Moglander's Travels

Peru Adventures

Posted on December 12, 2013 by sarah

Peru Adventures with our Irish visitors

We had been looking forward to Friday 15th November for a number of weeks, as on this day two great friends Robin and Claire arrived from The Republic of Cork to Lima in Peru to travel with us for 24 days. After a joyous meeting in the airport, dinner and pisco sours to really welcome them it was time for the Peru Adventures to begin. Claire and Robin had hired a lovely 4×4 camper from www.rvperu.com and after stocking both larders and wine cellars we left but a trail of dust behind us.

Paracas National Reserve and Ballestas Islands

Robin’s rented Toyota with pop up camper worked great.

We had a great over-night stop in The Paracas National Reserve. This reserve includes plenty of superb , deserted beaches where you can camp for days without seeing anybody or anything, except lizards and bird-life, maybe if you were lucky a fishing boat or two. It was particularly windy while we were there, so we managed to park by a little wall for shelter. Listening to the ocean while in bed falling asleep was very special, and then in the early morning the ocean was calm, and the only sound to be heard was the birds over head circling as they dived into the water in search of breakfast/fish. Mind you there was one other sound, the clatter of cups from our neighbors as Robin made the morning teas and coffees. A great treat we enjoyed for 24 days ! Here we visited The Ballestas Islands, and these islands are sometimes called the Guano Islands, as pretty much every centimeter is covered in bird droppings, hence people are advised to wear a hat once we get close to them for obvious reasons! These islands are alive with noisy pelicans, terns, boobies and cormorants. There are many islands, some really small and the waters around the islands are full of life with shiny dark bodies of many sea lions. As the waters around these islands can be rough, we traveled in the early morning, and really you get very close to the rocks and beaches to see the abundant wildlife.

boat to Ballestas Islands

Birds on the Ballestas Islands

Seal climbing rocks

The huge number of birds meant that a Guano processing plant was build

The huge number of birds meant that a Guano processing plant was built

Nasca

Cconoc is a handy overnight spot between nasca and Cusco

As we drove down along the Pacific Coast, some of it through desert, some through pretty mountain and valley areas, amongst many orange groves, then some rather boring spots, we arrived at Nasca. The Nasca Lines are one of the great mysteries of South America, and they are a series of animal figures and geometric shapes, none of them repeated and some of them up to 200 m in length, drawn across 500 square kilometres across the plain. Here you can take a flight to see them at their best, apparently, but we just observed them from the watch towers and small hills along the way. The weather along the coast was really balmy so it was BBQ time in the evenings.

So far all this driving was done at low altitude, so once we left Nasca we started to climb slowly , and one particular day we hit over 4,000 m.a.s.l. (all good preparation for our 4 day Inca Trail hike), but dropped back down for sleeping. We drove from Nasca to Cuzco along the route 26A taking in breathtaking views, uphill and downhill, through many country little farming villages. Here we saw many farmers at work planting and reaping their vegetables, some still ploughing by hand, others with animals. As these fields (plots really) were on the side of the mountain it would have been impossible to use a machine. We saw many Llama’s, Alpaca’s, Vincuna’s and even the odd Condor , and last but not least Cacti with flowers which is quite a rare thing to see. Along the road there were many little stalls selling fresh fruit and vegetables, and the ladies, (sometimes children) who were in charge of the stall were always knitting. Sometimes you would see the ladies knitting as they walked along the road. The same the world over, women multi-tasking !

Agricultural Market

Taking 3 days/2 nights to do this drive, we arrived in Cusco . This was to be our base for our next 2 big trips. The Amazon Rainforest in Tambopata Reserve (jungle) and the 4 day Inca Trail Hike to Machu Picchu. As you can do many many trips from here, Cusco is one of the most popular destinations in Peru. It is fed by two rivers and lies in a highland valley, and the city’s unique layout was designed by the Incas in the shape of a puma. Many of Cusco’s finest Inca architectural buildings were so masterfully and tastefully constructed out of local stone that they are still in wonderful condition today. It is also a haven for shopping, great hotels, fine restaurants and drinking establishments. In fact choosing a place to eat was often a difficult decision as we were so spoiled for choice.

Tambopata National Reserve – JUNGLE

Setting off on a riverboat to the Jungle with Claire and Robin

The Tambopata National Reserve did not disappoint. It has more than 10,000 species of plants, 600 species of birds, 200 species of mammals, more than 1,000 butterfly species, thousands of insects, and over 100 species of amphibians and reptiles. Here our highlight was the Macaw clay lick. In order to see the whole spectacular show of the Macaws from waking , to feeding to flying away we had to start our day at 5.am. This consisted first of about a one hour boat trip before arriving at dawn at the clay lick. Here we witnessed the arrival of flock after flock of blue and yellow, red and green, and scarlet macaws, plus yellow-crowned and blue-headed parrots. The humid jungle air was filled with their screeches as they settled into the trees above the clay lick and came down to feed on the mineral-rich soil. What a fulfilling experience as we watched the whole show from start to finish, about 5 hours in total. Mind you in between the quiet stages of feeding for the macaws, Esauu our guide very kindly produced coffee and fruit for our breakfast which was very welcomed by all four of us. We stayed in a very simple, relatively new little lodge called Chuncho with only 5 rooms, I say lodge lightly as when most people hear the word lodge, they automatically think 5 star, this was quite the opposite, but very in keeping to staying in the rain forest. The rooms had no doors, just a piece of cloth, no windows so when sleeping you were covered by a mosquito net and the whole area from your bed upwards was open to the jungle, fantastic to hear the sounds of the jungle during the night and particularly in the early morning. Now the red howler monkeys were something to hear, we could have listened to them forever. George was the owner of this lodge, a lovely jolly man , full of information about the rainforest and jungle, and who wasn’t afraid to help the cook out either when necessary. The food was locally grown and produced , and very tastily presented considering we were in basic surroundings.

Blue and Yellow Macaws are stunning

Sandoval Lake, close to Puerto Maldonado was our next base for a few nights. To get to all these places we traveled mainly by boat, some with small engines others just with paddles, in which some cases Robin and Merv had to row their bit. This lake is a beautiful oxbow lake and it is also a haven for the Amazon’s largest, most spectacular and most endangered predators – the Jaguar, the Giant Otter, the Harpy Eagle and the Black Caiman. Only one family of the Giant Otter live here now, and by us staying overnight we managed to see them early one morning. We were not lucky enough to see the Jaguar but felt lucky to see the rest, maybe next time for the Jaguar! This area also is home to many species of birds, mammals, butterflies, reptiles and plants. As we paddled , or should I say as Merv, Robin and Esauu paddled their way through little areas away from the main lake, you really felt like you were Darwin all those years ago, exploring new places and wondering what you would see around the next tree. One evening as we paddled along, you could just about hear the paddle, the silence was golden, we spotted red eyes in the distance and in no time at all, a Black Caiman was right beside us, swimming along and checking us out. He swam right under neath and out the other side, and he still came back for another look, fantastic, must admit wasn’t expecting for it to come quite so close!

nature walk in the Peruvian Amazonica jungle

nature walk in the Peruvian Amazonian jungle

Our guide Esauu was brillant, from the word go we knew that we were going to have great fun with him. He had a great sense of humour and fun, and his knowledge of the rainforest and jungle was unbelievable, he was like an encyclopedia . All he cared about was nature and what it means to the world, and more importantly about protecting it. We did many walks with him during the day as he pointed out the great trees to us, we followed the red howler monkeys and watched as they fought amongst each other. The night walks were also amazing, how he spotted the numerous insects as they slept on trees, some were camouflaged so well we really wondered what sort of eyes he had, good ones obviously. He was always working, even over dinner in the evening he would enlighten us with stories, and when he would call us early in the morning at oh my god o’clock he would ask did we hear the such and such sound during the night, early morning etc., His only downfall was that he had no good solution for getting rid of the god damn mosquitoes, but in fact after a few days you just get used to them, what’s another bite! Unfortunately they bite through your clothes so there is no real escaping. As you can imagine it was really warm, sticky and humid here, but an amazing place. Oh yes, we did get rain in the RainForest ! All four of us had such a great trip to this part of Peru, and considering we only arranged it when we got to Cusco it all went according to plan, no hiccups. Arranged it on a Saturday afternoon, left on Sunday morning.

