The Capital of Peru

Bus from Huaraz to Lima 26 October 2007
Lima, Peru, 26 - 27 October 2007

Arriving in Lima at 6.30pm traffic was simply indescribable. It was like watching a Thai boxing fight. You know there are rules but you can´t quiet figure out what the are!! Traffic lights were a waste of tax payers money. No one obeys them. We had an Italian taxi driver take us to our accommodation in Miraflores. The guy was a maniac. He fitted right in.


We were staying only 100 yards from the beautiful Larco Mar complex. A large shopping complex, it is set conscientiously atop the waterfront cliffs. It has a great design with much of the space open to the outside which gives it a real promenade appeal. The next day was spent exploring the city. We took a colectivo (minibus) into the centre and strolled through the various plazas. It was nice to have this time in Lima as we had originally planned to go straight to the airport and avoid Lima entirely. It is worth spending a little time here. We caught another colectivo back to Miraflores. In Larco Mar we decided to take in an afternoon movie. I can´t remember what it was called but it starred David Duchovny and was one of those relationship type movies. Reasonably entertaining. Let´s give it 3 stars. The following morning we were on a plane to Cusco after 2 months away......



Dave feels at home.....
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Enjoying the some food & the views at Larco Mar

The Lazy Dogs

Huaraz, Peru, 22 - 25 October 2007

Back in Huaraz we bade goodbye to our hiking comrades, checked into a new hostel (the old one didn´t realise we were coming back even though we had told them and they were minding one of our rucksacks... muppets). That evening we enjoyed an excellent Indian meal in The Chili House. Chicken Rogan Josh & Chicken Tikka masala. Delicious.

The next day & it was time for some pampering. We checked into The Lazy Dog Inn. It is set about 30mins outside of Huaraz, high in the hills. Canadian owned, it is a sumptuous retreat. What made it even better is that Claire and I were the only guests for the first two of our three night stay. All food was included and it was the best we have experienced in 4 months. All home made, fresh produce from the garden where ever possible. You could taste the difference. And to wash it down...plenty of good wine, freshly brewed coffee & fresh mint tea. Happiness is....

The huge open fire was lit and we got busy engaging in some serious R&R. The following morning, following an incredible home cooked breakfast, I (Dave) was feeling particularly energetic. I took off solo to climb one of the nearby peaks. It was a real lung-busting challenge but one I thoroughly enjoyed. Claire meanwhile contented herself with a good book, a comfy sofa, and some soft music. Once back and showered I engaged in some hardcore lazy dog action. I was permanently stuck to the couch for the afternoon. That evening we watched the movie Midnight Express on DVD to remind ourselves why it is not a good idea to carry hard drugs across international borders.

Day 2 at the Lazy Dog Inn and I (Dave) decided to take one of their beautiful horses out for a trot. Lucky (my horse) and I spent 2 glorious hours exploring the surrounding countryside. Claire still isn´t prepared to get back in the saddle. All too quickly our time at the Lazy Dog Inn came to an end and it was time to move on again. Diana, one of the Canadian owners, dropped us into town and we took a Cruz del Sur bus to Lima. Video footage was taken of each passenger before they boarded the bus, then the cameraman came around & snapped us in our seats also. Between this & the fingerprinting on the previous bus, it goes to show that Peruvian bus companies are taking security seriously!


