Mar 2008

Hey blog fans

We are in Cusco, a beautiful old city that has more of a town feeling to it. The streets are cobbled, the buildings are old and grand and tomorrow we start a 4 day hike along the ancient Inca Trail to the ruins of Machu Picchu.

Our good friend Craig (Reddy) has arrived and it has been great to catch up with him and all his patter. We have already had a good number of laughs. I thought I had better update the blog today as I´ll know doubt have a lotto write after the Inca Trail.

Sunday March 22nd
The day started well as I got up early to watch Manchester United stuff Liverpool 3-0. United looked comfortable and should have scored more. It was a day of football as after lunch we got a taxi out to Estadio Monumental to watch Universitario de Deportes beat Athletico Minero 2-1. The stadium was pretty impressive, although it looked like office buildings from the outside. The first half was non eventful until Minero scored before half time. 10 minutes into the 2nd half the floodlights and electricity got cut off. This sparked aparty among the home fans with flares and fireworks being fired and a huge sing song. Deportes hit back and should have scored at least 5. At night we went to a cracking Italian restaurant called Mama Lola´s and for once we didn´t have pizza!

Monday March 24th
After breakfast we took a big pile of washing around the corner to a local laundrette and then went for a walk around Miraflores. We confirmed our flights for Wednesday to Cusco and wandered around some markets before lunch. In the afternoon I went to a Western Union office to pay for Boca Juniors v River Plate tickets for when we are in Buenos Aires. At $200 each it is alot of money, but this will be a once in a lifetime experience. Football games don´t get much bigger or more passionate than this one.

At night we found a cracking Sushi restaurant called Magma in Miraflores. It was lovely inside, very cool and the food was just as good.

Tuesday March 25th
We had a lazy day ahead of our friend Craig arriving early evening. We went back to the old town and enjoyed a beer in El Cordano before heading back to Miraflores for a siesta. At night we travelled to the airport and met Reddy. It was great to see him, he is one of our best and funniest friends. We went back to Miraflores and caught upover a few beers and pizza.

Wednesday March 26th
We got up early - 3.15am as our flight from Lima to Cusco was at 5.40am. The flight was a little over an hour and after checking into our hostel. We wandered around the old town for an hour before heading back to the hostel for a 2 hour siesta.

We woke and headed round to the Eco Trek Peru office and met our guide and were briefed on our trek. After that we went to a cracking cafe/bar called Jacks for a slap up brunch. After a walk round town and some shops we went toan Irish bar called Paddy Flaherty´s for a few beers and we watched France beat England 1-0 in a very dull game.

At night we all bought Inca Cola tshirts and some cool hats to keep us warm on the Inca Trail before dinner and a relatively early night at 10.30pm after a long day.

Thursday March 27th
We woke early and had breakfast and a walk round the beautiful old town. We booked bus tickets to Puno for a couple of days after we return to Cusco. We´re booked on a city tour around Cusco and some surrounding sites at 2pm, so we are just about to go for lunch.

Speak to you after the Inca Trail!

Love
Murray and Lynn

´Of all the stars I´ve ever seen, you´re the sun´ Hang On by Teenage Fanclub

Hey blog fans

It has only been a couple of days since I last wrote but we have travelled quite a distance since then and had great fun, so I thought I would update the blog while everything is still fresh in my memory.

We are back in Lima after an overnight bus to the famous and mysterious Nazca Lines, then another bus to Ica where we had great fun zooming up, down and over sand dunes and sand boarding down them.

Friday March 21st
After a meal at a nice sushi restaurant in the stunning city of Arequipa we boarded a night bus to Nazca at 9.30pm. We were travelling with the bus company Cruz del Sur, the pinacle in bus transport. The bus was luxurious, our seats fully reclined and as we opted for premium class we even got to go into an exclusive lounge at Arequipa bus station!

The bus arrived in Nazca at 6am promptly and we were greeted off the us by our tour company waving a sign with our names. Oh to feel important. Andrew from Sydney was also on our tour and we were whisked off to Nazca´s tiny airport in double quick time.

For those of you that haven´t heard of the Nazca Lines, and I hadn´t before we started researching Peru, the following description is taken from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazca_Lines

The Nazca Lines are a series of geoglyphs located in the Nazca Desert, a high arid plateau that stretches 53 miles or more than 80 kilometers between the towns of Nazca and Palpa on the Pampas de Jumana in Peru. They were created by the Nazca culture between 200 BC and AD 700. There are hundreds of individual figures, ranging in complexity from simple lines to stylized hummingbirds, spiders, monkeys, fishes, sharks, llamas and lizards.