Anybody interested in doing a trip like this contact jungletripsadventure_ecr@hotmail.com and speak to Edgar Condori Ramos who will be willing to help. For a great guide ask Edgar to put you in touch with esauu-13@hotmail.com who is a natural jungle specialist.

fallen trees are sometimes processed to build and maintain lodges. All this was done by chainsaw.

Jungle flowers and butterfly

When you can see them, the Macaws really stand out against the green foliage or the blue/grey skies

Blue and Red macaw near the salt lick

Blue and Yellow Macaw

bit of a discussion on top of a dead palm tree, which they like to eat for its minerals.

in the jungle canopy

Canopy touring

Sarah in the jungle canopy

Inca Trail and Machu Picchu

The Inca trail 4.

It was then back to Cusco, to re acclimatize ourselves again, in order to do our 4 Day Inca Trail Hike to Machu Picchu. The day before we left we spent quite a few hours organizing our back packs trying to have them as light as possible , deciding on what clothes to bring (very little), but most importantly making sure we had dry and clean ones for the end of the trip . Also we had to do some shopping to buy some snacks for along the way, so we had to distribute them evenly in each back pack. The lighter the pack the easier to walk, remember we were going to climb over 4250 meters or 13779 feet !With most of that sorted we headed to Llama Path (www.llamapath.com) our tour operator for our briefing on what to expect over the next few days, to meet our guides Miguel and Cocoa, also to meet our fellow hikers, 16 in total, 7 of which were Irish so we felt at home. Our briefing lasted only about 30 minutes as everybody checked and asked relevant questions necessary to themselves. Claire, Robin , Merv and I had hired a porter between four of us, so we did not have to carry our sleeping bags or mattresses, so thanks guys for that. Some people had hired porters to carry everything for them (at a cost), some had hired no porters at all, so it depended very much on the individual. It was an early night to bed as we had to meet the next morning at 4.30 a.m, which for most people meant getting up at 3.30 to begin our epic adventure. I must say as we wandered through the various squares to our meeting point, many people were only coming home from partying, how times have changed I thought as I trundled along with my back-pack on my back!!!

The inka trail goes through some very wild countryside

The Inca trail goes through some very wild countryside

All loaded on the bus, guides at the front and off we went. As it was still dark there wasn’t much for us to see, so many people just slept as it would be over three hours before we would stop to have our breakfast. Everybody needed as much shut eye as possible as the following mornings we would also be getting up really early and walking for many hours. Our first stop was in Ollantaytambo for breakfast, very nice, but a severe lack of coffee for Robin and Merv, oh how will they survive. They nodded to each other, just as well we have brought our coffee and plunger for our trek…… After about another 45 minutes on the bus after breakfast, we arrived at KM 82, starting point of the Inca Trail.

For those planning on doing it, here is a short list of what to take ….
Original Passport,
White Immigration Slip,
Walking boots,
Walking sticks, optional, but a good idea,
Waterproof jacket, and plastic poncho,
Warm jacket, hat and gloves , really only needed in the evening times if it is cold.
Water container, preferably a platypus, must be recyclable
Sun hat , sun glasses and sun cream,
Toiletreis
Toilet paper, very important !
Torch
Personal medication
Comfortable trousers
Insect repellent
T-shirt, something like an ice-breaker, or no smell ! (remember no shower for 4 days).

The whole crew ready for the off

Passports checked, stamped if wished, group photo taken, pep talk given by our lead guide Miguel – take it slow,use your walking sticks, drink loads of water to help altitude sickness, chew coca leaves if you wish, suck coca sweets, which ever way is best for you , remember it is not a race and everybody must make it, we are in this together, and we will all make it ! You might not always feel 100% physically fit , but please always remain 100% mentally positive.

What is a bit of rain to the Irish. Soft day thank God.

Day 1.

This was supposed to be relatively easy, I guess it depends on the term . We walked for 16 kms, approximately 7 hours and from 2720 m to 3300 m before arriving in our camp( Ayapata) at 5pm that evening. A great day, wonderful scenery, and to meet the local farmers as we wandered through their homeland was amazing. Most of us were panting and out of breath, but they encouraged us all the way.

When we would arrive into our camp each evening our tents were already erected, sleeping bags and mattresses in each persons tent, plus a small basin of hot water for each person was waiting outside of the tent so as to wash as best one could. Once people had refreshed, checked for blisters etc., we had Happy Hour in the main eating tent which consisted of pop-corn, yes made in the camp , along with tea, and this was all just before dinner. Dinner was still to come. Dinner never disappointed, really lovely food, no shortage of it whatsoever, and each evening was different. Mind you rice seem to make it to the table each evening, but I guess when in ‘Peru’, but everything was just so tasty and beautifully presented, it was incredible to see under such conditions. Cooking in a tent, in the dark only with head torches, and sometimes it was raining. On two evenings we had cake for dessert, no mean feat to prepare ! Everybody squeezed into the main dining tent for all our meals , and here we shared stories of the day, history of the Incas told to us by our guide Miguel, and we would discuss what to expect the next day.

Sarah and Claire on the trail

Our porters were wonderful, nothing was a problem for them. Each evening as we came into camp they would give a big cheer, they cheered the first , the second, right to the very last person, and it didn’t matter if there was an hour between the first and the last, they were always there to encourage you. The same in the morning, we would get up to find a basin of hot water outside, also some hot coca tea and then head to breakfast. While we were having our breakfast they would dismantle our tents, and pack up everything to take to our next campsite. We always left before them, but after about an hour or two they would pass us at high speed, each of them carrying 25kgs on their back and then it was our turn to cheer and clap them. When we would arrive at our lunch spot they always had the dining tent ready, a warm energy drink to boost the system, and if they felt it was going to rain a dry area for our back packs. No 5 star hotel could match this service, and everything was done with a smile.

Easy known it’s the very beginning, pretty soon we all spread out.

The Inca trail has some serious steps up and down.

Day 2.

Now this was a tough day, and the toughest of the whole trek. Dead Woman’s Pass. During breakfast, Merv and Robin produced their french press coffee maker, and made a proper brew of coffee. There were a few faces that looked like they would kill for a cup of coffee, but the coffee supply was measured for the 4 days, with not much to spare. Thus, the procedure of the “Second press” was created, where the pot was refilled, re-stirred and re-poured to the needy few.

We walked less kms than Day 1, 10 hours in total but had to climb to 4250 m and what an achievement to have made it. We had heard so much about this pass , so everybody was a little anxious. It was a very steep climb, with many steps, it was up, up and more up. We only encountered some down hill to get to our campsite (Chaquicocha) and even then we had some big steps to overcome, plus they were a little slippery. Even those who suffered altitude sickness made it, well done guys. Along this section of the valley we saw many Inca Terraces and also some ancient stone buildings. The climb may have been tough, but when you stopped to see the views, the pain was worth it, breathtaking.

Each of our campsites had toilet facilities, but you would need a ‘clinical cleaning procedure’ after using them, so enough said ……

Day 3.

This was the easiest day of the whole trek. We only walked for 9 kms and for about six hours before arriving to our camp (Winay Huayna) plus we were mainly on the level, and dropped to about 2680 m. Also this was the nearest campsite to the sun gate for the morning which meant we only had about 2 hours to Machu Picchu. We were finished by lunch time and we then had the afternoon to relax, some people played cards, others enjoyed the sun, some even caught up on some sleep. At about 4.30 pm we walked for about 10 minutes to a beautiful mirador to see an Inca sight, and as we were getting nearer to Machu Picchu they seemed to be in better condition. So hard to believe that all of these great ruins were covered by jungle for so long.