Dave points to the hill he had bagged earlier that morning, how does he have so much energy after the hell hike?
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Dave & Lucky

Cordillera Blanca Trek

Bus from Trujillo to Huaraz, 16 October 2007
Huaraz, Peru, 17 - 18 October 2007
Cordillera Blanca Trek, 19 - 21 October 2007

We got into Huaraz about 6.30am and were immediately accosted by throngs of locals singing the praises of their particular hostel. Since we had nothing booked, and were pretty tired after the journey, we decided to avail and quickly checked into Ñaña at 20soles/night (5 euro)!! Our cheapest to date. Not only that but it was a top floor room, plenty of space, ensuite, hot running water....what more could you ask for?? Huaraz is located in the Cordillera Blanca and is the site of Peru´s second most popular hike: the Llanganuco to Santa Cruz loop. Like the Inca trail it is a 4 day trek & as the Inca trail was fast approaching we thought this would serve as good training. What we didn´t realise is that this trek is considerably harder, and higher, than the Inca trail. We booked to leave the following morning and quickly set about getting all necessary provisions. As we were due to leave Huaraz at 6.15am we were going to need an early night.... however, at 7.45pm there was a knock on our door. A representative from the company had come to tell us that our trip was cancelled but not to worry, they would be able to accommodate us the next day instead!! Needless to say we were not happy campers, in fact, it looked like we were not going to be campers at all!! We took our money back from them and booked with a different company but it was too late in the day to find a next day departure so we were required to spend an extra day in Huaraz. We used it to catch up on all the boring stuff, administration as we like to call it.

When we finally did get going there were 5 of us in the group: Claire & I, 2 Israelis (Avia and Tamara), and a South Korean called David. Our guide/cook was Erwin. It felt good to finally be on the move but shortly after we passed the beautiful Llanganuco lake our bus broke down. After about 40 minutes the driver gave up trying to get the rust bucket moving again. We were miles from civilisation and things couldn´t get any worse....then it started to rain. The realisation that, had the bus not broken down, we would be out walking in that same rain made us feel a little better. Finally a taxi, carrying passengers back in the direction we had come from, passed and our driver hopped in the boot and away he went. To cut a long story short after 4 hours we were rescued by our own taxi and brought to the trail head. It was too late to start any trekking so we just explored the immediate vicinity. We would need to make up the lost time over the remaining 3 days. Even though the sun came out, our tents were up (inside a sheltered building), and food was being prepared, Claire was more unhappy then I had seen her at any stage of our trip to date. She did not want to continue with the trek (or start the trek as the case may be). I was the bad guy because I was unwilling to hop on a bus back to Huaraz. Truth be told I was in good form and looking forward to what promised to be an incredible hike. Claire decided she would continue with the trek.

Next morning, thankfully, the sun greeted us and we struck off, walking, down the valley. The first half of the day was relatively easy going but in the afternoon we started climbing into the hills. The views of the surrounding mountains were spectacular. Unfortunately Claire started to suffer from altitude sickness and found the going very tough indeed. After what can only be described as a monumental effort we reached the campsite. The tents were erected, we climbed inside, and the heavens opened. It was torrential!! I don´t know what would have happened had we been still walking. Again our mute guide prepared a mediocre meal and we were in our sleeping bags by about 7pm. I forgot to mention that our fully charged Ipod had crashed on the bus earlier. Disaster!! The next morning, following what seemed like 12 hours of continuous rain, we were again greeted with a dry clear day. Alleluia. Alas Claire´s altitude sickness was still very much present and again she found the going incredibly difficult.

The rest of our group were very nice. David, the Korean, gave Claire his walking stick & the Israelis had some medication that helped also. Our guide, if you could call him that, had told us it was about 5 hours to the pass. We reached it after 2 hours and, believe me, we were not walking fast. The pass, Punta Union, is at 4750m and thankfully we had clear views down the Santa Cruz valley. What hadn´t helped Claire´s condition was the fact that she thought that we were going to be climbing through the snow for 5 hours, so, when we reached the top and started to descend into the sunny valley, her condition, and, her humour improved immensely. For those of you who have been reading the blog and thinking "geez, does anything ever bad or uncomfortable happen to these guys" you will be relieved to read this entry. Anyway, the feeling of achievement was immense. I´m not sure if Claire will edit this section but some of the comments she made while climbing to Punta Union include: "if I could take a lethal injection right now I would do it", and, "there is no way in a million years that I am going to do the Inca Trail". Her confidence in her own hiking ability had been severely shaken.

