Saturday, October 3, 2009

And back where we began...

After Chaing Mai we spent our last days of the trip in Hoi An, Vietnam resting and having a holiday before coming home.  We luxuriated in the joy of knowing I would soon have an income so we spent money in reckless ways (having mango shakes for $1, rather than water for 30c) and other similar extravagances. We also went shopping for the first time in 18 months getting clothes made and buying a bag to put our new wardrobe in.  Other couples in Hoi An on two week trips were mailing their clothes home as they had 40kg of luggage for two weeks – it was fun seeing their faces when we explained we had only had 15kg of luggage (between us) for 18 months so could happily shop away without excess baggage worries. 

We are now, however, back in Sydney and nearly home… it won’t quite be home until Lily is able to jump up on me and lick my face when I get back from work.  We are living in a youth hostel for the first month as my job started before the tenants lease on our flat ended.  We’re catching up with family and friends and being asked awkward questions.  The worst of which is “What was your favourite country/best experience?” There is no answer to that as how can you compare the Tower of London to trekking Gorillas in Rwanda… for that matter can you rate learning about the genocide in Rwanda as a good experience?  Yet, it is something that touched us and learning about the world (the good and the bad) is part of what this trip was all about.

But here is an attempt at answering that question, or a variety of it.

The best places to relax: 

  • Zanzibar – amazing beach, beautiful snorkelling and we went there at a time we needed it more than anything. 
  • Myoka Village – this is the place we stayed on Lake Malawi.  Crystal clear water, with a pontoon floating in the middle of the lake for sunbathing, friendly social place, great food.
  • Croatia – The coastline was amazing, the water beautiful and people friendly.  Our favourites were Hostel Adria near Split and Mijet Island.

Best animal encounters:

  • African safaris – We loved every one we did.  Self driving in Kruger was amazing, but not something I would recommend if you haven’t done a safari before.  The northern Tanzania circuit was great, but we also loved South Luagwa…. As I said we loved them all!
  • Galapagos – If you want to go, you will love it.  If you can’t see the appeal, you really won’t. 
  • Elephant owner in Thailand – just for one day I became a mahout to Nui and washed, rode, swam with and had my pocket ransacked by an elephant.
  • Simien Mountains – Ethiopia.  Standing surrounded by a troop of Gegelda baboons is intimidating, thrilling and amazing all at once. 
  • Walking with lions – and more importantly having adult lions play fighting around you whilst you’re on foot.

Best adrenalin hits:

  • White water rafting the Nile in Uganda – of course they’re planning on flooding the area so get in quick before the opportunity is gone.
  • Ziplining in the Amazon jungle, through the canopy at monkey height!
  • Microflight over Victoria falls
  • African buses – an adrenalin rush and cheap too, plus you can do all your shopping on board!

Best places to know you’re not at home anymore

  • Kasawa Village – living like the locals in Zambia do.
  • Ethiopia – trust me, just go there.  Fly don’t take buses (unless you’re a cheap backpacker, but do go there).
  • Croatia – getting out to a small village and drinking the home brewed wine whilst we all talked in our own languages.

 For the history buffs

  • Macchu Picchu – and the surrounding area too
  • Krakow and really most of Europe
  • Castles of gondor, Ethiopia
  • Rwanda – not a pleasant history but what I saw there still brings tears to my eyes.

 Nature and getting away from it all

  • Night sky in South America was unsurpassed.  Whether from a boat in the Galapagos or a bus in Bolivia we’ve never seen stars like it.
  • Geyser fields near San Pedro de Atacama
  • The African bush, particularly the Okovango Delta

There’s so many more amazing things we’ve seen and done but you can’t write them all down.  The other awkward question we’ve been asked is “How have you changed?”  Well, we’ve learnt to find joy in a hot shower, in a toilet that flushes, in a toilet that has a seat, in a bus that has working brakes and doesn’t proclaim “Speeding our way to heaven” proudly on the front.

But, seriously, yes we have changed.  I can see how Jason has changed and he can see how I’ve changed but maybe we’ll just let you figure out if you can see how we’ve  both changed.

29 countries, 6 continents, 75 weeks (I know, we didn’t make 80 weeks… but it still has a better ring to it), 2 hospital visits, 7 pairs of glasses and 15,000 photos.  So who wants to come to the slideshow?

 

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Now if only we could take them home with us!

After a few days rest and relaxation in Chaing Mai swimming, being massaged and enjoying a few days in luxury we signed up for a day at Patara Elephant Farm.   Here you get to own an elephant for a day.  Not quite sure what to expect we were greeted by Ben who proceeded to inform us that unlike a lot of the elephant experiences in Chaing Mai we were not there to be made happy by the elephants, but were there to make the elephants happy!  The elephants were rescued from unsuitable working conditions and they are now trying to breed them.  After some history about elephants in Asia and instructions on how to interact with the elephants we picked up our basket of bananas and went to find out what mood the elephants were in.  The general principal was to hold up a couple of bananas and call out the elephants name, if they called back to you flapping ears and tail all was good and it was time to bond.... if on the other hand they stared back at you in stoney silence, well they let a maximum of 8 tourists come each day and they have 17 elephants - hopefully one of them will want to play.  

