The following is based on my travel journal through South and Central America between January and August 1992. It is based on a daily diary I kept during that time and every day is included here. I’m sure you will find it interesting as I did experiencing it and ultimately rewriting it, which by the way was only completed this year, 15 years after the journey itself.
Part of my survival instinct relied on the food (I only got sick once) which at times felt like the same meal every day - chicken and chips or pollo con papas fritas....
Prologue
It was a typical winter’s day in London, one of those days when you looked out the window and decided to either not leave home or spend it in a warm and cosy English pub! I would have easily opted for the latter but there was a more important issue at stake. Today was the day I leave my temporary existence of working and surviving and attempt to satisfy all my insatiable curiosities of another world, South America.
It was January 1992. I was 27 years old and had just spent over a year working as a Treasury Assistant at Cable & Wireless Plc in Holborn, London, saving for this very day and for the next unknown number of days but it would be significant. I loved travelling, especially on my own. I realised this when travelling through Europe in 1990 with an Australian friend (who by the way is still a friend) that when we ultimately went our separate ways, it was one of the best feelings I had ever felt. It was really the first time in my life that I started doing things my way with no one to answer to and I could do whatever I wanted. It was fantastic.
So as soon as I returned to London from Europe (when basically my money ran out) I started planning the next trip – this one. I must admit that I was glad to start work again after the trip but as usual it didn’t take long before I grew tired of the working existence and dreamt of trekking through a foreign continent once again. Lunchtimes became not only a break from work but also more importantly, an opportunity to familiarise myself with the local bookshops in order to build my knowledge of South America without actually buying any books! However I finally succumbed and bought “South America on a Shoestring” written by the legend, Geoffrey Crowther. It was my first real step in my journey. I did however notice that the book looked quite old and realised when I got home that it was a 1986 edition! Bloody hell it was 6 years out of date! Nevertheless, it was still the most recent edition at that, it will have to do. This occurred at least 6 months before my departure so I had plenty of time to read the “Bible”.
You realise after reading so much about such a large continent that you would have spend years there to see everything. I hated to book anything other than airfares in advance – I preferred to plan as I went along – a typical backpacker. Just go with the flow. Since my funds were limited I had to plan to some extent otherwise I might end up broke after 1 month. I did have goals though. I had to be in Rio for Carnivale – this was a definite. The Inca Trial to Macchu Piccu was another. The others, well to visit as many countries as possible, the meet interesting new people, go to places I have not even heard about and just really have a great time.
I was so into travelling to South America that I started Spanish lessons. I figured that to arrive in South America and not know any Spanish was a crime and embarrassing so here I was. When I felt like it I spent about an hour after work listening to do-it-yourself Spanish lessons cassettes. This was actually not the most efficient way of learning another language but it was cheap and I could go at my own pace. I did manage to learn quite a bit of Spanish but like most courses it did not teach me what I needed to know. In fact all I remember and I still remember to this day[1] one phrase that really sticks in my head which I knew would be completely useless on my trip or any point in the future, “el pero come encima de la mesa” which literally means “the dog is eating on the table”. Actually maybe I could have used this since a lot of the places I went to eat deserved this comment.
When it comes to packing I’m actually a bit hopeless. I tend to pack more than I really need. You never know when you might need something. I met an Australian guy in Bolivia who had what looked like a sports bag and all that seemed to be in it was a t-shirt and a spare pair of undies! When his pack fell off the roof off the bus and was lost he did not complain about his missing undies. I on the other hand would have been devastated.
I bought what I thought was a state of the art sleeping bag from a shop in Oxford St. Yes, it did fold up to a tiny ball which was good for travelling but when I used it in sub-zero conditions I realised why. It must have been filled with tissue paper rather than down. I froze in it. However by far my worst decision of all was to take my dryzabone overcoat! What was I thinking? Not only are they bulky, they are heavy as well. I think I wore it twice in 11 months of travelling and that was because I had to wear it in my sleeping bag trying not to freeze to death! I did however make some smart decisions. Taking a chamois to dry myself was brilliant and I actually got used to not having a towel for the whole time away. My lightweight Canon EOS SLR camera lasted the trip and got some excellent shots. Getting all the film home (these were the pre-digital and pre-internet days) was also another miracle, especially when I sent about 12 reels in the post from Ecuador. In fact considering where I went and what I went through, coming back to London with what I had was not a bad achievement.
The following is an actual day-to-day account of part of my trip which lasted from late January to August 1992. While I did keep a diary when I was travelling through South America nearly all of this was written between five and fifteen years after the event so the memory of some events is a bit thin. In any case, like any adventure, there are always periods of boredom but mostly excitement and hopefully it is these fun times that come out below.
VENEZUELA
Wednesday 29th January 1992 (London - Caracas)
Day 1
So here I was, sitting on the Piccadilly line towards Heathrow. This time I was fully awake and not in that unfortunate state of being unconscious late at night after a big night out on the piss, having missed my stop an hour before. No, I was dead sober and fully awake, awake to the prospect of travelling once again. “Tubing” with me was my girlfriend, Cindy, my sister, Justine, and my trusty new Lowe backpack. I was wondering whether it will last the trip (unlike the previous) or worse if it will be stolen or destroyed. Just so many things to look forward to.
The Heathrow shuffle took place soon after we arrived. It's not too bad compared to most other airports in the world. Checking in was a breeze, taking no time at all. So here we were “at least two hours before departure” with one thing left to do. Have a farewell drink. I met a friend of mine there, Chook, an old school mate and the best London companion one could hope for. The four of us headed to the bar where we discussed the highs and lows of London over the past year or so. After a couple of Coronas with the mandatory slice of lime were polished off, it was time to say goodbye. It would be the last time I see Cindy and Justine till July and Chook God knows when! It was a quick and thankfully uneventful departure, and before I knew it I was I was on my way!
The Air France flight to Paris was pretty bad as the plane was totally packed and it seemed as if there were too many seats. There was bugger-all legroom! Thank God the flight was only an hour. Once at Charles de Gaulle I was instructed to head for terminal 2A. I had to wait almost 2 hours before boarding my flight to Caracas. More time to brush up my knowledge of Venezuela. My seat was situated upstairs which I first thought was going to be bad but was in fact quite good. There were only 40 people up there with our own French hostess for the duration of the flight. I sat next to a pure South American Indian from Quito, Ecuador. Unfortunately he couldn’t speak a word of English. The guy next to him seemed edgy and uncomfortable. Soon after he sat down he quickly got up again and did the old “Harold Holt”, leaving everything he brought on board. The next thing I know is that he had left the aircraft totally and disappeared! People were asking me what was going on but of course I had no idea. So as a result of this unfortunate mishap, we were delayed at least an hour while they searched the baggage hold for his luggage to be taken off. Finally we were on our way, lapping up the culinary delights of Air France by drinking complimentary French champagne and digging into the delicious pate. Not a bad way to start my trip!
Thursday 30th January (Caracas)
Day 2
After a typical nights sleep that one usually manages (or doesn’t) on a long haul flight, it was the anticipation of seeing land, the land of South America that woke me. The sun had just risen above the eastern horizon producing a glorious sight that can only be appreciated from the small porthole of the aircraft. It wasn’t too long before I sighted the north coast of Venezuela. We were declining rapidly and ready to land at Caracas’ airport, situated right on the water. It was a beautiful sunny day and together with the sight of the blue waters of the Caribbean made me extremely anxious to get amongst it all.
I immediately noticed the extreme heat as I emerged from the plane, a hot and humid environment. Even though the sun had risen some time ago, it was only 7am local time. My initial intentions were to obtain as much information as I could at the information office. First I had to contend the hideous task of customs procedures and baggage collection. Both were surprisingly easy. The first of many stamps was thumped into my passport, ‘10 dias’ was sprawled across the entry visa. 10 days was all I entitled to stay in this unknown country! It really didn’t matter as I would be leaving for Brazil soon after.
Once in the airport terminal, I headed straight for the Information counter. It was unfortunately closed till 8am so I just waited till it opened. I noticed that there was no one else around at this time of day, not even the locals so the waiting seemed to last forever. It was all in vain as I discovered that the info counter was totally useless, they were no help at all. I did however change my first American Express travellers' cheque into hundreds of Venezuelan Bolivas.
With my backpack on my back and day bag in my hand, I took my first step out of the terminal and into the real South America. Even though it was an airport I felt that I was really experiencing the Caribbean coast as there were palm trees everywhere I looked. I was totally on my own and wondering what the next step shall be. My initial plan was to get a taxi to downtown Caracas but I was told this would cost a fortune, so I took the bus instead. I had to walk to the domestic terminal (about 2 km in searing heat!) to catch it. Senor bus driver saw me coming a mile. He grabbed my backpack and threw it in the boot that was at the back of the bus. This presented a problem as I had so many times read, “always watch your belongings if they are stowed under or above the bus as they may be gone by the time you get off”. I sat on the back seat that gave me the prime position to take advantage of this situation. Every time we stopped I would swivel around 180 degrees to see if anyone was running off with my backpack!