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It was a long, but pleasant, walk to the campsite. The sun was shining and we were dropping down onto the valley floor. Once there, we dried our tents from the rain the night before and then erected them....and then the rain started again!! We couldn´t believe our luck really. We had not been caught out in any bad weather. It got even stranger. As we were all huddled around in the main tent "enjoying" our evening meal it suddenly felt like the tent was falling in on top of us. What we hadn´t realised is that heavy snow had started falling outside. Again, it didn´t really matter. We all retired to our tents and had an early night. Damn Ipod!!

Our final morning and the weather couldn´t have been better. The sky was clear, the sun was shining, and Claire was feeling much better. She was still trying to convince me that she wasn´t going to do the Inca Trail. I wasn´t buying it. I tried to bet her a pound to a penny that she would do it....apparently she is not a gambler. It was a long walk out of the valley but everyone was in good form. The views of cliffs, lakes, snow capped mountains, local children and the fast flowing river made it a very pleasant experience indeed. Remember we were having to make up time as we were unable to walk on day 1. Having completed the hike (yeah!!) we clambered onto a public minibus and had some more amazing views down into the surrounding valleys as we skirted along narrow cliff top roads. Try not to look straight down...try not to look straight down!!

Peru Revisited - 1st stop Trujillo

Bus from Villcabamba to Trujillo, 13 October 2007
Trujillo, Peru, 14 - 15 October 2007

We eventually arrived in Trujillo (Peru) mid afternoon having left Vilcabamba at 7.45pm the previous evening! We were shattered, it was a case of find somewhere to stay, get something to eat, hit the sack. Not too impressed with Trujillo, the next morning we went in search of a bus to take us to Huaraz. It´s a real pain in the neck in some Peruvian cities where there isn´t a central bus station but instead each bus company has there own office & these can be spread over the city. We stumbled upon Linea, a good quality operator, and booked semi-cama seats on the overnight bus for the following evening.

We ate in the Chelsea Pub which was about as English as a kangaroo... well the restaurant part was anyway. Whilst out & about we organised a full day tour to visit the various archaeological sites in the area, booked a flight (Lima to Cusco) at the LAN Office for 28 Oct and Claire got a new pair of sunspecs. All in all a very successful afternoon!

The following morning we found our minibus successfully and waited to commence our tour of Huaca de la Luna, Huaca del Sol & Chan Chan. As we waited, Ben and Hanna walked past, so again we arranged to meet for dinner later!

Huaca del Sol is a giant adobe (mud brick) pyramid. As there are no internal passageways or chambers you simply admire it from the outside. Huaca de la Luna is very different and very interesting. It is a temple, that is built on a temple, that is built on a temple...and so on. When it came time to build a new temple the Moche (as the civilisation is called) would simply go out 5 meters or so from the external walls , fill in the rooms of the temple below, and build up again. Following the excavation/archaeological work it is amazing to see each progressively smaller temple in the ground.

Following lunch we visited Chan Chan, the most famous archaeological site in this part of Peru. Chan Chan was built by the Chimu civilisation, who were descendants of the Moche, and was the capital of their empire. It is a huge elaborately planned adobe city. We contented ourselves with visiting one of their 8 or 9 temples (apparently they are all very similar). Following the tour we stopped off in the seaside town of Huanchaco. While it was nice to walk along the promenade the place was a bit too Blackpoolesque for us. Following another very pleasant meal with Ben and Hanna, we hopped on our overnight bus. This was the 1st bus journey, we've taken, where we had to provide fingerprints before we boarded the bus! At least LINEA are security conscious!