The food tent was a little snug, but welcome in the rain.

Card time!

birthday boy Coca loosing at cards

View from the sun gate at 7am approx. a bit restricted to say the least

Day 4.

Arrived in Machu Picchu after a 2 hour hike, and only 5.5 kms. Sadly when we arrived at the Sun Gate we had no view whatsoever, but as we made our way down a little the sun obliged and yes, what a breathtaking view and sight we saw beneath us. As most people visit Machu Pichu by getting the train from Cusco and then walking around the site, the hikers are the first people at the Sun Gate, and from it you get the best view if the sun shines early in the morning. Not for us, but never the less the sense of achievement was great. Very few people who come by train even hike to the Sun Gate ,so we hikers are a pretty elite group, if I say so myself. Once in the site itself, Miguel gave us a full tour , and pieced together all the previous stories he had told us along the trail,making it one complete piece of history. Even thought the Inca’s only ruled for 90 years they have left a huge amount of history behind them, some of which is still covered by jungle.

The hiking was not complete yet, as Huayna Picchu a small mountain with another great view of Machu Picchu still awaited. From here the views were also spectacular and breathtaking with loads of sun. After the previous four days this was a doddle, up and down in less than two hours.

a selfie from the top of Huayna Picchu

To sum it all up the Inca Trail and Machu Picchu is a must for everyone’s bucket list. Machu Picchu itself cannot be understood without the Inca Trail. Its principal sites are ceremonial in character and the trail itself and walking it was formerly an act of devotion. It is unfortunate that the number of tourists repeating this Inca devotion of four exhausting days are exceeding the tolerance of the trail, leading to damage so perhaps in time to come, we may no longer be able to walk this trail. We were all thrilled to reach the finish, and despite the many pictures we had seen of Machu Picchu we were not really prepared for such a wonder of the world, its one place that must be seen with your own eyes.

Of course we spent most of the day in Machu Picchu before getting the bus to Aguas Calientes (also know as the town of Machu Picchu) and here our priority was a nice hotel room with a comfy bed and of course more importantly HOT WATER for a good shower . After our showers we were like new people and so Pisco Sours were worthy for the evening.

Retail Therapy done. Check.

This town is mainly used as a resting place for the Inca Trail survivors as it has thermal baths 10 minutes walk from the town by the banks of the river amid cloud forest vegetation. The Pisco Sours won out over the thermal baths for us four, I must say. The next morning after a great nights sleep we were refreshed, no real aches or pains for some of us hardy trouts and were ready to explore the quaint little place of Aguas Calientes. Claire and I even did a little retail therapy in the market. What a beautiful place surrounded by mountains on all sides, everywhere you looked the view was stunning. In the early afternoon we took the train back to Ollantaytambo and from here we hopped onto a bus all the way back to Cusco, with more beautiful scenery . Each way we looked we were spoiled for choice. Once again we were back at base after another wonderful experience, it will be difficult to top this throughout the rest of Peru!

Our porters had a bowl of hot water for each person to wash in as we arrived into camp.

Laura and Kevin were always way out in front. Almost gave myself a heard attack to get this photo!

Laura and Kevin were always way out in front. Almost gave myself a heart attack to get this photo!

As we went at the start of the rainy season, we had some damp conditions to deal with

Robin points out a superb view. If we could have seen it.

There were many sets of ruins to see along the Inka trail.

5am coca tea being delivered to your tent. Room service if you will.

The porters had breakfast at 5am, so when the guests got up, they were ready to rip down the tents and hit the trail.

The porters constantly kept an eye on our tents in case we needed anything, or got a leak

Claire on the trail. Just a little damp.

The trail sometimes went through caves/tunnels

Sarah checking out the view on the Inka Trail

One of our rare chances to take a photo with all of our Porters

Merv and Robin

When the fog and clouds cleared, you could see anything. This was an outpost of Machu Picchu.

We had 8 talks along the way, building the take of the Inkas. Most impressive lecture hall EVER!

We had 8 talks along the way, building the tale of the Incas from start to finish. Most impressive lecture hall EVER!

Inca trail view

Sarah and Claire on the trail

This trail went through some terraces used for agriculture.

This bridge looked like it was about to collapse. Perfect place for a Photo then….

Those tired legs needed a bit of a rest from time to time.

No idea how he did it, but the Chef turned out a birthday cake

yes, its steep. and high.

The final site we saw before Machu Picchu

a porter using a bit of plastic to protect himself from the rain after clearing some drains to keep the tents dry

The queue to get into Machu Picchu started at 4am. No kidding!

Sarah on the fast trek to the sungate on a pretty narrow part of the trail

Maybe I should not have blocked the sungate with my backpack.

View from the sun gate at 7am approx. a bit restricted to say the least

The walk from Sungate to Machu Picchu was not looking good.

After a short time in Machu Picchu, the mist cleared and we could see where we were. Stunning!

No one said building this place would be easy.

The stone work is incredible.

Mountains surround the ancient site

Robin on top of the world. Well, Huayna Picchu at least.

I got photo bombed by a llama and by a Pirate in Machu Picchu. Not many can say that!

Christmas comes early to the Mog

Proper Christmas Pudding

As Claire and Robin had very kindly brought us a Christmas Pudding, we saw it only fitting to have Christmas Dinner in ‘ Chez Mog ‘ before they left . The Christmas cheer was in full swing, party hats, christmas songs and all and the vino was flowing. As we were in Peru we decided to cook Alpaca Fillet with all the trimmings which was really tasty and over the course of five hours we managed to dwindle away loads of food and vino. What a superb way to celebrate Christmas early with such great friends. Seeing as Claire and Robin have now visited us three times on our travels I guess we own them the next visit, Blarney in The Republic of Cork awaits our return. I hope you have a parking place reserved for Chez Mog…. Thanks guys for a great 24 days together.

Merry Christmas from the Moglanders

Happy Christmas from the peoples republic of Cork.

Nice light starter, Italian Style to nod the head to Merv’s Sisters.

We had seem loads of lovely cute Alpaca’s, and see loads of warm woolly Alpaca jumpers. Just one last thing to check. Yum Yum!

Categories: Peru | Tags: hiking, Photographs | 2 Comments

Galapagos Islands

Posted on November 12, 2013 by sarah

It was time for us to take another mini holiday from our truck (or should I say fact finding and exploratory mission) and so the Galapagos Islands off the coast of Ecuador was our destination. It is always sad leaving our truck, but more importantly we had to find a secure place to park it for 3 weeks, in the hope that all would be okay when we return. We left the truck in Lima in Peru in Miraflores, and thanks to Alberto from http://www.rvperu.com/ for finding us a secure spot, and fingers crossed it will be fine when we get back. Obviously the only way to get to the Galapagos was by plane. Okay, Merv did not like the idea of taking a flight as he boasts that in the last two years he has been on 4 different continents and no flights, quite an achievement really but then I guess he already has a pretty big carbon foot print!

Galapagos Islands Background

The Galapagos aren’t typical tropical paradises like you might see in the Carribeen, most of the islands have no vegetation or at most some mangroves and cactus, but many of the creatures that call these islands their homes are found nowhere else in the world. That really is the magic of these islands. The beaches are small, mostly with soft white sand, and usually you have to share them with the many sea-lions that occupy them.