My elephant was 10 years old, called Nui and was a trouble maker.  She spent the day splashing me with water and mud at every opportunity and was never more than a few seconds without something to eat in her mouth.  Jason's on the other hand was a 34 year old matriarch called Kapor who was going to do things her way no matter what Jason or her mahout said.   After devouring the basket of fruit we offered as bribery to make them like us it was time to check on their health.  First - wagging ears and tail means a happy elephant, perfectly stationery probably means a sick elephant.  Secondly - we had to check for dirt patches on both sides of the elephant to make sure they were turning during the night.  Thirdly - we checked that the sweat glands were working properly, you find those just above the toenail.  Lastly - we checked the quantity and quality of the dung.  Reassured our elephants were healthy it was time to give them a clean.  We assaulted them with bunches of leaves to get rid of the loose dirt before heading down to the river (you lead an elephant by pulling on its ear and saying 'ma' for come - or in Jason's case the elephant leads you as you dangle from its ear) for a proper wash.  This was when Nui's personality came out as she liked to splash her trunk around, or just suck water and mud in and spray it at me.  The mahout would notice her starting and try to stop her, but sometimes he missed the signs.   

At the end of their bath things dissolved into (admittedly staged) waterfight.  We threw water at the elephants, then turned around to pose for photos whilst they showered us with water in revenge.  The elephants won.  

After a short break for the elephants to eat some more it was time to learn how to get on.  Option 1 - You ask your elephant nicely to bend it's leg, then you step on the back of the ankle, then the knee and somehow jump from there to its back.  Option 2 - You ask your elephant nicely to bend it's trunk, stand on it and get lifted to the top of the head where you have to turn around.  Option 3 - Ask your elephant to lie down and just walk up to the neck.  No one in our group went for option 3.  I choose to be lifted, whilst Jason clambored up.  The videos are very entertaining with different degrees of grace.

From there we walked a short way up the road before heading into the jungle and walking along an incredibly narrow path made our way up and down hills on the way to the waterfall.  Nui in particular did not like getting muddy, so rather than following Jason and Kapor we tended to go the route that the mahouts were walking which I'm sure were narrower than her feet and occasionally involved jumping over a gap!  We made it to the waterfalls were our elephants were swimming, with us still on their backs.  It was kind of disconcerting to be sitting on an elephant which was no longer visible and then a trunk would grab your foot and you wouldn't know whose trunk it was.   Wet and happy we ate a little lunch, but fed the majority of our food to our very hungry elephants.  We took the easy route back to camp  before walking along a river to the end point of the day.  

So today we are sore (arms from cleaning the elephants) (legs from the riding position) (shins bruised from the strength of the elephants ears) but happy.  

Getting onto Nui

Sunday, August 30, 2009

From male bonding to girl chat

From Prague and a week with Stephen we headed to Berlin to spend a week with Clare.  We spent the week answering long unanswered questions.   We met Guntram, Rebecca and got to hear Clare speak German.  We spent a brief period attempting to be traditional tourists in the old centre of town but took more enjoyment seeing the other side of Berlin.  We crashed parties, went to the beach (still in Berlin, yes) and explored an old train yard that has been converted into a beautiful park.  The other main activity was eating.  Jason and I monopolised the kitchen enjoying the opportunity to cook with more than three ingredients.    The biggest hit was definitely the spinach salad.  Of course everyone helped with the desserts - mmm, chocolate and marshmallow fondue! 

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Leaving Poland early in the morning we arrived in Prague to find noone at our hostel.  But there was a note on the door saying the receptionist was out and would be back at 3pm  so we settled into wait for her.  Around 3:30 we finally got into the hostel but Stephen who was supposed to have landed around 2pm was still not around.  At 6pm he finally turned up and after a quick catch up on the last 3 years we headed out for a late dinner (It was now 9pm or so). 

We explored Prague on foot and then in the afternoon by Segway.  A segway is a two wheeled vehicle that it is reportedly impossible to fall off of as it balances your weight.  You lean forward, you move forward – you lean backward, you reverse.  You lean too far forward trying to go faster it pushes back at you.  Jason however discovered how to trick it into letting you fall off.. you go over a jump it turns off and you find yourself eating pavement.  Our guide was interesting and towards the end he took off the turtle restriction on the segway allowing us to really get up some speed!  Now, I wonder how much it would cost to buy one in Sydney?

Not wanting to spend all our time in Prague we hired a car and headed out into the countryside.  Our first stop was Kutna Hora to see the famous ‘bone church’.  Basically the church was built on top of an old cemetery and some monk decided to get artistic creating a fascinatingly beautiful church.  It is estimated that around 40000 skeletons were used to create the decorations. 

After further exploration of the town we headed towards Cesky Budejovice with a random detour via a black dot on the map.  As we got close to said black dot we started to see tourist signs.  Woohoo!  Good sign.  It turned out to be a pink castle built in the middle of a lake.  We had a pleasant walk around the grounds but declined to do a tour of the castle which was only offered in Czech.   We arrived in Cesky Budejovice and found a guesthouse owned by a son but his mother lived in the other half of the house and seemed quite distraught at all the guests.  We were a bit too much the party animals up talking at 9:30pm.  

From there we did a trip out to Cesky Krumlov which is a beautiful old town nestled in the curve of a river.  We watched the kayakers heading down the rapids in various states of sobriety (It’s towards the end of a popular 5-6day kayaking trip and there was a constant stream going past).  We meandered down country lanes and visited a couple more castles in the surrounding area before heading back to Prague.

 

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Time to start moving again

Following the interview we set off for Plitvice National Park which is the only place we have regretted not booking accommodation in advance.  Our research had led us to believe there was a village or two you could wander around looking for rooms… but it was not obvious which way to walk when we got off the bus.  So, we went and asked information and rather than telling us where to walk they offered to call someone for us.  The problem was it was too far away to walk to the park and we would have to rely on them for lifts.  We looked at the pouring rain outside and agreed to take it. 

It was like staying with relatives who don’t really want you there.  We were obviously in a kids room.  Two small twin beds, bright coloured mobiles  and stuffed toys.  We were also not welcome in the family area so felt confined to our room. On the plus side the park was amazing!!

