I have now put all of the travel pictures on this site with short comments for each pic. They are divided into three sections - Brazil, North Peru, the rest (Lima to Buenos Aires)
The link to the page is opens in a new window
Sunday, November 5, 2006
Monday, October 30, 2006
Second grandchild
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| Mary and Claudia |
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| Max & Claudia |
Cousin Max at almost 8 months and Claudia at 8 hours old
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Report # 17 - final
A fond greeting to all the faithful followers of my stories. I know they have at times been long and detailed so I hope you found them interesting.
I have now been home in Australia for 20 days and am fully back to normal and really enjoying the comforts of home. Yesterday I even started again with the Spanish classes at U3A.
The previous report finished in Salta - north western Argentina - where I stayed several days. It was wonderfully refreshing to be in a city with greenery after so long on the arid west coast of the continent. For those who have not been to South America it is probably hard to realise what the scenery is like.
Up north in Colombia and the first half of Ecuador all the land is fertile and receives rain so it is always green. But the lower part of Ecuador, all of Perú and the top of Chile are in what is called the "dry" zone which basically seldom gets any rain. Lima gets about 40-50 mms, while other places get 5-10 mms per year. At the Chan Chán ruins I was told they have not had significant rain since the last ice age (!!). The population depends on water in the twelve-or-so major rivers flowing from the mountains for drinking as well as irrigation. Basically there is no natural vegetation in the form of grass or trees in the whole of that area. However, the soil is incredibly fertile once you put water on it, so they are able to produce a huge variety of crops for local and export trade. The soil is also perfect for making mud-bricks - adobe - so most of the buildings that are outside or on the fringes of the cities are built totally from adobe. Hence the overall impression is that the hills, the soil and the buildings are all a uniform brown colour, which after a while I found to be depressing. So I arrived in the very pretty city of Salta which has hills covered in shrubs and grass, city parks full of eucalyptus trees and it was very clean compared to the other countries I had visited. Returning to Argentina I discovered that there are very few street sellers, the shops are more modern, there are few iron grills on the shop-fronts, and in general it is a very westernised country. This is in strong contrast to Perú where most business premises have extensive iron grills on the shop-front, and the grills are frequently left closed even when the shop is open - so you do your purchasing through the grill!! I presume this is a carry-over from the sad days of the Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) terrorist guerrilla attacks. Basically in Salta I just relaxed then caught my luxury bus to Buenos Aires. I thought is was a 24 hour journey but it took only 19 hours. Knowing the city from my earlier visit it was easy to catch a "Subte" (metro) train to Sherry”s apartment. Sherry is a generous, lovely former student of mine who has fallen in love with South America and loves to stay in one city for a month or more, usually in an apartment. Her favourite place is Bogotá, but she has stayed in Lima, Santiago and Valparaiso, and she arrived in BA only a few days before me. The apartment has a loft with a single bed, a bathroom with normal toilet (no basket!), very hot water, "flick-tap" and hot water in kitchen. So I was almost home! I did not realise till then how tired I really was and how stressful the trip had been. Every single action - choosing a hotel, choosing an eating place, then the menu item, catching a bus (which one?), getting off the bus (where?), which street to walk down, how to get back to the hotel - all these things are filled with stress because none of them are within your comfort zone. So, in effect, I was in a constant state of tension without realising it. Doing a normal pre-arranged tour with hotels and restaurants and destinations all chosen is not nearly so stressful. Nor is Sherry”s method of staying put in one place for a few weeks. Sherry gave me 6 days of great relaxation - on the condition I cooked the main meal(!!) - which I did on 3-4 nights. So I visited La Boca (the quaint old port area), the Recoleta cemetery, the Sunday market in San Telmo, walked the streets (including the up-market pedestrian mall on Calle Florida), visited Pili, the mother of out good friend Marcelo (in Yandina), and some of her family. Pili took me to Tigre a beautiful residential area 30 kms north of the city, on the banks of the river. They have a monstrous market there selling everything from fairy floss and handicrafts to beds and furniture at ridiculously low prices. Many locals travel to there to get furniture for their home. Definitely worth a visit especially on the weekend when all the stalls are open. So I started to relax and my cold started to reduce; I watched some movies on cable TV, chatted for hours with Sherry and enjoyed what I now consider a modern western city, far removed from the squalor and poverty I was used to for 10 weeks. By the way, men of all classes in Buenos Aires do not shake hands to greet one another, they kiss once on the left cheek. It was the first time I had seen this on my trip. Everyone has been asking me to specify the highlights of my trip or which country was the best/worst, so I will try to give some opinions. But I cannot say one country was better than another - they each have their good and bad points, and it would be foolish to say one is better than the other, just as ice-cream and steak are both nice but you cannot say one is "better". Brazil is a fascinating country whose people are marvellously uninhibited, joyful and musical. Rio and Salvador de Bahia are both wonderful cities and definitely should be on the "must-see" list. Salvador was probably the most exciting city that I visited - especially because of the drummers. Belém and Manaus are well worth seeing, along with a jungle trip - although that can also be done from Bolivia, Colombia or Perú. Colombia is not the dangerous place some people believe. The people are friendly and have a touch of Caribbean spontaneity. There are many places to see, from beaches to mountains. San Agustín is worth visiting, as is Leticia for a jungle trip. Ecuador has beaches, volcanos, mountains, interesting cities like Cuenca - or Baños (when the volcano stops being active!). And of course it sits astride the equator - but hold on to your cameras. Perú has a surplus of ancient ruins and archaeological sites but most of it is dry desert region. However, the people still suffer the scars of the vicious persecution by the military government in the 1970”s and the terrorism of Sendero Luminoso in the 1980”s; and there is an immense gap between the “haves” and the “have-nots”. Despite that, there are many must-see places:- Sipán, Túcume, Chan-Chán, Nasca, Machu Picchu, and the Cordillera Blanca (snow-covered mountains). Handicraft items are plentiful and cheap. Bolivia is one of the poorer nations but still very enjoyable and has much to see. La Paz is different and interesting and the handicrafts are the cheapest you will find (except perhaps Paraguay? - which I did not visit). Lake Titicaha is important, but so is Uyuni Salt Lake - cold, dusty, bleak, uninviting, but unique; and I would add the several coloured lakes further south if you have the time. Argentina and Chile are the two most economically developed countries on the continent and each has its own points of interest. Uruguay and Paraguay are the quiet backwaters and I am sure both would be interesting to see but neither has the exciting drawcards that the other countries possess. My special highlights would include, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, the visit to Roberta and Joselia in Manaus, finding and meeting Viviana in Chimbote, Machu Picchu, and Salar Uyuni. But there were twelve weeks of adventure and events that all added up to a complete whole - something special - and to select one item from all the rest seems somehow inappropriate. The final flight home was somewhat long and boring and included the frustration of having to empty my water bottles before boarding because of the (in my opinion) stupid rule about liquids, based on fear of terrorism ( a USA and UK initiative). However, the arrival home was fantastic and I felt so pleased and Mary was so welcoming that it obliterated al those frustrations. We have been very happy in one another”s company since my return; we have spent almost two weeks renovating the lounge-dining areas and moving my computer station upstairs - with very spectacular results. The family get-togethers have been the best of fun and Natalie is due to give birth within two weeks; little Max has grown and developed so much it is amazing. A trip I would repeat if I had my time over but not a trip I need to do again. Thanks for the interest of you all and may you get to experience some of the fun of seeing South America. Hasta Luego, Nobby - Chris A fond greeting to all the faithful followers of my stories. I know they have at times been long and detailed so I hope you found them interesting.
I have now been home in Australia for 20 days and am fully back to normal and really enjoying the comforts of home. Yesterday I even started again with the Spanish classes at U3A.
The previous report finished in Salta - north western Argentina - where I stayed several days. It was wonderfully refreshing to be in a city with greenery after so long on the arid west coast of the continent. For those who have not been to South America it is probably hard to realise what the scenery is like.
Up north in Colombia and the first half of Ecuador all the land is fertile and receives rain so it is always green. But the lower part of Ecuador, all of Perú and the top of Chile are in what is called the "dry" zone which basically seldom gets any rain. Lima gets about 40-50 mms, while other places get 5-10 mms per year. At the Chan Chán ruins I was told they have not had significant rain since the last ice age (!!). The population depends on water in the twelve-or-so major rivers flowing from the mountains for drinking as well as irrigation. Basically there is no natural vegetation in the form of grass or trees in the whole of that area. However, the soil is incredibly fertile once you put water on it, so they are able to produce a huge variety of crops for local and export trade. The soil is also perfect for making mud-bricks - adobe - so most of the buildings that are outside or on the fringes of the cities are built totally from adobe. Hence the overall impression is that the hills, the soil and the buildings are all a uniform brown colour, which after a while I found to be depressing. So I arrived in the very pretty city of Salta which has hills covered in shrubs and grass, city parks full of eucalyptus trees and it was very clean compared to the other countries I had visited. Returning to Argentina I discovered that there are very few street sellers, the shops are more modern, there are few iron grills on the shop-fronts, and in general it is a very westernised country. This is in strong contrast to Perú where most business premises have extensive iron grills on the shop-front, and the grills are frequently left closed even when the shop is open - so you do your purchasing through the grill!! I presume this is a carry-over from the sad days of the Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) terrorist guerrilla attacks. Basically in Salta I just relaxed then caught my luxury bus to Buenos Aires. I thought is was a 24 hour journey but it took only 19 hours. Knowing the city from my earlier visit it was easy to catch a "Subte" (metro) train to Sherry”s apartment. Sherry is a generous, lovely former student of mine who has fallen in love with South America and loves to stay in one city for a month or more, usually in an apartment. Her favourite place is Bogotá, but she has stayed in Lima, Santiago and Valparaiso, and she arrived in BA only a few days before me. The apartment has a loft with a single bed, a bathroom with normal toilet (no basket!), very hot water, "flick-tap" and hot water in kitchen. So I was almost home! I did not realise till then how tired I really was and how stressful the trip had been. Every single action - choosing a hotel, choosing an eating place, then the menu item, catching a bus (which one?), getting off the bus (where?), which street to walk down, how to get back to the hotel - all these things are filled with stress because none of them are within your comfort zone. So, in effect, I was in a constant state of tension without realising it. Doing a normal pre-arranged tour with hotels and restaurants and destinations all chosen is not nearly so stressful. Nor is Sherry”s method of staying put in one place for a few weeks. Sherry gave me 6 days of great relaxation - on the condition I cooked the main meal(!!) - which I did on 3-4 nights. So I visited La Boca (the quaint old port area), the Recoleta cemetery, the Sunday market in San Telmo, walked the streets (including the up-market pedestrian mall on Calle Florida), visited Pili, the mother of out good friend Marcelo (in Yandina), and some of her family. Pili took me to Tigre a beautiful residential area 30 kms north of the city, on the banks of the river. They have a monstrous market there selling everything from fairy floss and handicrafts to beds and furniture at ridiculously low prices. Many locals travel to there to get furniture for their home. Definitely worth a visit especially on the weekend when all the stalls are open. So I started to relax and my cold started to reduce; I watched some movies on cable TV, chatted for hours with Sherry and enjoyed what I now consider a modern western city, far removed from the squalor and poverty I was used to for 10 weeks. By the way, men of all classes in Buenos Aires do not shake hands to greet one another, they kiss once on the left cheek. It was the first time I had seen this on my trip. Everyone has been asking me to specify the highlights of my trip or which country was the best/worst, so I will try to give some opinions. But I cannot say one country was better than another - they each have their good and bad points, and it would be foolish to say one is better than the other, just as ice-cream and steak are both nice but you cannot say one is "better". Brazil is a fascinating country whose people are marvellously uninhibited, joyful and musical. Rio and Salvador de Bahia are both wonderful cities and definitely should be on the "must-see" list. Salvador was probably the most exciting city that I visited - especially because of the drummers. Belém and Manaus are well worth seeing, along with a jungle trip - although that can also be done from Bolivia, Colombia or Perú. Colombia is not the dangerous place some people believe. The people are friendly and have a touch of Caribbean spontaneity. There are many places to see, from beaches to mountains. San Agustín is worth visiting, as is Leticia for a jungle trip. Ecuador has beaches, volcanos, mountains, interesting cities like Cuenca - or Baños (when the volcano stops being active!). And of course it sits astride the equator - but hold on to your cameras. Perú has a surplus of ancient ruins and archaeological sites but most of it is dry desert region. However, the people still suffer the scars of the vicious persecution by the military government in the 1970”s and the terrorism of Sendero Luminoso in the 1980”s; and there is an immense gap between the “haves” and the “have-nots”. Despite that, there are many must-see places:- Sipán, Túcume, Chan-Chán, Nasca, Machu Picchu, and the Cordillera Blanca (snow-covered mountains). Handicraft items are plentiful and cheap. Bolivia is one of the poorer nations but still very enjoyable and has much to see. La Paz is different and interesting and the handicrafts are the cheapest you will find (except perhaps Paraguay? - which I did not visit). Lake Titicaha is important, but so is Uyuni Salt Lake - cold, dusty, bleak, uninviting, but unique; and I would add the several coloured lakes further south if you have the time. Argentina and Chile are the two most economically developed countries on the continent and each has its own points of interest. Uruguay and Paraguay are the quiet backwaters and I am sure both would be interesting to see but neither has the exciting drawcards that the other countries possess. My special highlights would include, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, the visit to Roberta and Joselia in Manaus, finding and meeting Viviana in Chimbote, Machu Picchu, and Salar Uyuni. But there were twelve weeks of adventure and events that all added up to a complete whole - something special - and to select one item from all the rest seems somehow inappropriate. The final flight home was somewhat long and boring and included the frustration of having to empty my water bottles before boarding because of the (in my opinion) stupid rule about liquids, based on fear of terrorism ( a USA and UK initiative). However, the arrival home was fantastic and I felt so pleased and Mary was so welcoming that it obliterated al those frustrations. We have been very happy in one another”s company since my return; we have spent almost two weeks renovating the lounge-dining areas and moving my computer station upstairs - with very spectacular results. The family get-togethers have been the best of fun and Natalie is due to give birth within two weeks; little Max has grown and developed so much it is amazing. A trip I would repeat if I had my time over but not a trip I need to do again. Thanks for the interest of you all and may you get to experience some of the fun of seeing South America. Hasta Luego, Nobby - Chris A fond greeting to all the faithful followers of my stories. I know they have at times been long and detailed so I hope you found them interesting.
I have now been home in Australia for 20 days and am fully back to normal and really enjoying the comforts of home. Yesterday I even started again with the Spanish classes at U3A.
The previous report finished in Salta - north western Argentina - where I stayed several days. It was wonderfully refreshing to be in a city with greenery after so long on the arid west coast of the continent. For those who have not been to South America it is probably hard to realise what the scenery is like.
Up north in Colombia and the first half of Ecuador all the land is fertile and receives rain so it is always green. But the lower part of Ecuador, all of Perú and the top of Chile are in what is called the "dry" zone which basically seldom gets any rain. Lima gets about 40-50 mms, while other places get 5-10 mms per year. At the Chan Chán ruins I was told they have not had significant rain since the last ice age (!!). The population depends on water in the twelve-or-so major rivers flowing from the mountains for drinking as well as irrigation. Basically there is no natural vegetation in the form of grass or trees in the whole of that area. However, the soil is incredibly fertile once you put water on it, so they are able to produce a huge variety of crops for local and export trade. The soil is also perfect for making mud-bricks - adobe - so most of the buildings that are outside or on the fringes of the cities are built totally from adobe. Hence the overall impression is that the hills, the soil and the buildings are all a uniform brown colour, which after a while I found to be depressing. So I arrived in the very pretty city of Salta which has hills covered in shrubs and grass, city parks full of eucalyptus trees and it was very clean compared to the other countries I had visited. Returning to Argentina I discovered that there are very few street sellers, the shops are more modern, there are few iron grills on the shop-fronts, and in general it is a very westernised country. This is in strong contrast to Perú where most business premises have extensive iron grills on the shop-front, and the grills are frequently left closed even when the shop is open - so you do your purchasing through the grill!! I presume this is a carry-over from the sad days of the Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) terrorist guerrilla attacks. Basically in Salta I just relaxed then caught my luxury bus to Buenos Aires. I thought is was a 24 hour journey but it took only 19 hours. Knowing the city from my earlier visit it was easy to catch a "Subte" (metro) train to Sherry”s apartment. Sherry is a generous, lovely former student of mine who has fallen in love with South America and loves to stay in one city for a month or more, usually in an apartment. Her favourite place is Bogotá, but she has stayed in Lima, Santiago and Valparaiso, and she arrived in BA only a few days before me. The apartment has a loft with a single bed, a bathroom with normal toilet (no basket!), very hot water, "flick-tap" and hot water in kitchen. So I was almost home! I did not realise till then how tired I really was and how stressful the trip had been. Every single action - choosing a hotel, choosing an eating place, then the menu item, catching a bus (which one?), getting off the bus (where?), which street to walk down, how to get back to the hotel - all these things are filled with stress because none of them are within your comfort zone. So, in effect, I was in a constant state of tension without realising it. Doing a normal pre-arranged tour with hotels and restaurants and destinations all chosen is not nearly so stressful. Nor is Sherry”s method of staying put in one place for a few weeks. Sherry gave me 6 days of great relaxation - on the condition I cooked the main meal(!!) - which I did on 3-4 nights. So I visited La Boca (the quaint old port area), the Recoleta cemetery, the Sunday market in San Telmo, walked the streets (including the up-market pedestrian mall on Calle Florida), visited Pili, the mother of out good friend Marcelo (in Yandina), and some of her family. Pili took me to Tigre a beautiful residential area 30 kms north of the city, on the banks of the river. They have a monstrous market there selling everything from fairy floss and handicrafts to beds and furniture at ridiculously low prices. Many locals travel to there to get furniture for their home. Definitely worth a visit especially on the weekend when all the stalls are open. So I started to relax and my cold started to reduce; I watched some movies on cable TV, chatted for hours with Sherry and enjoyed what I now consider a modern western city, far removed from the squalor and poverty I was used to for 10 weeks. By the way, men of all classes in Buenos Aires do not shake hands to greet one another, they kiss once on the left cheek. It was the first time I had seen this on my trip. Everyone has been asking me to specify the highlights of my trip or which country was the best/worst, so I will try to give some opinions. But I cannot say one country was better than another - they each have their good and bad points, and it would be foolish to say one is better than the other, just as ice-cream and steak are both nice but you cannot say one is "better". Brazil is a fascinating country whose people are marvellously uninhibited, joyful and musical. Rio and Salvador de Bahia are both wonderful cities and definitely should be on the "must-see" list. Salvador was probably the most exciting city that I visited - especially because of the drummers. Belém and Manaus are well worth seeing, along with a jungle trip - although that can also be done from Bolivia, Colombia or Perú. Colombia is not the dangerous place some people believe. The people are friendly and have a touch of Caribbean spontaneity. There are many places to see, from beaches to mountains. San Agustín is worth visiting, as is Leticia for a jungle trip. Ecuador has beaches, volcanos, mountains, interesting cities like Cuenca - or Baños (when the volcano stops being active!). And of course it sits astride the equator - but hold on to your cameras. Perú has a surplus of ancient ruins and archaeological sites but most of it is dry desert region. However, the people still suffer the scars of the vicious persecution by the military government in the 1970”s and the terrorism of Sendero Luminoso in the 1980”s; and there is an immense gap between the “haves” and the “have-nots”. Despite that, there are many must-see places:- Sipán, Túcume, Chan-Chán, Nasca, Machu Picchu, and the Cordillera Blanca (snow-covered mountains). Handicraft items are plentiful and cheap. Bolivia is one of the poorer nations but still very enjoyable and has much to see. La Paz is different and interesting and the handicrafts are the cheapest you will find (except perhaps Paraguay? - which I did not visit). Lake Titicaha is important, but so is Uyuni Salt Lake - cold, dusty, bleak, uninviting, but unique; and I would add the several coloured lakes further south if you have the time. Argentina and Chile are the two most economically developed countries on the continent and each has its own points of interest. Uruguay and Paraguay are the quiet backwaters and I am sure both would be interesting to see but neither has the exciting drawcards that the other countries possess. My special highlights would include, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, the visit to Roberta and Joselia in Manaus, finding and meeting Viviana in Chimbote, Machu Picchu, and Salar Uyuni. But there were twelve weeks of adventure and events that all added up to a complete whole - something special - and to select one item from all the rest seems somehow inappropriate. The final flight home was somewhat long and boring and included the frustration of having to empty my water bottles before boarding because of the (in my opinion) stupid rule about liquids, based on fear of terrorism ( a USA and UK initiative). However, the arrival home was fantastic and I felt so pleased and Mary was so welcoming that it obliterated al those frustrations. We have been very happy in one another”s company since my return; we have spent almost two weeks renovating the lounge-dining areas and moving my computer station upstairs - with very spectacular results. The family get-togethers have been the best of fun and Natalie is due to give birth within two weeks; little Max has grown and developed so much it is amazing. A trip I would repeat if I had my time over but not a trip I need to do again. Thanks for the interest of you all and may you get to experience some of the fun of seeing South America. Hasta Luego, Nobby - Chris A fond greeting to all the faithful followers of my stories. I know they have at times been long and detailed so I hope you found them interesting.
