The eight days we spent in the Galapagos were a complete dream come true. Half of the time we were based on a boat. The San Jose definitely did not match the usual standards of accommodation for our trip. Our cabin was bigger than most of the rooms we have stayed in, had TWO outside windows AND a bathroom!! We had got a great deal on this last-minute first class boat - a lovely treat near the end of our trip. The remaining time we staying in a more modest B and B in Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz island - it [View Full Entry]

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Adios Peru After saying a bleary-eyed, early morning goodbye to Jo and Brian we spent a few lazy days in Miraflores, the posh area of Lima. Our exciting activities included getting our laundry done and copying our camera memory cards to cd. We did manage to have a couple more Pisco Sours too. The last long bus ride for a long, long time... And what a fun one it was! 30 hours instead of 26, the noisiest snorer right behind us, a South Korean trying to have cheeky fags in front of us and a kid being sick in front of [View Full Entry]

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Pete's Mum, Jo, and boyfriend, Brian, joined Pete & Angela on their two week trip to Peru. It was their first taste of this type of holiday. Of course being gatecrashers to the adventure they were told they had to write the blog... Foggy Lima with Heads in the Clouds Pete & Ang were on the steps of the hotel to greet us and a couple of days were spent in Lima acclimatizing to South America and pisco sours. It took little persuasion to tempt Jo to try the paragliding once the little problem of losing her sandals was solved [View Full Entry]

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Iguazu's Amazing Falls Wow, these falls are massive. We visited both the Argentinian and Brazilian sides and were stunned by the volume of thundering water and area that the falls spread over. Absolutely beautiful, especially once the sun shone and rainbows appeared. We spent a day at the Argentinian side, wandering along the walkways to get different views of different sections of the falls. We were joined by lots of pretty butterflies, birds, cheeky coaties and guinea pigs. Such a beautiful setting not spoilt too much by crowds of tourists as the walkways are long and spread [View Full Entry]

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Small Town Argentina - Humahuaca It was quite easy making the crossing into Argentina from Bolivia. For westerners that is. For locals there is a big queue whilst bag checks are done. Little did we know at this stage that this was just the beginning of the checking process. After being hauled off two buses along with everyone else, and our bags checked, we realised there must be quite a problem with smuggled goods. Not sure what exactly they were looking for - drugs, counterfeit goods? Our first stop in Argentina was a little town called Humahuaca. A little more difficult [View Full Entry]

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Up, Up and Away As soon as we arrived in the Atacama and heard about the trips across the border to Bolivia we knew this was something we really would enjoy. Many companies in San Pedro, Chile advertise these trips by jeep to Bolivia. There are many reviews on the many companies. A couple of these reviews are favourable. After a little research we opted for Estrella Del Sur, a slightly more expensive choice but we haven't looked back. After getting our passports stamped we headed up the road to the border. Going from 2400m we went up a couple [View Full Entry]

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Valle de Elqui P.I.S.C.O....P.I.S.C.O P...Pretty tasty I...Intoxicating S...Sour grapes C...Chile's finest O...Ooooooooo P.I.S.C.O....P.I.S.C.O etc We caught a bus to the Elqui Valley to see the lovely scenery, the home of the famous Chilean Pisco which, for some reason, makes us break into a 70s song with adapted words. It sounded good after a Pisco Sour or two. We stayed in a pretty village called Vicuña which is surrounded by vineyards. Opting for the cheapest guesthouse we found ourselves a very cold room (what is central heating?) around a colourful courtya [View Full Entry]

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Woohoo, we are in South America!!!!!!!!!!!!! ¿Hablar Español? Karina: ¿Pete, te gustar gatos? (Pete, do you like cats?) Pete: Si, a mi me gustar mucho gato. (Thinking: Yes, I like lots of gateau) Angela: Mis gatos llaman Calvin y Bee (My cats are called Calvin and Bee) Pete: Eh???? (Eh????) We had already planned to book onto a week long intensive spanish course before arriving in Santiago. Our experience on our first day of finding a laundrette by performing charades with our smelly clothes made us realise we had little ch [View Full Entry]

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First taste of South America Arriving at the little airport at Easter Island we were soon donning floral garlands and shepherded into a minivan with 2 French girls and another Brit with his surf board. We felt instantly welcomed into the Ana Rapu guesthouse and then a little deserted by the host who we then did not see for a few days. We had 5 days to see the sights of Easter Island, plenty of time for a bit of relaxation as well. Hanga Roa There is only one town on Easter Island, Hanga Roa, where the 4,000 inhabitants and [View Full Entry]

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One night on Tahiti The first impression you will get when you land in Tahiti is how French the place looks - all the roads signs, people walking around with french baguettes and creperies. The second thing you will notice is the very French reception you will get from everyone on the islands. I am not talking kisses on the cheeks but rather frosty "why are you bothering me?" responses. Still paradise is paradise and nothing can spoil a stay in French Polynesia. We were lucky to again be meeting up with people from home. We were only spending one [View Full Entry]

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