Argentina is so nice, its so great to be in civilisation with good meat, coffee, wine and buses, amongst other things obviously... BUT it is so expensive, so parents, get your credit cards ready...! :s
Salta was really nice, but we got a bit ´coffee time´/ clothes shopping happy, and had to adjust to the shock of the increased prices. we went to a cool museum of Contemporary art in the plaza, and met with a friend from the Parque which was nice.
We´re in a place called Mendoza now, a huge wine growing area, so we´'re doing a bike riding wine tour tomorrow where you cycle from vinyard to vinyard. Should be fun, as long as we can still cycle by the end of it, as we have been warned.
Football- lots of it as its the South America cup. All the hostels have limited reservations. Will try and buy some Argentinian football shirts for dad and bro in BA when we go to a match hopefullly...
Sorry for the lack of blogging recently- inevitably its become harder and harder as the time is running out on our travels :(
Wednesday 6 July 2011
Wednesday 22 June 2011
Ambue Ari
So, within a few hours of being at the Parque we decided to stay for a month. This meant we could work with big cats... It was a once in a life time opportunity and despite the annoyances of basicallly a carb overloaded, vegetarian, slop meal everyday, no electricity, cold showers, hay mattresses and a few annoying people... everything else was amazing. I (Pb) got to work with a jaguar called Katie and Tilly worked with an osselote called Lazy Cat. We walked and fed them everyday and played with them in their cages. No major injuries, just a few scratches. No stitches needed but my Steri Strips did come in handy for someone else... The benefits of being a doctors daughter.
We also met some amazing people, went to a fun ´tribal´ themed prom, I also got my nose pierced and was ´Candy Shop girl´. Living in such an intense place like this, it sounds cheesy but you kindof start to feel like a family and it was hard to leave and say our goodbyes...
In Sucre now, gonna try and stock up on some artisan goodies before heading down to the mines at Potosi.
Hope everyone is well back home.
We also met some amazing people, went to a fun ´tribal´ themed prom, I also got my nose pierced and was ´Candy Shop girl´. Living in such an intense place like this, it sounds cheesy but you kindof start to feel like a family and it was hard to leave and say our goodbyes...
In Sucre now, gonna try and stock up on some artisan goodies before heading down to the mines at Potosi.
Hope everyone is well back home.
Monday 16 May 2011
Pampas Jungle
The jungle was incredible and so much fun. We saw lots of animals, got bitten to death by mosquitos, lounged around in hammocks and spent most of our days on a wooden motorised canoe.
Day 1:
Bit shocked from the temperature change from La Paz to Rurrenebeque, we got out our summer clothes and bikinis to start out trip. First we had a three hour jeep ride to a small village close to the river we were going to be travelleing down. We were sitting in the back, and I definately had the worst seat by far as when stepping out of the jeep, I realised I could not be that tanned, and my hair had certainly not gone prematurely grey in the space of a few hours... The dust made us so dirty, especially because our driver liked to overtake huge vans, that left behind massive clouds of dust that we obviously had to drive through in order to overtake. Also, not very good for asthmatics!
After lunch we had a leisurely ride down the river in our canoe. We also went for a swim, jumping off our boat to wash off all that dirt. Only later did we discover the other groups (which consisted of 7 people we knew from North London, weirdly enough) that they had seen several aligators in the same waters as we'd just been swimming!!
We also saw eagles, herrons, falcons, a rare toucan, tortoises, pink dolphins and a whole group of yellow monkeys! The monkeys were so cute, and one jumped onto our boat, our guide Antonio drove our boat right into the banks bushes so we were almost touching them.
We went to a field where the boys played football and we watched the sunset.
After dinner - much the same, rice and chicken, we went in the pitch black on our canoe in search of alligators and caymen. With a torch all you can see are two bright red eyes. It was pretty scary sometimes because you have no idea where they are under the water... But it was really fun, apart from the mozzzziieess.
Day 2:
On the second day we basically walked through the pampas (swamps)- an anaconda habitat in search of snakes and other creatures... Unfortunately, despite our best efforts we didn't see any anacondas because the water level was so high. But we did see a few snakes skins and an owl. It was blazing hot and the walk was incredibly tiring. Tilly said 'it was the worst day of her life' or something along those lines... this was also because we were wearing wellies that all had holes in them so there was no chance of our feet staying dry. And walking through thigh height water (also depending on how tall you are...!) amongst the reeds with MONSTER MOSQUITOS BITING THROUGH YOUR LEGGINGS (literally there were about 20 on our bums the whole time- deet does not work) was not the funnest thing we've ever done. But, it was an experience.
And lunch and lying on hammocks reading books afterwards was well deserved.
