Just a wee message to say I arrived home safely on Saturday having had an amazing 8 weeks away in South America. I've really enjoyed writing the blog and something tells me it won't be long until my next entry... Barcelona anyone? [View Full Entry]

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Having arrived in Cusco on Saturday afternoon I promptly left again on Sunday morning to embark upon a 3-day adventure which included a 5-hour downhill mountain biking trail into the jungle on the first day, a 7-hour hike through the winding valley between Santa Teresa and Aguas Calientes on Monday before the climax of the adventure on Tuesday... a full day in Machu Picchu, the ancient, mountain-top Inca city. The mountain biking was great fun for very little effort as we plummetted almost 1000m and climbed virtually none! The scenery was incredible and changed so quickly from Alpine-like [View Full Entry]

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Today I arrived in Cusco, the former capital of the Inca Empire, having completed my medical elective in Cajamarca with another week observing various operations in the surgical department. Although it feels great to be properly on holiday now, I was a wee bit sad to leave Cajamarca this morning having spent the best part of a month in the highland city. My final week in Cajamarca was pretty tiring, with 7am starts everyday and later and later nights as the week went on as I tried to cram as much into my remaining time as possible! Having had my first [View Full Entry]

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On Saturday I returned to Cajamarca having spent 5 days in a mountain community called Cadmalca near Chota. The bus journey the previous Sunday lasted 7 hours and we survived a rather perilous, 1-hour taxi ride up into the mountains before arriving finally at the Blue Poncho Lodge where we were welcomed by Celia, our wonderful provider for the week! The medical experience I gained was priceless! Having heard somewhat underwhelming reports from students who had already completed their stint in the remote mountain clinic my initial high expectations had been sadly lowered. After a quiet first [View Full Entry]

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Although I felt SO much better on Monday after my amusing trip to the clinic on Sunday, I didn´t feel quite up to attending the hospital... not as a student at least! I did however make it to my Spanish class with Wilmar (my male Spanish tutor who´s commonly referred to as Wilma it would appear!). And that evening I joined Ian and the girls for a nourishing meal of consomé soup and coffee... Everything was to improve as the week went on! I was astonished, but thrilled, at how quickly my tonsilitis cleared up! By Tuesday I felt almost back [View Full Entry]

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I arrived in Cajamarca, a small city in the north of Peru, early last Saturday morning and was met by Juan Fransisco Chavez, my local tourguide and general hero! He introduced me to my host family - Anita, Julio, Richard and Diana - who live in a huge house very close to the centre of Cajamarca. It wasn´t long before I met Ian, a fellow medical student, who is also here for his elective and is staying in Anita´s house. We were introduced rather abruptly into the Peruvian culture as we joined Juan at Dr. Wilson´s street BBQ party! The food [View Full Entry]

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Just a quick message to say I´ve arrived safely in Cajamarca and have spent the first few days settling in and getting to know the city and surrounding area a bit. I´m due to start my medical placement tomorrow having had the first 3 days this week off on holiday because of Peru´s Independence Day celebrations and public holidays. Will add another, more detailed blog entry at the weekend with all my stories so far from this my 5th destination in 4 weeks! Love and besos, Ricardo x [View Full Entry]

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I arrived in Lima airport after a turbulent decent from the heights of Quito and was met by a Socio Adventures rep who drove me to my hotel which was in a picturesque coastal area of the city called Miraflores. By the time I had checked myself in and sorted myself out it was pushing 10pm so there was only really one thing on my mind... "Where can I eat?!" I explored the surrounding area and found a late-night shopping centre, literally hanging from a cliff-top, with restaurants by the dozen and a cheeky wee cinema. After some traditional Peruvian delicacies [View Full Entry]

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Having settled into my accomodation, which was ideally located between the Old and New Town areas of Quito, I ventured into the unknown, alone, with nothing more than a packed lunch and a handful of Spanish phrases! These served me well enough though as I ended up playing football in the park with, I kid you not, Pablo and Claudio! At this altitude, nearly 3000m, 30 minutes was as long as I could manage and although I chatted in Spanish with my new amigos for a short time afterwards, I was once again struck by the wonderful, universal language... that is [View Full Entry]

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I arrived in Quito today at about 11.15am after a short flight from Guayaquil. My initial plan was to get the bus but then I found out it was a 9hour bus journey and so the $60 flight ticket didn´t seem quite so expensive any more! It was great to fly out of Guayaquil during the day - I had arrived at night time - and seeing the city from the air with all its colourfully painted buildings meant that I could pick out some of the places I had been to in the last fortnight. Arriving in Quito in daylight [View Full Entry]

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