One of the first reactions I encountered was an instant feeling of paranoia. It’s not surprising considering all the bad publicity South America gets as well as all the “warnings” that are flashed up on almost every page of “South American Handbook 1992”! It was not a pleasant feeling to have but it did make everything that little bit more adventurous. It lasted a couple of days before it rapidly went away.
Anyway, back on the bus heading towards Caracas. The road was uphill all the way, as the airport was right on the coast and Caracas was 2000m above sea level! All in about 50km. The vintage bus struggled but did make it in the end. Then once we arrived into the city limits, I became confused as everyone on the bus decided to get off. I thought that this must be the right stop and got off as well. This was a fateful mistake as it was definitely the wrong stop and realised I was in the middle of nowhere! How could I be so stupid to make such a mistake? I had only been in the country for a couple of hours and I was lost already! I sat down on this seat and re-examined my position on the handrawn Shoestring map of Caracas that was less than impressive. I decided to walk in the direction of where the bus was heading and hopefully find something or someone that could show me the way. I came across Plaza Bolivar, which was on the map! I now knew where I was - no where near where I wanted to be! I was told about this hotel on some street in some suburb with these directions written on a scrawny piece of paper and literally spent two hours looking for it. Walking the streets of downtown Caracas (which was a hole) in the boiling heat certainly did not help. I asked many people where this hotel was and they had either never heard of it or gave conflicting directions. In the end I was so pissed off and frustrated that I ended up back at the plaza where there was a hotel. I ended up staying here as I couldn’t go on any longer, however it did cost over US$20 a night! Not a good start to the trip.
Anyway, I checked in and surveyed my room of Hotel Catedral. Not too bad. It even had a TV! I dropped my pack on the floor and crashed onto the bed. I thought I’d try the TV and check out the local viewing. I was pleasantly surprised to see “Lost in Space”, “Addams Family”, and the “Flintstones” but all dubbed in Spanish! Later I started to explore the city of Caracas properly. I strolled down to the plaza where I met a young guy called Harry. He was trying to be friendly as he was interested in learning English. He actually proved useful as he taught me a little Spanish while I taught him English as best as I could. Later we went for a beer and met up with a few of his mates. Met an 82-year-old man who was originally from Czechoslovakia and could speak 7 languages. I had dinner on my own in some burger place as the menu was in English and I couldn’t have been bothered to speculate on the local cuisine.
Friday 31st Jan (Caracas)
Day 3
I woke up at 5am in nearly a state of panic as thoughts raced through my mind as to my next move, however the time difference did contribute. So I worked out my options. I decided to get my Brazilian visa as soon as possible, and because it was a Friday, I had to do it today. I had to travel on the underground not too far from the centre of Caracas, to a place called Chacau.
I found the embassy only after asking someone in a farmacia. I thought the process of obtaining a Brazilian visa was going to be very difficult as I had no onward flight from Brazil, or anywhere for that matter. It turned out to be a breeze and it didn’t even cost anything. I was now ready to head South! That night I had dinner at the Las Vegas restaurant next door to the hotel and had calamari y papas fritas con dos Polar cervezas (calamari and chips with two Polar beers). The beers went down an absolute treat!
Saturday 1st February (Puerto La Cruz)
Day 4
I woke up at 5.30am and was out of my hotel by 6.30. I walked to the Nuevo Circa, the bus station, and waited for the “Fermie Tempie” bus to arrive. I had bought my ticket the day before. I was so paranoid about someone stealing my pack that I waited till almost when the bus decided to depart to board! It took about an hour to get out of the thriving metropolis of Caracas. The next hour or so we were driving through dense rainforest! Later it panned out to a dry and bush like environment completely offset by huge oil refineries.
Arrived in Puerto La Cruz about 2pm. Walked to the beach and after checking a few hotels (which were either full or unsafe) I found Hotel Europa, one block from the beach. Still expensive at 950B a night! (US$1 = 61B). After dumping my stuff I immediately went to the beach and sat on it! My first impression of a Caribbean beach was not good. The water was pretty dirty and there was a filthy refinery at one end of the beach! I did not go in the water as that would mean leaving my stuff on the beach which I didn’t want to do. At one stage this guy came along trying to sell bloody bathroom mirrors! Not just a mirror but the whole bloody wall cabinet. I said I’d take two but of couse he did not understand me! Later went for a walk, watched the beautiful sunset, and checked the local scene. There was a fair going on but apart from that it was pretty dead. My legs were also giving up on me and were beginning to really hurt. This prompted me to call it a day.
Sunday 2nd Feb (Ciudad Bolivar)
Day 5
Up early again to catch the bus to Ciudad Bolivar (City of Simon Bolivar). My right leg was now bloody killing me - the calf muscle was packing it in. Bus left at 7am. The route took us west to Barcelona. After a brief stop, the trip south began. It was another beautiful day, the weather has been superb from the start. The road to El Tiegne was fairly boring - savannah and flat. We stopped for lunch at El Tiegne. Ordering lunch was bit of a struggle actually. I had to follow what everyone else was doing which was; you had to buy a ticket before being handed the food. As I didn’t know what anything was called or what it actually was and as I couldn’t point to it and say “this one” it proved to be a guessing game. I had to attract their attention enough to move them from their cash register to the food counter so I could point to what I wanted. They weren’t too happy about this but I did get what I wanted. The rest of the trip was even more boring - almost desert! I was also bloody hot. Resembled the Australian outback in mid summer.
We crossed the Rio Oronoco by way of a large suspension bridge. From the bus terminal at Ciudad Bolivar, I caught a smaller bus to Paseo Oronoco. The bus was like a mobile disco, flashing lights everywhere and music turned up full blast! Found Hotel Caracas, overlooking the largest river in Venezuela for 450B a night, still expensive but getting cheaper. Later I went for a walk to check out this small town. Went to the local airport to check out flights to Angel Falls only to be told it would cost me at least US$250!! As it was the dry season it was impossible to canoe to the falls and the only other route was by flying. But I had to find a cheaper way to get there.
Monday 3rd Feb (Canaima, Kavak, Angel Falls)
Day 6
The first entry in my dairy for today read “One of the best days of my life!” Got up at 5am, and was at the airport by 5.45am. No one was there at this time of day, it was totally deserted. One guy rocks up about 6.30. I proceeded to talk to this guy about flights to Angel Falls however he knew little or did not understand me. Later I walked into an office that operates a small airline and asked if they had flights. After a lengthy discussion I was told that I could get a flight to Canaima (nearest village to the falls) for about US$40 one-way. I asked him if I could get another flight which would take me right over the falls, “Si, claro!” he said. Just ask for Stanley! This was at least my interpretation of his story, nevertheless I decided to take it, and just see what happens. Anyway, he escorted me to the tarmac and told me to sit down and wait.
Well I waited for an hour and nothing. I was getting pretty pissed off by this stage. I walked back inside and asked the guy what the hell was going on. He just said “No problemo” and took me back outside. He even showed me the plane that I was to travel in. It was a small 4 seater Cessna! So I did what he said and waited. Soon after, 3 people walked out onto the tarmac and proceeded towards the plane, my plane! Then, to my horror, they all got in with the pilot, its engine started and was soon taxing towards the runway! Fuck this, I stormed back into the office and started abusing the guy (in English, as I couldn’t abuse in Spanish - yet). He was just as surprised as me when I told him the plane had pissed off without me. I took him out to the tarmac and pointed to the empty space that was previously occupied by my plane. He started shouting “Scandal, Scandal” (in English!) and proceeded to give me my money back, shaking his head. At the same moment, the pilot walked in wondering what all the fuss was all about. The guy was now happy. He reclaimed his fee and said have a good trip. I was still dubious and would not be satisfied till I was in the air. I finally took off at 8.30am, nearly 3 hours after I arrived at the airport.
The plane consisted of one passenger, me plus the pilot and a few cardboard boxes in the back. I tried to talk to the pilot but as my Spanish was very limited it was almost impossible. The scenery was pretty spectacular as we fly just below the clouds heading south towards the jungle. After an hour of flying he said something which I didn’t understand while pointing to the ground. He was also pointing out the boxes in the back. What the hell was he going to do? Was he going to offload the boxes by dumping them out of the plane (there was only jungle below us), or perhaps he was a drug courier or something. Thoughts raced through my mind. At that moment the pilot had thrust the rudder forward while turning it left sharply, forcing the plane to drop quickly from the sky. There was nothing below us except for a couple of huts and a dirt road amongst thick jungle. It then occurred to me that he was going to land on this dirt road which was a good enough substitute for a runway, well in his mind anyway.
Now this whole episode excited me as I have always wanted to be a pilot. This experience I was going through now was something that I had not dreamt of. The Cessna was descending fast. I kept blowing my nose to clear my ears. The jungle was fact approaching us and the so called landing strip was being lined up in front of us. In fact we could not approach the strip like any other other given the huge trees surrounding the village so the landing pattern resembled combing the tree tops then dropping the plane quickly onto to the dirt track. It was like the movies as we flew over dense jungle then dropping the plane suddenly so we could land without crashing. The pilot lined it up perfectly. Dust flew up everywhere as the plane hit the ground as the pilot struggled to bring us to a halt. What an experience.