Day 3:
We had the option of waking up at 5am and seeing the sun rise and go bird watching, but we were all pretty knackered and sick of being biten by that point that we decided to get up later! On the last day we basically spent the whole morning swimming with pink dolphins and sunbathing on the boat. I stayed in the water for theeee longest amount of time, treading water and even attempted Butterfly stroke, swimming towards the dolphins, but the closest I came to one was probably 10metres. Still, it was amazing to be so close. But incredibly hard to take pictures of.
In a few days we'll be going to a place called Santa Cruz to volunteer at Ambue Ari Parque with animals for two weeks...
http://www.intiwarayassi.org/articles/volunteer_animal_refuge/volunteer_at_ambue.html
There is no electricity there so don´t get scared of the lack of blogging or facebooking for a while.
Day 1:
Bit shocked from the temperature change from La Paz to Rurrenebeque, we got out our summer clothes and bikinis to start out trip. First we had a three hour jeep ride to a small village close to the river we were going to be travelleing down. We were sitting in the back, and I definately had the worst seat by far as when stepping out of the jeep, I realised I could not be that tanned, and my hair had certainly not gone prematurely grey in the space of a few hours... The dust made us so dirty, especially because our driver liked to overtake huge vans, that left behind massive clouds of dust that we obviously had to drive through in order to overtake. Also, not very good for asthmatics!
After lunch we had a leisurely ride down the river in our canoe. We also went for a swim, jumping off our boat to wash off all that dirt. Only later did we discover the other groups (which consisted of 7 people we knew from North London, weirdly enough) that they had seen several aligators in the same waters as we'd just been swimming!!
We also saw eagles, herrons, falcons, a rare toucan, tortoises, pink dolphins and a whole group of yellow monkeys! The monkeys were so cute, and one jumped onto our boat, our guide Antonio drove our boat right into the banks bushes so we were almost touching them.
We went to a field where the boys played football and we watched the sunset.
After dinner - much the same, rice and chicken, we went in the pitch black on our canoe in search of alligators and caymen. With a torch all you can see are two bright red eyes. It was pretty scary sometimes because you have no idea where they are under the water... But it was really fun, apart from the mozzzziieess.
Day 2:
On the second day we basically walked through the pampas (swamps)- an anaconda habitat in search of snakes and other creatures... Unfortunately, despite our best efforts we didn't see any anacondas because the water level was so high. But we did see a few snakes skins and an owl. It was blazing hot and the walk was incredibly tiring. Tilly said 'it was the worst day of her life' or something along those lines... this was also because we were wearing wellies that all had holes in them so there was no chance of our feet staying dry. And walking through thigh height water (also depending on how tall you are...!) amongst the reeds with MONSTER MOSQUITOS BITING THROUGH YOUR LEGGINGS (literally there were about 20 on our bums the whole time- deet does not work) was not the funnest thing we've ever done. But, it was an experience.
And lunch and lying on hammocks reading books afterwards was well deserved.
Day 3:
We had the option of waking up at 5am and seeing the sun rise and go bird watching, but we were all pretty knackered and sick of being biten by that point that we decided to get up later! On the last day we basically spent the whole morning swimming with pink dolphins and sunbathing on the boat. I stayed in the water for theeee longest amount of time, treading water and even attempted Butterfly stroke, swimming towards the dolphins, but the closest I came to one was probably 10metres. Still, it was amazing to be so close. But incredibly hard to take pictures of.
In a few days we'll be going to a place called Santa Cruz to volunteer at Ambue Ari Parque with animals for two weeks...
http://www.intiwarayassi.org/articles/volunteer_animal_refuge/volunteer_at_ambue.html
There is no electricity there so don´t get scared of the lack of blogging or facebooking for a while.
Friday 6 May 2011
LA PAZ
We´ve been in the worlds highest capital city (3660m) for about a week now. It´s an amazing city, nestled in the mountains, well its kindof oversprawling up the mountains as well... It´s quite sunny here being quite high up, but at night it´s freeezing and I can feel my tan gradually fading away as we move into winter :(
The famous ´Witches Market´ is basically a few shops down a street selling dried llama babies, old sheep fingernails, dried flowers, cactus' and weeds... but we've managed to buy some more goodies- bags, purses, rings, cocoa leaves etc.
We mountainbiked down the ´Worlds Most Dangerous Road' which was lots of fun. Only two people fell off their bikes, one due to a broken chain, and one due to a collision round a corner. So no-one died. At the top it was so cold, even with our super cool biking gear on, and at one point when we were in the middle of a cloud, our sunglasses got so steamed up we couldn´t see a thing... But at the bottom when we emerged from the fog, it was so beautiful and hot. Though we did get very wet riding through streams and waterfalls and the beer at the bottom was well deserved. (and I used to think the Camel Trail in Cornwall was hard!!)
