Day 22 - travel to Uyuni
This may be somewhat of a null day as it was mostly travelling
We got up at 7 in order to catch a public bus at 8. The bus eventually turned up at 8;25 and it was disgusting.
The seats were tiny and stained and we were informed that there would be no toilet stops in the 5 hour journey...
Our new tour guide JJ informed us that for just $2 more a person we could have got our own nice, privtae bus, thanks gap.
When the bus stopped for fuel one of our group asked if she could leave to use the toilet, she was told it was ok. 2 minutes later we were driving off without her and had to shout at the us driver to stop.
we eventually got to the town where we would get our train from around 2 and after checking in our luggage and picking up a couple of snacks we boarded. This time we were in first class! Unfortunately it was bolivian first class and was still prettyn shit. Although it did have a tv in the corner which was blasting out some really crappy bolivian pop song on loop. After about 20 mins one of the other passengers got up and disconected the TV, thank god.
I spent most of the journey sleeping and we arrived in Uyuni around 11. We then had to collect our bags which was a classsic bolivian affair. They just dumped all the bags in a room and then let you loose trying to find yours. It took about 30mins before everyone had eentually fought their way to their own bag.
We got some 4x4´s to our hotel where Tom informed us that there was a place in the guidebook called the extremely fun pub, how could we say no?
Most of the people were pretty exhuasted but a couple of us went out anyway. In the pub we found anothwer gap group who showed us some awesome pictures from the salt flats and we even met one of the people that will join our group for the brazil tour. We were kicked out at 3am which was great seeign as we had a 7 start the next day
Day 23 - salt flats
We got up at 7 and after breakfast all piled in to our 4x4´s and headed out into the slat flats. In our jeep we had me, mike, tom, matt and sam which was a pretty awesome combination. Unfortunately Rob decided to stay in the hotel at Uyuni as he was feeling really ill and thought that -20 at night would do him no good.
First we went to the train graveyard which is where they dump all the out of service trains which was a bit weird. It was just a large collection of rusting trains by the track side.
After that we headed out into the salt flats occasionally stopping to look at a lagoon or similar. It was pretty epic, just a completely white flat surface surrounded by huge mountains.
We eventually got to the spot where everyone gets their funny perspective photos done. It´s completely white and flat so people take funny photos by putting things in the foreground to make them apear bigger. We came prepared and brought a toy car and a barbie in order to try and get some good photos but it didn´t really work. The best thing we got was a group video of us all running into a pringles can.
We then continued on towards our hotel for the night. Along the wasy we witnessed one of the most beautiful sunsets i´ve ever seen. At one point it the light reflected perfectly off the water on the slat flats and created a mirror type effect.
The hotel for the night was made completely out of salt, a bit like the ice hotel but permenant. It had salt tables, chairs and even beds. It had power for 2 hours at night then nothing. It was really basic and freezing cold but an experience.
day 24 - Desert
We got up reasonably early the next day (not that many of ys got much sleep due to the cold) and piled back into our 4x4´s in order to head out into the desert in the middle of the salt flats and see a volcano. We had been told by the gap group that we met in the extremely fun pub that the drivers may well tell you its too snowy to go on and will want to turn back but you have to insist that you go on, even if it means digging your car out a couple of times. This in mind we headed into the desert and soo found it was, as the group had said, covered in snow. No problem for our 4x4´s though we though. Unfortunately we were mistaken, although they claimed to be 4x4´s this was bolivia and our one was in fact only 2 wheel drive. We assumed it once was 4x4 and had broken but when it came up against a relatively tame slope covered in snow all that happened was the bqack wheels spun and dug its self a hole. They didn´t think to pack snow chains or a shovel so we had to dig it out by hand and give it another shot. The driver put it into first and revved as hard as he could, digging him self straight back into a hole. Despite some of our groups tips about going into a higher gear and not just trying to power up in first he continuedn to do the same thing. We´d dig him out then he power back into the same hole. After digging a path up the hill, lining it with rocks and dirt to try and give him some grip and lots and ltos of pushing and digging out we eventually made it up. The other 4x4´s which were actually 4x4 made it up easily which was pretty annoying. We continued on to the volcano look out point which was pretty cool seeing an active volcano. Unfortuantely if you leave a bunch of youngs boys in snow for any length of time you are bound to get a snowballl fight. Eventually everyone joined in and we started a huge snowball which was eventually joined by some other people in the same place and everyone had a great time. Unfortuantely i didn´t have waterproof hiking boots like everyone else so my feet we soaked and really cold.
After finishing with the snowball fight we headed on for another 30 mins, by this point my feet felt absolutely freezing so i decided to take off my shoes and socks and try and warm them up. They were blue and bruised all over and Tom informed me that that was the early signs of frostbite and i should get themn warm pretty quick. We taped the hand warmer things to them, towelled them dry and wrapped them up in thermals.
After another hour or so we got stuck in the snow again and after 30 mins of trying to dig them out the drivers refused to go on and we had to turn back. (Probablly the best decision as a different group plowed on eventually got stuck in the middle of nowhere and had to be air lifted out).
We eventually got to a small town which was absolutely barren and stayed in a what was kinda like someones spare room but third world. There were 8 matresses cramed into each room and it was quite an experience..
Friday, 15 July 2011
Tuesday, 12 July 2011
Homestay - birthday - le Paz - death road
Day 18 - homestay
We got up pretty early for our boat trip round lake titikaka. We all piled in the boat and a man came appeared from the cabin and started playing the guitar and singing. What a nice welcome we thought. How wrong we were, as soon as he´d finished he came round asking for tips, not wanting to apear rude to our driver as soon as we met we all put a little in. He then exited the boat and went and lay in waitn on the next boat along for another group. What a scam!
After that agrivating start we headed off round the lake. It was beautiful, it was surrounded by mountains and dotted with tiny islands. A couple of us decided to sit up on the top of the boat which was a good idea at first (nice bit of sunbathing) but the lake soon became really rough and we were thrown all over the place. Very nearly being thrown off multiple times.
We evenhtually made it to one of the islands where we were set to have lunch. After a gruelling 600 step uphill climb we finally made it. It was a taste of what was to come as the resturant was just someones kitchen, apparently the comunity took turns to open their resturant so there was never any competition. We had some delicous freshly caught fish with amazing views of the lake.
After lunch we headed all the way back down and got on the boat again. It then transported us to the island where we would be staying that night. It was a relatively large island with almost 2000 inhabitants. When we got off it was a little like being stuck in a time warp. Some houses had generators for electricity and some even had indoor toilets but for the most part it was pretty backwards. We were taken to the school where we had a game of football against the locals (destroying them despite the alltitude making us exhausted after 2 mins). We then played a different gap group who were just leaving the island. We were exhuasted but the far more skill full team, unfortuantely we were cheated out of a win. They had a shot which rolled along the goal line but never fully crossed it which a friend of theirs on the sidelines declared a goal and subsenquently the last goal of the match, what an outrage!
After the football we were shown a traditional dance and given all the local dress and performed it on the playground. How very Gap Yah. It was really fun and probably hilarious for the locals. It got dark around 6 and with no lighting everyone returned to their respective homestay.
Ours was apparently one of the better ones with an indoor toilet (no flushing water) and electricity. It reminded me a lot of the house in cyprus. For dinner we had rice and vegatables and after saying goodnight went to bed around 7:30.
Day 19 - Birthday!
After an extremely poor nights sleep curtousy of the freezing temperatures i awoke around 5:30 just as it was getting light. I got dressed and went back to bed still shivering and waited until the wake up call at 7.
We had breakfast of egg and rice before saying our goodbyes and heading back to the boat.
It seemed everyone had an equally poor nights sleep and were pretty tired. The lake was a lot calmer today and so we could actually sunbathe on the deck without being throw off. Despite it being really sunny it was still freezing cold so the sun bathing didin{t last too long. After 30 mins we stopped and the tour guide challenged us to go swimming. He said he´d give us a beer if we could stay in longer than 1min. How hard could it be? Me,matt,sam, rob and tom accepted the challenge but after changing into our swimming costume we were absolutely freezing let alone going swimming in the lake which was apparently 4degrees. It being my birthday i had to man up and go first. I dived off the top deck into the water and soon realised why the tour guide had bet us we couldn´t stay in longer than a minute. It was so cold that as you hit the water it knocked all the breath out of you, you couldn´t breathe and were panting for breath. After the initial shock it wasn´t too bad and i stayed in for over the minute to get my free beer and encourgaed the others to come in. Eventually everyone jumped in but got out pretty sharpish. Being a man i had to show everyone how tough i was by jumping in again and telling everyone it was like a jacuzzi. Man points gained i quickly exited the water and spent the next half hour trying to regain feeling in my legs.
