was lovely and kindly removed the spider from its spot high on the roof beams, barefoot and all.

Pantiacolla lodge had some wonderful trails – it is a part of the jungle that is the border of the tropical and sub-tropical zones of species and animals. Here we saw the very smelly Peccary (like a warthog but without the big teeth), had to fight our way through bamboo trails complete with machete, and saw leaf-cutter ants moving vast amounts of debris to their desired destination. Anther highlight was seeing the Harpee Eagle. Darwin was terribly excited when he saw the bird in his binocs – he hadn't seen this Eagle for at least five years. We had had a brilliant morning watching Saddleback Tamarin monkeys and various species of birds, and as we were in the process of doing so everything around us began to sound distressed. We knew something significant was happening. We saw this large bird land in a tree nearby and moments later everything else around us disappeared. Moments later, the eagle soared off into the distance in search of prey – an impressive sight to behold. Harpee eagles are the most fearsome preditor in the jungle – they reguarly eat sloths, large monkeys, and other birds and mammals.

After our final trek near Pantiacolla we took the route back to the cloud forest. We stayed another night in the cloud forrest, went for our final walk and then took the long road back to Cusco. This time the roads were much drier and I was able to enjoy the trip back. At the top cloud forest we were amused to find that the road we had built a week ago was still holding on strong and that the only possible landslide disruption was cleared just moments before our approach.

The wider jungle – Macaw clay lick and canopy viewing platform

We left the reserved and cultural zone to go down stream to a privately owned part of the jungle. I know, its weird to comprehend that people can own parts of the jungle like any othe real estate, but a particular European bought a remarkable part of the jungle. What is interesting to note though, is that we didn't see any monkeys in this area – for everything it has to offer, there is something to be said for Manu Biosphere (ie the reserved and cultural zone). Manu has been protected for over 30 years, and as such the animals clearly know terrain where they can co-exist peacefully with humans.

In this other part of the jungle we went Piranha fishing (Bernard caught 2) on a lovely lake and admired the sights and sounds of many birds. At dusk we went to a viewing platform approximately 70m tall. We saw a very rare “The Great Patoo” owl which looked like part of the branch. It didn't flinch the entire time were we in the tree until we started to leave and then we saw it spread its wings and fly off into the darkness. Viewing the jungle from those hights was fairly awesome. Walking back to camp made Bernard slightly uncomfortable. We spotted many species of spider – most of which were the size of your hand or bigger and hairier. No snakes thankfully. Horrible accommodation – we were bitten alive by bugs. But the next day made it worth it.

Every year as the wet season ends the Macaws and parrots need to eat seeds and other sources of food besides fruit. As a consequence these birds eat particular type of clay to filter the toxins of these food sources. The Clay Lick we visited is an impressive sight – during the height of the dry season, many hundreds of parrots and Mackaws visit the Lick. As we were on the beginning of the dry season we were lucky with our viewing as those who turned up a week ago saw nothing. Each species takes its own turn on the clay lick – the parrots first thing in the morning, and the Macaws later on. We saw over 100 parrots on the clay lick at around 6.30am. They left in a heart-stopping flurry of feathers that brought tears to my eyes - spooked by the Titi monkeys a few metres away. We then waited over three hours for the tentative Macaws to reach sufficient numbers to nibble at the Lick. Watching the Macaws was fascinating bird behaviour. They went down two by two, ever so cautious, always listening for preditors and communicating with each other. There were maybe 20-30 birds in the area, but they averaged only 12-14 on the Lick at any one time. The swark of parrots and Macaws reminded me of home – and for the first time on my trip I felt overwhelmingly homesick.

Manu Reseved zone

Manu reserved zone was clearly one of the absolute highlights of my travels to date. Nothing can quite prepare you for how it feels to be walking through virgin rainforrest. The smells, the sounds, the sights and the heat/humidity are overwhelming. Early wake-up calls were par for the course, but of course the Howler monkeys did a pretty good job of letting you know at 5.30am that it was time to get up. The first time you hear the howlers it sets your hairs on end – so powerful for so small an animal. Our first walk for the day included visiting an Oxbow lake for some giant otter spotting (they put on an incredible performance for us), seeing different species of monkeys and learning all different types of flora and fauna in the tropical rainforrest. Strangler figs, walking pines and the vines were particularly impressive. We wore welly boots/gumboots as the trails were particularly muddy. Walking in the morning was particuarly lovely, until about 9am when the heat and humidity become noticable. By 11am we were back at camp, stripped down to minimum clothing, resting before our afternoon walk.