We´re going to the Amazon tomorrow. Enduring a 24hr bus ride there thats meant to be like Death Road, just a bit wider... It was a 80Bs bus ride there versus a 500Bs flight so we went for the budget option. Don´t know how much I´ll regret it later, but Tilly is adament about taking the bus... So in the jungle we can swim with pink dolphins, ride on canoes down the river, see anacondas on night treks etc. But more of that to come!
Missing you all so much! Can't believe it's been 2 months since we last saw you all! xxxxxxxxxx
The famous ´Witches Market´ is basically a few shops down a street selling dried llama babies, old sheep fingernails, dried flowers, cactus' and weeds... but we've managed to buy some more goodies- bags, purses, rings, cocoa leaves etc.
We mountainbiked down the ´Worlds Most Dangerous Road' which was lots of fun. Only two people fell off their bikes, one due to a broken chain, and one due to a collision round a corner. So no-one died. At the top it was so cold, even with our super cool biking gear on, and at one point when we were in the middle of a cloud, our sunglasses got so steamed up we couldn´t see a thing... But at the bottom when we emerged from the fog, it was so beautiful and hot. Though we did get very wet riding through streams and waterfalls and the beer at the bottom was well deserved. (and I used to think the Camel Trail in Cornwall was hard!!)
We´re going to the Amazon tomorrow. Enduring a 24hr bus ride there thats meant to be like Death Road, just a bit wider... It was a 80Bs bus ride there versus a 500Bs flight so we went for the budget option. Don´t know how much I´ll regret it later, but Tilly is adament about taking the bus... So in the jungle we can swim with pink dolphins, ride on canoes down the river, see anacondas on night treks etc. But more of that to come!
Missing you all so much! Can't believe it's been 2 months since we last saw you all! xxxxxxxxxx
Friday 29 April 2011
At the Copa, Co, Copacabana
BOLIVIAAAAA!!!!!
We took a boat from Copacabana to the other side of Lake Titicaca to stay the night on a beautiful Island called Isla Del Sol. We stayed in the south of the Island in a place called Yumani, at a local Bolivian womans hostel. We ate fresh ´trucha´ (trout) for lunch, and then again for dinner in nice restaurants overlooking the Lake. It was really surreal as there were also snowy mountains in the distance, that looked like theyd been photoshopped there, and were floating in the air.
In the morning we took a boat to the north of the Island, as we believed it was a common thing to walk the 3-4hour hike across the length of the island. When we got there however, it was only us on the trail. So yes, we actually did some voluntary extra hiking at 4000m altitude. But it wasnt completly pointless, as the views were incredible and it only took us 2hours 15 minutes as we´ve become such pro hikers after MP.... ;)
(By the way, I know the Barry Manilow song isn´t actually referring to THIS Copacabana!)
Who knew a guinea pig was so useful?
After Huacachina we went to a place called Puno, which borders one of the biggest, high altitude lakes in the world, Lake Titicaca (4000m). From there we took a tour to a floating island, Uros. The locals created this island by layering reeds ontop of each other, in layers and layers till they compress enough to form a solid mass, which then becoes the island. Unbelievably, people still live on these islands, and some straw huts even have radio and tv! Me and Tilly were taken into the president of the islands hut, and sat down on their tinyy floor with him, his wife and small daughter, (who was soo cute).
Our guide told us that these local people prefer not to go to hospital when they´re ill, but instead choose to go to an Andean Priest. The Priest gets the patient to lie on a bed, then places a ´cuy´ (guinea pig) on their chest for 25 minutes. When they remove the cuy, they take it to another room, cut it open and inside it is the disease of the patient........ Crazy times!!
Our guide told us that these local people prefer not to go to hospital when they´re ill, but instead choose to go to an Andean Priest. The Priest gets the patient to lie on a bed, then places a ´cuy´ (guinea pig) on their chest for 25 minutes. When they remove the cuy, they take it to another room, cut it open and inside it is the disease of the patient........ Crazy times!!
Friday 22 April 2011
Huacachina
Huacachina should be paradise, but to be honest it´s really not. Firstly, the lagoon is more like a pond, I think the colour has definately enhanced in all the photos, it is actuiallywuite like Hampstead ponds- but less clean. It is beautiful here however, the sand dunes go on forever like in Sex and the City 2, and all the shops and restaurants, which are all may I add exstortionately expensive, face in to the "lagoon".
Yesterday, we arrived around lunch time and were told nearly every hostel in town was booked up except the one we end up staying in, where buggy/ sandboarding tours are cumpulsory and included in the price.
Around 5 we went sand boarding and left in this crazy looking buggy. At several points in the trip we thought we were actually going to die. The man who was driving was a complete nutter... not only was he elderly but he nearly crashed the buggy and almost ran over some children on the way to the dunes. He also liked to drive on the wrong side of the road.
He would drive full speed over the top of dunes and then down the bottom accelerating...
