Monday, October 29, 2007
Buenos Aires - Argentina Tango and Sushi (not steak)
We love this town sexy dancing, great food, fantastic wine and cowboys, what more could the tired traveller want to pass a few days.
First day we went to the city cemetery and marveled at the massive crypts that the very wealthy citizens of the city built for themselves and their family, some of them are mini churches.
The area around had a lot of street performers
We did a gaucho trip yesterday to a ranch an hour outside the city, we had a ride on some horses and then a horse drawn cart that El got to drive, as she chatted up the old man driver (I thought that I was the one who chatted up the old folk) and walked around a strange museum that housed rooms kept in the style of the 1900s.
We then had a massive meat, meat and some more meat meal, that included a blood sausage that was quite strange and a tango dance at the end. Free wine was included so El and I got up at the end of the dinner and tried to show these bunch of South American show offs how dancing really is suppose to be done. (I think that we may need some lessons). We got a demonstration of the gauchos skills after lunch, this included the guys galloping towards a small hanging ring which then speared with a pencil, kind of jousting on a small scale. If they get a ring the old pervs gives it to a lady in exchange for a kiss, Of course El got two rings as they all wanted a go on her lol.
That night we went to the up-and-coming dockside bar area of the city and munched into an all-you-can-eat sushi meal for 7 quid each and only just managed to waddle home.
The city has been a bit quiet at the weekend as the national elections were on and the sale of alcohol was banned, by the way the new president is a Cristina Kirchner, wife of Argentina's outgoing president, Argentina's first elected female president. On the news an old guy said "outside the house we all act macho but inside the house the females rules anyway" which made me laugh.
We have also booked a full couple of weeks in Argentina, we are off to the wine region (rude not too) in a city called Mendoza that strangely is not that far from our starting pointing in South America... Santiago in Chile, which is just over the mountains and the border of course.
We are booked on a luxury bus tonight that serves champagne so that should be nice and plan to visit a winery, the mountains and maybe an adventure activity.
P.S Only three weeks to go...OMG
P.P.S also as a side note, we both did some Interneting a few days ago and looked at jobs and El had has some job interest from her old company and I just got invited to an interview in Maidenhead, which made us feel so much better about coming home.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Quito x 2 - Middle Earth
So after our epic Galapagos trip we had 4 days left in Ecuador. We decided that it wasn't really enough time to go anywhere so we just hung out in Quito. This time we chose a hotel bang in the middle of the new part of town, "Gringoland" as christened by the locals!
We had a lovely nothing day just bumming around, sleeping and watching TV (AXN has been our saviour!) and then decided, once rested, to get to the equator. Ecuador is one of many countries that cross the equator but Ecuador is the only one with high mountains. Because of this the French and English took an interest in astronomy in the area and established the "Mitad del Mundo" - the middle of the world in the 1800s. A big monument with a museum inside was built, plus a planetarium and of course it is surrounded by the obligatory purchasing opportunities.
Sadly we'd been backing up our photos onto our palm and forgot to put the memory card back in the camera so we don't have any pictures. It wasn't that exciting to be honest. Then we bumped into one of our Galapagos buddies and her friend and we headed to the REAL equator, because, of course, in the age of GPS it was established the the original equator was about 250m off! So we went to the unofficial, but real equator museum which was great fun as they do lots of faux experiments to show you're on the equator.
For example, because of the Coriolis effect (google it) it is easier to balance an egg on a nail. Ths is probably the most random thing anyone has ever researched and we all got a certificate for managing to balance an egg on a nail!!! Also the whole water flows anti-clockwise or clockwise depending in which hemisphere you are in, and goes straight down on the equator. This is also bollocks though and the guide admitted it was all in the way you take out the plug (although he was insistent that totally still water would do this). HHmmmnn. Anyway, it was all in good fun, and we rounded off the trip by admiring a shrunken head from an Ecuadorean tribe and having a go at blowing darts through a blow stick.
After having a rather exciting day we couldn't help but go to an all-you-can-eat-and-all-you-can-drink tapas bar and drunk far too much wine and ate far too much food and suffered the consequences the following day. Still, we managed to get into the old part of town and went to an Andy Warhol exhibition, and to the city museum which was full of fantastic dioramas and scenes from 1700s Quito onwards and was a really great place.
Although we really didn't see much of Ecuador apart from the Galapagos we feel good and recharged and really looking forward to Argentina and Brazil, our next stops. It is all coming to an end much too soon and in just a month we'll be back home. UGH, let's not think about that now!
We had a lovely nothing day just bumming around, sleeping and watching TV (AXN has been our saviour!) and then decided, once rested, to get to the equator. Ecuador is one of many countries that cross the equator but Ecuador is the only one with high mountains. Because of this the French and English took an interest in astronomy in the area and established the "Mitad del Mundo" - the middle of the world in the 1800s. A big monument with a museum inside was built, plus a planetarium and of course it is surrounded by the obligatory purchasing opportunities.
Sadly we'd been backing up our photos onto our palm and forgot to put the memory card back in the camera so we don't have any pictures. It wasn't that exciting to be honest. Then we bumped into one of our Galapagos buddies and her friend and we headed to the REAL equator, because, of course, in the age of GPS it was established the the original equator was about 250m off! So we went to the unofficial, but real equator museum which was great fun as they do lots of faux experiments to show you're on the equator.