The afternoon walk was perhaps the highlight of my trip. We spotted very early on a very healthy group of woolley monkeys. I was the first to have the pleasure of being pelted with fruit pips and other debris by the woolleys. At first Darwin our guide said, “Oh they are just eating” but as hard as we tried to get out of their way, they always let us know who was the dominant species in that territory. Fruit thrown at you from 30m can sting a little, but it was better than them urinating on us – a trait for which woolleys are well known. After being bitten by mosquitos for the 100^th time, we eventually left the woolleys to walk in the late afternoon light. The sun flowed in from the river and lit up the forrest in the most beautiful colours. We marvelled in biodiversity of the jungle, and even had to cross a temporary lake showing just whose welly boots were waterproof and whose weren't. (Mine were, Bernard's weren't). That night we feasted and marvelled at all we had seen.

The next day we visited another Oxbow lake viewing platform, saw an incredibly impressive 500 year old fig, sybiosis of animals and plants (ants and trees in particular) and were amused by the Brown Capuchin monkeys and Bernard's particular highlight, the antics of the Squirrel monkeys. These little charmers peered down at Bernard through palm fronds – peering not once, but twice, in a clear display of curiosity before deciding whether to move on. These same cheeky creatures would jump onto a palm frond, look at me for a few moments, and before I had a chance to take a picture would sprint off to another tree. Each of them did exactly the same thing before moving on. Hilarious. Upon leaving the reserved zone we saw monster size Caimen basking in the sunshine on the riverbanks and number of turtles lined up in a row. I never was quick enough to get my camera out to catch the turtles, something I'm rather disappointed in.

A long day on the river to the reserved zone

The next day was an early departure – a 2.5 hour drive and then a 11 hour boat ride to get into Manu's reserved zone. The boat was basic but suited our needs. We sat 2 by 2 with plenty of leg room, with a roof-type shelter and could take in the jungle and mountain surrounds. The river went from fast moving and icy in the cloud forrest (sub-tropical) to slower paced and muddy once we hit the tropical rainforrest zone. We had breakfast, morning snack, lunch and late afternoon snack on the boat. Time passed quickly enough – our enthusiasm at seeing different species of monkey (Bernard spotted Howler monkey – a great find so early on), birds or little turtles sunning themselves in the sun was enough to sustain us during the long day.

We arrived at dusk to our cabins which were mesh windows (so no privacy) but allowed maximum air flow in the high humidity. After quick refreshment we headed off for dusk walk. Hearing the sound of the rainforrest was amazing – a big bunch of squirrel monkeys weren't particularly happy to see us – but put on an impressive show as they bounced over our heads from branch to branch. We arrived to an Oxbow lake for a little caimen spotting, but when we arrived the boat was full of water and took our lads a full 15 minutes to empty the boat. We only saw a few younger caiman as the water level was exceptionally high but we did get to see a prehistoric catfish that can live out of water for hours (ie in evolution terms, its an example of a species moving from fish to amphibian).

Into the Jungle – or not

Going into the jungle at Manu was one of the biggest decisions we made. Whilst others go the jungle in North of Peru, Ecuador, Brazil or even Bolivia where it is still relatively pristine and cheap, we decided to go into Manu Biosphere Reserved zone as so much of the jungle is virgin rainforrest. We had read many good things about Manu, and when we made contact with Pantiacolla tours, we knew we had made the right decision. Maryanne is a passionate Dutch biologist who fell in love with Manu so much so that she married a local and has stayed here for the past 20 years. Manu has been a heavily protected zone for well over 30 years, and as such the wildlife viewing is amongst the best in the world. The animals are not frightened of humans, and will take you in with much curiosity.