----------
But the sandboarding was really fun, especially with the sun setting over the dunes. Tilly tried to stand up but fell over lots of times, perhaps slightly too overexpectant of her sandboarding skills... on the otherhand, I didn´t realise you had to put your feet down to brake, so went flying down soo fast it was crazy.
Yesterday, we arrived around lunch time and were told nearly every hostel in town was booked up except the one we end up staying in, where buggy/ sandboarding tours are cumpulsory and included in the price.
Around 5 we went sand boarding and left in this crazy looking buggy. At several points in the trip we thought we were actually going to die. The man who was driving was a complete nutter... not only was he elderly but he nearly crashed the buggy and almost ran over some children on the way to the dunes. He also liked to drive on the wrong side of the road.
He would drive full speed over the top of dunes and then down the bottom accelerating...
----------
But the sandboarding was really fun, especially with the sun setting over the dunes. Tilly tried to stand up but fell over lots of times, perhaps slightly too overexpectant of her sandboarding skills... on the otherhand, I didn´t realise you had to put your feet down to brake, so went flying down soo fast it was crazy.
Tuesday 19 April 2011
On the road again
Legs aching and sleep levels significantly low, we survived a 16hour overnight bus ride to Nasca where we have just settled into 'WalkOn Inn' hostel. They have a pool!! It's quite cold but still, luxuries like that get you excited when you've been away for so long...
Just a quick post to say how beautiful the scenary was travelling from Cuzco to Nasca through the scorching desert. The sky is the brightest, clearest blue, and the surrounding mountains and sand dunes are dusky orange, red and brown. There are even cactuses, just to add to the movie effect. The long winding roads look kind of scary but sooo fun to drive down. Proper Thelma and Louise moment.
We're taking a well deserved day of relaxation today, and will see the Nasca lines tomorrow, although we won't be taking a flight as it is quite expensive for a trip which lasts around 15minutes and is guaranteed to make you vomit if you have eaten anything prior... So we're doing the cheapo option and climbing a tower which allows you to see a few but not all of the famous lines...
Just a quick post to say how beautiful the scenary was travelling from Cuzco to Nasca through the scorching desert. The sky is the brightest, clearest blue, and the surrounding mountains and sand dunes are dusky orange, red and brown. There are even cactuses, just to add to the movie effect. The long winding roads look kind of scary but sooo fun to drive down. Proper Thelma and Louise moment.
We're taking a well deserved day of relaxation today, and will see the Nasca lines tomorrow, although we won't be taking a flight as it is quite expensive for a trip which lasts around 15minutes and is guaranteed to make you vomit if you have eaten anything prior... So we're doing the cheapo option and climbing a tower which allows you to see a few but not all of the famous lines...
Monday 18 April 2011
Inca Trail
We are officially back alive, although Phoebe insists she has a very sore achilles tendon.
It was probably the hardest thing both of us have ever done, as mostly it consisted of walking up a mountain- on winding staircases, and then down again in the rain. It was however a worthwhile experience, as the scenery was amazing and the people were lovely. We are completely tired and I think our clothes might be unfit for the launderette, as we were hiking all day with no shower.
Day one:
On the first day we got up at 6, and then ate loads of breakfast (because it was free and we have to get our moneys worth. Next we got into a minibus and went to a village which is sponsored by the company we booked the trail with (Gap adventures). They support this village making sure they continue their way of life using traditional processes without the interference of globalisation. Phoebe bought a poncho... crazy times....
After the village we moved on to an Inca site called Pisac, which mainly consists of agricultural terraces and a religious sector, located not far into the Sacred Valley.
We stayed the night in a place called Ollantaytambo which has another Inca site (and guess what there are a lot more to come). In case you didnt know, an Inca site is basically just walls, interesting walls but still walls. But there are different walls... pre inca walls... granite walls... lots of lovely walls.
Day Two:
This was day one of the actual Inca trail, with lots of walking and sweating. This day wasn't too hard as it was more of a warm up to get us acclimatised but still it was a bit of a shock, as neither of us had done any real exercise in a long time. We treked for around six hours but it was mostly flat and nothing compared to what was to come...
Day Three:
Possibly the worst day of my life. Literally. Actual hell. It was a little like the punishment of Sisyphus (eternal pushing of a boulder up a hill and then watching it roll back down), except unfortunately Phoebe was Sisyphus and I was the boulder.
This hill was imense in fact to get up to the killer hill you had to walk up something which was basically a mountain for two hours. Oh and I forgot to mention we didn't have trekking poles as we were too cheap to pay to hire them. At the top of the mountain is 'Dead woman's pass', at 4200metres (or as our guide liked to call it 'Gringo killer'), the peak forms the shape of a nipple which made the experience all the more surreal and emotionally traumatic.
And then of course what comes up must come down... The down part was wet, and the Inca's really couldnt get enough of stairs. They couldnt even make nice straight ones. However, on a postive note Phoebe discovered her true talent. Down hill hiking.