For example, because of the Coriolis effect (google it) it is easier to balance an egg on a nail. Ths is probably the most random thing anyone has ever researched and we all got a certificate for managing to balance an egg on a nail!!! Also the whole water flows anti-clockwise or clockwise depending in which hemisphere you are in, and goes straight down on the equator. This is also bollocks though and the guide admitted it was all in the way you take out the plug (although he was insistent that totally still water would do this). HHmmmnn. Anyway, it was all in good fun, and we rounded off the trip by admiring a shrunken head from an Ecuadorean tribe and having a go at blowing darts through a blow stick.
After having a rather exciting day we couldn't help but go to an all-you-can-eat-and-all-you-can-drink tapas bar and drunk far too much wine and ate far too much food and suffered the consequences the following day. Still, we managed to get into the old part of town and went to an Andy Warhol exhibition, and to the city museum which was full of fantastic dioramas and scenes from 1700s Quito onwards and was a really great place.
Although we really didn't see much of Ecuador apart from the Galapagos we feel good and recharged and really looking forward to Argentina and Brazil, our next stops. It is all coming to an end much too soon and in just a month we'll be back home. UGH, let's not think about that now!
Monday, October 22, 2007
Galapagos: north islands
Day five - Thursday
It felt a bit strange to lose over half of our new playmates but at least we kept the Germans, Swiss and Dutch who never failed to keep our sides splitting!! (Andrea and Markus just try to STOP us from visiting!)
So our tour continued with our new guide, Andreas, to the northern islands of the tour. In between many of the islands we sailed overnight in quite rocky seas and so we had many early nights in an attempt to stave off sea sickness. In fact I don't think we've ever gone to bed so early!!! Mind you we had very early starts every day so needed the extra sleep!
Rabida - We had a landing on a red sand beach, close to a lagoon housing some pretty pink flamingos, and then just a short walk away was a pristine white sand beach with tons of sting rays just at the waters edge. We had to wear sandles to walk along the water's edge to protect our feet from them. Also a lot of turtles peeking their heads out of the water to breathe.
Where is my mummy
Day six - Friday
Santiago - Although we didn't actually visit this island we saw how it is the most recently expanded island as it is believed there was an eruption around 1835 just after Darwin visited as the maps that were drawn during his stay clearly show 3 islands that have been swallowed up by new lava flow.
Bartolome - Is an amazing island and one of the newest. The land is virtually barren as the lava flows are relatively recent and only hardcore plants are starting the process of breaking down the rocks into soil for other plants to utilise. There is a variety of tuff cones (mini volcanic outlets) including the highest one that gives a wonderful view of the neighbouring Santiago island and a pinnacle rock which purports to be the most photographed place in the Galapagos. It also boasts a lovely dune and nice beaches with great snorkelling and where we almost caught a glimpse of a manta ray but it was scared off by a boat (grrr). Turtles and other smaller fishes were very abundant and the lovely sunset just topped off a great day.
Day seven - Saturday
Genovesa - Genovesa is just north of the equator and consists of a bizarre crater formation - the shape of a crescent moon. It is also known as the island of the birds and is the only place in the Galapagos to see red-footed boobies. Different from other boobies by being tree-dwellers, the reds aren´t quite as cute as the blues without a funny dance to entertain you. Nevertheless the snorkelling was quite cool with golden rays, eagle rays and white tip sharks being the main attractions, not to mention seeing manta rays leaping out of the water...but sadly at a distance and not close enough to actually see whilst snorkelling.
Just Chilling
Day eight - Sunday
North Seymour - Back to the landscape of the first few islands, North Seymour has this beautiful ground-covering succulent bush that has the most vivid and fiery shades of red-orange. The intense trees with their bare silvery trunks, and the prickly pear cactus made a stunning contrast and really the wildlife is a almost a distraction! Sadly we didn´t see an awful lot, only 2 land iguanas with bright orange yellow heads from a distance, but a multitude of nesting frigate birds which have black bodies and the males have a bright red chin that they inflate to attract the females - quite crazy to watch. Oh and a few more blue-footed boobies!
Look at my feet they are good...no!
Then we were dropped off at the airport and our group of Dutch, Germans, Americans, French Canadians, Kiwi, Spanish & Swiss disbanded and all went our separate ways. We had a brilliant trip and saw so many different species of birds, reptiles and fish that we've seen nature in a whole different light. We've met some lovely people and were fed pretty good grub 3 times a day. But 8 days was long enough on a boat and we were kinda glad to be back on dry land!
It felt a bit strange to lose over half of our new playmates but at least we kept the Germans, Swiss and Dutch who never failed to keep our sides splitting!! (Andrea and Markus just try to STOP us from visiting!)
So our tour continued with our new guide, Andreas, to the northern islands of the tour. In between many of the islands we sailed overnight in quite rocky seas and so we had many early nights in an attempt to stave off sea sickness. In fact I don't think we've ever gone to bed so early!!! Mind you we had very early starts every day so needed the extra sleep!
Rabida - We had a landing on a red sand beach, close to a lagoon housing some pretty pink flamingos, and then just a short walk away was a pristine white sand beach with tons of sting rays just at the waters edge. We had to wear sandles to walk along the water's edge to protect our feet from them. Also a lot of turtles peeking their heads out of the water to breathe.
Where is my mummy
Day six - Friday
Santiago - Although we didn't actually visit this island we saw how it is the most recently expanded island as it is believed there was an eruption around 1835 just after Darwin visited as the maps that were drawn during his stay clearly show 3 islands that have been swallowed up by new lava flow.
