Hi all

Since my last post, I´ve flown to the North East of Peru to the largest city in the world that can´t be accessed by car, Iquitos. Jon and I used Iquitos as a hopping point into and out of the Amazon Jungle.

After a late-ish arrival, we departed about 9am the next morning for Muyuna Lodge, which was a 3 hour boat ride downstream on the Amazon River, where we would spend the next 4 days/3 nights. I later clocked the boat to be doing roughly 53km/h at full clip using my GPS and the Muyuna sign claims the lodge to be 140km out of Iquitos so that´s probably about right.

We arrived at the Lodge and to be honest, I was blown away by its quality. It was a really top notch jungle lodge, with good, clean, safe and most importantly, well flyscreened bungalows, 24hr tea/coffee, great dining area and lots of boats at our disposal. Its been wet season here in Peru so our lodge was actually totally surrounded by water, with everything being on stilts. Before leaving Iquitos, we were advised to hire Wellington boots and after having lunch, we found out why. Our group of 6 people were taken on a short canoe ride to the back side of the lodge where we hiked around looking for animals. We spotted many birds and some pigmy marmosets (monkeys) during this excursion. After dinner we again went out for some night animal watching by boat.

At this point, it´s worth mentioning our guide, Cliver. Whilst impressive during the day, he was picking out animals at night by the reflection from their eyes. At one point, he picked out a tree boa-constrictor from the other side of the Amazon river and it took me about 5mins to see it, after we´d crossed the river and Cliver had been pointing at it trying to explain where it was. That night he also pulled off one of the floating reeds a Caiman, which looks like a mini croc.

Day 2 saw an early start bird watching before brekky before a morning boat ride looking for monkeys and other creatures. We spotted a Sloth, which our guide volunteered to get out the tree for us so we could have a closer look. We all thought he was joking but not so when he climbed out the boat, up the nearest tree and started toward the creature. After some convincing, the Sloth got within reach but during an attempt to grab it, the Sloth scratched the guide who accidentally dropped the Sloth about 8m down into the water. Fortunately the Sloth seemed unphased and climbed back up the tree while we all took photos of it now close up (and very wet). After lunch we had another boat trip to a lake area where we spotted pink river dolphins and had a swim (yes, in the Amazon with the Caimans, Pihrana´s, etc). Another late night boat ride animal spotting finished off this day. That night we had the most incredible thunderstorm. I swear I´ve never heard thunder so loud!

Day 3 and yet another early start. After brekky we went fishing for Pihranas which was amusing but frustrating. Essentially we had a stick with a piece of fishing line with a hook and a light sinker. Using chicken as bait, we would drop the hook in, then bash the top of the water with the stick, making a commotion, then lift the hook back up. You would usually feel a couple of nibbles shortly after and if you were lucky, you´d land a fish. I only managed 1 fish from about 10-15 pieces of bait. Was a bit of fun though and we ate them for lunch (though there wasn´t much of them). We also spotted giant lilly pads (about a metre across) and tree iguanas before returning to the lodge. That afternoon saw us visit a local village, where our guide was from, where we saw our first anaconda, which one of the villagers had caught. Needless to say we didn´t get too close.

Day 4 was our last day and again started with early morning bird watching and then followed with another walk through the jungle, which didn´t prove very successful. Most of the afternoon was spent on the speed boat back to Iquitos. I probably need to mention here that all of our boat rides were reasonably difficult and you could tell we were quite remote. The river itself has a lot of vegetation growing on the surface and every trip we took, the boat would have to try and plough through this vegetation or weave in and out of trees growing in the river to find a passage through what looked like a field of green. Most trips involved gunning the boat hard through the vegetation, then stopping to get all the reeds, etc off the prop and skeg of the engine. Each boat ride was a bit of an adventure to see if we could make it through.

Another night in Iquitos and then we flew to Lima. A reasonably uneventful day in Lima as we were both a bit tired from a string of early starts. We saw one ruin of Huaca Pucllana, which is a pyramid type structure they reckon dates back to about 400AD. That evening we caught up with some of the Perth ladies we had in our Galaps tour and went for a nice dinner and a few drinks.

Next stop Buenos Aires!
Pics to come from BA.
Cheers!

Well, as you´ve probably read, I survived the Inca Trail. Jon and I gave ourselves two extra nights in Cuzco to try and relax a bit and catch up on the last 17 days of touring.