Day Four:
More Inca ruins and a lot more rain.
Day Five:
We woke up at 3 in the morning becasue there is only allowed to be 500 people inside Machu Picchu at once because of crowding issues, this means that it is a race to be first to get throught the gate which opens at 5.30, and even then it was a 2 hour hike in the rain to get to the Sun gate which is where you finally get a view of the famous site. Obviously they weren't going to make it easy... For one, our guide was playing cringey 80's music which is not what you want to hear at 4 in the morning waiting in the pitch black rain for a kiosk to open in a hour and a halfs time. But, we were the first group in line... and Phoebe was the second person to reach the Sun gate.
On top of that those fun loving Inca's added monkey steps (virtical climb more like) in the forest just to make our journey more pleasant and to make us wetter and considerably more dirty, (I'm sorry mum for not brushing my hair in the photos... it wouldn't have made a difference anyway.)
When we finally reached the top it was really cloudy as we were in a cloud forest so we couldn't really see that much of MP at that point anyway but that didn't stop it being beautiful.
During the day the sun came up and it was quite hot. Machu Picchu is beautiful, and it is incredible that the Spanish found it necessary to destroy such an interesting and unthreatening civillisation. It was discovered by a man called Hiram Bingham (only an american would call their child Hiram), who found it by surprise when a little boy led him there, as it was a site long known by the local people. Since then a great deal of it has been re-built with the rocks that had fallen and it is now a MASSIVE tourist hot spot filled with half of Japan and China, donned in Machu Picchu hats with attatched mosquito nets, gloves, face masks and all. There are also a lot of people like my dad skulking around with cameras desperately fighting to get the best picture- or most of the time picture of someone else taking a picture (arty). But it was amazing, so you can completely understand why people go. Oh and they use llamas to cut the grass (llamowers) and sometimes the llamas just stand in the middle of walkways creating havok with terrified old ladies and also making substancial traffic jams.
It was probably the hardest thing both of us have ever done, as mostly it consisted of walking up a mountain- on winding staircases, and then down again in the rain. It was however a worthwhile experience, as the scenery was amazing and the people were lovely. We are completely tired and I think our clothes might be unfit for the launderette, as we were hiking all day with no shower.
Day one:
On the first day we got up at 6, and then ate loads of breakfast (because it was free and we have to get our moneys worth. Next we got into a minibus and went to a village which is sponsored by the company we booked the trail with (Gap adventures). They support this village making sure they continue their way of life using traditional processes without the interference of globalisation. Phoebe bought a poncho... crazy times....
After the village we moved on to an Inca site called Pisac, which mainly consists of agricultural terraces and a religious sector, located not far into the Sacred Valley.
We stayed the night in a place called Ollantaytambo which has another Inca site (and guess what there are a lot more to come). In case you didnt know, an Inca site is basically just walls, interesting walls but still walls. But there are different walls... pre inca walls... granite walls... lots of lovely walls.
Day Two:
This was day one of the actual Inca trail, with lots of walking and sweating. This day wasn't too hard as it was more of a warm up to get us acclimatised but still it was a bit of a shock, as neither of us had done any real exercise in a long time. We treked for around six hours but it was mostly flat and nothing compared to what was to come...
Day Three:
Possibly the worst day of my life. Literally. Actual hell. It was a little like the punishment of Sisyphus (eternal pushing of a boulder up a hill and then watching it roll back down), except unfortunately Phoebe was Sisyphus and I was the boulder.
This hill was imense in fact to get up to the killer hill you had to walk up something which was basically a mountain for two hours. Oh and I forgot to mention we didn't have trekking poles as we were too cheap to pay to hire them. At the top of the mountain is 'Dead woman's pass', at 4200metres (or as our guide liked to call it 'Gringo killer'), the peak forms the shape of a nipple which made the experience all the more surreal and emotionally traumatic.
And then of course what comes up must come down... The down part was wet, and the Inca's really couldnt get enough of stairs. They couldnt even make nice straight ones. However, on a postive note Phoebe discovered her true talent. Down hill hiking.
Day Four:
More Inca ruins and a lot more rain.
Day Five:
We woke up at 3 in the morning becasue there is only allowed to be 500 people inside Machu Picchu at once because of crowding issues, this means that it is a race to be first to get throught the gate which opens at 5.30, and even then it was a 2 hour hike in the rain to get to the Sun gate which is where you finally get a view of the famous site. Obviously they weren't going to make it easy... For one, our guide was playing cringey 80's music which is not what you want to hear at 4 in the morning waiting in the pitch black rain for a kiosk to open in a hour and a halfs time. But, we were the first group in line... and Phoebe was the second person to reach the Sun gate.