Bartolome - Is an amazing island and one of the newest. The land is virtually barren as the lava flows are relatively recent and only hardcore plants are starting the process of breaking down the rocks into soil for other plants to utilise. There is a variety of tuff cones (mini volcanic outlets) including the highest one that gives a wonderful view of the neighbouring Santiago island and a pinnacle rock which purports to be the most photographed place in the Galapagos. It also boasts a lovely dune and nice beaches with great snorkelling and where we almost caught a glimpse of a manta ray but it was scared off by a boat (grrr). Turtles and other smaller fishes were very abundant and the lovely sunset just topped off a great day.
Day seven - Saturday
Genovesa - Genovesa is just north of the equator and consists of a bizarre crater formation - the shape of a crescent moon. It is also known as the island of the birds and is the only place in the Galapagos to see red-footed boobies. Different from other boobies by being tree-dwellers, the reds aren´t quite as cute as the blues without a funny dance to entertain you. Nevertheless the snorkelling was quite cool with golden rays, eagle rays and white tip sharks being the main attractions, not to mention seeing manta rays leaping out of the water...but sadly at a distance and not close enough to actually see whilst snorkelling.
Just Chilling
Day eight - Sunday
North Seymour - Back to the landscape of the first few islands, North Seymour has this beautiful ground-covering succulent bush that has the most vivid and fiery shades of red-orange. The intense trees with their bare silvery trunks, and the prickly pear cactus made a stunning contrast and really the wildlife is a almost a distraction! Sadly we didn´t see an awful lot, only 2 land iguanas with bright orange yellow heads from a distance, but a multitude of nesting frigate birds which have black bodies and the males have a bright red chin that they inflate to attract the females - quite crazy to watch. Oh and a few more blue-footed boobies!
Look at my feet they are good...no!
Then we were dropped off at the airport and our group of Dutch, Germans, Americans, French Canadians, Kiwi, Spanish & Swiss disbanded and all went our separate ways. We had a brilliant trip and saw so many different species of birds, reptiles and fish that we've seen nature in a whole different light. We've met some lovely people and were fed pretty good grub 3 times a day. But 8 days was long enough on a boat and we were kinda glad to be back on dry land!
Galapagos: South islands
Day one - Sunday We joined our group at the airport and got a bus to the port. Our group contained a nice mix of nationalities: a family of Americans plus a Dutch, German and English couple, and a Swiss contingent.
Our boat, the Guantanamara, was fantastic and we were jammy enough to get a double bed even though we had only booked the tour four days before the start. The crew were really friendly and all-in-all we were glad we'd spent the extra $300 each and got the nicer boat.
Some of the islands were quite beautiful
We started the first day traveling down Santa Cruz to the middle of the island and had a tour around a small island learning about seal lions and their mating and eating habits. The baby seals were amazingly cute and you had to really try to keep your distance and not touch them as if you do the mother may smell something wrong and not feed the baby. The dominant males would never shut up patrolling their harem of sexy females, while all the unlucky males were in another part of the island in the bachelor's pad, awaiting their turn at mating heaven.
The harsh side of nature
Next was Santa Fe island, we had a daily routine of a land tour and a snorkel tour every morning and afternoon and this first snorkel was one of the highlights as we saw plenty of big turtles and even saw a young seal "play" with a white tip shark by grabbing his tail and then chasing it off... sharks have never seemed so vulnerable before and I almost felt sorry for it...almost.
Day Two - Monday
Espanola - land iguanas were interesting on this island as the only source of water was the cactus trees which they had to wait until a fruit or leaf falls down in the wind as they can not reach it for themselves, the males guard a patch of trees to capture the females as they come to feed. Also we saw blue-footed boobies (the famous birds of the Galapagos), they are very pretty bird and of course very tame being on the islands. They have a very amusing love dance that entails them showing off their lovely blue feet, the whole group kept on doing the dance to each other long after we saw them.
MMM cactus
Day Three Tuesday
Santa Maria - one of the worst night's sailing and everyone got very seasick, the English couple Clair and Chris who are hoping to settle in New Zealand did not come out of their room nearly all day. One of the best snorkeling on this island: very strong currents but good sunlight and great visibility made it one of the best on the trip. We saw a school of 22 golden rays, plus a couple of eagle rays next to them which was very nice to see for both of us. Eleanor got a bit worried when I could not be found anywhere as I was too busy chasing a seal to get his picture to notice that the group had gone back to the boat..whoops. She didn't let them leave without him though.
We sailed in the day for once to Santa Cruz and this was our chance to see dolphins but they did not make an appearance. The group hit the shops and bars and I had a very nice Long island ice tea cocktail in the Rock bar, purely for medical reasons you understand... I was trying to stop the land sickness that we were all feeling, very strange to be in a bar at the start of the evening and feel it swaying away merrily.
Day Four - Wednesday
We were back at Santa Cruz island and we did the day on the island in the Charles Darwin research centre, where they are tyring to bring the tortoises back from the brink of extinction with the main attraction being Lonesome George a giant tortoise, the last of his kind from an island, Pinta, in the north of the group.
They had been keeping him in an area with some females from a nearby island, that would be the closest genetically to him, in the hope that he will breed with them and at least get a half bred, but George is not playing ball or is, they suspect, gay, so the total of giant species will go down from 14 to 13 when he dies. But as he is "only" around 120 years old he may have 80 year left to get the horn back in his life... Go George go!