Land Iguana soaking up a few rays of sunshine

After all it is their home and we are the intruders!. Humans do live here but only on five of the islands, there are over 125 islands in total, with a population of about 25,000 people. The islands lie in the Pacific Ocean on the equator, 90 degrees of Greenwich. They are 1000km from the mainland in an area of 7880 sq km of land and over 50,000sq km of ocean. The Galapagos National Park fee is US100 and this must be paid in cash at the airport when you arrive, also a transit control fee of US10. The currency used is the US Dollar just like the rest of Ecuador. Two of the islands have airports, Santa Cruz and Santa Cristobal (the capital), so we flew into Santa Cruz and back to the mainland from Santa Cristobal. You can island hop from one to another no problem, it just involves taking a water taxi for about 2 hours or so at high speed over very bumpy water and don’t think about it. We did this many times as we visited different islands, so soon it was like second nature to us! I don’t think.

Most of these water taxis have 3 200hp engines, and seem to go on the basis that time is money! It costs $30 to go from one of the inhabited islands to another, so it’s not too bad, but you take a hell of a beating if the sea is rough. We had been told that the morning crossings were smoother, but we found ourselves that there was no real difference in what time you took the taxi, it’s all rough.

Getting to the Galapagos Islands

Merv finally has to fly somewhere. At least it was worth it.

Well we arrived finally to the island of Santa Cruz . Just to give you an idea of our mode of transport to get there. On the morning we were leaving we drove our truck to secure parking, then taxi to bus station (where incidentally we met a neighbour of ours from Kill village,small world), 30 hour bus journey to Guayaquil in Ecuador, mind you we were in the VIP seats, so no complaints whatsoever, first class on an aeroplane eat your heart out. Taxi to our hotel as we had to do an overnight, taxi to the airport, plane to Baltra aiport (on a tiny Island beside Santra Cruz Island),bus to the dock, boat to Santa Cruz and last but not least a bus to Puerto Ayora which is the main town on Santa Cruz we needed to go to. A lot of transport hopping but finally we had arrived and it was made all the more sweet by seeing Jurgen and Ruth waiting for us when we got off the bus, big smiles and hugs all round. We had last parted company in March, and had a lot to catch up on. As they had arrived a few days before us , they had all the research done on the best ‘last minute’ cruise for the four of us to do, which was 8 days/7 nights aboard an allegedly first class boat. As we had not seen them for nearly 7 months it was off for Caipirinha’s , followed by lobster and stories about how the road was treating us and our trucks, I think more importantly the trucks were the topic of conversation, not to mention the great places and wonderful things we had seen along the way.

A wall of beer bottles is not enough to stop Ruth robbing some of Jurgen’s dinner…

Basically once you are on the Galapagos (and you MUST fly via Ecuador) there are 2 ways to see the Galapagos, by sea on a Cruise or by land. We did a little of each, but the cruise was better for getting to see a greater variety of sights and wildlife. At this time of the year (November) you can go to the islands, and then look around for a cruise and pick one up within a few days, a week at the most. It’s low season, and the boats do not seem to get booked up until days before departure. Most cruises seemed to start on a Monday.

Our 8 day cruise

Sailing out of port to go exploring the Galapagos Islands

We met Enrique our tour guide when we boarded our tour boat Estrella de Mar, he showed us to our cabins which were small but clean with private bathroom, two bunk beds and a place to store your clothes in drawers under the bed. As we were on the top deck we also had a window, great for the view and the breeze. The thing that defines a first class boat is that you have a private room, with private bathroom – well worth it. Some people were on the lower deck, so only a tiny window that could not open, so they were a bit stuffy. There were only 16 passengers on the boat so a lovely number for when we went to land and see the sights, everybody was able to keep up with the guide as we were all young and fit , plus it was easy to get to know everybody quickly and share travel tips ! The crew consisted of 8 people and once all the passengers were on board (some were coming from other islands or airport) it was all systems sailing.

We had a few stops around Santa Cristobal Island one being Punta Pitt which is the north eastern most point of the island. Here we saw the Galapagos booby species , the blue-footed, red-footed and masked booby. This is the only place we would see all 3 types of these birds in the one place. These birds sometimes leave here in search of food into the sea, so it was fun to watch them as they nose dived into the water when they would spot a fish or two. Volcanic tuff formations and lava cones were also unique in their own right here. Cerro Brujo was our afternoon stop and here we were met with a beautiful coral sand beach which was occupied by many sea-lions. Here also was our first opportunity for snorkelling, so it was on with the wet-suits to see what we could see.

Our guide Enrique explaining how the layers of the island were built up.

Typical trail over an Island, they can be pretty bleak

Lava Lizard photography is easy when they do not run away

Red footed boobie. Same blue beak as the blue footed but can be clearly identified as different due to the glint in it’s eye.

As we always sailed at night, especially when we had a long distance to travel,seven or eight hours between some islands, this meant that during the day we didn’t have to move too far, usually.

an example of a "dry" landing when we went exploring from the boat.

Getting back onto the Zodiac after a “dry” landing Island explore

Breakfast was at 7 with the exception of one or two mornings when we left early to go to land and had breakfast when we came back. Lunch was at noon, and of course being South America this was followed by Siesta!. Our dinner was at 6 or 7 pm depending on what time we got back to the boat after our adventures. Our guide always briefed us each evening on the following days activities. Some nights the sea was rough, so most people were tucked up in bed by 10pm, so as to avoid moving and feeling ill. The food was good with loads of fresh vegetables, fruit, and salads, fish and meat, followed by dessert. Merv and Jurgen were not too happy with some of the desserts so they used to lace them with rum, not a good sign, but once the rum was poured over, the plate soon was empty, I wonder why, lol. Maybe too many eggs for my liking, also too much chicken and rice, but that’s only a personal taste. Marco Polo (yes what an apt name) was our waiter and he always had a very unhappy face when food was returned uneaten. The food was served buffet style, so you could have as much or as little as you wanted, there was always enough. Water, tea , coffee and sweets were free on demand all day long, but if you wanted beer or wine you

Kicker Rock

could buy that on board, or bring your own, which we did ! The weather was mixed, usually a cloudy start followed by a couple of hours sun, but it was never cold. All of us would have liked a lot more sun, because when the sun shone you could really see how clear the water was, so many different colours of blue, it was truly a wonderful sight to see. It was just unimaginable how clear the water could be. The crew consisted of 8 people, all were lovely. Our cabins were cleaned every day, also our towels were changed at least 3 times over the course of the 8 days, and were always folded into a shape of one of the marine animals living on the Galapagos, very clever and a nice touch. There were no locks on any of the cabin doors, so there was a feeling of trust among everybody on board. The passengers were from many corners of the world, Ireland , England, Germany, France, Poland, Australia , The United States of America and Canada, all lovely. Some were on long-term travel, others shorter, and some even very short like 2 weeks !

Land Iguana on red vegetation

Short Eared owl. There is one island with no Hawks, and that is the only island that the Owls stay out during the day.

Still on the island on San Cristobal we visited Leon Dormido, also known as Kicker Rock. It is so named because of its resemblance to a sleeping

Sarah and Ruth pointing to the boss. Oh yeah.

lion. It consists of a rock that emerges from the sea, eroded in half and in between these rocks there is a channel where you can snorkel and dive. As we were on a small boat we were able to sail between them, pretty cool place.

After sailing through the night for about 7 hours , the next morning we had arrived at the beautiful island of Espanola. This island is not only one of the most beautiful but also the most southerly. We walked along a rocky trail taking us through masked and blue-footed booby colonies. The beach was full of marine iguanas mainly the red and black but we did mange to see the odd multi-coloured one, red , green and black. Probably the most spectacular event of the day was seeing the waved albatross colony. Late March to early December is when much of the world’s albatross population comes here to breed, so our timing was perfect. Even at a few months old, these birds are spectacular (can’t believe I have just typed that, me not being a bird lover) with their long curved yellow beaks, fluffy molting hair as their parents perform their mating call to identify their mates. There were many breathtaking views from the wave battered cliffs below us and you could see many blow holes in the rocky shore below as water shot high into the air. Many sea-birds take off and land from these cliffs, some very clumsily I might add. This island also has a big sea-lion population , many new babies are born here, and we were just a few minutes late for a new arrival, pity. We could tell this as the placenta was still on the ground being hovered up by the nasty Galagagos hawk, not to pleasant to watch.