But where was I? I asked the pilot what we were doing here and he said that we had to get rid of the boxes and pick up two extra passengers. This meant installing 2 seats in the back. This took about 30 mins. Soon afterwards the pilot cranked the engine and we started to taxi down towards the end of the dirt road to prepare for takeoff. Just as the road came to an end the pilot swung the craft 180 degrees and floored it! I was hurled into the back of my seat as the Cessna quickly gained speed. All moveable things quickly dispersed out of the way as we roared up the only straight piece of dirt road for miles. The road was also coming to an abrupt end with only huge trees in front of us. Just as my nails started digging into the vinyl upholstery of my seat, the pilot pulled back the rudder so hard that we almost went straight up! Ahhhhhh!!! We pulled up, just clearing the tree tops while my heart was thumping about 200 beats per minute. It wasn't too long before the pilot gained control and levelled out to avoid a stall. Bloody hell, it was a huge adrenaline rush.
After flying for about another 30 minutes we landed again on a normal runway in Canaima. I left the plane to look for Stanley, as it said on the card. As I was walking towards a shack that was probably the terminal, a native Indian, who looked like he had never experienced Western civilisation, came up to me and said, “Hello, my name is Stanley”! In perfect English! I couldn’t believe it. Anyway, he grabbed me and whisked me off to another plane that was waiting to take off, a larger 14 seater. No time for questions or anything, just get on the plane. I was seated at the rear and the door slammed shut. The engines were throttled and before I knew it I was off again, not knowing at all where this plane was going! I tapped on the shoulder of this guy in front of me, and asked him where we were going. “Kavak” he said in a thick German accent. What am I doing, and where and what is Kavak? He said Kavak is a small Indian village where we will be spending lunch. This sounded pretty good but I was still nowhere closer to seeing Angel Falls. Anyway, it did not matter. The scenery out the windows was stunningly beautiful, quite breathtaking. The plateaus were huge, it resembled the Blue Mountains in my home town of Sydney except it was 5 times as big. Massive cliffs tapering away at the valley floor into thick virginal rainforest. It was just truly amazing.
Once in Kavak, the “group” from the plane, consisting of a few German tourists among others, walked to what appeared to be a “purpose built” Indian village. From here we were escorted up to the foot of the mountains where we found a beautiful spot among creeks and waterfalls. We went swimming in the creek with some of the locals. It was lucky that I had my sluggoes on! It was very hot and I managed to get very sunburnt. My disgusting London tan was now non existent, thank God! Walked along the creek through narrow gorges up to a large cavern where we spent a bit of time. It was just beautiful. Later we walked back to the village and had a huge lunch which was included in the price (the price of US$90 was discussed before I took off but I had not paid yet) together with full waiter service. It was very nice but too touristy for me. It wasn’t the real McCoy! After lunch we had a bit of time exploring the village. Came across a leopard that was in a small cage. Also checked out the souvenir shop, although very touristy, it was nevertheless very interesting. Then the moment of truth, what I had been waiting for all day - the flight over Angel Falls!
We all re-boarded the plane and left our Kavak oasis. We flew along the main valley which again was spectacular. We then banked right and and the pilot announced to look out of the left windows (I had a left hand window!) to get a spectacular view of the Angel Falls, the highest waterfall in the world. We approached the falls half way up, in other words half the falls were above us and half below us. It was huge, a vertical stream of water that seemed to pour off the top of a mountain, only to hit the valley floor as a mist. The 1km drop would do this to water! It was so much larger than I expected. It also gave me the eerie feeling that something so big was actually quite scary. The sight of the falls was definitely worth the wait (not to mention the cost)!
We circled the falls a few times before returning to our original departure point. The plane gradually descended towards the valley floor, the river being more precise. We were still losing altitude even though the plane was just hundreds of feet above the river. “Tom Cruise”, our pilot, was now defying death as we were now flying just feet above the river. What an experience this was. We were so low that Tom had to fly higher momentarily to avoid large rocks, trees, and even boats! He was showing off! We followed the course of the river downstream to eventually Canaima Falls where he dropped the nose of the craft and descended over the falls into a small lake! This was fantastic! To top it off he then brought the craft up again and circled the falls before landing on terra ferma. It was the most amazing flight I had ever taken and one that will not be forgotten.
The euphoria was somewhat paused however by the thought of me being stuck in Canaima with no means of getting back to Ciudad Bolivar. However, once back at the terminal this guy who had organised the Germans whole day trip asked me if I wanted to go back to Ciudad Bolivar with them - for free! Of course I accepted his offer and was very grateful. The plane was even bigger then the last, at least a 20 seater! The flight back, over vast stretches of dams as it seemed, took about 2 hours. After landing at Ciudad Bolivar I thanked Carlo again while slipping him a US$10 note! (I was unsure whether it was firstly necessary to do this and secondly, if so, was it enough not to embarrass him or myself). He accepted the money with a smile on his face. I said goodbye to my first gringo friends then hailed a taxi back to the hotel. I walked into my room and just leapt into the air with the feeling that I had just experienced one of the best days of my life.
Tuesday 4th Feb (Ciudad Bolivar - Sta Elena)
Day 7
Another early start (6am) as I knew today would be a long day. I was heading further south to a small town near the Brazilian border called St Elena. I checked out of the hotel after I had to wake the owner up to let me out, and caught a cab to the bus station. Bought my ticket for 570B. The distance to St Elena was over 770km, my longest trip yet! Waited for almost an hour before the bus arrived. However, when it did arrive, I was in shock! It was the biggest piece of shit on six wheels! Probably a legacy of the roads from now on. Inside was much worse, seats falling apart, all with that shitty vinyl so you stick to the seat and so close to each other that you think it was made for midgets! I had to endure this for the remainder of the day.
Anyway I found a seat and we were soon on our way. It wasn't long before I started to get pissed off with the bus driver as he was always bloody stopping. Once we were truly on the way, I finally calmed down and started to enjoy the trip. We drove through a small town called El Dorado. I managed to just glimpse at the prison where Papillon was held captive during the final days of his imprisonment. Apart from this there was nothing much else to see.
We were now in El Gran Sabana, a large mountain range north of the Amazon. The trip was now very interesting as the landscape was constantly changing. Thick jungle as we were ascending and dry savannah on the plateau. It then started to rain and soon it was dark. Started talking to this German guy on the bus who looked like Catweezel. Finally arrived in Sta Elena about 8pm, the trip taking 12 hours. It was pissing down with rain and I had to find a hotel. I met a German couple (there seems to be only German gringos in South America). Eventually found a place to sleep, Hospedaje Uairen on the main street. And very nice it was too.
Wednesday 5th Feb (Sta Elena)
Day 8
It did not get much sleep. It was one of those nights when you start drifting off then you hear this awful and much dreaded sound – a high pitched hum getting louder and louder very close to my ear. Bloody mozzies had found me. They seemed to be only interested in biting my ear so I found myself swiping my ear all night trying to kill as many mozzies as possible. I can see that these tiny bastards can drive someone crazy. I tried to fix the problem by turning on the ceiling fan full blast. It did help a little but the noise of the fan also drove me crazy and couldn’t sleep. Again it was one of those nights when you can’t wait until the sun comes up but seems that it never will.
The sun came up, oh yeah. I got dressed, walked down the road and had breakfast. I sat down at this table and picked up the menu. As my Spanish was pretty bad at this stage I really did not have much idea of what was on for offer. I had my “Spanish for Latin American Travellers” book out but it was too much of a hassle. So I decided that the omelette with tomatoes sounded like the go. This turned out to be one of the worst decisions I had made on the whole trip. What I really wanted was an omelette with tomatoes in it but they brought out an omelette with a plate of sliced tomatoes! As I was so hungry I hoed into the omelette and the raw tomatoes. It was pretty ordinary but it satisfied my hunger. After I paid my bill I decided to explore the town which wouldn’t take long as there was nothing there. Then, all of a sudden, I had a desperate urge to shit and it could not wait! I bolted back to my hospedaje where I got a huge load off my mind. It was a close call. I also started to feel sick in the stomach, a constant feeling of nausea. I brushed it off at first as I thought it was just feeling sick from breakfast.
Later on, I went searching for the immigration office to suss out buses to Brazil. Met up with a Brazilian couple and their young son who were on the bus from Ciudad Bolivar. He showed me where the immigration office was, where to catch the bus, and where to change my Bolivar to Cruzeiros. Pretty helpful guy, he also told me the difference between a hotel and a motel in Brazil. A hotel is for sleeping and a motel is for fucky fucky! I thanked him for his advice and walked off. The nausea had really hit me by this stage and was time to call it a day. I went straight to bed, soon experiencing chills, fever, abdominal pains, nausea and diarrhoea. How could this happen? I remained in this appalling state till dusk. I felt so lonely and upset.
