Below is an outline of our itinerary for the next 2 months..

 

PART 1:

 

 

10-18 Sept
Lima
We arrive in Lima at 10 pm and will just hang out and see the city for 2 nights, we then board a plane on the 12th to head inland to the Amazon River to a city you can only access by boat or plane. There is no roads this far into the jungle.  We stay the night in Iquitos and then get picked up and taken 3 hrs(80 miles) up river to Muyuna Lodge.  We then spend 5 days with no power, phones, computers, TV... BLISS!

 

We will be spending our time looking at monkeys, sloths, snakes, spiders and other weird and wonderful creatures... (ick about the snakes).  We will go looking for pink dolphins, go caiman spotting and pirhana fishing.  We get taken back on the 17th to civilisation again and fly back to Lima for another couple of days sight seeing before our tour starts...

 

PART 2:

19-20 Sept    Lima
Day 1 is simply to relax and see some of the sights. Lima was founded by the Spanish Conquistador Francisco Pizarro in 1535, after he eradicated the Incas and made the city his capital. Lima has many fine colonial buildings and some of the best museums in South America including the Gold Museum, Museum of the Inquisition and the Catacombs below the San Francisco Church. Peru’s capital has heaps to offer and many of the sights, including the city’s two main squares the Plaza de Armas and Plaza San Martin, are within easy walking distance.


21 -22 Sept  Paracas - Nazca

After a couple of days in Lima, a short drive along the Pacific coast brings us to Paracas where upon arrival we will have the option to go by speedboat to explore the Ballestas Islands, passing the unusual ‘Candelabra’, a giant design carved into a desert hill, along the way. On and around these celebrated islands you’ll see thousands of sea lions plus many varieties of aquatic birds. Continuing on, we stopover at Huacachina, a desert oasis surrounded by massive sand-dunes. An overnight excursion into the desert here sleeping under the stars this also incorporates the chance to take an awesome ride in dune-buggies or, for the even more courageous, sand boarding down the dunes is an unreal way to spend the afternoon and night, a good time for a Pisco Sour party!

Travelling further inland, we reach Nazca, famous for the strange parallel lines and geometrical figures etched into the desert floor. Here you can take a flight in a light aircraft to see the ‘monkey’, ‘hummingbird’, ‘condor’, ‘spider’ and even what appears to be a spaceman. There are many more designs to be seen on this 30 minute flight but to this day, no-one really knows why they are there! After a short drive we’ll stop at the bizarre Chauchilla Cemetery where you can ancient mummies that still have skin and hair intact after thousands of years.

23-25 Sept    Puerto Inca - Arequipa

Heading back along the coast our journey takes us to Puerto Inca, the Inca's original fishing port, which was only re-discovered in the 1950’s. Tonight we camp by the beach just down from the actual ruins.

Travelling back into the foothills of the Andes we reach the city of Arequipa, located 2,380 metres above sea level and dominated by the conical snow-capped El Misti Volcano. Here the attractions include the Plaza de Armas, one of South America’s most charming main squares and the Santa Catalina Convent, which is like a walled colonial town dating back more than 400 years. Shrouded with mystery, the convent’s 450 nuns lived in complete seclusion until 1970.

From Arequipa you have the option to visit the Colca Canyon, which is twice as deep as the Grand Canyon, making it the world’s second deepest. From the lookout point at Cruz del Condor you can see the river flowing 1,200 metres below and you’ll have a very good chance of seeing condors as they soar out of the canyon on the hot thermal currents. Our base for visiting the canyon is the town of Chivay where we’ll also have time to soak in the nearby hot thermal pools.

26-28 Sep   Cuzco

It gradually becomes greener as we get closer to the former Inca capital of Cuzco, which means ‘navel of the earth’ in the Inca language of Quechua. This enchanting city has a mostly indigenous population of around 275,000 and is centred around the Plaza de Armas, which is dominated by the Cathedral and La Compañia de Jesus Church. Nowadays Cuzco is also legendary for its party atmosphere and brilliant nightlife and is jam-packed with arcades housing many fine restaurants, bars and shops. For people wanting the challenge of the 4 day Inca Trail trek there will be a briefing in which your local guide will chat about the arrangements for the next few days.