From there we headed to Bled in Slovenia for more walking, a fairytale castle and stunning scenery.  After that it was time for some cities so we explored Vienna learning what a good museum really is (we’ve seen a lot of museums in the past year and a bit, but nothing like the ones in Vienna).  Currently we’re in Poland crossing two more of the original 12 UNESCO world heritage sights off our list (half way there now).  Krakow old town is made more charming by the constant stream of horses and carriages (but the lack of poop thanks to the poop buckets) and the carvings in the salt mines were impressive to say the least. 

 

 

 

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Reality intervenes

Unfortunately we had to cut short our island hopping adventure to get back to Hostel Adria for my job interview.  Not with Hostel Adria, but for a job back home.  It was a rather weird experience sitting on the balcony of the hostel owners flat (I had to use their home phone for the call) looking out at the Adriatic and trying to talk like an intelligent neuropsychologist.  The good news is I got the job and will be coming home!!  The bad news is I’ve agreed to start 3 weeks before our tenant will vacate our flat.  So if anyone has space for a couple of travelers in Sydney in October, let me know!

Monday, August 3, 2009

Islands in the sun

Leaving our life of laziness in hostel Adria we jumped on a bus to Dubrovnik.  Exploring the most fortified "old town" that we have yet encountered, its collection of red roofed buildings both in and out of the walls.  And of course the walls themselves that took a few hours to walk along gazing at the castle or fort situated on a nearby out cropping and the bright kayaks in the crystal clear waters around the city.  
Having a fill of a city we went for more of the traditional Mediterranean pastime - the ocean. 
Between our luxury apartment overlooking the harbour and the two gloriously beautiful lakes that make up the islands national park, Mljet was our favorite of the islands.  This was also helped by the fact that you can swim in the lakes as you walk around the lakes, so our day consisted of walking 200m and then diving in the waters, relaxing and talking, before diving back in to be cool for our next 200m walk! 
We also visited the islands of Korcula and Hvar, Korcula had a fabulous little old city which had a quirky assortment of souvenirs based around the fact that Marco Polo was born there and so ship borne sun dials, sextants and spy glasses competed with the spices and soaps.  Hvar however was much larger and more touristed.

Monday, July 27, 2009

You pay more for the adventure

We finally found summer in Croatia!  We spent the first few days relaxing by the ocean in a small town called Bajnice, marveling at being hot again (it was about 36C) and jumping into the spectacularly clear water at the front of our hostel to cool off.  We also ventured into Split for a day of sightseeing, but were soon keen to be back in the water.  Then we were given an offer we couldn’t refuse.  The hostel is new and the owner Nikola is FULL of ideas.  One of them is to set up a trip to his father’s old house in the middle of the countryside, quite near to the border of Bosnia and Herzegovina.  He’d run it once before a year ago and this was his second attempt.  We left a few hours later than planned as we first had to  disassemble 6 of the hostel beds and pack them into the trailer along with the dishwasher, our lunch and a wine bottle big enough for me to get in!  There were 6 of us going, which meant 2 cars.  Nikola with his and Sonja (his niece) driving us, but for some reason not in her car.  She was having difficulty with the car from the getgo and before we had got 5km the car gave up completely and we had our first adventure – pushing the car to the nearest turn off!  Some theatrics later (not quite sure how jumping on the car bonnet was supposed to help) we were off this time in her car.  The drive along the Croatian coast was spectacular to say the least, looking like all the tourist brochures you’ve ever seen.  Lush green hills rolling down to crystal clear turquoise ocean with the occasional town with white walls and red roods completing the colour palette.  Then Nikola spotted some backpackers who were trying to hitch to Mostar (in Bosnia and Herzegovina).  He offered to let them join us going to the National Park and getting to the border sometime that night, but they did not have enough time so we drove them only 2km to a better hitching spot. 

Our first official stop was a National Park.  This was a beautiful spot and the views from the top of the mountain were amazing.  But, we were starting to get hungry.  We made it to the top about 6pm, and hadn’t eaten since 10am.  The sandwiches, you may remember, were put in the trailer which we’d left at the bottom of the road. It was a very narrow winding road and trying to pass was at times exciting.  One spot in particular where there was no barrier we had to drive right to the edge of the cliff to let the other car pass.  From Sonja’s car we had watched Nikola drive right up to the edge without a millimeter to spare.  But we had to get there too.  All four of us jumped out of the car not wanting to risk that Nikola would not be able to pull it off twice in a row (Sonja was not even going to try) and proceeded to take pictures of what was happening instead! 

We made it to the old stone house about 8pm.  It was a charming house and the whole community came to be part of dinner.  Not many people live there now as they had moved down the valley to the village.  But we were joined by the ‘old lady’ (a next door neighbour who was 99 years old), the ‘cowboy’ (Nikola’s brother, Anti) and the ‘indian’ (another neighbour).  There was also Sonja’s sister and her boyfriend who had come up from Split.  The old lady and the cowboy were in charge of cooking dinner, all with food from Anti’s ranch.  First up was the bread.  A fire was built on the stones and once it had burned itself out to coals and heated the stones it was moved aside, fig leaves were put down and the bread placed on top of them.  A lid was put over it and hot coals placed on top of it.  The result was some of the best bread I’ve ever tasted, particularly dipped in the home made olive oil and garlic.  Yum!!  We were all consuming copious amounts of Anti’s home made wine which came in three bottles.  The largest was good, the middle size was better and the smallest (the bottle was a pumpkin!) was ‘very special’ and much higher in alcohol content.  And we can’t forget the homemade spirit of somekind which was incredibly potent, plus the shots of raki that we’d been given by an old man in the National Park that we bought some honey off.  It was a great night with conversations in Croatian, German and English all happening simultaneously.