The afternoon was spent in the highlands of the island where we saw giant tortoises in the wild and a lava tunnel then was quite massive. We also lost some of our group and picked up some more for the north part of the trip.
Our boat, the Guantanamara, was fantastic and we were jammy enough to get a double bed even though we had only booked the tour four days before the start. The crew were really friendly and all-in-all we were glad we'd spent the extra $300 each and got the nicer boat.
Some of the islands were quite beautiful
We started the first day traveling down Santa Cruz to the middle of the island and had a tour around a small island learning about seal lions and their mating and eating habits. The baby seals were amazingly cute and you had to really try to keep your distance and not touch them as if you do the mother may smell something wrong and not feed the baby. The dominant males would never shut up patrolling their harem of sexy females, while all the unlucky males were in another part of the island in the bachelor's pad, awaiting their turn at mating heaven.
The harsh side of nature
Next was Santa Fe island, we had a daily routine of a land tour and a snorkel tour every morning and afternoon and this first snorkel was one of the highlights as we saw plenty of big turtles and even saw a young seal "play" with a white tip shark by grabbing his tail and then chasing it off... sharks have never seemed so vulnerable before and I almost felt sorry for it...almost.
Day Two - Monday
Espanola - land iguanas were interesting on this island as the only source of water was the cactus trees which they had to wait until a fruit or leaf falls down in the wind as they can not reach it for themselves, the males guard a patch of trees to capture the females as they come to feed. Also we saw blue-footed boobies (the famous birds of the Galapagos), they are very pretty bird and of course very tame being on the islands. They have a very amusing love dance that entails them showing off their lovely blue feet, the whole group kept on doing the dance to each other long after we saw them.
MMM cactus
Day Three Tuesday
Santa Maria - one of the worst night's sailing and everyone got very seasick, the English couple Clair and Chris who are hoping to settle in New Zealand did not come out of their room nearly all day. One of the best snorkeling on this island: very strong currents but good sunlight and great visibility made it one of the best on the trip. We saw a school of 22 golden rays, plus a couple of eagle rays next to them which was very nice to see for both of us. Eleanor got a bit worried when I could not be found anywhere as I was too busy chasing a seal to get his picture to notice that the group had gone back to the boat..whoops. She didn't let them leave without him though.
We sailed in the day for once to Santa Cruz and this was our chance to see dolphins but they did not make an appearance. The group hit the shops and bars and I had a very nice Long island ice tea cocktail in the Rock bar, purely for medical reasons you understand... I was trying to stop the land sickness that we were all feeling, very strange to be in a bar at the start of the evening and feel it swaying away merrily.
Day Four - Wednesday
We were back at Santa Cruz island and we did the day on the island in the Charles Darwin research centre, where they are tyring to bring the tortoises back from the brink of extinction with the main attraction being Lonesome George a giant tortoise, the last of his kind from an island, Pinta, in the north of the group.
They had been keeping him in an area with some females from a nearby island, that would be the closest genetically to him, in the hope that he will breed with them and at least get a half bred, but George is not playing ball or is, they suspect, gay, so the total of giant species will go down from 14 to 13 when he dies. But as he is "only" around 120 years old he may have 80 year left to get the horn back in his life... Go George go!
The afternoon was spent in the highlands of the island where we saw giant tortoises in the wild and a lava tunnel then was quite massive. We also lost some of our group and picked up some more for the north part of the trip.
Sacha Joseph Hayes Mathews
Just a quick update to say that the new baby boy is called Sacha Joseph Hayes Mathews. We think he is so lovely we just want to EAT him!!!!!
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Congratulations the Hayes Matthews!!!!
We are delighted to announce the arrival of El's sister's new baby boy. He was born last Friday 12th October, 10.30am and weighed a whopping 9lb9oz! After natural birthing attempts (again) he was born by C-section. As of yet he has no name, but they are working on it so will keep you posted in a few days...or few weeks...when they decide...
Dive Galapagos - hang on, is that a SHARK?????
We arrived in Santa Cruz island in the Galapagos a few days before our cruise to do a bit of diving and soak up the atmosphere. Amid the half drizzle, half sunshine, we did 2 dives at Gordon's rock, apparently one of the best dive sites.
The conditions when we got in were pretty harsh. Apart from the fact the water was 19 degrees - bloody freezing for diving - and we had full 7mm wetsuits with hoods and gloves and everything, there was a very strong current and swell and it made the dive quite a struggle. Nevertheless, the hammerhead sharks, turtles and numerous other fishies meant that we were keen to get onto our second dive. In that we saw more sharks and turtles and, what surprised us was a real treat, were the sea lions who came over to have a quick look.
Tired but happy, we felt a bit seasick on the way back and decided to spend our second day exploring the nearby beaches and wildlife they had to offer - iguanas, sea turtles, birds a plenty. The islands are almost barren, although on closer inspection have low level bushes and trees interspersed with volcanic rocks of varying colours. We are looking forward to our 8-day boat trip as we'll be snorkelling and seeing all kinds of life endemic to the Galapagos.
The conditions when we got in were pretty harsh. Apart from the fact the water was 19 degrees - bloody freezing for diving - and we had full 7mm wetsuits with hoods and gloves and everything, there was a very strong current and swell and it made the dive quite a struggle. Nevertheless, the hammerhead sharks, turtles and numerous other fishies meant that we were keen to get onto our second dive. In that we saw more sharks and turtles and, what surprised us was a real treat, were the sea lions who came over to have a quick look.