We have a full day trip through the Sacred Valley of the Incas and if you’ve purchased your full Cuzco visitor’s ticket previously then you’ll be able to visit Sacsayhuaman ruins with its huge stonework as well as the Pisac ruins perched on a hill high in the mountains and the famous Indian market of the same name, in the valley below. This is a great place to buy textiles, pottery and jewellery, not to mention the delicious empanadas (pasties) at the famous bakery. After spending time at both, we move down the valley to the temple fortress of Ollantaytambo, with its enormous terraces climbing up the hillside. If you are trekking the Inca Trail you will spend the night here with a local family in preparation for the next four days.

29 Sept - 1 Oct  Inca Trail

On the Inca Trail you will cross spectacular passes and visit more Inca ruins en-route to the Lost City of the Incas, Machu Picchu. A local guide will lead this expedition and there will be cooks and porters to carry the main equipment, leaving you with just a small daypack.

The trek begins after a short bus journey and the first day is a relatively easy 4½ hour 13km walk which will get you limbered up for the highest pass at Warmiwañusca (4,200m) which you will reach before lunchtime on Day 2 (and which translates to “Dead Woman’s Pass”!). During Day 2 you will cover approximately 9km in about 5-7 hours and after the high pass it’s all down hill as the trail winds its way along old Inca stairs to our campsite.

On Day 3 we pass the ruins of Runkurakay, Sayacmarca and Phuyupatamarca, walking approximately 15km in 7 hours.

The last morning, after an overnight stop at Wiñay-Wayna, you will rise early for the final walk to Machu Picchu and greet daybreak over the famous “Sun Gate”. There will then be time to explore on your own or simply take in the magnificence of the place before your guided tour. The ruins were only discovered by the outside world in 1911, when American explorer Hiram Bingham found them while looking for another “lost city” called Vilcabamba. Due to their isolation many of the buildings are still quite intact and you can’t help but admire Huayna Picchu (“Young Mountain”), which towers above the ruins. It is a hard climb to the top of the mountain (it takes about 50 minutes) but you are rewarded with spectacular views over the whole site. After spending most of the day at Machu Picchu you have the chance to soak your tired muscles in the hot springs at Aguas Calientes or meander through the markets before returning to Cuzco by train.

2 - 3 Oct   Cuzco
Making the most of your last free time in Cuzco you can explore its amazing churches, colonial buildings and picturesque streets, most of which have Inca walls, arches and doorways. Leaving Cuzco, we drive along roads bordered by herds of llamas, alpacas and vicuñas before reaching the Altiplano (high plain). Our journey takes us past hot mineral pools, snow-capped mountains, through villages where the Indians sell food, fur hats and alpaca sweaters. And over the La Raya Pass at 4,321 metres before arriving at the Sillustani ruins. Here you will have the option to visit these ancient burial towers. Our final destination for today is Puno on the edge of Lake Titicaca. There is an opportunity to try some of the fresh fish from the lake in one of the restaurants in Puno tonight.


4 - 6 October  Puno
After a night in Puno, on the shores of lake Titicaca which at 3,855 metres, is the highest navigable lake in the world. From here we take an excursion to the islands of Amantaní and Taquile. On Amantaní we arrange homestay accommodation with the native Quechua Indian families and you will have the chance to eat with the family, perhaps enjoy a party and dancing and maybe play soccer with the local children! The next morning you’ll visit Taquile Island where the people live in simple adobe huts and the men knit colourful hats. You will also visit the floating reed islands in the Bay of Puno, to see the Uros Indians’ way of life and ride in a traditional reed boat. Continuing back to Puno, you’ll arrive in time to visit the colourful markets.