We then visited a floating island (made out of reeds) in which some people lived. They gave us a demonstaration on how they built the island by lashing reeds together and then gave us lunch. After lunch i was given a suprise by the locals in which bthey sang me happy birthday in ketuwan and presented me with a necklace.
We then headed back to the main land and checked into the hotel. I spent the next couple of hours catching up on some sleep as i assumed i would get very little in the evening. At about 5 a few of the guys burst into my room with arms full of beers and the festivities started. They also gave me a hat that i had to wear for the entire evening but wasnt allowed to know what it was (turns out it was a massive top hat with a vagina on the front, which would explain all the funny looks i got throughout the evening). We then went out for my birthday meal as a whole groupe and our tour leader organised loads of baloons etc and a massive cake. He even arranged for us to be able to drink our own alcohol in the resturant which seemed like a good idea at the time but when your friends can buy a litre of rum for 2.50 and its your birthday it rarely ends well. We then went to kareokee before ending up in a club. Details of the night are a little hazy and there aren{t many photos, which is probably a good thing.
Day 20 - La Paz
Theres not much to write for this day as it was pretty much all travel. We got the bus at 8 and i was still drunk, never a good start. I soon sobered up and in set the hangover. Spending the next 10 hours switching between public buses, boats, security checks etc was some of the worst hours of my life. Probaly should have been slightly more sensible the night before...
We arrived in La Paz around 7 and after checking in went out for a last meal with our tour leader. He took us to a really nice thai place and we had a great meal. We headed up to the upstairs bar to say our alst goodbyes to him (he was an absolute legend) and have a couple of cocktails. After an emotional farewell he tried to convince us to come out for ones last wild night out but feeling the effects of the night before and aving to get up and do the death road at 7:30 the next day we unfortunately had to decline and went to bed.
Day 21 - Death Road
Today was supposed to be a free day but we decided instead to mountain bike the famous death road.
We were collected from our hotel at 7:30 and driven up to 4500m. We were then given our bikes and gear etc and set off. The first hour was on tarmac down to a level of 3000m. It was all downhill and we barely even had to pedal. It was pretty scary though, overtaking lorries on mountain roads with shear drops to the side. The road was lined with crosses marking where people had died, it was really instilling confidence in us.
After the tarmac section we got back on the bus which took us back up to 4000m and the start of the death road. Unfortunately (or luckily) it was very misty so we couldn{t really see the shear 900m drops to our left. Im not sure if that made it better or worse but it was pretty scary. The road was all gravel and it felt like one little slip and you´d be off. Our guide reassured us that 1 girl had already died this month so it was pretty unlikely any of us would die, thanks...
Over the course of the enxt hour we decended to arround 2500m with some absolutely spectacular views when the mist cleared. We rode through a waterfall, saw the section where jeremy clarkson almost went over the edge in Top Gear Bolivia and sped on a really steep down hill section.
We then stopped for lunch before continuing to the end off the death road. Although our guide told us we´d finished the death road not much changed. There was still a pretty shear drop to the left and the veiws were still spectacular. We finished the ride after a really fast and technical downhill section at around 1000m above sea level adn had a celabratory beer. We then headed for a buffet dinner and a swim in a pool before starting the long journey home. The bus took 45 mins to get from La Paz to the top of the mountain but took 3.5 hours getting back. When we returned to the hotel we were given our t-shirts saying we´d completed the death road and a cd full of photos.
We were pretty exhausted so we went straight to bed ready for the new tour guide tomorrow.
We got up pretty early for our boat trip round lake titikaka. We all piled in the boat and a man came appeared from the cabin and started playing the guitar and singing. What a nice welcome we thought. How wrong we were, as soon as he´d finished he came round asking for tips, not wanting to apear rude to our driver as soon as we met we all put a little in. He then exited the boat and went and lay in waitn on the next boat along for another group. What a scam!
After that agrivating start we headed off round the lake. It was beautiful, it was surrounded by mountains and dotted with tiny islands. A couple of us decided to sit up on the top of the boat which was a good idea at first (nice bit of sunbathing) but the lake soon became really rough and we were thrown all over the place. Very nearly being thrown off multiple times.
We evenhtually made it to one of the islands where we were set to have lunch. After a gruelling 600 step uphill climb we finally made it. It was a taste of what was to come as the resturant was just someones kitchen, apparently the comunity took turns to open their resturant so there was never any competition. We had some delicous freshly caught fish with amazing views of the lake.
After lunch we headed all the way back down and got on the boat again. It then transported us to the island where we would be staying that night. It was a relatively large island with almost 2000 inhabitants. When we got off it was a little like being stuck in a time warp. Some houses had generators for electricity and some even had indoor toilets but for the most part it was pretty backwards. We were taken to the school where we had a game of football against the locals (destroying them despite the alltitude making us exhausted after 2 mins). We then played a different gap group who were just leaving the island. We were exhuasted but the far more skill full team, unfortuantely we were cheated out of a win. They had a shot which rolled along the goal line but never fully crossed it which a friend of theirs on the sidelines declared a goal and subsenquently the last goal of the match, what an outrage!
After the football we were shown a traditional dance and given all the local dress and performed it on the playground. How very Gap Yah. It was really fun and probably hilarious for the locals. It got dark around 6 and with no lighting everyone returned to their respective homestay.
Ours was apparently one of the better ones with an indoor toilet (no flushing water) and electricity. It reminded me a lot of the house in cyprus. For dinner we had rice and vegatables and after saying goodnight went to bed around 7:30.
Day 19 - Birthday!
After an extremely poor nights sleep curtousy of the freezing temperatures i awoke around 5:30 just as it was getting light. I got dressed and went back to bed still shivering and waited until the wake up call at 7.
We had breakfast of egg and rice before saying our goodbyes and heading back to the boat.
It seemed everyone had an equally poor nights sleep and were pretty tired. The lake was a lot calmer today and so we could actually sunbathe on the deck without being throw off. Despite it being really sunny it was still freezing cold so the sun bathing didin{t last too long. After 30 mins we stopped and the tour guide challenged us to go swimming. He said he´d give us a beer if we could stay in longer than 1min. How hard could it be? Me,matt,sam, rob and tom accepted the challenge but after changing into our swimming costume we were absolutely freezing let alone going swimming in the lake which was apparently 4degrees. It being my birthday i had to man up and go first. I dived off the top deck into the water and soon realised why the tour guide had bet us we couldn´t stay in longer than a minute. It was so cold that as you hit the water it knocked all the breath out of you, you couldn´t breathe and were panting for breath. After the initial shock it wasn´t too bad and i stayed in for over the minute to get my free beer and encourgaed the others to come in. Eventually everyone jumped in but got out pretty sharpish. Being a man i had to show everyone how tough i was by jumping in again and telling everyone it was like a jacuzzi. Man points gained i quickly exited the water and spent the next half hour trying to regain feeling in my legs.
We then visited a floating island (made out of reeds) in which some people lived. They gave us a demonstaration on how they built the island by lashing reeds together and then gave us lunch. After lunch i was given a suprise by the locals in which bthey sang me happy birthday in ketuwan and presented me with a necklace.
We then headed back to the main land and checked into the hotel. I spent the next couple of hours catching up on some sleep as i assumed i would get very little in the evening. At about 5 a few of the guys burst into my room with arms full of beers and the festivities started. They also gave me a hat that i had to wear for the entire evening but wasnt allowed to know what it was (turns out it was a massive top hat with a vagina on the front, which would explain all the funny looks i got throughout the evening). We then went out for my birthday meal as a whole groupe and our tour leader organised loads of baloons etc and a massive cake. He even arranged for us to be able to drink our own alcohol in the resturant which seemed like a good idea at the time but when your friends can buy a litre of rum for 2.50 and its your birthday it rarely ends well. We then went to kareokee before ending up in a club. Details of the night are a little hazy and there aren{t many photos, which is probably a good thing.