Thursday 6th Feb (Sta Elena)
Day 9
Had a terrible nights sleep. One of those nights when you have a constant nightmare all night long. I was up and down all night, in and out of the bathroom which thank God was in my room. It got to the situation where I was pissing out of my arse and throwing up at the same time. I finally got out of bed at 9am when I somehow managed to venture outside to get some water. Went straight back to bed and there I remained till 4pm, when I had to make a phone call. I shuffled to the telephone exchange and asked the guy how much it would cost to call Australia? He quoted 1353B for a minimum 4 minutes! That’s $23 or nearly $6 a minute! Fuck that I thought, plus the fact I wasn’t in the mood anyway, I would wait until Brazil to ring home. (Note that this was the only way to stay communicated back then, apart from writing letters).
Later I thought that I had to eat something, even though I wasn’t hungry, since I hadn’t touched any food since yesterday morning. I walked into a restaurant and ordered half a chicken (pollo). I looked great but I could only manage a couple of mouthfuls before I had to go back to the room again for the nightly ritual. More wild dreams, this time about a way to get to Manaus (in Brazil) via Guyana (which is impossible and totally out of the way). However, I felt optimistic and packed my pack in readiness to leave tomorrow morning.
Friday 7th Feb (Sta Elena)
Day 10
When I woke up I soon realised once again that I wasn’t going anywhere! Although I was feeling a little better, my stomach cramps were worse than ever and I still had diarrhoea which does not go well with long distance travel! First thing I did was grab my Spanish dictionary and look for a phrase that could explain my condition so I could get some help. I found “yo enfermo, hay medico aqui?” Which meant “I am sick, is there a doctor here?” I asked the guy at the front desk who either couldn’t understand me or did not know if there was a doctor around. I showed him the book, and on observation he drew me a map of where to go for help. I grabbed my syringes[2] and walked up the street in this small town in the middle of nowhere, and started to walk up this hill which was murder. Then staring right in front of me was a huge bloody hospital! I couldn’t believe it, what luck. I wandered in and found a doctor who led me to the examination room. The doctor could speak English which was huge relief as I had been practising all the words that I could relate to in this situation. As I feared the worse, maybe I had some disease or something, he reassured me that it was not serious, but I had been affected badly by dodgy food or water. The bloody tomatoes!!!!! He said that I had some parasite and prescribed me some drugs. After sticking a needle up my arse (not using one of mine) I thanked him and walked back down the hill. I couldn’t believe that it only took 10 days into my trip that I had to drag myself into hospital....typical.
The rest of the day was spent organising for tomorrow - I was determined to get out of this place. I changed all my Bolivar to Cruzeiros (1B = 20C), checked out the bus times, and obtaining immigration stamps. Later relaxed at the hospedaje and watched “Repossed” on video. Met a girl who could also speak English. She was organising tours into the Gran Sabana and told me that her friend had the same illness and same diagnosis as me. I was not alone! These 3 days have been pretty depressing and my determination to leave was as strong as ever, even if I don’t feel 100%. I’ve never been lonelier in my life.
Saturday 8th Feb (Boa Vista......)
Day 11
This was it, I was finally outta there! I could not wait any longer and my anticipation to see Brazil and the Amazon was just unbearable. I grabbed my pack and left. Arrived at the bus station at 7am and bought a ticket to Boa Vista (in Brazil) for C16,400 (US$1 = C1,300). Then went up to the immigration office and had my passport stamped with an exit visa. The bus (which was a special 4 wheel drive vehicle) left at 7.45am. Did not take long before we were at the border. We stopped here for about an hour to clear customs and all immigration procedures. Not a problem! Once we crossed into Brazil, the road dramatically changed from bitumen to gravel, an ominous contrast.
Arrived in Boa Vista about 1pm. The trip was pretty boring as it was nearly desert all the way. I was intending to stop here and stay the night, however I decided not to in a split second. There was another bus just about to depart to Manaus, and I decided to take it! (C53,000). What the hell was I thinking? I had not eaten since Wednesday (3 days) and all I had with me was a badly crushed packet of dry biscuits and a bottle of water! I was told the trip to Manaus could take up to 5 days but as it’s the dry season it should not take longer than 24 hours. This was a big risk but I thought 'bugger it', I'm going. So here I was sitting on a bus that was poised to penetrate the famous Amazon jungle with no money nor food! I was thanking God that I wasn’t that hungry.
Our first stop was at Rio Bianco, where the bus (as well as the passengers) was ferried across on a small barge. Met a Swede, Svenste, a couple from London, and another girl on the bus. They had basically the same plan as myself - get to Rio before Carnavale ‘92! The road from the river we had just crossed was unbelievably bad, not only was it full of huge potholes but the dust was covering everything and everyone. For miles on either side of the road all there was left was cleared land or desert, previously occupied by rainforest! Fires were burning as far as the eye could see. It was such a crying shame to see this, the Brazilians having absolutely no concern for their environment, adopting an apathetic attitude that the Amazon is just too big for the fires to affect it! Well they will get a rude shock when most of their country will be reduced to desert if they continue to destroy the rainforest. I don’t want to sound like a Greenie but it did concern me.
Darkness drifted upon us while driving through thick jungle. Stopped a few times along the way. One stop was unforgettable. It was about 10pm when we pulled up in this small Indian village literally in the middle of nowhere. I heard the thumping sounds of the Samba coming from an area next to the main building. My curiosity was satisfied when I saw this couple going for it on the ground (dancing that is!). They had the best rhythm I had seen in my life. The best thing about it was the fact that the middle-aged woman was seriously getting down with a boy who would not have been older than 10! It was a sight for sore eyes (which I had). Once on the way again I even managed to get some sleep, which I thought was impossible due to the state of the road. Another night of weird dreams.
BRAZIL
Sunday 9th Feb (Manaus)
Day 12
Finally arrived in Manaus at 8am, 25 hours after I left Sta Elena and over 1,000km in distance. I was in relatively good shape considering I had been sick. However, everything including my packs and myself were covered in a bright red dust. I was a mess. I was also desperate for a shit, shower, and shave. Caught a bus to the centre of Manaus which was bit of a nightmare, but we made it. All 5 of us. We walked the streets looking for a cheap hotel, same old story. Found a place called Hotel Jangada near Rio Negra, right on the Amazon! Cost us C3,500 each (US$2.69) a night. I was sharing a room with Svenste who turns out to be a great bloke.
It then started to piss down with rain, typical of the climate in this part of the world, the middle of the Amazon basin. We all got saturated just walking (running) to our rooms! No sooner had the rain started, it had stopped and the sun came out. We decided to go for a walk and explore the town, making time to stop at the river’s edge and checking out boats to Belem. There was one leaving the next day at 5pm. At 6pm Sventse and I walked down to the telephone exchange where I finally called home. I rang Cindy but she wasn’t home. We later had dinner up the road, my first for 4 days - spaghetti bolognese (C4,000 each). Went back to the telephone exchange and finally got onto Cindy. We spoke for 7 1/2 minutes which cost C26,000 (US$20)! It was worth it. Came back to the hotel where Svenste and I discussed the legendary horror stories of South America. The saga continues.
Monday 10th Feb (Manaus)
Day 13
Today was a day of organisation or an attempt to at least. Svenste, Elan (Canadian girl) and I had breakfast in an exotic drink bar/restaurant. Best mango (pronounced munga!) juice ever. I left to change some money US$300 @ 1330 Cruzeiros for US1. Then I rang Mum - C32,000 - bloody hell. Expensive phone call. Later I walked to the river front to check out the boats. A huge Soviet cruise ship was docked at the wharf - over 1,600km from the sea. It was an awesome thought, that such a huge ship could travel so far inland made even more poignant by the fact that Manaus is only 32m above sea level. Then went back to the hotel - met the English couple. They were just about to leave for the port so I quickly packed up my stuff and walked down with them. I bought a hammock on the way - C15,000 for a double sized one. We boarded the riverboat and quickly reserved a spot for the hammock. This was to be my space for the next 3 days. Men on one side, women the other. It was very cramped with about 10 hammocks per 25 feet. Later went on 2 missions to buy food and drink for the trip. Bought bread, water, mangoes (which actually turned out to be oranges as I was too much of a rush), jam, film, and toilet paper. It was so hot and humid, I was dripping in sweat. Svenste and Elan came down to see us off . We finally left about 6pm to a glorious sunset over the river and jungle, it was so beautiful and peaceful. Managed to just see the “meeting of the rivers” before the sun fully set. A strange sight, the rivers Negra and Somiloes, one black and the other green, converging at Manaus and not mixing with other for miles. Dinner was bread roll and jam. Later I met an Argentinean woman who was very nice and 3 Israelis. I drank my first beer in Brazil.
Tuesday 11th Feb (Rio Amazons)
Day 14
I slept on and off all night, mainly because I was paranoid of someone flogging my daypack which I had slept with or even my pack which was chained to a pole, but also due to anxiety. I was next to this guy who basically cocooned himself in his hammock all night, his face not appearing till morning. Breakfast was a roll and very sweet coffee. The coffee had truckloads of sugar in it, and if you didn’t want any sugar, bad luck. It was disgusting, however the locals were really going for the stuff.