The Nazca lines cannot be recognized as coherent figures except from the air. Since it is presumed the Nazca people could never have seen their work from this vantage point, there has been much speculation on the builders' abilities and motivations.

At 6.30am we were on board our tiny 4 seater plane with Andrew in the front beside the pilot. The plane was even smaller than the one we got in New Zealand to visit Milford Sounds.

We got a 35 minute flight over the lines and we were both glad that we hadn´t had any breakfast as the plane banked left and right to allow us the best views. There is no denying that the lines/drawings are beautifully drawn and as they were created before air travel, you can only wonder how and why they were created. They are not all side by side and some are larger than others, there are spiders, monkeys and all kinds of stuff.

We decided not to hang about Nazca afterwards as it didn´t look like a happening place, so we got dropped back off at the bus station and caught the 7.40am bus to Ica. Nothing like travelling fast!

Within a few hours we were in Ica where we said goodbye to Andrew and checked into Hostal El Dorado. The prices had been doubled as it is Easter, but it was still only 15 quid a night. We booked in for a night, jumped under the shower and then walked round to the main square for some food. We booked on a tour to the sand dunes at the nearby desert oasis of Huacachina, booked a bus ticket for Lima for the following day and then went for a well earned nap.

We went back to the tour office at 5pm and were driven 4km out of Ica, through the desert to the small Oasis that is Huacachina. Bars, restaurants and tour companies are set up around the water in the desert and offer sand buggy and sand boarding tours. We got in our sand buggy with 4 others plus the driver and we were lucky enough to get a seat next to the driver.

We sped off into the desert and immediately started climbing a huge sand dune, skidding about in the sand as we did, the wind blowing through our hair and sand blowing into our faces. We got to the top of the dune and lurched down the other side, screaming and smiling at the same time.

The driver was first class and took us up, down and around sand dunes, stopping every 10 minutes so we could take photos. After the first stop we sped down a huge dune and up another one that was so steep that it must have been close to vertical. We got to the top and our prime seats allowed us a glimpse over the other side....it also looked vertical, a straight drop down. I managed ot let out a ´Holy S#@t´ before we went over the top and flew down the other side then up another dune to stop for breath. We all laughed and smiled, this was fantastic fun.

After another 10 minute session we stopped at the top of the largest sand dune and the driver took some snow boards (now sand boards) out the back. He showed us how to lie down on them, face first and motioned to a Columbian guy to go first. He lay down and the driver pushed him through his legs and he was off speeding down the hill, yelling as he went. I went third and it was a fantastic experience. Lynn went second last and received a cheer from our group and another group for going the fastest and getting the furthest.

After another 10 minute session and some photos of the sun going down we went back to Huacachina. We decided to go for a drink at a bar and get a taxi back rather than go straight back with the bus. We also had some lovely food before heading back for a good nights sleep.

Saturday March 22nd
WOW we got up to quite a lot yesterday! Today we got a bus at 11am to Lima, arriving just after 3.30pm and checking back into the Lion Backbackers Hostel in Miraflores.

We´ve just been for a bite to eat at a restaurant with views over a park and had a wander. Tomorrow is Easter Sunday so we´re not sure if anything will be open. There may be some processions and festivities so we´ll have a wander around.

On Tuesday our good friend Craig comes out to meet us and then on Wednesday we fly to Cusco to do the Inca Trail. It´s all go, but with only a little over 2 months left we want to pack a lot in before we reach Buenos Aires, where we intend to stay for a few weeks and watch football, eat steak and drink wine!

I´ll write again before we head off on the Inca Trail.

Lots of love
Murray and Lynn
xxx

´She´s the puzzle piece behind the couch that makes the sky complete´ Alison´s Starting To Happen by The Lemonheads

Hola

Hola from Peru

We are in the lovely city of Arequipa and yesterday we returned from a 3 day/2 night trek up and down the beautiful Colca Canyon. The scenery was stunning, the skies were blue and we really enjoyed trekking into the worlds deepest canyon.....and back out again!

Friday March 14th
A day of travel. We arrived in Piura in Peru at 7am after our border crossing in the middle of the night. The first half of the journey in Ecuador was bumpy and windy and we didn´t get any sleep. After crossing the corder at 4am the roads were smoother and we dozed until arriving in Piura. We jumped a cab and asked the driver to take us to an ATM and then a hostel. Our flight to Lima wasn´t until 8.40pm so we wanted to get some rest. We booked into the Hostal California and slept until mid-day and then wandered up to the main square for a bite to eat. We went to a nice hotel restaurant and started to feel human again after a nice lunch.

