So Quito was the last stop before heading back to the delights of Dudley and the freezing cold northern hemisphere. After finishing my volunteer project in the jungle I spent only 5 full days here before returning, and to be honest I think this was more than enough. Quito's a strange city. I couldn't make up my mind whether it was ok or just plain dodgy. It seemed, at least to us anyway, that the majority of people in the city had a “don't-make-eye-contact-or-they'll-rob-you” kind of look. In "Shoestring" it says to take taxis later at night even over short distances, [View Full Entry]

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Santa Martha Rescue Centre - Weeks 1 & 2 My volunteer project started at the Santa Martha Rescue Centre just south of Quito. I was to spend two weeks here before heading to the sister centre in the Amazon where I would spend a further two weeks. The rescue centre was easy enough to get to... a wee bus ride from Quito to a town called Tambillo and then a bone-shaking taxi ride up a hill. Once at the top there were great views of a handful of volcanoes in the area, including, on a clear day, Cotopaxi... at almost [View Full Entry]

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I arrived in Cuenca on the 4th November (a day after the Independence party). I left on the 8th for Baños. Journey details: Origen/Destination... Loja - Cuenca / Cuenca - Baños Mode of transport... Coach Company... Viajeros & Sucre Express Cost.... $4 & $7 Duration... 5 Hours & 8 Hours Remarks... the trip from Cuenca to Baños was fine. I had to change at Ambato but this wasn't a problem. The first trip from Loja really wasn't fun though... in true South America style the bus was packed beyond capacity and I had the pleasure of some fat guy's ass in [View Full Entry]

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I arrived in Vilcabamba on the 31st October. Journey details: Origen/Destination... Piura (Perú) - Loja (Ecuador) / Loja - Vilcabamba Mode of transport... Coach Company... Transportes Loja & Vilcabambaturis Cost.... 28 Soles & $1 USD Duration... 8 Hours & 1 Hour Remarks... The first bus was fine and the border crossing into Ecuador was easy enough. The second bus was a bit of a death trap... and it freaks me out a little when bus drivers here drive on the wrong side of the road in an attempt to avoid the pot holes. On a straight road ok, but it makes [View Full Entry]

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I arrived in Lima on 26th Oct and then in Piura on the 30th. Journey details: Origen/Destination... Cuzco - Lima / Lima - Piura Mode of transport... Plane Company... TACA & LAN Cost.... $55 USD & $134 USD Duration... both about 1hr 15mins. Remarks... both the flights were fine, though the LAN flight was delayed a little. I was impressed that free food and drink was served given the short duration of the flights. Interestingly (and slightly worryingly), with the LAN flight I managed to enter the airport and board the plane without ever actually having to show my passport to [View Full Entry]

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We arrived in Cuzco last Sunday. Journey details: Origen/Destination... Puno - Cuzco Mode of transport... Coach Company... San Martín Cost.... 15 Soles Duration... about 7 hours Remarks... passed considerably better than the previous journey. However, it took a while (about 1 hour) for the bus to pass through Juliaca... a true shit hole if ever I saw one. It bothered me to see so many locals on the bus just throwing their rubbish out of the coach onto the street... no wonder it's such a mess I thought. Surely it would be easier to just leave the rubbish on the coach [View Full Entry]

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Arrived in Puno from Arequipa. Journey details: Origen/Destination... Arequipa - Puno Mode of transport... Coach Company... Flores Cost.... 20 Soles Duration... about 5 hours Remarks... the company was fine and there were no problems with the bus. The only problem was that I had eaten dodgy chicken and/or dodgy salad in Arequipa and so spent the majority of the trip either on or throwing up in the toilet! I can safely say neither task is easy when the road twists and turns and the driver drives faster than Lewis Hamilton. It wasn't fun. Still, made it to Puno in one piece [View Full Entry]

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We arrived in Arequipa 29th Sept. Journey details: Origen/Destination... Arica (Chile) - Arequipa (Peru) Mode of transport... Taxi & Coach Company... Cruz del Sur Cost.... 3000 Pesos each + 35 Soles Duration... about 6 hours Remarks... we took a taxi from Arica across the border to Tacna and then picked up a coach for the rest of the journey to Arequipa. This was apparently the best way to do it. Our cab driver in Arica was friendly enough and seemed to know what he was doing... reassuring since we had to entrust our passports with him for a spell at the [View Full Entry]

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I arrived at the border last Saturday. Journey details: Origen/Destination... Salta - La Quiaca Mode of transport... Bus Company... Flecha Bus Cost.... 35 Pesos Duration... about 7 hours Remarks... I got the night bus up which left Salta at half past midnight Saturday. The cost of 35 euros was a standard price (every company was charging it). Flecha Bus were ok but the bus I got on didn't actually say La Quiaca on the front, but JuJuy. After enquiring with the driver I discovered that the bus did, in fact, go all the way up to the border. I arrived in [View Full Entry]

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I arrived in Arica early on the 28th September. Journey details: Origen/Destination... San Pedro de Atacama - Arica Mode of transport... Bus Company... Tur Bus Cost.... 13000 Chilean Pesos Duration... about 10 hours Remarks... decent comany, decent service. From San Pedro I'm pretty sure this was the only company serving this route. (Something I should have said in my previous post: San Pedro can be a pain in ass to get out off, especially if you wanna go to Argentina... there's a surprising lack of services given the gringo population there). There isn't much I can write ab [View Full Entry]

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