That said, we were not informed until the day before departure that there had been some pretty horrendous landslides on the road to the jungle. But we were assured that it shouldn't be a problem and we would depart as planned. Well, we got 3 hours into our tour, reached a town of Paucartambo, and heard that 7 landslides were still in need of clearing. It was election day, so the machines were unlikely to be deployed on the road. So rather than push ahead, we stayed the night in this little town. It could have been worse – election day was rather interesting – indigenous people came into the town in their traditional dress from miles and miles away and stayed well into late evening.

The next day we set off early – but were still thwarted. We waited for the machines to arrive some two hours later and one by one the landslides were cleared. We got stuck on a “river crossing” at one point and needed a truck to pull us out. We waited hours for a massive landslide to clear as machines from both directions were utilised. Just when we thought the worst was over, we crossed the other side of the Andes and into Amazon terrain and of course there was another landslide. This time there was no machine, just lots of man power. The road was so eroded that people had to strategically rebuild the road wide enough for traffic to pass. It was too much for my nerves by this point – I really needed a Valium and a lie down. But needless to say we eventually made it to our first lodge, safe and sound and in time to see the “Cock of the Rock” birds at pre-dusk.

Cusco – massage anyone?

I loved Cusco the last time I was here. It amazes me that I am in this part of the world nearly the same time as I was back in 2005 and it remains a rather beautiful city. Over six years many things have changed. You no longer get hastled by street children begging for money (or selling postcards) – the streets are noticably cleaner and there is a bigger police presence around. But you do get asked whether you want a massage at least 50 times a day – and that isn't an exaggeration. Then of course, do you want a painting for 1 sole? Or perhaps want to eat from this restaurant? The first day Bernard was obviously quite annoyed with everyone – particularly at being called “friend” by complete strangers, but by the second day he was in fine form and had me (and even the women themsevles) quite in stitches with his witty comments and gentle good humour. We posted more souviners back home, explored the inca walls around the city, enjoyed an English ale in one of the many gringo friendly bars in the city, skyped family back home and enjoyed our last day with Emilie and Fred.

It is election time here in Peru – Bernard had wondered how local people would behave during the election period and perhaps respond to the results of elections. His suspicious were that people may respond with aggression and even violence – and his suspicions do have some substance, for the entire weekend here in Cusco is a “dry weekend”. There is no selling of alcohol across the city until the results of the election are finalised. That said, we have enjoyed seeing the election campaigns in full swing, particularly in Arequipa. There were dancing guinea pig adverts for PPK party, numerous rallies in streets and main squares and Bernard got a jolly big pat on the back from Lucio Caceraz who gave him his card (despite being a gringo) – Lucio is fighting for radical change in the Congress. So we will have to wait and see until we get back from Manu for the results of the election for we leave on election day itself.

Cusco, and the trials of finding the ideal room at the ideal hostel

We took the overnight bus to Cusco and though comfortable enough we still arrived rather exhausted. We checked into the Wild Rover hostel, not our usual hostel choice but as recommended by friends we trust, we thought it worth a go. It is clear now, that our friends clearly had a different experience to our own. 

We were checked into a small double room at 8am (not all hostels will let you check in that early in the day) and we were grateful for having a place to rest. But after a few hours sleep we recognised that the small room and tiny double bed really wasn't going to work for us so we switched to a larger and much more comfortable twin bunk room instead. We explored Cusco for a bit, had a delicious lunch at the hostel, then went to see our travel agency to confirm whether we were able to go to Manu Bioserve or not (we were still waiting for others to sign up). We arrived quite literally as another couple departed – and much to our delight were told that these people just signed up to our tour, so we were definetely departing!!! I was as excited as a little puppy. We then went off to buy provisions for the jungle – insect repellant (what some stores were charging was eye watering), hiring quality binoculars etc.

Later that evening we had a drink at the bar and had chinese for dinner and returned to the hostel for a good night sleep. Much to our surpise and dismay the music at the hostel continued to increase in volume to such an extent that Bernard and I could have had our own dancefloor in our room. I have never – EVER – been to a hostel where the music was so loud that it was designed to keep people awake and at the bar – rather than in their rooms sleeping. At midnight I went to reception kindly asking whether we could use their phone to call another hostel – as it was clear we were getting zero sleep that night. We were informed the music would stop at 2am – and so we stuck it out for a few more hours. Thankfully the music did stop at 2am – and people dispersed without half an hour. But needless to say the first thing we did the next morning was pack our bags, find an alternative place to stay then checked out. We are now in a comfortable hostel with all the comforts we require.