I have now been home in Australia for 20 days and am fully back to normal and really enjoying the comforts of home. Yesterday I even started again with the Spanish classes at U3A.
The previous report finished in Salta - north western Argentina - where I stayed several days. It was wonderfully refreshing to be in a city with greenery after so long on the arid west coast of the continent. For those who have not been to South America it is probably hard to realise what the scenery is like.
Up north in Colombia and the first half of Ecuador all the land is fertile and receives rain so it is always green. But the lower part of Ecuador, all of Perú and the top of Chile are in what is called the "dry" zone which basically seldom gets any rain. Lima gets about 40-50 mms, while other places get 5-10 mms per year. At the Chan Chán ruins I was told they have not had significant rain since the last ice age (!!). The population depends on water in the twelve-or-so major rivers flowing from the mountains for drinking as well as irrigation. Basically there is no natural vegetation in the form of grass or trees in the whole of that area. However, the soil is incredibly fertile once you put water on it, so they are able to produce a huge variety of crops for local and export trade. The soil is also perfect for making mud-bricks - adobe - so most of the buildings that are outside or on the fringes of the cities are built totally from adobe. Hence the overall impression is that the hills, the soil and the buildings are all a uniform brown colour, which after a while I found to be depressing. So I arrived in the very pretty city of Salta which has hills covered in shrubs and grass, city parks full of eucalyptus trees and it was very clean compared to the other countries I had visited. Returning to Argentina I discovered that there are very few street sellers, the shops are more modern, there are few iron grills on the shop-fronts, and in general it is a very westernised country. This is in strong contrast to Perú where most business premises have extensive iron grills on the shop-front, and the grills are frequently left closed even when the shop is open - so you do your purchasing through the grill!! I presume this is a carry-over from the sad days of the Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) terrorist guerrilla attacks. Basically in Salta I just relaxed then caught my luxury bus to Buenos Aires. I thought is was a 24 hour journey but it took only 19 hours. Knowing the city from my earlier visit it was easy to catch a "Subte" (metro) train to Sherry”s apartment. Sherry is a generous, lovely former student of mine who has fallen in love with South America and loves to stay in one city for a month or more, usually in an apartment. Her favourite place is Bogotá, but she has stayed in Lima, Santiago and Valparaiso, and she arrived in BA only a few days before me. The apartment has a loft with a single bed, a bathroom with normal toilet (no basket!), very hot water, "flick-tap" and hot water in kitchen. So I was almost home! I did not realise till then how tired I really was and how stressful the trip had been. Every single action - choosing a hotel, choosing an eating place, then the menu item, catching a bus (which one?), getting off the bus (where?), which street to walk down, how to get back to the hotel - all these things are filled with stress because none of them are within your comfort zone. So, in effect, I was in a constant state of tension without realising it. Doing a normal pre-arranged tour with hotels and restaurants and destinations all chosen is not nearly so stressful. Nor is Sherry”s method of staying put in one place for a few weeks. Sherry gave me 6 days of great relaxation - on the condition I cooked the main meal(!!) - which I did on 3-4 nights. So I visited La Boca (the quaint old port area), the Recoleta cemetery, the Sunday market in San Telmo, walked the streets (including the up-market pedestrian mall on Calle Florida), visited Pili, the mother of out good friend Marcelo (in Yandina), and some of her family. Pili took me to Tigre a beautiful residential area 30 kms north of the city, on the banks of the river. They have a monstrous market there selling everything from fairy floss and handicrafts to beds and furniture at ridiculously low prices. Many locals travel to there to get furniture for their home. Definitely worth a visit especially on the weekend when all the stalls are open. So I started to relax and my cold started to reduce; I watched some movies on cable TV, chatted for hours with Sherry and enjoyed what I now consider a modern western city, far removed from the squalor and poverty I was used to for 10 weeks. By the way, men of all classes in Buenos Aires do not shake hands to greet one another, they kiss once on the left cheek. It was the first time I had seen this on my trip. Everyone has been asking me to specify the highlights of my trip or which country was the best/worst, so I will try to give some opinions. But I cannot say one country was better than another - they each have their good and bad points, and it would be foolish to say one is better than the other, just as ice-cream and steak are both nice but you cannot say one is "better". Brazil is a fascinating country whose people are marvellously uninhibited, joyful and musical. Rio and Salvador de Bahia are both wonderful cities and definitely should be on the "must-see" list. Salvador was probably the most exciting city that I visited - especially because of the drummers. Belém and Manaus are well worth seeing, along with a jungle trip - although that can also be done from Bolivia, Colombia or Perú. Colombia is not the dangerous place some people believe. The people are friendly and have a touch of Caribbean spontaneity. There are many places to see, from beaches to mountains. San Agustín is worth visiting, as is Leticia for a jungle trip. Ecuador has beaches, volcanos, mountains, interesting cities like Cuenca - or Baños (when the volcano stops being active!). And of course it sits astride the equator - but hold on to your cameras. Perú has a surplus of ancient ruins and archaeological sites but most of it is dry desert region. However, the people still suffer the scars of the vicious persecution by the military government in the 1970”s and the terrorism of Sendero Luminoso in the 1980”s; and there is an immense gap between the “haves” and the “have-nots”. Despite that, there are many must-see places:- Sipán, Túcume, Chan-Chán, Nasca, Machu Picchu, and the Cordillera Blanca (snow-covered mountains). Handicraft items are plentiful and cheap. Bolivia is one of the poorer nations but still very enjoyable and has much to see. La Paz is different and interesting and the handicrafts are the cheapest you will find (except perhaps Paraguay? - which I did not visit). Lake Titicaha is important, but so is Uyuni Salt Lake - cold, dusty, bleak, uninviting, but unique; and I would add the several coloured lakes further south if you have the time. Argentina and Chile are the two most economically developed countries on the continent and each has its own points of interest. Uruguay and Paraguay are the quiet backwaters and I am sure both would be interesting to see but neither has the exciting drawcards that the other countries possess. My special highlights would include, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, the visit to Roberta and Joselia in Manaus, finding and meeting Viviana in Chimbote, Machu Picchu, and Salar Uyuni. But there were twelve weeks of adventure and events that all added up to a complete whole - something special - and to select one item from all the rest seems somehow inappropriate. The final flight home was somewhat long and boring and included the frustration of having to empty my water bottles before boarding because of the (in my opinion) stupid rule about liquids, based on fear of terrorism ( a USA and UK initiative). However, the arrival home was fantastic and I felt so pleased and Mary was so welcoming that it obliterated al those frustrations. We have been very happy in one another”s company since my return; we have spent almost two weeks renovating the lounge-dining areas and moving my computer station upstairs - with very spectacular results. The family get-togethers have been the best of fun and Natalie is due to give birth within two weeks; little Max has grown and developed so much it is amazing. A trip I would repeat if I had my time over but not a trip I need to do again. Thanks for the interest of you all and may you get to experience some of the fun of seeing South America. Hasta Luego, Nobby - Chris
I have now been home in Australia for 20 days and am fully back to normal and really enjoying the comforts of home. Yesterday I even started again with the Spanish classes at U3A.
The previous report finished in Salta - north western Argentina - where I stayed several days. It was wonderfully refreshing to be in a city with greenery after so long on the arid west coast of the continent. For those who have not been to South America it is probably hard to realise what the scenery is like.
Up north in Colombia and the first half of Ecuador all the land is fertile and receives rain so it is always green. But the lower part of Ecuador, all of Perú and the top of Chile are in what is called the "dry" zone which basically seldom gets any rain. Lima gets about 40-50 mms, while other places get 5-10 mms per year. At the Chan Chán ruins I was told they have not had significant rain since the last ice age (!!). The population depends on water in the twelve-or-so major rivers flowing from the mountains for drinking as well as irrigation. Basically there is no natural vegetation in the form of grass or trees in the whole of that area. However, the soil is incredibly fertile once you put water on it, so they are able to produce a huge variety of crops for local and export trade. The soil is also perfect for making mud-bricks - adobe - so most of the buildings that are outside or on the fringes of the cities are built totally from adobe. Hence the overall impression is that the hills, the soil and the buildings are all a uniform brown colour, which after a while I found to be depressing. So I arrived in the very pretty city of Salta which has hills covered in shrubs and grass, city parks full of eucalyptus trees and it was very clean compared to the other countries I had visited. Returning to Argentina I discovered that there are very few street sellers, the shops are more modern, there are few iron grills on the shop-fronts, and in general it is a very westernised country. This is in strong contrast to Perú where most business premises have extensive iron grills on the shop-front, and the grills are frequently left closed even when the shop is open - so you do your purchasing through the grill!! I presume this is a carry-over from the sad days of the Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) terrorist guerrilla attacks. Basically in Salta I just relaxed then caught my luxury bus to Buenos Aires. I thought is was a 24 hour journey but it took only 19 hours. Knowing the city from my earlier visit it was easy to catch a "Subte" (metro) train to Sherry”s apartment. Sherry is a generous, lovely former student of mine who has fallen in love with South America and loves to stay in one city for a month or more, usually in an apartment. Her favourite place is Bogotá, but she has stayed in Lima, Santiago and Valparaiso, and she arrived in BA only a few days before me. The apartment has a loft with a single bed, a bathroom with normal toilet (no basket!), very hot water, "flick-tap" and hot water in kitchen. So I was almost home! I did not realise till then how tired I really was and how stressful the trip had been. Every single action - choosing a hotel, choosing an eating place, then the menu item, catching a bus (which one?), getting off the bus (where?), which street to walk down, how to get back to the hotel - all these things are filled with stress because none of them are within your comfort zone. So, in effect, I was in a constant state of tension without realising it. Doing a normal pre-arranged tour with hotels and restaurants and destinations all chosen is not nearly so stressful. Nor is Sherry”s method of staying put in one place for a few weeks. Sherry gave me 6 days of great relaxation - on the condition I cooked the main meal(!!) - which I did on 3-4 nights. So I visited La Boca (the quaint old port area), the Recoleta cemetery, the Sunday market in San Telmo, walked the streets (including the up-market pedestrian mall on Calle Florida), visited Pili, the mother of out good friend Marcelo (in Yandina), and some of her family. Pili took me to Tigre a beautiful residential area 30 kms north of the city, on the banks of the river. They have a monstrous market there selling everything from fairy floss and handicrafts to beds and furniture at ridiculously low prices. Many locals travel to there to get furniture for their home. Definitely worth a visit especially on the weekend when all the stalls are open. So I started to relax and my cold started to reduce; I watched some movies on cable TV, chatted for hours with Sherry and enjoyed what I now consider a modern western city, far removed from the squalor and poverty I was used to for 10 weeks. By the way, men of all classes in Buenos Aires do not shake hands to greet one another, they kiss once on the left cheek. It was the first time I had seen this on my trip. Everyone has been asking me to specify the highlights of my trip or which country was the best/worst, so I will try to give some opinions. But I cannot say one country was better than another - they each have their good and bad points, and it would be foolish to say one is better than the other, just as ice-cream and steak are both nice but you cannot say one is "better". Brazil is a fascinating country whose people are marvellously uninhibited, joyful and musical. Rio and Salvador de Bahia are both wonderful cities and definitely should be on the "must-see" list. Salvador was probably the most exciting city that I visited - especially because of the drummers. Belém and Manaus are well worth seeing, along with a jungle trip - although that can also be done from Bolivia, Colombia or Perú. Colombia is not the dangerous place some people believe. The people are friendly and have a touch of Caribbean spontaneity. There are many places to see, from beaches to mountains. San Agustín is worth visiting, as is Leticia for a jungle trip. Ecuador has beaches, volcanos, mountains, interesting cities like Cuenca - or Baños (when the volcano stops being active!). And of course it sits astride the equator - but hold on to your cameras. Perú has a surplus of ancient ruins and archaeological sites but most of it is dry desert region. However, the people still suffer the scars of the vicious persecution by the military government in the 1970”s and the terrorism of Sendero Luminoso in the 1980”s; and there is an immense gap between the “haves” and the “have-nots”. Despite that, there are many must-see places:- Sipán, Túcume, Chan-Chán, Nasca, Machu Picchu, and the Cordillera Blanca (snow-covered mountains). Handicraft items are plentiful and cheap. Bolivia is one of the poorer nations but still very enjoyable and has much to see. La Paz is different and interesting and the handicrafts are the cheapest you will find (except perhaps Paraguay? - which I did not visit). Lake Titicaha is important, but so is Uyuni Salt Lake - cold, dusty, bleak, uninviting, but unique; and I would add the several coloured lakes further south if you have the time. Argentina and Chile are the two most economically developed countries on the continent and each has its own points of interest. Uruguay and Paraguay are the quiet backwaters and I am sure both would be interesting to see but neither has the exciting drawcards that the other countries possess. My special highlights would include, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, the visit to Roberta and Joselia in Manaus, finding and meeting Viviana in Chimbote, Machu Picchu, and Salar Uyuni. But there were twelve weeks of adventure and events that all added up to a complete whole - something special - and to select one item from all the rest seems somehow inappropriate. The final flight home was somewhat long and boring and included the frustration of having to empty my water bottles before boarding because of the (in my opinion) stupid rule about liquids, based on fear of terrorism ( a USA and UK initiative). However, the arrival home was fantastic and I felt so pleased and Mary was so welcoming that it obliterated al those frustrations. We have been very happy in one another”s company since my return; we have spent almost two weeks renovating the lounge-dining areas and moving my computer station upstairs - with very spectacular results. The family get-togethers have been the best of fun and Natalie is due to give birth within two weeks; little Max has grown and developed so much it is amazing. A trip I would repeat if I had my time over but not a trip I need to do again. Thanks for the interest of you all and may you get to experience some of the fun of seeing South America. Hasta Luego, Nobby - Chris A fond greeting to all the faithful followers of my stories. I know they have at times been long and detailed so I hope you found them interesting.
I have now been home in Australia for 20 days and am fully back to normal and really enjoying the comforts of home. Yesterday I even started again with the Spanish classes at U3A.
The previous report finished in Salta - north western Argentina - where I stayed several days. It was wonderfully refreshing to be in a city with greenery after so long on the arid west coast of the continent. For those who have not been to South America it is probably hard to realise what the scenery is like.
Up north in Colombia and the first half of Ecuador all the land is fertile and receives rain so it is always green. But the lower part of Ecuador, all of Perú and the top of Chile are in what is called the "dry" zone which basically seldom gets any rain. Lima gets about 40-50 mms, while other places get 5-10 mms per year. At the Chan Chán ruins I was told they have not had significant rain since the last ice age (!!). The population depends on water in the twelve-or-so major rivers flowing from the mountains for drinking as well as irrigation. Basically there is no natural vegetation in the form of grass or trees in the whole of that area. However, the soil is incredibly fertile once you put water on it, so they are able to produce a huge variety of crops for local and export trade. The soil is also perfect for making mud-bricks - adobe - so most of the buildings that are outside or on the fringes of the cities are built totally from adobe. Hence the overall impression is that the hills, the soil and the buildings are all a uniform brown colour, which after a while I found to be depressing. So I arrived in the very pretty city of Salta which has hills covered in shrubs and grass, city parks full of eucalyptus trees and it was very clean compared to the other countries I had visited. Returning to Argentina I discovered that there are very few street sellers, the shops are more modern, there are few iron grills on the shop-fronts, and in general it is a very westernised country. This is in strong contrast to Perú where most business premises have extensive iron grills on the shop-front, and the grills are frequently left closed even when the shop is open - so you do your purchasing through the grill!! I presume this is a carry-over from the sad days of the Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) terrorist guerrilla attacks. Basically in Salta I just relaxed then caught my luxury bus to Buenos Aires. I thought is was a 24 hour journey but it took only 19 hours. Knowing the city from my earlier visit it was easy to catch a "Subte" (metro) train to Sherry”s apartment. Sherry is a generous, lovely former student of mine who has fallen in love with South America and loves to stay in one city for a month or more, usually in an apartment. Her favourite place is Bogotá, but she has stayed in Lima, Santiago and Valparaiso, and she arrived in BA only a few days before me. The apartment has a loft with a single bed, a bathroom with normal toilet (no basket!), very hot water, "flick-tap" and hot water in kitchen. So I was almost home! I did not realise till then how tired I really was and how stressful the trip had been. Every single action - choosing a hotel, choosing an eating place, then the menu item, catching a bus (which one?), getting off the bus (where?), which street to walk down, how to get back to the hotel - all these things are filled with stress because none of them are within your comfort zone. So, in effect, I was in a constant state of tension without realising it. Doing a normal pre-arranged tour with hotels and restaurants and destinations all chosen is not nearly so stressful. Nor is Sherry”s method of staying put in one place for a few weeks. Sherry gave me 6 days of great relaxation - on the condition I cooked the main meal(!!) - which I did on 3-4 nights. So I visited La Boca (the quaint old port area), the Recoleta cemetery, the Sunday market in San Telmo, walked the streets (including the up-market pedestrian mall on Calle Florida), visited Pili, the mother of out good friend Marcelo (in Yandina), and some of her family. Pili took me to Tigre a beautiful residential area 30 kms north of the city, on the banks of the river. They have a monstrous market there selling everything from fairy floss and handicrafts to beds and furniture at ridiculously low prices. Many locals travel to there to get furniture for their home. Definitely worth a visit especially on the weekend when all the stalls are open. So I started to relax and my cold started to reduce; I watched some movies on cable TV, chatted for hours with Sherry and enjoyed what I now consider a modern western city, far removed from the squalor and poverty I was used to for 10 weeks. By the way, men of all classes in Buenos Aires do not shake hands to greet one another, they kiss once on the left cheek. It was the first time I had seen this on my trip. Everyone has been asking me to specify the highlights of my trip or which country was the best/worst, so I will try to give some opinions. But I cannot say one country was better than another - they each have their good and bad points, and it would be foolish to say one is better than the other, just as ice-cream and steak are both nice but you cannot say one is "better". Brazil is a fascinating country whose people are marvellously uninhibited, joyful and musical. Rio and Salvador de Bahia are both wonderful cities and definitely should be on the "must-see" list. Salvador was probably the most exciting city that I visited - especially because of the drummers. Belém and Manaus are well worth seeing, along with a jungle trip - although that can also be done from Bolivia, Colombia or Perú. Colombia is not the dangerous place some people believe. The people are friendly and have a touch of Caribbean spontaneity. There are many places to see, from beaches to mountains. San Agustín is worth visiting, as is Leticia for a jungle trip. Ecuador has beaches, volcanos, mountains, interesting cities like Cuenca - or Baños (when the volcano stops being active!). And of course it sits astride the equator - but hold on to your cameras. Perú has a surplus of ancient ruins and archaeological sites but most of it is dry desert region. However, the people still suffer the scars of the vicious persecution by the military government in the 1970”s and the terrorism of Sendero Luminoso in the 1980”s; and there is an immense gap between the “haves” and the “have-nots”. Despite that, there are many must-see places:- Sipán, Túcume, Chan-Chán, Nasca, Machu Picchu, and the Cordillera Blanca (snow-covered mountains). Handicraft items are plentiful and cheap. Bolivia is one of the poorer nations but still very enjoyable and has much to see. La Paz is different and interesting and the handicrafts are the cheapest you will find (except perhaps Paraguay? - which I did not visit). Lake Titicaha is important, but so is Uyuni Salt Lake - cold, dusty, bleak, uninviting, but unique; and I would add the several coloured lakes further south if you have the time. Argentina and Chile are the two most economically developed countries on the continent and each has its own points of interest. Uruguay and Paraguay are the quiet backwaters and I am sure both would be interesting to see but neither has the exciting drawcards that the other countries possess. My special highlights would include, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, the visit to Roberta and Joselia in Manaus, finding and meeting Viviana in Chimbote, Machu Picchu, and Salar Uyuni. But there were twelve weeks of adventure and events that all added up to a complete whole - something special - and to select one item from all the rest seems somehow inappropriate. The final flight home was somewhat long and boring and included the frustration of having to empty my water bottles before boarding because of the (in my opinion) stupid rule about liquids, based on fear of terrorism ( a USA and UK initiative). However, the arrival home was fantastic and I felt so pleased and Mary was so welcoming that it obliterated al those frustrations. We have been very happy in one another”s company since my return; we have spent almost two weeks renovating the lounge-dining areas and moving my computer station upstairs - with very spectacular results. The family get-togethers have been the best of fun and Natalie is due to give birth within two weeks; little Max has grown and developed so much it is amazing. A trip I would repeat if I had my time over but not a trip I need to do again. Thanks for the interest of you all and may you get to experience some of the fun of seeing South America. Hasta Luego, Nobby - Chris A fond greeting to all the faithful followers of my stories. I know they have at times been long and detailed so I hope you found them interesting.
I have now been home in Australia for 20 days and am fully back to normal and really enjoying the comforts of home. Yesterday I even started again with the Spanish classes at U3A.
The previous report finished in Salta - north western Argentina - where I stayed several days. It was wonderfully refreshing to be in a city with greenery after so long on the arid west coast of the continent. For those who have not been to South America it is probably hard to realise what the scenery is like.