The Valley of Eternal Youth

Villcabamba, Ecuador, 12 October 2007

Last stop in Ecuador was Vilcabamba, a village that sits in a valley surrounded by hills. It´s a tourist magnet for Ecuadorians and gringos alike. It first caught the attention of the outside world when Readers Digest published an article claiming that Vilcabambans enjoyed a considerably higher than average life expectancy with a very low incidence of cardiovascular health problems. Soon VC was touted as "the valley of longevity" or "the valley of eternal youth" as international investigations unearthed a string of people claiming to be 120 or 130. More rigorous studies revealed the claims to be wildly exaggerated!

We checked into "The Hidden Garden Hotel" & then did some reconnaissance. We found that there wasn´t much to see in the village itself. The following day we set off to climb Mandango Mountain (The Sleeping Inca) but a local told us of a robbery that had taken place two days previously where 6 tourists were held at gunpoint. Based on this we went to Rumi Wilco nature reserve instead, it was a good choice. The park had well laid out trails & on entry we got a map with info on the flora & fauna of the area. The downside was that it was just coming up on midday & the sun was high & bright! As we hiked up to the highest point in the park (ridge trail 3) we were baked in the sun. It did however provide amazing views all around the valley.

Oh, & we should mention that as we were about to start the trek we bumped into Peter & Carol - who´s stalking who here?? They were just commencing their long motorcycle ride to the Peruvian border.

That evening we followed the route they were taking on an overnight bus followed by a day bus to Trujillo. Another border crossing that went smoothly ..... except that we had to wait 90 minutes for the "24 hour border crossing office" to open at 4am. The immigration guy was on a power trip, as he tapped his pen to the beat of some cr*p music on his radio, in between he provided us with an exit stamp (in a completely innapropriate place) in our passports.

Colonial Cuenca

Cuenca, Ecuador, 10 - 11 October 2007

Next stop was, Cuenca, one of Ecuadors most beautiful Colonial cities declared a UNESCO world heritage site in 1999. The city is charming due to it´s narrow cobbled streets, balconied houses with interior courtyards & abundance of flashy white churches.

Getting in quite late we grabbed some food & hit the sack. Next morning we were awoken at 7am to the sounds of two workmen plastering the other side of our bedroom wall. We moved to another hotel & then set off on a walking tour of the city.

Whilst in one of the cities many churches we bumped into, no - not Peter & Carol, but Ben & Hannah, a couple we had met the day before on the train journey! We made arrangements to meet up later & went for dinner together. A very sociable evening was had over a fine meal & a few beers.

The Devils Nose!

Riobamba, Ecuador, 9 October 2007

The purpose of our trip to Riobamba was to take a train journey down the El Nariz de Diablo (Devils Nose). We had been told that you could sit on top of the public train but this is no longer the case. Due to an accident earlier this year (where two people had their heads removed by low hanging cable) it is now obligatory to ride inside the train (however there are a few private companies that operate trains with rooftop seats).

On arrival at Riobamba we made a bee line to the station to book our tickets for the next day (because it only operates 3 days per week) BUT it was booked out, doh!! We learned that a bunch of kids on a school trip had taken all the seats. Luckily there was an alternative option: take an early morning bus to Alusia & from here there would be a train that would take us on a return trip down the devil´s nose! And that is what we did. It was a really enjoyable day & we met lots of nice people. The train (called an autoferros), which was really a bus chassis attached to a train undercarriage, stopped at sites of interest & allowed us to get off to enjoy the views & take photos. The large windows opened allowing passengers to hang out & take additional impromptu photos. I´ve a feeling that the next accident is pending.

The round trip lasted an hour & was definitely worth the effort.

Facts about El Nariz de Diablo:

In 1899 work started on Ecuadors first railway to link the coastal city of Guayaquil with the capital city Quito. The first 100km stretch was laid without difficulty but as the tracks advanced eastwards towards the Andes it was obvious that a challenge lay ahead. The greatest obstacle which led to the line being dubbed "the most difficult railway in the world" was met when the tracks met a near vertical wall of rock, known as the the Devils Nose. The ingenious solution was to carve a series of switchbacks out of the rock which allowed the train to climb a gradient by going forwards then backwards up the tracks.