On top of that those fun loving Inca's added monkey steps (virtical climb more like) in the forest just to make our journey more pleasant and to make us wetter and considerably more dirty, (I'm sorry mum for not brushing my hair in the photos... it wouldn't have made a difference anyway.)
When we finally reached the top it was really cloudy as we were in a cloud forest so we couldn't really see that much of MP at that point anyway but that didn't stop it being beautiful.
During the day the sun came up and it was quite hot. Machu Picchu is beautiful, and it is incredible that the Spanish found it necessary to destroy such an interesting and unthreatening civillisation. It was discovered by a man called Hiram Bingham (only an american would call their child Hiram), who found it by surprise when a little boy led him there, as it was a site long known by the local people. Since then a great deal of it has been re-built with the rocks that had fallen and it is now a MASSIVE tourist hot spot filled with half of Japan and China, donned in Machu Picchu hats with attatched mosquito nets, gloves, face masks and all. There are also a lot of people like my dad skulking around with cameras desperately fighting to get the best picture- or most of the time picture of someone else taking a picture (arty). But it was amazing, so you can completely understand why people go. Oh and they use llamas to cut the grass (llamowers) and sometimes the llamas just stand in the middle of walkways creating havok with terrified old ladies and also making substancial traffic jams.
Sunday 10 April 2011
Cusco
SOoo, we start the Inka Trail to Machu Picchu in 2 days... Sadly Gaby has abandoned us to go to Bolivia as she has less time than us and wants to see as much as she can before going to Central America in a month...
We´ve been to lots of Cathedrals (there are 7 just in Cusco), museums and markets.
Today we hiked for an hour in the baking heat to a White Christ at the top of a mountain overlooking the whole of Cusco. It was so hard and you´ll see by the pictures that our clothing was not perhaps the appropriate hiking attire! The views were amazing and we were so lucky to have done it on such a sunny day.
Tilly´s been playing with llamas and alpaccas whenever she can... I wouldn´t be suprised if she stuffed one into her backpack. We actually tried Milenesa de Alpacca the other day at our hostel. It was so taasty! And we spoke to some Canadians about Argentina and all the meat and wine we´ll be eating! Mmmmm
We´ve been to lots of Cathedrals (there are 7 just in Cusco), museums and markets.
Today we hiked for an hour in the baking heat to a White Christ at the top of a mountain overlooking the whole of Cusco. It was so hard and you´ll see by the pictures that our clothing was not perhaps the appropriate hiking attire! The views were amazing and we were so lucky to have done it on such a sunny day.
Tilly´s been playing with llamas and alpaccas whenever she can... I wouldn´t be suprised if she stuffed one into her backpack. We actually tried Milenesa de Alpacca the other day at our hostel. It was so taasty! And we spoke to some Canadians about Argentina and all the meat and wine we´ll be eating! Mmmmm
Saturday 2 April 2011
The sun´ll come out tomorrowww
Just a bit about Mancora...... the sun was so hot as we were so near the equator and apparently the position of the Earth´s axis is at the closest to the sun it´s been in however many years; so we all got burnt, me and Gaby included.... (Tilly always burns). We bought suncream, but a day late so the damage was already done!
Anyway, Mancora was great. We surfed and stood up a few times but the waves were so high- because of the recent tsunami and position of the moon, we hear. Gaby and I went swimming at one point and what was a nice swim suddenly changed when we realised that we were needing to tread water really close to the shore, and weren´t going anywhere even whilst trying to swim back. Luckily, an Australian man shouted to us that we were caught in a riptide and had to swim sideways to be free. Scary times as we were later told by an American that a guy he was travelling with had witnessed another person die further down the coast by drowning in a riptide!
Mancora´s quite a party town, especially at Loki where we stayed, however it was a nice break from busy city travelling and we made lots of friends (and created lots of gossip..)
Just thought I´d mention how hot it was in Mancora, because in Cusco now it is freeeeezing. We´ve all got kitted out in Gringo alpaca jumpers and thick bed socks to keep us warm at such high altitude, around 3,400m!
Anyway, Mancora was great. We surfed and stood up a few times but the waves were so high- because of the recent tsunami and position of the moon, we hear. Gaby and I went swimming at one point and what was a nice swim suddenly changed when we realised that we were needing to tread water really close to the shore, and weren´t going anywhere even whilst trying to swim back. Luckily, an Australian man shouted to us that we were caught in a riptide and had to swim sideways to be free. Scary times as we were later told by an American that a guy he was travelling with had witnessed another person die further down the coast by drowning in a riptide!
Mancora´s quite a party town, especially at Loki where we stayed, however it was a nice break from busy city travelling and we made lots of friends (and created lots of gossip..)
Just thought I´d mention how hot it was in Mancora, because in Cusco now it is freeeeezing. We´ve all got kitted out in Gringo alpaca jumpers and thick bed socks to keep us warm at such high altitude, around 3,400m!