Up north in Colombia and the first half of Ecuador all the land is fertile and receives rain so it is always green. But the lower part of Ecuador, all of Perú and the top of Chile are in what is called the "dry" zone which basically seldom gets any rain. Lima gets about 40-50 mms, while other places get 5-10 mms per year. At the Chan Chán ruins I was told they have not had significant rain since the last ice age (!!). The population depends on water in the twelve-or-so major rivers flowing from the mountains for drinking as well as irrigation. Basically there is no natural vegetation in the form of grass or trees in the whole of that area. However, the soil is incredibly fertile once you put water on it, so they are able to produce a huge variety of crops for local and export trade. The soil is also perfect for making mud-bricks - adobe - so most of the buildings that are outside or on the fringes of the cities are built totally from adobe. Hence the overall impression is that the hills, the soil and the buildings are all a uniform brown colour, which after a while I found to be depressing. So I arrived in the very pretty city of Salta which has hills covered in shrubs and grass, city parks full of eucalyptus trees and it was very clean compared to the other countries I had visited. Returning to Argentina I discovered that there are very few street sellers, the shops are more modern, there are few iron grills on the shop-fronts, and in general it is a very westernised country. This is in strong contrast to Perú where most business premises have extensive iron grills on the shop-front, and the grills are frequently left closed even when the shop is open - so you do your purchasing through the grill!! I presume this is a carry-over from the sad days of the Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) terrorist guerrilla attacks. Basically in Salta I just relaxed then caught my luxury bus to Buenos Aires. I thought is was a 24 hour journey but it took only 19 hours. Knowing the city from my earlier visit it was easy to catch a "Subte" (metro) train to Sherry”s apartment. Sherry is a generous, lovely former student of mine who has fallen in love with South America and loves to stay in one city for a month or more, usually in an apartment. Her favourite place is Bogotá, but she has stayed in Lima, Santiago and Valparaiso, and she arrived in BA only a few days before me. The apartment has a loft with a single bed, a bathroom with normal toilet (no basket!), very hot water, "flick-tap" and hot water in kitchen. So I was almost home! I did not realise till then how tired I really was and how stressful the trip had been. Every single action - choosing a hotel, choosing an eating place, then the menu item, catching a bus (which one?), getting off the bus (where?), which street to walk down, how to get back to the hotel - all these things are filled with stress because none of them are within your comfort zone. So, in effect, I was in a constant state of tension without realising it. Doing a normal pre-arranged tour with hotels and restaurants and destinations all chosen is not nearly so stressful. Nor is Sherry”s method of staying put in one place for a few weeks. Sherry gave me 6 days of great relaxation - on the condition I cooked the main meal(!!) - which I did on 3-4 nights. So I visited La Boca (the quaint old port area), the Recoleta cemetery, the Sunday market in San Telmo, walked the streets (including the up-market pedestrian mall on Calle Florida), visited Pili, the mother of out good friend Marcelo (in Yandina), and some of her family. Pili took me to Tigre a beautiful residential area 30 kms north of the city, on the banks of the river. They have a monstrous market there selling everything from fairy floss and handicrafts to beds and furniture at ridiculously low prices. Many locals travel to there to get furniture for their home. Definitely worth a visit especially on the weekend when all the stalls are open. So I started to relax and my cold started to reduce; I watched some movies on cable TV, chatted for hours with Sherry and enjoyed what I now consider a modern western city, far removed from the squalor and poverty I was used to for 10 weeks. By the way, men of all classes in Buenos Aires do not shake hands to greet one another, they kiss once on the left cheek. It was the first time I had seen this on my trip. Everyone has been asking me to specify the highlights of my trip or which country was the best/worst, so I will try to give some opinions. But I cannot say one country was better than another - they each have their good and bad points, and it would be foolish to say one is better than the other, just as ice-cream and steak are both nice but you cannot say one is "better". Brazil is a fascinating country whose people are marvellously uninhibited, joyful and musical. Rio and Salvador de Bahia are both wonderful cities and definitely should be on the "must-see" list. Salvador was probably the most exciting city that I visited - especially because of the drummers. Belém and Manaus are well worth seeing, along with a jungle trip - although that can also be done from Bolivia, Colombia or Perú. Colombia is not the dangerous place some people believe. The people are friendly and have a touch of Caribbean spontaneity. There are many places to see, from beaches to mountains. San Agustín is worth visiting, as is Leticia for a jungle trip. Ecuador has beaches, volcanos, mountains, interesting cities like Cuenca - or Baños (when the volcano stops being active!). And of course it sits astride the equator - but hold on to your cameras. Perú has a surplus of ancient ruins and archaeological sites but most of it is dry desert region. However, the people still suffer the scars of the vicious persecution by the military government in the 1970”s and the terrorism of Sendero Luminoso in the 1980”s; and there is an immense gap between the “haves” and the “have-nots”. Despite that, there are many must-see places:- Sipán, Túcume, Chan-Chán, Nasca, Machu Picchu, and the Cordillera Blanca (snow-covered mountains). Handicraft items are plentiful and cheap. Bolivia is one of the poorer nations but still very enjoyable and has much to see. La Paz is different and interesting and the handicrafts are the cheapest you will find (except perhaps Paraguay? - which I did not visit). Lake Titicaha is important, but so is Uyuni Salt Lake - cold, dusty, bleak, uninviting, but unique; and I would add the several coloured lakes further south if you have the time. Argentina and Chile are the two most economically developed countries on the continent and each has its own points of interest. Uruguay and Paraguay are the quiet backwaters and I am sure both would be interesting to see but neither has the exciting drawcards that the other countries possess. My special highlights would include, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, the visit to Roberta and Joselia in Manaus, finding and meeting Viviana in Chimbote, Machu Picchu, and Salar Uyuni. But there were twelve weeks of adventure and events that all added up to a complete whole - something special - and to select one item from all the rest seems somehow inappropriate. The final flight home was somewhat long and boring and included the frustration of having to empty my water bottles before boarding because of the (in my opinion) stupid rule about liquids, based on fear of terrorism ( a USA and UK initiative). However, the arrival home was fantastic and I felt so pleased and Mary was so welcoming that it obliterated al those frustrations. We have been very happy in one another”s company since my return; we have spent almost two weeks renovating the lounge-dining areas and moving my computer station upstairs - with very spectacular results. The family get-togethers have been the best of fun and Natalie is due to give birth within two weeks; little Max has grown and developed so much it is amazing. A trip I would repeat if I had my time over but not a trip I need to do again. Thanks for the interest of you all and may you get to experience some of the fun of seeing South America. Hasta Luego, Nobby - Chris A fond greeting to all the faithful followers of my stories. I know they have at times been long and detailed so I hope you found them interesting.
I have now been home in Australia for 20 days and am fully back to normal and really enjoying the comforts of home. Yesterday I even started again with the Spanish classes at U3A.
The previous report finished in Salta - north western Argentina - where I stayed several days. It was wonderfully refreshing to be in a city with greenery after so long on the arid west coast of the continent. For those who have not been to South America it is probably hard to realise what the scenery is like.
Up north in Colombia and the first half of Ecuador all the land is fertile and receives rain so it is always green. But the lower part of Ecuador, all of Perú and the top of Chile are in what is called the "dry" zone which basically seldom gets any rain. Lima gets about 40-50 mms, while other places get 5-10 mms per year. At the Chan Chán ruins I was told they have not had significant rain since the last ice age (!!). The population depends on water in the twelve-or-so major rivers flowing from the mountains for drinking as well as irrigation. Basically there is no natural vegetation in the form of grass or trees in the whole of that area. However, the soil is incredibly fertile once you put water on it, so they are able to produce a huge variety of crops for local and export trade. The soil is also perfect for making mud-bricks - adobe - so most of the buildings that are outside or on the fringes of the cities are built totally from adobe. Hence the overall impression is that the hills, the soil and the buildings are all a uniform brown colour, which after a while I found to be depressing. So I arrived in the very pretty city of Salta which has hills covered in shrubs and grass, city parks full of eucalyptus trees and it was very clean compared to the other countries I had visited. Returning to Argentina I discovered that there are very few street sellers, the shops are more modern, there are few iron grills on the shop-fronts, and in general it is a very westernised country. This is in strong contrast to Perú where most business premises have extensive iron grills on the shop-front, and the grills are frequently left closed even when the shop is open - so you do your purchasing through the grill!! I presume this is a carry-over from the sad days of the Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) terrorist guerrilla attacks. Basically in Salta I just relaxed then caught my luxury bus to Buenos Aires. I thought is was a 24 hour journey but it took only 19 hours. Knowing the city from my earlier visit it was easy to catch a "Subte" (metro) train to Sherry”s apartment. Sherry is a generous, lovely former student of mine who has fallen in love with South America and loves to stay in one city for a month or more, usually in an apartment. Her favourite place is Bogotá, but she has stayed in Lima, Santiago and Valparaiso, and she arrived in BA only a few days before me. The apartment has a loft with a single bed, a bathroom with normal toilet (no basket!), very hot water, "flick-tap" and hot water in kitchen. So I was almost home! I did not realise till then how tired I really was and how stressful the trip had been. Every single action - choosing a hotel, choosing an eating place, then the menu item, catching a bus (which one?), getting off the bus (where?), which street to walk down, how to get back to the hotel - all these things are filled with stress because none of them are within your comfort zone. So, in effect, I was in a constant state of tension without realising it. Doing a normal pre-arranged tour with hotels and restaurants and destinations all chosen is not nearly so stressful. Nor is Sherry”s method of staying put in one place for a few weeks. Sherry gave me 6 days of great relaxation - on the condition I cooked the main meal(!!) - which I did on 3-4 nights. So I visited La Boca (the quaint old port area), the Recoleta cemetery, the Sunday market in San Telmo, walked the streets (including the up-market pedestrian mall on Calle Florida), visited Pili, the mother of out good friend Marcelo (in Yandina), and some of her family. Pili took me to Tigre a beautiful residential area 30 kms north of the city, on the banks of the river. They have a monstrous market there selling everything from fairy floss and handicrafts to beds and furniture at ridiculously low prices. Many locals travel to there to get furniture for their home. Definitely worth a visit especially on the weekend when all the stalls are open. So I started to relax and my cold started to reduce; I watched some movies on cable TV, chatted for hours with Sherry and enjoyed what I now consider a modern western city, far removed from the squalor and poverty I was used to for 10 weeks. By the way, men of all classes in Buenos Aires do not shake hands to greet one another, they kiss once on the left cheek. It was the first time I had seen this on my trip. Everyone has been asking me to specify the highlights of my trip or which country was the best/worst, so I will try to give some opinions. But I cannot say one country was better than another - they each have their good and bad points, and it would be foolish to say one is better than the other, just as ice-cream and steak are both nice but you cannot say one is "better". Brazil is a fascinating country whose people are marvellously uninhibited, joyful and musical. Rio and Salvador de Bahia are both wonderful cities and definitely should be on the "must-see" list. Salvador was probably the most exciting city that I visited - especially because of the drummers. Belém and Manaus are well worth seeing, along with a jungle trip - although that can also be done from Bolivia, Colombia or Perú. Colombia is not the dangerous place some people believe. The people are friendly and have a touch of Caribbean spontaneity. There are many places to see, from beaches to mountains. San Agustín is worth visiting, as is Leticia for a jungle trip. Ecuador has beaches, volcanos, mountains, interesting cities like Cuenca - or Baños (when the volcano stops being active!). And of course it sits astride the equator - but hold on to your cameras. Perú has a surplus of ancient ruins and archaeological sites but most of it is dry desert region. However, the people still suffer the scars of the vicious persecution by the military government in the 1970”s and the terrorism of Sendero Luminoso in the 1980”s; and there is an immense gap between the “haves” and the “have-nots”. Despite that, there are many must-see places:- Sipán, Túcume, Chan-Chán, Nasca, Machu Picchu, and the Cordillera Blanca (snow-covered mountains). Handicraft items are plentiful and cheap. Bolivia is one of the poorer nations but still very enjoyable and has much to see. La Paz is different and interesting and the handicrafts are the cheapest you will find (except perhaps Paraguay? - which I did not visit). Lake Titicaha is important, but so is Uyuni Salt Lake - cold, dusty, bleak, uninviting, but unique; and I would add the several coloured lakes further south if you have the time. Argentina and Chile are the two most economically developed countries on the continent and each has its own points of interest. Uruguay and Paraguay are the quiet backwaters and I am sure both would be interesting to see but neither has the exciting drawcards that the other countries possess. My special highlights would include, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, the visit to Roberta and Joselia in Manaus, finding and meeting Viviana in Chimbote, Machu Picchu, and Salar Uyuni. But there were twelve weeks of adventure and events that all added up to a complete whole - something special - and to select one item from all the rest seems somehow inappropriate. The final flight home was somewhat long and boring and included the frustration of having to empty my water bottles before boarding because of the (in my opinion) stupid rule about liquids, based on fear of terrorism ( a USA and UK initiative). However, the arrival home was fantastic and I felt so pleased and Mary was so welcoming that it obliterated al those frustrations. We have been very happy in one another”s company since my return; we have spent almost two weeks renovating the lounge-dining areas and moving my computer station upstairs - with very spectacular results. The family get-togethers have been the best of fun and Natalie is due to give birth within two weeks; little Max has grown and developed so much it is amazing. A trip I would repeat if I had my time over but not a trip I need to do again. Thanks for the interest of you all and may you get to experience some of the fun of seeing South America. Hasta Luego, Nobby - Chris
Sunday, September 10, 2006
Report # 16
Well, greetings again,
I am now in Argentina top north west a city called Salta which on first glance looks like a normal western city, and my district is full of fashion shops and a zillion people were strolling the streets on Saturday evening.. Again it is Sunday - I don”t plan to do all my reports on Sundays but seems many are done then.
Feeling good as am now out of the mtns and deserts and in normal scenery. In fact I feel like I spent 40 days in the desert and the devil came along and said "do you want to get out of here?" and I said "YES" . So this may be my second last report as I will be home in 10 days - about 20th Sept. Was planning on return early Oct but there were no flights from 19 Sep to mid-Oct so only flight available was 18th Sept. So I said yes. Means I cannot do Chile or most of Argentina. Will go from here direct to Buenos Aires Monday - 24 hr trip - and spend 5-6 days there.
Well, you last saw me in Cusco, Peru. Not only did Yovana help me but the guy on duty when I went to get my Mochila said to stay and rest till my bus left at 10.00pm - another wonderful and thoughtful person! Eventually got bus for Puno on Lake Titicaca (pronounced by locals as Titi caha). Did not realise bus was economy version with no heating and rusting windows with air seeping in. Met a nice guy Edvaldo and son Pepe also ging to La Paz (Bolivia). The bitch had told me it was luxury but did not even have footrests! No stops for toilets so about Juliaca while more passengers start or finish I used the street (!). About 3.30 am I went to wipe the moisture off windows and it was solid ice - on the inside!! Apparently we crosed a very high mtn where temp was below zero and I felt it - bloody cold!!. Arrive Puno 05.00 Drab mudbrick place right on edge of lake. Told there is transport strike in Cocacabana (Bolivia) so can only get to border and no further ( if want to see lake from that side). SO decide to see lake from Puno. Local tout offers $3 trip of 3 hrs to floating islands so accept after Ed tells me he is ok. We have coffee and Ed has business in Puno for 3-4 hrs so agree to meet at busstop for Border bus. Do the island trip - amazing man-made things where the local indians live. Thye fish, hunt and depend on tourism for income - pity! Each island is a tourist bazaar but I had run out of local currency so did not buy stuff. There are reeds which grow wild all around the lake (160x65klms) and they dive and cut the roots of reeds which are solid but float, they tie pieces 3x2 mts together till have island, then cover a meter or two deep with reeds and so they have an island which is then anchored with poles thru to bottom. Only about 4-5 mts deep there but is 270 mts deep in centre. Used be salt water millions of yrs ago but now only tiny percent of salt so locals use it but boil first..
Got back at 12.45 and no Ed/Pepe, so changed dollars to Bolivian stuff and took next bus to Desaguadero on border. Use every last cent of local money on fare, toilet and a few lollies. Walk to immig get exit, walk across bridge to Bol immig and get entry, walk 500 mts and get Combi to La Paz, 1.5 hrs to city edge but 30 mins more to centre. Strikingly beautiful city at night in bowl of volcano so high rims and city going all way down to central area. Lovely local couple ensure I get a reliable taxi to centre. Was then about 8.00 pm. At 3500 mts so tough stuff to move around. Found out by walking that the whole of city looks flat from rim but is in fact very hilly and really tiring to walk. Cheapest country by far I have visited - full hamburger with egg etc is $0.40-$0.50 - hotels are $4-5 per single. Had to change my hotel next day as first choice turned out to be just too scungy and dirty. Next day bought coca leaves - fresher this time, plus got some artesan stuff - there are about 8-10 city blocks of shops selling it. First day I had to stop every 3-4 streets to breathe, but by seconfd day had improved a bit but still hard work - need to suck in deep breaths a lot. Even at night trying to sleep. Enjoyed the city but did not do any tourist thing. Good place but you need to visit other high places first to get used to altitude.
Thurs depart for Uyuni where the highest salt lake in world. COnfirm that bus is heated beforehand, but dont trust so take lots of extra clothes with me on to bus. Notice that all the locals also have blankets, and bus is heated but only just, and the trip is over dirt road most of way so very dusty and I ned every item of extra clothes - six layers of clothes and scarf and beanie (gorra)!!! We arrive at 03.30 and two thirds of people get off but rest of stay and driver says we can all sleep till 6-7.00 am - amazing, he sleeeps too!! The some lady wants to get off at 6.20 so we all get up and a tout comes on board and offers tour of 1 or 3 days. I accpet 1 day and she takes me to agency office. Uyuni is dry dirty small, dusty as hell, and colder than ice. Tour is not till 10.30am so leave mochila and go get stuff and wander the 4x10 streets. Come back on time but no girl so ask cop and he says don”t worry she will arrive (! - SthAmerica!) She does and we set out in 4x4, 7 of us incl 2 other Aussies surprisingly. Phenomenal place - 12,000 sq klms probably 120x100 klms. We drove 70 kms straight out on salt visited salt hotel, place where the harvest salt, water springs in salt, plus an island of volcanic rock with tall single stem cacti (They grow at 1 cm per year and there was one there at 12.3 mts which makes it 1200 yrs old!!!) where we had lunch of llama chops - very tasty. Have flat tyre so driver changes it during lunch. Drive back and stop at dump of place on edge of salt about 20 mins from Uyuni and notice we have second flat. Now 5.00pm and cold as hell with stiff wind of wind-chill probably below zero. Driver hopes another vehicle will come along and lend us a spare, but none comes so by sunset we are all pretty alarmed - temps drop to 10 or more bleow zero out here at night!! Driver keeps disappearing and we presume trying to find someone with a spare, finds one and puts it on only to find it is flat too!!! we eventually find another 4x4 and ask if they can take us to town says yes but try another guy who has just returned down the track. Driver goes over and knows the guy and borrows the spare and it fits and we get back to town frozen 2 hrs late!!!
I had already found out that a train runs from Uyuni to Arg border - Villazon/Quiaca which keaves at 10.40pm. So have to wait. I had some great luck - success/universe intervention? - from Uyuni. ( I now have another cold and losing voice). First when I went back to the agency the girl said I could stay there till time to leave if I locked up!! They had a small gas heater and all I had to do was turn off gas and light and close roller door and put padlock in place. So I was able to take my time changing into wram clothes took some panadol, and started a 5-day course of antibiotics especially for chest, throat, nose. Relaxed and got warm and left just before 10.00. Got my ticket and had a coffee in cafetereia, and got on train in ejecutivo and was only passenger in my car!! But later the guard brought 3 French guys to join in. He gave us blankets and pillow. I arrived dressed for the Antartic and the temp in train was about 35C (!!!) so I stripped to just the shirt, But later it cooled a lot as we travelled thru the mtns so got back to Jumper then before leaving train I put back on several more layers. A great trip but I didnt really sleep much as recliner seats are not necesarily comfy and the noise of the whistle and train etc ..... But 10 times better than a bus - also had a great toilet with hand basin and paper-towels and toilet paper!!.
Arrived 7.30”ish and a girl tout asked if I wanted Salta, I sort of said yes but didnt need help. But she persisted and dropped from B40 to B35 so I said I would inspect and decide . She wanted me to take a taxi to office but I said we can walk . we did, 4 blocks or so. Bought ticket she said we have to hurry as bus leaves at 8.45 which I thought gave me plenty of time but that was Arg time and from across the border (one hour ahead!). So we went to Bol immig and got thru quickly then walk the bridge to Arg immig and there was a queue of 50 plus people but she said go up the front so I did and pushed in about 5 from front and got one lady complaining. I was looking at my passport and a Policmand/immig official asked where I was from and had a look at my passport and said wait a minute and went inside and got it stamped as I was still in my original 90 day period. So I was thru in 2 mins and the girl had another taxi waiting and said to hurry. SO I tipped her all my remaining Bol coins and we went to bus terminal and bus was just about to pull out!!! I checked my mochila and got on and it left. SO I arrived here (Salta) at 4.00pm rather than wait till the midday bus!!! (and get in at 20.00). Wasn”t that providence!! Many Thanks to that cop!
