1999……….6wks SOUTH AMERICA-ARGENTINA, PERU........Cusco is like the Kathmandu of South America. There are so many interesting & colourful items in the market. The large pottery plates are tempting but not in a backpack. The old looking Spanish Christian paintings done with oils are interesting. There is a huge variety of food here of all standards and largely all well priced. Most of the market activity centres on and around the Plaza de Armas. It is very picturesque with its Spanish colonial natural history museum, church and cathedral which are beautifully lit up at nigh [View Full Entry]

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1999……….6wks SOUTH AMERICA-ARGENTINA, PERU....19th August, 1999........ The flight from Lima to Cusco was an awe inspiring one- taking off in the dark, seeing sun rise over the increasing height of the Andes with its snow capped peaks to finally feast our eyes on the ancient Inca capital nestled amongst hills and mountains at 3,310m. From the LHS of the plane we flew over Cusco seeing the air landing stretching out. The plane took a sharp turn and the small Lego type houses with their tiled rooves came to life as we landed. “Cusco’s beauty cannot be overstated. [View Full Entry]

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1999……….6wks SOUTH AMERICA-ARGENTINA, PERU 17th August, 1999 Buenos Aires I can’t sleep. I hadn’t realized Buenos Aires was so far from OZ and that I would get so jet-lagged. It’s confusing to know or feel what day it is. What I still can’t work out is that I was going ahead in time and yet when I get to Buenos Aires having travelled about 15 hrs from Sydney with transit in New Zealand, it’s still the same day. No wonder my body feels weird with feeling tired but not wanting to sleep and a bit of a headache. The international airport [View Full Entry]

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1992………..2MTHS-1st CYCLING TRIP-1300kms ACROSS INDONESIA 26/7/92 Ubud (46.2km 1219.8km) I arrived in Ubud in 2 hrs from Padangbai. The road was noisy, polluted and busy. Not pleasant at all and I thought I would be relieved to get to Ubud, but boy has it changed! I found it hard to find a place as there was so much choice and it was more expensive. The streets are absolutely lined with shops. I spent part of the morning at Puri Lukisan, Ubud’s Art Museum, which was opened in 1956. The gardens remain unchanged but two of the large buildings have fallen into [View Full Entry]

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1992………..2MTHS-1st CYCLING TRIP-1300kms ACROSS INDONESIA 8/7/92 Mataram, Lombok 21.46km The over-night bus ride through Sumbawa was long, with not a lot of sleep but it was compensated by the pleasant 1½ hr boat trip to Lombok. I realize now how undeveloped Flores was. Lombok has good wide roads and a lot of traffic, 4x drives, bicycles, bemos and ‘Ben Hurs’ - horse drawn carriages. People are more reserved and just stare with a few hellos. It is a relief to get some personal space. 9/7/92 Kuta, Lombok 58km 978.15 km total I spent a few days c [View Full Entry]

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1992………..2MTHS-1st CYCLING TRIP-1300kms ACROSS INDONESIA 4/7/92 Labuhanbajo - Rinca I met the others at 8 am for what was meant to be an 8.30 am start except the tide was out and we couldn’t leave till 10.30 when they were able to finally push the boat free. There turned out to be 13 on the boat instead of the max of 12 promised but we fitted on OK lying on the deck- no seats, mattresses stored below to use at night. I was able to put my bike below with the rest of the luggage. We got out to the boat [View Full Entry]

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1992………..2MTHS-1st CYCLING TRIP-1300kms ACROSS INDONESIA Heading from Adelaide to Darwin to Kupang, Timor, I started my cycling trip proper in Flores........... 21/6/ 92 Maumere, Flores Flores is about 360km long, although its road from East to West ends up being 700km, with it winding through the mountains. It averages 60 km wide and is 72 km at its widest. Racial types are very complex in Nusa Tengarra, especially on Flores and Timor, where not only Malays and mixed blood Portuguese are found, but also descendants of even earlier Veddoids, Negritos, archaic Melanesi [View Full Entry]

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