Elaine Struthers

I tagged a 3 night “jungle stay” onto the end of my tour. Sadly no one else from my tour was doing the same, so we said our goodbyes in Cusco, and I joined 2 very nice couples (one from Canada and the other from Australia) for this next leg of the journey. The lodge where we were staying, although in a lovely lakeside location and with great food, wasn’t quite as deep in the jungle as I was hoping, and the walks were not as adventurous as I would have liked. However, we did see a few animals, birds and insects...... read more

I’m not quite sure where to start. I don’t want to bore everyone with a day by day description of all the places we visited and things we saw and did, as there are so many, but every day brought a new adventure, and Peru really has so much to offer, so I will squeeze in as many of the highlights as possible. I was joining a 3-week tour run for UK operator “The Adventure Company”. The group size can be up to 16 people, but we were really lucky and had a nice friendly group of only 6, as well as our excellent local tour leader Dante. The tour took us down the coast south of Lima, and inland to Arequipa, Puno, Lake Titicaca, Colca Canyon and the Sacred Valley, and of course to ... read more

Despite the bag fiasco, Riikka and I were determined to carry on enjoying ourselves, so we took a day trip into the jungle near Puyo with guide Patricio to see the flora and fauna and visit an indigenous community. After a flat tyre and some injuries from near-miss falls we were beginning to feel a bit jinxed so managed to arrange a “cleansing” by the Shamen in the local community. A very interesting experience, involving cigarette smoke, stones, magic leaves, special perfume and lots of chanting. Unfortunately, we seem to have got a shortened version (without the guinea pig “x-rays”) and despite the Shamen’s claims that the negative engeries (lots apparently!) had been eliminated, and that we would get our bags back in 3-4 days, the next few days weren’t the best - and we’re ... read more

OK, we all have the occasional bad birthday. However, as if turning 33 wasn't bad enough, I reckon the events of this year´s birthday have made it my worst one yet. It all started in Quito at lunchtime on 18 March when a friend Riikka and I boarded a bus bound for Puyo (on the edge of the jungle). The bus operator manhandled our bags as he threw them into the luggage compartment (and I probably annoyed him by complaining as he tried to sit them right next to a leaking oil can). We endured a long and tiring 6 hour journey through the countryside and by the time we got to Puyo we were looking forward to some sleep ready for a cycle ride the next day, followed by a few celebratory cocktails and maybe ... read more

I hadn’t planned to stay very long in Quito after Galapagos - just enough time to sort myself out, do a little bit of mountain biking and say goodbye to people before heading south. However, within hours of returning from Galapagos, I came down with a nasty stomach bug. I tried to keep on going for the first couple of days, but it gradually worsened and before I knew it I was in bed with a fever and the worst stomach problems I can ever remember having. Not sure what caused it - something I ate or just a bug - but my roommate from the boat in Galapagos was ill too, so whatever it was I must have picked it up there. Anyway by the end of the week, albeit a few pounds lighter, ... read more

Little more than 24 hrs after arriving back in Quito, I set off for the coast, on the night bus to Manta. A fairly easy journey, although the man next to me (Jose, a middle aged lawer) snored most of the way. Arrived in Manta around 8am, left my bag at the bus company´s office and packed in a visit to the archaeological museum, 2 beaches, the fish market, a slightly dodgy area of town that I accidentally wandered into, and a delicious $1.50 lunch before collecting my bag (which thankfully was still there) and heading for Puerto Lopez in the afternoon. Treated myself to a nice room (with sea view balcony and hammock) in a nice hotel (with quiet swimming pool), rather than a budget hostal, so had a couple of days to really ... read more