Day 20 - La Paz
Theres not much to write for this day as it was pretty much all travel. We got the bus at 8 and i was still drunk, never a good start. I soon sobered up and in set the hangover. Spending the next 10 hours switching between public buses, boats, security checks etc was some of the worst hours of my life. Probaly should have been slightly more sensible the night before...
We arrived in La Paz around 7 and after checking in went out for a last meal with our tour leader. He took us to a really nice thai place and we had a great meal. We headed up to the upstairs bar to say our alst goodbyes to him (he was an absolute legend) and have a couple of cocktails. After an emotional farewell he tried to convince us to come out for ones last wild night out but feeling the effects of the night before and aving to get up and do the death road at 7:30 the next day we unfortunately had to decline and went to bed.
Day 21 - Death Road
Today was supposed to be a free day but we decided instead to mountain bike the famous death road.
We were collected from our hotel at 7:30 and driven up to 4500m. We were then given our bikes and gear etc and set off. The first hour was on tarmac down to a level of 3000m. It was all downhill and we barely even had to pedal. It was pretty scary though, overtaking lorries on mountain roads with shear drops to the side. The road was lined with crosses marking where people had died, it was really instilling confidence in us.
After the tarmac section we got back on the bus which took us back up to 4000m and the start of the death road. Unfortunately (or luckily) it was very misty so we couldn{t really see the shear 900m drops to our left. Im not sure if that made it better or worse but it was pretty scary. The road was all gravel and it felt like one little slip and you´d be off. Our guide reassured us that 1 girl had already died this month so it was pretty unlikely any of us would die, thanks...
Over the course of the enxt hour we decended to arround 2500m with some absolutely spectacular views when the mist cleared. We rode through a waterfall, saw the section where jeremy clarkson almost went over the edge in Top Gear Bolivia and sped on a really steep down hill section.
We then stopped for lunch before continuing to the end off the death road. Although our guide told us we´d finished the death road not much changed. There was still a pretty shear drop to the left and the veiws were still spectacular. We finished the ride after a really fast and technical downhill section at around 1000m above sea level adn had a celabratory beer. We then headed for a buffet dinner and a swim in a pool before starting the long journey home. The bus took 45 mins to get from La Paz to the top of the mountain but took 3.5 hours getting back. When we returned to the hotel we were given our t-shirts saying we´d completed the death road and a cd full of photos.
We were pretty exhausted so we went straight to bed ready for the new tour guide tomorrow.
Wednesday, 6 July 2011
Cusco = Puno = lake titikaka
First i must appologise for the speeling errors in thispost, this is probably the worst keyboard içve ever used¨. the letters and symbols dont match up with what i press...
Day ¨16
After getting out of prison we had a quick snooze before heading down to a local pub in order to watch the david haye fight. We had a huge breakfast ¿despite it being 3? and then asked the pub to put on the prelim fights. They spent ages faffing around saying the couldnçt get them etc. but seeing as we had already bought food and drinks we waited a prayed. They managed to eventually get it to work 30seconds before the main event actually started. The stream was rubbish and choppy and almost unwatchable. After the fight we stayed on a little longer before heading back to the hotel for a quick seiesta. After we woke up we definately did not go out, arriving home at 6;30 for a bus at 7...
Day 17
We got a bus in the morning to Puno on the edge of lake titikaka. The town was dead but the views were awesome. The bus took 7 hours so we arrived pretty late. We spent the rest of the day trying to find more clothes to wear as it was absolutely freezing.
Içm now going to have to abort writing this for now and will find an internet cafe tomorrow as it is so painful.
Day ¨16
After getting out of prison we had a quick snooze before heading down to a local pub in order to watch the david haye fight. We had a huge breakfast ¿despite it being 3? and then asked the pub to put on the prelim fights. They spent ages faffing around saying the couldnçt get them etc. but seeing as we had already bought food and drinks we waited a prayed. They managed to eventually get it to work 30seconds before the main event actually started. The stream was rubbish and choppy and almost unwatchable. After the fight we stayed on a little longer before heading back to the hotel for a quick seiesta. After we woke up we definately did not go out, arriving home at 6;30 for a bus at 7...
Day 17
We got a bus in the morning to Puno on the edge of lake titikaka. The town was dead but the views were awesome. The bus took 7 hours so we arrived pretty late. We spent the rest of the day trying to find more clothes to wear as it was absolutely freezing.
Içm now going to have to abort writing this for now and will find an internet cafe tomorrow as it is so painful.
Saturday, 2 July 2011
Last of the inca trail - Cusco - Prison...
Second half of day 11 - Inca Trail
After being reunited with the group we headed back down the otherside of the mountain for our camp that night.
It was at about 3500m so a lot of down hill. When we arrived at camp everthing was once again set up for us and we were offered snacks and drinks as we arrived. We then spent the rest of the time once again playing cards or chatting. Dinner was amazing as usual and then we sat outside and star gazed for a couple of hours (how very gap year) as the sky was really clear. When it got too cold we retreated back to our tents before once again watching more of sons of anarchy with dave and katie.
Day 12 - Inca trail (3rd day)
Although yesterday had been the hardest today was by far the longest. We were woken at 5:30 and set off around 6:30. It was very up and down and went as high as 4000m and as low as 3000m. Once again the views were spectacular and we stopped half way through the day for lunch. It was a massive buffet affair and at the end they bought dave and tamsin a honey moon cake, which they had cooked on a camp stove! It was one of the most delicous cakes i have ever tasted, marbled with amazing icing. The chef really was god.
After lunch we had a game of football against some of the porters. It was 5v5 with rolling subs for us (we had 7 players) vs 4 porters and our guide. At 3700m a game of football gets really tiring really quickly. We were subbing on and off every 5 mins. We were definately the more skillful team but the porters could handle the alltitude much better. Despite some very dirty tackles and multiple handballs from the porters we managed to scrape a 2-1 victory after an hour of play. We were absolutely exhausted but got the all important win. The porters didn´t look too pleased and we wondered whether we´d return to camp to find no tents and only laughing porters.
After a quick rest we headed down to our camp at around 3200m. The section was nick named the gringo killer as it was 2500 uneven steps down to the camp. It was supposed to take 2 hours but about 40mins in the promise of sit down toilets and showers became too much for me. Desperately needing the toilet i sprinted the next section. It was all down hill and destroyed my knees but was worth it. The showers were pretty pathetic but after 3 days of being covered in sweat and grime they were a gods send.
Another amazing dinner in the eveneing followed by a fair well presentation for the porters and we were told we would have to be up at 3:30 tomorrow ;(
After another session of Sons of Anarchy we went to bed.
Day 13 - Machu Pichu!!!
We got up ridiculously early and hadd breakfast before heading down to the start gate in order to be one of the first people allowed on the trail. We arrived at the gate at 4:30 but it didn´t open until 5:30 - time for another sons of anarchy...
There were only 2 people infront of us when the gate opened and they imediately rushed off in order to get tickets to wynu pichu (the mountain next to machu pichu - sold on a first come first serve basis in the morning)
It was pitch black and stupidly i didn´t have a torch which meant the rocky mountain trail to machu pichu was pretty interesting... We arrived at the sun gate around 6:10 which should of been just in time to see the sun rise over machu pichu. Unfortunately it was completely cloudy and we couldn´t see anything which was really disapointing. We then walked for another hour in order to reach machu Pichu. It was still hidden in the clouds and so we couldn´t really see anything. We decided to head down to the bottom in order to pick up the two girls from our group that weren´t on the inca trail in the hope that by the time we returned the cloud would be gone.
After about 2 hours of faffing around the cloud eventually cleared and the views were spectacular. It was absolutely huge and awe inspiring. It is literally a massive city built on a mountain top. It is incredible to think how they got all the stone up there ect. especially without inventing the wheel...
We spent the next 4-5 hours getting a tour round the complex and then some free time. It became really sunny and was gorgeous. I wished we could have stayed all day but we had to head back to Cusco.