Yesterday was our first free day and we used it to do some shopping in the morning, move hotels and most importantly, organise to get some laundry done. I personally don´t think there is enough money in the world to deal with my socks after hiking the Inca trail but we found a laundry to do it all for just $10AUD. Bargain.

In the afternoon, Jon and I caught up with four other Perth people that had been on our Inca trail tour and we headed up above Cuzco city to see yet more Inca ruins. The main one right by Cuzco is Saqsayhuaman which is thoughtfully nicknamed ¨Sexy Woman¨as that´s what it sounds like when you pronounce that name! The six of us managed to commandeer a taxi to take us around for $20AUD and we visited the three other ruins in the area of Q'enqo, Pukapukara and Tambomachay.

Today is our last day in Cuzco and this morning we went on a four hour quad bike tour around the highlands of Cuzco. The tour company wasn´t great, the machines weren´t the best but fun was still had. I came back covered in dust from head to toe but with a big smile on my face. We did have one injury on the tour however. One girl was driving her quad and she turned too hard and fast and managed to throw herself and her boyfriend off. After initially thinking she´d broken something, she turned out to be ok, with only minor cuts and some bruising.

This afternoon we are just chilling around. I did a little more shopping and took the time to upload more pics so check it out. Tomorrow we fly to Iquitos via Lima and then the next day starts our four day tour into the Amazon Jungle. We´re staying at a Jungle lodge with no power so there won´t be any updates for a little while.

Hope all is well with everyone. Cheers!

Hi all
I need to add a little about my day in the sacred valley but i´m going to do Inca trail first while it´s fresh in my head.

We started our Inca trail trek leaving our hotel in Ollantaytambo at 7:30am and heading by bus to KM 82, which is the starting point for the trail. Before heading out, we were asked to pack a duffle bag no more than 6kg which would contain our clothes for the next four days. Everything else we carred in our own day packs. The duffle bags would be carried by the porters.

The first day we relatively easy with mild ups and downs. The hike started at an elevation of 2,600m above sea level and we ended up at our first camp site, 14km later at 3,300m a.s.l. Our camp site on day 1 was Yuncachimpa and it had a great outlook over snow capped mountains. So far, altitude sickness hadn´t bothered me and I was in the lead group making it to camp first.

Day 2 was always going to be the hardest. It started at 6am with a long continuous uphill to our first pass, Abra de warmi wanusca (Dead Woman´s Pass) at a height of 4,215m. It was tough going to hike the 900 odd vertical meters over a 7km hike to reach the peak but again, I was in the lead group making it to the top, passing other tours in the process. Not that´s its a competition. This was not the end of Day 2 tho. We then descended 600m for lunch before climbing another 350m to the second pass at 3,950m. This covered another 7km. Camp site was another 300m descent to 3,680m which took about 2km. Along the way we also passed our first Inca sites of Runkurakay which was at 3,800m, Sayaqmarka at 3,600m and Concha Marca at 3,550m.

Day 3 was relatively easy after day 2. We hiked up and downhill to our third and final pass at 3,670m which was relatively easy going before heading via another Inca ruin of Intipata at 2,850m to arrive at Camp site 3 at Winay Wayna at 2,700m having only done 9km that day. We had the afternoon off and this site was the first time to grab a warm shower and use a proper toilet which was nice. Also managed a cheeky cold beer too.

Day 4 was our last day and it was an early start. 4am to be precise. We needed to get up early so the porters could pack up site and get the 5:45am trail. I should mention the porters are amazing. Whilst we all strugged carrying our own packs weighing up to say 6kg, these little Peruvians were carrying 25kg each and passing us uphill, then literally running downhill, then working hard to get our site set up, feeding us and making sure we had water to drink and hot water to wash hands with. Amazing men.

So yeah, obscenely early start, we couldn´t head for Macchu Picchu until control gate opened at 5:30am. From there, we hiked to the Sun Gate where we were supposed to get our first view over Macchu Picchu but it was all foggy so we couldn´t see anything. A few of us (the fast four) wanted to try and get tickets to another site within Macchu Picchu called Wayna Picchu, which they only allow certain numbers of people to visit so we actually jogged/ran from the Sun Gate to Macchu Picchu.Unfortunately, all the tourists that stay in Aguas Calientas got there first and we missed out. Nevermind.

