14th July- 17th July Crossed into Ecuador...that song by Sash just keeps coming back into my head. It was a long and grueling ordeal...these countries need to think of more efficient ways of processing border pasing! arrived in Guayaquil by 6:30 pm (having started 8:30 that morning!). Guayaquil, although not the capital, is the biggest city in Ecuador. picked up my friend Freddie that night who was arriving from Australia to join me. Its a nice enough city. Big and suprisingly clean...a vast contrast to the chaos of Peru. Some parts even reminded me of local neighbourhoods in Sydney. It had [View Full Entry]

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11th July - 13th July Arrived 5am in the morning...straight to the hostel Sol y Mar! situated right on the beach, with its own pool, hammocks...it was a backpacker´s dream...i finally crashed! exhaustion from the previous days of tarvelling having caught up with me. When i finally woke up from my sleeping beauty routine, i headed straight to the beach...where sun and sand burnt my eyes! finally after 4 months of travelling, i hit a decent beach! God i miss the Australian beaches. Don´t get me wrong, it was a nice beach, but we do get spoilt in Australia! bought the [View Full Entry]

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10th July having found the cheapest possible overnight bus to Trujillo, i ventured off again...well actually, it was the only bus company that wasn´t booked out...and surprisingly the most comfortable sleep i´ve had on a bus so far! for 30 soles! admittedly the valium helped! met a girl named Tess (Holland) and Ushua (Israel) on the bus and we spent the whole day exploring Trujillo. An ancient area, filled with remains from at least 3 different cultures. Having had enough of organised tours and the take take take (my money) nature of everything in Peru, we decided to do on the [View Full Entry]

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5th July - 9th July venturing on my own after almost 2 months, i found a hostel called ¨The Way Inn¨. There was only 2 of us in the whole hostel! kinda of strange. spent the day organising the Santa Cruz trek, and trying to sort out my video camera...seems that some sand managed to slip its way through when i was at the sand dunes in Huacachina! Day 1 less than 5 hours sleep, and i wake to meet my trekking group at 6:30am. 2 girls from Holland- Lynn + Hilda. 1 guy from France- Jerome couple from Brazil- Marcello [View Full Entry]

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30th june - 2nd July imagine...driving up to a lagoon, set among trees, and surrounded by mammoth sand dunes!!! i have seen my very first Oasis- such is the magical place of Huacachina. 10 minute drive from the nearby town of Ica, this backpackers wonderland was the perfect break i needed from the days of bang bang touring preceding! our hostel- Casa De Arena, with its own pool and sand in the backyard, full of backpackers and a bar...the only thing missing was umbrellas in my cocktails... ok...its no beach-side paradise, but its the closest thing ive come to the beaches [View Full Entry]

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3rd July- 4th July after a restless night sleeping in a room filled with little scattering cockroaches we woke up at 5am to board yet another bus! Ballestas Islands (part of Paracas national reserve), nicely nick-named ¨the poor man´s galapagos¨, offered a short 2 hour tour through the nearby islands off the shores of Pisco. islands, filled with birds, and covered in white (alot of birds, alot of shit!!), containing a maze of caves and home to a multitude of cute Sea lions. there are 5 females to every male sea lion- the men are twice the size of the females, [View Full Entry]

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30th june Life seems to be half-lived aboard buses! saving money and saving time by taking overnight buses results in sleep deprivation and memories of those strange creatures of the night! boarding another bus heading to Nazca for the day, i get placed next to a man that begins snoring before even getting to sleep. sitting up in a chair that reclins only so far, and having your legs choked by the seat in front of you so that the need to go to the bathroom is left till the last possible moment as you fear further damage by attempting to [View Full Entry]

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27/6/06 - 29/06/06 leaving my beloved Cuzco was hard...it also meant parting of ways for many of us that had been travellin together for a while. Elliot was making his way to Lima to catch a flight back to Canada. Alex (whom i´d been travelling with since Buenos Aires), was making his way down to Puno with Helen B qwand Simon (2 Brits), Nick left to Santiago for a flight to New Zealand, Dave headed up quickly to Ecuador for galapagos trip.... so 5 of us left, we caught a bus to Arequipa. The bus (company called CIAL), was luxurious by [View Full Entry]

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16/6/06- 26/6/06 arrived at 5am and were kicked out of the bus, after been told that it would be Ok to sleep in the bus till a sane hour as it can be dangerous to wander around in the dark. stepping outside (with Elliot, Rachel, Helen, Nick), we got hounded by 5 people to stay at their hostel! do these people sleep! made our own way to Loki hostel. perched high on the hills and demanding spectacular views over the historic city of Cuzco. damn steps that lead up to it though! me and steps have not yet acquired a supportive [View Full Entry]

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11th June- 15th June Arrived In copacabana...beautiful scenery, bordering the tranquil and spiritual Lake Titicaca. The town just had an awesome vibe right from the start. It was therefore not surprising to find it filled with hippies making beads and wristbands and other forms of hand-made jewelery! stayed in a hostel called hostel Emperador, with the sweetest Bolivan woman that you can meet....pity she loves to talk to herself! It is a small town , centred around a beautiful cathedral, where tourist everyday line the streets outside to witness the blessing of the autocar! yes it is as funny as it [View Full Entry]

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