The weather was overcast the whole day, windy at times and it even rained towards late afternoon. I just sat in my hammock either listening to Simply Red (which I liked at the time?!) and watching the jungle go by, or reading Papillon. Then lunchtime came. What an ordeal! First, a bell sounded which came from the stern of the boat. People would come from nowhere and sit down at one of two long benches with a large table between them. Before I knew it the benches were totally full with anxious locals eagerly awaiting their daily feast. A couple of people then brought out the food, which was rice, spaghetti, beans, salad, and chicken. It was an instant success with everyone seated. I was quite hungry myself and was determined to get in the next round. Once someone left it was a free for all for his or her seat. Once the first lot of people were gone, they would start all over again with the second sitting. The food wasn’t too bad considering it had been boiled from water taken from the river which by this stage was a shitty brown colour.
The afternoon went pretty much like the morning. I ate one of my oranges which gave me an instant stomach ache. I really did not need this. The dinner bell sounded and I was off. This time we got meat which also wasn’t bad. Night drifted upon us and it was still raining. I stated to get really bad stomach cramps, worse than when I was in Venezuela! They would come and go through the night.
Wednesday 12th Feb (Santerem)
Day 15
We arrived in Santerem about 5am, 36 hours after leaving Manaus. It was still very dark. We manoeuvred and came to rest along side another riverboat which was already moored to the bank. We basically decided then that we would continue the voyage to Belem - pending, buses, prices, roads etc. I had already decided to go all the way on the boat but other methods were worth a shot. An hour later, another smaller boat moored next to us. It turned out that this was to be our new boat to Belem but to my horror it was packed with people already! The Israelis managed to score some bunk space upstairs (1st class) while Mike, Jo (English couple) and myself had to settle for downstairs (2nd class) - sharing space with goats and turkeys, not to mention the proximity to the huge engine! This was going to be a nightmare I thought, but in fact it was better than upstairs because there was more space! Initial price to Belem - C60,000. Got it down to C53,000 (not much of a discount). The Israelis of course were bargaining for more of a discount.
In the mean time, I checked the port of Santerem. Bloody hole in the middle of nowhere. Later, Mike, the 2 Israelis and I caught a bus to the Rodovainia (bus station) which should have taken about 5 minutes, but in fact took 30 minutes. It turned out to be a waste of time as we were told that it would cost C124,000 (US$95) to bus it to Belem. It would also take twice as long. We went straight back to the river and boarded the boat. I bought some bread, ham and plenty of water at the supermario as it was filthy hot! We left Santerem about 1pm. The meal arrangements were now a different story - a queue had formed that eventually found its way to the stern of the boat where there was a huge kitchen. Tonight we ate mince with the usual spaghetti and rice. Ended up playing cards with the Israelis till late.
Thursday 13th Feb (Rio Amazonas, The Narrows)
Day 16
Woke up this morning not feeling 100% although I hadn’t since I was really crook in Venezuela. Breakfast consisted of biscuits and that disgusting sweet coffee. I spent most of the day in my hammock as it was raining. Later on we had lunch which was chicken and the usual. I then started to get really bad stomach cramps. The pain would last about 5 seconds then go away! The scenery on the river had changed as we pushed our way through the narrows. The river banks were only 50 metres away, sometimes closer. It was just amazing, lying back in my hammock and watching the thick virginal jungle roll by. Now and again I noticed houses perched on stilts on the bank. The natives could see us coming a mile and would paddle out in their dugout canoes and wave frantically to us. Occasionally people on the boat would throw things at them. There was nothing touristy about this, it was totally authentic. Unfortunately I didn’t see any wildlife except a few birds. The stomach cramps were getting worse. Had dinner when I shouldn’t have as the pain was excruciating. Went to the toilet 8 times today which didn’t help!
Friday 14th Feb (Belem)
Day 17
Still not feeling 100%! This is really pissing me off. Skipped breakfast - didn’t miss much, 4 biscuits! As the cramps were still happening I stayed in my hammock for most of the day. Just watching the river go by, quite boring really. We had moved so far downriver that the banks were no longer visible. It felt like being on a brown ocean! Finished reading Papillon. Lunch came at 10.30 although it was really 11.30 as we had to add an hour due to a different time zone. That’s how long this huge river is. I decided to skip lunch as well and not eat at all - I was determined to get well again. Lunch was apparently good - soup! At about 2pm I saw the strangest sight. Tall buildings, a metropolis, jutting out of the jungle. It was Belem, and unfortunately the end of the trip, completing 930km nautical km in 4 days in 2 boats.
About an hour later we docked. Mike, Jo and I walked towards the town and eventually found a hotel - Palacio dos Musas for C3,500 each. The Israelis from the trip were also staying here which assured us that we had found the cheapest hotel in Belem. I got my own double room which was massive but filthy. Relaxed, shit, showered (great!!) and shaved. Later on we went for a walk. I bought some water which was my dinner. We decided to leave for Recife the next day.
Saturday 15th Feb (Belem)
Day 18
I managed to sleep in for the first time in days (well past 8am). Had a fairly good nights sleep. It had pissed down with rain all night and was still raining. I was still on my “no food” diet as I was determined to get rid of the bloody diarrhoea! Jo, Mike and I went for a walk down to the Ver-O-Peso, a huge market with everything, especially the food. The fruit was particularly interesting. Most of it I had never seen before. I tried a few and was pleasantly surprised. There was also many exotic spices and seafood, including the infamous piranha. It was the first time I got an up close look at this small fish which could apparently kill you. Have to admit the teeth were long and sharp and would not like to be on the nibbling end of one or most likely hundreds of these buggers in the Amazon. Speaking of dangers in the Amazon it was not the piranha that worried me, it was a parasite that lived in the water. The parasite would bore its way through the skin and basically infect your whole body. I do recall that it was a pretty big deal.
Anyway, Mike and Jo were feeling hungry and I was also beginning to feel hungry, just by looking at all the food. We decided to eat at a stall in the market. I had fish and the usual. There goes the diet! Also tried a few exotic fruits along the way. Later we went to the Rodoviaria to check on the buses to Recife. We couldn’t believe our luck when we were told that there were 3 cancellations. We made it. C74,000 (US$56) later though. The 3 Israelis were also on the list. We all bought some food for the trip, bread rolls, ham and water. The Israelis made all their sandwiches before the trip, wrapping each one with a map and sticky tape! These guys were unbelievable. Anyway, their ingenious idea turned into disaster when their precious sandwiches got really soggy not long after we left Belem! We all waited a couple of hours, watched football on TV, and then went back to the Rodovairia. The bus left at 8am. I sat right up the front behind the driver - a bad omen.
Sunday 16th Feb (Belem - Recife)
Day 19
The initial stages of the bus trip were nightmarish. The road was basically fucked! It was worse than the road to Manaus - huge bloody potholes everywhere, and the bus was not designed to take such treatment. Hence our first night’s sleep was basically non-existent. Once we were on the bitumen we were ok. We also stopped too many times in the night. Morning came - I had some bread and a tablet, yes a delightful breakfast! It was now 12 hours into the trip and I hadn’t gone to the toilet. We stopped in Teresina for breakfast. Afterwards I started talking to this guy next to me - he could not speak English at all, however I could still understand what he was saying, I think. He was a nice guy, Jose Faoquim from Hipolito. He gave me his address and him mine. He got off at Picos which was an absolute dump. The rest of the journey was just a blur as it was fairly monotonous. The scenery was interesting in some parts. Noticed the real poverty of Brazil. On the bus there were these kids laughing at this guy who was obviously drunk. All put together they were basically giving me the shits. Stopped for dinner, ham roll again! Then I set down for our second night on the bus. It turned out to be better than the first, but that was not too hard.
Monday 17th Feb (Recife)
Day 20
Arrived in Recife at 7am - 35 hours after we left Belem! The weather was atrocious, pissing down with rain. We caught the “Metro” to the central station in Recife. We had to wait for the rain to stop before we could go anywhere as umbrellas are definitely not an essential travelling item, however one wouldn’t have gone astray at this very moment. About one hour later Mike, Jo and I moved out (it was still raining) and found a hotel - Hotel Suica. The rooms were not ready until 1pm and it was only 10am. We decided to have breakfast in a padaria (bakery) – which had beautiful buns. Later we went exploring the city. I bought a TIME mag for C4,200. We killed time till 1pm when we went back to our hotel. We had a look at the room and left immediately - it was a bloody disgrace. Went back to Hotel Parque, a bit more expensive at C7,200 a night but worth it - I even had my own room!. Had a great shower and relaxed. Out of all the hotels in Recife I ended up in the room next to the Israelis from Manaus! I couldn’t believe it! I had dinner in the restaurant across the road - great steak. Later went for a walk with Mike and Jo - I was in search for a bar although I was not in the mood for a beer. They decided to go back to the hotel while I pursued. Saw a plaza scattered with bars, some with bands, it was looking good. However it was not to be as I had to race back to the hotel to do a big shit!