7 - 8 Oct  La Paz (Bolivia)

We drive around Lake Titicaca to the border town of Desaguadero where we can change money before crossing into Bolivia. Our first stop in Bolivia is at the pre-Inca ruins of Tiahuancho, a fascinating site dating back 2,000 years. Driving on through the scenic countryside we pass adobe villages before reaching a highway which winds its way down the canyon into La Paz, the highest capital city in the world at 3,636 metres.

La Paz is built in the basin of a spectacular ancient crater caused by a meteorite, with the snow-capped Mount Illimani in the background. The city has colourful Indian street markets including the ‘witches market’ where women in  flared skirts sell, amongst other things, dead cats and llama foetuses which are placed under new buildings to keep evil spirits away. The main square, Plaza Murillo, is where many years ago a president of the republic was lynched from a lamppost. La Paz is one of the best places to see a traditional peña show of Andean music and dance where local musicians play their time-honoured instruments such as zampoñas (pipes) and charangos (ukulele).

We can check out the Moon Valley with its strange rock formations shaped by the weather or take in the incredible views from Mount Chacaltaya and the world's highest ski resort at 5,221metres. Another option is to go to Coroico, the gateway to the Bolivian jungle region and a great place to see sub-tropical vegetation and plants. En-route you will cross a 5,000 metre high pass before descending to 1,300 metres on narrow mountain roads bordered by sheer drops. The excursion to Coroico can also be done by mountain bike, as it is downhill nearly all the way and very exhilarating, but not for the fainthearted!

9 - 14 Oct   Free camping - Sucre – Potosi
From La Paz we travel across the Altiplano on our way to Sucre where we spend a couple of nights. This is the official capital of Bolivia even though the governing of the country actually takes place in La Paz. Sucre is a small attractive city where, by law, all the buildings are painted white. Our next stop is Potosí (4,070 metres), the highest city of its size on earth with a population of 110,000. The city was established in 1545 soon after the discovery of a rich vein of silver in a nearby hill, the Cerro Rico (or “rich hill”). Silver from Potosí underwrote the Spanish economy, particularly the monarchy's extravagance, for over two centuries. Millions of Indians, and later, African slaves, worked in the mines where conditions were so appalling and dangerous that miners died in astronomical numbers, either in accidents or from silicosis pneumonia. You have the chance to visit one of the mines where you can see first hand how rough the working conditions were and still are!


15 - 16 Oct   Uyuni
Travelling on we head to the desolate town of Uyuni in the south of Bolivia, to visit what is claimed to be the largest salt flat in the world, the brilliant white vast Salar de Uyuni. There is an opportunity to take an excursion onto the salar by 4x4 stopping of at places such as Fish Island where there are great views of the surrounding lake and giant cacti provide perfect photo opportunities. The fantastic contrast of the brilliant blue sky and the pure white of the salt flats will take your breath away.


17 - 19 Oct    Free camping (Argentina) - Humahuaca – Salta
Winding our way along the dusty roads of Bolivia, which are some of the worst in South America, we head towards the Argentine border free camping enroute amidst the vividly coloured rock formations and giant cacti. We pass through Tupiza and Villazon before crossing into Northern Argentina where you will be amazed by the arid beauty of the Humahuaca Canyon. Next stop is the striking city of Salta in the Lerma Valley, established in 1582. Salta has many old colonial buildings, a cathedral with ancient statues of Cristo del Milagro (Miracle of Christ) and the Virgin Mary, which were brought over from Spain in 1592. A variety of excursions await you here including rafting, rappelling and many more.


20 - 22 Oct    Cafayate
Just outside of Salta, the rugged landscape gives way to lush farmlands where you may catch a glimpse of traditional subsistence farmers at work.  Stunning multi-coloured sedimentary rock formations offer beautiful photo opportunities near Cafayate. For an adrenaline rush you can hire mountain bikes for a couple of hours of thrilling descents or take a quad bike tour to explore less challenging terrain. For a more peaceful excursion you can stretch your legs on a trek, taking in beautiful local flora and fauna, as well as an impressive series of cascadas (waterfalls). Next we free camp on the way to Cordoba.


