Last words from South America

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Upon leaving the Galapagos we were still on animal hunt, so went straight to the coast to Puerto Lopez, a tiny, relaxed fishing village. We checked into a very laid back, hammock filled hostel and decided to get out on another boat the following day. After a fairly long and interesting wander along the beach while the fishermen were returning for the day (with people and fish absolutely everywhere, and frigate birds and pelicans stealing whatever they could), we waded out to a significantly faster boat than our Galapagos companion. After a trip of about 45 minutes out to sea, everyone with their eyes peeled, Matt spotted a huge spurt of water in front of the boat, followed by the huge body of a hump back whale, which disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. We spent the next few hours following somewhere between six and twelve of these huge and so graceful beasts. We saw one jump right up and out of the water onto its back, and many posing for the tail out of the water shots, all of which re-entered with barely a ripple - spectacular for creatures that are nearly 20m long. The most amazing and humbling views were as close as 25m from the boat, all in all an absolutely beautiful day out!

From Puerto Lopez we travelled across Ecuador to a town called Baños. The journey from sea level at the coast wended its way through the lush banana plantations, mangroves and rain forests, with their stilted wooden houses dotted throughout, back up into the Andean foothills with their rolling green valleys. On the approach to Baños we passed devastated, scorched and gouged earth along with the black lava flows and temporarily dug roads and erected bridges, which we assume followed the last eruption of Tungurahua. Baños is a small, very pretty valley town, fully in the shadow of this enormous and currently highly active volcano. The drive to Baños was made all the more fun as Ecuadorian bus drivers don’t as a rule like going below 60mph, and if at any point they absolutely have to, the bus is immediately filled with hawkers of all sorts selling every food product under the sun!

We took a walk up the hill behind the town to try and get a good view of the volcano (little did we know that on a clear day all you can see from the town is the volcano), but after four hours we realised the cloud was not going anywhere. However, the closer we got the louder and more intense got the rumblings and vibrations underfoot (each one making us jump more and more), until when we got as far as we could go it felt like it must do being in a thunder cloud during a storm! Later and back down in the town the clouds did clear enough for us to see the towering hulk that is Tungurahua. The huge pitch black crater sprinkled with snow certainly cast a formidable silhouette, and with the wickedly dense smoke continually billowing from it, was nothing short of frightening. A truly spectacular sight at such close quarters, but coupled with the knowledge it had been super active the entire month and was being closely watched we were almost glad we had not been able to see earlier in that very vulnerable position on the hill!

Whilst still in Baños we hired bikes for a day with a couple we had previously met in the Galapagos to see the valley and its large number of waterfalls. The route was beautiful with huge green hills on either side, tiny farming villages, orange plantations and the many waterfalls crashing down the hills and cliffs joining the multitude of rivers with Rio Pastaza. Although all very pleasant we did manage to get absolutely caked in mud, as along with the continually increasing rain, most sections of the road were under repair or non existent. The final falls were the largest and made all the more attractive by being tucked out of the way in a crevice. However, there was a very rickety bridge over them to get a better view with huge signs stating ‘maximum five people’, but being South America obviously had about twenty-five people on at a time! The bus ride back up the valley (it was needed as it was a long, very wet 20 km uphill back to Baños!) was also much fun. With the bikes ‘carefully placed’ on the roof we started off until the first tunnel brought us to a grinding halt as the bikes crunched under the entrance. They were quickly brought down (after an even more painful sounding reverse out of the tunnel) and put inside with us, which became very handy as the bus quickly filled up! Very close to Baños we got caught in our first taxi driver road block demonstration. The problem seemed to be with a few tourist buses, and after overhearing a few ‘turista’ and ‘gringo’ comments from inside our bus we sunk down in our seats and made sure the windows were shut! We came through unscathed though after the army quickly dispersed everyone, but then had the fun experience of trying to convince the bike company that it was the bus driver’s fault two of the bikes were damaged, and then convincing the bus company of the amount the bike company wanted them to pay (it wasn’t possible to hide the damage as you couldn’t even push one of the bikes along!) A good test of the old Spanish, but all turned out good in the end, with faith firmly restored in humanity.

Whilst in Baños we heard about the Devil's Nose train journey between Riobamba and Alausí, so decided to head to Riobamba to catch the Sunday trip. It used to go right across the country but now only a small portion is open three times a week with the big attraction being able to sit on top of the train. So we arrived bleary eyed at 6.30am to collect our rented pillow and settle in on the cold, damp corrugated iron roof that was to be our seat for the next seven hours.