Went to a very good hotel at $17.50 per day and talked him into $15 so have very comfy room private bath hot water, soap towels, and b/fast included!! I decided I needed a splurge to make up for some of the tough times! I had not seen a bed since Wednesday night nor had a shower nor cleaned my teeth. Yuk!!!. (all day thurs, frid and Sat)
Have bought my ticket for luxury bus cama-seat to Buenos Aires for Monday, takes 24 hrs. Will see friends there and relax and see sights depart for home on Monday but lose a day over the Int Dateline. See you all soon!!!! Have to admit the thought of home is wonderful and am looking forward to it. Will have to do Chile and Argentina next time(!?).
Cheers for now. Nobby
I am now in Argentina top north west a city called Salta which on first glance looks like a normal western city, and my district is full of fashion shops and a zillion people were strolling the streets on Saturday evening.. Again it is Sunday - I don”t plan to do all my reports on Sundays but seems many are done then.
Feeling good as am now out of the mtns and deserts and in normal scenery. In fact I feel like I spent 40 days in the desert and the devil came along and said "do you want to get out of here?" and I said "YES" . So this may be my second last report as I will be home in 10 days - about 20th Sept. Was planning on return early Oct but there were no flights from 19 Sep to mid-Oct so only flight available was 18th Sept. So I said yes. Means I cannot do Chile or most of Argentina. Will go from here direct to Buenos Aires Monday - 24 hr trip - and spend 5-6 days there.
Well, you last saw me in Cusco, Peru. Not only did Yovana help me but the guy on duty when I went to get my Mochila said to stay and rest till my bus left at 10.00pm - another wonderful and thoughtful person! Eventually got bus for Puno on Lake Titicaca (pronounced by locals as Titi caha). Did not realise bus was economy version with no heating and rusting windows with air seeping in. Met a nice guy Edvaldo and son Pepe also ging to La Paz (Bolivia). The bitch had told me it was luxury but did not even have footrests! No stops for toilets so about Juliaca while more passengers start or finish I used the street (!). About 3.30 am I went to wipe the moisture off windows and it was solid ice - on the inside!! Apparently we crosed a very high mtn where temp was below zero and I felt it - bloody cold!!. Arrive Puno 05.00 Drab mudbrick place right on edge of lake. Told there is transport strike in Cocacabana (Bolivia) so can only get to border and no further ( if want to see lake from that side). SO decide to see lake from Puno. Local tout offers $3 trip of 3 hrs to floating islands so accept after Ed tells me he is ok. We have coffee and Ed has business in Puno for 3-4 hrs so agree to meet at busstop for Border bus. Do the island trip - amazing man-made things where the local indians live. Thye fish, hunt and depend on tourism for income - pity! Each island is a tourist bazaar but I had run out of local currency so did not buy stuff. There are reeds which grow wild all around the lake (160x65klms) and they dive and cut the roots of reeds which are solid but float, they tie pieces 3x2 mts together till have island, then cover a meter or two deep with reeds and so they have an island which is then anchored with poles thru to bottom. Only about 4-5 mts deep there but is 270 mts deep in centre. Used be salt water millions of yrs ago but now only tiny percent of salt so locals use it but boil first..
Got back at 12.45 and no Ed/Pepe, so changed dollars to Bolivian stuff and took next bus to Desaguadero on border. Use every last cent of local money on fare, toilet and a few lollies. Walk to immig get exit, walk across bridge to Bol immig and get entry, walk 500 mts and get Combi to La Paz, 1.5 hrs to city edge but 30 mins more to centre. Strikingly beautiful city at night in bowl of volcano so high rims and city going all way down to central area. Lovely local couple ensure I get a reliable taxi to centre. Was then about 8.00 pm. At 3500 mts so tough stuff to move around. Found out by walking that the whole of city looks flat from rim but is in fact very hilly and really tiring to walk. Cheapest country by far I have visited - full hamburger with egg etc is $0.40-$0.50 - hotels are $4-5 per single. Had to change my hotel next day as first choice turned out to be just too scungy and dirty. Next day bought coca leaves - fresher this time, plus got some artesan stuff - there are about 8-10 city blocks of shops selling it. First day I had to stop every 3-4 streets to breathe, but by seconfd day had improved a bit but still hard work - need to suck in deep breaths a lot. Even at night trying to sleep. Enjoyed the city but did not do any tourist thing. Good place but you need to visit other high places first to get used to altitude.
Thurs depart for Uyuni where the highest salt lake in world. COnfirm that bus is heated beforehand, but dont trust so take lots of extra clothes with me on to bus. Notice that all the locals also have blankets, and bus is heated but only just, and the trip is over dirt road most of way so very dusty and I ned every item of extra clothes - six layers of clothes and scarf and beanie (gorra)!!! We arrive at 03.30 and two thirds of people get off but rest of stay and driver says we can all sleep till 6-7.00 am - amazing, he sleeeps too!! The some lady wants to get off at 6.20 so we all get up and a tout comes on board and offers tour of 1 or 3 days. I accpet 1 day and she takes me to agency office. Uyuni is dry dirty small, dusty as hell, and colder than ice. Tour is not till 10.30am so leave mochila and go get stuff and wander the 4x10 streets. Come back on time but no girl so ask cop and he says don”t worry she will arrive (! - SthAmerica!) She does and we set out in 4x4, 7 of us incl 2 other Aussies surprisingly. Phenomenal place - 12,000 sq klms probably 120x100 klms. We drove 70 kms straight out on salt visited salt hotel, place where the harvest salt, water springs in salt, plus an island of volcanic rock with tall single stem cacti (They grow at 1 cm per year and there was one there at 12.3 mts which makes it 1200 yrs old!!!) where we had lunch of llama chops - very tasty. Have flat tyre so driver changes it during lunch. Drive back and stop at dump of place on edge of salt about 20 mins from Uyuni and notice we have second flat. Now 5.00pm and cold as hell with stiff wind of wind-chill probably below zero. Driver hopes another vehicle will come along and lend us a spare, but none comes so by sunset we are all pretty alarmed - temps drop to 10 or more bleow zero out here at night!! Driver keeps disappearing and we presume trying to find someone with a spare, finds one and puts it on only to find it is flat too!!! we eventually find another 4x4 and ask if they can take us to town says yes but try another guy who has just returned down the track. Driver goes over and knows the guy and borrows the spare and it fits and we get back to town frozen 2 hrs late!!!
I had already found out that a train runs from Uyuni to Arg border - Villazon/Quiaca which keaves at 10.40pm. So have to wait. I had some great luck - success/universe intervention? - from Uyuni. ( I now have another cold and losing voice). First when I went back to the agency the girl said I could stay there till time to leave if I locked up!! They had a small gas heater and all I had to do was turn off gas and light and close roller door and put padlock in place. So I was able to take my time changing into wram clothes took some panadol, and started a 5-day course of antibiotics especially for chest, throat, nose. Relaxed and got warm and left just before 10.00. Got my ticket and had a coffee in cafetereia, and got on train in ejecutivo and was only passenger in my car!! But later the guard brought 3 French guys to join in. He gave us blankets and pillow. I arrived dressed for the Antartic and the temp in train was about 35C (!!!) so I stripped to just the shirt, But later it cooled a lot as we travelled thru the mtns so got back to Jumper then before leaving train I put back on several more layers. A great trip but I didnt really sleep much as recliner seats are not necesarily comfy and the noise of the whistle and train etc ..... But 10 times better than a bus - also had a great toilet with hand basin and paper-towels and toilet paper!!.
Arrived 7.30”ish and a girl tout asked if I wanted Salta, I sort of said yes but didnt need help. But she persisted and dropped from B40 to B35 so I said I would inspect and decide . She wanted me to take a taxi to office but I said we can walk . we did, 4 blocks or so. Bought ticket she said we have to hurry as bus leaves at 8.45 which I thought gave me plenty of time but that was Arg time and from across the border (one hour ahead!). So we went to Bol immig and got thru quickly then walk the bridge to Arg immig and there was a queue of 50 plus people but she said go up the front so I did and pushed in about 5 from front and got one lady complaining. I was looking at my passport and a Policmand/immig official asked where I was from and had a look at my passport and said wait a minute and went inside and got it stamped as I was still in my original 90 day period. So I was thru in 2 mins and the girl had another taxi waiting and said to hurry. SO I tipped her all my remaining Bol coins and we went to bus terminal and bus was just about to pull out!!! I checked my mochila and got on and it left. SO I arrived here (Salta) at 4.00pm rather than wait till the midday bus!!! (and get in at 20.00). Wasn”t that providence!! Many Thanks to that cop!
Went to a very good hotel at $17.50 per day and talked him into $15 so have very comfy room private bath hot water, soap towels, and b/fast included!! I decided I needed a splurge to make up for some of the tough times! I had not seen a bed since Wednesday night nor had a shower nor cleaned my teeth. Yuk!!!. (all day thurs, frid and Sat)
Have bought my ticket for luxury bus cama-seat to Buenos Aires for Monday, takes 24 hrs. Will see friends there and relax and see sights depart for home on Monday but lose a day over the Int Dateline. See you all soon!!!! Have to admit the thought of home is wonderful and am looking forward to it. Will have to do Chile and Argentina next time(!?).
Cheers for now. Nobby
Sunday, September 3, 2006
Report # 15
Another Sunday Arvo, this time from pretty Cusco. And I have done the Machu Picchu thing!!! - which was the primary site I wanted to see - more later.
Primero , saludos a Yovana Quispe Mamani, una guapa chica que es tambien muy cariñosa, y me ayudó mucho. Mis gracias a ti Yovana, y que todos tus amigos estén celosas de ti que tienes tu nombre en el internet - de un guapo jovencito que se enamoró de ti !!!! Que seas feliz toda la vida tuya.
Well, I left Nasca last week for Arequipa and was supposed to leave at 2100 but did not leave till 2300 and then it took 9 hrs instead of the promised 6!! (bloody liars). SO was not a good trip, but found a lovely little hotel with family atmosphere and settled in happily. Had whole day to arrange things. Booked tour to famous Colca canyon. Not expensive really at $24 for the whole deal - not including meals and entrance to park and thermal baths.
I talk a lot about heights here because once you get above 2000 mts the weather and temp is very much affected by height. For the next week or two I will be in high country so will give hts a lot. Above about 3000 mts also one can suffer serious altitude problems. Fortunately I have not had any - because I am fit(question) - no question mark on this keyboard!!!!
Arequipa is 2300 mts and so quite ok. Colca is about 3200 but to get there we have to go to 4800 mts - that is 15800 ft. Depart 0900 Wed see vicuñas, llamas and alpacas which are all sort of related, vicuñas look like deer, llamas are taller and long necks and often have brown wool, alpacas are small and cream. Once above 3600 mts yo start to get grass and shrubs even though it is still arid. And springs start to appear. Snow usually only stays above 6000 mts. We got to 4200 and had a stop for mate which is tea from coca leaves. Instead I chewed the leaves that someone gave me. From there we climbed to high point of 4800 and stopped to look at piles of stones that the locals build to honour sun god. The higher you are the closer to the god you get so obviously at that point there were lots of piles of stones. Like the piles of stones on the camino for those who have seen our camino pics.
Got to the town of Chivay which is at start of canyon and stayed night there but had thermal springs for over an hour - man, that was beautiful!! temp about 38-40C which is at or above body temp. Marvellous. After that we went for typical meal and folkloric dance/songs. Lovely, from local Quechua group and I bought a CD. GIrl got people up to dance and of course chose the handsme one - me - for two dances, but I tell you at 3200 I ran out of puff very quickly and legs went to jelly. But great fun.
Next day we moved along the canyon to the condor lookout where the canyon is 1200 mts deep - further along it is 3400 mts deep. We saw several condors which are vultures and have wingspan of 2.8 mts. At 8 yrs of age they get white on wings and neck. Then back home to Arequipa after a local lunch. The terracing that is in that valley is immense and amazing - most of it dates from the incas. They terrace up slopes where I dont think I could even walk/climb.
LOts of local Quechua indians in all the towns around there - there are two races, and I forget their names - one is cavanas I think - whose women wear white hats generally handmade. The other race wear multi coloured hats usually of darker colours. That was to distinguish themselves and keep the races pure but there has been a lot of intermarrying so things are getting mixed.
Interesting that this is the seco side of the Andes so that is why there has been no grass or trees for weeks. Once you cross to the Amazom side you start to get forrests - and I guess rain and snow. However here on the dry side once above 3600 mts yo get grasses and shrubs and that is where the vicuñas live.
Above 4200 mts the trees and shrubs and grassses change including a sort of moss thing that grows on rocks at about 1-2 cms per yr ans the locals harvest it for a tea and for burning fuel. By the way at 4800 mts the night temp drops to 10C below zero!! fortunarely we did not stay there. At 4200 mts where we stopped for mate it was hot but they told us by 14.00 there would be a fierce wind that cuts right thru you.
Not far from Colca is another canyon called I think Cotahuasi, which is the deepest canyon in the world -3440 mts question - and twice as deep as Grand canyon. Colca is only a few mts less.
That night -wednesday - departed for Cusco which is enrty for Machu Picchu. About 10 hr trip and was a cama-bus so very comfy and I slept whole way. Great. Arrived about 0500. The guide boook is a bit vague in my opinion about the whole MP area - you have to get from Cusco to a town called Aguas Calientes and it mentions a very expensive train and local buses in Aguas Cal.So when I arrived I asked a bus company lady if it was possible to get a bus to A-C and she said yes of course and sold me a ticket. So then I said I would visit M-P and come back next night to go to Puno. So I bought another ticket. Bus departs 2 hrs later so go to get on and it says Puno, so I ask guy if it also goes to A-C and he assures me yes and a lady passenger confirms. So on I get and after 2.5 hrs bus breaks down and during the wait I ask about M-P. The passengers are amazed, I am going in wrong dirrection!!! there are two A-Cs - one at MP and the other 250 kms away towards Puno. So 30mins more to next town and get colectivo back and front the girl - whom I believe did it deliberately to get a sale - she says stiff cheddar and could not do anything about it except make my Puno ticket open dated - which is what I will use tonite. She says it the best joke of her life and she will remember me always!!
So I had to get a hotel here and chose Casa Grande where I met Yovana. She was very sweet and sympathetic. Helped me get taxis and get train ticket for next day etc. Made up for the other bitch called Flos. However I am now over my anger and can laugh about it all. Have even forgiven her. The MP venture was far far more expensive than the book says all prices have at least doubled. Train from Cusco is $80-100 depending on class, The guy in Perrail was brilliantly kind and arranged a cheaper option. Bus to half way - Ollantaytambo - and night train to AC have full day in MP and then early morn train back to Ollan- and bus to Cusco. That I did and was only $50 all up and gave me a total day in MP.
I cannot describe it adequately. It is awesome and fantastic and has an atmosphere - for those who have a spiritual side! There were only about 500 incas there to start and probably finished with 1500 but hte buildings are fantastic. About 30% are rebuilt and contain mortar - all the rest do not and are original. There are still water channels carrying water all thru the city and there are llamas to keep the grass under control, and they drink from these drains - fotos included in those sent home. I walked almost every inch of the place and spent almost 7 hrs there but you could do it in 3-4 if you wanted. I went to a place called Inca Bridge wher thye built a stone bridge about 1 mt wide across a vertical cliff face!!! and they made a track around the hill to get there. The track has almost vertical drops of 500 mts below so be careful! pics included.
Ther is another track they built about 2.5mts wide which goes to Cusco about 120 kms away. You can climb this track to the Door of the Sun if wish. 45 mins. I did not. There is also a steep hill behind the main city wher they built steps to top and yo can climb that too 1.5hrs up and 1 hr down. I did not!!
The city is basically agric area first - up side of steep hill, then to the left the residential area and kings rooms and temple then further on to the right is the industrial area. There was also a quarry behind the residential area. The inca bridge is behind the hill behind the agric area.. Main plaza is between resid and indust
Had a good hotel and cheap because few tourists now (but still very crowded), hottest water I have had in whole trip! - new bldg new plumbing etc.
By the way, water and fruit etc in AC is twice the price of Cusco and water at MP itself is 7 times Cusco price, so take lots of water and maybe fruit. Meals at MP are outlandish prices. Another point be slow to ask questions of any bus company employee or travel agency. As I found to my woe, they all lie thru their teeth. I have not had one bus employee in any city tell the truth about times prices, arrrivals etc. And locals often just give any direction just to get you away - especially if they are working class. Educated people are more responsible. So if possible ask a policeman or security type person in uniform.
Back to Cusco this morn and have filled in day doing this and other internet stuff and left mochila with Yovana. Have fruit and chocs for tonites trip. Will be in Bolivia within a day or two at most.
Basically the last few weeks have been visiting set sites with famous things to see. Apart from the salt lakes in Bolivia, from here on I will just be seeing towns and cities, primarily in Argentina. Have now changed my itinerary so will be home by early October - depends when Lanchile can get me a seat. Also the cost of travel is at least 25% above the book prices and some of the sites such as MP have been way over the top so that has all helped to blow my budget to hell. So will be limiting my CHile visit to just the Atacama Desert. Then the last few weks in Argentina.
Cheers from the Latin traveller. Hope Mary and Paul can get some pics on internet for yo all to see - especially MP.
Hugs to all. Nobby
Primero , saludos a Yovana Quispe Mamani, una guapa chica que es tambien muy cariñosa, y me ayudó mucho. Mis gracias a ti Yovana, y que todos tus amigos estén celosas de ti que tienes tu nombre en el internet - de un guapo jovencito que se enamoró de ti !!!! Que seas feliz toda la vida tuya.
Well, I left Nasca last week for Arequipa and was supposed to leave at 2100 but did not leave till 2300 and then it took 9 hrs instead of the promised 6!! (bloody liars). SO was not a good trip, but found a lovely little hotel with family atmosphere and settled in happily. Had whole day to arrange things. Booked tour to famous Colca canyon. Not expensive really at $24 for the whole deal - not including meals and entrance to park and thermal baths.
I talk a lot about heights here because once you get above 2000 mts the weather and temp is very much affected by height. For the next week or two I will be in high country so will give hts a lot. Above about 3000 mts also one can suffer serious altitude problems. Fortunately I have not had any - because I am fit(question) - no question mark on this keyboard!!!!
Arequipa is 2300 mts and so quite ok. Colca is about 3200 but to get there we have to go to 4800 mts - that is 15800 ft. Depart 0900 Wed see vicuñas, llamas and alpacas which are all sort of related, vicuñas look like deer, llamas are taller and long necks and often have brown wool, alpacas are small and cream. Once above 3600 mts yo start to get grass and shrubs even though it is still arid. And springs start to appear. Snow usually only stays above 6000 mts. We got to 4200 and had a stop for mate which is tea from coca leaves. Instead I chewed the leaves that someone gave me. From there we climbed to high point of 4800 and stopped to look at piles of stones that the locals build to honour sun god. The higher you are the closer to the god you get so obviously at that point there were lots of piles of stones. Like the piles of stones on the camino for those who have seen our camino pics.
Got to the town of Chivay which is at start of canyon and stayed night there but had thermal springs for over an hour - man, that was beautiful!! temp about 38-40C which is at or above body temp. Marvellous. After that we went for typical meal and folkloric dance/songs. Lovely, from local Quechua group and I bought a CD. GIrl got people up to dance and of course chose the handsme one - me - for two dances, but I tell you at 3200 I ran out of puff very quickly and legs went to jelly. But great fun.
Next day we moved along the canyon to the condor lookout where the canyon is 1200 mts deep - further along it is 3400 mts deep. We saw several condors which are vultures and have wingspan of 2.8 mts. At 8 yrs of age they get white on wings and neck. Then back home to Arequipa after a local lunch. The terracing that is in that valley is immense and amazing - most of it dates from the incas. They terrace up slopes where I dont think I could even walk/climb.
LOts of local Quechua indians in all the towns around there - there are two races, and I forget their names - one is cavanas I think - whose women wear white hats generally handmade. The other race wear multi coloured hats usually of darker colours. That was to distinguish themselves and keep the races pure but there has been a lot of intermarrying so things are getting mixed.
Interesting that this is the seco side of the Andes so that is why there has been no grass or trees for weeks. Once you cross to the Amazom side you start to get forrests - and I guess rain and snow. However here on the dry side once above 3600 mts yo get grasses and shrubs and that is where the vicuñas live.
Above 4200 mts the trees and shrubs and grassses change including a sort of moss thing that grows on rocks at about 1-2 cms per yr ans the locals harvest it for a tea and for burning fuel. By the way at 4800 mts the night temp drops to 10C below zero!! fortunarely we did not stay there. At 4200 mts where we stopped for mate it was hot but they told us by 14.00 there would be a fierce wind that cuts right thru you.
Not far from Colca is another canyon called I think Cotahuasi, which is the deepest canyon in the world -3440 mts question - and twice as deep as Grand canyon. Colca is only a few mts less.