Macchu Picchu, once the fog cleared, is an amazing Inca City, situated at roughly 2,400m a.s.l. its massive. We waited for the rest of our group to catch up before taking a guided tour around the city. We then had some free time which Jon and I used to climb to the Guardhouse to look out over the city and get some perspective of its size. We also walked to the Inca bridge to have a quick look.

After that, we left, taking a train back to Ollantaytambo and then bus back to Cuzco. I have a few days here then heading to the Amazon.

Wow, epic post. I´ll leave it here.

Howdy

I flew into Cusco yesterday from Lima with some other people that are in the same tour group as me for the Inca hike. After getting to our hotel, we had a bit of a wonder around the city. I wasn´t feeling so great as a result of some badly cooked meat in Lima and the effects of altitude (Cusco´s at 3,300m above sea level) so I had a bit of a power nap in the afternoon. That night we met our guide for the Inca trail and learnt about what we were about to encounter, what we had to take, what to pack, etc. We are due to start the Inca trail tomorrow as I type this.

Today we took a mini bus to the Sacred Valley where we first visited a local school where we got to see how under privileged children are educated in Peru, not just in core subjects such as English and Math but also farming and self sustainability. We then visited two Inca sites. The first was Pisac, where we walked around the large ruins there, looking at all the various terraces used for farming and where I also got my first taste of hiking up and down stairs and paths at altitude. I did alright.

We then moved on to Ollantaytambo, which is where we were due to stay the night. The Inca ruins here are also uphill and our guide showed us around and talking about how the Inca´s used to transport the rocks and how they shaped them to get them to fit into the walls. We had a good meal and I´m now ready for the Inca trail. Another update to follow when (and if) I make it!

Howdy again

Well, my time in the Galapagos has come to an end. When I last updated, it was lunch on day 3 on Isabella. We finished the day with a trip out to Giant Turtle breeding centre, then to the Wall of Tears and a long walk along the beach back to town.

We left early the next morning for Santa Cruz, our final destination in the Galapagos. After a just over two hour boat ride, we arrived and checked into our hotel. We wasted no time heading for the highlands where we visited a park where giant turtles roam around in the wild and then made a trip through a giant underground lava tunnel. At one stage, the floor was a mere two feet from the floor so we had to commando crawl through. That afternoon we headed for the beach, which entailed a 45min walk would you believe. Here I was thinking I was on an island!

The next day, we visited the Charles Darwin Research centre and checked out more wildlife. We then got a chance to do a spot of shopping before getting back on board the boat to head back to San Cristobel. We organised to have one final swim with the sea lions on the way back which was even better than before. I had about 5 of them at one stage swimming next to me underwater which was sensational and one got so close to me at one stage that it actually nibbled on the end of my snorkel while i was still wearing it!

And with that, ends my time in the Galaps. We did some last minute shopping the next morning before flying back to Quito. We enjoyed a final meal overlooking Quito as a group before parting ways. Today I flew to Lima to start the next leg of this tour which is the Inca trail. We arrived about lunch time and had a brief look around the local area of Miraflores, where our hotel is before meeting our tour group leader and heading to the old town to have a look around and sample a Pisco Sour. We have an early morning departure tomorrow for Cusco, a day there, then a day in the Sacred Valley, then its four days of non-stop hiking. Yay.

Pics are going up on my photobucket site as I type this. Depending on how I go, I´ll try and organise them a bit but connection is limited.http://s42.photobucket.com/albums/e348/davewylde/ for those that have forgotten.

Cheers
Dave

Hey all

I´m currently sitting in a net cafe on the Island of Isabela in the Galapagos. So far, we´ve had four nights here and five very filled days. We arrived after a 3 hour flight (one stop) to San Cristobel island where we stayed for two nights. We were amazed to see sea lions on the beach, just 500m from our hotel, and in abundance too. The town on San Cristobel is very quaint and beachside like. Nice place, could easily live there!

We did a bit of walking and had our first swim, and to our surprise, there were a couple of sea lions in the water with us checking us out. The next day we took a boat trip out for two snorkels sessions out around ¨Kicker Rock¨. The first session was very cool, there were heaps of very playful sea lions which would swim right up to you, within inches and play with you. They would even blow bubbles if you did the same thing with your snorkel mask. So cool. Saw lots of fish too.

We had a bit of a bike that afternoon down from the highlands (we got driven up) which was good fun. The next day we packed up and set off early to Floreana island, about a 2.5hour boat ride. We did more snorkeling there, again playing with sea lions the whole time. We grabbed lunch and had a bit of a walk around before getting back on the boat and driving another 2.5 odd hours to Isabela, where I am now.