We had a lazy afternoon wandering around town, checking the latest news online and reading in our room before heading to the airport. The flight left on time and we arrived in Lima just before 10.30pm. We jumoed a cab into town and checked into the Lion Backoackers Hostel in the Miraflores area. After a day or two of travelling and hanging around we slept soundly!

Saturday March 15th
We started the day by finding a laundry near our hostel and outting just about everything we own in for a wash. We then caught a bus into the centre of Lima, only we got off a little early and had to walk a few blocks to the main square. The square was beautiful with the presidential palace dominating one side, a huge old church on the other and beautiful colonial buildings with arches the other two.

After a walk around the square and the surrounding blocks we stumbled across a magic old pub, that we latyer discovered to be the oldest in Lima. It was a block off the square down the side of the Presidential Palace and it is called Bar Cordano. It was still before mid-day but we ordered a beer each and ended up getting some great sandwiches and something called Cerviche (6 mussells with lemon sauce, pepper and spices), yummy. The bar staff seemed to be as old as the bar!

After a snooze we wandered around Miraflores,checking out some jewellery stalls and some paintings in the oark before stumbling across a street we had read was known as ´pizza street´. We had pizza and a couple of beers and then headed for an early night.

Sunday March 16th
We had breakfast, packed and checked out at 11am. We headed to the airport for our flight to Arequipa, which took a little over an hour. Arequipa is in South Peru and is known as one of the most beautiful colonial cities in the country. We quickly realised that this is true, the city is surrounded by 3 huge volcanoes and the buildings in the old town have been beautifully preserved.

We checked into the Colonial House Hostel and then went to their affiliated tour companies office to enquire about hiking tours into the nearby Colca Canyon, the deepest in the world. We booked on a 3 day/2 night trek leaving the next morning for only $53 each and also booked an overnight bus for March 20th to Nazca and then a 45 minute flight over the famous Nazca Lines.

At night we had dinner on a rooftop restaurant down a cobbled lane just off the main square. There had been a procession in the mian square earlier to mark the start of Holy Week. The square is dominated by a huge church and it may be the nicest square we have seen. We went back to the hosteland packed our small packs for the next 3 days, leaving our big packs in storage.

Monday March 17th
The tour bus picked us up at 7.30am and we headed out of Arequipa and up the hills towards the canyon. We would not actually reach the canyon until the next day, so this day was spent stopping at little markets, villages, viewpoints to Volcano Misti and taking a pee in the worlds highest toilet! This is a lovely part of the country, little towns that have hardly changed in centuries, apart from the odd tourist shop and hostel!

The altitude kicked in so we had some coca tea and chewed on coca leaves to ease our breathing. The highest point we got to was over 5000 metres. We had a late lunch in a town called Chivay and then had a 1 hour trek up a hill to marvel at the surrounding countryside.

At night we went to some hot spings in Chivay and then had dinner before collapsing into bed at 10.30pm, eager to get some sleep ahead of a 5.30am wake up call and a day of trekking!

Tuesday March 18th
We got our wake up call from our tour guide, if only she had given the kitchen staff a wake up call! The hostel staff were eventually roused and we had a light brekfast before heading off to the canyon, stopping off at a small village where the children danced around the square at 6.30am. Apparently it was traditional but I couldn´t help think that it was for tourists.

At around 8am we arrived at Cruz del Condor, a point in the canyon where there are several condor nests. The view into and along the canyon was spectacular and we didn´t have to wait long until condors were swooping down over our heads. Their wingspan was massive and they were an impressive sight.

At 9am we left our group of around 30 into a smaller group of 4, the only ones brave enough to hike 1,400 metres down into the canyon and back out again. We were joined by Andrew from Sydney and Vish from London, both good guys. Our guide was Ali (like the boxer) and we all piled in a small bus and drove half an hour to the point where we would begin our descent.

The sun was splitting the sky, one of the nicest days of our travels. We set off down a path that zig zagged down the hill, stopping every now and again for a rest, to marvel the views and to let donkeys pass! In the middle of the canyon there are small villages, with no road access, so everything is transported in and out of the canyon by donkey - apart from us.

It took us almost 4 hours to climb down to the foot of the canyon and we crossed an old foot bridge to the other side. We then climbed up to a tiny village and stopped off for lunch. Suitably refuelled we pressed on up the canyon and then wound down to the base again, crossing another bidge to our home for the night - a hostel called Oasis. It was more of a converted farm than a hostel and I think the room we had could have been a pig sty! It was a tiny building made fom mud bricks with a thatched roof. The bed was comfy though and we had some nice wam blankets.

