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Page 2 of amatth11 Travel Blog Posts
January 10th 2010
So next morning we feasted and jumped on the boat for the 2.5 hour crossing to Floreana. San Cristobal was left behind very quickly, as we headed into the rain. The boat was mighty impressive, holding a good speed through the huge pacific swell, but I swear the waves were coming from 3 different directions; Russell would probably agree as he spent most of the voyage revisiting his breakfast! Meanwhile I saw something that looked like a sheet of cardboard jump out of the water; wet cardboard doesn't tend to do that kind of thing, so I think it was a manta ray... We arrived at a sheltered cove on Floreana and jumped in the water, almost instantly bumping in to a couple of mating turtles, they were never going to get much peace with us ... read more
January 8th 2010
A quick fruit salad in the hotel and we were picked up for the trip to the airport; seemed a little small... and we generally made a nuisance of ourselves by pushing into the queues where ever possible.There´s only 6 of us on this trip... 2 american couples and 2 brits. In true south american style our aeroplane was late, and then turned out to be a little on the old side. No matter, after a quick stop in Guyaquil (?) we made the hop over to San Cristobal safely, only to be greeted with sullen, rain filled skies. The bags were visibly sniffed for drugs, then we were met by Sambo, and taken to the hotel. Ironically I had been recommended a different tour company so that I would get Sambo as a guide, but ... read more
January 5th 2010
So after trying to have a nap and failing I headed back out into Lima; this time it was a beautiful sunny day, and I wandered down to the cliff top again to watch the paragliding. I rocked up and started talking to one of the guys inside the pen, just as a Canadian guy appeared as well.... after watching for a bit I thought "what the hell" and jumped in. My pilot was a Japanese guy called Akita, who had been in Peru for 19 years (thank goodness he spoke English as well). Once the canopy was up we were pulled around all over, despite the third guy holding on to us, but we straightened up and just lifted off... no running, nothing... We picked up height pretty quickly and flew down the coast towards ... read more
January 3rd 2010
The bus pulled in at first light, and I headed for a hotel I´d heard about. The chap at the front desk couldn´t have been more helpful, although a little more Spanish on my part could have made it easier, and he showed me to my room.. double bed ensuite, and wow, what a view... not a cloud in the sky, I could see at least 8 snow capped mountains stretching the whole length of the valley, but needed sleep! When I awoke it was still a lovely day, but a few clouds hugged some of the high points. I set out to explore the town, mostly dry and dusty, where every second shop was either a ferreteria, zapateria or a chifa - I think that 's an ironmonger, shoe shop or chinese restaurant. It seemed ... read more
December 31st 2009
I hadn´t planned on spending any time in Lima, but when it turned out that the bus from Cusco would take 21 hours, I decided to stop for a night or so. After another chaotic cab ride I met jess and rachel at the bus depot again, but they were upstairs, I was down. I'd heard rumours that the road went over 5000m but I passed out pretty quickly, waking up in the middle of the desert again. I turned to watch the film for a bit, and next time I looked out of the window everything was green. Surely the climate couldn't be that abrupt? Then I realised that not quite everything was green - it must be irrigated, but on what scale? All that extra water evaporating must be having some kind of knock ... read more
December 29th 2009
It seems that most of the buses here run overnight - I had wanted to do the trip to Cusco in the daytime so I could see the mountains, but was told it was overnight or chickens.. That left me with a spare day in Arequipa, so I asked the hostel what to do; they suggested white water rafting, but I spotted cookery lessons so tried that instead. We walked back down to the market, and this time I spotted the frog juice (does exactly what it says on the tin) but didn't try it. We bought all the ingredients and wandered back to the hostel. The hygiene was a little questionable, but I didn't get ill - we made a cold shepherds pie thingy with chicken, and a sort of chicken curry, but sadly I ... read more
December 23rd 2009
Just a quick note to state that I hope everyone had a great Christmas (mine was spent 4000 metres up in the Andes with Peruvian champagne), and to wish you all a Happy and fortunate New Year. Looking forward to catching up soon.... read more
December 20th 2009
So, same drill now I´m not in Chile, although I only have some odd remarks this time.... In Iquique it was the first time I´ve seen Chinese cars... not many, but there were a few that I looked at thinking "what the heck is that", to find out it was a Great Wall or something similar. I guess they´re there because of the duty free zone, and the fact that there are actually quite a few Chinese making use of it as an import base. Another curious thing I noticed was the little yellow signs by the road, with distances on to the nearest 20 metres every 20 metres; usually handpainted... I think the highest I saw was about 262840: I´d hate to have had the contract to do that job! The Chileans (how do you ... read more
December 17th 2009
Only a very short bus ride to Arica: 4hrs! Mind you it was pretty featureless, apart from the rocks by the side of the road arranged into words; I only wish I knew what they said! I figured one out.. But then again it was an advert for a rather well known drink. On leaving Iquique the road climbed a huge barren hillside; I was expecting mountains, but it turned out to be a plateau. Closer to Arica we dropped into a big valley - finally some colour and vegetation, but not a lot! I was one of three passengers on the bus, this made us equal with the staff! On arrival I walked to the hostel; just in time to get the last bed. Next day dawned sunny (no surprises there), and I wandered into ... read more
December 15th 2009
I'd been recommended to go to an agency called "space xx.." whilst in san pedro; the minibus came at 9pm, with 30 of us waiting, and drove at breakneck speed into the salar, about 15 minutes away. We were greeted by a frenchman under a very dull red light, and shown inside. I say shown, but it was even darker in there, with just a candle to illuminate our seats, arranged in a double ring under a wicker roof, with a 2m wide hole in it. The french fella then proceeded to charm everyone in the room for about half an hour. When we stepped outside he said it was possible to see 3000 stars and I could quite easily believe him! I don't remember ever seeing so many stars. He showed us 4 galaxies and ... read more
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