We had to get a train for 2 hours then a 3 hour bus so we didn´t arrive back until 9ish. We decided that despite having woken up at 3:30 it was a good idea to go for a big night out to celebrate completing the inca trail. We first went out for a really nice meal followed by free salsa lessons at a dance club. Nothing else happened...
Day 14
Today we had quite a lazy day as we were all pretty knacked from the Inca trail. We visited the markets and went and watched a huge parade in the main plaza. It was freeezing cold so we headed back and took a nap.
We went out for a pretty nice dinner before deciding we´d all go to the salsa place again. One by one people slowly dropped out until it was just me, matt and rob. We met some american girls and then nothing else happened.
Day 15
We got up relatively early and went for a walk around Cusco just visiting churches etc. At 3 we met our tour leader who siad he´d take us to and all you can eat eat buffet for lunch. It was incredible. There was an amazing salad bar but no one really touched it. There were constant waitresses circling the resturant with huge swords of meat. They would just come to the table with all these various types of meats on these huge swords and ask if you´d like some. Obviously being silly males who ever was the first to turn down an offer of meat lost. There was all kinds of meats from ribs to steak to sausages and even tounge and heart. I must have put on about 4-5kg in just meat. It was amazing.
The prison story...
On the way back from the resturant half of us got in one taxi and half of us got in another. Most of the group being pretty drunk they thought it would be a good idea to have some inter taxi banter... At each set of traffic lights we would pull up along side each other and joke around. At one set of traffic lights they put some rubbish through our window so at the next set one of the people in my taxi jumped out and opened their boot.
At the next lights Sam (who was in my taxi) decided/was egged on to go mooney in front of the other taxi.
Unfortunately this was seen by a nearby policewoman who took offence. She got our taxi to pull over and started taking the drivers documentaton etc. She then told us to get out which we did but being in the middle of the road our tour leader told us to move to the pavement. Despite telling her in spanish what we were doing and walking slowly away to the pavement she though we were trying to escape and called back up and ran after us. She grabbed Sam´s neck and tried to drag him back to which our tour leader told her to let go, we weren´t trying to escape or anything. Thinking we would just get a telling off we complied with everything she said and waited until her back up arrived. While we were waiting a huge crowd gathered and started shouting at us (they obviously hate gringos). One woman started swearing at us in english and being very aggressive saying she had seen sam run across the street naked and our tour leader assualt the police woman. She hadn´t even seen the offence she was just there to make our lives misserable (how do i know this? she told us that she was going to waste all our time and started laughing at us, obviously has a massive grudge against foreigners).
After about 10 mins there were 6 police cars and about 15 police just to arrest us for one of us mooneying a friends taxi, talk about a waste of police time. They took us to the tourist police and made us sit and wait for about 1hour. They didn´t let us go to the toilet or drink any water. we were taken in at about 5:30 but it was about 7 before anyojne told us anything. A man from gap arrived and tried to help us and explain what was going on. The police woman and the lady from the street were able to give their statements at the same time in the same room which is a little dodgy...
We were then taken into the toilets and strip searched and our shoe laces, belts and all other possesions taken. Not official at all or on camera like it would have been done in the uk. We then had our mug shots taken by a camera phone against a wall. Still no charges or explantion given. At around 9 we were taken to a different police station in order to have a breathaliser and blood test.We then had to wait out side while they called a doctor and then had to wait while they went to a local pharmacy to get needles. All very well set up and official. The breathaliser test was a joke, it was a test tube full of liquid that we had to blow into using a straw. I hadn´t drunk anything so mine didn´t change but the others (sam and rob) had drunk around lunch time. Theirs changed a little but they were made to constantly blow for about 2 mins until it change to a suitable degree, again very official and fair. We were then taken back to the original police station where we tried to call the embassy but the woman didn´t want to hear about it and hung up on us.
Eventually we were told that Sam and rob had to stay in over night as they had blown a positive on the alcohol test but i was free to go. Not wanting to leave them alone and being the only one who was totally sober at the time of the incident i decided to stay. We were all put in the same cell and Gap provided us with sleeping bags, water and some snacks as the police didn´t do anything. There were only two beds so Sam slept on the floor. In the morning me and Rob were let out, still no statements taken from either of us, they had just taken the other womans word as fact even though she exagerated massively. Sam was kept in and has to see the judge today to plead his case. The gap representative says he´ll most likely be made to pay a 200-300 dollar fine! What a joke. No chance to plead his case or anything just told thats whats happening.
still got a cool story out of it and can now say i´ve spent a night in a peruvian prison...
After being reunited with the group we headed back down the otherside of the mountain for our camp that night.
It was at about 3500m so a lot of down hill. When we arrived at camp everthing was once again set up for us and we were offered snacks and drinks as we arrived. We then spent the rest of the time once again playing cards or chatting. Dinner was amazing as usual and then we sat outside and star gazed for a couple of hours (how very gap year) as the sky was really clear. When it got too cold we retreated back to our tents before once again watching more of sons of anarchy with dave and katie.
Day 12 - Inca trail (3rd day)
Although yesterday had been the hardest today was by far the longest. We were woken at 5:30 and set off around 6:30. It was very up and down and went as high as 4000m and as low as 3000m. Once again the views were spectacular and we stopped half way through the day for lunch. It was a massive buffet affair and at the end they bought dave and tamsin a honey moon cake, which they had cooked on a camp stove! It was one of the most delicous cakes i have ever tasted, marbled with amazing icing. The chef really was god.
After lunch we had a game of football against some of the porters. It was 5v5 with rolling subs for us (we had 7 players) vs 4 porters and our guide. At 3700m a game of football gets really tiring really quickly. We were subbing on and off every 5 mins. We were definately the more skillful team but the porters could handle the alltitude much better. Despite some very dirty tackles and multiple handballs from the porters we managed to scrape a 2-1 victory after an hour of play. We were absolutely exhausted but got the all important win. The porters didn´t look too pleased and we wondered whether we´d return to camp to find no tents and only laughing porters.
After a quick rest we headed down to our camp at around 3200m. The section was nick named the gringo killer as it was 2500 uneven steps down to the camp. It was supposed to take 2 hours but about 40mins in the promise of sit down toilets and showers became too much for me. Desperately needing the toilet i sprinted the next section. It was all down hill and destroyed my knees but was worth it. The showers were pretty pathetic but after 3 days of being covered in sweat and grime they were a gods send.
Another amazing dinner in the eveneing followed by a fair well presentation for the porters and we were told we would have to be up at 3:30 tomorrow ;(
After another session of Sons of Anarchy we went to bed.
Day 13 - Machu Pichu!!!
We got up ridiculously early and hadd breakfast before heading down to the start gate in order to be one of the first people allowed on the trail. We arrived at the gate at 4:30 but it didn´t open until 5:30 - time for another sons of anarchy...
There were only 2 people infront of us when the gate opened and they imediately rushed off in order to get tickets to wynu pichu (the mountain next to machu pichu - sold on a first come first serve basis in the morning)
It was pitch black and stupidly i didn´t have a torch which meant the rocky mountain trail to machu pichu was pretty interesting... We arrived at the sun gate around 6:10 which should of been just in time to see the sun rise over machu pichu. Unfortunately it was completely cloudy and we couldn´t see anything which was really disapointing. We then walked for another hour in order to reach machu Pichu. It was still hidden in the clouds and so we couldn´t really see anything. We decided to head down to the bottom in order to pick up the two girls from our group that weren´t on the inca trail in the hope that by the time we returned the cloud would be gone.
After about 2 hours of faffing around the cloud eventually cleared and the views were spectacular. It was absolutely huge and awe inspiring. It is literally a massive city built on a mountain top. It is incredible to think how they got all the stone up there ect. especially without inventing the wheel...
We spent the next 4-5 hours getting a tour round the complex and then some free time. It became really sunny and was gorgeous. I wished we could have stayed all day but we had to head back to Cusco.
We had to get a train for 2 hours then a 3 hour bus so we didn´t arrive back until 9ish. We decided that despite having woken up at 3:30 it was a good idea to go for a big night out to celebrate completing the inca trail. We first went out for a really nice meal followed by free salsa lessons at a dance club. Nothing else happened...