Tuesday 18th Feb (Recife - Olinda)
Day 21
Woke early at 8am. The skies were overcast and not looking good. Had breakfast just before 9 with Mike - bread, watermelon and coffee. Met this German guy (Koln) - who spoke English very well as you would expect from most European travellers. However I noted that he spoke it too often. Today I discovered Olinda, a very old and interesting town, 6km north of Recife. Spent much of the morning trying to get there, including a trip to the tourist office. They were very helpful but their directions were lousy. I eventually gave up on all suggestions and decided to catch a bus with Olinda written somewhere on it! I made it there although I wasn’t quite sure if I was in the right place. After finding my bearings, I visited some very interesting churches and houses. Steep hills aligned with heritage buildings. Towards midday it started to piss down with rain again. I met up with these Spanish guys and girl from the bus from Sta Elena! I had my first proper beer for ages, no problems at all. Yeeha! Had a late lunch on Alto da Se, overlooking Olinda to Recife. It was very pleasant. Later I walked and walked, and with the rain I was soaked, till it got dark. I was planning to stay till 9pm but was too buggered to go on. I caught a bus back to Recife, travelling along a different route. Koln, the German was also on the bus as was beginning to annoy me, I couldn’t get away.
Wednesday 19th Feb (Recife)
Day 22
Another shit day in paradise. Overcast again, and Recife is supposed to be a beach resort! Had breakfast early again - 8am. Took a bus to the Rodoviaria to buy a ticket to Salvador (C36,000) to leave at 7.30pm. Went back to Recife and back to the hotel. I packed my gear and moved out. Left my pack at reception while I went exploring again. Said goodbye to Mike and Jo. I decided to check out Boa Viagem (Portuguese for good voyage!), but in fact a beach to the south of Recife. Another nightmare to get there by bus but made it eventually. I walked down to the very long beach and proceeded to walk its length. The sun could not decide whether to make an appearance or not - mainly not. I felt like a really cold coke but unfortunately there were only coconut stands all the way along the beach! Then the unbelievable - I saw the Israelis again!! “When will it end?” I noted in my diary. Decided to call it a day and caught a bus back to Recife. I basically stuffed around for ages just to kill time. Saw the German guy again. God what a pain in the arse this guy was - non stop talker. I later had the worse cheeseburger in my life - and smallest, although what do you expect for 50c. Finally it was time to catch my bus to Salvador, an 835km bus journey south. I met a German couple, who unlike Koln, were very pleasant people. The trip was worse than I had expected.
Thursday 20th Feb (Salvador)
Day 23
After a night of what seemed hardly any sleep, morning came around. We arrived in Salvador at 8.30am. Later caught another bus to Barra, a relatively nice beach side suburb. This guy was very helpful in showing us where to go and the best places to stay. He even paid our fares! When we arrived in Barra, the German couple left while I found the information office. Met this nice girl who was very helpful. She showed me a room (with 6 beds and no window) in a house down the road. Cost C12,000 a night - most expensive yet in Brazil. I decided to take it for now but later deciding whether I would stay or not. I had to plan my trip - what would I do? At the time I decided to stay in Salvador for at least the start of the carnival and then fly to Rio for the remainder. Met my first Australian here - Warren from Canberra. We had lunch with a few beers then went to the beach. It was hot and sunny and things were looking up! Later went back to the house and relaxed till 7pm. Caught a bus to a great restaurant about 15km out of Barra, where I had arranged to meet the Germans for dinner. They didn’t bloody turn up! So I went to McDonalds instead - my first in South America. It was really expensive, the chips were cold and soggy, and the worse Big Mac I’ve ever had. But it had to be done, my McDonalds tour of the world was progressing. Later that night at the house, I tried the local fire water, Cachaca (pronounced kashasa) which was very nice. A good day.
Friday 21st Feb (Salvador)
Day 24
Huge night last night! Out on the piss with Warren, the Argentineans and the Brazilians. Big street gathering up the road, heaps of bars and people. I was going to be a great week or so - very messy indeed. Got home at 4am. Woke up at 11.30am. So theoretically I missed breakfast (which is all included assuming you wake up before 10 - this proved to be a very difficult task). However, because it was my first night in Salvador, Theresa, our host, was generous enough to give it to me anyway. Once I got ready I went to the airport (30km away) and bought a ticket to Rio, costing C306,000, leaving on the 2 March @ 9.30am. Alright, I was now organised and ready to kick arse. I had 9 days of constant partying to go in this fantastic place.
Later went back to Barra Shopping Centro and rang Rio on a public phone. The plan was to make a reservation for a room when I arrived on the 2nd at Hotel Turistico. They could not speak a word of English but I somehow managed to make a booking. Tonight, Warren, who we referred to as Eduardo because the Brazilians could not pronounce his name, and I went to the Hotel de Bahia. What a night! It cost C15,000 to get in and then all the beers you could drink as well as free food! We had no idea of what to expect and what we ended up seeing was just unbelievable. We basically witnessed a most unusual contest where the contestants had to be male, grossly overweight, extremely ugly, and dressed up in drag! I couldn’t believe it. The winner, who ultimately won the most acclaim from the crowd and could dance up a storm if you could call it that, would become the “King Moomoo”! I had compared it with a combination of a wet t-shirt competition and Miss World. Apparently to be the king was the highest honour anyone could have during the much awaited celebrations of Carnival. The crowd went wild, the music was great and the girls were stunning. Finally left about 2am. Once back at Barra, Eduardo and I continued partying till 7am, well after sunrise. We had succumbed to the debauchery of what we had named as, the “street of death”. This early cleansing session had become a regular occurrence in the glory days to come.
Saturday 22nd Feb (Salvador)
Day 25
As I stumbled back to my humble abode about 7am, I soon realised that I was now too early for breakfast. So I decided to sleep for a while. Not a good idea as I did not regain consciousness till 12.30pm! So I really missed it this time. I decided to head to the beach with all the guys. The Brazilians introduced me to the now legendary local fire water known as caprika - a mix of ground up limes, sugar and cachaca. Now this beach in Salvador known as Barra had something, a service that I had never seen before and probably will never see again. And it only had to do with a watering can!
What bliss this was sitting on the beach in your own deck chair which senor had provided and sipping on these delightful drinks. There were plenty to go around and combined with the intense heat, it did not take long before you were fully drained of energy or pissed! An added bonus was the comfort factor regarding the suppression of the heat. Not a hat nor umbrella but a watering can full of sea water poured over your feet (or body if requested) at his command. Luxury at a budget price. This continued as long as you sat in one of senor’s chairs and/or bought his drinks. Fantastic.
After my first drink I decided to go snorkelling. Bit of a waste of time as the water was filthy. Nothing to see but rocks and sand and peoples feet. The rest of the day I spent sitting on the beach. Sounds good but it wasn’t - I ended up with the worst sunburn I’ve ever had! Thought I must have had a bit of sunstroke as I also wasn’t feeling too well. I had to go back to the house and take it easy. At 7pm, the 2 Argentineans, the Brazilian, Eduardo and I went to a restaurant down the road for some typical Argentinean cuisine. Sounds great but it wasn’t. They were constantly reassuring me (I thought) that this was going to be a great feed, the best that anyone could hope for. It was an Argentinean national dish so I assumed it must be pretty good. You know, a steak dish or something like it, but noooo! Well we sat down and had a conversation, all in Spanish. I could only get bits and pieces but I did feel as though that I was contributing a little bit. Each one of them was eagerly waiting in anticipation, drooling. Then it arrived at the table - a huge bowl of something. I asked them “Que es esta?” with a somewhat worried look on my face. My fellow devourees could only point to their stomachs and say “bueno!”. Yeh, I know it was going to taste good but what the hell was it? When I took my first bite I soon realised what these guys were on about - it was bloody tripe or cows stomachs! At first it was barely edible. I could not let the team down nor hurt their feelings by saying it was bloody awful, but enough was enough, it was bloody awful. I made the excuse that I wasn’t feeling too well (which I wasn’t anyway) and decided to abandon the dinner and the table. I walked away feeling somewhat nauseous as well as wondering how anyone could eat that stuff! While I crashed and burned, the others had a huge night out on the piss. One by one they would wonder back to our room in the middle of the night and rummage around their packs in search for that elusive prophylactic. Crazy.
Sunday 23 Feb (Salvador)
Day 26
Feeling extremely sunburnt. Had breakfast today! Later on I wandered down to the beach (with my body covered up). I found the others in the usual spot and joined them, however protecting myself from the vicious sun by sitting under an umbrella all day. I decided to have a few beers today as last night was bit dry. Drank some cachaca as well. There was a rhythm band playing on the beach complete with bongos etc - very African influence. Later left the beach about 3pm and wandered back to the casa and listened to some music. Later went back to the beach and walked around. I noticed a fight - one guy was being chased by another followed by half the beach! I took it that no one liked this guy! The guy chasing the other guy finally caught up with him and beat the shit out of him then the police took him away. People were also letting off fireworks. I then went back to the casa for more R & R. Eduardo turned up and briefed me on his exploitations from the night before. Later on Sergio (from Buenos Aires), the Brazilian, the other Argentinean, and myself had dinner across the road. I had a beautiful fish and seafood meal (change from last night). Sat with Eduardo and 2 girls then went to the Farro (lighthouse) where all the action was. However there was not much about tonight. We ended up finishing the night in typical fashion - on the street of death!