Oasis did have a pool though, and after a day walking in the sunshine we all went in for a 30 minute swim. Dinner was served outside and we sat and chatted as the sun went down at around 6.30pm.

Our wake up call was due for 3.30am the next day so we headed to bed at 7pm. At around 9pm a water well sprang open and ran right past the side of our hut. Realising we would get no sleep we gathered our belongings and moved to another hut.

Wednesday March 19th
We woke to the sound of our alarm at 3.30am and met a very sleepy Andrew and Vish. We all put on our head torches and Ali led the way slowly out of the canyon in the darkness. We walked at a steady pace and topped to watch the sky gradually becoming lighter, the shadows changing on the hillsides around us. The sun was up at 5.30m and the sunshine seemed to wake us up a little bit. We pressed on up the canyon and enjoyed tremendous views. I doubt that our pictures will do the canyon justice but check www.flickr.com/photos/murrayandlynn

We reached the top of the canyon at 8am, 4 hours after starting off. We walked for another 20 minutes to a small village where we wolfed down 2 scrambled egg rolls and a mug of coco tea. At 9am we jumped on a bus back to Chivay. We got there at 11.15am and we booked on to the 12.30pm bus back to Arequipa. With an hour to kill we all jumped in a cab to the hot springs to eases our aching muscles.

We all slept on the bus back to Arequipa and then agreed to meet up for pizza and beer at night. We went back to the hostel for a well needed shower and nap!

At night we went to a funky little pizza place near the square and enjoyed some well deserved ice cold beers. The Colca Canyon tour was excellent, the views are absolutely stunning and we enjoyed some exercise - training for the Inca Trail, which we start on March 28th.

Thursday March 20th
We slept very well after some broken sleep the previous few nights and some ealy starts. We´ve had a relaxing day wandering around the beautiful city of Arequipa and visited the Monasterio D Santa Caralina. A beautifully preserved nunery from the 15th century. Tonight we get an overnight bus ot Nazca and then tomorrow morning we fly over the famous Nazca lines. After that we head back to Lima to meet our friend Craig and then it is off to do the Inca Trail!

I´ll try and update the blog again before that.

Lots of love
Murray and Lynn
xxx

´There is no choice in what I must do, nothing is greater than to be with you´Mellow Doubt by Teenage Fanclub

Hola all

It has been ten days since last wrote so stand by for a quick update about our final days in Ecuador.

Monday March 10th
We caught the 9am bus from Cuenca to Vilcabamba, a beautiful town in South Ecuador, set among a stunning valley. The bus journey took most of the day, starting with a 5 hour bus ride to Loja along a very bumpy road with steep falls into the valley below. We then switched to a local bus for a 1 hour drive to Vilcabamba that was only $1.

We were delighted to arrive at our hostel Izhcayluma www.izhacayluma.com and discover it lppked exactly like the pictures on the flyer we had. Set 2km out of town it offered stunning views across the valley, a swimming pool, a restaurant and hammocks outside our room.

We read our books on our hammocks and then had dinner in the restaurant and started to plan our route through Peru.With only 3months left we want to make the most of our time.

Tuesday March 11th
After breakfast we decided to do one of the many treks available in the Vilcabamba area. We set off down the road from the hostel and cut on to a dirt road that led up the valley and offered stunning views of the countryside. It was nice to be out stretching our legs after considerable time soent in cities recently. The air was fresh and clean and we could see why the average local in this area lives to be over 100!

The hike took us around 4 hours. It wasn´t particularly tough and we enjoyed the walk and the views. We had lunch in the tiny town centre and then walked back up the hill to our hostel for a swim and a bit of reading time in the hammocks. We had dinner at 7om and went to bed at 10.

Wednesday 12th March
We got up for breakfast at 9am and decided to hire bikes for the day. We didn´t actually cycle much as the 2km into town was all downhill! We found a book exchange and changed a couple of books we had finished with for 2 new ones. We then had lunch in town and found an internet cafe and priced some internal flights in Peru, booking fliights from Piura-Lima and Lima to Arequipa. The first flight was $102 each, only $40 more than the bus which took 16 hours compared to the 16 hour bus! The second flight was $79 each and again saved us valuable hours.

Our plan is to go down to Arequipa then work our way back by bus to Lima where we meet our friend Craig on March 25th and then fly to Cusco for the Inca Trail.