The next day when we finally stirred we explored a bit more before we headed off to Bosnia and Herzegovina for a beer.  It was the most laid back border crossing ever as Nikola explained what we were doing and so our passports were not even looked at in either direction on the Croatian side and only a quick glance as we entered Bosnia and Herzegovina.  Afterwards we swam in the blue lake before heading back to Split for a well deserved sleep.

 

 

Friday, July 24, 2009

Speeding trains, friends relatives, and sightseeing

London was one of the most jam-packed weeks we have managed on the trip!  We landed in Heathrow at a reasonable time of day (we will just ignore the 30 hours spent in airports and on planes prior) where we made our way to see some friends in London.  Revelling in the long daylight hours (9:30pm?  of course it's still light) and the fact that our jetlag made staying up late easy we chatted until past 1am.  Getting up the next morning however was excruciating!!  We made it to Cambridge where after nearly a year we finally managed to meet Claudine.  The one activity we were eager to do in Cambridge was punting.  So we made a plan - bad idea.  At the appointed hour to meet beside the punts the heavens opened, in a way that shouldn't happen in England, being more reminiscent of a tropical storm.  Within seconds we were soaked through and the streets were flooded.  So Andrew, Jason and I ducked into the pub where Claudine was sensibly waiting and all took off our shoes and poured out the water to  create our own paddling pool under the table.  Of course the weather wasn't finished yet and within an hour the rain was replaced with hail!  After a lovely couple of days catching up we jumped on the train to Exeter to see some of the Northcott side of the family and to show Jason where I lived for the first few years before we very sensibly moved to Australia.  We toured the sights, strangely my cousin who lives there hadn't been to many of the places we saw either, before heading back to Louise's house for a nice dinner and more chat.  The next morning we were off to Salisbury to be proper tourists!  We jumped on a tour bus to Stonehenge and Old Sarum quite enjoying the spiel about the area.  The next morning we were off to Banbury to see my brother and after a night sharing  a couch.. slightly smaller than a single bed... we were back on the train to London.  In London we headed out to the Body Worlds exhibition, which was fascinating, before catching an evening performance of Les Mis!! "Do you hear the people sing?"  The next day we met up with my great Aunt for lunch, spent a couple of hours in the Tower of London where we were thoroughly entertained by our Yeoman guide, before heading out to Gatwick.  Phew!  I'm tired just writing it.  So to summarise, we spent one night in London, two in Cambridge, one in Exeter, one in Salisbury, one in Banbury, one in London before heading to the airport!!  Now it's time for some rest and relaxation -to Croatia we go!

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Conclusions from South America

The best from South America:

  • The night sky – whether gazing at it from the bus window, the catamaran in the Galapagos or some town in the middle of nowhere it was spectacular. 
  • Activities – this is a continent where there is always something to do in every town and travelers are kept busy and on the move. 
  • The Andes – absolutely spectacular scenery from geysers to lakes to snow capped peaks or jaw dropping canyons. 
  • Buses – particularly in Argentina where luxury buses are an experience in themselves.
  • Spanish – we’ve loved challenging ourselves to learn a new language and been pleased at being able to get by.

 

The worst from South America:

  • Activities – this is a continent where there is always something to do in every town often with ridiculously high prices and travelers are kept busy and on the move with very few places that are good for a few down days. 
  • Toilets – specifically having to put toilet paper in the bin, not the toilet. 
  • Opportunistic theft – if you leave something anywhere (like a hostel) it will be gone within five minutes even something like prescription glasses. 
  • Buses – it’s a big continent and distances are long we found ourselves thinking that 24hours is doable 7 hours is a short jaunt.
  • Spanish – getting frustrated at not being fluent and when locals do the talk louder thing in the hope you’ll suddenly get it.
  • Cold – oh why oh why did we not bring the ski jackets from Canada?

 

 

Monday, July 13, 2009

Tired, sick and ready to move on

We haven't written a blog for awhile as there's not been much to say.  After Uyuni we took a bumpy bus ride to Tupiza where we had ideas about horse riding through canyons, but Jason's stomach had other ideas and he spent a night sleeping on the bathroom floor and still only just making it to the toilet in time.  After a couple of days of recovery we decided to leave Bolivia and go to Argentina where hopefully the hygiene would be a bit better and our stomachs would thank us.  Three more hours on a bumpy, dusty bus got us to the border where we were incredibly grateful to board an Argentinian bus.  Only semi-cama, but in Argentina that still means a very comfortable trip and the road was sealed - a great improvement from Bolivia where we went off road as often as on!!   Arriving in Salta we discovered Jason hadn't had food poisoning as we'd assumed, but a bug and it was now my turn to get comfortable in the bathroom.  After a full week in one spot we splurged on the fanciest bus imaginable with a flat bed, hot meals and champagne on tap.   After a surprisingly good nights sleep we arrived in Buenos Aires where we're currently relaxing before flying to England!

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Up, up and frozen

Bolivia used to be known as ‘High Peru’ and seeing as how Peru is not exactly without it’s mountains that should tell you something.  We also added a few records to our tally.  We spent time in the highest capital city in the world – La Paz, avoided the highest city in the world and achieved a personal best for high altitude sleeping at 4378m.  