Arequipa, Colca Canyon and Condors

We took Cruz del Sur's bus from Puno to Arequipa, a company generally regarded for their safe and comfortable bus service. The four of us waited for our bus and were thoroughly surprised at having our bags searched, subject to handheld metal detector, and filmed getting onto the bus and when on the bus as to which seat we are sitting at. We weren't sure whether to be reassured by these measures or put off – but after several trips with the company and encountering no problems it seems clear that the security measures are effective – quite reassuring given the horror stories we have heard from others having things stolen from buses in Peru.

We arrived safe and sound in Arequipa at our lovely hostel. Found it difficult to find a place to eat at 9.40pm (clearly this isn't Argentina) but found the city to be clean and charming. The next day we tried to arrange a tour to Colca Canyon, being somewhat overwhelmed by the competition and price differential – our ideal company was ludicrously expensive, whilst everyone else was (what we felt) unsettlingly cheap. However, it was Arequipa's pavements put an end to our indicion – poor Bernard rolled his ankle on the uneven road and therefore we opted for the more comfortable non-hiking overnight trip. We diligently iced and strapped his ankle immediately and minimised the damage.

During those few days in Arequipa we took things easy so Bernard's ankle could heal, enjoyed going out for dinner with Emilie & Fred, exploring the fabulous Santa Carolina convent (a city in itself), and drinking pisco sours at sunset (Bernard had beer of course).

Then we departed for our tour to Colca Canyon – enjoying the hot springs at Chivay and fresh trout and alpaca at another lovely family run restaurant. The next day we departed early to see the condors. Last time I was here I only got to see 2 condors and very little of them flying. This time the conditions were perfect – a group of 12 condors were perched at the top of the Canyon and we sat for an hour watching them. They would be still for 20 minute stretches, then a thermal would tempt them and then suddenly four giants would take off and cruise around for 10 minutes or so. It was incredible to watch. The views of the Canyon itself and the valley filled with agricultural terraces were also superb. Bernard started to suffer with flu/altitiude on our journey back to Arequipa – he managed the journey OK but we delayed our travel to Cusco so we could rest another night in Arequipa – the best decision we made.

Lake Titicaca – Puno – what a welcome to Peru

Crossing the border into Peru was like entering another world. Bolivia is wonderful – people don't harass you, and you get an authentic glimpse into what life is like for locals. In Peru you are a dollar sign – Puno was quite a shock – everything was incredibly expensive, and you get hounded by people to buy just about everything. We stayed in Puno to see the Uros islands, the unique floating islands. The beginning of the trip was fantastic – a really good explanation of local life and traditions – everyone was charming and sincere. Then things went downhill – we dressed up in local costume(innocent enough) but were then pressed upon to buy local products, then pay additional money to be taken in a reed boat to another island where we were pressed upon to buy food and drinks – the Uros people spoke English, Spanish, French and their native language – clearly tourism is big business. Bernard and I bought a lovely tapestry from our family, but I didn't haggle enough and were royally ripped off. We didn't take the boat ride – we felt we had invested enough in that community for the day! When we went to leave the island the mother of our family raced over and gave us, what felt like a very sincere thank you. That warmed my heart and so I at least left the islands without feeling bitter. I'm pleased to say that I haven't been that gullable since. Fortunately we had fantastic company in Fred and Emilie which helped. We laughed it off and were pleased that we visited the islands.

Lake Titicaca – Isla del Sol

After our refreshing time in Corico we had a few days in La Paz before heading off to Lake Titicaca. Travellers and guide books alike indicate that the Bolivian side of the lake is much more pleasant and authentic than the Peruvian side, so Bernard and I headed to the magnificent Isla del Sol for two nights. And, much to our delight when having lunch waiting for the ferry to the island we bumped into five different people we knew. We were a merry bunch having lunch that day. In particular we caught up with a lovely English/German couple and proceeded to spend the next 10 days travelling the same path.