Yesterday we went for a long hike to the biggest volcano on the island, about a 5 hour round trip. The caldera (crater) is massive and walking around on and looking at the formations made by the volcanic rock was pretty cool. We had the avo to ourselves which a few of us used to take in a swim at the beach. That night we had dinner and headed to a little bar on the beach where I sat back in a hammock and drank a few cold beers. Was excellent.

Today we went snorkelling again just near the townsite. Didn´t swim with sea lions this time but saw giant turtles, manta rays and iguanas swimming. Well, that´s it for now. More beautiful hot days, cold beers and exciting things to come from the Galapagos still. Can´t wait.

Still working on pics. Sorry.

Ciao!

Hola

Today I leave Ecuador for the Galaps. I've had about a day and a bit here after travelling 11 hours up to Quito, Ecuador's capital, from Santiago.

I arrived the first day reasonably tired so went straight to the hotel and had a power nap. After about two hours, Jon, my travelling buddy, arrived and we chatted before I met some of the others in my tour group and went out for dinner at a traditional Ecuadorian restaruant.

Yesterday, a few of us hired two private cars to drive us out of Quito into the Ecuadorian countryside. We visited markets and other tourist stops in Otavalo before heading to Cotachochi, which is famous for leather products and then up to the lake nearby for lunch. The countryside was amazing, very mountainous and green, but the pollution was somehow still a problem. By the time we got back, we felt like we'd all been sucking on exhaust pipes.

When we got back, we joined up with the rest of our tour group and group leader as yesterday was officially Day 1 of our tour. We all headed to old town via public bus, which was an interesting experience as it was crowded and we had to squeeze on and were constantly watching our pockets. We wondered around old town for a while, seeing several catherdrals and churchs, the main square and the presidents palace. We returned from old town and went out to dinner. I retired early as a series of early starts had me pretty beat.

As for our tour group, we have:
Me + Jon (Perth + Pom)
Zoe + Alex (Perth ladies)
Bill (Gold Coast)
Gabriel (Brisbane)
Linda + Andrew (Sydney)
Sybylla (Sydney)
Margaret (Wales)
Brad + Nat (Vancouver)
Katrine (Washington DC)
Aaron (Vancouver).

Well, that's Ecuador (Quito anyway). Off to the Galapagos, can't wait.

Hope all is well back home.

Dave

Buenos dias

Yesterday, I flew 25 hours from Perth to Santiago, Chile. Arriving a little worse for wear, I grabbed a shuttle to my hostel in the district of Providencia, checked in, then went out to explore the locale a little. I ventured through some neighbouring suburbs before turning in for a quick power nap before dinner. The hostel had a bbq night and put on food and wine which was great. I met all the other guests, who came from countries such as Germany, Holland, Scotland and Ireland.

Today I had a full day in Santiago so headed up Cerro San Cristobel via the Funicular railroad system where I got my first real taste of the size of Santiago. It´s a pretty uninteresting city, clouded in smog but surrounded by the Andes, which I´m sure would make a better sight in Winter when they are snow capped. Next stop was to head downtown, where I wondered around several markets, parks and streets. Another hill climb up Cerro Santa Lucia before heading to Plaza de Armas, which is the main square in Central Santiago.

More shopping, a quick stop for beer (about $3 for a pint), and more sightseeing as I looked around downtown, passing National Congress building, Law Courts and Stock Exchange buildings. I decided to give the metro a try to come back this afternoon and was surprised at its ease, efficiency and speed.

Tonight i´m headed to a popular restaurant and bar area called Barrio Bellavista, which I checked out a little today on my way to San Cristobel. I ate right in the heart of Bellavista called Patio Bellavista where I tried a traditional Chilean drink, the Pisco Sour. I haven´t decided what was in it but it was strong. After that, I headed to one of the numerous bars where I drank Escuda beer, which comes in 1 litre bottles for about $3AUD. Escuda´s motto is "es mas cerveza" which translates to "its more beer". Love it.

That´s it for Chile. I really only used it to break up my travels over here. I leave tomorrow morning for Ecuador, which will take me most of the day to reach. Saturday marks Day 1 of my Galapagos & Inca tour, which I´m really excited about.

I´ll update when I next can!
Hasta Luego!

Dave