Some locals at the train station

Knit one, stitch two!

Baños

Quito, Ecuador, 6 October 2007
Banos, Ecuador, 7 -8 October 2007

With the Galapagos behind us & it´s associated luxury we returned to our hotel in Quito for one night and then made our way to Banos , a popular resort town in Ecuador, the following day. Banos is set in spectacular location, 1820m above sea level, nestled among soaring green hills, streaked with waterfalls & thermal springs. Once more we said our goodbyes to Peter and Carol in Quito & once more we bumped into them in Banos!!


We rented bikes & cycled 15km out the road to the village of Rio Verde. We had to cycle through a pitch black tunnel where we couldn't see the road in front of us, fortunately it was only100m long. Luckily the 2nd tunnel (1km) was off limits to cyclists so we used the old road at the side. Once in the village we parked up the bikes & hiked down a shaky bridge to where we had excellent views of he Paillon del Diablo waterfalls. As the road had been mostly downhill on the way there we decided to cheat & take the bus back to town.

Early next morning U (Dave) took a trip to one of the nearby hot springs for a dip. It was really nice to be there in the piping hot water looking up at the waterfall with no gringos & only a handful of locals thinking, "ah life is good". And it was then out of the water & onto a bus bound for Riobamba.


Beautiful Church lit up at night!





















Dave at the waterfall

Day 8 - Santa Cruz Island (Black Turtle Cove)

Last day...boo hoo...we don´t wanna go. For those willing to get up early the guides managed to squeeze in one last activity. A panga ride to Black Turtle Cove. Needless to say Dave and I were up for it! Black Turtle Cove is very close to Las Bachas beach where we did our first activity 8 days ago. There was a feeling of coming full circle. The panga ride was amazing. It was as though the animals were coming out to say goodbye. We saw every type of ray in the water, there were also turtles, black & white tipped sharks, chocolate chip starfish (see piccie above), the omnipresent sea lions, and above us, pelicans and huge flocks of blue footed boobies diving for fish. Simply incredible. What a superb end to an incredible week in the Galapagos.

By the time we got to the airport the crew had already checked in all our luggage & simply handed us our boarding passes. We got the Galapagos stamp in our passport and made our way to the VIP lounge!



White tipped shark

Day 7 - Espanola Island

Day 7 on the Galapagos (Friday) was devoted to the island of Espanola. We decided to do the 2 water based activities (snorkeling and kayaking) in the morning and so didn´t set foot on the beautiful looking beach in Gardner Bay. Things were pretty quiet really but we were able to bring the kayak right up beside a blue footed boobie. This was the only time we risked taking the camera with us on such activities so we got some nice snaps.

That afternoon we disembarked at Punta Suarez on the other side of the island. Like Fernandina, Espanola has a high proportion of endemic fauna. This is primarily due to its isolation from the other islands. The coastline was scattered with Christmas Iguanas. These are marine iguanas but with red and green scales in addition to the usual black and grey. The real attractions here, however, are the waved albatross (see picture opposite). They are the largest bird of the Galapagos (7ft wing span) and not found on any of the other islands. There´s not much disappointment on the archipelago in regard to the fauna, and before long these majestic birds were flying overhead. There were also plenty of them on the ground with their chicks, eggs, or simply going through their mating dance. Funny thing is that they can´t take off from the ground. They have to walk to the cliff, wait for an upcurrent, and hurl themselves off. Another site to be seen here is "the blowhole" but to be honest it wasn´t all that impressive. Apparently it´s better when the tide is in. On the way back to the panga we passed nazca boobies, blue footed boobies, huge male sea lions, little baby sea lions (how cute), and countless Christmas iguanas.