Isla del Sol is just lovely. The villages are still small and many hostels/restaurants are run by families. We arrived at the south island with our daypacks and full backpacks and were greeted by the Inca Stairs – we had to clime nearly 200 metres up to the villiage, normally a 20 minute walk, but we took a lot longer at 3800m, mostly because I couldn't climb 10m before getting completely out of breath. After lots of touting and a frustrating experience of searching for a place to stay, we ended up at a lovely family run hotel/hostel. Rooms were refreshingly cold at night (!), but clean and comfortable. The view of the Llampu mountain range from our bedroom window was just lovely. That night we had dinner and a little pizza place. We were the sole customers, and the whole family was involved. The elder boy even sat down at the table beside us to do his homework while we were eating. We were touched by a wonderful evening with such a shy and humble family.

The next day we set out to do the 3 hour walk from the south of the island to the north. Views were spectacular and I was surprised to see a few species of Eucalyptus growing so well at 4000m. We wondered around some Inca ruins then had lunch at this little beach village. Ask Bernard about his interesting lasagne – there's a picture on his webpage – what a interesting variation it was. I was exhausted by this point and feeling rather unwell so paid for a private boat to take be back to the south whilst Bernard made the long walk back. That night I had a bit of a fever – either from a cold or from altitude. Didn't eat much for the next few days but with lots of coca tea and soup I seemed to recover quickly enough. Overall the experience at Isla del sol was just wonderful.

The World's Most Dangerous Road

Bernard and I signed up to bike down the road from La Cumbre to Coroico on what is affectionately called the world's most dangerous road.  Bernard wanted desperately to do it, but at the same time was incredibly nervous about how he'd cope with the heights. After seeing all the posters and comments from others who have done the trip, I was particularly looking forward to the adventure.

We went with Gravity Assisted Mountain Bikes, the original company doing the trip and has an impeccable safety record. We met everyone early morning in town, drove 45 minutes to the start point, which is 4700m above sea level.  We were kitted out, got used to our bikes, made a blessing to Pachamama (mother earth), then rode for an hour or so down the newer paved section of the road.  The weather was fantastic - the views of the valley were awe inspiring - massive mountains and steep ravines.

After taking a ride in the bus for the short uphill section, we eventually arrive at the old road. We go in single file, riding in the smoother path of the hill which happens to be on the left on the "drop side".  We all pray that we don't come across cars traveling up the road back to La Paz.  We stop often to rest our hands from breaking so much.  The thrill as we bike down this winding bumpy road that at times is as wide as 2m across is pretty intense. I cross myself at least 3 times when I see big crosses on the sides of the road. Bernard's back breaks fail at one point, which sees him lagging behind while the guides change his breaks.  Waiting for him to reach the rest of us scares the living daylights out of me for about 10 minutes. 

But we both arrive safe and sound at our final destination - thrilled that we took the ride.  We spent two nights in Coroico - a beautiful town in the Yungas valley (which forms the edge of the Amazon rainforest). We stay in a lovely cabin just outside the town which have the most outstanding views of the valley. We wonder through town, relax in our hammock, cook an amazing feast which cost $2.20US!!! We chat with some wonderful Argentines and sit by our own campfire.

The next day we buy tickets back to La Paz in a minivan, the quickest and easiest way back. We buy 3 tickets because us gringos take up a bit more space than the tiny locals. The drive up the newer paved road is OK - however our driver insisted on taking "racing lines" and was as often on the wrong side of the road as the right ride!!! I said so many "our fathers" - I am surprised at how the road back to La Paz was just as scary as the bike ride down the more dangerous road.

La Paz

What can you say about this rather vibrant city that sits at 3600m?  It isn't necessarily a beautiful city, nor is it exceptionally charming - but it is unique. La Paz is a place where Bernard and I have comfortably spent four days wondering around the streets, buying vast arrays of alpaca goods, enhancing our DVD collection, enjoying good quality (and well priced) food and relaxing in our comfortable room.  Both occasions I have had alcohol in La Paz one small drink has gone straight to my head - so big nights out aren't exactly on my agenda - well I want to have big nights out - but end up having cheap and short nights out instead! La Paz is the ideal place to do what every traveller needs to do - their washing, catching up on internet, posting excess luggage and souvenirs home, booking next bits and pieces, and meeting fellow travellers (especially if staying at hostel).  We've bumped into many people we met on the road - La Paz is that kind of place.  Its essential pit stop on your way to anywhere.