Lunchtime for this Galapagos hawk

Now for a little bit of history , in particular for us Irish as we sailed to the Island of Floreana. An Irishman called Patrick Watkins was marooned on this island in 1807, (yes before Charles Darwin ) and he

Stingrays hover in the shallows to evade the sharks.

spent two years living there, growing vegetables and trading them for rum with other boats. The story goes that he remained drunk for most of his days , then stole a boat and set sail to the mainland with five slaves, but only Watkins reached the mainland, the luck of the Irish I guess ! Here we visited Punta Cormorant by a wet landing, a greenish beach in colour due to the mineral olivine in the water.

After a short trail we ended up at another sandy white beach, it wasn’t recommended for swimming due to the many sting-rays in the water. They were so close to the water’s edge you could almost touch them, really visible, but it was a lovely beach to walk along on such a sunny morning. Devil’s Crown was a semicircle of rocks popping up out of the ocean, but had a very strong current. Most people went snorkeling here and saw many coral formations, swam with some sea-lions, turtles and some others managed to spot a shark in the distance. After our lunch it was off to the Post Office, yes, Bahia De Los Correos (Post Office Bay) .

Some of this post office has been moved to a museum, but this is the real deal.

This Post Office is still functioning even though it only has two wooden barrels which by now are pretty rotten, but never the less it serves a purpose. It used to be used by the American and British whalers . These days tourists leave postcards hoping that they will find their way like message in a bottle. Also tourists are asked to look through a bunch of cards and if you find one for your home country you must deliver in person to the person named on it. I was getting a bit deflated so many cards, none for Ireland, but then I found two, so I guess two lucky people in Ireland will have me knocking on their door sometime in the future with their cards from the Galapagos. I hope I get a cup of tea at least. I also left two postcards there for 2 special people, so hopefully some day in the future you will get a knock on your door , it might be quite some time, or maybe not. You might get them even before I return . All administration duties completed we descended into a lava cave with the aid of steps, rope and a torch. Once underground the path was slippery and we had to slosh around in some chilly water, but a very cool place for a swim, cool being the operative word.

Our fellow passengers searching for mail to deliver, and posting some of their own

the “Waved” albatross, also known as the Galapagos albatross

The islands of Seymour and Bartolome were our next ports of call. Seymour had probably the largest and most active seabird breeding colony on its island. All the islands had their own ‘unique’ thing and on this island it was our first time to see the Frigate Birds. It was quite a sight to see their big red inflated red breasts as they flew high above the coastal cliffs.

Male frigate bird in full plumage

Sometimes they would annoy smaller birds, getting them to drop their catch into the water and the Frigate bird would swoop in for dinner, saved them having to hunt. As we were on this island by 6.15 am the light was perfect so all camera men were happy. We were able to get very close to the Frigate bird nests and even saw some chicks. A lovely beach too with the water protected by rocks, splashing up some big waves against them. Bartolome on the other hand had panoramic views as well as a nice beach. On the beach we saw one female marine turtle and three males swimming close to the shore keeping an eye on her. The males were waiting for the female, enough said, yes they had their way and then they were on their way. Also we saw three white tipped sharks swimming close to the shore, a huge bonus as nobody had to get wet to experience any of this. We walked up many steps to a lighthouse , along a wooden boardwalk and the reason why is to protect the trail from erosion. Great views from the top, also many lava formations as we looked down and around us . It was on this island that the movie Master and Commander was filmed, the island was hired out for a period of time at huge expense. We saw many Galapagos penguins on the rocks as we took a panga (Zodiac or rib) ride before heading back to our boat for dinner, and we got within a few meters of them.

Hooded or Nasca Boobie

After passing over the equator at some ungodly hour of the night, the next morning we had arrived at Genovesa Island. Here we saw the red-footed booby at its best, loads of them. We had seen them before but not in such abundance. We did see the Frigate birds here also, but no red chests, and there is no scientific reason for this as of yet. We had to be careful here as sometimes the trail had a fluffy little baby booby on it, or worse still the well camouflaged iguanas may well be blocking your way. It was all so natural it was wonderful. The trail was really dry forest vegetation and we were hoping to see the Short-eared Owl, we spotted four, so happy days. They were really difficult to find as they camouflage so well with their habitat . A really rocky coastline on this island also, so always loads of sea-birds flying around. Todays snorkel was a great treat for Merv as he saw The Hammer Head Shark. (sadly the current was too strong and the water way too deep for me !)

This seal posed perfectly at sunset for us

We did not expect to see flamingos here. Nice surprise!

Santa Fe Islands were our next stop to see some of the tallest cacti on the islands, some over 10 metre high, and also to see the land iguanas that survive by eating this cacti. The water was very clear here so we could see turtles swimming on the surface. Sea-lions here too, they were everywhere, but one in particular seemed to be in a lot of pain, moaning a lot and Enrique said she was about to give birth. It was apparently her first birth so could take quite some time. He knew this by the amount of noise she was making, normally if its their second, third or whatever it is less painful and happens very quickly. We did a panga ride here too and saw many dolphins swimming basically all around us , superb!

This is a Juvenile giant tortoise, only about 50 or 60 years old. He could hit over 400kg fully grown.

El Chato Tortoise Reserve was our last port of call. Here we could observe giant tortoises in the wild. When they extended their accordion like necks to feed it was an impressive sight, but what was more impressive was to see them living naturally in the long grass on this reserve. Also it had ponds which were full of natural nutrients for them to feed. They may move slowly, but their hearing is excellent so even if you are trying to sneek by they will hear and give you a look as much as to say ‘get off of my reserve’, its only for the old like us!

A few facts on these amazing reptiles from the Galapagos Islands: http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/reptiles/galapagos-tortoise/

Our land based travels

Well with our cruise over we stayed some more days, visiting again some more places on Santa Cruz. For example on Santa Cruz we went to Las Grietas which was a water filled crevice in the rocks, and many fearless people climb the vertical walls that were at least 10 metres high and dive into the water below. Some more graceful than others, but never the less they do it. Tortuga Bay was another lovely beach we were able to walk to, and as well as surfers here you could see sharks , pelicans and marine iguanas. We also did more island hopping and went to Isabella Island as we didn’t visit it on our cruise.

another overlander with his house on his back

As boats arrived from the other islands, hoteliers would stand at the pier offering accommodation so there was always a banter before we said yes, and of course a good price. As we were there in the off peak season it was a lot more easy to bargain, but generally 10 to 15 US Dollars was the going rate per person. We also tried to get a hostal with a kitchen so we could cook for ourselves. On the larger island of Santa Cruz it was more like 20US Dollars per person, but that was for a hotel with a sea view.(we had a lovely place on Santa Cruz, thanks Jurgen and Ruth) Of course you could pay anything up to 300 Dollars per night, and even more! Also for food you could eat as cheaply or as expensive as you wished. Also on Sundays on Santa Cruz they closed one street from traffic and set up tables and chairs down along and at about 7pm the restaurants on both sides opened and it was all a buzz of atmosphere for the evening, lobster being the main dish of the day as we managed to be there for Lobster season. Fantastic idea.

The very rare blue footed sealion

Santa Isabella was so tranquil, it was like we had stepped back in time. We stayed in a lovely hostal here called Cerro Azul (fellow travelers I strongly recommend this place). Nelton the owner was lovely, so helpful, friendly and nothing was a problem. He would also organize tours if you wished. Lovely clean place with own kitchen,just as well as the choice of restaurants was limited, and the price a bit ott. Also there were hammocks in the garden to relax, which was great for us to absorb everything we had seen and done over the last few days. A bit of a whirlwind really. Most of the evening entertainment started at Happy Hour in the Caleta Iguana Hotel and Surf Camp from 5 – 7 pm. It had a beach front bar, hammocks, live music and each evening once it was dark they lit a bon-fire in the sand, pretty amazing to sit around and drink our two for one!

