hello

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hello everybody i suppose its about time i wrote somethin on this thing but dont expect any pictures it aint so straightforward in these internet cafes, well when i say cafes i mean poky little rooms chock full of ancient computers well at least they are cheap! we are in puno on the shors of lake titicaca visited the floatin islands of uros yes thats right i said floating the people make islands out of reeds and their roots and live on them in huts made out of reeds and go fishing in boats made out of reeds they even eat them, they taste alright as it goes. talkin of food we ate guinea pig served up whole and roasted tasted ok would have been nicer but for the allotments worth of some really pungent herb that was stuffed up its arse. went up to machu picchu on me birthday pretty spectacular and the 4 hour train ride to get there from cusco through the sacred valley was good, wicked scenery big mountains all around then jungle. in fact we have spent a majority of our time in ecuador and peru in the andes quite addictive they are. havent suffered from altitude sickness though can get out of breath really easy sometimes, had disentery though was really bad for a couple of weeks had to go to hospital in huaraz in peru (another spectacular place) and they sorted me out, but lynn had to pay for anythin ( drips, equipment, antibiotics and other drugs) before they would give it me, dont know what i would have done without her there coz i was a right mess, anyway im alright now just a bit skinnier. we just got back from the colca canyon in south of peru near a place called arequipa (another wicked place!) which is the deepest canyon in the world twice as deep as grand canyon where we saw condors ridin up on the thermals from the bottom of the canyon, really close they were massive great things was well cool. went to the amazon jungle in ecuador on the columbian border rowing around in canoes saw pink river dolphins alligators and a sloth up a tree amongst other things. did a cruise round galapagos islands wow snorkellin saw giant sea turtles penguins small sharks manta rays and loads of tropical fish, and on the islands shores sea lions everwhere we were practically havin to step over them, no kidding. saw iguanas, giant tortoises albatrosses boobies frigate birds with red sacks on their necks which they kept inflating really big to attract a mate and other birds but all right up close, all the wildlife has no fear of people it was like being david attenboro. done some serious bus journeys mostly ranging from 5 hours to 21 hours and they drive like nutters and coz south americans are short arses the seats are close together so its a bit uncomfortable sometimes, but they are well cheap so i aint complainin. made some good friends in quito in ecuador esther who is spanish and workin for the u.n. and her boyfriend andrija who is bosnian, he grew up durin the war had some stories to tell, really sound people, plan to meet up with them either in spain or bosnia next year. off to bolivia tomorrow for a month or so probably got lots more to say but lynn sez its beer o clock so who am i to argue! bye for now dean n lynn

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