In Australia our highest mountain of Kosciuszko is only 2,228m high. So seeing the spine of mountains that is the magnificent Andes range in craggy dominance dissecting almost the entire length of South America was a fantastic experience. From the dusty villages (particularly) in the poorest countries of Ecuador and Bolivia, to flying over and touring the mighty Amazon jungle before trekking over mountains up to 5,000m, this latest trip has been fantastic. Will I go back to South America? Probably not. Despite not seeing everything that the continent has to offer, I don’t think I woul [View Full Entry]

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The 6hr bus trip from Mendoza eventually took 8hrs due to an incredibly inefficient border crossing from Argentina into Chile. The frustrating problem was mainly due to exiting Argentinean passport control. Then, with only enough time for a typical bus station meal, it was back on a bus again for a 12hr overnight trip south to Puerto Varas. A lovely town on the shores of a freshwater lake, Puerto Varas has been heavily influenced by early German settlers. The houses, churches and older buildings bear the typical Germanic style, right down to the wooden shingles on the roofs and walls. I [View Full Entry]

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From Puerto Iguazu we flew to Buenos Aires. The domestic airport there must be the closest to any city I can remember, straddling a strip of land between the city and the bay. After being ripped off big time by a taxi driver who fiddled the meter, we left the hotel to explore this huge city in search of info on how to get across the bay to Uruguay for a day visit, our seventh country. After winding our way through this well laid out city and crossing two 18-lane roads, we arranged for a fast-cat for the following day. The [View Full Entry]

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Thankfully, leaving the very depressing La Paz, it took three different flights over twelve hours to finally arrive in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Staying in a hotel along the Copacabana strip, it was a relief to unpack the backpack for a few days, catch up on the laundry and enjoy all the generous oxygen available at sea level. Rio ... what a contrast to Bolivia. While La Paz was varying shades of browns, Argentina was green upon green, warm and very humid. I certainly wasn’t disappointed with Rio but, take away the unusual mountains around the city and the attractions they [View Full Entry]

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After an eleven hour local bus trip from Puno we arrived in La Paz, Bolivia, but not before an entertaining border crossing near Copacabana (not the Rio one). Leaving the bus to cross the border without us, we had to walk through the (slack) passport and emigration controls before re-boarding the bus on the Bolivian side. Several hours later, we had to leave the bus again as it crossed the end of Lake Titicaca by punt while we had to pay for a ferry ride. La Paz ... what a disappointment! Set in a bowl surrounded by up to 6,000m high [View Full Entry]

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Sadly leaving Cusco, we travelled to the lakeside city of Puno (still in Peru) which services Lake Titicaca. At 3,850m, this fresh water body of water 160kms long by 65kms wide is the highest navigable lake in the world. From Puno we visited the famous floating reed islands of the local Uros people. Because the border between Peru and Bolivia dissects the lake, both countries have navy vessels patrolling their territories; probably to stop the poor local Indian people stealing water reeds to keep their island homes afloat! And speaking of floating islands; constructed entirely of reeds cut [View Full Entry]

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While most people travel to Cusco to visit Machu Picchu, the area around this old city of 600,000 people is littered with ancient Inca ruins and restored sites and is worth a visit in its own right. Like many thousands of others before us however, we also came to Cusco to walk the famous Inca Trail. But before we embarked on that trek, we continued on our cycling adventures for a few days. This time, instead of careering down the scary slopes of Cotopaxi volcano, we had to work for our views as we cycled through the Sacred Valley. Only an [View Full Entry]

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Arrived in Riobamba (Ecuador) and got a crowded local bus to Banos, the home of hot springs - Banos being the Spanish name for bathroom. After experiencing the hot springs in NZ, I gave these ones a miss because they lacked imagination, being basic swimming pools and so unlike the great hot springs rock pools in the NZ islands. Instead, we did a walk (uphill of course) to keep my old knees lubricated and in preparation for the big trek to come. Then it was on to Ceunca (pronounced Qwenta), a long five hours in a local bus on an endless [View Full Entry]

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After another 8hr bus trip back to Lima, we flew out to Quito, Ecuador, the next day; our third country. The capital of Ecuador, Quito sits at 2,850m and there is still debate as to its claim to being the highest capital in the world. La Paz in Bolivia currently claims that dubious honour, but that city is only the country’s administrative centre. The judicial centre, and therefore the recognised capital of Bolivia is actually in Sucre, so tuck that away in your grey matter for the next time you play Trivial Pursuits. Quito clings almost impossibly to the surrounding steep [View Full Entry]

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Sadly we left our jungle camp and headed back toward Iquitos. On the way, and at the risk of sounding ‘ho-hum’ to some of my loyal readers, we spotted a pod of endangered Amazonian pink dolphins. Our Guide was so excited that he almost fell out of the canoe. Prior to disembarking (that doesn’t sound right for getting out of a canoe) we idled through the local floating village. This was very sobering to say the least as the people who live there are the poorest of the poor of Peru. Back in Lima the traffic Vs pedestrian survival is a [View Full Entry]

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