Tired but happy, we felt a bit seasick on the way back and decided to spend our second day exploring the nearby beaches and wildlife they had to offer - iguanas, sea turtles, birds a plenty. The islands are almost barren, although on closer inspection have low level bushes and trees interspersed with volcanic rocks of varying colours. We are looking forward to our 8-day boat trip as we'll be snorkelling and seeing all kinds of life endemic to the Galapagos.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Quito - Ecuador - All you can eat all you can drink.. are you sure!!!
We have had a strange time in Quito as we have been running around (with difficulty as we are back at altitude) trying to sort out a Galapagos trip (my brother-in-law Matthew talked me into it, thanks mate) and trying to get enough money out of the bank which took two days, but we have just this morning sorted it all out, yippee.
We are booked on the 2-hour flight tomorrow where we hope to sort out a few dives, we hope to dive with hammerhead sharks which would be amazing, before meeting the rest of the group in the airport on Sunday. The boat is called the Guantanamera (anyone know the song) and is a tourist class (hot shower) that will take us around the south and north islands for 8 days, we also have a level 2 naturalist guide who is supposed to give us the low down on the crazy life on the islands, including among other things the red boobies, fantastic I can't wait to see them.
One eye reporter says he saw these red boobies on the island - survival of the fittest maybe!
The islands are famed for their vast number of endemic species and the studies by Charles Darwin during the voyage of the Beagle that contributed to the inception of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection. The group consists of 13 main islands, 6 smaller islands, and 107 rocks and islets. The islands are located at the Galapagos hotspot, a place where the earth's crust is being melted from below by a mantle plume, creating volcanoes. The oldest island is thought to have formed between 5 and 10 million years ago. The youngest islands, Isabela and Fernandina, are still being formed, with the most recent volcanic eruption in 2007. Extract from wikipedia!
To celebrate we went out to the gringo land part of the city and a sign caught my eye for a fondue restaurant, "all you can eat and all you can drink"... oh yes that sounds good. I think the waiter got a bit annoyed having to come back to our table time and time again to fill up our glasses, so then he poured more and more wine into our glasses each time... El was feeling a bit delicate today.
We will be out of contact for nearly ten days, but we will check our email when we can as Sophie should be having her baby any time now and El can't wait to be an auntie for the second time.
We are booked on the 2-hour flight tomorrow where we hope to sort out a few dives, we hope to dive with hammerhead sharks which would be amazing, before meeting the rest of the group in the airport on Sunday. The boat is called the Guantanamera (anyone know the song) and is a tourist class (hot shower) that will take us around the south and north islands for 8 days, we also have a level 2 naturalist guide who is supposed to give us the low down on the crazy life on the islands, including among other things the red boobies, fantastic I can't wait to see them.
One eye reporter says he saw these red boobies on the island - survival of the fittest maybe!
The islands are famed for their vast number of endemic species and the studies by Charles Darwin during the voyage of the Beagle that contributed to the inception of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection. The group consists of 13 main islands, 6 smaller islands, and 107 rocks and islets. The islands are located at the Galapagos hotspot, a place where the earth's crust is being melted from below by a mantle plume, creating volcanoes. The oldest island is thought to have formed between 5 and 10 million years ago. The youngest islands, Isabela and Fernandina, are still being formed, with the most recent volcanic eruption in 2007. Extract from wikipedia!
To celebrate we went out to the gringo land part of the city and a sign caught my eye for a fondue restaurant, "all you can eat and all you can drink"... oh yes that sounds good. I think the waiter got a bit annoyed having to come back to our table time and time again to fill up our glasses, so then he poured more and more wine into our glasses each time... El was feeling a bit delicate today.
We will be out of contact for nearly ten days, but we will check our email when we can as Sophie should be having her baby any time now and El can't wait to be an auntie for the second time.
Lima - the foggiest city in the world
Then we flew into Lima I could not believe my eyes - there was low level cloud for as far as you could see and the city was completely covered. I had heard that it was a bit cold and damp in the city even thought the city is at sea level and only one country below the equator but this was ridiculous.
We tried to do a bit of retail therapy but the ethnic tat was the same as in Bolivia but four times as expensive so we decided to go to the modern shopping centre by the sea and spent a few hours window browsing. We ended up in the Cinema later on and watched The Fountain which I loved but El found a bit depressing, so to cheer her up I took her to an expensive sea food restaurant and had the national dish raw marinated seafood in lemon it was fantastic and the vino was not half bad either.
Trust me
We were going to do a paragliding pilot course but to be honest couldn't be bothered and a touch of homesickness, maybe it was the damp weather that did it, that had us in its grips so we just hung around and soaked up the atmosphere. El had a haircut and the girl tried to turn her into a Dynasty extra, which I found hilarious.
We are looking forward to Ecuador and maybe the Galapagas islands if the credit card can stretch that far. Fingers crossed.
We tried to do a bit of retail therapy but the ethnic tat was the same as in Bolivia but four times as expensive so we decided to go to the modern shopping centre by the sea and spent a few hours window browsing. We ended up in the Cinema later on and watched The Fountain which I loved but El found a bit depressing, so to cheer her up I took her to an expensive sea food restaurant and had the national dish raw marinated seafood in lemon it was fantastic and the vino was not half bad either.