That night -wednesday - departed for Cusco which is enrty for Machu Picchu. About 10 hr trip and was a cama-bus so very comfy and I slept whole way. Great. Arrived about 0500. The guide boook is a bit vague in my opinion about the whole MP area - you have to get from Cusco to a town called Aguas Calientes and it mentions a very expensive train and local buses in Aguas Cal.So when I arrived I asked a bus company lady if it was possible to get a bus to A-C and she said yes of course and sold me a ticket. So then I said I would visit M-P and come back next night to go to Puno. So I bought another ticket. Bus departs 2 hrs later so go to get on and it says Puno, so I ask guy if it also goes to A-C and he assures me yes and a lady passenger confirms. So on I get and after 2.5 hrs bus breaks down and during the wait I ask about M-P. The passengers are amazed, I am going in wrong dirrection!!! there are two A-Cs - one at MP and the other 250 kms away towards Puno. So 30mins more to next town and get colectivo back and front the girl - whom I believe did it deliberately to get a sale - she says stiff cheddar and could not do anything about it except make my Puno ticket open dated - which is what I will use tonite. She says it the best joke of her life and she will remember me always!!
So I had to get a hotel here and chose Casa Grande where I met Yovana. She was very sweet and sympathetic. Helped me get taxis and get train ticket for next day etc. Made up for the other bitch called Flos. However I am now over my anger and can laugh about it all. Have even forgiven her. The MP venture was far far more expensive than the book says all prices have at least doubled. Train from Cusco is $80-100 depending on class, The guy in Perrail was brilliantly kind and arranged a cheaper option. Bus to half way - Ollantaytambo - and night train to AC have full day in MP and then early morn train back to Ollan- and bus to Cusco. That I did and was only $50 all up and gave me a total day in MP.
I cannot describe it adequately. It is awesome and fantastic and has an atmosphere - for those who have a spiritual side! There were only about 500 incas there to start and probably finished with 1500 but hte buildings are fantastic. About 30% are rebuilt and contain mortar - all the rest do not and are original. There are still water channels carrying water all thru the city and there are llamas to keep the grass under control, and they drink from these drains - fotos included in those sent home. I walked almost every inch of the place and spent almost 7 hrs there but you could do it in 3-4 if you wanted. I went to a place called Inca Bridge wher thye built a stone bridge about 1 mt wide across a vertical cliff face!!! and they made a track around the hill to get there. The track has almost vertical drops of 500 mts below so be careful! pics included.
Ther is another track they built about 2.5mts wide which goes to Cusco about 120 kms away. You can climb this track to the Door of the Sun if wish. 45 mins. I did not. There is also a steep hill behind the main city wher they built steps to top and yo can climb that too 1.5hrs up and 1 hr down. I did not!!
The city is basically agric area first - up side of steep hill, then to the left the residential area and kings rooms and temple then further on to the right is the industrial area. There was also a quarry behind the residential area. The inca bridge is behind the hill behind the agric area.. Main plaza is between resid and indust
Had a good hotel and cheap because few tourists now (but still very crowded), hottest water I have had in whole trip! - new bldg new plumbing etc.
By the way, water and fruit etc in AC is twice the price of Cusco and water at MP itself is 7 times Cusco price, so take lots of water and maybe fruit. Meals at MP are outlandish prices. Another point be slow to ask questions of any bus company employee or travel agency. As I found to my woe, they all lie thru their teeth. I have not had one bus employee in any city tell the truth about times prices, arrrivals etc. And locals often just give any direction just to get you away - especially if they are working class. Educated people are more responsible. So if possible ask a policeman or security type person in uniform.
Back to Cusco this morn and have filled in day doing this and other internet stuff and left mochila with Yovana. Have fruit and chocs for tonites trip. Will be in Bolivia within a day or two at most.
Basically the last few weeks have been visiting set sites with famous things to see. Apart from the salt lakes in Bolivia, from here on I will just be seeing towns and cities, primarily in Argentina. Have now changed my itinerary so will be home by early October - depends when Lanchile can get me a seat. Also the cost of travel is at least 25% above the book prices and some of the sites such as MP have been way over the top so that has all helped to blow my budget to hell. So will be limiting my CHile visit to just the Atacama Desert. Then the last few weks in Argentina.
Cheers from the Latin traveller. Hope Mary and Paul can get some pics on internet for yo all to see - especially MP.
Hugs to all. Nobby
Sunday, August 27, 2006
Report # 14
Sunday arvo in Nasca - 27th Aug,
I am on the move!!! Lima is definitely not a city to visit unless you hav e some reason. It is just a big city with too much pollution - maybe 10 million = one third of population and two thirds of industry. I wanted to see it and had two contacts to look up - one from Laurie McCullem, in USA and the other family of a girl who liked my web site and wrote me several times. Had success on both counts. Laurie”s friend had coffee with me and tried to devise a fixed tour for the rest of my time in Peru, but was 3 times my own expected cost so outside my budget. But the family was wonderful - thank you Marita - had wine, lunch, went for a drive then left them. They gave me a parting gift on top of it all!!! Lovely people - Luis and Eda (and children). Thank you.
Arranged to depart early Sat for Nasca but they lied thru their teeth about the times the departures, and the arrival times. Ending up taking almost 9 hrs instead of promised 6 !!!! (minor miscalculation!!) - of course it was the cheap bus - does not normally happen that way on luxury buses. Anway Nasca is a lovely little town/city in the middle of a desert, supposed to house 50,000 but has only two main paved streets and everything is walking distance. If you come here stay at the Hotel AlegrÃa which has a pool, patios, restaurant, and single rooms from $5 to $20. Very pleasant and commodious. Do not confuse with a competitor called "Hostal AlegrÃa" I presume capitalising on name.
Did the air flight over the Nasca lines this morn (Brian, a Cessna 206, I think). They were put there between 300 BC and 600 AD and very little is known. Von Danikens theory that they are from extra terrestials does not hold water - altho there are some unexplained oddities -Â like the astonaut. Many straight lines going for over 500 mts to a km in length plus shapes of birds, dog, monkey, whale, spider etc . The area has not seeen significant rain since last ice age and depends on melting snow and rain in mtns to provide water in the two rivers. It is thought that there was a prolonged drought which wiped out most of people, then white-man diseases killed the rest when Spanish came.
I have many photos but don”t know what they look like on screen yet - will send them to mary - but you can look them up on internet.
Nothing else of interest in Nasca, except some more ruins like those I have seen, so tonite i move on. To Arequita, 2nd most dangerous city listed in Guide book, 1 million; and has access to the two deepest canyons on earth, one is twice the depth of Grand Canyon. From there in a couple of days to Cusco and Machu Picchu, very high, then later on to Bolivia.
I am well ahead of schedule as I cut out some of those side trips in Peru to the mountain ruins and volcanoes. And I will not spend much time in Chile as there is little of interest there - just lots of cities. So should be home early October I think. Before the baby, Natalie!!!!
Thanks to Brian, Merlin, Alicia, Margarita G for your mails.
Weather here is very pleasant, warm days cool nights, but lots of cloud in winter. Basically never rains on the west coast here - all depends on the rivers from the mtns. Arequipa is a bit higher so has no fog/smog from Trade Winds, so has sun 365 days a year I am told. Very pleasant all yr round. Still not that far south of equator so that keeps weather warm-ish in most places.
Have a 9 hr bus trip overnight tonite, to Arequipa.
Love to all, bye till next session.
Nobby
PS I do not boil water at all and accept coffee made from whatever they use. I eat lettuce in their salads, and drink from their glasses.
If the fotos go on the site they will either be available directly on the blog page, or Paul may may a link to a separate page. For an example of a blog with pictures, go to the link on the right of the blog which says something like "favourite links", and go to Paul”s personal blog.
I am now in Arequipa and do a 2 day tour starting early Tuesday.
I am on the move!!! Lima is definitely not a city to visit unless you hav e some reason. It is just a big city with too much pollution - maybe 10 million = one third of population and two thirds of industry. I wanted to see it and had two contacts to look up - one from Laurie McCullem, in USA and the other family of a girl who liked my web site and wrote me several times. Had success on both counts. Laurie”s friend had coffee with me and tried to devise a fixed tour for the rest of my time in Peru, but was 3 times my own expected cost so outside my budget. But the family was wonderful - thank you Marita - had wine, lunch, went for a drive then left them. They gave me a parting gift on top of it all!!! Lovely people - Luis and Eda (and children). Thank you.
Arranged to depart early Sat for Nasca but they lied thru their teeth about the times the departures, and the arrival times. Ending up taking almost 9 hrs instead of promised 6 !!!! (minor miscalculation!!) - of course it was the cheap bus - does not normally happen that way on luxury buses. Anway Nasca is a lovely little town/city in the middle of a desert, supposed to house 50,000 but has only two main paved streets and everything is walking distance. If you come here stay at the Hotel AlegrÃa which has a pool, patios, restaurant, and single rooms from $5 to $20. Very pleasant and commodious. Do not confuse with a competitor called "Hostal AlegrÃa" I presume capitalising on name.
Did the air flight over the Nasca lines this morn (Brian, a Cessna 206, I think). They were put there between 300 BC and 600 AD and very little is known. Von Danikens theory that they are from extra terrestials does not hold water - altho there are some unexplained oddities -Â like the astonaut. Many straight lines going for over 500 mts to a km in length plus shapes of birds, dog, monkey, whale, spider etc . The area has not seeen significant rain since last ice age and depends on melting snow and rain in mtns to provide water in the two rivers. It is thought that there was a prolonged drought which wiped out most of people, then white-man diseases killed the rest when Spanish came.
I have many photos but don”t know what they look like on screen yet - will send them to mary - but you can look them up on internet.
Nothing else of interest in Nasca, except some more ruins like those I have seen, so tonite i move on. To Arequita, 2nd most dangerous city listed in Guide book, 1 million; and has access to the two deepest canyons on earth, one is twice the depth of Grand Canyon. From there in a couple of days to Cusco and Machu Picchu, very high, then later on to Bolivia.
I am well ahead of schedule as I cut out some of those side trips in Peru to the mountain ruins and volcanoes. And I will not spend much time in Chile as there is little of interest there - just lots of cities. So should be home early October I think. Before the baby, Natalie!!!!
Thanks to Brian, Merlin, Alicia, Margarita G for your mails.
Weather here is very pleasant, warm days cool nights, but lots of cloud in winter. Basically never rains on the west coast here - all depends on the rivers from the mtns. Arequipa is a bit higher so has no fog/smog from Trade Winds, so has sun 365 days a year I am told. Very pleasant all yr round. Still not that far south of equator so that keeps weather warm-ish in most places.
Have a 9 hr bus trip overnight tonite, to Arequipa.
Love to all, bye till next session.
Nobby
PS I do not boil water at all and accept coffee made from whatever they use. I eat lettuce in their salads, and drink from their glasses.
If the fotos go on the site they will either be available directly on the blog page, or Paul may may a link to a separate page. For an example of a blog with pictures, go to the link on the right of the blog which says something like "favourite links", and go to Paul”s personal blog.
I am now in Arequipa and do a 2 day tour starting early Tuesday.
Friday, August 25, 2006
Report # 13
Hello to everyone - Here they say "alo" a lot - esp on phones
Well I have a whole week of adventures to relate- it will take ages!!!
There was a demonstration by idigenous peoples in Cuenca while I was walking around so got some nice photos of trad dress.
Left at midnight arrived Loja 05.00 but ticket for first bus at 07.00 wait around. Girl talks to me and sits in front of me on bus. She is Ecuad with parents and her chile friend going to Lima. so we chat a fair bit. Very nice people. Raquel and Veronica.. Man and small boy sit next to me at half way and he chats, is a policeman and I record some of converstion. Heavy duty mtns non stop to border - up and down and twist and shout. Get to Macará¡ which is border and is super hot, and they grow rice.
Veronica”s dad has a "cousin" who is money changer so we hurry several blocks to the plaza where they operate and change some dollars.
The land from here on is flat dry dusty and arid like you wouln”t believe. But first to Ecuad-exit get stamp then walk across bridge to Peru immig and get stamp plus you must go to a second Peru office for another stamp - I almost missed that one!! Raquel saved me!
We arrive Piura, 50 kms inland from ocean, about 2.00pm. Veronica and family take taxi and insist I wait for him to return and not walk. OK.
Shower, walk streets, take laundry to shop, internet to mary. Local meal of maize, meat, rice plus local drink called chicha, based on maize but flavoured with fruit usually blackberry. Tastes a bit like cough medicine but drinkable. Got used to it over the last week and can now tolerate it well.
Coffee here is pre-made in small bottle on table and they bring either hot water or milk and you make your own- the best stuff is made from ground beans- the cheap places use Nescafe. Lots of cities here use moto-taxis - 3 wheel taxis with covered seat for passengers - like Asia - very cheap, but not allowed in centre centre.
Weather is hot in day, and strong Trade Wind at night from south which makes it cool-cold. Almost never rains on Peru west coast, maybe a drop in Jan-March but basically only 6mm precipitation from condensation. They depend on the water from the dozen or so rivers flowing from snow mtns. Incredible the crops they produce from the apparentñy barren soil. But apparently it is full of nutrients as everything grows - they channel water in drains for irrigation.
Spend next day (Frid) looking around checking itinerary, decide to go to Chiclayo where there are some good ruins and decide that inland trips are out as they take too much time in travel to and from, so will stick to coast. The entire coast is same as describerd above - dry arid apparently barren but anywhere near a river they form cities.
Took one wrong turn in Piura walks and ended up where i shouldn”t be - cops told me to get out and be careful so grabbed a mototaxi!!! But in fact no-one even looked like being a danger. Interesting fact that all the streets in Piura are spotless!! amazing - they have cleaners day and night sweeping. Most of the Peru cities I have since passed thru are the same - except Chimbote (more later).
Sat. depart for Chiclayo - a cop helps me get a moto-lineal - ordinary motor-bike taxi - to terminal. 3 hrs trip. Arrive and get hotel and orientate myself in city.
Sunday go to the famous Sipán ruins from 200-300 AD. They were - are - all from adobe blocks but now much eroded. Was a big city and has two pyramids which are not like Egypt but are more square and contain many burial chambers of important people and when they died most of their concubines, wives, servants were killed to accompany them to after-life. And always a beheaded llama for food. Externals of mounds are very eroded but the tombs are well preserved and show some original skeletons. Huge complex and need 1-2 hours to walk it. When one died the next one built his tomb on top of previous so the structures gradually grew bigger and wider and taller.
Mon went to the similar ruins at Túcume to north of Chiclayo. They are from about 1000AD and are of a huge city with citadels and temples and palaces and streets etc all from adobe, but heavily eroded. Amazing and well worth a visit. Back by lunch so depart for the next city - Trujillo where there are even more fantastic ruins. This city is a must for anyone coming to Perú and you must stay only at the Casa de Clara. (Taxi drivers hate her and tell you the place does not exist or whatever but insist and you will get there). Shared meals with the family if you wish -she is 50”s woman married to white-haired 50”s Englishman accountant. They run the hotel and do tours to anywhere where there are ruins - she is famous and has been at it for decades. Very passionate and knowledgeable. Lovely lady and great accomm.
So I took a full day tour with her to see Chan-Chán , the museum, and two temples (huacas). Chan-Chán is a giant city very well preserved walls of adobe covers 28 sq kms, about 15x2 kms, a complete comprehensive city. Lots of fotos. Look these places up on internet I am sure yo will find heaps. Huaca del arco-iris, huaca de la luna , huaca del sol. Extraordinary places and so much well preserved carvings in walls etc. Dates from about 1100-1400 AD.
Our friend Chantal has a sponsored child in Chimbote so I wanted to visit her if poss but the town is listed in the guide book as the most dangerous in Peru, so I ask Clara -the lady - if I should go and she says not without a local. But she knows a local who is a friend so she asks and he agrees to accompany me on bus and to help find the girl. 2 hr trip south to Chimbote - once the major fising port of Peru till Govt stupidity killed the indusrty in mid-70”s, plus they over-fished, and now lots of unemployment, hence crime. We arrive and try the electoral office but need mother or fathers first names. So decide to go to her barrio - suburb - even more dangerous supposedly - and try our luck. Ask lots of people and eventually get to parochical school but they look at the papers and realise she is child at a religious school several blocks away. We get there and they know the child but have to go thru tons of buracracy - ring Lima and ask, they say get the child and bring her to the school dont let us go tho the house!!?? so after much waiting we meet and she is a delight!!! hugged and kissed me and held me tight all the time. We secretly asked her address so when we left we went to the house and spent long time with mother but school-pricks kept the girl at the school so we couldnt talk to her more.. But we got fotos and now have exchanged addresses so we can all write without the burocrats interfering!! I bought some food for mother (rice, sugar, oil, oats). A really special day and there was absolutely no more danger than any other place I have been. It is dirt poor and dirty but the people are honest and helpful. Of course I would not go there at night.!!!.
So then taxi back to Chimbote (2 kms) to eat and get tickets for friend to return to Trujillo and me to Lima. Arrive midnight.
Lima is clean but heavily polluted with smog due to the funny climatic conditions here. Never see sun during winter, but it appears about Nov. meantime we have fog and night mist and smog all the time. At this stage not a city I would consider worth a visit by anyone. - except if you want the museums and stuff like that.!!
I suspect I have finished with hot weather. Am now far enough south to avoid the extreme heat and since there is cloud all the time temp stays low. Later i will be heading to the mtns for Cuzco and Machu Picchu which of course are cold.
Emough for this report. Hope it is of interest.
Love
Nobby'
Well I have a whole week of adventures to relate- it will take ages!!!
There was a demonstration by idigenous peoples in Cuenca while I was walking around so got some nice photos of trad dress.
Left at midnight arrived Loja 05.00 but ticket for first bus at 07.00 wait around. Girl talks to me and sits in front of me on bus. She is Ecuad with parents and her chile friend going to Lima. so we chat a fair bit. Very nice people. Raquel and Veronica.. Man and small boy sit next to me at half way and he chats, is a policeman and I record some of converstion. Heavy duty mtns non stop to border - up and down and twist and shout. Get to Macará¡ which is border and is super hot, and they grow rice.
Veronica”s dad has a "cousin" who is money changer so we hurry several blocks to the plaza where they operate and change some dollars.
The land from here on is flat dry dusty and arid like you wouln”t believe. But first to Ecuad-exit get stamp then walk across bridge to Peru immig and get stamp plus you must go to a second Peru office for another stamp - I almost missed that one!! Raquel saved me!
We arrive Piura, 50 kms inland from ocean, about 2.00pm. Veronica and family take taxi and insist I wait for him to return and not walk. OK.
Shower, walk streets, take laundry to shop, internet to mary. Local meal of maize, meat, rice plus local drink called chicha, based on maize but flavoured with fruit usually blackberry. Tastes a bit like cough medicine but drinkable. Got used to it over the last week and can now tolerate it well.
Coffee here is pre-made in small bottle on table and they bring either hot water or milk and you make your own- the best stuff is made from ground beans- the cheap places use Nescafe. Lots of cities here use moto-taxis - 3 wheel taxis with covered seat for passengers - like Asia - very cheap, but not allowed in centre centre.
Weather is hot in day, and strong Trade Wind at night from south which makes it cool-cold. Almost never rains on Peru west coast, maybe a drop in Jan-March but basically only 6mm precipitation from condensation. They depend on the water from the dozen or so rivers flowing from snow mtns. Incredible the crops they produce from the apparentñy barren soil. But apparently it is full of nutrients as everything grows - they channel water in drains for irrigation.
Spend next day (Frid) looking around checking itinerary, decide to go to Chiclayo where there are some good ruins and decide that inland trips are out as they take too much time in travel to and from, so will stick to coast. The entire coast is same as describerd above - dry arid apparently barren but anywhere near a river they form cities.
Took one wrong turn in Piura walks and ended up where i shouldn”t be - cops told me to get out and be careful so grabbed a mototaxi!!! But in fact no-one even looked like being a danger. Interesting fact that all the streets in Piura are spotless!! amazing - they have cleaners day and night sweeping. Most of the Peru cities I have since passed thru are the same - except Chimbote (more later).
Sat. depart for Chiclayo - a cop helps me get a moto-lineal - ordinary motor-bike taxi - to terminal. 3 hrs trip. Arrive and get hotel and orientate myself in city.
Sunday go to the famous Sipán ruins from 200-300 AD. They were - are - all from adobe blocks but now much eroded. Was a big city and has two pyramids which are not like Egypt but are more square and contain many burial chambers of important people and when they died most of their concubines, wives, servants were killed to accompany them to after-life. And always a beheaded llama for food. Externals of mounds are very eroded but the tombs are well preserved and show some original skeletons. Huge complex and need 1-2 hours to walk it. When one died the next one built his tomb on top of previous so the structures gradually grew bigger and wider and taller.