Day 14
Today we had quite a lazy day as we were all pretty knacked from the Inca trail. We visited the markets and went and watched a huge parade in the main plaza. It was freeezing cold so we headed back and took a nap.
We went out for a pretty nice dinner before deciding we´d all go to the salsa place again. One by one people slowly dropped out until it was just me, matt and rob. We met some american girls and then nothing else happened.
Day 15
We got up relatively early and went for a walk around Cusco just visiting churches etc. At 3 we met our tour leader who siad he´d take us to and all you can eat eat buffet for lunch. It was incredible. There was an amazing salad bar but no one really touched it. There were constant waitresses circling the resturant with huge swords of meat. They would just come to the table with all these various types of meats on these huge swords and ask if you´d like some. Obviously being silly males who ever was the first to turn down an offer of meat lost. There was all kinds of meats from ribs to steak to sausages and even tounge and heart. I must have put on about 4-5kg in just meat. It was amazing.
The prison story...
On the way back from the resturant half of us got in one taxi and half of us got in another. Most of the group being pretty drunk they thought it would be a good idea to have some inter taxi banter... At each set of traffic lights we would pull up along side each other and joke around. At one set of traffic lights they put some rubbish through our window so at the next set one of the people in my taxi jumped out and opened their boot.
At the next lights Sam (who was in my taxi) decided/was egged on to go mooney in front of the other taxi.
Unfortunately this was seen by a nearby policewoman who took offence. She got our taxi to pull over and started taking the drivers documentaton etc. She then told us to get out which we did but being in the middle of the road our tour leader told us to move to the pavement. Despite telling her in spanish what we were doing and walking slowly away to the pavement she though we were trying to escape and called back up and ran after us. She grabbed Sam´s neck and tried to drag him back to which our tour leader told her to let go, we weren´t trying to escape or anything. Thinking we would just get a telling off we complied with everything she said and waited until her back up arrived. While we were waiting a huge crowd gathered and started shouting at us (they obviously hate gringos). One woman started swearing at us in english and being very aggressive saying she had seen sam run across the street naked and our tour leader assualt the police woman. She hadn´t even seen the offence she was just there to make our lives misserable (how do i know this? she told us that she was going to waste all our time and started laughing at us, obviously has a massive grudge against foreigners).
After about 10 mins there were 6 police cars and about 15 police just to arrest us for one of us mooneying a friends taxi, talk about a waste of police time. They took us to the tourist police and made us sit and wait for about 1hour. They didn´t let us go to the toilet or drink any water. we were taken in at about 5:30 but it was about 7 before anyojne told us anything. A man from gap arrived and tried to help us and explain what was going on. The police woman and the lady from the street were able to give their statements at the same time in the same room which is a little dodgy...
We were then taken into the toilets and strip searched and our shoe laces, belts and all other possesions taken. Not official at all or on camera like it would have been done in the uk. We then had our mug shots taken by a camera phone against a wall. Still no charges or explantion given. At around 9 we were taken to a different police station in order to have a breathaliser and blood test.We then had to wait out side while they called a doctor and then had to wait while they went to a local pharmacy to get needles. All very well set up and official. The breathaliser test was a joke, it was a test tube full of liquid that we had to blow into using a straw. I hadn´t drunk anything so mine didn´t change but the others (sam and rob) had drunk around lunch time. Theirs changed a little but they were made to constantly blow for about 2 mins until it change to a suitable degree, again very official and fair. We were then taken back to the original police station where we tried to call the embassy but the woman didn´t want to hear about it and hung up on us.
Eventually we were told that Sam and rob had to stay in over night as they had blown a positive on the alcohol test but i was free to go. Not wanting to leave them alone and being the only one who was totally sober at the time of the incident i decided to stay. We were all put in the same cell and Gap provided us with sleeping bags, water and some snacks as the police didn´t do anything. There were only two beds so Sam slept on the floor. In the morning me and Rob were let out, still no statements taken from either of us, they had just taken the other womans word as fact even though she exagerated massively. Sam was kept in and has to see the judge today to plead his case. The gap representative says he´ll most likely be made to pay a 200-300 dollar fine! What a joke. No chance to plead his case or anything just told thats whats happening.
still got a cool story out of it and can now say i´ve spent a night in a peruvian prison...
Thursday, 30 June 2011
nasca - cusco
Left this so long that im sure i´ll forget loads, also lost my camera so got no photos to remind me. have borrowed a friends from the group but its quite patchy. will do my best.
Day 5 - Arequipa
We arrived early in the morning after taking the night bus. It wasn´t too bad, reclining seats instead of beds but it had wifi! During the day we had free time so me, Rob, sam and matt wandered around the town and looked at catherdrals and a huge nunery. We spent the afternoon just relaxing in a park with two others from the group (danielle and mandy) who we bumped into in the nunery.
Tired from the night bus the night before we all went to bed pretty early after a team dinner.
Day 6 - Colca Canyon
Things are really patchy and will have to try to update this again when i´ve got a camera with more photos on it.
We got up at 6 and got a bus to the colca Canyon. The views on the journey were absolutely amazing, some of the best i´ve ever seen and we stopped regularly to take photos. We stopped at about lunch to walk around the canyon and see a local community We then got back on the bus and contiued travelling until we got to our hotel for the night. It was incredible. A really cute, picturesc cottage type affair in a tiny little village. There was no electricity or internet and it was freezing cold but awesome. After we had dropped our bags we went for a walk in the local mountains before heading to the hot springs at night. It was fantastic, it was a series of huge outdoor pools which were really warm and the night sky was completely clear so the views of the stars were amazing, i even spotted the southern cross!
Day 7 - colca canyon
We got up at 4am in order to get the bus to the canyon. After a really nice buffet breakfast we got on the bus and went to the canyon. The reason for getting up early was to see all the condors in the morning. They sleep at the bottom of the canyon but use the warm, currents in the morning to rise up and fly out of the canyon. It was incredible, condors are huge (3m wingspan) and there were 7 or 8 flying around and they often soared over us and came withing 5m or so which is really quite scarry. We then did another walk arround the canyon before heading back to Arequipa on the bus stopping occasionally for photos. In the evening we had a huge bbq at our hotel and we all sat on the roof, it was delicous. Afterwards the sub 25´s minus rob (who had been taken ill with a horrific tummy bug) (me, matt, sam, tom, katie, mandy and dannielle) went out to the local bars for a couple of quiet drinks...
Day 8 - cusco
We had to get up at 6:30 for our flight to cusco which was fine as no one had been out late the night before and wéren´t hungover. The flight was pretty uneventful apart from a certain member of our group "getting plane sick" and throwing up during the flight. Unfortuantely between getting off the plane and luggage claim i lost or had pick pocketted my camera. I was devastated as it had all the photos from the trip on it and i had some great ones. When we arrived in cusco we went to the black market which is a huge market (surprisingly enough) full of rip off goods etc. I bought a new camera here as i knew i needed one for the inca trail. In the evening we headed into the town where the locals were having some sort of party in the main square with everyone in traditional dress and dancing. It was pretty cool but knowing we had to be up early again the next day we went to bed quite early.
Day 9 - Ollantaytambo
We got up early and got the bus to ollantaytambo. On the way we visited a local community that gap was helping and saw how the dyed wool and made clothes. We saw how they lived and even got a tour of their alpaca farm. Next we visited the pisac ruins which were old Inca ruins in the mountains. It was amazing how they built the city so high up. On the way to the next set of ruins our tour leader neil gave us a suprise that wasn´t in the tour. We visited an animal rescue centre that saved animals from the black market etc and nursed them back to health. It was amazing, there were parrots, lamas, turtles, birds, some weird mini bears and panthers. At the end of the visit we were allowed to go into the condor cage and they flew all around us, it was awesome. After that fantastic surprise we headed to ollantaytambo and saw the ruins there. Huge terraces built into the mountains and temples etc. it was incredible. We then visited the local market in order to get a few last minute things such as hats and gloves for the inca trail!!!