Trust me
We were going to do a paragliding pilot course but to be honest couldn't be bothered and a touch of homesickness, maybe it was the damp weather that did it, that had us in its grips so we just hung around and soaked up the atmosphere. El had a haircut and the girl tried to turn her into a Dynasty extra, which I found hilarious.
We are looking forward to Ecuador and maybe the Galapagas islands if the credit card can stretch that far. Fingers crossed.
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Machu Picchu - pretty spectacular and spectacularly pretty!
After an excruciating 4.30am wake up call, we headed up the path to Machu Picchu. If you do the hardcore Inca trail you come over Macchu Picchu mountain and see the site at dawn spread out below you. As we took the other option we did the gruelling path up about 400 metres from Aguas Calientes. A path of steps, many of which have been used as toilets at some stage or other (at least once that very morning) which lead right up to the site. Mere mortals take the bus but not us, no, we did the hardcore route in order to see the sun rise over the Gate of the Sun where the Inca-trailers would arrive.
Frankly I got to the top of the path with burning lungs and aching legs and couldn't really care when Kieran called out for me to look at the sunrise over the mountain! We couldn't see Machu Picchu then anyway, we were just in the car park!
Once our friends had caught up though we entered the site and after getting a Machu Picchu stamp in our passports (!) and climbing yet more bloody steps we were faced with a wondrous sight.
The Incas built Machu Picchu around the 1400s and occupied it until the 1530s when the Spanish arrived and they abandoned it and took to the hills (lucky they did or the Spanish would have razed it to the ground) never to be seen again. It was "rediscovered" by an American archaeologist in 1911 and so began the love affair that we all have with this incredible place. Incredible because it is huge and built on the top of a bloody mountain (for God's sake!). But also because although much of it has been (not so faithfully) reconstructed, in fact there are large areas of original buildings and it is a warren of temples, agricultural and domestic dwellings, main plazas and tons and tons of terraces for agriculture (which they had to transport the earth for the crops ...crazy incas).
We had a rather unconvincing guided tour and then most of the group decided to climb the even higher mountain that towers over MP to get the ultimate view of the site. We were broken after the climb up there in the first place and so opted to go round the site a second time and listen in on many more guided tours and learned a lot more than the first time (we also learned that every guide tells a different story and not to be convinced by any of them!).
After a good 8 hours (and still only 2pm) we called it a day and went back to Aguas Calientes. We bade goodbye to our tourmates as they were all going back to Cusco but we opted to stay another day and make the most of the site. I mean if it takes you 3 days to get there you need to spend at least 2 days enjoying it, right? We checked into a lovely (expensive) hotel and got a thoroughly good night's sleep, at least 3 hot showers each, before getting up at a much more civilised time of 8am and getting an even more civilised bus back up to MP (what were we THINKING walking up the steps???).
We headed straight to Waynupicchu, the mountain overlooking MP and trudged up the very steep but satisfying path to the peak and revelled in the view. Actually it was a bit hazy so photos weren't brilliant, but you got an incredible view of the surrounding mountains and the sense of achievement about getting up the damn thing was well worth it.
Then we climbed up the much smaller Huchapicchu which also overlooks MP but from a much smaller distance and height (there was a mission impossible bit on the climb that was fantastic...K), where the photos were stunning and the whole site was laid out in magnificent detail for our eyes only.
We had planned to head up a little of the famous Inca trail to the sol gate but instead were content just to sit in strategic locations around the place, nibbling on snacks and just soaking up the atmosphere, before heading back into town for our train home.
Machu Picchu is such a famous site that we felt cautious about it not living up to expectations. And it is completely different from what you expect but it is not disappointing for it and made the 3-day trek well worth the effort.
Frankly I got to the top of the path with burning lungs and aching legs and couldn't really care when Kieran called out for me to look at the sunrise over the mountain! We couldn't see Machu Picchu then anyway, we were just in the car park!
Once our friends had caught up though we entered the site and after getting a Machu Picchu stamp in our passports (!) and climbing yet more bloody steps we were faced with a wondrous sight.
The Incas built Machu Picchu around the 1400s and occupied it until the 1530s when the Spanish arrived and they abandoned it and took to the hills (lucky they did or the Spanish would have razed it to the ground) never to be seen again. It was "rediscovered" by an American archaeologist in 1911 and so began the love affair that we all have with this incredible place. Incredible because it is huge and built on the top of a bloody mountain (for God's sake!). But also because although much of it has been (not so faithfully) reconstructed, in fact there are large areas of original buildings and it is a warren of temples, agricultural and domestic dwellings, main plazas and tons and tons of terraces for agriculture (which they had to transport the earth for the crops ...crazy incas).
We had a rather unconvincing guided tour and then most of the group decided to climb the even higher mountain that towers over MP to get the ultimate view of the site. We were broken after the climb up there in the first place and so opted to go round the site a second time and listen in on many more guided tours and learned a lot more than the first time (we also learned that every guide tells a different story and not to be convinced by any of them!).
After a good 8 hours (and still only 2pm) we called it a day and went back to Aguas Calientes. We bade goodbye to our tourmates as they were all going back to Cusco but we opted to stay another day and make the most of the site. I mean if it takes you 3 days to get there you need to spend at least 2 days enjoying it, right? We checked into a lovely (expensive) hotel and got a thoroughly good night's sleep, at least 3 hot showers each, before getting up at a much more civilised time of 8am and getting an even more civilised bus back up to MP (what were we THINKING walking up the steps???).