The engine left the station with a whistle and we started to feel like we were on a Runaway Train ride watching the passing fields and houses with wind in our hair. It was very peaceful and pretty until we all nearly fell off when the train hurtled to a stop and a phone line whipped round our heads that we had just managed to snap! Luckily there were no injuries so on we carried. The ride was through beautiful quilted landscape of varying colours of green and was amazing watching all the local kids from the farms and countryside screaming with delight and waving with all their might at the passing train. Even all the cars, buses and people at the occasional crossings with roads were all beeping and waving. Many of us were throwing sweets and lollies to the kids as we passed, but they would not stop waving until the train had passed, then they all ran off hunting for their sweets!

The 'amazing engineering feat' of the Devil's Nose passed us by almost unnoticed, we have no idea where it was on the track! Although we assume it was somewhere amongst some stunning scenery whilst heading back and forth down some switch backs to the valley floor at the end. The bottom of the valley section became quite interesting whilst during the very manual turning round manoeuvre the posh carriage (they had seats) derailed! Expecting a very long and tough walk back up the valley to Alausí, we were pleasantly surprised when after ten minutes the driver and conductors had hooked it up to the engine and dragged it back on the rails. This was after not merely a few exclamations of 'that’ll never work' and 'ooh, hold on tight' from Matt and a few assembled males whilst sucking air through their teeth!

After a long day on the train we were happy to greet our comfy bed in Cuenca, our last stop in Ecuador. Although missing a trip to the Panama hat museum (alas, ‘twas closed when we tried) from here we took our last Ecuadorian bus trip south into Peru once again. We decided to try out a new border crossing back into Peru, which meant crossing the border in the middle of the night. No problem for us hardened travellers we thought, but didn't expect to get to the Ecuador border at 3am and find it closed for two hours! So after a long wait we are through, across the bridge, only to find the Peruvian official asleep with everyone banging on the windows! A generous, nearby policeman sorted this out with two authoritative knocks on the door and away we went. A lovely night time treat for Katie on her birthday!

Back on the coast of Peru we stopped at a few places we missed on our bolt up to Ecuador. The first was billed as being the most impressive array of pyramids in the Southern Hemisphere. Quite exciting indeed. Only we arrived to find they weren't as well kept as expected and after only 800 years of erosion were mere piles of sand, that if you looked at with one eye shut may resemble a pyramid... ah well. We did see the fastest, smallest and most comedy of humming birds here though, which more than made up for the sandcastles!

A bit further down the coast at Huanchacho we got to try out a spot of surfing in the Pacific. This quiet fishing village has some of the best surfing in Peru and was a mere snip for our two hour lesson. The place was extremely quiet, as it is the middle of winter and a bit overcast, but still warm enough in a wet suit. We had great fun trying but I don't think we'd be considered teacher's pets. We vowed to try again soon. We were also quickly put to shame by the locals with their reed surf board shape fishing boats who had a quick race round the bay and surfed their way back like pros.

Getting into the spirit of sport we headed to Huacachina, a wicked little oasis in the middle of massive sand dunes. We arrived and immediately hired ourselves some sandboards and started to make our way up the dune at the back of the hostel. This proved much harder than it first looked, walking up a sand hill is very very difficult. It wasn't until we got half way up that we realised what a tiny little oasis town the place was, literally enclosed in the dunes.

At the top we nervously waxed up our boards with the accompanying candle, slightly worried about hurting ourselves without wrist guards, helmets, etc. but it was safe to say there was no need to worry! We strapped our feet into the pathetic Velcro straps and pointed the boards nose first, down the dune, and waited. Then jumped up and down a bit to get started. Fell over a bit. Tried to go again. Tried putting pressure as far forward as we could, until the Velcro straps popped open. Then the wax ran out. And we stopped. Standstill. Suffice to say it wasn't the extreme, exhilarating ride we were expecting, but still left us in hysterics all the way down! The only other thing to do here was visit the chocolate factory. Not something that is advertised we quickly found out, as, after Katie literally ran to the place (I’ve never seen her so determined) we realised it was just a local lady’s kitchen, complete with A wooden spoon, A mixing bowl and A tray for the choccies to set in! The chocolates were absolutely delicious though!

Getting south now, we arrived in Arequipa, a beautiful white city with 360 days of sunshine a year, made even brighter by the endless blue sky. From here we took a two day trip to the Colca Canyon. A really fun drive through very high deserts full of hundreds of llamas, vicuñas and alpacas. We have been to so many places like this recently, yet the animals still never cease to amuse us as much as the landscape impresses. Such an amazing part of the continent, this dry, high, empty land with a backdrop of snowcapped and smoking volcanoes wherever you look, it really was breathtaking.