Mon went to the similar ruins at Túcume to north of Chiclayo. They are from about 1000AD and are of a huge city with citadels and temples and palaces and streets etc all from adobe, but heavily eroded. Amazing and well worth a visit. Back by lunch so depart for the next city - Trujillo where there are even more fantastic ruins. This city is a must for anyone coming to Perú and you must stay only at the Casa de Clara. (Taxi drivers hate her and tell you the place does not exist or whatever but insist and you will get there). Shared meals with the family if you wish -she is 50”s woman married to white-haired 50”s Englishman accountant. They run the hotel and do tours to anywhere where there are ruins - she is famous and has been at it for decades. Very passionate and knowledgeable. Lovely lady and great accomm.
So I took a full day tour with her to see Chan-Chán , the museum, and two temples (huacas). Chan-Chán is a giant city very well preserved walls of adobe covers 28 sq kms, about 15x2 kms, a complete comprehensive city. Lots of fotos. Look these places up on internet I am sure yo will find heaps. Huaca del arco-iris, huaca de la luna , huaca del sol. Extraordinary places and so much well preserved carvings in walls etc. Dates from about 1100-1400 AD.
Our friend Chantal has a sponsored child in Chimbote so I wanted to visit her if poss but the town is listed in the guide book as the most dangerous in Peru, so I ask Clara -the lady - if I should go and she says not without a local. But she knows a local who is a friend so she asks and he agrees to accompany me on bus and to help find the girl. 2 hr trip south to Chimbote - once the major fising port of Peru till Govt stupidity killed the indusrty in mid-70”s, plus they over-fished, and now lots of unemployment, hence crime. We arrive and try the electoral office but need mother or fathers first names. So decide to go to her barrio - suburb - even more dangerous supposedly - and try our luck. Ask lots of people and eventually get to parochical school but they look at the papers and realise she is child at a religious school several blocks away. We get there and they know the child but have to go thru tons of buracracy - ring Lima and ask, they say get the child and bring her to the school dont let us go tho the house!!?? so after much waiting we meet and she is a delight!!! hugged and kissed me and held me tight all the time. We secretly asked her address so when we left we went to the house and spent long time with mother but school-pricks kept the girl at the school so we couldnt talk to her more.. But we got fotos and now have exchanged addresses so we can all write without the burocrats interfering!! I bought some food for mother (rice, sugar, oil, oats). A really special day and there was absolutely no more danger than any other place I have been. It is dirt poor and dirty but the people are honest and helpful. Of course I would not go there at night.!!!.
So then taxi back to Chimbote (2 kms) to eat and get tickets for friend to return to Trujillo and me to Lima. Arrive midnight.
Lima is clean but heavily polluted with smog due to the funny climatic conditions here. Never see sun during winter, but it appears about Nov. meantime we have fog and night mist and smog all the time. At this stage not a city I would consider worth a visit by anyone. - except if you want the museums and stuff like that.!!
I suspect I have finished with hot weather. Am now far enough south to avoid the extreme heat and since there is cloud all the time temp stays low. Later i will be heading to the mtns for Cuzco and Machu Picchu which of course are cold.
Emough for this report. Hope it is of interest.
Love
Nobby'
Answers to questions
Answer to comment from John
Hi John,
Thanks for comments. I drink only bottled water - buy it in 1.5 to 5 lt bottles and transfer that to two smaller bottles. but I wash face and teeth in tap water but avoid swallowing any. Do not rinse mouth after teeth clean. (The caps button on this machine only works if you hit it 3 times!!)
No the only people who try to use English are the ones who think they can speak it and they are few. But my spanish is good enough for them not to to even bother with another language. I am having trouble here in Perú with the working class Spanish - I simply cannot understand them; they are worse than aussie labourers!!
The info on OOo is valuable but most peple don''t know about it or are too afraid to use. Happy to have link from your page.
Hi John,
Thanks for comments. I drink only bottled water - buy it in 1.5 to 5 lt bottles and transfer that to two smaller bottles. but I wash face and teeth in tap water but avoid swallowing any. Do not rinse mouth after teeth clean. (The caps button on this machine only works if you hit it 3 times!!)
No the only people who try to use English are the ones who think they can speak it and they are few. But my spanish is good enough for them not to to even bother with another language. I am having trouble here in Perú with the working class Spanish - I simply cannot understand them; they are worse than aussie labourers!!
The info on OOo is valuable but most peple don''t know about it or are too afraid to use. Happy to have link from your page.
Sunday, August 20, 2006
Questions from a friend
?What water do you drink, potable solamente? Do people try to switch to English when they find out that's what you speak? I found that is a pain when one is trying to speak "their" language. A couple of weeks ago I saw your new OpenSource Web page with great screen captures of OOo, The GIMP etc. I put another link, this time directly to that page. I trust that’s OK with you. That’s all for now Nobby. I will check back here every now and then. John D’Alton
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Report # 12
Well, it is now Sunday arvo in sunny Quito at 2850 mts - that is about 9500 ft. (Bogota was 8500, not 8000 that I said). Travelled all night on Thurs to arrive at border town arrived 0500. met a very poor Peruviam man who is a car parking guy who had sat all night in terminal as had no money for hotel just his fare to Quito. We chatted and I gave him some choc and lent him $5 not expecting to see it again(!!). Got colective taxi 2 kms to Ecuador town went thru Immigartion - at least i did; they suspected him of going in to work so detained him for a while. I left and agreed to wait 1 hr at terminal. He didnt make it poor guy. So I came on alone. They have buses every 30-60 mins for Quito about 250-300 km, cost $4.50 (!!). Ecuador is incrediblky cheap despite the use of US dollar. - it used to be even cheaper!. The scenery in Colombia was all hilly - no, mountainous - and green and lush and wet. I didnt see the last 300 km as was night but it was twisty. However from the border on the land is dry dry dry and arid and totally treeless. Very mountainous and twisty road and temp varies as you go up and down over ranges. and Quito is squashed in between big hills on both sides so is long and narrow nth to sth. Has volcano to the west which erupted 6-8 yrs ago. Very hilly city and dry and dusty.
By the way have to relate my first bad news - the street kids beat me today - got my camera from its pouch on my belt in front while they jostled me. Group of 5-6 kids 6-10 yrs old pretending to sell something. Did it all within 5 mts of walking!! I cornered 4 of them immediately and frisked them but they were clean and said it was another kid. Got a police report for insurance but have lost the fotos of the last week - maybe 50-60 , basically Colombia. Will try to get new camera here before i leave.
To other travellers - if the kids are touching you physically at all then they are stealing - especially if there is more than one kid and they are actually pushing the products against you. Grab all your pouches/valuables and kick the kids away - do it immediately - do not be hesitant nor wishy-washy.
Back to the story. I chose a cheap hotel from the book and luckily it is near the terminal and in the Old City which is UN heritage and very pretty. The new city so called is to the north - all one continuous thing of course, and is the tourist area, called Mariscal, where all the cafes have English names and all the USA tourists go - also where I got done today!!
Have lost contact with the Dutch couple but may meet again as they are heading same direction.
So arrived late Friday - completely beat after some 20 hrs on the go. Rested, went and ate, home and relaxed before early night and slept 9 hrs in a real bed not hard 1-inch mattresses as has been for last few weeks.
Sat was up and looking for b/fast shops and laundry. Found dozens of cafes - "greasy-spoons" in Aussie - where b/fast lunch/dinner(tea) all cost only $1 - can you believe it!! In Mariscal they cost $2.50-$4. Spent long time looking for laundry but all closed for weekend. By the way would you believe the Friday was Independence Day so most shops were closed!!! Happens every time! Arranged to meet a friend of Jenny K in arvo - in Mariscal, as no parking in old part of town. So went to Mariscal and found all the laundries and met Joanne - lovely Uk lady married to local with 3 kids - all well behaved and spoken and bilingual. Joanne speaks lovely standard English but is not fully bilingual in Spanish. She reminds me of Geraldine a bit - few yrs younger. She may get some contacts for me for later - would be good as it would be lovely to stay with some genuine locals.
Home late arvo and did some PC work getting a selection of fotos onto the PC here and tehn tried to email to Mary but desperastely slow. However today I sent them all via Messenger (much quicker!!) so hopefullly they will all go on blog page soon.
So today, Sunday, went to Mariscal to leave laundry and then wanted to go the the equator which is 23 kms north of Quito. Had to get 2 buses and total of 1 hr to get there. It is a big complex with museum , planetaruim, etc and monument on spot. Got my foto taken but guess where that is now!! The bus catching is somewhat scary - the buses have 4-6 names on front but hey are suburbs I have no idea about and often weird native names. So it is scary not knowing which to catch nor where to get off. But a kindly and pretty lady trafico officer got me on the right first bus and told driver what I needed so he told me where to get off and how to get next one. All done sucessfully - except for camera. Spent an hour getting to police and making report. They told me there is a mini mafia of kids run by adults and almost impossible to catch - kids steal and pass to someone else maybe an adult and then they are clean. as was the case today.
My plan now is to get new camera if available and then head south towards Peru. May stop to view some of the many volcanos- there is one near Baños which is currently erupting and all the tourists are visiting it. Will check it out. Quito has its own volcano visible to the west which erupted about 6-8 yrs ago.
Have been at PC for nearly 3 hrs so will leave this for now and amend or add later with comparisons and more comments about Quito.
Cheers to all.
Nobby
By the way have to relate my first bad news - the street kids beat me today - got my camera from its pouch on my belt in front while they jostled me. Group of 5-6 kids 6-10 yrs old pretending to sell something. Did it all within 5 mts of walking!! I cornered 4 of them immediately and frisked them but they were clean and said it was another kid. Got a police report for insurance but have lost the fotos of the last week - maybe 50-60 , basically Colombia. Will try to get new camera here before i leave.
To other travellers - if the kids are touching you physically at all then they are stealing - especially if there is more than one kid and they are actually pushing the products against you. Grab all your pouches/valuables and kick the kids away - do it immediately - do not be hesitant nor wishy-washy.
Back to the story. I chose a cheap hotel from the book and luckily it is near the terminal and in the Old City which is UN heritage and very pretty. The new city so called is to the north - all one continuous thing of course, and is the tourist area, called Mariscal, where all the cafes have English names and all the USA tourists go - also where I got done today!!
Have lost contact with the Dutch couple but may meet again as they are heading same direction.
So arrived late Friday - completely beat after some 20 hrs on the go. Rested, went and ate, home and relaxed before early night and slept 9 hrs in a real bed not hard 1-inch mattresses as has been for last few weeks.
Sat was up and looking for b/fast shops and laundry. Found dozens of cafes - "greasy-spoons" in Aussie - where b/fast lunch/dinner(tea) all cost only $1 - can you believe it!! In Mariscal they cost $2.50-$4. Spent long time looking for laundry but all closed for weekend. By the way would you believe the Friday was Independence Day so most shops were closed!!! Happens every time! Arranged to meet a friend of Jenny K in arvo - in Mariscal, as no parking in old part of town. So went to Mariscal and found all the laundries and met Joanne - lovely Uk lady married to local with 3 kids - all well behaved and spoken and bilingual. Joanne speaks lovely standard English but is not fully bilingual in Spanish. She reminds me of Geraldine a bit - few yrs younger. She may get some contacts for me for later - would be good as it would be lovely to stay with some genuine locals.
Home late arvo and did some PC work getting a selection of fotos onto the PC here and tehn tried to email to Mary but desperastely slow. However today I sent them all via Messenger (much quicker!!) so hopefullly they will all go on blog page soon.
So today, Sunday, went to Mariscal to leave laundry and then wanted to go the the equator which is 23 kms north of Quito. Had to get 2 buses and total of 1 hr to get there. It is a big complex with museum , planetaruim, etc and monument on spot. Got my foto taken but guess where that is now!! The bus catching is somewhat scary - the buses have 4-6 names on front but hey are suburbs I have no idea about and often weird native names. So it is scary not knowing which to catch nor where to get off. But a kindly and pretty lady trafico officer got me on the right first bus and told driver what I needed so he told me where to get off and how to get next one. All done sucessfully - except for camera. Spent an hour getting to police and making report. They told me there is a mini mafia of kids run by adults and almost impossible to catch - kids steal and pass to someone else maybe an adult and then they are clean. as was the case today.
My plan now is to get new camera if available and then head south towards Peru. May stop to view some of the many volcanos- there is one near Baños which is currently erupting and all the tourists are visiting it. Will check it out. Quito has its own volcano visible to the west which erupted about 6-8 yrs ago.
Have been at PC for nearly 3 hrs so will leave this for now and amend or add later with comparisons and more comments about Quito.
Cheers to all.
Nobby
Sunday, August 13, 2006
Report # 11
Well, it is now Sunday arvo in sunny Quito at 2850 mts - that is about 9500 ft. (Bogota was 8500, not 8000 that I said). Travelled all night on Thurs to arrive at border town arrived 0500. met a very poor Peruviam man who is a car parking guy who had sat all night in terminal as had no money for hotel just his fare to Quito. We chatted and I gave him some choc and lent him $5 not expecting to see it again(!!). Got colective taxi 2 kms to Ecuador town went thru Immigartion - at least i did; they suspected him of going in to work so detained him for a while. I left and agreed to wait 1 hr at terminal. He didnt make it poor guy. So I came on alone. They have buses every 30-60 mins for Quito about 250-300 km, cost $4.50 (!!). Ecuador is incrediblky cheap despite the use of US dollar. - it used to be even cheaper!. The scenery in Colombia was all hilly - no, mountainous - and green and lush and wet. I didnt see the last 300 km as was night but it was twisty. However from the border on the land is dry dry dry and arid and totally treeless. Very mountainous and twisty road and temp varies as you go up and down over ranges. and Quito is squashed in between big hills on both sides so is long and narrow nth to sth. Has volcano to the west which erupted 6-8 yrs ago. Very hilly city and dry and dusty.
By the way have to relate my first bad news - the street kids beat me today - got my camera from its pouch on my belt in front while they jostled me. Group of 5-6 kids 6-10 yrs old pretending to sell something. Did it all within 5 mts of walking!! I cornered 4 of them immediately and frisked them but they were clean and said it was another kid. Got a police report for insurance but have lost the fotos of the last week - maybe 50-60 , basically Colombia. Will try to get new camera here before i leave.
To other travellers - if the kids are touching you physically at all then they are stealing - especially if there is more than one kid and they are actually pushing the products against you. Grab all your pouches/valuables and kick the kids away - do it immediately - do not be hesitant nor wishy-washy.
Back to the story. I chose a cheap hotel from the book and luckily it is near the terminal and in the Old City which is UN heritage and very pretty. The new city so called is to the north - all one continuous thing of course, and is the tourist area, called Mariscal, where all the cafes have English names and all the USA tourists go - also where I got done today!!
Have lost contact with the Dutch couple but may meet again as they are heading same direction.
So arrived late Friday - completely beat after some 20 hrs on the go. Rested, went and ate, home and relaxed before early night and slept 9 hrs in a real bed not hard 1-inch mattresses as has been for last few weeks.
Sat was up and looking for b/fast shops and laundry. Found dozens of cafes - "greasy-spoons" in Aussie - where b/fast lunch/dinner(tea) all cost only $1 - can you believe it!! In Mariscal they cost $2.50-$4. Spent long time looking for laundry but all closed for weekend. By the way would you believe the Friday was Independence Day so most shops were closed!!! Happens every time! Arranged to meet a friend of Jenny K in arvo - in Mariscal, as no parking in old part of town. So went to Mariscal and found all the laundries and met Joanne - lovely Uk lady married to local with 3 kids - all well behaved and spoken and bilingual. Joanne speaks lovely standard English but is not fully bilingual in Spanish. She reminds me of Geraldine a bit - few yrs younger. She may get some contacts for me for later - would be good as it would be lovely to stay with some genuine locals.
Home late arvo and did some PC work getting a selection of fotos onto the PC here and tehn tried to email to Mary but desperastely slow. However today I sent them all via Messenger (much quicker!!) so hopefullly they will all go on blog page soon.
So today, Sunday, went to Mariscal to leave laundry and then wanted to go the the equator which is 23 kms north of Quito. Had to get 2 buses and total of 1 hr to get there. It is a big complex with museum , planetaruim, etc and monument on spot. Got my foto taken but guess where that is now!! The bus catching is somewhat scary - the buses have 4-6 names on front but hey are suburbs I have no idea about and often weird native names. So it is scary not knowing which to catch nor where to get off. But a kindly and pretty lady trafico officer got me on the right first bus and told driver what I needed so he told me where to get off and how to get next one. All done sucessfully - except for camera. Spent an hour getting to police and making report. They told me there is a mini mafia of kids run by adults and almost impossible to catch - kids steal and pass to someone else maybe an adult and then they are clean. as was the case today.
My plan now is to get new camera if available and then head south towards Peru. May stop to view some of the many volcanos- there is one near Baños which is currently erupting and all the tourists are visiting it. Will check it out. Quito has its own volcano visible to the west which erupted about 6-8 yrs ago.
Have been at PC for nearly 3 hrs so will leave this for now and amend or add later with comparisons and more comments about Quito.
Cheers to all.
Nobby
By the way have to relate my first bad news - the street kids beat me today - got my camera from its pouch on my belt in front while they jostled me. Group of 5-6 kids 6-10 yrs old pretending to sell something. Did it all within 5 mts of walking!! I cornered 4 of them immediately and frisked them but they were clean and said it was another kid. Got a police report for insurance but have lost the fotos of the last week - maybe 50-60 , basically Colombia. Will try to get new camera here before i leave.
To other travellers - if the kids are touching you physically at all then they are stealing - especially if there is more than one kid and they are actually pushing the products against you. Grab all your pouches/valuables and kick the kids away - do it immediately - do not be hesitant nor wishy-washy.
Back to the story. I chose a cheap hotel from the book and luckily it is near the terminal and in the Old City which is UN heritage and very pretty. The new city so called is to the north - all one continuous thing of course, and is the tourist area, called Mariscal, where all the cafes have English names and all the USA tourists go - also where I got done today!!
Have lost contact with the Dutch couple but may meet again as they are heading same direction.
So arrived late Friday - completely beat after some 20 hrs on the go. Rested, went and ate, home and relaxed before early night and slept 9 hrs in a real bed not hard 1-inch mattresses as has been for last few weeks.
Sat was up and looking for b/fast shops and laundry. Found dozens of cafes - "greasy-spoons" in Aussie - where b/fast lunch/dinner(tea) all cost only $1 - can you believe it!! In Mariscal they cost $2.50-$4. Spent long time looking for laundry but all closed for weekend. By the way would you believe the Friday was Independence Day so most shops were closed!!! Happens every time! Arranged to meet a friend of Jenny K in arvo - in Mariscal, as no parking in old part of town. So went to Mariscal and found all the laundries and met Joanne - lovely Uk lady married to local with 3 kids - all well behaved and spoken and bilingual. Joanne speaks lovely standard English but is not fully bilingual in Spanish. She reminds me of Geraldine a bit - few yrs younger. She may get some contacts for me for later - would be good as it would be lovely to stay with some genuine locals.
Home late arvo and did some PC work getting a selection of fotos onto the PC here and tehn tried to email to Mary but desperastely slow. However today I sent them all via Messenger (much quicker!!) so hopefullly they will all go on blog page soon.
So today, Sunday, went to Mariscal to leave laundry and then wanted to go the the equator which is 23 kms north of Quito. Had to get 2 buses and total of 1 hr to get there. It is a big complex with museum , planetaruim, etc and monument on spot. Got my foto taken but guess where that is now!! The bus catching is somewhat scary - the buses have 4-6 names on front but hey are suburbs I have no idea about and often weird native names. So it is scary not knowing which to catch nor where to get off. But a kindly and pretty lady trafico officer got me on the right first bus and told driver what I needed so he told me where to get off and how to get next one. All done sucessfully - except for camera. Spent an hour getting to police and making report. They told me there is a mini mafia of kids run by adults and almost impossible to catch - kids steal and pass to someone else maybe an adult and then they are clean. as was the case today.
My plan now is to get new camera if available and then head south towards Peru. May stop to view some of the many volcanos- there is one near Baños which is currently erupting and all the tourists are visiting it. Will check it out. Quito has its own volcano visible to the west which erupted about 6-8 yrs ago.
Have been at PC for nearly 3 hrs so will leave this for now and amend or add later with comparisons and more comments about Quito.
Cheers to all.
Nobby
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Report # 10
Hi Folks,
Greetings from south Colombia - on my way to Ecuador.
I left you in Bogotá last Sunday I think. I was in a hostal with a great mixture of characters, USA, Dutch, Norway, Colombia, Israel, an Aussie girl from Coorparoo (near us in Bris) - hi Maria - Thee were several pot smokers, the smell was around all the time. Great owners who spoke English. Very hospitable.
A short geog lesson for you all: Col is roughly a square but pushed a bit out of shape - push left side up - to be a parallelogram, with Panama joined to middle of left side. The entire eastern side of Col - one third or one half is jungle or Amazon headwaters. so little population and no roads. I entered to Leticia in bottom right, and flew to Bog which is about dead centre. I overflew the equator so am now in nth henisphere. But i could not see equator from the high altitude!!
The Andes mts run nth to sth close to coast but they are in roughly 3 parallel ranges with Bog in the far inland one. There are major roads and rivers running N-S between the ranges; the Pan-Amer h-way is in the valley closest to coast.