Party time, Galapagos Style.

Our hike up the volcano was in pretty damp conditions

You can see where the lava used to form a lavafall, just like a waterfall

the black lava rock bottom to this huge volcano

Many volcanoes are still active here, the last one erupting in 2005 (Sierra Negra). We hiked (16km round trip) to Volcan Chico. It was a little damp and foggy on the way up so we didn’t see too much, but once we got to the top we could see the subcrater and some fumaroles. On the way back we managed to see some of Volcan Sierra Negra which was fairly impressive, but due to the weather conditions it didn’t rock my boat. Sadly the weather got worse so it was a quick high tail back to the end of the trail. Another day we walked (round trip 10km) to the Wall of Tears. This 100m long wall of lava rocks was built by convicts under harsh and abusive conditions. This penal colony closed in 1959 but still stands as an infamous part of the islands history.

We spent our last three days on San Cristobal and we only went to the beach. Here we had a ground floor of a house with table and chairs, 2 armchairs and a couch, what luxuries. Haven’t had them for so long, but what was more impressive was we had cable TV, yes a TV and a remote. Merv thought

Snooze time

he had died and gone to heaven. Mind you I had to take over the remote from him as the Tennis end of year Finals from London was on live each morning while having my breakfast, so yes I was in charge of it for a change. There is a lot of construction work happening on this island, as the big cruise ships are no longer allowed to stop at The Galapagos, so now everybody must fly in so more accommodation is required for the tourists. Not sure that this is a good thing, but I guess the islanders need the money. There were a small few restaurants to choose from here, all keenly priced . On the evening before we left we went to the local San Cristobals got Talent, where school kids dressed up and acted out as John Travoltas and Oliva-Newton John’s Grease Lightening, what a sight to see! This was followed by a local folklore group, about 10 guys in total, playing flutes, recorders, guitars, churangas, violins singing as they played. They were really good. The area was a flush with locals all enjoying the music, while their kids played tig with each other, jumping over the sea-lions as they slept on the street and benches. Another lovely atmosphere with such simple fun.

So long Galapagos.

Well that about sums up our trip to The Galapagos. Its name may have changed,( it used to be called The Enchanted Isles), but it still remains a pretty unique place to visit. Merv and I both feel very privileged to have been able to visit here (another hole in our budget), but you only live once. I hope it always remains natural and never becomes too populated with humans. Jurgen and Ruth it was really great to spend the time with you guys, so looking forward already to our next ‘last minute trip’!!

Categories: Ecuador | Tags: birds, nature, Photographs, wildlife | Comments Off

After all it’s the Bolivian Amazon Jungle

Posted on October 8, 2013 by sarah

Rurre and Beni river view

Well Rurrenabaque certainly didn’t disappoint us, in fact we ended up staying for 15 days so I think that says it all !. Suddenly it was time for shorts and T-shirts as we had hit over 30 degrees. Merv was back in DIY mode using our awning so as we could sit out for our breakfast, even at 7am we needed shade ! It is often referred to as ‘Rurre’ and is a lovely tranquil village situated along the river Beni. The appeal of Rurre (yes , getting in on the local lingo) really is its natural beauty of the Bolivian Amazon Jungle/rain forest and pampa both of which still have large numbers of wildlife.

Of course here you can also visit Parque Nacional Madidi, which covers over 1.8 million hectares and is home to mammals, amphibians,more than 1000 bird species, trees over 800 years old, also numerous plants, so really we were spoilt for choice. Where would we start, so much to learn about. The Bolivian Jungle/Rain-Forest is amazing. The local guides all have grown up in the area so are really knowledgeable about the fauna, flora and the forest in general. They can explain animals habits and they know to listen for their sounds so as to track them. They know about natural remedies from the plant life in the forest which they use for remedies for fever, cuts, colds and insect bites. The guides know the general chitter chatter of each bird, and can tell how close they are so spotting them gets a lot easier.

River transport

Our trip to the jungle began by canoe, in the rain I might add, for about half of the six hour journey into the deep forest. It may have been raining but it was not cold, in fact it was a welcome relief. Along the river shore you can see many homes where people are still living, I think about six communities live along the shore. We spotted many birds to which our guide Ronny was up to date with, knew their names in 3 languages, English, Spanish and the Scientific one. A black caiman, many capybaras ( which are large amphibious rodents) were also spotted. A very rare spotting was The Tapir , and judging by the many scrapes on his back Ronny assumed it had been in a fight with a Jaguar. The icing on the cake would have been to see Jaguar, maybe next time! We had our boxed lunch sitting on the bank of the river , and here also it was possible to use bano o natural (natural toilet).

Crocs and Spiders. What a combo

We stayed deep in the river forest by Lake Chalalan when in Madidi Parque, and each day we took walks, some up to 6 hours to see how life in the jungle lives and survives. On three occasions we tracked the wild pigs, and luckily the third time we managed to not only see, but also to smell them. They move very fast through the jungle munching on everything and anything that is possible, so they are also very noisy. They are easily spooked by humans so you have to remain very quiet and crouch very low to the ground, so they don’t see you. Once they spot you they run like a bat out of hell. The red howler monkeys were a treat as they swung from tree to tree, and as they live at the very top of the tall trees, you really have to strain your neck to see them. Many Capuchino Monkeys we spotted also, which are much lighter in colour than the howler monkey. Even in our camp we had visitors, I always checked my boots/crocs before I put them on, just as well I did as this big spider decided to take his siesta in it. Yes, it was poisonous, lucky escape.

Ole man monkey

Funny if his name was Wrench….

We were really interested in the Primary Forest part as here we saw so many old trees, some of which are over 800 years old. The biggest being the Cotton Tree, but to mention some others are The Almondrillo Tree, Chonta Palm, Walking Palm, Ficous Tree, Garlic Tree, Jungle Papaya and the Monkey Vine. We had never seen any of these trees before, and the size of some of them was amazing. They looked liked they could nearly touch the sky. Nesting in some of these trees were many bees, hard at work making honey. Speaking of hard working we mustn’t forget the leaf cutter ants !.

Leaf cutter ant on its way home

Large butresses on the cotton trees

Of course, where there are trees, there are many birds, and to mention just some of those that we saw are, White Wing Swallow, Meali Parrot , Cormorants, Watsons, Great Egrit, Cap Heron, Snow Egret, Little Blue Heron, Kingfishers both the Amazona and the Ring Head one, Grey Black Hawk, Rosehigh Hawk, Black Vulture, Large Bill Terin, White Belly Parakette and the list just goes on, so I won’t bore you. Perhaps one of the greatest sightings was to see The Maccaws, such bright and beautiful colours as they peered out of their homes, which are holes in the rocks.

Red crowned woodpecker, hard to see in the gloomy forest

the Watson bird, a rough translation of the local name

Red and Blue Macaw landing into it’s cliff side home

We also walked at night to see how alive The Jungle is . It is really dark, but fantastic to listen to all the different sounds. We saw many spiders with their huge webs, flat toads, poisonous caterpillars, frogs, and even a boa constrictor (snake). One night we took a canoe trip across the lake at about 9.30 pm, I could hardly see in front of me with the fog, but never the less Ronny was able to paddle our canoe and still spot the eyes of the caiman’s with his torch. It was so quiet on the lake perhaps even a bit spooky as you could only see such a small distance in front of you, just as far as your torch could shine, which wasn’t that far, what an experience. We were the only three people on the lake, but no doubt the caiman’s were keeping a close watch!

Hi Dad. Hi Son.

