The mystery of our sightings of the Zebra crossinbg Zebra finally revealed...
http://innocentdrinks.typepad.com/innocent_drinks/2008/07/gavs-got-far.html?cid=124615934#comment-124615934
It all makes sense, but only in Bolivia!
Wednesday, July 30
Friday, July 25
Machu Picchu and the beyond... To Bolivia!!!
Well what can i tell you about today, well i supose i can start in the very charming city of Cusco back in the days of Peru, fantastci city with cobbled streets... and floods of westerners, but that was to be expected as it was pretty much the port of call to get yourselves upto Machu Picchu, and to no exeption to that, we found ourselves on the third of four days there making our way up the steep climb from Aguas Caliente, (the small town at the foor of the mountain to Machu Picchu). Making the hour and a half treck in a record breaking 50minutes we arrived to the legendary ruins and begun to explore on foot.
Seeing as over the years as a group weve developed a taste for doing things the hard way, Machu Picchu was no different... Swimming against the flow of streaming tourists we wandered, stumbled and meinadered our way through the maze of ruins. No matter how often we hit a dead end you couldnt help but laugh at yourself for hitting yet one more. The defining point mind was the reward at the end, by taking the route in reverse we arrived at the watchmans hut, that postcard view over the vast ruins, and the view was more than worth the effort... Standing atop a mountain with a view so indescribable is something money cant buy... Well amybe if you have a mastercard!
Time is short so pending our departure from Cusco, we found ourselves making a dash for the Peruvian Bolivian border, and luckily despite numerous warnings of the border closing at 4pm, 6.15 and 7pm, we arrived with Mirta (a german lass working in peru) at the peruvian border at 7.30, stamped out... walked a few hudred yards and then getting locked into the Bolivian passport control and told we would have to come back in the morning.... WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO DO IN NO-MAN'S LAND???
After some ten minuites of talk, we eventually got through the control (no bribe required), and made our way for a night in Copacabana departing the next morning for a stay on the tranquil isle del sol, a quiet island with one or two streetlamps and the most amazing night sky ive ever seen. After a morning dip in the waters of the worlds highest navigable lake, lake Titticaca, it was back to Copacabana for our bus to the city of peace, La Paz.
La paz has been one of the most bustling cities to date, it never seems to sleep, is always alive with people and taxis darting about constantly, and a rather risky business when it comes to crossing the overly congested roads (Unless there happens to be a Zebra on hand that is, nmot quite sure why mind).
The highlight however of my time here in La Paz has to be our cycling excursion along all 64kilometers of the worlds most dangerous road, a truly daring trip along the winding and trecherous road with a constant drop to your immediate left hand side, the side you must take. Not to worry mind, i only flew off my bike once, landing mere inches from a perilous 400 meter plumit to the bottom!
So, two movies and a bike ride later were now counting down our last hour in the bustling city of la Paz before we catch our bus to Potosi, home of the notorious sliver mines in which im intending to explore, not least for the experience, but also for the simple fact we get to play with some quantaties of explosive Dynamite!!!
Have fun one and all,
Danny!
(¨p)
Seeing as over the years as a group weve developed a taste for doing things the hard way, Machu Picchu was no different... Swimming against the flow of streaming tourists we wandered, stumbled and meinadered our way through the maze of ruins. No matter how often we hit a dead end you couldnt help but laugh at yourself for hitting yet one more. The defining point mind was the reward at the end, by taking the route in reverse we arrived at the watchmans hut, that postcard view over the vast ruins, and the view was more than worth the effort... Standing atop a mountain with a view so indescribable is something money cant buy... Well amybe if you have a mastercard!
Time is short so pending our departure from Cusco, we found ourselves making a dash for the Peruvian Bolivian border, and luckily despite numerous warnings of the border closing at 4pm, 6.15 and 7pm, we arrived with Mirta (a german lass working in peru) at the peruvian border at 7.30, stamped out... walked a few hudred yards and then getting locked into the Bolivian passport control and told we would have to come back in the morning.... WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO DO IN NO-MAN'S LAND???
After some ten minuites of talk, we eventually got through the control (no bribe required), and made our way for a night in Copacabana departing the next morning for a stay on the tranquil isle del sol, a quiet island with one or two streetlamps and the most amazing night sky ive ever seen. After a morning dip in the waters of the worlds highest navigable lake, lake Titticaca, it was back to Copacabana for our bus to the city of peace, La Paz.