Temp here is governed almost entirely by altitude as the seasons are almost identical except perhaps fro rain. Bog was 2600 mts which I thought was same as ACT, till I realised that Canberra is in feet and Bog is in mts = 8000ft - higher than Kosiosko. Altitude has not affected me. So Bog was very warm days but very cool-cold nights.
I went to the once a week Sunday market near my hostal which sells everything imaginable mostly used but some new. Old magazines from 1970, old PC motherboards, record players for old LPs, used radios, watches, tape recorders, typewriters(!), clothes, shoes etc. I got a new watch "Swatch" for $2 as the band on my other one broke.
Monday I walked the streets but it was raining a fair bit on and off, also the President was being inaugurated for his second term so many streets were barricaded off. There are unknown number of police groups in Bog - MP ( not what we mean), Council , Traffic, Tourist, Ecology, Bogmet, Lofar (??) and others all with diff uniforms so at any time there are heaps of groups of police standing in groupds talking or walkin. Lots of street beggars and those who have to sleep on street - they all seem to have a dog , probably for protection and warmth at night. Garbage colect is like Brazil - put out all the plastic bags on corners or light poles and beggars scavange it then army of workers comes around an collects it all. Also there are army of sweepers going round all the time sweeping the footpaths dtuff into gutters and then collectors come round and sweept that up and collect it. Overall impression is much cleaner and tidier than brazil and buildings are neater and not so dillapidated. People are quieter but friendly and of course dressed more for warmth that in Brazil.
On Monday met a guy from San Agustin who said we should go there - he is well educated and travelled, speaks English, Hebrew, some German, has dreadlocks to his waist looks hippy, into shamanism, has degree i think in Agro-ecology. Has cabins in San Agustin with no elect or gas for cheap rent - $2 pp. Says that night buses to SanA are best and no danger from rebels - no trouble in 20 yrs. So a Dutch couple and I booked tickets for Tues night, about 8 hrs trip for 400 approx kms.
(Sherry I decided that it was a waste of time to simply stay in Bog - tks for help and advice , enjoy your stay. It is now Thurs and you are arriving in Bog.!!!!!)
So Tuesday I just walked around and got ready, rain was a dampener. But rain here seems to be mainly in early morn. We travelled down the highway to Pitalito - between the 2-3 ranges. Then got a colectivo to go 40 kms east to San-A in the hills. They are twin-cab pick-ups with a cover and seats in back. So 8-10 people squeeze in and pile luggage on roof rack - $2 fare. San-A is a village of 5000 in midst of dozens of sites of ancient stone carvings - try this site
http://www.viajeros.com/diario-1009.html
for some pictures. They date from 3300 BC (!!!) and are believed to be from 3 diff societies and are just amazing. Nobody knows anything about the groups but the experts have drawn lots of info from the stones. They vary in height fom 1-2 mts. We met a guy who rents horses and is a guide so we accepted (the two Dutch and I) - $2 each the horse, and $8 for him for guide. The two had never been on horse before but showed no fear. We rode for 3 hrs less stops at the 4 sites we visited. After 30-45 mins I let the horse canter (guide stayed at rear all the time, so i took lead) and from then on we galloped an many stretches. Fabulous fun!!! The horses are mtn ponies about size of burro, and they walk with a ver fast dancing step - not uncomfortable really but certainly diff. So we visited these sites and he explained details. One has colours on the stone from local trees and he showed us the trees and put some dye on his skin - very bright and obvious. But after 50-80 statues it gets a bit monotonus. He dropped us at local parque museum and we walked a couple of kms. Legs were sore at end of ride but not today. Also had sugar cane wine during ride. They crush cane for juice boil till clear then leave for a week to ferment. Ends up colour of orange and sweet but slight wine taste. Guide was very complimentary about my riding - said with one week of practice i could get a job working with horses here and be a vaquero. (Thank You).
I stayed at cabin next to where the dutch couple stayed but this was with a family. They live in one room and have two rooms above for rent. The showers is cold water with no curtain so i showered with her helping husband fix motor bike 5 mts away in full view!! Cost was $2.50 for night! We booked ticket to leave San-A the next morn at 5.30 am and came by 20-seat bus 120 kms on dirt road 4 mts wide - when bus comes other way one stops. Took 5.5 hrs, basically we had to cross the middle range of mtns into the next big valley where the Pan-Am h-way is. But htat meant non-stop switchback twist and turn up and down thru valleys and over mtns every mt of the way. At one point we were averaging 15 kms per hr. Came to one sort-of plateau that was still very hilly but much less mountainous than the rest, where all the people outside were wearing beanies - head-gear - woolen sweaters and boots and there was a verrrry strong weind blowing. So I assume we were in very high parts. Eventually we desscended down to the town of Popayán from where we get bus to Ecuador. I am leaving tonite at 10 for 7 hr trip of 370 kms to Ipiales the last town before border and from there get 5 hr bus to Quito. So am now definitely in tropics but temp depends on altitude. This town is very warm almost hot even tho it is 2500 mts. We have to cross another range of mtns before we get to border. But paved road all the way this time.
Okay enough for now.
Bye, hugs, Nobby
Greetings from south Colombia - on my way to Ecuador.
I left you in Bogotá last Sunday I think. I was in a hostal with a great mixture of characters, USA, Dutch, Norway, Colombia, Israel, an Aussie girl from Coorparoo (near us in Bris) - hi Maria - Thee were several pot smokers, the smell was around all the time. Great owners who spoke English. Very hospitable.
A short geog lesson for you all: Col is roughly a square but pushed a bit out of shape - push left side up - to be a parallelogram, with Panama joined to middle of left side. The entire eastern side of Col - one third or one half is jungle or Amazon headwaters. so little population and no roads. I entered to Leticia in bottom right, and flew to Bog which is about dead centre. I overflew the equator so am now in nth henisphere. But i could not see equator from the high altitude!!
The Andes mts run nth to sth close to coast but they are in roughly 3 parallel ranges with Bog in the far inland one. There are major roads and rivers running N-S between the ranges; the Pan-Amer h-way is in the valley closest to coast.
Temp here is governed almost entirely by altitude as the seasons are almost identical except perhaps fro rain. Bog was 2600 mts which I thought was same as ACT, till I realised that Canberra is in feet and Bog is in mts = 8000ft - higher than Kosiosko. Altitude has not affected me. So Bog was very warm days but very cool-cold nights.
I went to the once a week Sunday market near my hostal which sells everything imaginable mostly used but some new. Old magazines from 1970, old PC motherboards, record players for old LPs, used radios, watches, tape recorders, typewriters(!), clothes, shoes etc. I got a new watch "Swatch" for $2 as the band on my other one broke.
Monday I walked the streets but it was raining a fair bit on and off, also the President was being inaugurated for his second term so many streets were barricaded off. There are unknown number of police groups in Bog - MP ( not what we mean), Council , Traffic, Tourist, Ecology, Bogmet, Lofar (??) and others all with diff uniforms so at any time there are heaps of groups of police standing in groupds talking or walkin. Lots of street beggars and those who have to sleep on street - they all seem to have a dog , probably for protection and warmth at night. Garbage colect is like Brazil - put out all the plastic bags on corners or light poles and beggars scavange it then army of workers comes around an collects it all. Also there are army of sweepers going round all the time sweeping the footpaths dtuff into gutters and then collectors come round and sweept that up and collect it. Overall impression is much cleaner and tidier than brazil and buildings are neater and not so dillapidated. People are quieter but friendly and of course dressed more for warmth that in Brazil.
On Monday met a guy from San Agustin who said we should go there - he is well educated and travelled, speaks English, Hebrew, some German, has dreadlocks to his waist looks hippy, into shamanism, has degree i think in Agro-ecology. Has cabins in San Agustin with no elect or gas for cheap rent - $2 pp. Says that night buses to SanA are best and no danger from rebels - no trouble in 20 yrs. So a Dutch couple and I booked tickets for Tues night, about 8 hrs trip for 400 approx kms.
(Sherry I decided that it was a waste of time to simply stay in Bog - tks for help and advice , enjoy your stay. It is now Thurs and you are arriving in Bog.!!!!!)
So Tuesday I just walked around and got ready, rain was a dampener. But rain here seems to be mainly in early morn. We travelled down the highway to Pitalito - between the 2-3 ranges. Then got a colectivo to go 40 kms east to San-A in the hills. They are twin-cab pick-ups with a cover and seats in back. So 8-10 people squeeze in and pile luggage on roof rack - $2 fare. San-A is a village of 5000 in midst of dozens of sites of ancient stone carvings - try this site
http://www.viajeros.com/diario-1009.html
for some pictures. They date from 3300 BC (!!!) and are believed to be from 3 diff societies and are just amazing. Nobody knows anything about the groups but the experts have drawn lots of info from the stones. They vary in height fom 1-2 mts. We met a guy who rents horses and is a guide so we accepted (the two Dutch and I) - $2 each the horse, and $8 for him for guide. The two had never been on horse before but showed no fear. We rode for 3 hrs less stops at the 4 sites we visited. After 30-45 mins I let the horse canter (guide stayed at rear all the time, so i took lead) and from then on we galloped an many stretches. Fabulous fun!!! The horses are mtn ponies about size of burro, and they walk with a ver fast dancing step - not uncomfortable really but certainly diff. So we visited these sites and he explained details. One has colours on the stone from local trees and he showed us the trees and put some dye on his skin - very bright and obvious. But after 50-80 statues it gets a bit monotonus. He dropped us at local parque museum and we walked a couple of kms. Legs were sore at end of ride but not today. Also had sugar cane wine during ride. They crush cane for juice boil till clear then leave for a week to ferment. Ends up colour of orange and sweet but slight wine taste. Guide was very complimentary about my riding - said with one week of practice i could get a job working with horses here and be a vaquero. (Thank You).
I stayed at cabin next to where the dutch couple stayed but this was with a family. They live in one room and have two rooms above for rent. The showers is cold water with no curtain so i showered with her helping husband fix motor bike 5 mts away in full view!! Cost was $2.50 for night! We booked ticket to leave San-A the next morn at 5.30 am and came by 20-seat bus 120 kms on dirt road 4 mts wide - when bus comes other way one stops. Took 5.5 hrs, basically we had to cross the middle range of mtns into the next big valley where the Pan-Am h-way is. But htat meant non-stop switchback twist and turn up and down thru valleys and over mtns every mt of the way. At one point we were averaging 15 kms per hr. Came to one sort-of plateau that was still very hilly but much less mountainous than the rest, where all the people outside were wearing beanies - head-gear - woolen sweaters and boots and there was a verrrry strong weind blowing. So I assume we were in very high parts. Eventually we desscended down to the town of Popayán from where we get bus to Ecuador. I am leaving tonite at 10 for 7 hr trip of 370 kms to Ipiales the last town before border and from there get 5 hr bus to Quito. So am now definitely in tropics but temp depends on altitude. This town is very warm almost hot even tho it is 2500 mts. We have to cross another range of mtns before we get to border. But paved road all the way this time.
Okay enough for now.
Bye, hugs, Nobby
Sunday, August 6, 2006
Report # 9
Howdy to all from Colombia, Sunday, midday 6th Aug
I wrote and an hours report this morning but it somehow disappeared into cyberspace, so am trying again. Also I have tried to send three other emails from this server but am getting failure notices so may have to send this from Yahoo later.
I left you last time in Belem - Sunday, a week ago - so to continue - Monday I went walking after looking at yellow pages for travel agents and eventually found one but a lot of walking. they had a seat to Manaus for Wed for $140 or so so I took it but in Brazil nobidy acepts foreign credit cards, so I walked to the nearest ATM but it doestnt like foreigners too, so bus to town then try 4 ATMs before one talks to me inluding several technical rejections. Bus back to agent, get ticket and home just after lunch. rested for rest of day.
Tuesday into town to try a tour of river; nothing suits so try the local ferry service and they hace a ferry going up river for 1.5 hrs and then back $2 each way. so I take it. Fascinating - all the locals carrying stuff to their island places or whatever all black/dark skinned. Altho the river is 320 kmz wide here it has 1000 islands in between - the big one I told you about and many others some of considerable size - 10-15kms - so from the shore yo can only see about 8-10 kms of water. very deep. We head upriver between some islands lots of shanty house along the bans where very poor people live ekeing out existence from fruit and hunting or maybe a couple of cattle. I found it amazing and interesting. Only stopped at three places - in last 20 mins - and unloaded frieght, then back via a diff route in a very narrow channel. Another pro offered her wares to me on the returrn trip but fat and ugly so I said no. The waterways are quite laberynthine so only locals could navigate there I am sure..Home late arvo then prepare for tomorrows departure.
Up early Wed and get to airport by bus - I find it very easy to get buses to and from the airports and bus terminals; saves $20 per trip - easy to get tickeded and able to relax in air comfort of airport for a couple of hours. Sat next to a 15yo girl, Roberta, who was talkative (and clever as she spoke very slowly and distinctly). Became good friends. After lamding, her mum was not there so I helped her with bags etc and we chatted till mum arrived - by bus!! Mum was suspicious of me I think but I left. But they called me back as they were going on bus too, so we waited together, then her estranged dad arrived and mum sent her (reluctantly) with dad but mum - Joselia - dtayed with me. She took me to town and showed me the hotel and ensured I was safe and installed. Meantime she had relaxed and gave me her address and details and she is a lolly seller in a poor barrio (!!). I spend entire afternoon looking for agents to get tickets for exit plus tickets for a jungle tour; cannot find Venez consulate. So decide to ignore Venez and try Colombia. They can get me a ticket for Sat to the far west of Amazon called Tabatinga (Brazil) plus a two day tour for Thurs Frid. Once again the hassle of getting an ATM but this city centre is smaller but still much walking. Eventually get all arranged. Don´t know if I can exit Tabatinga.
Decide that if I am to see Joselia adn family It is that night, so take the bus she told me and travel for 35 mins and dont know where to exit , ask busman and he says wait. We get to the terminal for that line the very edge of city I think, and he says to walk two blocks. I do and find the plaza and with soime seaaarching find Joselia. She and Roberta are astonished!! she has a fixed stand 2x1 mts roofed with electricity sells sweets, drinks and makes simple food like fried banana crisps and empanadas. I spend enjoyable 2 hours with them and thier friends - all accept me - an oddity I suspect but all restful and friendly. The whole town is in the streets (30C, 98%) and school is on one side of strteet and soccer field of sand on other. They warn me to be careful going to bus stop - which is hard to find - but people I meet treat me well and help happily and absolutely no problems. Amazing and unique experience. Schools here run 3 sessions a day to accomodate the numbers thats why school was on at 9 at night.Home very late more walking to get to hotel.
Next day early start for tour. They take us - 4 Spanish, 2 young/cocky Belgians - in car to meeting of waters where we cross to south bank via small motor boat. Manaus is on north side of two rivers whhich meet 15 kms east of city - rivers flow west to east of course - imagine a Y lying on its side >-- sort of - so we go in a kombi van for an hour into jungle travel thru wetlands most of time road is raised about 2-3 mts. Lots of farm houses with cattle and some crops. Then in a long canoe with 40hp outboard for another hour to get to cabins where we stay. Also get two Venez guys added. We swin in mighty Amazon - or a tributary- for an hour or two and have fish lunch the fish is called piraucã and the one we saw was 2 mts long , can you imagine!! we only saw the fillet which was as tall as the boy holding it. Then after lunch to spot monkeys motor for an hour row 30 mins but the 4 Span and 2 Belg talk sing shout whole time so no animals seen but the trip was amazing as I find it impossible to tell where the main stream goes there are so many backwaters and tributaries the water is about 2 mts below max and the marks are easily visible on trees and banks. Some parts are 20 mts deep and otheres only 8-10 mts . The river will drop another 10 mts before next big wet so many parts will be dry. Incredible to see these giant tress growing in the water. I loved the trip.
Home to fish for piranha - I caught the first and the largest, got 5, but Emilio got 8, We ate thjem next day in a soup!! They are only tiny fish about 6-8 cms high, 12-15 cms long and 2 cms wide , oval shape. Teeth are sharp and jaws are very strong - cannot remove stick from mouth once they bite it. We caught these fish in same spot where we swim!!! they only attack if you have fresh blood wound. Then alligator spotting after dinner called caimans here they grow to 3 mts but that takes 30-50 yrs. We caught one about 2-3ft. More swim after dinner had some caiperinhas - rum based drink good to get drunk on!!. Tipsy to bed.
Up at 5.30 for bird watching and sunrise saw 100s of canaries and lots of other birds and heard more. After b/fast we went for jungle hike supposed to seee monkeys and lots more. But the talkers are more noisy than ever so no chance but we see a tarantula and a 6 ft green snake which I almost trod on. non poisonous but aggressive and throws entire body when strikes so guide was worried. It was ready to attack me but I got good photo. Walked non stop for 2.25 hrs Lumch and more swim, then depart for town. Get hotel again and prepare for depart from Brazil next morn.
Got to Tabatinga easy shared taxi with two others to Brazil immigration and get exit. Then we take motor bike taxi to the Colombian town of Leticia. Imagine me with big mochila on back and holding little day pack and we are on a bike!! quick cheap and easy. Get to airport and have to get to town again to accept credit card then back again to airport and they have plane leaving in 3 hrs for Bogota. So arrive in Bog and take minibus to city and find hotel next to the one Sherry recommended - it is full as there is a convention on in town.
So I am in Spanish country again and it almost feels like my home tongue after the portuguese.
Must away, hope this gets to you all.
Love and kisses
Nobby
I wrote and an hours report this morning but it somehow disappeared into cyberspace, so am trying again. Also I have tried to send three other emails from this server but am getting failure notices so may have to send this from Yahoo later.
I left you last time in Belem - Sunday, a week ago - so to continue - Monday I went walking after looking at yellow pages for travel agents and eventually found one but a lot of walking. they had a seat to Manaus for Wed for $140 or so so I took it but in Brazil nobidy acepts foreign credit cards, so I walked to the nearest ATM but it doestnt like foreigners too, so bus to town then try 4 ATMs before one talks to me inluding several technical rejections. Bus back to agent, get ticket and home just after lunch. rested for rest of day.
Tuesday into town to try a tour of river; nothing suits so try the local ferry service and they hace a ferry going up river for 1.5 hrs and then back $2 each way. so I take it. Fascinating - all the locals carrying stuff to their island places or whatever all black/dark skinned. Altho the river is 320 kmz wide here it has 1000 islands in between - the big one I told you about and many others some of considerable size - 10-15kms - so from the shore yo can only see about 8-10 kms of water. very deep. We head upriver between some islands lots of shanty house along the bans where very poor people live ekeing out existence from fruit and hunting or maybe a couple of cattle. I found it amazing and interesting. Only stopped at three places - in last 20 mins - and unloaded frieght, then back via a diff route in a very narrow channel. Another pro offered her wares to me on the returrn trip but fat and ugly so I said no. The waterways are quite laberynthine so only locals could navigate there I am sure..Home late arvo then prepare for tomorrows departure.
Up early Wed and get to airport by bus - I find it very easy to get buses to and from the airports and bus terminals; saves $20 per trip - easy to get tickeded and able to relax in air comfort of airport for a couple of hours. Sat next to a 15yo girl, Roberta, who was talkative (and clever as she spoke very slowly and distinctly). Became good friends. After lamding, her mum was not there so I helped her with bags etc and we chatted till mum arrived - by bus!! Mum was suspicious of me I think but I left. But they called me back as they were going on bus too, so we waited together, then her estranged dad arrived and mum sent her (reluctantly) with dad but mum - Joselia - dtayed with me. She took me to town and showed me the hotel and ensured I was safe and installed. Meantime she had relaxed and gave me her address and details and she is a lolly seller in a poor barrio (!!). I spend entire afternoon looking for agents to get tickets for exit plus tickets for a jungle tour; cannot find Venez consulate. So decide to ignore Venez and try Colombia. They can get me a ticket for Sat to the far west of Amazon called Tabatinga (Brazil) plus a two day tour for Thurs Frid. Once again the hassle of getting an ATM but this city centre is smaller but still much walking. Eventually get all arranged. Don´t know if I can exit Tabatinga.
Decide that if I am to see Joselia adn family It is that night, so take the bus she told me and travel for 35 mins and dont know where to exit , ask busman and he says wait. We get to the terminal for that line the very edge of city I think, and he says to walk two blocks. I do and find the plaza and with soime seaaarching find Joselia. She and Roberta are astonished!! she has a fixed stand 2x1 mts roofed with electricity sells sweets, drinks and makes simple food like fried banana crisps and empanadas. I spend enjoyable 2 hours with them and thier friends - all accept me - an oddity I suspect but all restful and friendly. The whole town is in the streets (30C, 98%) and school is on one side of strteet and soccer field of sand on other. They warn me to be careful going to bus stop - which is hard to find - but people I meet treat me well and help happily and absolutely no problems. Amazing and unique experience. Schools here run 3 sessions a day to accomodate the numbers thats why school was on at 9 at night.Home very late more walking to get to hotel.
