http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/barrygahan/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from barrygahan en-us Sat, 02 Jan 2010 02:25:01 +0000 Sat, 02 Jan 2010 02:25:01 +0000 More Mayan MagicSometimes you get a good feeling about a place and know you're going to love it that's what happened with us in Mexico as from the moment we arrived we felt right at home and throughout our 2 weeks in the country as we got to know more of Mexico it just got better and better.Palenque was the first stop. The journey from Flores in Guatemala involved 7 hours of travel on roads t http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/blog-314457.html The colours of GuatemalaIt's the colours that I remember best from Guatemala. The perfect blue of Lake Atitlan once called the most beautiful lake in the world the red rivers of lava on Volcan Pacaya which flowed no more than 100 metres from us on the volcano's slopes the reflections on the white stones of Tikal in the early morning light. And that's only the natural colours...even more striki http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/blog-309850.html Next stop Honduras As we travel from the NicaraguaHonduras border to Tegucigalpa a small girl aged about 9 or 10 boards the bus alone. It's the middle of the day so why she is not at school I don't know. She carries a box down to the back of the bus takes out bags of banana chips and starts trying to sell them to people on the bus for 5 Lempiras about 0.25 a bag.Seeing people selling food o http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Honduras/blog-308412.html The red and black flagFirst time visitors to Nicaragua could be forgiven for thinking that the country's flag is red and black but this is in fact the Sandinista Flag which we noticed flying everywhere almost from the moment we crossed the border and which is much more prominent than the official blue and white Nicaraguan flag.Politics is never far away in Nicaragua and almost every town has http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Nicaragua/blog-302943.html Goodbye to PanamaWe left Bocas del Toro in Panama by a fast water taxi sitting beside a local man carrying a rather terrified looking chicken then reached the Panama Costa Rica border by an even faster and scarier land taxi. The border is crossed via a old worn bridge which takes you to the Costa Rican town of Sixaola where the formalities were fast and efficient. Neither of the border towns http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/blog-299423.html Central AmericaAfter spending 10 months in South America we had left ourselves only two months for the final part of our trip through Central America from Panama to Mexico City. This is clearly very little time to see 8 different countries and an area with so many sights meaning we will have to be very selective. No more days lazing around in hammocks. Well not so many perhapsOur first vie http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Panama/blog-295807.html Finding our way to the Lost CityThere are many great treks in South America but certainly nothing quite like the Ciudad Perdida trek a 6 day round trip which takes you to the heart of the Colombian jungle and back where seeing lost cities fording rivers walking in tropical downpours and learning how to make cocaine are just some of the activities covered. Though located only 40 km from Santa http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Colombia/Santa-Marta/Ciudad-Perdida/blog-292170.html Conquering our fearsBack in September 2007 when we started our travels in South America the one country we were sure we would avoid was Colombia. However as we travelled through South America we met more and more people who raved about Colombia and who convinced us to at least consider a visit. Colombia still has a reputation as an unsafe country stemming from the 40 year civil war between reb http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Colombia/blog-286316.html Down to the cloudforestsWe rounded off our 23 days in Ecuador with a visit to the laidback town of Mindo in the cloudforests on the western slopes of the Andes not too far from Quito. After spending most of our time in Ecuador in the mountains Mindo provided a refreshing change in scenery and it was great to go hiking without needing to catch your breath every few seconds. First we had to fi http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/North/Mindo/blog-285248.html Middle of the worldThere are few cities that can match Quito in terms of location. Drive a few hours to the west and you reach Ecuador's beaches while the fascinating jungle landscapes are close by in the east. If it's mountains and volcanoes you want well they're practically on your doorstep as the city is surrounded by them including the world's highest active volcano Cotopaxi only 1.5 hou http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/North/Quito/blog-283518.html The dry season arrivesI've complained in previous Ecuador blogs about how bad the weather has been but on 1st June almost like clockwork the clouds cleared the rain stopped and the sun made its long awaited appearance. The dry season in the mountains is supposed to start in June but I didn't expect the changeover to be this precise.This was excellent timing as we had chosen that day for our f http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/North/Otavalo/blog-282291.html From Vilcabamba to BaosRiobamba should have been our next stop after Cuenca as we had planned to travel on the famous Devil's Nose train but other travellers we met in Vilcabamba had recommended against it and more importantly we would have seen very little scenery with all the clouds so we skipped it and continued north to Baos one of Ecuador's most popular towns. That's the great thing http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/Centre/Banos/blog-282290.html Getting to know the lesser visited parts of Ecuador The old town area of Cuenca is one of only four UNESCO world heritage sites in Ecuador which might lead you expect to see crowds of tourist and backpackers. But despite the abundance of churches and colonial buildings we saw very few tourists in Cuenca and enjoyed a few days break from the usual Gringo Trail as we explored the city and the http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/South/Cuenca/blog-280491.html VilcabambaA good climate a fantastic location and a high enough but not too high altitude make Vilcabamba a lovely place in which to spend a few days. But however many days you plan to spend here it just won't be enough. Vilcabamba is often called the Valley of Longevity as people living here supposedly have a higher life expectancy than average with many living well beyond 100 years. We've h http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/South/Vilcabamba/blog-278006.html Peru's ancient civilisations More than just the IncasCloudy skies and desert landscapes are the memories I will take from our time in northern Peru. This region is much less popular with tourists than the south of the country but with sights such as the stunning mountains around Huaraz and the preColumbian ruins at Trujillo there are plenty of reasons to visit. We left the mountains of Huaraz http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/La-Libertad/Trujillo/blog-278697.html Isn't the rainy season supposed to be over One of the joys of camping is the escape from everyday life no email no mobile phone no TV no cafe lattes The luxuries of city life are quickly forgotten and instead what occupies your mind is finding shelter making a home stopping for the the next break reaching the next pass or sometimes even just completing the next 20 yards There are often http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Ancash/Huaraz/blog-275886.html Back to sea level after two months in the mountainsLima is very different to the rest of Peru. With 8.2 million people it's by far the largest city in the country next biggest is Arequipa with 760000 and after spending so long in the lovely city of Cusco arriving in the capital was a complete culture shock. Two days isn't long enough to fairly judge a city the size of Lima but in a country w http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Lima/Lima/Miraflores/blog-275907.html Choquequirao Cradle of GoldI'm standing on a ridge gazing down on the ruins of what was once believed to be the legendary last city of the Incas. The buildings of this ruined Inca city unknown to the Spanish Conquistadores and hence not destroyed lie just below me while in the distance I can hear the roar of the mighty river as it weaves it's way though lush valleys and under beautiful mount http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Cusco/Coquequirao/blog-272814.html Capital of the Inca Empire In the Popular Arts Museum in Cusco there's an old photo from 1935 taken by the famous Cusco photographer Martin Chambi which shows a view of the city from the Inca ruins of Sacsaywaman. It's easy to pick out familiar buildings such as the Cathedral Plaza de Armas but the most striking thing about the picture is the size of Cusco. It looks more like a provincial to http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Cusco/Sacred-Valley/blog-270228.html An important pile of stonesAs tourist attractions go Machu Picchu has everything the location is spectacular on a ridge high above the Apurimac river with beautiful mountains in view in all directions the ruins are incredible with fine examples of famous Inca stonework there's also the sense of mystery despite all the excavations and studies no one still knows for sure the exact purpose of http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Cusco/Machu-Picchu/blog-270227.html