La Paz is in a spectacular setting for a city, sprawling down a valley with views of snow capped mountains that top 6000m in the background.   The city itself was apparently one giant market.  There are the specific markets like the black market, or the witches market but every road is filled with stalls and sellers.  The witches market was a little creepy as the shops were adorned with dried llama fetuses, and some that looked like dried llamas as they were a lot bigger and covered with fur.  We enjoyed stolling through the shoe market, the clothes market, the sewing market and of course the tourist market.  Knowing we were heading up from there we invested in some alpaca beanies and jumpers.  They weren’t enough however.  From La Paz we jumped on an overnight bus to Uyuni and even though we were supplied blankets and wearing every item of clothing possible we still froze.  It’s the one time we’ve arrived at a destination and no one has got off the bus.  It was still dark at 6:30am when we arrived and you knew as cold as you were it would be colder off the bus and without the provided blanket.  Around 7:00am as the street was starting to get light we decided to brave it.  Our only impression of Uyuni was that it was cold and after speaking to several travel agents about doing a tour through the Salt flats to Tupiza we decided it just wasn’t worth paying double the price to get there.  So frustrated and cold we found a tour leaving that day willing to take us and were on our way. 

Our tour to the salt flats was in a jeep which normally would seat five, but they stuck an extra row of seats in the back and we set off with 3 Brits, 1 American, us, the driver, the cook and the goat.  Initially we were a little perplexed at why there was a goat.  Our consternation grew when we couldn’t see the goat following the first lunch of some unspecified fried meat.  A couple of hours of worry were relieved by a cute little ‘baa’ and a brown, black and white head popping into view.  He was only 2 weeks old and gave us much amusement on the long drives between sites.  It’s also been quite amusing talking to people who were on different tours who tell us about this other tour who had a goat – we smile and say yes that was us.  As for the actual tour we were, in all honesty, slightly disappointed. This tour is the icon of Bolivia the must do, can’t be missed.  The scenery was spectacular but the amount of driving between the sights and the freezing cold temperatures (make that -20C) with basic accommodation – dorm rooms, no heating, no showers, not even toilet paper provided – were not necessarily worth it in our opinion.  If you were traveling between San Pedro (Chile) and Uyuni it would be fabulous and must do, but as a round trip from Uyuni I think the one day trip to the salt flats would be a better option.  We were quite disappointed by how little time we got on the actual salt flats.  The first stop was the salt hotel and the surrounding area was flattened and slightly grey by all the cars and tourists, we drove through pristine  white salt with a curious geometric pattern on the way to the lunch stop.  An island with cactuses.  And that was it.  Not one stop in the middle of all that pristine salt as far as the eye could see.   Now I don’t want you to think it wasn’t spectacular because it was, but if you go do the one day tour and ask for a stop in the middle where it is truly mind boggling.

 

Saturday, June 20, 2009

The lake on top of the world

Lake Titicaca may not be the highest navigable lake in the world but there are not any bigger and higher!  Leaving from Puno we spent a day on the Peruvian side of the lake visiting the famous floating islands of the Uros.  The Islands were a sight to see, even with the shifting of the culture from isolationistic:- the original inhabitants moved to the islands to avoid imperialistic neighbors around 800 years ago and remained there though the rise and fall of the Incas, to the modern more tourist driven lifestyle.  The islands are made from large sections of reed roots 2m deep covered with many layers of reeds that need continual replenishment. The chunks of roots are tied together and also anchored to poles imbedded in the lake bottom.  Not only are the islands they live on made of reeds but so are their houses, their boats, and their souvenirs.

One aspect of their life which I found quite appealing was when a couple planned on marrying they were instructed by a special member of their tribe on contraceptives both natural traditional methods and modern condoms and the pill, after which they would live together for two years to ensure compatibility before permission would be given for marriage and children.  If they were not compatible they would go their separate ways with no ill regard from the community as they were never married.

We also visited Taquile island one of the four major islands in the lake, the community was very strictly run with codes of dress for the inhabitants ensuring that marriage status could be seen and if the individual was a leader of the community.  They are reputed to have the finest weavings in the Andes, but the work on display didn’t appeal to us the way the bright cheap works on the mainland did.  I will however give credit for their hats being woven close enough to carry water, though why not use a bucket I’m not so sure.

Crossing to the Bolivian side we looked out over the fleet of paddle boats and kayaks while relaxing in hammocks up on the hill.  If we were not at 4000m the temperature may have risen enough to venture in the water but instead we just soaked up the view.

 

 

 

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Collapsed bridges, protests and swerving around rocks

We had delayed our departure from Cusco by a couple of days hoping that the protests we had been hearing about between Cusco and Puno would cease.  But, they didn’t.  From our research it appeared we had two options when it came to bus travel.  A day time bus that was taking an alternative route and thus avoiding the protests or a night time bus that took the main route, but assured us buses were being allowed through at night.  Eventually we bit the bullet, flipped a coin and purchased two tickets on the day time bus.  Our bus was due to leave at 8am so we dutifully turned up at 7:45am only to be told that no, the bus was not leaving.  We were informed that not only had the protests not resolved as we hoped but that they were ‘muy fuerte’ much stronger and the protestors had damaged the bridge that the alternative route buses were taking.

 

We ummed and ahhed and approached every bus company, only one was still running.  Not sure whether ‘Tour Peru’ was telling us the truth or just collecting money with no intention of running a bus we decided to risk the ‘Libertadad’ bus instead.  It was due to leave at 9:30am so not too long to wait.  We started talking to our fellow passengers, most of whom were gringos – was it a bad sign that the locals weren’t taking the route at all?  Ok, there were about 5 locals on the bus, but normally the ratio would be reversed.   Whilst we waited we held the annual Cusco balance bar championships of which Lee was the undisputed winner.  At 10am, half an hour after we were due to depart we finally spotted our bus easily identifiable by the graffiti plastered over the sides indicating it had made it through the road block at least once.  The bus promptly pulled up onto the curb 100m away and we watched as animated discussions between various staff members were held around the bus.  We can only assume they were debating whether to actually go or not… or how much extra ‘danger money’ the bus driver wanted to go. 

