Our jaunt to the highlands after leaving Rio was short lived. After deciding we were both too stuffed and bus weary to figure a side trip to nearby Petropolis, we headed back to Rio in heavy traffic on a morning bus, connecting with incredible efficiency and genuine service, to the surf capital, Saquarema. Evidently this place heaves at carnival time and hosts surf carnivals and competitions of international standards. And testament to this, the long stretches of white sand extended from Jacone, our first coastal glimpse on the bus, to Saquarema about 30 more minutes away. Deciding 15 Reals was a rip off for our midday hike to the hostel, we made the walk there in little time, hot 33C and bothered but with the choice of 3 rooms of different prices. This was despite being ... read more

The morning in Quilitoa dawned magnificently, and with several phone calls to change a private transfer and decision made to tackle the public bus service. As the road is is terrible shape, schedules mean nothing and so the 9am bus arrived at 9.45am with the rush of potato sacks, feathered-hatted women and 3 gringos who happened to be from Auckland, NZ! As chance had it, we mused about Ecuador and costs whilst a local sussed us out or maybe our packs out before moving on disinterested that we had not given him change no doubt. And what a trip it was. Sprayed with water projectile though window from roadside vagrant kids. And was bumpy as hell up to Quilitoa with my large and small packs wedged beneath my knees up against my belly, to top it ... read more

The Galapagos islands were the next destination. In a word, the archipelago is a freaky reality for 10 days of the land based Gap tour. This freaky reality involved close encounters with all things wild and alive…turtles, sealions, fish, frigate birds………..with no fear of humans and a playful, novelty instinct that lead to great photos and plain fascination. Sealions ply the promenade of Santa Cristobel’s main town as though it is (and it is!) their home, defending at times proudly (especially the ‘alpha’ males) or just plain comically with waving fins or aggressive nudging, the slab of sand/ rock/ concrete where they live. Our first day involved travelling from Quito, via Guayaquil, and plunged straight into the action with a wet afternoon downhill bike ride, with rain, roads and fog……and resulting in early carnage for one ... read more

After the long haul from Copacabana, and settling into bustling Cusco for a night, the Gap tour started. It was a bit light on information regarding track condition, viability of hiking Lares even in such recent heavy rainfall, and so decided to continue as planned. The Sacred valley was the first stop on day two, passing the well known and altered name site of Saqsaywaman (said ‘Sexy Women’) and breezing along a muddy road to a village where handicrafts were made and sold to Gap tourists, evidently amongst others. This was part of their commitment to sustainable tourism by supporting communities and encouraging traditional crafts. Looms spun and knick knacks purchased, the muddy road veered towards some ruins where we did a meanderin acclimatization trek at over 3000m for 90 minutes with plenty of stops for ... read more

Salta was our home for several days, an excursion arranged to Cafayate travelling through the renound Shell Gorge, competition for Colorado or central Turkey (and I guess many other places) scenically. The early starts continued for 2 days, first being 7.15am and the departure day at 6.20am with early breakfasts both days. On the way we passed an amphitheatre (natural) with some spontaneous gigs happening amongst brilliant acoustics, the Devils throat so called for it’s shape carved out by erosion of 90 million years or so, and of course Cafayate winery visit for sampling the local cabernet sauvignon and Muscat varieties. Average in my untrained palate. The town was alight with market and song in the main square so I elected to browse there and the artesian markets, buying lovely earrings in the ‘Chaman’ ( a ... read more