La paz has been one of the most bustling cities to date, it never seems to sleep, is always alive with people and taxis darting about constantly, and a rather risky business when it comes to crossing the overly congested roads (Unless there happens to be a Zebra on hand that is, nmot quite sure why mind).
The highlight however of my time here in La Paz has to be our cycling excursion along all 64kilometers of the worlds most dangerous road, a truly daring trip along the winding and trecherous road with a constant drop to your immediate left hand side, the side you must take. Not to worry mind, i only flew off my bike once, landing mere inches from a perilous 400 meter plumit to the bottom!
So, two movies and a bike ride later were now counting down our last hour in the bustling city of la Paz before we catch our bus to Potosi, home of the notorious sliver mines in which im intending to explore, not least for the experience, but also for the simple fact we get to play with some quantaties of explosive Dynamite!!!
Have fun one and all,
Danny!
(¨p)
Tuesday, July 15
Peruvian update!
Lima was a so-so stop of for us, collectivley deciding to reside for one night after a rather long trawl of the up-beat miraflores area looking for a roof, we eventually found a room at the stop and drop backpacker hostel... in reality what we should have done was stop, and turn back around for the door after we had been offered a rather dingy 3bed high dorm room at 7am... luckily we managed to talk our way ito a four person room for only a little bit more moolah.
Our day consisted of wandering the black and slight shade of grey markets of lima, to the purchase of a new camera for cherry, (after the unfortunate trading of it for a sock) a bit of a mooch, miika getting his bank card eaten by a machine (he got it back the next morning, thankyou veronica) shared beers with a canadian just out of the air force and a somewhat under influence french economics teacher... We also managed to fit in a trip to the new shopping center and arcades built into the side of a cliff. We had time for a rather unconventional game of table hocky before we settled in for a late night showing of kung fu panda, needless to say it lifted all out moods somewhat from the gutter theyd been in since cameragate!
Next morning, after chatting to quite to quite possibly the most polite drug dealer ever, we were off out of lima destined for a brief pit stop in Ica, to catch some means of transport to Huachachina for a spot of desert dunes, sandboarding and buggy riding! Huachachina itself is situated in ther middle of a mass surrounding of ominous sand dunes with only one way in, and one way out, and is also quite possibly the smallest town ive ever seen, set around a small lagoon it is truly a backpackers town. Arriving from Lima/Ica into Huanchachina at 8pm, we were destined to stay the next three nights with no seats available on any bus to cusco forthe next three days (meaning we were stranded in this small sandy town until the 14th).
Time spent between climbing immensley large piles of snad, attempting to ´surf´back down on precarious pieces of wood (just like a snow board, but on sand), eating BBQ´s till we exploded and for me, taking a sandboard & buggy trip that was for more intesnse than anything alton towers could ever throw at you, Curtosy of a driver whose sanity could somewhat be put to question.
Leaving Huanchchina we departed for Nasca, and the infamous lines... (a little on the dissapointing side) and then the demon 15 hour bus journey from nasca to Cusco... needless to say me and the contents of my stomach parted ways curtosey of the snakey, mountainous roads of the andes!
More to follow!
Danny
xx
Our day consisted of wandering the black and slight shade of grey markets of lima, to the purchase of a new camera for cherry, (after the unfortunate trading of it for a sock) a bit of a mooch, miika getting his bank card eaten by a machine (he got it back the next morning, thankyou veronica) shared beers with a canadian just out of the air force and a somewhat under influence french economics teacher... We also managed to fit in a trip to the new shopping center and arcades built into the side of a cliff. We had time for a rather unconventional game of table hocky before we settled in for a late night showing of kung fu panda, needless to say it lifted all out moods somewhat from the gutter theyd been in since cameragate!
Next morning, after chatting to quite to quite possibly the most polite drug dealer ever, we were off out of lima destined for a brief pit stop in Ica, to catch some means of transport to Huachachina for a spot of desert dunes, sandboarding and buggy riding! Huachachina itself is situated in ther middle of a mass surrounding of ominous sand dunes with only one way in, and one way out, and is also quite possibly the smallest town ive ever seen, set around a small lagoon it is truly a backpackers town. Arriving from Lima/Ica into Huanchachina at 8pm, we were destined to stay the next three nights with no seats available on any bus to cusco forthe next three days (meaning we were stranded in this small sandy town until the 14th).
Time spent between climbing immensley large piles of snad, attempting to ´surf´back down on precarious pieces of wood (just like a snow board, but on sand), eating BBQ´s till we exploded and for me, taking a sandboard & buggy trip that was for more intesnse than anything alton towers could ever throw at you, Curtosy of a driver whose sanity could somewhat be put to question.