Day 10 - start of the inca trail
We had yet another early start (i don´t think gap adventures understands the student life style) in order to travel to the start of the inca trail. We had to pack all our clothes we would need into a small duffle bag not weighing more than 6kg including roll matt and sleeping bag (aout 3kg) which ment that you couldn´t take all that much. When we arrived at the start we handed our duffle bags over to our porters and were amazed. Not only did they have to do the trek, they had to do it carrying huge packs weighing 20kg, containing all the camping equipment and tents etc., they had to get there quicker than us. The trek must be easy then!
We got going and it turns out the trek isn´t as easy as first thought. We were at roughly 2600m and the alltitude makes you out of breath really quickly. Luckily the first day was only about 8km and was pretty much flat. We walked as a group so we were pretty slow and it was gorgeous sun shine with phenominal views, one of the best days of my life.
We stopped for lunch around 1 and found a couple of huge tents already set up. The porters had raced ahead of us and set up a tempory camp and clapped us in as we arrived (which was ridiculous seeing as they had done it in half the time carrying 20kg packs) and gave us all orange juice. We sat out in the sun for a while waiting for lunch to be ready and could smell something amazing so we were getting pretty hungary. We then went into the tent and sat down to be told that we were extra lucky as we had the Gap´s head chef for the Inca trail with us, he´d won the award 2 years in a row. We all thought that that is something they tell all the groups and even if it wasn´t how good could a meal really be when cooked on a camping stove.
We were blown away, it was an incredible 5 course lunch with soup, garlic bread, some fish, some chicken and cake for desert. It was the bets meal we had had in Peru so far and it was all cooked in a tent!
As soon as we had finished the porters started packing up and headed off down the trail in order to set up camp. We continued on for 45 mins before we reached camp to find everything set up for us, all the tents and even our roll mats and sleeping bags laid out in our tents for us!
We spent the rest of the day playing cards and talking before being greeted with afternoon tea and snacks at 4pm followed my another amazing 4 course dinner in the evening. I´m going to have to stop describing the meals but every single meal we had was fabulous and consisted of multiple courses. After dinner we played cards for a little longer and then went to bed. This was the start of the "sons of anarchy"(a TV show) phase. Me and rob started watching an episode on the galaxy tab just before going to bed in our tent. Dave overhead it and asked if he could come watch it too. Katie then walked past and saw us all snuggled up watching it and came and watched it as well. We were all cramped together in a two man tent watching a tv show on a tiny screen but it was really fun.
day 11 - Inca trail
We were woken up at 5:30 in order to get a good start on the trail as today was the hardest day. We slept at around 2700m but then highest point today was at 4500m! We were told we could go at our own pace today as this section seperated the men for the boys! We started off around 7 and it was freezing cold so i was wearing pretty much all my clothes. Despite starting out with the best intentions of sticking together the trail soon became really hard and so most of the group slowed down. The most manly, fittest and good looking of the group (me, sam, matt, mike and tom) raced on and powered up the steep slope. It was hard work and despite it being -3 we were down to t-shirt and shorts. We continued to the half way point of the climb where Tom decided to wait for katie. After a breif pause for a couple of snacks we continued. We got to the highest point (dead womans pass) in about 3 hours, the guide said it would take 6 so we were pretty proud of our achievement. We spent the next 3 hours relaxing o the top of this muntain in the sun with the most amazing views i have ever seen. Words can´t descirbe how amazing it was. Ater about 30mins we saw the porters all rush past but we wtill pretty pleased we had beaten them up. After 3 hours the rest of the group made it and we had a lot of group hugs and photos.
I´m now being kicked out of the internet cafe for being on too long so will have to continue on the my ipod or tomorrow.
Day 5 - Arequipa
We arrived early in the morning after taking the night bus. It wasn´t too bad, reclining seats instead of beds but it had wifi! During the day we had free time so me, Rob, sam and matt wandered around the town and looked at catherdrals and a huge nunery. We spent the afternoon just relaxing in a park with two others from the group (danielle and mandy) who we bumped into in the nunery.
Tired from the night bus the night before we all went to bed pretty early after a team dinner.
Day 6 - Colca Canyon
Things are really patchy and will have to try to update this again when i´ve got a camera with more photos on it.
We got up at 6 and got a bus to the colca Canyon. The views on the journey were absolutely amazing, some of the best i´ve ever seen and we stopped regularly to take photos. We stopped at about lunch to walk around the canyon and see a local community We then got back on the bus and contiued travelling until we got to our hotel for the night. It was incredible. A really cute, picturesc cottage type affair in a tiny little village. There was no electricity or internet and it was freezing cold but awesome. After we had dropped our bags we went for a walk in the local mountains before heading to the hot springs at night. It was fantastic, it was a series of huge outdoor pools which were really warm and the night sky was completely clear so the views of the stars were amazing, i even spotted the southern cross!
Day 7 - colca canyon
We got up at 4am in order to get the bus to the canyon. After a really nice buffet breakfast we got on the bus and went to the canyon. The reason for getting up early was to see all the condors in the morning. They sleep at the bottom of the canyon but use the warm, currents in the morning to rise up and fly out of the canyon. It was incredible, condors are huge (3m wingspan) and there were 7 or 8 flying around and they often soared over us and came withing 5m or so which is really quite scarry. We then did another walk arround the canyon before heading back to Arequipa on the bus stopping occasionally for photos. In the evening we had a huge bbq at our hotel and we all sat on the roof, it was delicous. Afterwards the sub 25´s minus rob (who had been taken ill with a horrific tummy bug) (me, matt, sam, tom, katie, mandy and dannielle) went out to the local bars for a couple of quiet drinks...
Day 8 - cusco
We had to get up at 6:30 for our flight to cusco which was fine as no one had been out late the night before and wéren´t hungover. The flight was pretty uneventful apart from a certain member of our group "getting plane sick" and throwing up during the flight. Unfortuantely between getting off the plane and luggage claim i lost or had pick pocketted my camera. I was devastated as it had all the photos from the trip on it and i had some great ones. When we arrived in cusco we went to the black market which is a huge market (surprisingly enough) full of rip off goods etc. I bought a new camera here as i knew i needed one for the inca trail. In the evening we headed into the town where the locals were having some sort of party in the main square with everyone in traditional dress and dancing. It was pretty cool but knowing we had to be up early again the next day we went to bed quite early.
Day 9 - Ollantaytambo
We got up early and got the bus to ollantaytambo. On the way we visited a local community that gap was helping and saw how the dyed wool and made clothes. We saw how they lived and even got a tour of their alpaca farm. Next we visited the pisac ruins which were old Inca ruins in the mountains. It was amazing how they built the city so high up. On the way to the next set of ruins our tour leader neil gave us a suprise that wasn´t in the tour. We visited an animal rescue centre that saved animals from the black market etc and nursed them back to health. It was amazing, there were parrots, lamas, turtles, birds, some weird mini bears and panthers. At the end of the visit we were allowed to go into the condor cage and they flew all around us, it was awesome. After that fantastic surprise we headed to ollantaytambo and saw the ruins there. Huge terraces built into the mountains and temples etc. it was incredible. We then visited the local market in order to get a few last minute things such as hats and gloves for the inca trail!!!
Day 10 - start of the inca trail
We had yet another early start (i don´t think gap adventures understands the student life style) in order to travel to the start of the inca trail. We had to pack all our clothes we would need into a small duffle bag not weighing more than 6kg including roll matt and sleeping bag (aout 3kg) which ment that you couldn´t take all that much. When we arrived at the start we handed our duffle bags over to our porters and were amazed. Not only did they have to do the trek, they had to do it carrying huge packs weighing 20kg, containing all the camping equipment and tents etc., they had to get there quicker than us. The trek must be easy then!
We got going and it turns out the trek isn´t as easy as first thought. We were at roughly 2600m and the alltitude makes you out of breath really quickly. Luckily the first day was only about 8km and was pretty much flat. We walked as a group so we were pretty slow and it was gorgeous sun shine with phenominal views, one of the best days of my life.
We stopped for lunch around 1 and found a couple of huge tents already set up. The porters had raced ahead of us and set up a tempory camp and clapped us in as we arrived (which was ridiculous seeing as they had done it in half the time carrying 20kg packs) and gave us all orange juice. We sat out in the sun for a while waiting for lunch to be ready and could smell something amazing so we were getting pretty hungary. We then went into the tent and sat down to be told that we were extra lucky as we had the Gap´s head chef for the Inca trail with us, he´d won the award 2 years in a row. We all thought that that is something they tell all the groups and even if it wasn´t how good could a meal really be when cooked on a camping stove.
