Nick and Ellie

The journey from Delhi to Jaipur was on fairly good roads, lots of brightly coloured trucks, pilgrims holding coloured flags walking to music, two injured stray dogs wandering the highways which was difficult to stomach, dodging drivers beeping continuously which indicates get out the way! This evening, we stayed in an ornate Haveli heritage hotel, which has been constructed from the chief's mansion, decorated with antique reproduction furniture , and elegant arches with a roof top pool. At the centre of the courtyard was a beautiful fountain containing floating flowers. Almost the entire old city is a light shade of pink, in 1876 Maharaja Ram Singh had the city painted pink as a symbol of hospitality, to welcome the Prince of Wales. We also visited the beautiful water palace which is no longer in use, sitting ... read more

We arrived after three flights and a one half hour catermeran (decorated with Valentines balloons, and were given cake and juice to mark the occasion), followed by a crazy rickshaw ride! Our accommodation was in a tropical garden, set back from the beach No. 5 (all the beaches here are numbered). Being slightly weary, our first impression of Beach No 5 was very underestimated, we arrived when the tide was out, which exposed lots of layers of muddy broken coral, tree roots and some rather odd creatures. We later discoved that the holes were those of small crabs which were fascinating to observe, as they scampered around making beautiful swirling patterns in the sands. Even the many stray dogs agreed, and had a keen interest in crab hunting. Also we spotted a few sea cucumbers washed ... read more

Arrived in Lima at 8.30am, and got taxi to Flying Dog Hostel. The taxi driver had some very strange breaking patterns as we weaved in & out of lanes at high speed! Relieved when we final arrived at the hostel, to discover we were at the wrong one, as there was a chain of the same hostel brand within Lima. However we did meet a very friendly hostel cat lazing on a sofa chair! We got assisted across the square to the correct hostel with the help of the tourist police. We checked in & decided to make the most of our last few days in Lima, & our last experience of freedom! The hostel based in the Miraflores area, had a characteristic warehouse style, was brand new with very helpful staff . We walked up ... read more

Got up later today, and enjoyed our last opportunity for eggs and passion fruit juice, come highly recommended! Then we went to the bus station with our friends, to make our way to visit the Mitad del Mundo, 22km north of Quito via Ophelia. We were able to hop back and forth between hemispheres! Quite touristy, but interesting, as we were able to learn about the various tribal groups inhabiting Latin America in the past and present, & also about the various cultures and ancient traditions. Great views from the top of museum, with views of the prosperous middle of the earth town and its many new housing developments. As it was Sunday, there was a live band playing in the square, consisting of colourfully dressed dancers in traditional costumes, and playing instruments whilst folk dancing. ... read more

Awoke 7.30am - not used to sleeping in anymore! Enjoyed a leisurely breakfast, our favourite pancake and passion fruit juice. Completed a few errands, mainly to the launderette, before walking to the local market with the USA family along Av Patria. Lots of different styles of paintings displayed on the pavements and crafts - difficult to barter though, more expensive than Peru and Bolivia! A great place for some unusual crafts though. After the family kindly treated us to lunch in our vegetarian restaurant in the new town. The new town lacks a little character, but does contain some great pavement cafes, and acts as a lively social hub. The rest of the afternoon was spent buying a few gifts and using the internet. Then we returned to the hostel for happy hour, and enjoyed pizza, ... read more

Early start 5.30am, six of the group travelled down the river to the bird watching tower. A steep climb to the top, up the slightly rickety structure. Here we remained for a good hour waiting to hear the morning dawn chorus. We waited for sometime before spotting some small bright yellow birds, lots of parakeets & vultures. In the distance we could hear Howler monkeys socialising, but no sightings unfortunately. However, we gained some great views of all the various canopy layers, such lush, green vegetation, lots of cotton trees visible and bizarre nests hanging from trees. Just as we arrived back at camp, we were lucky enough to come across a small group of Squirrel Monkeys playing in the nearby trees. Leaping from tree to tree, chasing each other, & extracting any fruit available from ... read more