That evening we were each handed a complimentary cocktail to enjoy while the lead guide (Bitini) did a synopsis of our full week in the Galapagos and concluded by playing a slideshow of pictures she had taken during the week. It was a really nice wrap-up. The meal that evening was full waiter service, as opposed to the buffet style we were used to. The starter composed of red & black caviar and salmon. How are we ever supposed to return to a backpacker lifestyle??

"Boobies" feet, how Pretty!

Nazca Boobie, donning it´s face mask!

Lava Lizard No. 1

Lava Lizard No. 2

Quick, look here..

1, 2, 3, 4... I´ve lost count

Shared accommodation!

Christmas Iguana, but it´s only October?!

Waved Albatross

Punta Suarez

Well, hello there...

Claire & Sally Sea Lion

Finch

Day 6 - Charles Darwin Research Centre & Santa Cruz Highlands

During the night we had our longest navigation of the trip, around 10 hours. The reason? We had to get all the way from Punta Vicenta Roca to Puerto Ayora on the southern shore of Santa Cruz Island. Puerto Ayora is the most important harbour in the Galapagos and the most populated town.


Today was to be a day devoted entirely to tortoises, a creature we had not yet seen on our voyage. We started at the Charles Darwin Research Station (CDRS). First stop - the tortoise nursery. There were hundreds of little baby tortoises (needless to say they were very cute) with coloured numbers on theirs shells. The colour of the number designated what island in the Galapagos the tortoise belonged to. Each island in the archipelago has its own sub-species of tortoise. The CDRS is trying to get the numbers back up, on each island, to where they think they should be. The most famous tortoise in the station is called Lonesome George. He is from the island of Pinta and is the last survivor of his sub-species...hence the name. Huge efforts have been made to find Georgy Boy a suitable mate but to no avail. Hopefully time is on their side as they reckon he is about 75 years old now and these fellas can live to 150 years and beyond. Incidentally, they can also go for over a year without any food or water!! But if poor old Georgy Boy croaks it then another sub-species of tortoise is gone forever.

It was an amazing morning spent amongst these incredible creatures. There were no wardens anywhere. The trail took you right through the tortoise enclosures where you could sit, nose to nose, with 5 or 6 of these 500 lb leviathans. There were also very few people around so it was great to get an opportunity to spend some tranquil time in their company watching their mannerisms.

On the way back to the ship for lunch there was an opportunity for shopping. Claire saw a really nice t-shirt but in the end we actually didn´t buy anything.

The afternoon was spent looking for tortoises in the wild. We took a 30 minute bus journey to the highlands of Santa Cruz Island and entered a private farm. We walked through the fields until we came across a scene from Jurassic Park. A large field with 10 to 15 of these gentle giants scattered around. It was as though we had stepped back in time....about 65 million years. Some were happily eating grass, some were cooling off in small ponds, and some were going somewhere...I´m not sure where. It´s amazing to think that there is a place where these creatures roam wild and free. I even got some video footage of a vermilion fly catcher (bird) resting on a tortoises back. A very rare site indeed, apparently. After taking about 1000 photos we headed back to Puerto Ayora. On the way there Claire decided that she definitely wanted that t-shirt that she had seen earlier. Only problem was that shopping time was over. The guides said there was about 15mins before the last panga left for The Eclipse. This would be fine if the shop, Lonesome George and Co., wasn´t 10 minutes away. We had to run there and back. We got back to the dock, treasured t-shirt in hand, just in time to board that last panga! Success.



Pucker up big boy, it´s your lucky day!













CDRS Entrance














Are you ready, get set, go.....













You´ve got some neck on you!













Yum Yum














Hitching a ride













Mickey Mouse or is it Dave Barry taking the Micky?!












Vermillion Flycatcher












Some Charles Darwin Facts:
Darwin´s astute observations, on the Galapagos, were to set the stage for the development of the Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection as formulated in his famous publication "The Origin of Species". He was 26 years old when he visited Galapagos on board the HMS Beagle (September - October 1835, 5 weeks in total).

"It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change"