The city is lovely at first light and at dusk - the sun shining on the tin roofs makes the steep hills of the city shimmer. When the sun isn't shining it can be extremely cold and when its raining, it can feel colder still.  The city is built into this steep valley, so if you are walking faster than a local, you'll be puffing within a block and the local will end up overtaking you. The key thing is to keep a slow and steady pace. We took a night-time tour of the San Francisco convent/church which was extremely interesting. It amazes me to see such antiquities openly on display without being locked away behind glass.  We walked around Plaza Murillo and watched many protests and marching celebrations.

The things you have to love about Bolivia

I fell in love with Bolivia six years ago - both the good and the bad.  Bernard has also found Bolivia rather charming. These a the things that make Bolivia memorable to me.

• The first are rather trying bus journeys.  The distances may not be long, but the terrain is difficult - deep valleys - long winding roads - very few bridges.  Local buses are cheap but difficult on the nerves for the roads can be narrow and the cliffsides steep.  Then you have to be comfortable peeing one the side of the road or wherever you can because public toilets are very hard to find.  So on long bus trips (which have no toilets) this means taking a pee break at every stop because you never know when the next stop is going to be!  But having travelled to Africa this year, I am much more expert at discreet peeing than I was previously.  You have to act swiftly, for you don't know how long the bus is going to stop - you have to find a good shadowy spot but be able to see the bus at all times.  My efforts in Potosi were outstanding - it was raining and I found a fabulous spot and was in and out of the bus in less than 2 minutes. The other gringo girls who went in search of a traditional loo had much to learn.

• The second thing I remember about Bolivia was the poverty - six years have passed and things are slowly changing for indigenous peoples in Bolivia. I was talking to a Norwegian woman (at our hotel in La Paz) who has been researching output of international aid in Bolivia for the past decade and there are small but significant signs of improvements in quality of life for the poor and sustainability in local economies.  For example, there are better health care provisions - more people have identity cards and therefore can vote - and a wider provision of free education for youngsters. But there are still a large number of extremely poor people in this country, and corruption in political circles is still deeply problematic. But I am taken aback by how visible the middle class Bolivians have become. The tourist trail is now not just for white gringos - many Bolivians are actively travelling around South America and internationally.

• Protests - some things don't change - Bolivians are not shy of protesting - of saying to their Government and business community that there is much that can be improved. Last time I had to walk all my gear nearly 2km out of Potosi (nearly 4000m altitude) to get past the blockades to the buses that would take us to Uyuni. That time it was miners striking for better working conditions and fair pay.  This time the bus drivers were striking in Sucre (we managed to get one of the last buses out of the city) and a mixture of workers and students (and professors) striking over a number of days in La Paz. Lighting fire crackers at 10am seems to be a normal thing to do in Bolivia - but each time it still scares the living daylights out of me!

• The dignity and charm of Bolivianos.  I cannot say enough about how wonderful these people are - they are so friendly, modest, generous and contented of people. OK so I'm naturally a happy and inquisitive person - so it isn't uncommon for me to look at people, wonder about their lives and smile - but what amazes me is how quickly the majority of Bolivianos are to smile back at you. And not just a small timid smile - a big whopper of a grin. I see so many people who live with ongoing hardship and yet I am amazed at how quick they are to smile and laugh. Everywhere I have been in Bolivia thus far, I have been greeted by warm hearted and sincere locals who want you to love their country as much as they do - the good and the bad. I get the biggest smiles from older people - and it warms my heart so that I have often been on the verge of tears.  Bernard just smiles at me.

Other things that we've enjoyed:

• The range of beer - not just lager and full of flavour. 
• The landscapes are stunning and varied.
• The value for money is exceptional - quality food and accommodation (huge rooms, mezzanine levels, outstanding views, TV, ensuite etc)

Sucre

I adore Sucre - I did the first time, and I did equally the second time I visited.  The city is just lovely - a comfortable 2900m, beautiful white washed buildings, smiling happy locals, with a noticeable wealthy quadrant of upper and middle class, wonderful restaurants and comfortable accommodations. Our guesthouse was great - perhaps a bit lax on its cleaning (we had a to ask the room to be cleaned and loo paper replaced) but our superior room which cost us 15USD pp a night was fantastic. A huge bed, TV with over 100 channels (a good English selection too) a mezzanine level with couches, ensuite and a breakfast that included bacon and eggs!  We explored the city, the thriving local market, visited the Parque Cratacious to see fantastic dinosaur tracks in the bedrock, and had dinner and drinks with friends we'd met along the way.