23 - 25 Oct   Córdoba
Córdoba is a busy modern industrial city near the geographical centre of Argentina in the foothills of the Sierras Chicas Mountains. Established in 1573, Córdoba boasts the country’s oldest university and a young, dynamic student population. During the day you can visit an array of richly decorated churches, including Argentina’s oldest cathedral and the Manzana Jesuitica (Jesuit Block) which has been declared a Unesco World Heritage site.


26 - 27 Oct   Mendoza
Leaving Cordoba we’ll travelling on to Mendoza, past the vast vineyards of Argentina’s wine producing heartland. Mendoza is the location where General José de San Martín organised the army with which he liberated Chile and Peru from Spanish rule in 1818.  Unfortunately, few historic buildings remain after an earthquake devastated the city in 1861. However, the city was rebuilt with broader tree-lined streets and beautiful large green plazas, irrigated by a network of 500km of water channels, fuelling Mendoza’s reputation as an oasis of the region. There are great photo opportunities from the top of the hill “Cerro de la Gloria” at Parque San Martín, where you can also visit the local zoo. Beyond the city limits you’ll have the chance to get wet and wild on a white water rafting excursion, or try out your rope skills on a rappelling option. For a more chilled experience you could hire bikes and take the ‘Ruta de los Vinos’ (wine route), visiting ancient cellars and tasting excellent local wines at your leisure.

28 - 29 Oct  Santiago (Chile)
On our final travelling day we enter the Chilean heartlands and head towards the capital, Santiago. Pedro de Valdivia established Santiago in 1541 but, except Santa Lucia Hill where the original fortress was constructed, not much remains of its original glory. The hill offers good views of the city below, but for even better photo opportunities, take a funicular railway to the top of San Cristobal where the Statue of the Virgin overlooks the capital and the distant Andes. At the viewing area there are wine-tasting facilities and a couple of brilliantly located swimming pools. In the Plaza Constitucion at the Palacio de la Moneda you can see the changing of the guard or you can take an optional excursion to the port of Valparaiso and the resort of Viña del Mar. Santiago is a very clean modern city with fountains, parks and buildings.

 

 

 

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15 August 2009

 

This weekend hailed the arrival of Brendan, this time he had an actual room to stay in, not the manky futon.  We decided to head down to Cornwall to see the Eden Project.  We got up at some absurd hour of the morning to catch the early (read cheap) ferry.  By 9am we were in line to enter the HUGE car park for the Eden Project.  The Eden Project is a 10 year old bunch of bubble shaped greenhouses that were built in an old china clay pit.  There are different environments in the domes, a  Mediterranean one and a Rainforest one, there were heaps of cool plants and information panels, though it seemed to be a bit more aimed at educating kids. 

 

I found this awesome plant, I really wanted to bring one home, damn NZ border rules!

 

After several hours of wandering around we thought we better go find somewhere to stay the night.  Bens work mate had told us about a place called Fowey which was nearby. Its a little seaside town, built on a hill and lots of little twisty cobbled streets.  We found a hotel/pub to stay after finding out that there was going to be a regatta week starting the next day (sometimes we have bad timing!) and then walked about the little town, we found a good pub with cheap beer and caught up with Brendan about his time in the US of A until our early morning caught up with us and we agreed it was time to hit the hay. 

At 9am on Sunday morning we all rolled downstairs to a full english breakfast (all the ingredients were from within 10 miles of Fowey)  The boys gushed about their button mushrooms (best Ben had ever had, he even got the cooking tips from the land lady)  after a bit of organisation we decided to go to the Dartmoor National Park on the way home and have a wee walk (Ben and my attempt to train up for climbing Machu Pichu).  We stopped  near Castle Drogo (can hardly be called a castle it was only built in the 1930s!) and went for a walk down to an old bridge with the prettiest little pub beside it. 