 

Eventually all demands were met and the bus actually pulled up ready for us to board and after only 3 hours or so of waiting we actually started moving.  2 minutes later we promptly stopped again and a rumour was passed around the Spanish speaking passengers that we actually weren’t going at all and were now heading back to the terminal.  5 minutes later the rumour had changed to we all had to pay a 1 sole bribe to get through the roadblock.  Neither of these were accurate and after filling up with diesel we actually got on the road.  Just as I was comfortably dosing off cries went up along the bus – are we falling off a cliff?  Are we being attacked by the protestors?  In reality the luggage was trying to make a break for it.  One of the doors had popped open as we turned the corner and our luggage was strewn for 100m down the main highway.  Luckily we picked it all up again and set off again, now not only worrying about the roadblock but about whether our luggage would still be there at the other end. 

 

Around 1 and a half hours outside of Cusco we hit the first rocks and continued to swerve from one side of the road to the other avoiding the boulders for about another half an hour when the bus stopped and the engine was turned off.  Then the rumour mill started up again.  We could walk for four hours to the next town where there may be a bus we could possibly catch.  Our bus was going to wait until nightfall and hope to get through the roadblock then.  We were all going back to Cusco to get our money back.  Most of the bus were voting for the 3rd option, whilst the driver seemed keenest on option 2.  A few energetic types wanted to walk it, but when you’re only 2 hours into a 12 hour drive and don’t know how far it will be until you find another bus walking was not the top option for most people.  After a couple of hours though there was excitement, movement and we were all told to grab our bags and start walking. 

 

This is the moment when we found out Tour Peru had told us the truth – the bridge was damaged.  Although that seems a little like understatement to me.  The bridge in question was just before the main roadblock and it was obvious the protestors were not letting anyone through.  To prevent the use of the alternative route they had taken the simple measure of ripping up the wooden planks that made up the bridge.  The metal struts underneath were still there so that’s what we walked across with all our baggage in tow.  Feeling like laden donkeys we tight-roped across.  It turned out our bus driver had made a deal with another bus driver from Copacabana to swap passengers and pay some compensation.  So after only about 1km of walking we were able to jump on another bus and wait to see how far it would get us.

 

After 5 minutes we passed a bus that had not made it, turning one of the tight corners the undercarriage had separated from the rest of the bus and as we listened to the rattles and remembered that the front of our bus was missing we were not filled with confidence.  The alternative route was not able to be used by the bigger buses and we soon found out why.  The conductor was in and out of the bus helping the driver do three point turns around corners, dodge rocks, dodge the edge of the cliff and avoid driving into the 2m holes that the protestors had dug in the road.  By 5pm we were stopped again.  We thought just to pick up passengers, until we saw quite how many engine parts were being removed by the local mechanic.  We spent a couple of hours watching the drunks in the pub, buying some extra food supplies and trying to find a bathroom to use.  We watched as tour buses went past on their way to Cusco, with particular trepidation for the ‘Time Seniors Tour’ – picturing old ladies with walking sticks trying to maneuver across the metal struts of the bridge in the dark. 

It was also starting to get cold and we appreciated the bag with all our clothes we had put on the bus.  By the time we arrived in Puno we were wearing 4 jumpers each, a beanie, gloves and using our sarongs for blankets – we were still cold!!  It felt like being back in Banff but without appropriate clothing.  So after a delayed start, roadblocks, escaping luggage, a broken down bus and 9 hours of driving along bumby, windy dirt roads occasionally going over some of the rocks or into a ditch left by the protestors we arrived in Puno at 4am.  So what should have been a 6 hour journey under normal circumstances took a chilly 20 hours.  Now, we know we’re in South America.

 

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Qosqo

You might know it better as Cuzco  but Qosqo is the Quechua spelling and finding your way around is made all the more complicated by the spellings varying between differing brochures, guidebooks, names on buildings and street signs. Cusco is a very nice city at least the old town or tourist district, enough so that we kept coming back between trips to Manu and Machu Pichu.  We got to experience some different moods of the city, once we got used to the fire works that are used for any large gathering or just to startle the pigeons we relaxed a lot more in our rooms particularly when trying to go to sleep, or when woken up by a particularly loud firecracker.

Cusco we saw as a sleepy town on a Sunday where many of the shops were closed and there wasn’t much movement around.  We saw the city bustling about it’s normal business of trying to sell the tourists, tours, massages, a quick shoe shine and enough paintings to fill the art galleries of Europe. 

But two events stick in our minds most, the first being a protest on the first day we were in the city, there were no taxis, but the police were present with large numbers from the traffic, the municipal police, the tourist police, and even the riot squad, all dressed very formally but with their gun holsters empty (Batons were still equipped however)  The rioters were seemingly without end as they stretched down the main road, businesses that were open firmly shut their doors before the mob reached them, the one store that failed to do so in time had fists of dirt and small stones thrown at them and protesters forcing their way in until the police stopped them.  But once the protest was over all the extra security disappeared quickly, except for the riot squad who had engine trouble, so after posing for a few photos while the engine was tinkered with ended up pushing their vehicle. 

The other event was the celebration of Cusco, of which we saw the first two days, the elderly dancers, and the under fives.  It appears that the majority of the inhabitants are required to learn their traditional dances as children many of which show themes that we guessed the meanings of, some we suspected demonstrated how they saw the Spanish when they arrived, others the relationship between men and women –men thinking they have control then ending up on their backside. 

