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
