South American Hola-day

Since Maradona´s demise, the Argentinians have found a new idol in Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen

Home one step from Home

A ´Submarino´- hot milk with a chocolate bar melted in at your leisure. Quite tasty if you add another 6 bars.

Gaucho not Groucho

Something to aim for.

It should never happen.

Have you ever met a Shoe-Shine? Have you ever met a Shoe-Shine in Peru? Have you ever met a Shoe-Shine in Peru whilst wearing sandals?

It really shouldn´t happen; but of course it did.

We were sat on a wall, perusing the map when up came the man, asking whether he was to be employed. Hmm. In many of the ´towny´ situations I´ve been wearing my walking trainers and of course never been asked to offer up my casual footwear for an impossible buff. So when it happened for the preferred beachwear, it rather took me by surprise!

I should point out that these sandals are not only suede (most likely faux suede at that) but also rather beat up. Ten months of hot-weather wear, together with all the sweat and sea adventures, doesn´t do much for a cheap, get-ém-while-you-can sandals.

Yet he wasn´t to be deterred by a pleasant ¨No gracias.¨

¨No gracias. No gracias! No!¨ The man was tremendously keen at least and continued to set up his little footrest. Not really wanting any local gossip, we left him, footloose and fancy free.

As the amused local noted, if I ever want my toe-nails doing, I know where to go.

Pleasant Peru

Ninos II Hostel - one of the best places we´ve stayed (even without free internet or TV) and all the profits go to help the less fortunate amongst Cuzco´s children. Altogether a great place.




Patrick - our first Belgian! One of the kind of people you´re actually glad to meet on a train. Only speaks 5 languages so he will forgive Mrs P. asking a cafe owner to speak French, even though she already was! Comedy moment yet again!! We Brits is brill at us languages!

Cuzco Dance Festival

It´s nice being in the right place at the right time. We have been plenty of times, but I wonder how many colourful festivities we´ve missed along the way by chance of season. Cuzco came alive with this dance festival, which took us by surprise as we came into the main square one day. All generations, the whole community, all taking turns, one age-group per day to show the folk the exact same dance... to the exact same music! Never mind, it looked great and reminded us that Britain (well, a certain border city at least) never did anything quite like it. Shame.

No, it´s not a game to catch things upon one´s head.

Oh, maybe it was.

Typical method for keeping little children under control. Mrs P wants to know how to tie the material.

Notice the flourescent coloured liquid behind. Peruvians grow up on the stuff. Reminds me of spirit level liquid but tastes very much like Irn Bru!

Pretty in pink!

You (Guinea) Pig!

Sshhh! Don´t tell the Nursery children!

To be honest, it wasn´t that great. It´s a shame it had to die for us to find out!

Machu Picchu

It´s been a punishing couple of days; of sorts. We caught the train to Aguas Calientes (aka Machu Picchu peublo) on Saturday which meant rising at 5.30am for a 5 hour journey. It´s OK whilst concentrating on the fact that the destination is the world famous Inca mountain city but it´s never quite that easy when you´re locking legs with someone opposite, trying desperately to avoid a staring competition. Thankfully it´s only 88km from Cuzco, otherwise the journey may well have been interminable!


Just one of the many ladders to be scaled.

Decision made not to go up to Machu Picchu itself on Saturday since a good portion of the morning had passed already, Phileas determined to make use of the day with another walk. You might say a little warm-up for the hike up to the ruins the next day.


Pleased to have made it. Machu Picchu in the distance.

Not quite a warm-up rather than a run-down. Higher than the Machu Picchu site, Phileas made it to the top of the mountain across the valley for our first views of the ancient Inca site. Some may have given up but not the diminutive Phileas. She made her husband very proud, even more so knowing that she could do the same the next day up to the ruins and save $28 bus fare!


The one and only. How great it is to see postcard views for yourself.

And so we made it to the top, to Machu Picchu itself in honour of our fathers! Jelly legged and worn out but justified and righteous in the knowledge that we´d done it the Inca way!


Llamatastic! Don´t worry - we have plenty more llama photos for you to see when we return. Phileas seemed particularly fascinated by them.






Yes, you have to walk down as well.

Ecuador

Ecuador - it´s the furthest place on Earth from the centre of the planet and you weigh less here too. It´s great news for the baggage allowance, (and perhaps those big girls from Weight Watchers) especially when you´ve succumbed to an impulse purchase or two or three at a quality craft stall.

Upon arrival in Quito, Ecuador´s capital, one is struck by an ambience of times gone by. The old town streets are lined with the proud colonial architecture of centuries past - how funny to have a physical identity based around that which was rejected, beaten and cast away. Nevertheless, there it is, an aura reminiscent of Sienna or Prague, where modern industry is somewhere down the road, tucked out of sight behind another mountain. But modernity is a relative term in most of South America; visits from buses and trucks from outlying towns reveal the country´s infancy in matters of pollution control. With exhaust fumes choking and the elevation suffocating, Phileas reckons it´s hard not to have a biological as well as emotional reaction to classic Quito.

Harder still is not to have a more genuine reaction out of the capital. Mountains, volcanoes, landscapes and communities that time has somehow bypassed seem to be the norm. Coming to Ecuador, Phileas fully expected to experience traditional costume as tourist propaganda. Seeing it alive and well in rural communities as well as backstreets served to strengthen the character of the place and somehow legitimise the Gringo´s own souvenir Panama hat! Whatever the locals may think, it will definitely sit well on a cricket umpire´s head - practical and memorable at the same time.