Leaving Huanchchina we departed for Nasca, and the infamous lines... (a little on the dissapointing side) and then the demon 15 hour bus journey from nasca to Cusco... needless to say me and the contents of my stomach parted ways curtosey of the snakey, mountainous roads of the andes!
More to follow!
Danny
xx
Wednesday, July 9
Peru... An interesting begining!
Well the trip along the Devil´s nose was an interesting one best viewed from the roof of the bus/train hybrid that carried us alongf its worn tracks, the scenery really was spectacular, and the dogs were rather homicidal deciding to play chikcken with a train but anyway the train ride was a nice round ending to our time spent in Ecuador, after hitching a lift by bus to Cuenca, we spent our penuñtimate night in Ecuador eating lñarge portions of spaghetti and over indulging on oreeo flavoured ice cream. (not to mention a night in a muredrous looking room with three floors, but alas, all was good.
Our transition however across the Ecudorian/Peruvian border was rather unusual, shifted off a bus, hassled almost to the verge of madness by over eager taxi drivers we stamped out of Ecuador, (rather effortlessley) and made the journey across the no-mans land into Peruvian territories. We´d done well considering this was a rather notorious border crossing.
Once in Peru we found ourselves dumped from the bus, now 10 gringo´s strong in number (Claire, James from Southampton, Hannah and Lydia from Germany all joining the fray) and began the haggle of getting a cheap enough bus out of Tomes to Mancora our next, and rather surfery destination. By the cover of darkness we arrived into Mancora after a rather interesting bus ride, also involving a stop search throughn a designated checkpoint (no miss Peruvian lady were not going to carry half your shoe store for you thjrough the checkpoint). Settling into our home for the next four days at the Sol Y Mar, it was off to the steak house for a feast of steak bigger than any ive ever seen in my life.. Round one went to Daisy, the poor old cow beat me down this time with her humungous portions... Id have top return and reclaim my dignity another night for now i was defeated.
The next four days in Mancora consisted of lots of swimming, sand, sunbathing and a whole lot of surf... Not to mention alot of digging holes and making sofas in the sand... Not to mention the odd fish fight. Eating in the morning at the ´Green eggs and ham´ resteraunt, usually on large stacks of pancakes we energised ourselves for the days ahead, or until i defeated Daisy at the steak house. Surfuing was actually pretty fun, it wasnt really until the last day that id managed to secure my own board, and when i did i was oout for the waves faster than you could say greased lightning. But hey, not blowing my own trumpet but self teaching myself worked, and it really is quite a feeliong when you manage to catch that wave and ride it into the shore... All whilst maintainiong your balance. And just when you think life on a surfers beach cant get any cooler, a surfing Golden retreiver shows up and puts everyone else to shame... He did look very cool though, and despite my best attempts to steal the demon surfing dog away, his true love was the surf... after all whats the life of a backpacker to a surfing dog!!!!
Leaving Mancora on the 7th of July we boarded our overnight bus destined for Trujillo at 10pm and settled off into sleep, all except Charlie who was destined to be kept awake by the lack of ´recline´in her reclining chair, and the chair infront that was resting on her knees. It was at some un-natural hour in the morning that id semi-woke to find the rather sketchy Peruvian in the yellow football shirt and green baseball cap no longer occupying the seat opposite me, and also at this moment that i noticed Cherry´s bag was no longer nestelled between her legs, but rather it was behind her own seat... It wasnt unitll about 7am with an hour left to go before we arrived in Trujillo that we realised someone had forced theyre way into her bagand switched her camera for a white sock. Needless to say, the non-existance of a nights sleep coupled with the deviousness of a one socked peruvian was enough to put our group ihn a considerable air of unease. We swiftly moved up the coast for another surf destination of Huanchaco.
In fairness we havent done much since arriving in Huanchaco, despite the presence of great waves, we´ve not braved the chilly waters to surf, weve dined out, Swigged beer on our balcony and arranged our bus tickets to Lima, (to which were leaving tonight at 10:30 tonight). We´ve also been fortunate to re-bump into a New torker named Andre who was in our rafting tour back in Banos who accompanied us today and taken a trip to some rather overly restored inca ruins, and then in passing two of the girls (Hannah and Lydia) as we ate out earlier today. However today has revealed no sightings of Grandpa, an overly helpful sixty something year old peruvian surfer with an overly mellow ameican accent... But hey theres still some time to go!