After an orange juice we decided to walk back up along the river to complete the circuit.  On the way back I convinced the boys to have a REAL Devonshire Cream Tea, and everyone agreed it was pretty nice, we stopped at this old farm cottage by the road and had the best scones, jam and clotted cream ever.  Then we returned Brendan to Southampton train station and caught (for the last time) the Red funnel slow ferry back to the island.. ahh the nostalgia!

 

 

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May 2009

In May 2009 Dad and Marg visited the UK.

To explain it all, I have tried to make a little Google map, which fingers crossed you can see below. If you can't, click here. If you still can't, Ive probably just crashed Ginas blog page. Anyway, to explain it, the blue pointers are where we stayed (click on them to read more), the yellow things we saw and did, and each days driving is in a different colour. There are some links to some pictures in there too. You'll probably find the pictures easier if you open it here. The Irish bit starts in Dublin, the English bit starts in Edinburgh.

Dad and Marg started with a visit to London, then to the Isle of Wight via Brighton. After a few days here on the Island, they went through Cornwall, Wales, and onto Ireland. Through Ireland the touring team consisted of Dad, Marg and me in the rental car, and Katie and Richie in their van. Once we had done a loop of Ireland and were in Belfast, I flew off to work for a week, while the rest carried on for a week in Scotland. At the end of the Scotish bit, Gina and I met them all again in Edinburgh, before Katie and Rich went south to get a ferry to Europe. So now in the car we have Dad, Marg, Gina and I, although Gina only made it as far as York before she had to go back to work. And finally I dropped off after getting as far as Maidstone, leaving Dad and Marg to enjoy Kent. Confused? Just look at the map.

 

View May 09 Tour in a larger map

 

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19 April 2009

A Belgian Easter

For Easter we found a cheap flight from Brussels to Southampton on the Sunday (Ben had to work Monday), and a not so cheap flight to Amsterdam on Wednesday night from Southampton.

After a busy day at work on Wednesday we rushed home, grabbed our bags and caught the Red Jet over to Southampton, a free bus to the train station and a train to the airport and caught our flight with time to spare.

We arrived in Amsterdam at 8 pm and caught the train into the centre of town. One of the first things that hit you as you walk down the main street is the whiff of wacky tabaccy every few seconds. We walked out to our hotel along the canals and over many little bridges. After booking in we set off back into the town centre to get some food and take in the sights(Ben had suggested the red light district as some light entertainment). We passed many, many ‘coffee shops’ which Ben explained were not for drinking coffee in but for getting a bong full of cannabis instead. What goes with the coffee shops? Munchie shops, there were snack shops everywhere! After the eye opening experience of seeing all sorts of people smoking stuff through shop windows we strolled into the red light district. This area of town was most definitely red, with lots of little booths with glass doors and red tube lighting and all sorts of women in bikinis and other outfits trying to lure the smoke induced males into their little rooms. There were so many people strolling about, the inevitable Japanese tourists taking lots of pictures outside the sex toy outlet shops and the sex museums and other tacky shops. I found it all a rather unreal, Ben having seen it all before was a bit less shocked, but kept wanting to hold my hand so “The scary women won’t try and get me”.

On Thursday morning we went down to breakfast at the hotel and although there weren’t chocolate sprinkles (Ben thought there might be) there was chocolate spread.. yum.  Thursday we spent walking around Amsterdam, we went to the Anne Frank House but didn’t go in as there was a line 2 miles long of people queuing to get in. We went to the flower markets and saw about 10 different varieties of cannabis for sale, as well as the tulip bulbs of course. We saw a lot of cool old buildings and walked along the canals until early afternoon when we had a bus to catch to Antwerp. Being the afternoon before good Friday we were caught in a 1 ½ hr long traffic jam (joy) and our bus driver almost ran a little blue fiesta off the motorway, fortunately the car didn’t crash and sped past tooting and waving with one finger a few minutes later... we got to Antwerp over an hour late, and caught a train to Bruges where we had booked into a hostel for the night as the place was fairly booked out.
We were in a 6 bed room and we would later decide we were never staying in another hostel, ever again. We had dinner and tried some of the local beers and food, was a really nice dinner and even after a few drinks we still didn’t sleep well.