We were blown away, it was an incredible 5 course lunch with soup, garlic bread, some fish, some chicken and cake for desert. It was the bets meal we had had in Peru so far and it was all cooked in a tent!
As soon as we had finished the porters started packing up and headed off down the trail in order to set up camp. We continued on for 45 mins before we reached camp to find everything set up for us, all the tents and even our roll mats and sleeping bags laid out in our tents for us!
We spent the rest of the day playing cards and talking before being greeted with afternoon tea and snacks at 4pm followed my another amazing 4 course dinner in the evening. I´m going to have to stop describing the meals but every single meal we had was fabulous and consisted of multiple courses. After dinner we played cards for a little longer and then went to bed. This was the start of the "sons of anarchy"(a TV show) phase. Me and rob started watching an episode on the galaxy tab just before going to bed in our tent. Dave overhead it and asked if he could come watch it too. Katie then walked past and saw us all snuggled up watching it and came and watched it as well. We were all cramped together in a two man tent watching a tv show on a tiny screen but it was really fun.
day 11 - Inca trail
We were woken up at 5:30 in order to get a good start on the trail as today was the hardest day. We slept at around 2700m but then highest point today was at 4500m! We were told we could go at our own pace today as this section seperated the men for the boys! We started off around 7 and it was freezing cold so i was wearing pretty much all my clothes. Despite starting out with the best intentions of sticking together the trail soon became really hard and so most of the group slowed down. The most manly, fittest and good looking of the group (me, sam, matt, mike and tom) raced on and powered up the steep slope. It was hard work and despite it being -3 we were down to t-shirt and shorts. We continued to the half way point of the climb where Tom decided to wait for katie. After a breif pause for a couple of snacks we continued. We got to the highest point (dead womans pass) in about 3 hours, the guide said it would take 6 so we were pretty proud of our achievement. We spent the next 3 hours relaxing o the top of this muntain in the sun with the most amazing views i have ever seen. Words can´t descirbe how amazing it was. Ater about 30mins we saw the porters all rush past but we wtill pretty pleased we had beaten them up. After 3 hours the rest of the group made it and we had a lot of group hugs and photos.
I´m now being kicked out of the internet cafe for being on too long so will have to continue on the my ipod or tomorrow.
Monday, 20 June 2011
South america! - Lima, pisco and cusco
One feels the blog is not going to be updated as frequently or written as well on this trip but i´ll try anyway.
Travelling
Would love to lift the paragraph i used in an email to my parents to describe the journey but it wil probablly take me 20 mins to get my email open so i´ll have to write it again.
Heathrow was on super high alert for some reason and security was a nightmare. I went through the scanner and it beeped as i was still holding my passport in my hand. i went back through, put it on a tray to go through the scanner and walked back through, it didn´t beep. Despite seeing all this they insisted on giving me a frisking and then the once over with the wand, fair enough. they then proceeded to give me a bag search and send all my items through individually. Not content with this they then made me go through the new body scanners that pretty much x-ray you. I wasnt the only one they did this to so i actually had to queue to have my bag searched and be scanned. All in all it took me atleast an hour to get through to security. Despite arriving 3 hours early the security meant by the time i was through my plane was boarding so i rushed to get on. The flight was fine and landed in sao paulo at 6 local time. I knew i had to get a connecting flight to lima at 8.30 so scanned the boards for my flight. The only flight going to lima listed on the baord was at 6.15. I thought it wasnt mine but there was no other flights to lima so i assumed it had to be mine. i rushed to the gate but it had already left by the time i got there. Panicing a little as i had to be in lima that day for the start of my tour i walked around trying to find an information desk. After a while i got on a bus to a different part of the airport and eventually found a board that had my flight on it. I was supposed to arrive in terminal 1 and fly from terminal 1 but we landed in terminal 2 and no one told me. Flight found all was well and off i went to lima.
Lima - day 1
I arrived at the hotel at around 2 and the meeting was at 7 so i wandered around for a couple of hours and got something to eat. i was pretty knacked so went back for a nap around 5. I had a whole really nice hotel room to myself as the guy i was supposed to be sharing with was meeting a friend so wasn´t there. At 7 we had a quick briefing on what was happening on the trip and introduced ourselves to everyone and met our guide for the trip neil. The people are all pretty nice and theres quite a few young people so im pretty happy (2 18yr boys, 2 18yr girls, a couple of 22, my room mate 24 and we´re getting another couple of 18yr girls in 4 days. Othere than that theres a couple on their honeymoon 27, an 30 american, 35 belgian, 28 uk)
We then went for a get to know you meal which was nice and went to bed at 11. I had a horrible night sleep constantly waking up worried that my alarm wouldnt go off in the morning and id hold everyone up.
Day 2
We had to catch a bus at 11 so i got up at 9 got ready and bought some snacks for the journey. We took a public bus to Pisco (6 hours) but it wasnt too bad. there were a couple of english films played and we chatted but basically it took up most of the day. When we arrived we got settled and then went out for a meal and had the local delicacy, fish cooked in lime (as in raw fish chemically cooked by the acidity of lime). It was a bit like sour sushi but was quite nice none the less. After dinner we all went out to the local bar and had a couple of drinks. As it gets dark so early about 6 (pitch black) we were all tricked into thinking it was really late so most people went home about 8-9, the young guys stayed out later and tried to go to a club but it was completely dead so we went home at about 11 but it was quite a good bonding experience.
day 3- pisco
We had the option to get up early and take a boat to the loacal nature island with penguins etc. but aparently the sea was far to choppy (i didnt see a single wave). Instead we waited aorund until 9.30 to get our tour for the day. It was a private minibus just for our group and we all chatted etc on our way to the local winery. The winery was pretty fun and they showed us all how they stomped the grapes etc and how they made the "wine". I used the air quotes as although it was all made from grapes the majority of it was spirits ranging from 20% all the way up to 55%. Afterwards we had a tasting sension of all the different spirits which was pretty fun. We then had lunch at the winery and i opted for the local dish called tacu tacu which was goat meat and a sort of pea and rice blend which tasted like homous. For trying the local dish the owner gave me a couple of extra shots of the 55% stuff and then nicknamed me tacu tacu which now sort of means "crazy one".
After the winery we went to visit the sand dunes which were incredible. The city itself was in the middle of the desert so just 5 mins away were some awesome sand dunes. We had an optional activity so dune buggying and sand boarding for $20 for 2 hours which most of us did as our guide said it was one of the highlights of the trip. It was one of the bets things i´ve ever done. We raced around in the buggys for an hour in some amazing scenery, jumping of dunes and powering down really steep slopes. We then got driven to the top of a really high dune and got to sand board down. The whole experience was incredible and i got some amazing photos. The only downside is that my camera got sand in it from all the dunes and now doesn´t work :(. I´m gonna leave it a couple of days and keep trying it but it apears its got sand stuck inbetween the telescopic bit of the lens so it wont come out properly so the camera wont work.
We then got the bus onto the next location (Nasca) and got to know each other some more and had some bus kareoke. Although now it seems we´ve definately split into two groups, the under 25´s and the over 25´s which is a bit sad this early but probably for the best.
When we arrived at around 9 most people went straight to bed but some of us decided to stay up and try and recreate some of the drinks we´d had at lunch. We had gone to a supermarket on the way home and picked up some stuff but trying to make pisco sours with 3kg of limes, some pisco spirit and a bag of sugar just wasnt happening and they tasted pretty disgusting but we had loads of fun.
Day 4 - Nasca
We got up early and travelled to an acient grave site and learned about how the Nasca people buried their dead and the mumification process which was pretty interesting. The often buried important people with many others (salves etc) although just the skulls. We turned this into a stupid game of guess how many heads are going to be in the next grave which although a little morally ambiguous was really fun.
Next we went to a pottery workshop and learned how the Nasca´s used to make their pottery which was basically just an elongated sales pitch.