Monday 24 Feb (Salvador)
Day 27
This morning, Eduardo and I took the bus to the centre of Salvador. I had wanted to take my camera, and I wish I had, but I thought it was too risky considering crime in this city is worse than Rio. Once in the centre we took a lift down the hill side to the port area for 5c. Went to the Post Office and the bank to change some more drinking money. Met a couple of English gringos in the bank. Then went to Maccas for a feed. We walked to the market which was fantastic, so many different and interesting things to see. Great paintings, full of colour - I wanted to buy one and take one home but of course this was impossible. I promised myself that I would one day come back to Salvador and buy a painting, they were that good. Great chess boards as well. Later walked around the old city which was fascinating, all the old buildings were painted different colours. Later took a bus back to Barra. Once there I went for a walk to find a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. Impossible! Watched the sunset on the beach which was spectacular. Later went back to the casa and read my book. Dinner was again across the road, this time beautiful soup, mussels and other stuff. Watched a game of soccer between Flamengo and Cruzeiro on the box. Cruzeiro won 2-1. The commentators go absolutely crazy whenever a goal is scored. They go “Gooooooooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaallllllllllll......FLAMENGOOOOOOOOOO”.
The crowd goes crazy while we happily divulge our feast of Brazilian cuisine. Later on we went down to the street of death where we stayed all night. Drank cachaca slammers - got very pissed! Met amigo de Eduardo - Steve. He went straight into the action and didn’t muck about. I could not remember coming home, but I do remember having 3 spews! Dear of dear.
Tuesday 25 Feb (Salvador)
Day 28
Did not feel very well this morning. Now I can’t think what I did all day! One thing I did do was wash my clothes which was always a drama. During my trip, washing basically consisted of grabbing the shirts and shorts that simply cannot be worn again due to the smell or its look by hand washing them in the bathroom, either in the sink or shower with a bar of normal soap. Once dry that was it, ready to wear again. No ironing at all over the entire time I was away (except when I arrived in the US when I stayed with my uncle Luther).
At Tereza's there was a sink in the bathroom which I decided to use. I grabbed my stuff and headed into to the bathroom to wash myself as well as the clothes. I filled up the sink with water and began to wash my smelly clothes. Then disaster! I was pushing down on my clothes in the sink when the whole sink disconnected from the bench and crashed to the floor! Shit! There was water everywhere together with a totally ruined sink. What the hell was I to going to say to Tereza? I thought about it and walked out and went straight to her and said there was something wrong with the sink. She went into the bathroom and discovered that there was something seriously wrong with it. She asked me what happened and I said the sink just fell to the floor, must be old. I felt really bad about it.
After the clothes washing ordeal I know I went to the beach and it was sunny. Met the guys again - no cachaca this time. I could feel myself burning up again and the dreaded peeling began. Hence I left the beach and just walked around. This guy staying in the casa told us about this great band playing in the old city tonight. We were all very keen to participate in such frivolities. Met a girl from NZ who was staying with us and another 2 girls on the beach. The Brazilian (Masil), the Uruguayan (Anibo) and I went for a meal at Chino’s restaurant across the road. Had chicken and banana fritos! Bon!! Everyone had clearly left so it was only Masil, Anibo, Teresa, and myself there. Eventually got a cab to the old city. The atmosphere was great - people everywhere. First went to a reggae bar - the Bob Marley Bar. Had this drink called clavo - definitely not to be taken in large quantities - it had to be the strongest drink I’ve ever had. And it was disgusting but I still drank it. Later saw the band we came to see - the olodum drummers. They were fantastic, about 10 of them complete with a sax. One of the songs was “Summertime”! Checked out another bar for some cachaca and beers while listening to the band strumming up and down the main streets of the old city. We bar hopped for awhile - finally ending up in a place called the Banzo Bar. Fantastic decor - very African. They played James Brown all night - huge! Unwittingly we took a cab back to Barra for some late night cleansers. And as usual I ended up in the street of death once again.
Wednesday 26 Feb (Salvador)
Day 29
Today was a good day. I walked down to the beach about noon. It was all happening! People everywhere in the usually sleepy streets of beachside, Barra. A large truck was parked right next to the beach, complete with a band playing on the very top of it. I walked down to the usual spot on the beach where I found Masil and Louis (another Brazilian) getting stuck into the cachaca - of course. I decided to join them as I was in a great mood, later to be followed by cervejas. It was getting pretty ugly. While the band was playing on the truck the lead singer was down on the beach strutting his stuff in front of everyone. Everyone on the street and the beach was up and dancing at the same time, it was just great. Later I woke up Eduardo and Steve and took them down to the beach. Angus turned up with his Kiwi mate who was a dickhead, and almost had a biffo. The bill on the beach came to C41,000 (US$32), not bad for an all day drinking binge for 4 or 5 people. Later I tore myself away from the beach scene and wandered back to the casa. Got ready to go out again. We walked up to the Campo Grande where all these people were staying. Grabbed some cachaca and went back to Barra. Again we ate at Chino’s! Walked to Farro where it was all happening, and this time it was going off. Another band on a truck and people everywhere. We followed the truck for awhile, stopping only to get more beers. Went to the bar then back to the street of death. It started to rain and fell asleep at the table. Too many Antarticas (beers) which are only served in 750ml bottles.
Thursday 27 Feb (Salvador)
Day 30
Too late for breakfast again! So I wandered down to the beach as usual. Saw the drug dealer. Went into the old city again, this time I took the camera as I had to get some shots. Changed some money ($100 @ C1524). (The Cruzeiro had depreciated 17% in the 20 days I had been in Brazil which annualised meant 313%. In fact I really noticed the inflation rate first hand every day as when I grabbed my usual cheeseburger for lunch the price was up every day!).
It was so bloody hot. Got the bus back to Barra, after the buses had been on strike for 2 days. Met Mark, a bloke from Switzerland. A very lazy day. I spoke to Steve who told me that he had a blinder at a gringo party in the afternoon. Thanks for the bloody guernsey pal! Instead I did absolutely nothing all day. Had dinner at 5.30 with Louis at Chino’s. Later went back to the beach at night with Eduardo. Tracy (Kiwi girl), Warren and I then had dinner (except me) and walked to Campo Grande (the extremely dangerous but the best part of Salvador to be at any one time). Warren said fuck this and walked back. It wasn’t that great. Saw the big fat guy, King Moomo, as the queen. Bloody hell, what a sight. Tried to score a t-shirt off this girl but she wasn’t in it. There was much confusion. Eventually walked back to Barra, which is a bloody long way, probably about 3 to 4 kms! Had a few beers in the street of death. Met up with Masil and Anibo later on. Got to bed about 6am.
Friday 28 Feb (Salvador)
Day 31
Today was the official start to Carnevale 1992. Off to a good start by missing breakfast once again. Walked to the beach and had a huge coconut. Met up with Warren and Steve. Later walked to the Farro, stalls everywhere! People everywhere! Huge! Can’t really remember much about today (a sign that it must have been good). About 8pm these drunken Aussies arrived at the casa. Steve went off with them while Warren and I had a feed. Later we tried to meet up with Masil and Anibo but couldn’t find them. So Warren and I found this spot near the main beach road. We watched the trucks go by as we drank copious amounts of Antarctica. There were just so many people. At one stage the fascist police let off tear gas! No one knew why but people starting panicking, some falling off high walls into the crowd, everyone with their T-shirts covering their mouths and nose. Then the thing I was dreading finally happened. I had to do a piss! Warren pissed in a cup while I went to the beach and did it. Much later to the street of death. The black girl with the huge laugh came and sat with us. Warren finally left while I had hassles with the ‘girls’. Masil and I had further drinks - then the sun came up.
Saturday 29 Feb (Salvador)
Day 32
Not a good feel this morning. Breakfast was actually an option as I wandered back in at 8am! A welcome change. I slept till 12 or so. Decided to get a haircut - pretty good job I thought and only for C4,000 (US$2.60). Short hair again after a bloody long time - it felt great. Later went for a walk to the beach with Eduardo and Steve. It was at this moment that I met more gringoes at any one time than any time before. Aussies, Kiwis, Swedes, etc. I joined them in a few beers on the beach, a favourite pastime it turned out. Met two very nice English girls. Also met a Brazilian woman who was extremely attractive. Ended up having a very long conversation with her even though my Portuguese was practically non existent. Later went back to the pousada to have another kip.
Ended up waking up at 9pm. Eduardo, Steve and I went to have a couple of beers with Masil and Anibo. Then we walked up to 7 de Septembro to Sao Hose Hotel, where everyone was staying. Just getting there was an absolute nightmare, just so many people, some of them with hands flying through your pockets. The only way to protect my money (which is all I had on me) was to shove it down my grundies as far as I could bear it! No one was flogging anything in there! The police were slightly less than helpful - in fact they were a bunch of fascist assholes. They certainly give police brutality a good name. If you found yourself in the unfortunate and helpless situation where there was no where to go except in the direction that 1000 other people around you were heading, and the police were coming the other way, there was no chance to escape - you were either clobbered to move or just walked over. Unbelievable.