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Discovering the lost city of the Incas

Of course, Machu Picchu can hardly be considered lost anymore, rather the expensive city of the Incas.  There is no direct road between Cusco and Aguas Calientes (the town closest to Machu Picchu) which means getting there is either difficult or expensive or both.  You can pay $500 to walk there, $60 to catch a train or we met a few real budget travelers who were taking multiple buses probably over a few days then walking a few hours to get there.   After paying $60 for the 1 and a half hour train journey we arrived in Aguas Calientes which is described as a horrible overpriced small town by the guidebooks.  Surprisingly we liked it and didn't actually find it that overpriced (double room with private bathroom for $13).  It is in a valley surrounded by mountains with a beautiful river filled with huge boulders.   We then paid an extortionate amount for our entrance tickets ($40 each) and a totally ridiculous amount for the 20 minute bus ride up to the actual site ($14 each).   

The actual day didn't get off to the best start.  We woke up at 4:45am to make it to the bus stop by 5am where we got in line behind the 100 or so people who had been lining up since 4am to get on the first bus at 5:30am.   At the top we joined the line to get into Machu Picchu which opens at 6am.  There are a whole host of rules for entering Machu Picchu - the problem is some of them are so ridiculous you know they can't be enforced and it's impossible to know where the line will be drawn.  You are not allowed: water bottles, walking sticks, food, backpacks over 20 litres and the list goes on.  Jason went to the bag storage section to store our food and checked that our bag would be allowed in, he was told it would be fine.  But the guy on the gate was not having a good day.  Not only did our backpack get rejected but so did bags clearly labelled 18 litres, 14 litres and some that could not have been over 10 litres.  Whilst Jason tried to argue his bag through and then went to join the growing line of those checking their bags in I did not see him let a single backpack into the ruins.  People argued, cried, cajolled, attempted bribes but nothing worked, he was in a shitty mood and determined to spread his mood around the visitors.  Part of the reason that this was all quite so distressing is that most people arrive that early to obtain one of the 400 tickets to climb Waynapicchu.   After finally getting into the ruins with a water bottle, wishing we had grabbed the food bag (most people carried in a plastic bag with food) we sprinted to the other side of the ruins to get in line for Waynapicchu.  We were about 230th in the line, but luckily 150 people wanted to climb at 10am so we were able to climb at 7am.  

On the hike up Waynapicchu we bonded with the other climbers as we struggled directly up hill, on steps with a cliff face plunging to the valley below.  The views were absolutely spectacular though and we marvelled at the workers that had originally trekked up the hill carrying the stones to build the grain storage at the top of the hill.  After drinking in the view of Machu Picchu and the surrounding mountains we returned to the bottom for a closer look at the ruins.  We didn't have our own guide but with the multitude of tour groups wandering around the ruins we would have been hard pressed to avoid hearing bits and pieces from various different tour groups.   The site is quite spectacular, both for the actual ruins but more for the location.   

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Down into the Amazon basin

From Cusco we decided to do a week long journey into the jungle.  Manu national park is supposed to be one of the best places in South America to go to the jungle if you want to see wildlife.  This is mainly because it is primary rainforest (not stuffed up by man).   We were also traveling with the cheapest tour we could find so the accommodation was definitely rustic - lots of cold showers and surprisingly it was cold in the jungle, particularly after dark.  

It is however a bit of a trek to get there.   The journey was broken up visiting pre-Incan tombs, spotting the 'cock of the rock' and seeing our first monkeys.  After the first 7 hours on the bus we reached the edge of Manu National Park, but it would be nearly 2 more days (mostly by boat) before we entered the reserved zone (which is pristine rainforest, whereas the buffer zone is an inhabited area).  That's not to say we didn't have a lot of fun on the way.  As well as spotting some birds, monkeys, frogs and bugs we went white water rafting and canopy zip lining.  In fact the zip line was so fun we went again the next day!!   There were four zip lines in total getting progressively faster as you went.  The second time we went I was feeling a bit more confident and even went upside down!    

During the week in the jungle we saw 77 species of birds, 9 species of monkey, giant otters, black and white caimans, 3 snakes, frogs, toads, beautiful butterflies, a rhinocerous beetle, spiders galore and of course thousands of mosquitos and sandflies.  Unfortunately we weren't able to get photos of everything we saw as the animals were generally a fair distance away (the canopy was at least 40m up in the air) and under the canopy it was very dark and difficult to get enough light for photos.   There were also interesting plants to be seen, such as the walking palm (that can walk up to 10cm a year), the penis tree (yes, we have a photo of that one, so you know where it got it's name),  the garlic tree which grows totally hollow and amazing fig trees that create labyrinths of roots.  Then there were the ants, like the bullet ant which is an inch long and can paralyse a limb if it bites you or the army ants which native people use instead of stitches - getting the ant to bite them and then ripping the body off leaving the head and pincers to hold the wound close, or the leaf cutter ants which use the leaves to farm the fungus that they eat.




Friday, May 22, 2009

Zoos and the animals that are too lazy to escape

We walked a short way out of town to check out the zoo as it was recommended in the guide books, as a very pleasant surprise it’s conditions were better than many first world zoos that we have seen,  most of the enclosures were ample in size.  It was definitely worth a trip as we now know what animals we won’t be seeing when we visit the Amazon.  The enclosures were however, not particularly well sealed. However the animals seemed to be able to escape the enclosures as we saw spider monkeys playing in the trees by the path, a Condor was perched on top of the enclosure whether attracted by the calls of those in the cage or an actual escapee was open to interpretation.  Finally the most obvious was the capybara wandering along the walk way that scampered away when it spotted us.  