Jungle aside (something Phileas cannot comment on) Ecuador´s greatest possession has to be the Galapagos Islands. I suppose it could be argued that they are hardly Ecuadorian, being so far from the mainland. Indeed, in support, most Ecuadorians could never even dream of visiting them with costs being so high. Yet, since the islands are moving 5cm a year towards the mainland, Phileas is prepared to accept the forward thinkers argument that these wonderful islands are Ecuador´s destiny. Besides, Phileas knows who collects the entry tax and there´s no arguing against that!

What an experience these islands gave Phileas. It was an insight into how life should´ve been, before Man received ideas of grandeur; this place, where species live in balance, unabused by negative, unnatural influences. In a way, it was the best place on Earth. Floundering in comparison to graceful sea-lions, surrounded by shoals of attentive fish, eyed by a dismissive turtle and ignored by patrolling penguins and sharks, Phileas was reminded that despite such power as a human nothing truly belonged to him. He was just part of the whole; another humble creature, far from perfection but having had a perfect experience.

Be powerful but know your place.

Phileas

The latest

Bit of a shock - Peru has 220v! But it´s not coming off!

Well, we´re in Peru. Had a short time in Lima - it´s not bad, it´s just probably the worst capital we´ve ever seen! Encouraged us to change plans and not faff on with buses or trains and simply fly to more beautiful Cuzco - the mountain lack of air once again giving us a morning headache. So, the day after tomorrow we travel to Machu Picchu - can´t wait!! In the meantime, we´ll wander the cobblestone streets, admire the Inca walls and peruse the artisan shops. Tried a bit of Alpaca yesterday, today might be the time to sample guinea pig!

Galloping Galapagos!

Well, we´ve returned from the Galapagos Islands and safely arrived in Lima, Peru. What an incredible time we had cruising the islands on our luxurious boat. It´s not easy to convey the experience of witnessing such an abundance and array of wildlife. The picture above epitomises some of the treats that exist so close to each other.



We spent 4 nights on this boat, where service was excellent, the food was bountiful and the comfort well beyond our norm! Passages were relatively calm except the last night in which we were thrown about our cabin on rough seas to San Cristobal.

The best things in life are definitely free - but alas, sometimes, it costs a lot of money to get to the places to enjoy them. But what price can you put on witnessing a volcano eruption, and snorkelling with sea-lions, penguins, sharks, sea turtles and a plethora of fish? Unfortunately, you will have to wait for those pics. We do fancy investing in an underwater digital but for the time being we will wait on the the Great Dane for his...


Giant Tortoise, Santa Cruz




Just one of the many Green Pacific Sea Turtles seen during our dingy rides


The lava landscape was quite different and yet not devoid of life-


The Boobies!




Giant Painted Grasshopper


Obstruction on the path


Just hundreds of the thousands of Marine Iguanas






Flightless Cormorants


Amusing




Any offerings for a caption?


Frigate birds who loved to cruise with us.


Another Booby! Watching them fish was fab!


A cub, not a club...


Not just a pretty face.

Who says the Catholic Church ain´t modernising?!

Ecuador - Part 3

5 days in the Galapagos on a first-class boat. Have we already had a honeymoon? Mmmmm.

Looking forward to seeing some Boobies doing their mating dance!

Ecuador - Part 2

Having made a purchase at the tour agent within the hostel, we were offered a free night´s accommodation at the sister hostel, south of Quito near Cotopaxi Volcano. Never known to knock a bargain, Phileas didn´t know quite what a bargain he was getting until he got there.




The journey took just over two hours. Half of it seemed to be taken traversing the world´s worst road. Indeed, it probably wouldn´t qualify as a road and thus has to be marked as a very entertaining 4x4 adventure! But we arrived safe and sound in the countryside at Secret Garden Cotopaxi and took up our bed in the middle of three two-storey cottages.






We immediately appreciated the scenery and despite its familiarity with the Peak District in some respects, we noticed remarkable differences.




But it wasn´t the scenery we had come for - it was time to celebrate someone´s birthday in a special way in a special place.




We had arrived on the same day as 12 others, and were soon to form a happy bunch of British, Australian, Dutch, Austrian, Ecuadorian and Israeli friends. Wihtout power, the candle-light provided the perfect atmospehere for a low-key party, befitting Phileas´ deceptive advancing years! Gourmet food with an extra special dessert.



Despite the temptation, she did only have one plate to herself.



You can´t beat a good fire.




Jenga followed by Scrabble. How very mature! Always enjoy spreading the English language to non-native speakers though. Can´t imagine getting to the stage in Spanish when we are ready to throw ´wilt´and árose´into a conversation! Only today, a shopkeeper greeted Phileas with the friendly "Buenos Dias" to which she happily replied with the capital of Argentina - "Buenos Aires".

"Hello!"

"London!"




Not all the time was taken relaxing by the fire, playing games, lying in a hammock. Monday, we went up Volcan Cotopaxi a little further than the refuge. The climb to lunch at 4800m, and the dessert hike to 5000m was a tester but definitely worth the effort, as the clouds opened up in front of the glacier and exposed the valley beneath.







We´re not sure whether the ride back to the hostel was covered by the travel insurance... Not sure whether giving out mountain bikes with dodgy breaks to guests who ride down extinct volcanoes is a good idea either!