We also did a trip to the area known as the Pampa as it is more open than the Jungle, with a few different attractions. We had to travel in the back of landcruiser that should have been retired about 10 years ago for 3 hours to get there,and then travel by river canoe for 3 hours but it was worth it. The Pink River Dolphins were a real treat to see, also the many Turtles, Alligators and a very nice sun-set one evening. Not so sure seeing the Anaconda and the Cobra snakes were a treat, as I shiver when I look at snakes even in a book or on TV, but then again we were in Jungle so choice was not an issue. I shivered even more when the cobra decided to slither over my boot, as my guide shouted don’t move a muscle, I didn’t dare. We also did some Pirana fishing which were cooked and eaten that evening for dinner. Mind you the most essential thing to bring with you to either of these places is loads of insect repellent, as without it the mosquito’s will have a feast. Even with it they have a snack! The sandfly also lives along these banks ,another little terror.

Sunset in the Pampa

Speed Kills. This turtle tried to run across a log and see what happened.

It can be a bit disconcerting when something makes that big of a splash behind you

To sum The Jungle up we really enjoyed it, leaving such a wonderful and different place was difficult, no more the sounds of the zillions of insects, the singing of the birds, the frog chorus, the howler monkeys screaming to mention just a few memories that will stay with us for a long time.

Bolivian Amazon Jungle wild Pig

Ruerre maybe at the edge of The Jungle, but the town itself is quite well equipped. Loads of hardware stores, yes Merv was in is element, I think he visited most of them, as he was on the hunt for plexi-glass to repair our broken window . Successful he was, so hopefully it will last ok until we can get the correct window shipped to us. We got the oil changed in the axles and the gear box of the truck , so as you can see it wasn’t all fun time!

Road to La Paz from Rurre

Sadly it was time to start driving again, after 15 days rest for the truck, it was about to earn its biscuits again ,as due to some road restrictions you can only travel back to La Paz on Sundays, hence we did 13.5 hours on Sunday. We only did 266 kms in that length of time due to the road, and from the pictures below I think you can see for yourself why it was so slow. Not for the faint hearted either. Oh, we started the day by towing out a car that was stuck. We didn’t make it the whole way back to La Paz, so we slept just at the bottom of the Death Road, thought it best to tackle the road in daylight, also the views were super in the early morning. It was an early start 5.45 am on the Monday morning, as the road closes at 7.30 a.m., but we made it and we even got our truck washed en route , a day’s work finished so early!

Looks a bit tight huh?

Imagine bringing this down the death road. Luckily we met him on a wide bit

What a great trip, looking forward already to other parts of the Jungle in South America!

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Categories: Bolivia | Tags: wildlife | 1 Comment

La Paz Bolivia to the Jungle

Posted on September 30, 2013 by sarah

La Paz at night

After 13 dental visits (for Merv), it was finally time to leave La Paz Bolivia and head in the direction of the Central Highlands and further on into The Pampas and The Jungle. The day before we left Merv rotated the tyres on our truck and he noticed that our second fuel tank was loose, so off we went to find a garage to sort it for us, as we didn’t want to travel with just one fuel tank, not a good idea, as not every town/village has diesel. As the tank was full of diesel it was too heavy for us to lift it out our-selves and replace the broken mounting bolt with a new one. While in the garage we also got the engine oil changed , of course this all took a lot longer than expected, suddenly it was dark, so we ended up sleeping in the garage overnight, five star all the way!

La Paz bus showing it´s age and the character of the driver

Cochabamba was one of our first stops after leaving La Paz , a very nice stop indeed. It is set in a Valley with a landscape of green fields and small hills all round. Its soil is very rich hence it produces great crops of barley, wheat, maize, orchard and citrus fruits. There are not too many highlights to see here, the main ones been La Cancha and Cristo de la Concordia both of which are worth seeing.

Orange juice vendor

La Cancha is one of the best stocked and most crowded markets we have been in so far while in South America. Here you can find just about anything imaginable and to wander through it is ‘ a must’. Its all a little crazy and at times we wondered if we were ever going to get to the end of it. Oh don’t forget to bargain always below their asking price, as no matter what price you do eventually get it for they are making a profit. (Mind you everything is very inexpensive to begin with).

The small holes are for looking out through if you climb inside

Cristo de la Concordia stands on the hill behind Cochabamba and believe it or not it’s a few centimeters higher than the very famous one in Rio de Janeiro which stands at 33 meters high, one meter for each year of Christ’s life. However Cochabambions claim that Christ lived for ’33 anos y un poquito (33 years and a little), hence the up-manship! There are great views of the city from up here, plus on Sundays you can climb to the top of the statue for an even better view before you take the pleasant walk down a footpath to the city.

Catfish for dinner

We continued more towards the Amazon Basin , stopping at Villa Tunari, which was a spectacular drive from Cochabamba passing between peaks and mountain lakes, then dropping into valleys of tropical forest. Mind you everybody drives a little crazy on this road, overtaking with on coming traffic, a bit scary but to everybody else it seems the normal thing to do. A visit to Parque Machia was very good, as here we got our first taste of seeing monkeys in the jungle. Also our first taste of humid, warm and sticky conditions. But as the saying goes no pain no gain ! A very positive side is that this Parque rescues injured wild animals, also birds, which otherwise would be left to die. We spent a great day here watching the monkeys and enjoying the different sounds and sights of the forest. Also we did a river trip along the Chapare River with a lovely man called Delfin Durado (yes he is called after 2 fish) He is a great fisherman and this was confirmed to us when he showed us two of his most recent catches. Delfin let us park our truck over-night in his garden, which was right beside the river bank . Mind you the yard was full of pigs, hens, goats, geese, turkeys, cocks , all of which were very noisy during the night. Not sure which made the most noise, the dreadful poultry or the thunder and lightening storm we had while there. All part of the adventure ! It was so hot when we parked we decided to stroll to a ‘bar’ for a cool drink, and ended up with a 2.5 litre bottle of coke drinking it in a Boliviano family sitting room, watching local tv with them, only in Bolivia!. This area is also famous for local chicha cochabambina, so we tried some, not for me, but basically it is an alcoholic maize brew. Merv said he could live with it, I guess he has been too long away and surviving without good Guinness!

Monkey on weed.

River cruise

As we were pretty much inland, there are no beaches, but loads of local people swim and have fun in the rivers, mind you some of the rivers are not so clean, but this makes no difference to them. They wash their bodies, their cars or trucks, also their clothes in the same water that they swim in. We camped overnight at some of these rivers which was really nice, having stones to park on, water and then surrounded by trees on the far side. Eventually we ran out of road and we had to take a timber bridge to cross the river, and then in another place we had to take a barge. We did wonder were we too heavy for the barge, but soon we were at ease when we saw a 60 tonne bulldozer going on to a barge, our 7.5 tonne was a mere nothing. These barges take huge trucks of all shapes and sizes, cars, buses, people, motor-bikes, nothing is a problem.

Our unimog camper is dwarfed with this 60 ton bulldozer….

Loading unimog onto river crossig barge in Bolivia

Loading unimog onto river crossing barge in Bolivia

in the rainy season the river is higher, so they use barges once this bridge washes away

We had hoped to do a barge trip with our truck from Puerto Villarroel, one of Northern Bolivia’s river ports, to Trinidad, but when we got to the port we were told that at this time of year there isn’t enough water in some parts of the river for the large barges. This would usually take about 3-4 days. We had half expected this to be the answer so we weren’t overly disappointed. However what we were in time for was the annual Feria Regional del Pescado ( Fish Festival) serving up local recipes of pacu, dorado and surubi (yummy). You just picked your fish, and then it was cooked on the BBQ , happy days, served on a banana leaf with rice and salad, fresher than fresh. Its a muddy little place, but the mud didn’t dampen the spirit of the festival, even in the dry season it was muddy, hate to see it in the wet season!

One side of the road was grand. It´s all we needed!