We headed straight to Waynupicchu, the mountain overlooking MP and trudged up the very steep but satisfying path to the peak and revelled in the view. Actually it was a bit hazy so photos weren't brilliant, but you got an incredible view of the surrounding mountains and the sense of achievement about getting up the damn thing was well worth it.
Then we climbed up the much smaller Huchapicchu which also overlooks MP but from a much smaller distance and height (there was a mission impossible bit on the climb that was fantastic...K), where the photos were stunning and the whole site was laid out in magnificent detail for our eyes only.
We had planned to head up a little of the famous Inca trail to the sol gate but instead were content just to sit in strategic locations around the place, nibbling on snacks and just soaking up the atmosphere, before heading back into town for our train home.
Machu Picchu is such a famous site that we felt cautious about it not living up to expectations. And it is completely different from what you expect but it is not disappointing for it and made the 3-day trek well worth the effort.
Getting to Machu Picchu the alternative way
Our 3-day trek started with an early bus journey for about 4 hours over a massively high mountain pass. The scenery was wonderful and strange and the height was dizzying. Also strange was the burning mountains we encountered along the way. We've heard mixed reasons between slash and burn land clearance and also pagan offering to get the rains started (the rainy season is about to commence here in Peru).
We scaled the pass and came a little way down the other side before disembarking and saddling up - the first day of our trek involved mountain biking downhill to our first night's accommodation. It seemed like a non-tiring way of getting somewhere with minimal effort. Of course the first bike El picked happened to have a wet seat: wet with a suspicious-smelling substance and was rather disgusted to acquire said smell. After a dousing with water and a new bike later, we were set to go.
Of course the road was unpaved and so required sitting on the brakes practically the whole way down. Well, in fact only if you were El and had a nasty bike accident aged 13 going round a corner too fast on a gravel road, so she ended up bringing up the rear of the group while everyone else belted down the road at great speed! It was great fun to watch the road go by, and scenery in glimpses, not least the suicidal butterflies that kept getting themselves tangled in the wheels of the bikes!
I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride my bike...tra la laa
Still, day one completed, we were all tired but happy (and incredibly dusty) and very ready for the large beer at the bar!
Day two saw a much more hardcore trek along one of the many Inca trails that lead to Machu Picchu. Not as famous as there were no Inca sites on the way, the trail took a wonderful path along the edge of a sheer mountain side and much of the original trail with supporting walls and paving was a wonderful walk, if bloody knackering.
Our path goes half way up the mountain on the right...gulp
The trail followed a hugely fast and charging river upstream, complete with huge boulders and we were only slightly unnerved by having to cross it in a makeshift cage-cum-ropes-and-pulley bridge 2 at a time. Gulp. On the other side though, waiting for us, was a wonderful hot spring resort with amazing hot water pools that certainly soothed away our aches and pains and was a definite high point upon which to end the day.
Unfortunately for El, she picked up something undesirable that day and spent most of the rest of the night in a close relationship with the toilet for various reasons and woke up feeling pretty miserable. Mind you there was a rooster howling from about 2am and sitting on our roof so Kieran didn't get much sleep either.
The third day involved a walk further upstream to a refreshing waterfall and on to a hydro-electric power station for lunch. El sat in the restaurant in the town from the previous night awaiting a bus to the hydro plant as walking was out of the question for her (feeling better by this point but feverish and weak). Kieran said the walk was very hot and a bit boring (no Inca trails today) so she didn´t miss much. The afternoon walk was along some railway tracks up to Aguas Calientes, the town just underneath Machu Picchu which was incredibly close by now. El, and a few others who had also been struck by the bug, caught the train leaving Kieran and team Reading (yes two of the girls were from our very own town - go Kate and Gemma!) to struggle up the railway tracks which are surprisingly hard to walk along.
Finally we all made it to Aguas Calientes and pretty much went straight to bed. They are waking us up at 4.30am tomorrow morning! Let's hope we get good sleep as the mozzie bites are killing us (scratch, scratch, scratch).
We scaled the pass and came a little way down the other side before disembarking and saddling up - the first day of our trek involved mountain biking downhill to our first night's accommodation. It seemed like a non-tiring way of getting somewhere with minimal effort. Of course the first bike El picked happened to have a wet seat: wet with a suspicious-smelling substance and was rather disgusted to acquire said smell. After a dousing with water and a new bike later, we were set to go.
Of course the road was unpaved and so required sitting on the brakes practically the whole way down. Well, in fact only if you were El and had a nasty bike accident aged 13 going round a corner too fast on a gravel road, so she ended up bringing up the rear of the group while everyone else belted down the road at great speed! It was great fun to watch the road go by, and scenery in glimpses, not least the suicidal butterflies that kept getting themselves tangled in the wheels of the bikes!
I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride my bike...tra la laa
Still, day one completed, we were all tired but happy (and incredibly dusty) and very ready for the large beer at the bar!
Day two saw a much more hardcore trek along one of the many Inca trails that lead to Machu Picchu. Not as famous as there were no Inca sites on the way, the trail took a wonderful path along the edge of a sheer mountain side and much of the original trail with supporting walls and paving was a wonderful walk, if bloody knackering.
