Some forgotten items and a few generalisations

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A few random things to share, that I omitted to blog about before, whilst we are killing time at Santa Cruz Airport waiting for our connecting flight to Asuncion, Paraguay.

Whilst in Otavalo, Ecuador, visiting the biggest indigenous markets in the country, I bent down to open my backpack, when all of a sudden I was covered in bird shit. Not just your normal kind, this must have been a condor, as the entire right side of my body was splattered in a slimy, smelly, brown liquid. There was so much of it that I spat the dummy and had to attend the nearest market stall and buy a new shirt. Dom tried very hard to contain her laughter, whilst feigning concern for my condition. It didn´t stop her wanting to take my photo though.

Whilst visiting the Mitidad Del Mundo ( the middle of the earth) in Ecuador, we entered their insectarium. Photos were taken of me with 3 live giant beetles clinging onto my shirt (not the shirt covered in shit). Each beetle was approximately the size of Doms fist. I should know about the fist size as she Ihave been the recipient of it enough times that I should now be considered a battered husband.

Also in Ecuador, their newspaper has the best front page news, all it sells is sex and violence. The front page can be guaranteed to have colour photos of dead bodies, usually acompanied on the same page by a scantily clad model ( though not in the same photo). Needless to say I had to buy a copy to bring back to Australia.

We have found that fireworks are likely to explode randomly, at any time, day or night, in any city in South America.

The flight into Cusco from Lima, Peru, was amazing. If you ever do it, grab a window seat on the left and you will have terrific views of the snow capped Andes. Even better, as you approach Cusco Airport, the plane over shoots it, climbs steeply up a mountain, before tearing down the other side, banking sharply to the left, before approaching the Airport and making a safe landing. It is very much like a roller coaster ride. Though don´t ask Dom about it as she slept through the whole approach and landing.

Still in Cusco, we found a restaurant that served a soup, main course and a drink for 9 Peruvian Sols. This equated to about $5 Australian each. Try getting value like that in Fremantle.

There are no road rules in South America. Unbroken double yellow lines on a bend means go ahead and try your luck overtaking, and you get extra points for completing the manouvre at night time. I am suprised we haven´t seen any fatal accidents.

Whilst staying on Amantani Island, Peru, the beds we were provided for the homestay had a very thin mattress and the rest of the base was made up of dried reeds. Different, but very comfortable. The blankets provided were so thick and heavy that we couldn´t stretch out our toes due to the weight of them. So on a cold night we were kept very warm in our single beds.

In Peru, the political scene is pretty big. Once you leave the major cities, 90 % of the exterior of all the houses along the roadsides are painted with the names or pictures of the local political candidates. Word is that the local candidate asks for permission to do this first. Just imagine having the exterior of your house painted with Julia Gillards face, or even worse, Kevin Rudd. I actually saw a picture of a candidate that looked like the Peruvian version of John Travolta.

The people of La Paz are very caring, friendly and helpful. An example of this was when we were at an outdoor market stall. The stall proprietor passed a note to us in Spanish, lucky for me that Dom could translate it. The note basically said, watch out as there were thieves eyeing us off as we were the only Gringos in the area. After we made our purchase we went to turn left and the proprietor told us to turn right as the thieves were waiting for us around the corner. This saved us possibly getting beaten and robbed and Dom losing some of her newly purchased Christmas presents (and, no, it wasn´t Llama foetuses).

Not everyone in Bolivia is that nice though, as Dom had her i-pod stolen. She inadvertantly left it charging in the internet store and when she remembered she raced back to find it was gone. Though, to be fair, that would happen in Australia too. There are dishonest people all over the world.

The street vendors throughout the countries we have visited never cease to amaze us selling their wares. We have been approcahed in the street to buy useful items such as, safety pins, portable T.V antennas, lengths of string, scales, fake fossils and tea towels. Just what every tourist needs.

Lastly in Australia we have those annoying people who clean your windscreen, whilst you are stopped in your car at the traffic lights. Not so in Peru and Ecuador, at their intersections you will find individuals juggling lit batons of fire or machetes. So much more entertaining and if you don´t pay them they torch your car or cut your ears off.......well we didn´t really see the violence, but it would make it a much more interesting story if they did.

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