Perhaps the highlight was to be in Sucre when a little town called Tarabuco had its indigenous festival Pujllay.  We stayed an extra day in town so we could visit the festival - which was amazing - lots if people dressed up in costume, dancing their way from the main square to a big park where a tower was erected to honour the Gods and ensure a good harvest. The locals looked amazing - and the sound of women singing in their high pitched Bolivian voices will stay with me for a long time. I bought lots of local weavings (which I had not been able to afford last time) and gave a little girl a stuffed toy which Bernard had won for me.  The joy on her shy little face was worth it.  We took the bus trip back to Sucre delighted in having stayed an extra day.  That night we had our night bus to La Paz - this time in the comfort of cama suite - a fully flat bed.

Salt, salt, everywhere - and one hell of a bus trip

Our final day on our 4WD trip was to visit the salt flats.  Firstly I am a lucky girl because I have seen the flats in all their glory, the first time in the dry season when the hexagonal salt patterns are amazing - and this time during the wet season - where the whole flats are covered in salty water that glimmers and shimmers as far as the eye can see.  We stopped off at a village and saw how locals collect and dry the salt for sale and supported the community by buying a few bits and pieces.  Bernard and I got to sit on top of the 4WD as we drove across the salt flats to the salt hotel. We waded in the salty water, our feet and calves being exfoliated so nicely in the process - our clothes covered in salt. We all tried hopelessly to get our perspective shots just so - and try not to make our knees bleed in the process. We returned to Uyuni mid afternoon, had an expensive pizza (by Bolivian standards) passed some time in this very uninspiring city before catching our night bus to Sucre.

We were taking a very local bus to Sucre - an on this occasion Bernard and I were pleased to be travelling with our 5 other travelling companions from the 4WD.  The journey involved a stop in Potosi for an hour (at 1.30am) to change bus. As it was still raining season and much of the road unpaved, there were so many moments where I said an "Our Father" as we skidded all over the road. At one of our stops we were given a free coke - something we hadn't expected for our cheap ticket price of 8USD. When we changed to paved road I managed to sleep a little before we arrived in Potosi - and whether we liked it or not - we were kept on the bus perhaps for our safety or perhaps for our comfort, for it was extremely cold outside and not a particularly nice part of town.  We eventually switched buses and were crammed into the back seat of another local bus - Bernard and I were most uncomfortable - we didn't even fit in our seats and therefore didn't sleep a wink those three hours. We arrived in Sucre at 5am, exhausted and two hours early - so we took a taxi to our hostel (complete with open car boot that bobbed up and down along the way) - thankfully our hostel wonder answered the door at that hour, confirmed that we had a reservation and allowed us to check into our room early.  And so we slept.

San Pedro de Atacama and 4WD adventure to Bolivia

San Pedro is a lovely little oasis in one of the driest places on earth.  I was once told that it is amongst the best places in the world to view the night sky because there is cloud cover only 30 days of the year.  San Pedro is at 2500m above sea level and so was an ideal place to rest for a few days, aclimatise before we take the magnificent 3 day 4WD crossing into Bolivia - during which time you'll reach altitudes of close to 5000m!!!  We stayed in a lovely hostel - an error in our favour saw us upgraded the first night which was nice - if only the hostel had hot water!!! We amused ourselves in town, buying colourful socks, hats and coca leaves - the circus was in town but we decided not to go.  When I saw broccoli at a fruit & veg stall I went a little bonkers (according to Bernard) - I bought the lot and told Bernard we're having veggie pasta for dinner!!!