Our path goes half way up the mountain on the right...gulp
The trail followed a hugely fast and charging river upstream, complete with huge boulders and we were only slightly unnerved by having to cross it in a makeshift cage-cum-ropes-and-pulley bridge 2 at a time. Gulp. On the other side though, waiting for us, was a wonderful hot spring resort with amazing hot water pools that certainly soothed away our aches and pains and was a definite high point upon which to end the day.
Unfortunately for El, she picked up something undesirable that day and spent most of the rest of the night in a close relationship with the toilet for various reasons and woke up feeling pretty miserable. Mind you there was a rooster howling from about 2am and sitting on our roof so Kieran didn't get much sleep either.
The third day involved a walk further upstream to a refreshing waterfall and on to a hydro-electric power station for lunch. El sat in the restaurant in the town from the previous night awaiting a bus to the hydro plant as walking was out of the question for her (feeling better by this point but feverish and weak). Kieran said the walk was very hot and a bit boring (no Inca trails today) so she didn´t miss much. The afternoon walk was along some railway tracks up to Aguas Calientes, the town just underneath Machu Picchu which was incredibly close by now. El, and a few others who had also been struck by the bug, caught the train leaving Kieran and team Reading (yes two of the girls were from our very own town - go Kate and Gemma!) to struggle up the railway tracks which are surprisingly hard to walk along.
Finally we all made it to Aguas Calientes and pretty much went straight to bed. They are waking us up at 4.30am tomorrow morning! Let's hope we get good sleep as the mozzie bites are killing us (scratch, scratch, scratch).
Getting to Cusco - the navel of the world (no fluff in sight)
We decided to spend a whole day getting to Cusco on the tourist bus, complete with complimentary tea and coffee, toilets, and 5 Inca sites along the way.
The scenery around Lake Titicaca is very pretty and although it all seems quite flat you are at a hefty altitude. Getting to Cusco involved a scenic drive along mountains and passes that slowly got greener and lusher as we neared the ancient Inca city, known as the navel of the world.
The sites en route were interesting in a slightly lame kinda way, the first being driven past an Inca site - little more than stone walls - and going instead to a small museum that housed a small but good collection of sculptures and carvings. Of course the guide told us about a few of them but never the ones that looked most interesting. It was interesting to learn that the Incas liked to behead their enemies and parade their heads around...nice.
A nice lunch was followed by the best site of all - an amazing temple complex very much intact with one central wall still standing nearly 13 metres tall. The temples was surrounded by a large area of royal enclosures and agricultural dwellings, some of which had been reconstructed and roofed in a traditional style so you could get a good idea of how it might have looked. A lovely introduction to the most famous Inca site yet to be visited.
The trip concluded with a church, called the Cistine chapel of South America which did indeed have some impressive paintwork but nothing anywhere close to Michelangelo's standard. Nevertheless, the ornate gold-encrusted altars gave a good impression of how the Spanish successfully plundered Peru's wealth.
Cusco is a very pretty city, nestled in amongst valleys at still quite an altitude. It is very reminiscent of the old part of Madrid - tiny winding cobbled streets with little cubby hole shops, cafes opening into pretty courtyards with more plazas and Churches than you can count. The touristy bits all come along with that - and prices to match - but nevertheless it retains a lovely charm not managed by many modern cities.
Not content with straight lines, Incas loved building walls with complicated stonework such as this crazy wall.
Of course, Cusco is the gateway to Machu Picchu and as we were too lazy to organise a place on the famous Inca trail (you have to book about 4 months in advance as it is limited to only 500 people at any one time), so we were going to just do the lazy train option but under advice from various friends and fellow-travellers we decided to do an alternative tour which we managed to arrange for the very next day.
The scenery around Lake Titicaca is very pretty and although it all seems quite flat you are at a hefty altitude. Getting to Cusco involved a scenic drive along mountains and passes that slowly got greener and lusher as we neared the ancient Inca city, known as the navel of the world.
The sites en route were interesting in a slightly lame kinda way, the first being driven past an Inca site - little more than stone walls - and going instead to a small museum that housed a small but good collection of sculptures and carvings. Of course the guide told us about a few of them but never the ones that looked most interesting. It was interesting to learn that the Incas liked to behead their enemies and parade their heads around...nice.
A nice lunch was followed by the best site of all - an amazing temple complex very much intact with one central wall still standing nearly 13 metres tall. The temples was surrounded by a large area of royal enclosures and agricultural dwellings, some of which had been reconstructed and roofed in a traditional style so you could get a good idea of how it might have looked. A lovely introduction to the most famous Inca site yet to be visited.
The trip concluded with a church, called the Cistine chapel of South America which did indeed have some impressive paintwork but nothing anywhere close to Michelangelo's standard. Nevertheless, the ornate gold-encrusted altars gave a good impression of how the Spanish successfully plundered Peru's wealth.
Cusco is a very pretty city, nestled in amongst valleys at still quite an altitude. It is very reminiscent of the old part of Madrid - tiny winding cobbled streets with little cubby hole shops, cafes opening into pretty courtyards with more plazas and Churches than you can count. The touristy bits all come along with that - and prices to match - but nevertheless it retains a lovely charm not managed by many modern cities.
Not content with straight lines, Incas loved building walls with complicated stonework such as this crazy wall.
Of course, Cusco is the gateway to Machu Picchu and as we were too lazy to organise a place on the famous Inca trail (you have to book about 4 months in advance as it is limited to only 500 people at any one time), so we were going to just do the lazy train option but under advice from various friends and fellow-travellers we decided to do an alternative tour which we managed to arrange for the very next day.
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