As of right now though were all just whiling away the hours until the bus ride to Lima (10 hours journey time) Charlie and Cherry have gone for a manicure round the corner while the guys are surfing the net and plotting more of our trip. Hopefuly tonights bus ride will prove to be alot more relaxing than the previous one, we can only hope, after all its not fair to let the actions of one taint your perspectives on a country yet to be explored...
Our transition however across the Ecudorian/Peruvian border was rather unusual, shifted off a bus, hassled almost to the verge of madness by over eager taxi drivers we stamped out of Ecuador, (rather effortlessley) and made the journey across the no-mans land into Peruvian territories. We´d done well considering this was a rather notorious border crossing.
Once in Peru we found ourselves dumped from the bus, now 10 gringo´s strong in number (Claire, James from Southampton, Hannah and Lydia from Germany all joining the fray) and began the haggle of getting a cheap enough bus out of Tomes to Mancora our next, and rather surfery destination. By the cover of darkness we arrived into Mancora after a rather interesting bus ride, also involving a stop search throughn a designated checkpoint (no miss Peruvian lady were not going to carry half your shoe store for you thjrough the checkpoint). Settling into our home for the next four days at the Sol Y Mar, it was off to the steak house for a feast of steak bigger than any ive ever seen in my life.. Round one went to Daisy, the poor old cow beat me down this time with her humungous portions... Id have top return and reclaim my dignity another night for now i was defeated.
The food in Peru does carzy things...
The next four days in Mancora consisted of lots of swimming, sand, sunbathing and a whole lot of surf... Not to mention alot of digging holes and making sofas in the sand... Not to mention the odd fish fight. Eating in the morning at the ´Green eggs and ham´ resteraunt, usually on large stacks of pancakes we energised ourselves for the days ahead, or until i defeated Daisy at the steak house. Surfuing was actually pretty fun, it wasnt really until the last day that id managed to secure my own board, and when i did i was oout for the waves faster than you could say greased lightning. But hey, not blowing my own trumpet but self teaching myself worked, and it really is quite a feeliong when you manage to catch that wave and ride it into the shore... All whilst maintainiong your balance. And just when you think life on a surfers beach cant get any cooler, a surfing Golden retreiver shows up and puts everyone else to shame... He did look very cool though, and despite my best attempts to steal the demon surfing dog away, his true love was the surf... after all whats the life of a backpacker to a surfing dog!!!!
Leaving Mancora on the 7th of July we boarded our overnight bus destined for Trujillo at 10pm and settled off into sleep, all except Charlie who was destined to be kept awake by the lack of ´recline´in her reclining chair, and the chair infront that was resting on her knees. It was at some un-natural hour in the morning that id semi-woke to find the rather sketchy Peruvian in the yellow football shirt and green baseball cap no longer occupying the seat opposite me, and also at this moment that i noticed Cherry´s bag was no longer nestelled between her legs, but rather it was behind her own seat... It wasnt unitll about 7am with an hour left to go before we arrived in Trujillo that we realised someone had forced theyre way into her bagand switched her camera for a white sock. Needless to say, the non-existance of a nights sleep coupled with the deviousness of a one socked peruvian was enough to put our group ihn a considerable air of unease. We swiftly moved up the coast for another surf destination of Huanchaco.
In fairness we havent done much since arriving in Huanchaco, despite the presence of great waves, we´ve not braved the chilly waters to surf, weve dined out, Swigged beer on our balcony and arranged our bus tickets to Lima, (to which were leaving tonight at 10:30 tonight). We´ve also been fortunate to re-bump into a New torker named Andre who was in our rafting tour back in Banos who accompanied us today and taken a trip to some rather overly restored inca ruins, and then in passing two of the girls (Hannah and Lydia) as we ate out earlier today. However today has revealed no sightings of Grandpa, an overly helpful sixty something year old peruvian surfer with an overly mellow ameican accent... But hey theres still some time to go!
Chanchan ruins or crazy Gringos?
As of right now though were all just whiling away the hours until the bus ride to Lima (10 hours journey time) Charlie and Cherry have gone for a manicure round the corner while the guys are surfing the net and plotting more of our trip. Hopefuly tonights bus ride will prove to be alot more relaxing than the previous one, we can only hope, after all its not fair to let the actions of one taint your perspectives on a country yet to be explored...
Tuesday, July 1
Welcome to Riobamba...
A town where you can officially do bugger all. Id love to have something pleasent to say about the place but i cant. Aside from just trying to help the ecuadorian sat next to me understand his rebate refusal form there hasnt really been alot to today... Maybe tomorrows trip along the devils nose will prove more fruitfull!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