Early on Good Friday we were up and about (due to our room companions) and went to find some breakfast before meeting up with friends who just happened to be in Bruges too. We did the usual and found a bakery and tried the local fare, whilst sitting on a park bench in the sun people watching. Friday was spent strolling around the mediaeval cobbled walkways of Bruges, with Helen and Blair, and managed to find a B+B to stay in for that night too. We went for a canal ride and managed to catch the one that broke down and we had to be towed back to swap boats and continue the tour. The weather was really nice, think I even got a bit of a tan, unheard of in the last year or so!! We went out for dinner with the others at one of the restaurants in the old Market, we sat outside as the weather was still nice and had a nice dinner, due to popular vote we decided to find a waffle shop for desert. The boys tried to out waffle each other, with real Belgium melted chocolate, cream and ice-cream. We all stood around eating in the street and decided they were pretty good.

Our night at the B+B was nice. We came down for breakfast and were greeted by a well put together but slightly interesting breakfast, with an Easter egg in with the bread, and cured ham displayed as a sail on a melon boat.. but it was nice. Saturday we caught the train down to Brussels, where we wandered around for a while. We didn’t really understand Brussels to start with, and with nowhere to stay for the night and the day getting on, we were glad to find an info centre to tell us which were the two hotels left in town that were not booked out. The info centre happened to be in the Grand Place, which a big square full of tourists and people on stag nights. There are big imposing buildings all around the square, with gilded gold and statues on every possible space. It was a nice sunny day, there were people everywhere and we walked up the hill to get rid of our bags and check into where we were staying (we only had an hour to confirm our room). Later that day we went back into the town centre and walked around, saw the boy peeing statue. Apparently Brussels was under siege by a foreign power, but the city had held their ground for quite some time. The attackers had thought of a plan to place explosive charges at the city walls, but the little boy was spying on them, and saved the city by peeing on the burning fuse. Hence, a statue was required. There was also a really good waffle shop nearby, so we thought we better see if they were as good as the ones in Bruges, it turns out they were. Brussels centre was full of chocolate shops and beer shops and restaurants with seats out on the street like in France. It was rather touristy and having been there I don’t think I would go again. After trying the famous frites (hot chips) for dinner, it was back home to sleep.

Sunday morning we decided to catch to hop on hop off bus around for the day to take in all the sites around Brussels. We caught the tram into town and got on to the bus (bargain as we got our tickets for 10 euro each ). We travelled around Brussels looking at sites such as the Royal Palace, the Business District, EU Parliament and the Atomium which is a leftover from the 1956 World Fair. It’s a big, silvery, 9 balled model of an atom, big enough that you can catch the lift up to the top of it and then take a flying fox back down again. We eventually got tired of the open topped bus and decided there was just enough time to try a cherry beer and sample yet another waffle before we caught a very cheap train out to the airport.

That was Belgium, we can recommend the Beer, Chocolate and Waffles :o)

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16 April 2009

The plants live!

Here are some pictures of the garden, Day 15 i have some salads sprouting (not sure what was planted where..) and some spring onions popping up. I have also brought some strawberries and planted those how Dad suggested, we will see if they live!

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8 April 2009

Easter Adventures

Hi All, just a short note to say we are off to the land of beer, sausage and Chocolate (appropriate at this time of year) for a few days. We are flying into Amsterdam and then travelling down to Bruges for a night or two and then into Brussels and home again sunday night.  

P.S. The garden is still alive, no sign of any shoots yet, but I have slug pelleted just in case!! I hope to have seen some sign of foliage when we get back!!