Next we went to the airport to do our flights over the nasca lines. Due to one operator being closed there were far less flights than usual and so some people wuldnt be able to go. As it was quite a lot ($100) and i wasnt that bothered i stepped down along with a couple of others and went back to the hotel. We sat by the pool and sun bathed and relaxed which was pretty good. When the others returned it turned out only 4 had been able to fly out of our group of 14 which was pretty bad. It wasn´t our tours fault as it was an optional extra but it was pretty much the whole point of coming to Nasca and a major thing to see in peru so some people were a little annoyed. Tonight we´re getting a night bus to the next location which will be great...
The blog turned out longer than expected. i just thought it would be a quick note to let you know im alive. Will try and get pictures up soon so you can see the group.
Travelling
Would love to lift the paragraph i used in an email to my parents to describe the journey but it wil probablly take me 20 mins to get my email open so i´ll have to write it again.
Heathrow was on super high alert for some reason and security was a nightmare. I went through the scanner and it beeped as i was still holding my passport in my hand. i went back through, put it on a tray to go through the scanner and walked back through, it didn´t beep. Despite seeing all this they insisted on giving me a frisking and then the once over with the wand, fair enough. they then proceeded to give me a bag search and send all my items through individually. Not content with this they then made me go through the new body scanners that pretty much x-ray you. I wasnt the only one they did this to so i actually had to queue to have my bag searched and be scanned. All in all it took me atleast an hour to get through to security. Despite arriving 3 hours early the security meant by the time i was through my plane was boarding so i rushed to get on. The flight was fine and landed in sao paulo at 6 local time. I knew i had to get a connecting flight to lima at 8.30 so scanned the boards for my flight. The only flight going to lima listed on the baord was at 6.15. I thought it wasnt mine but there was no other flights to lima so i assumed it had to be mine. i rushed to the gate but it had already left by the time i got there. Panicing a little as i had to be in lima that day for the start of my tour i walked around trying to find an information desk. After a while i got on a bus to a different part of the airport and eventually found a board that had my flight on it. I was supposed to arrive in terminal 1 and fly from terminal 1 but we landed in terminal 2 and no one told me. Flight found all was well and off i went to lima.
Lima - day 1
I arrived at the hotel at around 2 and the meeting was at 7 so i wandered around for a couple of hours and got something to eat. i was pretty knacked so went back for a nap around 5. I had a whole really nice hotel room to myself as the guy i was supposed to be sharing with was meeting a friend so wasn´t there. At 7 we had a quick briefing on what was happening on the trip and introduced ourselves to everyone and met our guide for the trip neil. The people are all pretty nice and theres quite a few young people so im pretty happy (2 18yr boys, 2 18yr girls, a couple of 22, my room mate 24 and we´re getting another couple of 18yr girls in 4 days. Othere than that theres a couple on their honeymoon 27, an 30 american, 35 belgian, 28 uk)
We then went for a get to know you meal which was nice and went to bed at 11. I had a horrible night sleep constantly waking up worried that my alarm wouldnt go off in the morning and id hold everyone up.
Day 2
We had to catch a bus at 11 so i got up at 9 got ready and bought some snacks for the journey. We took a public bus to Pisco (6 hours) but it wasnt too bad. there were a couple of english films played and we chatted but basically it took up most of the day. When we arrived we got settled and then went out for a meal and had the local delicacy, fish cooked in lime (as in raw fish chemically cooked by the acidity of lime). It was a bit like sour sushi but was quite nice none the less. After dinner we all went out to the local bar and had a couple of drinks. As it gets dark so early about 6 (pitch black) we were all tricked into thinking it was really late so most people went home about 8-9, the young guys stayed out later and tried to go to a club but it was completely dead so we went home at about 11 but it was quite a good bonding experience.
day 3- pisco
We had the option to get up early and take a boat to the loacal nature island with penguins etc. but aparently the sea was far to choppy (i didnt see a single wave). Instead we waited aorund until 9.30 to get our tour for the day. It was a private minibus just for our group and we all chatted etc on our way to the local winery. The winery was pretty fun and they showed us all how they stomped the grapes etc and how they made the "wine". I used the air quotes as although it was all made from grapes the majority of it was spirits ranging from 20% all the way up to 55%. Afterwards we had a tasting sension of all the different spirits which was pretty fun. We then had lunch at the winery and i opted for the local dish called tacu tacu which was goat meat and a sort of pea and rice blend which tasted like homous. For trying the local dish the owner gave me a couple of extra shots of the 55% stuff and then nicknamed me tacu tacu which now sort of means "crazy one".
After the winery we went to visit the sand dunes which were incredible. The city itself was in the middle of the desert so just 5 mins away were some awesome sand dunes. We had an optional activity so dune buggying and sand boarding for $20 for 2 hours which most of us did as our guide said it was one of the highlights of the trip. It was one of the bets things i´ve ever done. We raced around in the buggys for an hour in some amazing scenery, jumping of dunes and powering down really steep slopes. We then got driven to the top of a really high dune and got to sand board down. The whole experience was incredible and i got some amazing photos. The only downside is that my camera got sand in it from all the dunes and now doesn´t work :(. I´m gonna leave it a couple of days and keep trying it but it apears its got sand stuck inbetween the telescopic bit of the lens so it wont come out properly so the camera wont work.
We then got the bus onto the next location (Nasca) and got to know each other some more and had some bus kareoke. Although now it seems we´ve definately split into two groups, the under 25´s and the over 25´s which is a bit sad this early but probably for the best.
When we arrived at around 9 most people went straight to bed but some of us decided to stay up and try and recreate some of the drinks we´d had at lunch. We had gone to a supermarket on the way home and picked up some stuff but trying to make pisco sours with 3kg of limes, some pisco spirit and a bag of sugar just wasnt happening and they tasted pretty disgusting but we had loads of fun.
Day 4 - Nasca
We got up early and travelled to an acient grave site and learned about how the Nasca people buried their dead and the mumification process which was pretty interesting. The often buried important people with many others (salves etc) although just the skulls. We turned this into a stupid game of guess how many heads are going to be in the next grave which although a little morally ambiguous was really fun.
Next we went to a pottery workshop and learned how the Nasca´s used to make their pottery which was basically just an elongated sales pitch.
Next we went to the airport to do our flights over the nasca lines. Due to one operator being closed there were far less flights than usual and so some people wuldnt be able to go. As it was quite a lot ($100) and i wasnt that bothered i stepped down along with a couple of others and went back to the hotel. We sat by the pool and sun bathed and relaxed which was pretty good. When the others returned it turned out only 4 had been able to fly out of our group of 14 which was pretty bad. It wasn´t our tours fault as it was an optional extra but it was pretty much the whole point of coming to Nasca and a major thing to see in peru so some people were a little annoyed. Tonight we´re getting a night bus to the next location which will be great...
The blog turned out longer than expected. i just thought it would be a quick note to let you know im alive. Will try and get pictures up soon so you can see the group.
Wednesday, 1 June 2011
Last days of phuket
Again writing this on my iPod so there will be countless mistakes and it will be short.
Can't remember how many days ago the last post was written I think only 2.
The last couple of days have been pretty much the same, get up go to the beach, read or surf until it starts pouring with rain around 2. Try to ignore it but eventually give up and go back. Read book or chill until rain stops for a while, go for a wander, rain starts again come back. Not been able to work on my tan at all but its been relaxed.
I finally cracked and moved to a hostel near the party area which I wouldn't know anything about as I go to bed early every night.
Currently deciding whether to try and have 1 final night out before I have to go to the airport tomorrow at 8 or be sensible. Current thinking suggests that I have plenty of time to be sensible when I'm back in England...
Can't remember how many days ago the last post was written I think only 2.
The last couple of days have been pretty much the same, get up go to the beach, read or surf until it starts pouring with rain around 2. Try to ignore it but eventually give up and go back. Read book or chill until rain stops for a while, go for a wander, rain starts again come back. Not been able to work on my tan at all but its been relaxed.
I finally cracked and moved to a hostel near the party area which I wouldn't know anything about as I go to bed early every night.
Currently deciding whether to try and have 1 final night out before I have to go to the airport tomorrow at 8 or be sensible. Current thinking suggests that I have plenty of time to be sensible when I'm back in England...
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