We bought our 4WD off Roco - the slightly charming but dodgy Chilean (Bernard prefers to describe him as pushy) who lied to everyone about many aspects of the trip - but delivered in terms of quality cars, drivers and value for money. And so, early the next morning we set off with our new English and Israeli friends into the Bolivian wilderness. This was my favourite adventure from my previous trip - and so was eager that Bernard should enjoy it.  However, its a little bit harder on the body going from Chile into Bolivia because you climb 2000m to reach the border crossing into Bolivia and you stay at that altitude for the next two days.  We crossed gorgeous lagoons, geysers, thermal pools, volcanos and rock formations and the endangered vacunas (smallest of the llama family). Bernard had a pretty tough first day/night adjusting to the altitude whereas I had a pretty hard second day.  But we both enjoyed the trip and arrived safe and sound in Uyuni.

The long hop to Santiago onwards to San Pedro de Atacama

Our flights out of Brazil were going to test the strength of my nerves and the efficiency of south american efficiency.  Our itinerary included two layovers and flights with three different providers.  We thought either our luggage isn't going to arrive - or even we might not make it to Santiago as planned.  But, I am incredibly impressed with how seamlessly the day came together. We checked our bags the whole way through to our final destination, and although we had to collect boarding passes from the next carrier every time we arrived in transit - still managed to make our connections without any difficulties.  We arrived on time, as did our luggage, and we even bought bus tickets and checked into our hostel an hour earlier than we were expecting.  Our hostel was a cute little place not far from where we stayed last time.  I'm not sure whether I was overly hard on Santiago last time, but this time the city felt different, more inviting. Perhaps it was due to the fact that we were more comfortable in our surroundings - and in general there were lots of more people about.

We made the most of our day in Santiago - between watching the impact of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan and across the pacific, exploring the fish market, going to the Bellas Artes museum, through to stocking up on toiletries and other necessities (Ladies - let me tell you, its very hard to find tampons in South America). We have since perfected the art of making veggie/tuna pasta in hostels regardless of the size of the kitchen.  We headed off to our night time bus to San Pedro de Atacama - Bernard got the last seat in Cama (he's tall - he needs the room) whereas I took the semi-cama seat upstairs, which proved to be a good move given the bus wasn't completely full.  I ended up moving to a spare seat at the end of the bus and remarkably ended up sleeping rather well.

Praia do Santinho

We arrived at our accommodation, which reminded me of small town country motels at 2.30am and slept like logs. In the morning after a hearty breakfast we met some friendly Brazilians, and before we knew it, we were drinking beer and talking about Brazilian politics poolside at 12pm. We had lunch a little hut down the road then explored the beach - golden sand and surf that reminded me of the beaches in Wollongong so much. That night a local bloco was taking place so we waited, and waited and waited for 3 hours until everyone had got themselves organised then joined the locals as they danced down their streets to the sound of this one song that said something like "join the party - this is Brazil - this is carnival".  It may not have had the spectacle of carnival in the bigger cities - or be even resemble other carnivals where the black legacy of celebration is more marked. But it was wonderful to see ordinary people celebrating carnival - friends and families coming together to dress up, dance and have fun together.

Our days in Florainopolis were spent relaxing - sleeping in most mornings, relaxing by the pool, going to the beach when the weather wasn't too hot or too wet - discovering places to eat well and cheaply - trying to get around the island without getting stuck in traffic jams - and trying to soak up carnival spectacle as much as we could. The weather did thwart us a little - we were hoping to watch the street parade in the main township one evening, but it was dark, wet and raining, we arrived too early and nobody was about - so we gave up and went back to our part of the island. 

The highlight of our time in Florianopolis was our final day - walking along the nature reserve to another beach - pretty good surf - fairly isolated with next to nobody around except a few families and surfers.  We took a walk along the dunes to the beach, and then took the longer walk (about 1.5hrs) around the headland through lush jungle terrain to get back to Praia do Santinho.  Earlier that day I had perhaps the best Acai I've ever tasted (and given I'd had Acai 8 times during this trip in Brazil that was quite a call) and after the long walk back we sat at a bar by the beach and had some wonderfully cold beer and some lulas (calamari). We people watched for an hour or so, watching Brazilians in all their shapes and sizes - from the vanity of those who wear nothing - those who honestly shouldn't be wearing next to nothing, through to the men who like wearing trunks so tight that absolutely nothing is left to the imagination. A fun way to finish with Brazil.