We are seeing a lot of truck taking out freshly logged timber. These are small ones, some are about 4 feet in diameter

A great bonus traveling through these parts of Bolivia, is that we were buying our diesel at the local price of 3.72 Bolivianos , approx 40c per litre, no complaints from us. We were not even asked if we were foreigners, and they never looked at our number plate. All the previous fuel stations made a half hearted effort to charge us just over 9 bolivianos per liter which is the “foreign vehicle” price, but after you threaten to leave, and state that an invoice is not required, it’s usually possible to negotiate a price of 5 or 6 bolivianos. Most of the roads we were traveling on were dusty, rough and bumpy, hence every evening when we stopped we were as dusty as the truck, nothing that a good shower wouldn’t sort though. Usually cattle , donkey’s and horses wandered along the sides, grazing as they went along, while in the mossy ponds were many huge birds. Huge trucks also travel these roads, loads of motor-bikes (which are actually the main mode of transport in this part of Bolivia) plus little tuc-tucs carrying many people. We would stop for lunch by a river, but one day it was interrupted quite quickly when I saw 2 baby caimans appear, no way was I sharing my BBQ flavored crisps with them, too precious to share, lol.

Sunset over the lake from where we slept.

We had 2 pleasant stops in 2 tiny little places, one being San Javier and the other San Ignacio de Moxos. San Javier has one of the oldest Jesuit missions, founded in 1691 and is built totally out of timber (unlike the ones in Argentina which are all stone). San Ignacio de Moxos, an Indian village founded also by the Jesuits. It is a friendly and agricultural village , and they speak an indigenous dialect called Ignaciano and have their own unique food and traditions. We stayed overnight here, about 1 km outside of the village, by the lake, and were treated to a splendid sunset! Couldn’t ask for more after a long,bumpy,warm and dusty drive.

Jesuit Church

amazing detail in jesuit church

Pretty full bus. or truck. whatever….

Lake view

This drive took us two weeks to do before eventually arriving in Rurreenabaque which is located on the Rio Beni, and from first glance I don’t think it will disappoint us. Bring on The Jungle and The Pampas, unfortunately these two places will go hand in hand with the mosquitoes. Let’s hope we survive them. I guess you know what our next blog post will be…..that’s if we survive it….

Camp site in Rurre. Our base for a few weeks while we go to the Jungle by boat.

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WOW – A day on the Death Road Bolivia

Posted on August 29, 2013 by sarah

Lets have a go then

All five of us, Sandra, Dominick, Frank , Merv and I had been staying in the same camp-site for a few days, doing repairs on our trucks, motor-bike and Merv visiting the dentist, so we decided it was time to have a day of fun and adventure on mountain bikes, and it did not disappoint. We started our descent at 3150m and by time we finished 29kms later we were at 1226m.

We hired our mountain bikes and gear from extremeexpeditions@hotmail.com and I would highly recommend them. All bikes were in good condition , great suspension front and back, and perhaps more importantly the brakes were excellent, take it from me I know as I used them a lot. They had helmets of all sizes, also clothes, not just like some places that have one size fits all. Even the T-Shirts that we got at the end were S,M,L, and X-L , makes a change to have a choice!

The gravel track is 3.2m wide, really just suitable for one vehicle at a time, with sheer 1000m drop-offs with some rocks overhanging the road as well as water-falls that spill across the track eroding it in places. Mind you these water-falls are a welcome relief when you cycle through them as they cool you down. Particularly when cycling this road you see some of Bolivia’s most rewarding fantastic vertical scenery. You can stop whenever and wherever you want for how long you want. It is breathtaking stuff, and you can have all climates in the one day. We started off with snow, then cold, then sun and as we descended more and more into the Yungas suddenly we were in a tropical climate.

Bit of a snarl up due to the snow

Bus loads of bikes and lunatics.

Frank looking to see why the delay

Catching a lift, Bolivia style

Many crosses ‘Bolivian Caution Signs’ line the way to show the frequency of vehicular tragedies. The accidents along the way usually stem from disputes as to who has the right of way when passing oncoming traffic. Bolivian traffic normally keeps to the right, downhill traffic passes on the outside, whether that’s the right or the left side of the road. Therefore vehicles heading downhill must move into the ledges closest to the big drop and wait while the traffic squeezes past. This ensures that the risk is taken by the driver with the best possible view of their outside tyres. Just before we started our down-hill descent we saw many drivers blessing their vehicles tyres with alcohol ( known as a cha’lla) so as to keep them safe. We wondered should we have done the same with our bikes, but we all said positive thinking !

yes, you can see us on the road.

First reaction on seeing the road up close

Not sure was the road or the clouds higher up

a look at the road below.

Sarah heading off near the start

There is now a new road on the opposite side of the valley, this takes most of the traffic but it is consistently being maintained due to the effect of the rainy season, and in parts it is just as rough as Death Road itself. Mind you vehicles still drive the old road, and probably will continue to do for many years still, despite meeting crazy mountain bikers along it, I guess they are used to them by now, they know what to expect around each and every corner.

Sandra having a blast

Sarah at speed

Sarah on the edge

Frank not sure if he should ride the bike or carry it

If you look closely, you will see the cyclists

Sarah in action

Merv loving it

by the edge

Ah, it would never be the same without the hat.

Sarah crossing a stream near the end of the death road

I guess the burning question you all want to know is ‘Would the Mog fit’, in Merv’s words….. length no problem, width probably okish (if we met no other vehicle or mountain bike) height not so sure…. Also not being able to stop and take photographs and enjoy the scenery would have been a big disadvantage of doing it in the truck, plus we wouldn’t have been able to enjoy the cold beers when we reached the end .

A calming beer at the bottom of the Death Road

And a video to really get a good look at it.

Thanks Sandra, Dominik and Frank for a brilliant day, looking forward to our next one!

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Categories: Bolivia | Tags: Hat | 5 Comments

Cholitas – Women’s Bolivian Wrestling

Posted on August 22, 2013 by sarah

Do not mess with this woman. She might jump on you and not in a good way

It was time for something a little different, so one evening we went to see The Bolivian Wrestling Cholitas and they did not disappoint. This is held in El Alto every Sunday evening with the show lasting about two hours. El Alto itself has over 1,000,000 inhabitants and the city is relatively new, built only in 1983 and is an extension of La Paz city which has 2,000,000 people. La Paz is Bolivia’s largest city. El Alto looks like one big market from top to bottom, the streets hum with life and colour, crazy but fantastic being stuck in the middle of it all.

Cholitas are indigenous females, they arrive into the ring, amidst smoke and loud music dressed in all of their finery, bowler hat, jewelry and beautiful shawls. These are soon discarded once the action begins (for obvious reasons) and all you see is braided hair and multi-layered skirts flying around, quite a sight.

Bolivian women selling vegetables on the street

Every street like a market

The Cholita wrestling was started ten years ago as a way for females who suffered from domestic abuse to protect themselves, and as it gained support from the local community it became a way for women to earn an income. Some of these Cholita’s also have other jobs, but do this for extra money, giving them a level of independence.

During the course of the evening, women fight women, men fight men, and then it goes all a little bit mad, women fight men, and even the referee does not escape! In fact I didn’t escape as “Red Mask Man” came flying out of the ring, over the barrier landing on my arm, all 15 stone of him!.

This was the build up to throwing the red mask guy out of the ring and onto Sarah

After landing on Sarah, The red Mask took a rest

We were sitting in the front row, beside a lovely local family who shared their popcorn and coke with us, just like the movies ! It was an evening of pure entertainment and fun.

The poor old ref getting a low blow

Was the Referee Involved?

She is probably as light as a feather. Hoping for a Carlsberg moment.

Gotcha

If interested in going you can get a tourist ticket from any of the offices near San Francisco Church in the center of La Paz, as El Alto is not really a place to wander about on your own after dark.

Sarah with her new gang

Guess who wanted to jump off the ropes

Categories: Bolivia | 3 Comments