Lima to Cusco
We were only in Lima for a night because it is so massive, and really quite like every other city in the world. However we did have time to meet up with a Canadian we met in Mancora, and we tried Pisco sours, which are like strange mixture of Pisco (a white grape brandy), egg white and lemon. Other than that not much really happened except we sold out again, we went to Starbucks and got frappichinos.
Ok. So now we are in Cusco and have spent all our time shopping eating and sleeping.Oh and a bit of drinking (but only coca cola of course). And maybe some Inca Cola which is bright yellow and tastes like a mixture between irnbru and barroca. We tried cocoa leaves, which your meant to chew and then leave under your gums, and are supposed to have a caffeine like effect, however if you cover them in alkaline apparently thay become slightly phychotic. Anyway, we´ve been here about three days so far and I managed to have an epic game of Peruvian monopoly with some Norweigians... I came second but I suspect there was some cheating going on. They were also horrified with the fact that I couldn´t point Norway out on a map.
It has been along time since any of us have washed our clothes, and they have begun to feel like second skins... slightly smelly second skins, although Phoebe wants to buy some lynx (or axe as it is called here) to cover it up. I told her just to take a shower but she wouldnt listen....
So we don´t start Macchu Picchu untl the 12th and we have lots of free time. To be continued.............
Ok. So now we are in Cusco and have spent all our time shopping eating and sleeping.Oh and a bit of drinking (but only coca cola of course). And maybe some Inca Cola which is bright yellow and tastes like a mixture between irnbru and barroca. We tried cocoa leaves, which your meant to chew and then leave under your gums, and are supposed to have a caffeine like effect, however if you cover them in alkaline apparently thay become slightly phychotic. Anyway, we´ve been here about three days so far and I managed to have an epic game of Peruvian monopoly with some Norweigians... I came second but I suspect there was some cheating going on. They were also horrified with the fact that I couldn´t point Norway out on a map.
It has been along time since any of us have washed our clothes, and they have begun to feel like second skins... slightly smelly second skins, although Phoebe wants to buy some lynx (or axe as it is called here) to cover it up. I told her just to take a shower but she wouldnt listen....
So we don´t start Macchu Picchu untl the 12th and we have lots of free time. To be continued.............
Monday 21 March 2011
The selling out in Mancora
After a 7 hour coach ride finally arrived in Cuenca, the third largest city in Ecuador. Cobbled streets and historical architecture. Much friendlier than Quito but filled with eccentric elderly Americans... We visited cathedrals, saw a school parade and nearly tried ´´Cuy´´, but was put off by the price ($19!)
Had enough of city life and desperately wanted some sun and sea so we made it down into Peru. No border troubles, we made friends with the armed guard and slept but there were some quite disturbing crocodile/ python movies in the coach.
Nowwww, weve arrived in Mancora, Peru. A lovely little surf town on the north coast. On our journey down we decided that we'd stay in the 15 solas hostel instead of the AMAZING hostel (they call it a hostel but its practically a resort) but when we visited this amazing hostel we decided that it was worth the extra 10 solas in order to get away from our boring little hostel and get with the party at Loki, the resort!
So here we are, feeling slight like sell outs but nevertheless happy with our decision and looking forward to some surf, sun and sand!
Still deciding on our next stop, but we think we'll be enjoying this town for a little while...
Had enough of city life and desperately wanted some sun and sea so we made it down into Peru. No border troubles, we made friends with the armed guard and slept but there were some quite disturbing crocodile/ python movies in the coach.
Nowwww, weve arrived in Mancora, Peru. A lovely little surf town on the north coast. On our journey down we decided that we'd stay in the 15 solas hostel instead of the AMAZING hostel (they call it a hostel but its practically a resort) but when we visited this amazing hostel we decided that it was worth the extra 10 solas in order to get away from our boring little hostel and get with the party at Loki, the resort!
So here we are, feeling slight like sell outs but nevertheless happy with our decision and looking forward to some surf, sun and sand!
Still deciding on our next stop, but we think we'll be enjoying this town for a little while...
Tuesday 15 March 2011
Annnnnnd Gaby joins the gang!
Sup blog readers
So I've joined P and T in Banos, had to deal with some hanky panky from fellow dormmates when I was unable to be in P and T's room due to an evil american stealing my bed. Sad days. But Im back in there tonight so Im way haps.
Am loving a little return to normality by hanging with these two, though I don't think they'll let me have another cameo in their blog. :(
Gaby
xxx
So I've joined P and T in Banos, had to deal with some hanky panky from fellow dormmates when I was unable to be in P and T's room due to an evil american stealing my bed. Sad days. But Im back in there tonight so Im way haps.
