Bus: Arequipa to Chivay Hotel: Pozo del Cielo, Colca Canyon (Chivay, Peru) The Colca Canyon is one of the deepest canyons in the world; over 3000m from the peaks to the valley floor below. Until recently it was thought to be the deepest, but that title now belongs to another nearby canyon. The main town of Chivay was a 5+ hr bus ride from Arequipa over a 14,000 ft pass, only partially paved. We stopped at a store on the edge of Arequipa to buy coca leaves; the locals chew these with lye to help stave off the effects of altitude sickness. We definitely started feeling the effects of altitude here, I ended up with a splitting headache. The coca leaves didn't help at all; in fact I've never tasted anything quite so nasty in my ... read more

Another early start for the 2+ hr drive to Nazca. We would be returning to Ica that afternoon, then passing through Nazca again on the overnight bus.. so a bit of backtracking was involved. Ica is the heart of an agricultural region, but once the irrigation is gone, the landscape is totally barren, the road runs dead straight for miles. It hasn't rained in centuries in this part of Peru, one of the reasons the Nazca lines haven't been worn away by erosion. We stopped at the Marie Reiche museum in Nazca, she was one of the first archaeologists to study the lines. There are several companies based at the Nazca airport that offer 45 minute overflights for about $45-$50 each, the morning is the best time to fly as the air is still and the ... read more

Hotel: Sol Melia (Lima, Peru) $59 We had arrived at the hotel by 8:30 AM, we went and had breakfast while they checked us in. The breakfast buffet was quite impressive, with the usual American offerings, along with tamales and lots of tropical fruit. We slept again for a few hours before heading out for lunch. It was Christmas Eve, so many of the museums and other sights were closed, although many of the shops and restaurants were still open. The hotel recommended Jose Antonio restaurant (http://www.joseantonio.com.pe), a short walk from the hotel. The food was outstanding Peruvian creole, and reasonably priced. After lunch, I headed to the bus station to buy our tickets to Ica for the following day, Ormeno's Royal Class service. That evening, the hotel was having a Christmas dinner+show, we decided to ... read more

mct-sur via coastal road, tiwi, wadi shab I woke up early this morning and walked down the street to the Mutrah fish market. The fishermen were just bringing in the morning's catch and was fascinating to see all the different types of fish for sale. Baby shark is a popular dish here. There was also a meat market with the obligatory live chickens and sheep heads. We then drove to downtown Muscat and the Sultan's palace, which was undergoing renovation/construction. After stocking up on snacks and water we set off on our way out of town. The road headed inland a bit before splitting. We had two choices to Sur, the coastal road or the inland road. The inland road was paved all the way but longer, the coastal road wasn't yet totally paved and there ... read more

Found an old triplog journal, slowly converting these to blogs. Seno Ultimate Esperanza (Last Hope Sound), the name evokes the feeling of somewhere desolate yet exotic. Arriving around 9 pm, the sun was still shining throught he clouds and illuminating the mountains around the sleepy town of Puerto Natales. Now overrun with tourists, travel agencies and Internet access, this once-remote town is now easily accessible from Santiago i less than a day. The town still retains some of its character with brightly colored metal-clad houses. dec 02 - Enroute to Puerto Natales It's been an eventful 24 hours, all traveling and still have an hour to go. Arrived at the airport yesterday to find that the first leg of my 5 flights was delayed, not a good sign. We ended up leaving nearly an hour late, ... read more