The canyon was supposed to be one of the deepest in the world. We were slightly cynical of this as it looked more like a valley than a canyon, but what was more interesting, at the canyon's deepest part were the Condors who like to soar on the warm updrafts early in the morning. They were so close to us, just floating past, their shadows darkening the sky for seconds at a time. Very very big birds, and far too fast for the camera!

This was to be our last stop in Peru, it was time to continue on our trip south and try to get a little closer to the airport! So we crossed over to Chile and stopped in Arica, the border town. Now border towns in our experience are pretty unsavoury places, so this was a complete surprise. A pretty bright town with beaches stretching as far as the eye could see. Another endlessly sunny place with 'just a drizzle of rain every few years', lucky gits! So we made use of the beach and Matt had a second go at surfing amongst the massive pelicans and array of seabirds.

After Arica we managed to keep up the facial tanning for another week in the very un-winter-like weather of Northern Chile. The sun just doesn't seem to stop shining there! San Pedro de Atacama in the high altiplano desert (the driest in the world) was no exception. But this was the most extreme weather we have experienced where it ranged from very hot 30s in the day to well below 0 at night. And staying in the adobe buildings with no heating meant for a cold sleep! San Pedro was a bit of a tourist trap in the desert with plenty of trips to see the geysers, salt flats and sandboarding offered but we just opted for a short cycle across the bleak sandy landscape.

The next place we wanted to go was a mere 18 hour bus jourmey away which was the comfiest we've had... as the seats reclined to full beds! At about 10pm the host came round and made up the beds complete with mattresses, pillows and then tucked us in with blankets so we could settle in for a nice 10 hour sleep! Excellent! So we were pretty well rested when we arrived at Pisco Elqui. The trip up was past row upon row of empty vines (as it is winter) which usually house the pisco grapes they make their local drink from. Another sun blessed valley so we spent the afternoon lazing by the pool. This clear sky was perfect to give way to the most beautiful night sky we've ever seen. So we huddled up on a sun lounger with a box of wine each (classy) to watch the show of shooting stars unfold!

With slightly sore heads the next morning we thought it was time to try out horse riding before we left the continent. We saddled up on two pretty, quite short and very furry horses, gripping our reins gaucho style. Our little procession of horses then trotted off down the road and up the sides of the Elqui valley. We started on thin little tracks at a nice steady pace, very relaxing, a great new way to view the countryside, but when the horses started to canter Katie ended up in fits of giggles! However, she was soon holding on for dear life when they started to gallop back down the hill! Anyway, it all gave way to a great vantage of the area but did leave us unable to sit down properly for a few days.

Pisco Elqui was a great last place to enjoy the sun, after we arrived in a very grey Santiago and realised we'd finally caught up with winter. Cold, damp and definitely coat weather! However, the next day it completely cleared so we got a glimpse of the snow-covered Andes running past this capital city. Not many cities have that sort of background.

After confirming flights and watching the Chilean Symphony Orchestra we took off to Santiago folk's favourite weekend getaway town - Valparaíso. A large, yet charming city on the sea. We checked into a fabulous old mansion hostel with the most friendly chilled out staff around and decided to spend our last week relaxing here. We have done nothing more than cook, eat loads, drink a fair few litres of beer (for a mere 70p each) and chat to the constant flow of travellers who have stayed over the week. Intermingled with this we did take a few lifts up the neighbouring hills to take in the colourful streets of the city.

So now we have just one day left in South America, we are extremely sad to be leaving this amazing and incredibily welcoming continent, a continent in which we've been to the southernmost city in the world, the highest capital city in the world, the largest waterfall in the world, the driest desert in the world, sailed on the highest navigable lake in the world, learnt Spanish, taught English, worked with underprivileged children in Argentina, worked rehabilitating capuchin monkeys in Bolivia, swam with sharks, swam with and been bitten by sea lions, watched hump back whales, walked with penguins, been spat on by marine iguanas, been in the shadow of erupting volcanoes, watched the mating dance of blue footed boobies, watched England beat Ecuador in Ecuador, and generally had a rather good time!

So long SA, we'll miss you, but we will certainly be back...

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Photos

Baños
A volcano's eye view

The train ride
Riobamba to Alausí

Arequipa
View of the surrounding volcanoes from the top of our hostel

Colca Canyon Artesan
The locals here made and wore hats and tunics of such ornate detail we had not seen elsewhere in Peru

San Pedro de Atacama
The Atacama Desert and the oasis of San Pedro

Valparaíso
One of the many ascensores up the hillsides of Valpo