Jenstar

Having got settled in Buenos Aires and lost the tension brought on by such mammoth road trips, me and Rich decided to have a night on the town. Rich was looking particularly gangster in a sharp new pinstripe suit as we set forth. And what else would you go and see in this old town apart from a Tango Show! Determined to do this in style, we ordered the most expensive champagne and got the best seats in the house next to the dance floor and waited for the show to begin. By which time we were already on our third bottle of champagne ofthe night. Anyway, let me say this, it was AMAZING! a four piece band with a guy on the accordian who reminded me of Don Corleone. The sort of dude with such ... read more

Firstly, i would like to say, travelling is not always fun. Even when you have the magical company of Mr. Webb. Yesterday we finally completed the monstrous journey to Buenos Aires. We suffered 50 hours in the worst squashed seats at the back, with Rich sitting next to a baby, we endured flat tyres, running out of petrol, a 6 hour wait for a new gearbox, and endless bag searches. And all this a day after a previous 30 hour bus trip. nightmare. In fact in the last 8 nights we have spent 3 sleeping in a cold tent, 4 nights on a bus a one, yes ONE in a bed. But here we are in Buenos Aires, safe and sound and so nearly nearly back in the holy land of cider and caramel slices, but ... read more

Today we visited Sacsayhuaman, the mightiest fortress of the Inca. Predictably, however, noone has the faintest idea who built it, when, why, or any of those trivialities. But they do know that it was the site of the climax of the great rebellion of the double hard Inca himself, Manco. HAving besieged Cusco and its force of some 190 spaniards with a mere 100-200,000 warriors Manco had setabout burning the place, forcing the Spanishout of outlying regions and generally causing havoc. The headquarters of the Inca forces were in Sacsayhuaman, so the Spanish attacked it with 50 horsemen and a load of native auxilliaries. THe fortress features three massive tiers of rock walls surmounted by two (now missing) huge towers. It was almost impenetrable, and an attempt to force the main gate was foiled largely because ... read more

My intrepid missus and myself have purchased what is known as a boleto turistica in Cusco. This has so far permitted us to view a variety of art type museums that amply demonstrate that althought the Spaniards were pretty good at a number of things in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, tasteful interior decorating and art were not factors amongst them. Much gold, pious looking christian types and carved wooden furniture with an unnecessary number of knobbly bits. THe good news is cameras arent allowed, so there´s nothing to endure from that. THe ticket also gave us entry to Pisac, about thirty kilometers from Cusco. Pisac is a royal estate, fortress to protect an intersection between valleys and a ceremonial site, but besides that ive not found out an aweful lot about it. This is partly ... read more

Two weeks ago me and Rich walked past a sign announcing 12 days trekking in the Cordillera Real- confirmed! . A mere twenty minutes and 200 quid each later we were signed up! After buying a few extra pairs of socks and woolly hats we were ready, although not really sure what we had let ourselves in for! Let me say, the first 5 days were definitely characterised by fog. We started in t shirts at a ´mere´2,695m. Up hill all the way. Luckily though we had two mules to carry our ruckscks, and boy did we need them! On arrival at the first campsite it was raining loads, so once we had figured out how to put up our tent, we crawled inside. Into our wet shelter. We spent the first night a-shivering, even though ... read more

Welcome to Bolivia! Having fully recovered from my biking accident a while back, I decided it was time to ´get back in the saddle´as they say. And what better way to get back into the world of two wheels than by a nice confidence building peddle. And what more terrifying way to relive past glories than by powering down the WORLD´S MOST DANGEROUS ROAD (as dubbed by the Inter-American Development Bank in 1995. Totally raving. Its a 60km descent, starting at a freezing 4,700m/15,400 feet. The first 20km is on a relatively tame tarmac road, giving you a chance to get used to the equipment, which to be fair was the best bike I have ever sat on. (Sorry, Rich is getting upset, the second best bike.) Anyhows, after cruising through a drug check point, past ... read more