Next day early start for tour. They take us - 4 Spanish, 2 young/cocky Belgians - in car to meeting of waters where we cross to south bank via small motor boat. Manaus is on north side of two rivers whhich meet 15 kms east of city - rivers flow west to east of course - imagine a Y lying on its side >-- sort of - so we go in a kombi van for an hour into jungle travel thru wetlands most of time road is raised about 2-3 mts. Lots of farm houses with cattle and some crops. Then in a long canoe with 40hp outboard for another hour to get to cabins where we stay. Also get two Venez guys added. We swin in mighty Amazon - or a tributary- for an hour or two and have fish lunch the fish is called piraucã and the one we saw was 2 mts long , can you imagine!! we only saw the fillet which was as tall as the boy holding it. Then after lunch to spot monkeys motor for an hour row 30 mins but the 4 Span and 2 Belg talk sing shout whole time so no animals seen but the trip was amazing as I find it impossible to tell where the main stream goes there are so many backwaters and tributaries the water is about 2 mts below max and the marks are easily visible on trees and banks. Some parts are 20 mts deep and otheres only 8-10 mts . The river will drop another 10 mts before next big wet so many parts will be dry. Incredible to see these giant tress growing in the water. I loved the trip.
Home to fish for piranha - I caught the first and the largest, got 5, but Emilio got 8, We ate thjem next day in a soup!! They are only tiny fish about 6-8 cms high, 12-15 cms long and 2 cms wide , oval shape. Teeth are sharp and jaws are very strong - cannot remove stick from mouth once they bite it. We caught these fish in same spot where we swim!!! they only attack if you have fresh blood wound. Then alligator spotting after dinner called caimans here they grow to 3 mts but that takes 30-50 yrs. We caught one about 2-3ft. More swim after dinner had some caiperinhas - rum based drink good to get drunk on!!. Tipsy to bed.
Up at 5.30 for bird watching and sunrise saw 100s of canaries and lots of other birds and heard more. After b/fast we went for jungle hike supposed to seee monkeys and lots more. But the talkers are more noisy than ever so no chance but we see a tarantula and a 6 ft green snake which I almost trod on. non poisonous but aggressive and throws entire body when strikes so guide was worried. It was ready to attack me but I got good photo. Walked non stop for 2.25 hrs Lumch and more swim, then depart for town. Get hotel again and prepare for depart from Brazil next morn.
Got to Tabatinga easy shared taxi with two others to Brazil immigration and get exit. Then we take motor bike taxi to the Colombian town of Leticia. Imagine me with big mochila on back and holding little day pack and we are on a bike!! quick cheap and easy. Get to airport and have to get to town again to accept credit card then back again to airport and they have plane leaving in 3 hrs for Bogota. So arrive in Bog and take minibus to city and find hotel next to the one Sherry recommended - it is full as there is a convention on in town.
So I am in Spanish country again and it almost feels like my home tongue after the portuguese.
Must away, hope this gets to you all.
Love and kisses
Nobby
Sunday, July 30, 2006
Report # 8a
(Text was lost somewhere/somehow here)
't shops - they all congregate in one street or area. that is all shoe shops in one place all clothes shops in one place, etc. Was walking along fashionable street in Fort the other day and maybe 10 blocks were 90% shoe/handbag shops all with the same styles and same prices!!?? - leather sandals from R10. Sorry ladies I didnt buy you all anything!
Saw my first road accident as leaving Fort - well, after the event: ambulance was treating someone on ground and a motorbike was lying in middle of road so dont know if cyclist hit a pedestrian or was hit by a car.Intersting, this place has about 20 PCs and none of the innards are in boxes - they are screwed to a board along the desks above the monitors - it is so hot they would melt in a normal box. They also have about 8 fans blasting air around too.Took a trip into Belém centre today and saw first view of Amazon - a bit special if not emotional. The amazon at this point - about 20-50 kms upstream from mouth - is 320 kms wide!!! but it has lots of islands scattered across that area especially one big one which is 200x250 kms in size. My impression is that Belem is cleaner and better maintained than other places I have been. I saw lots of very attractive homes with front gardens and steel fences rather than normal concrete wall. Big buildings in centre were wuite tidy and reasonably modern. But the point of special interst is the main plaza which is about 300x200 mts fully grassed containing several large gazebos and two small museums (about the size of a suburban church) it is Sunday so park was in use by heaps of families - very, very pretty and the nicest I have seen in Brazil. The streets along edge re filled semi-permanent stalls selling the normal artesan stuff pllus paintings and CDs. Walked 3-4 blocks to the river and was very impresssed witht the old docks now revamped and modernised and very clean and contains a museum and a mutitude of 3-5 star restaurants and bars. Prices R20-40 per plate and worthy of any restaurant in Australia - I guess the figures are same as Aust but exchange means half price. There was one flight available today at $300 (very high!) and I only had 40 mins to get to airport so I said no. Will try some city tourist agencies tomorrow. Okay - enough for now. Have a great week - for those who have to go to work!!!
Hugs Nobby
't shops - they all congregate in one street or area. that is all shoe shops in one place all clothes shops in one place, etc. Was walking along fashionable street in Fort the other day and maybe 10 blocks were 90% shoe/handbag shops all with the same styles and same prices!!?? - leather sandals from R10. Sorry ladies I didnt buy you all anything!
Saw my first road accident as leaving Fort - well, after the event: ambulance was treating someone on ground and a motorbike was lying in middle of road so dont know if cyclist hit a pedestrian or was hit by a car.Intersting, this place has about 20 PCs and none of the innards are in boxes - they are screwed to a board along the desks above the monitors - it is so hot they would melt in a normal box. They also have about 8 fans blasting air around too.Took a trip into Belém centre today and saw first view of Amazon - a bit special if not emotional. The amazon at this point - about 20-50 kms upstream from mouth - is 320 kms wide!!! but it has lots of islands scattered across that area especially one big one which is 200x250 kms in size. My impression is that Belem is cleaner and better maintained than other places I have been. I saw lots of very attractive homes with front gardens and steel fences rather than normal concrete wall. Big buildings in centre were wuite tidy and reasonably modern. But the point of special interst is the main plaza which is about 300x200 mts fully grassed containing several large gazebos and two small museums (about the size of a suburban church) it is Sunday so park was in use by heaps of families - very, very pretty and the nicest I have seen in Brazil. The streets along edge re filled semi-permanent stalls selling the normal artesan stuff pllus paintings and CDs. Walked 3-4 blocks to the river and was very impresssed witht the old docks now revamped and modernised and very clean and contains a museum and a mutitude of 3-5 star restaurants and bars. Prices R20-40 per plate and worthy of any restaurant in Australia - I guess the figures are same as Aust but exchange means half price. There was one flight available today at $300 (very high!) and I only had 40 mins to get to airport so I said no. Will try some city tourist agencies tomorrow. Okay - enough for now. Have a great week - for those who have to go to work!!!
Hugs Nobby
Report # 8
Happy Sunday morn to all,
Now in Belem at mouth of Amazon river looking at how to get out of here. Left you in Fortaleza in #7 - update: Jeff tells me that at this level each degree represents about 111 Kms of distance so I was 220 km frm equator - THAT”S WHY I COULDN”T SEE IT!!! Also the distance travelled up to Fortaleza was about 6800 and now add 1600 to that making 8400.
Interestingly in each city that I have hit there seems to be a big event on the night of my arrival - that happened in Fort, the Monday night is a great spectacle in the area where I was living but the rest of the week it is pretty ordinary, altho still lively! Well, Fortaleza is a nothing city really and the carnaval called "Fortal" - pron fort-a-ow - was a non event for me. We went in a mini bus from hostel and stopped at next poussada and collected 6 girls wearing the important "tee-shirts" which give entry to the privileged areas -cost them R200=$100 - I was with two young good looking Sth African (white) guys. The girls made eyes at them and said they liked them so I translated and pointed out who liked who. Took 45 mins to get there scads of people; bought R3 ticket to enter giant fenced field - like Sydney Easter show but no sideshows - only drinks, drinks and food stalls. Inside there was a fenced off area maybe 500 mts long on other side of a small lake with stages and bands playing non-stop. There are several 2-lane roads which circle thru the area ending in the private area. First of 4 bands on a huge semi-trailer truck, 2-story high started blasting rock music and moved slowly along road. The full width of road and from 100 mts in front to about 200 mts behind truck was roped off in  moving barricade held by people every mt. The people with that colour shirt could enter the barricade and move with the truck dancing yelling and singing with wild abandon.
The trucks were covered in lights and sound system big enough for Sydney Opera house. The base notes - every 2nd or 4th beat blasted physically like the blast from a bomb - or what I imagine that is like. Within 20 mts of truck the sount just hit your whole body - whooomph!!!! Took about 30 mins to go 400 mts and disappear into Pearly Gates - never to be seen again - along with the "followers"; about 100 mts behind the main truck was another semi fitted out as a bar selling drinks to patrons, 50 mts behind it was a flat tray truck re-supplying the many vendors carrying esky''s who were also selling to the crowd. To me it was a bit like a mobile nightclub - suited to the young music lovers who wanted to get drunk and dance. While this first truck was moving one Sth Sfrican started making up heavily with the girl who had chosen him!! However the next truck was hers - theirs, 6 girls - so they went to join the truck and also disappeared in to Pearly Gates. About midnight the 3rd truck also went thru. I understand that the bands are the most popular ones in the region and so have big followings and the locals knew all the words of the songs. By about 01.00 I was a bit bored so left - we had all long since split up. Outside the main entrance were many 100”s of other people who did not choose to pay. But the music was so loud from several bands all playing on diff stages that it was enought for them. But for me a big non-event - there were certainly 1000”s of young people - M & F - there looking for a night of riotous fun and I suspect they all got it but for an older fogey it was not my scene.
I left the next morn for Belem with no hicccups except that what was supposed to be a 24 hr trip took 32 hrs so we arrived last night at 20.00 instead of midday. I have booked into  cheap hotel near Terminal while I check out ways to move on from here. I did not know it is the last weekend of school hols so all flights from Fortaleza were full and so are all flights from here for the next few days. Will investigate what I should do. Cannot fly to other countries as the only airline doing that is Varig which is rapidly going down tube and cancels most flights and gives no refunds. So it is Manaus or nothing at this stage.
Some general impressions of Brazil: in no special order just as the thoughts occur to me: Sao Paulo is a huge city and maybe woth seeing for that alone but has no special beauty; Rio is a must and has lots to see but the beaches to an Aussie are ho-hum. I have not seen one Brazil girl with slumped shoulders and they nearly all seem to be very comfortable with their sexuality which maybe accounts for their attractiveness - men too of course, but they dont appeal to me so much! Ouro Preto is a pretty little city for those interested in the archtecture. Salvadore is my pick of cities and is a must especially the Pelourinho - old city now a UNESCO listing and very interesting. The spontaneaity of dance and music make it very special - Tuesday night is the best. The scenery throughout the whole country has not been much diff from Aust - varying from dry grass to green hills and flat plains. I have not seen any local trees of any consequence every hill has been cleared of tress - perhaps even worse than Aust. The only tall stands of timbert I have seem were eucalypts!!! However there are palm tress growing wild nearly everyehwere espec as you move north - dont know if they are coconut palm or not.
Along all the roads the fields are fenced and frequently the area between road and fence is cultivated by the poor. Fences are nade with posts every half mt or two mts so lots of labour expended but it is cheap here. Nearly every building is built entirely of concrete often the ceilings as well - everyting is just 20 cms of reinforced concrete. Some are built with pillars of concrete every 2 mts and in-filled with cheap bricks then “rendered” in concrete. Bridges, fences in town, everyting is grey concrete going black/charcoal as it ages. All the footpaths are cobblestone constantly in repair and in need of repair. All roads in cities are paved but suburban roads and many main raods are also cobblestone. They use speed-bumps = lombadas - to control traffic everywhere especially in suburbs. They are mostly 1 mt wide concrete hump 20 cms high which means buses must come to dead-stop. They are used before toll-booths, before traffic lights, near big intersections, etc. In general all streets look tired and dirty even in nice areas as the quality of construction is not like in Aust as they use heaps of unskilled labour.
You also must be prepared for an assault on your nose as you move around - people throw everyting on the ground - there are litter bins and they fill quickly - and so there are lots of smells of rotten food and I think also urine (from the street people?) I have seen some official garbage trucks but mostly it is collected by tribes of little people - boys, girls, ladies men - who move around with bags carts tricycles etc and sort and gather the rubbish and presumably sell it or get paid somehow. People seem to leave nice piles of plastic shopping bags full of rubbish around light poles during the night and someone comes and collects it next day. All the millions of cans and plastic bottles get thrown into bins or on the ground but collectors gather all these for recycling - you see the scavengers going through all the bins regularly. Every street and every corner has its share of sellers - lollies (sweets) drinks, papers, fruit, cigarettes, sunglasses, CD”s, handicrafts, drinks icecream, beer, coconut drinks - just an endless sea of sellers either in fixed stalls or in mobile carts. Outside my current hotel are 3 stalls one makes hamburger type food - meat eggs ham, rolls, drinks etc. Next to him is a guy selling sweets and drinks, and next to that is a lady making some sort of pastry things. They gave carts with large gas cylinders and stainless steell cooking tops and I have eaten from many amd all are okay. There are millions of street poor and they beg or steal or work where they can. However I have not seen any of them treated with disrespect; they are accepted as poor but not put down because of it, and well dressed people can hold a conversation with them.
I know you guys are in mid winter - as am I - but here the humidity is 95% and the temp is between 25-30 all the time. It means you dont run anywhere, you move slowly and avoid things from 12-3.00pm if poss. I can understand a tiny bit of the language now if I know the topic, but if two strangers are talking I cannot understand a thing. They all understand me when I speak my badly pronunced words but they come back with 5-10 words joined together and I am lost - but I am getting by. However looking forward to being somewhere where I can understand without too much thinking - Spanish ill be such a relief. I have to admit that the Portuguese sounds are still totally foreign to my ears. Algis, if I get a chance I will send some notes on pronunciation - eg agitate is pronunced a-hee-tah-shee. Well, time is almost up and this should be enough reading for you for one session.
Cheers and love
Now in Belem at mouth of Amazon river looking at how to get out of here. Left you in Fortaleza in #7 - update: Jeff tells me that at this level each degree represents about 111 Kms of distance so I was 220 km frm equator - THAT”S WHY I COULDN”T SEE IT!!! Also the distance travelled up to Fortaleza was about 6800 and now add 1600 to that making 8400.
Interestingly in each city that I have hit there seems to be a big event on the night of my arrival - that happened in Fort, the Monday night is a great spectacle in the area where I was living but the rest of the week it is pretty ordinary, altho still lively! Well, Fortaleza is a nothing city really and the carnaval called "Fortal" - pron fort-a-ow - was a non event for me. We went in a mini bus from hostel and stopped at next poussada and collected 6 girls wearing the important "tee-shirts" which give entry to the privileged areas -cost them R200=$100 - I was with two young good looking Sth African (white) guys. The girls made eyes at them and said they liked them so I translated and pointed out who liked who. Took 45 mins to get there scads of people; bought R3 ticket to enter giant fenced field - like Sydney Easter show but no sideshows - only drinks, drinks and food stalls. Inside there was a fenced off area maybe 500 mts long on other side of a small lake with stages and bands playing non-stop. There are several 2-lane roads which circle thru the area ending in the private area. First of 4 bands on a huge semi-trailer truck, 2-story high started blasting rock music and moved slowly along road. The full width of road and from 100 mts in front to about 200 mts behind truck was roped off in  moving barricade held by people every mt. The people with that colour shirt could enter the barricade and move with the truck dancing yelling and singing with wild abandon.
The trucks were covered in lights and sound system big enough for Sydney Opera house. The base notes - every 2nd or 4th beat blasted physically like the blast from a bomb - or what I imagine that is like. Within 20 mts of truck the sount just hit your whole body - whooomph!!!! Took about 30 mins to go 400 mts and disappear into Pearly Gates - never to be seen again - along with the "followers"; about 100 mts behind the main truck was another semi fitted out as a bar selling drinks to patrons, 50 mts behind it was a flat tray truck re-supplying the many vendors carrying esky''s who were also selling to the crowd. To me it was a bit like a mobile nightclub - suited to the young music lovers who wanted to get drunk and dance. While this first truck was moving one Sth Sfrican started making up heavily with the girl who had chosen him!! However the next truck was hers - theirs, 6 girls - so they went to join the truck and also disappeared in to Pearly Gates. About midnight the 3rd truck also went thru. I understand that the bands are the most popular ones in the region and so have big followings and the locals knew all the words of the songs. By about 01.00 I was a bit bored so left - we had all long since split up. Outside the main entrance were many 100”s of other people who did not choose to pay. But the music was so loud from several bands all playing on diff stages that it was enought for them. But for me a big non-event - there were certainly 1000”s of young people - M & F - there looking for a night of riotous fun and I suspect they all got it but for an older fogey it was not my scene.
I left the next morn for Belem with no hicccups except that what was supposed to be a 24 hr trip took 32 hrs so we arrived last night at 20.00 instead of midday. I have booked into  cheap hotel near Terminal while I check out ways to move on from here. I did not know it is the last weekend of school hols so all flights from Fortaleza were full and so are all flights from here for the next few days. Will investigate what I should do. Cannot fly to other countries as the only airline doing that is Varig which is rapidly going down tube and cancels most flights and gives no refunds. So it is Manaus or nothing at this stage.
Some general impressions of Brazil: in no special order just as the thoughts occur to me: Sao Paulo is a huge city and maybe woth seeing for that alone but has no special beauty; Rio is a must and has lots to see but the beaches to an Aussie are ho-hum. I have not seen one Brazil girl with slumped shoulders and they nearly all seem to be very comfortable with their sexuality which maybe accounts for their attractiveness - men too of course, but they dont appeal to me so much! Ouro Preto is a pretty little city for those interested in the archtecture. Salvadore is my pick of cities and is a must especially the Pelourinho - old city now a UNESCO listing and very interesting. The spontaneaity of dance and music make it very special - Tuesday night is the best. The scenery throughout the whole country has not been much diff from Aust - varying from dry grass to green hills and flat plains. I have not seen any local trees of any consequence every hill has been cleared of tress - perhaps even worse than Aust. The only tall stands of timbert I have seem were eucalypts!!! However there are palm tress growing wild nearly everyehwere espec as you move north - dont know if they are coconut palm or not.
Along all the roads the fields are fenced and frequently the area between road and fence is cultivated by the poor. Fences are nade with posts every half mt or two mts so lots of labour expended but it is cheap here. Nearly every building is built entirely of concrete often the ceilings as well - everyting is just 20 cms of reinforced concrete. Some are built with pillars of concrete every 2 mts and in-filled with cheap bricks then “rendered” in concrete. Bridges, fences in town, everyting is grey concrete going black/charcoal as it ages. All the footpaths are cobblestone constantly in repair and in need of repair. All roads in cities are paved but suburban roads and many main raods are also cobblestone. They use speed-bumps = lombadas - to control traffic everywhere especially in suburbs. They are mostly 1 mt wide concrete hump 20 cms high which means buses must come to dead-stop. They are used before toll-booths, before traffic lights, near big intersections, etc. In general all streets look tired and dirty even in nice areas as the quality of construction is not like in Aust as they use heaps of unskilled labour.
You also must be prepared for an assault on your nose as you move around - people throw everyting on the ground - there are litter bins and they fill quickly - and so there are lots of smells of rotten food and I think also urine (from the street people?) I have seen some official garbage trucks but mostly it is collected by tribes of little people - boys, girls, ladies men - who move around with bags carts tricycles etc and sort and gather the rubbish and presumably sell it or get paid somehow. People seem to leave nice piles of plastic shopping bags full of rubbish around light poles during the night and someone comes and collects it next day. All the millions of cans and plastic bottles get thrown into bins or on the ground but collectors gather all these for recycling - you see the scavengers going through all the bins regularly. Every street and every corner has its share of sellers - lollies (sweets) drinks, papers, fruit, cigarettes, sunglasses, CD”s, handicrafts, drinks icecream, beer, coconut drinks - just an endless sea of sellers either in fixed stalls or in mobile carts. Outside my current hotel are 3 stalls one makes hamburger type food - meat eggs ham, rolls, drinks etc. Next to him is a guy selling sweets and drinks, and next to that is a lady making some sort of pastry things. They gave carts with large gas cylinders and stainless steell cooking tops and I have eaten from many amd all are okay. There are millions of street poor and they beg or steal or work where they can. However I have not seen any of them treated with disrespect; they are accepted as poor but not put down because of it, and well dressed people can hold a conversation with them.
I know you guys are in mid winter - as am I - but here the humidity is 95% and the temp is between 25-30 all the time. It means you dont run anywhere, you move slowly and avoid things from 12-3.00pm if poss. I can understand a tiny bit of the language now if I know the topic, but if two strangers are talking I cannot understand a thing. They all understand me when I speak my badly pronunced words but they come back with 5-10 words joined together and I am lost - but I am getting by. However looking forward to being somewhere where I can understand without too much thinking - Spanish ill be such a relief. I have to admit that the Portuguese sounds are still totally foreign to my ears. Algis, if I get a chance I will send some notes on pronunciation - eg agitate is pronunced a-hee-tah-shee. Well, time is almost up and this should be enough reading for you for one session.
Cheers and love