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Standing on an erupting volcano

Our journey brought us to Banos – literally meaning baths in Spanish due to the large number of thermal springs in the area.  A beautiful area which is dominated by a volcano that has been continually erupting since 1999.  So we decided to take a horse ride up to the volcano.  Not right up to the rim – that’s considered suicidal since the last major eruption in July 2006 – just through some of the villages which were destroyed by said eruption.  It was unfortunately a very cloudy rainy day, so we were only granted occasional glimpses of the spectacular view down the valley and were completely unable to see the volcano above us (although we could hear and feel the eruptions).  Our guide was unworried by these though, telling us “solo pocino”.  The actual horse riding was lots of fun, with the best horses either of us have ever had for a day trip before.  Normally you seem to get old nags that are reluctant to go above a walk and the guides aren’t that keen for you to go fast either.  Not on this trip.  Within 30 seconds of being on the horses we were encouraged to speed up to a canter and throughout the morning we repeatedly galloped along roads and across lava fields.  The horses also actually responded when you used the reins and only a slight squeeze of the legs was needed to get them to go faster. 

The following day from our ride all we could feel where aching bones and bruised backsides so we headed to the thermal baths for the always recommended soothing waters. The water however does not do much for horse riding inflicted aches and pains and so we remained sore.  The baths were nice despite waters so murky that you couldn’t see a hand span deep.  One of the pools was a warm bath while the other hot bath felt like it was suitable for cooking dinner.  Then if you were feeling truly masochistic you could jump under the icy waterfall – we refrained.

Monday, May 18, 2009

Playing with sea lions

Now, we could probably write about 10 posts about the past week that we spent at the Galapagos, but we will try to refrain and stick to the highlights.  It was one of the most amazing experiences ever.  

We had obviously heard a lot about the Galapagos and were looking forward to being so close to wild animals, but we had not heard about the snorkeling.  We swam with penguins, sharks, turtles (both green sea turtles and a hawksbill turtle), but the highlight was the sea lions.  We got to swim with them and play with them and be tickled by their whiskers.  The first time they appeared in the water I got such a fright as they are so fast and come so close to check you out - they appear out of nowhere half the time.  At one point I had four sea lions surrounding me and playing with me, whilst Jason had another one chasing the bubbles of his snorkel and mouthing the end of it.    We would try and show off our underwater acrobatic skills whilst they watched and they would respond with a dazzling display and then stop and look at us as if to say 'well, beat that then'.

On land we saw magnificent frigate birds with their red balloons all puffed up, marine iguanas in all sorts of different sizes and colours, bright yellow land iguanas, blue footed boobies dancing as they courted each other, nazca boobies, beautiful waved albatrosses nursing their eggs and landing with difficulty,  penguins sheltering under cactus trees on the equator and lots more.  Then there was the scenery - volcanoes everywhere you looked.  The galapagos was formed by a hot spot and as the nazca plate that it sits on moves towards the mainland the islands shift over and get lower and newer islands are created.  Shortly before we arrived Fernandina which is directly over the hotspot had erupted (unfortunately we were not able to get over there to see it).   The land is almost all hard lava which plants have managed to find a foothold on.  There are the 'aa' lava flows and the other smooth lava flows with craters in every direction.   

There was the giant tortoise breeding centre with 'lonesome George' who is the last of his species in the world, but does have two girlfriends of a similar species so he's not so lonesome anymore.  The post barrel that was started a couple of hundred years ago where sailors used to leave post and take that labeled wherever they were heading.  Tourists now leave postcards and take others with the idea being that you should hand deliver them.  We have one for someone in Croydon so it will be a very slow postal service that they receive.  

We had decided to splurge on one of the nicer boats as it was having an excellent deal so we spent a week on the very comfortable Nemo II.  On arrival we were greeted with banana milkshakes and garlic bread whilst we got to know the other passengers.  This was to set the tone for the entire week.  Food, food and more food.  Three buffet meals a day with snacks for morning and afternoon tea.   So we had an amazing experience in unparalleled luxury and now have to return to being backpackers worrying about bedbugs and whether this cheap dodgy meal with give us a bout of food poisoning or not.   

I should also quickly mention the people that we shared the trip with.  They were all wonderful (and yes, I gave out the address for the blog)... but really, wonderful people.   They ranged from other backpackers to a couple in their 70s (he had his 79th birthday on the trip) who ran marathons and competed in triathlons.  The crew were also marvellous and made the trip memorable.  Joining in as we followed huge pods of melon-headed whales, pilot whales and dolphins.  

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Architecture and the middle of the world

Having made our way to Quito Ecuador we found ourselves with 3 days to amuse ourselves before the Galapagos.  Given our impatience to be on the islands we carefully ensured that we had activities for each day, the first of them being the old town center. 

Quito unlike most of the cities we have traveled has the tourist district in the New town, so we traveled on one of the better public transport systems to the old town and spend the day wandering around the various churches and monasteries of Quito, with a trip to the top of the nearby hill for panoramic views of the city.  For us the highlight was “La Basillica” a beautiful gothic church complete with gargoyles, delicate arches and enormous stained glass windows. We also visited the san Franciscan monastery which was still in use and was more evidence that the San Franciscans endeavored to use more gold and glitz than any other order.

The following day we traveled a longer distance to the “Mitad del Mundo” or the middle of the world, while no Jules Verne trip was to be seen, there was a large monument indicating where the French had calculated the equator to be over two hundred years ago.  At the site we found a number of buildings split between the northern and southern hemispheres, the south consisted of buildings with educational displays of insects, how the equator and the diameter of the earth was calculated and scale models of a number of cities both in Ecuador and the rest of the world. The northern buildings were all tourist shops, with souvenirs, touts, and food.  So naturally once we explored the south we moved on!  Just next door was the Inti nan museum which is located on the true (according to US military GPS) equator and they had more interesting exhibits on the cultures of the tribes of Ecuador.  Exhibits included a shrunken head, various snakes and animals, and traditional buildings.  In addition they demonstrated the properties of the equator – such as water swirling in opposite directions 3m apart and the inability to hold muscles strong standing on the equator - with just a little trickery.