We had to push our bikes most of the way back to the hostel and we discovered that the old Danish couple we had met in Cuenca on our Inca Oirca tour had checked in. We had dinner with them and loved hearing about all the places they have visited over the years and their outrageous plans to travel around the world in a jeep for 10 years when Erik retires next April.

Thursday March 13th
We got up at 9am for breakfast and then packed our bags and read in the hammocks until check out at mid-day. We then walked downhill into town and wandered around the small shops and had lunch before wandering back to the hostel to read for a bit before dinner.

We chatted to Erik and Marianne and then got a taxi at 7pm It was actually a oickup truck, so we threw our bags in the back and climbed in beside them and sped down to the bus stop. The bus to Loja left at 7.45pm and cost a dollar. We then waited at Loja for an hour or so before our overnight bus into Peru.

CONTINUED ON NEXT BLOG

[b]´How does it feeeeeel? How does it feeeel? To be without a home, Like a complete unknown, Like a rolling stone ?

Hello everyone

Just a quick update on our progress as I am not sure when we will next have access to the internet. Tomorrow we head further south in Ecuador to the countryside town of Vilcabamba. We are actually staying in a hostel 2km from the town, it looks fab. Lots of hiking opportunities, a swimming pool and a hammock outside our room. The website is www.izhcayluma.com for anyone interested. We have booked in for 3 nights, but may stay a night or so longer if we are enjoying it.

After that we head across the border into Peru and make our way down to Lima where we are meeting outr good friend Craig on March 25th. We´ll stop off at a few places on the way to admire some Inca ruins and hopefully do some hiking.

Tomorrow we have a 5 hour bus journey to the town of Loja, then another 1.5 hour bus ride to Vilcabamba. Pretty much a day of travel. Thankfully we have some good books to get stuck into and the nano is fully charged. We haven´t been up to a great deal since I last wrote, so here is just a quick update.

Friday March 7th
We woke at 9am and Lynn had a thumping headache and a sore ankle. On our way to dinner the previous night Lynn slipped in a pothole on the pavement and sprained her ankle. We had a lovely dinner at the Boca del Lobo restaurant in the new town area of Quito. We did have a bit of wine, but not enough to give Lynn the thumping headache she had.

We checked out around 11.45am and got a taxi to the airport for our 45 minute flight to Cuenca, instead of a 10 hour bus journey - the roads are not the best in Ecuador. It was a tiny plane and a fairly bumpy ride to Cuenca. We got our bags incredibly quickly and got a $2 cab into town and checked into the Hostal El Monastario for 3 nights, the total cost being $42! The room had cable and we had our own private bathroom - result!

We had a walk around town and grabbed a bite to eat at Cafe Austria, before having an early night as Lynn still wasn´t feeling too great.

Saturday March 8th
We got up and had a walk around Cuenca. It is a lovely small city full of old architectural gems. Our hostal is around the corner from the stunning Cathedral de la Immaculada and the main square. We grabbed some brunch at a lovely restaurant in a converted old townhouse. Then I got a haircut from someone who I am not sure if they were a man or woman. After that we walked to the bus station, 2km out of town, to book our bus to Loja for Monday, only $15 for the two of us.

We came back to the room and had a nap, waking to turn on ESPN to find that Barnsley had knocked Chelsea out of the FA Cup. Sadly United had lost earlier that day to Portsmouth. At night we went to a bar called Monday Blue, hopefully a homeage to New Order and had a couple of beers and burritos.

Sunday March 9th
We got up at 7.30am as we had booked a day tour to the Incapirca ruins, around 80km outside of Cuenca. There were 5 others on the tour, an eccentric old Danish couple who intend to drive around the world next year, an American girl, a nice German girl called Peggy and a nice girl from Melbourne called Emma. Our tour guide Sonia was fantastic. We stopped off about an hour outside Cuenca at a small market town and wandered round the stalls, buying some banana´s for breakfast. We then bought some small and very tasty eggs for only 50 cents.

We then drove to the ruins. They were not the most impressive I have ever seen, but they are the oldest in Ecuador and due to the fact that the Spanish ransacked the country, there are not a lot left. If they were not visually stunning, our guide certainly made up for that with her history lessons about the area. They are certainly worth a visit if you are in Cuenca though.

We stopped off for lunch on the way back, arriving back in Cuenca at around 4pm. Lynn went for a nap and I watched the 2nd half of the Middlesborough v Cardiff game. Cardiff won 2-0, it has been a weekend of cup upsets, Boro looked a sorry bunch.

So we head to Vilcabamba tomorrow and should be in Peru by the weekend at the latest. Speak to you then.

Lots of love
Murray and Lynn
xxx