Am loving a little return to normality by hanging with these two, though I don't think they'll let me have another cameo in their blog. :(
Gaby
xxx
Heading South
Sooo we´ve been in Banos for a few days. Weather is soo much hotter than Quito which was freezing and so rainy that our hostel had a powercut right in the middle of watching When Harry Met Sally...
Banos is so beautiful, the town is surrounded by a valley of volcanoes and there are waterfalls and mountains everywhere. Our hostel, Plantos y blancos is really nice. it has a roof top terrace where you can sunbathe and have breakfast outside.
On sunday we went canopying (zip lining). It was amaaazing. The guide showed us some quite crazy positions to fly across the valleys..... videos to follow. Then yesterday we went white water rafting and Tilly had a ´´near death experience´´ as she calls it, where she fell out of the raft and was bobbing up and down in the rapids. It was quite scary, but also quite funny at the same time. and nothing to worry about- shes fine I promise.
In the evening we went to outside thermal springs heated from the volcano. Really hot and busy. Going to a morning spa in our hostel now so gotta go......
Banos is so beautiful, the town is surrounded by a valley of volcanoes and there are waterfalls and mountains everywhere. Our hostel, Plantos y blancos is really nice. it has a roof top terrace where you can sunbathe and have breakfast outside.
On sunday we went canopying (zip lining). It was amaaazing. The guide showed us some quite crazy positions to fly across the valleys..... videos to follow. Then yesterday we went white water rafting and Tilly had a ´´near death experience´´ as she calls it, where she fell out of the raft and was bobbing up and down in the rapids. It was quite scary, but also quite funny at the same time. and nothing to worry about- shes fine I promise.
In the evening we went to outside thermal springs heated from the volcano. Really hot and busy. Going to a morning spa in our hostel now so gotta go......
Friday 11 March 2011
WE R OK
hello all,
just to stop all parents panicing. we are ok, just lazy. finished our spanish lessons today and seriously dont think ive learnt very much. but phoebe has apparently. tomorrow we go to Otavalo (a really big market), and on Sunday to Banos
just to stop all parents panicing. we are ok, just lazy. finished our spanish lessons today and seriously dont think ive learnt very much. but phoebe has apparently. tomorrow we go to Otavalo (a really big market), and on Sunday to Banos
Monday 7 March 2011
Saturday 5 March 2011
QUITO
This weekend we took a 2hr bus journey to a place called Latacunga. There was a carnival on so the station was completely packed. And it was completely crazy... i mean kittens in handbags and chickens on leads. When people pushed in everyone shouted "cola" at them (which i think means queue) and whistled. lucky we are so sly and innocent looking....
In Latacunga we climbed a volcanic crater called Quilatoa. It was filled with a bright emerald lake. it was LITERALLY breathtaking. the altitude made it so hard to breath when we were trekking back up. it´s quite scary not being able to breath.
Its about 21 degrees here. Everyone wears jeans which makes it hard to get a tan, but on the coast it should be hotter!! It rained the other day in Quito, and in Latacunga. Its like the rain in ´The day after tomorrow´- it comes from nowhere and suddenly it is belting it down. You get soaked within seconds.
In response to Ellie´s comment: the food. Its basically lots of rice, chicken stew, hot soups, banana semolina stuff, fried bananas and herbal teas. Quite boring and bland but alright... And for such a coffee growing rich continent..... the only coffee we´ve been offered so far is imported and instant!!
We start Spanish lessons tomorrow!!
Sorry for the lack of photos- we´ll try and upload some soon...
xx
In Latacunga we climbed a volcanic crater called Quilatoa. It was filled with a bright emerald lake. it was LITERALLY breathtaking. the altitude made it so hard to breath when we were trekking back up. it´s quite scary not being able to breath.
Its about 21 degrees here. Everyone wears jeans which makes it hard to get a tan, but on the coast it should be hotter!! It rained the other day in Quito, and in Latacunga. Its like the rain in ´The day after tomorrow´- it comes from nowhere and suddenly it is belting it down. You get soaked within seconds.
In response to Ellie´s comment: the food. Its basically lots of rice, chicken stew, hot soups, banana semolina stuff, fried bananas and herbal teas. Quite boring and bland but alright... And for such a coffee growing rich continent..... the only coffee we´ve been offered so far is imported and instant!!
We start Spanish lessons tomorrow!!
Sorry for the lack of photos- we´ll try and upload some soon...
xx
Thursday 3 March 2011
LANDED
Its also weird getting used to everyone looking at you like your from anopther planet!
We went to Quito Cathedral this afternoon and it was amazing! we climbed right to the top of the bell tower which overlooks the whole of Quito. the views are so beautiful and it only cost us a dollar to get in, compared to london prices its soooo cheap. Plus, there was no one else there which makes it so much more personal and spectacular.
Miss you all xxxxxxx
Tuesday 1 March 2011
Friday 18 February 2011
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)