Once at the hotel we calmed down with a couple of cleansers - they did not even touch the sides! Spent about an hour here before we moved on to the main action - the painted road! Getting there was far worse than before. Tensions were high and ended up provoking many fights. The police loved this bit. Just get out of the way if you could! At one stage this kid managed to get into Steve’s pockets and steal some money. Once Steve realised what was going on, he somehow managed to chase the kid through the confused sea of people and nab him. He was only about 10 years old! Steve grabbed the kid by his feet and held him upside down. He then shook him like a rag doll so that any money he had would fall to the ground. It worked! Once Steve collected his initial losses (and probably more) he released the kid who then sped off into obscurity. It was a very amusing scene. As the trip down was strenuous we stopped every 50 metres or so to grab a fresh Antarctica! It certainly made the journey more pleasant. We ended up sitting on this sidewalk stall till 7.30am! It was during this time that any deeply religious experiences were spawned. It didn’t take too long before we realised it was time to head back to Barra, not looking forward to the long trip. On the way we stopped at another bar! I was absolutely rooted by this stage, finding it a struggle to keep my eyes open. Some crashed on the floor of the bar while the die hards kept a slow but continuous pace. After an hour or so I pulled the plug and headed back to the pousada and crashed big time. What a day!
Sunday 1 Mar (Salvador)
Day 33
Woke up at 3pm! Not a good feeling once again. Eduardo was due to fly out about noon to catch a connecting flight to London. He missed it. He however went to the airport anyway to see if he could get another flight. That was the last I heard of Eduardo. I went to the beach. Saw some of the others from last night - they were all not surprisingly quite mellow. One of the English girls was being hassled by the Brazilian guy and basically pissing us all off. After a while I went back to the pousada and had my mandatory afternoon kip. At 8am I woke to the sounds of the samba. I got up to see the tv on full blast, tuning in to the Carnavale in Rio - live! It looked fantastic. I couldn’t wait to get down there. At 9.30 I walked up to the Hotel Sao Hose once again. Met up with all the others. Grabbed my first beer for the day. We stayed for a while this time, chatting to the locals. Later Dana (American glam), David Cummins (Aussie), a Brazilian girl and myself walked to Campo Grande. It was impossible to find the others who had left before us. So Dana and I went to this bar and talked for ages. Very nice girl, although I did not see her ever again. Got home at the respectable hour of 4am this time. The music from the Carnavale was now drummed into my head. It was always the same, every night. The most memorable went like this;
1) Ba Yah, Eh O, Eh O
2) Todo vo, Todo vo (sang very quickly)
3) O O O O O O O ......Ah Ah Ah Ah ... Ah Ah i Ah
What memories - Salvador will never be forgotten!!
Monday 2 Mar (Rio de Janeiro)
Day 34
I got up at 6am - only 2 hours sleep! No worries. However today was a mixed feeling of uncontrollable urges to get to Rio and to stay in Salvador, the town that will never be forgotten. Anyway I got ready, packed my stuff and went to Tereza to pay the bill. Then I stupidly asked her for a taxi. There were no buses from Porto de Barra. So the trip cost C28,000 (US$18) to the bloody airport! Very casual boarding procedures. Sit anywhere you want on the plane basically, which was fine as there was no one on it anyway. We took off at 9.20am. It was a spectacular flight down the east coast. Arrived in Rio about 2 hours later. Unfortunately it was not a very clear day so I couldn’t see much.
Once in Rio I took a bus to Gloria which dropped me off at this road next to a park. I walked in the general direction of where I thought the hotel to be. I was right and found it almost straight away - Hotel Turistica. What joy! I was desperately hoping that my booking was successful from the other day as I walked up to the reception. Good news - they had my booking. Bad news - it was by far the most expensive room in the hotel and easily the most I had to pay for any room so far on this trip since the 1st night in South America. The cost - C16,900 (US$11) a night. I couldn’t believe it. I complained that it was just gringo extortion but it was to no avail as usual. I suppose one good thing about it was that it was the deluxe penthouse, with ensuite. Even more bad news - someone had ripped off the hotel safe during the night before and took everything except the passports! Everyone was pissed off, and some were saying it had to be an inside job. Pending this I still decided to stay here. Once I found my room I took a kip then later went exploring. After chaining my backpack to the bed (very paranoid), I caught a bus which went to Leblon, Copacobana, Ipanema, Botofago, and Flamengo. Very interesting and impressive city. Later sat in foyer talking to a few other gringos. I was very keen to get to the Sambadromo tonight whatever the cost!
The Sambadromo is a stadium built along a long strip (like a street) where the actual Carnavale takes place. It is an organised event which occurs every night during Carnivale whereby Samba dance schools dress up (or down) and have to perform according to strict rules. The audience does not participate, merely observes, like a concert. So for us it was merely a shows rather than a party which I was used to in Salvador. The amazing thing though is that is starts at 6pm and doesn’t stop until 6am! The Samba schools take this very seriously and who are ultimately judged on their performance and amazing costumes. Timing is also critical, if they are too slow moving through the Sambadromo they are deducted points. But this is Rio, the world famous Carnavale – I could not wait to see it.
Three Germans, an Aussie girl from Bathurst (Jo with the sunnies - a complete nutter) and I caught a bus there. We ended getting lost in a very dodgy area, and basically stuffed around for far too long. I was getting fairly annoyed by this stage but in the end we found what we were looking for. We managed to get tickets to section 13 (which ended up being the worst as that part of stand was a long way back from the action) for C10,000. However the parade was fantastic, awesome. Something you have to see to believe. We stayed and danced ourselves while three schools went through. In the end we felt that was enough as we wanted to party ourselves. We left but ultimately went back to the hotel. I had done Carnivale!
Tuesday 3rd Mar (Rio de Janeiro)
Day 35
I had breakfast before 10am. Sat with Carolyn (Aussie girl). Tracy (NZ girl from Salvador) also turned up. Later on in the day I caught the 571 bus to Ipanema as I desperately had to buy a 2nd pair of shorts. My only pair was losing it. I found some for C5,000 (a nice pair of grey shorts which were almost like boxer shorts!) then walked further to the beach. Walked along Ipanema beach for miles and eventually the full length of Copacobana beach, the next beach along. There were stalls all along Ave Atlantica selling everything. I bought a t-shirt for C5,500. It took a while to get the bus back to Gloria. Stuffed around for awhile. I was determined to do something special for the last night of the Carnivale, like a ball! I later met up with Carolyn who was going out to dinner then to a ball with Donna (Aussie) and Tim (Swede). I met them later at this great restaurant in Ipanema - Albericos. After dinner it was then time to head to the ball.
I had one huge problem though, what does a backpacker in searing heat wear to a ball? I rummaged through my backpack but could not find anything that was even slightly acceptable. So I settled for a buttoned shirt, tanned shorts and a pair of huge boots. Funny, I looked remarkably like a backpacker! Luckily, the others were in the same boat as me so it did not really matter too much. We all caught a taxi to the ball which was in Lagoa.
Once there we checked out the ticket situation. Good news was that there were tickets available. Bad news was that the men were charged twice as much as the girls. Anyway we decided to split the total cost equally (thanks girls) which ended up costing C15,000 each. Alrighty! It was during to queuing that I realised that it was going to be a huge night. The girls! The fancy dress. The lingerie and the next to nothingness – oh my God!! When we entered the hall, I couldn't believe my eyes, girls everywhere with basically nothing on! The Samba band was thumping out the Samba and we just got straight into it. The band did not stop playing all night. It was very hot in there (literally as well as the other) and with the combination of the fast paced Samba rhythm it did not take long before clothes were ditched and the only things left going were g-strings (even on some guys!). I took my shirt off and felt very satisfied (but sadly left my g-string at home). The music was wild. I loved it. I couldn’t believe I was actually here. Carolyn and I must have danced non stop for 4 hours! Sweat was pouring off everyone. The beers were flowing but I remember they were bloody expensive but I didn’t care. I was having too much of a good time. Carolyn and I lost the others and we ended up back at the hotel around 5am! Thought everything was going great but she wanted to call it a night. Could have been the best end to a perfect evening. Anyway, it was still a wild night and will never be forgotten.
Wednesday 4th Mar (Rio de Janeiro)
Day 36
As usual, I woke up too late for breakfast. So I went downstairs anyway about 11.30am. Saw Tracy who was talking to this Canadian guy. Carolyn came down and walked out without saying hello – what the f...? I called out and said what's going on. They were off to Copacobana. Ok I thought, I'll give this another try. I met them there about 1pm. It was very not and the surf wasn’t bad. I went in for a swim which was great however there was a fierce rip. We later went up to Copacobana Palace (hotel next to the beach) to sit by the pool and relax in luxury. Bliss. However I knew that something was just not right with this mob so I eventually left and caught a bus back to Gloria. Later I saw John (Canadian who works in Montevideo) and he and I agreed to go out to Lord Jims pub in Ipanema. At 8pm we went to a cafe, and I had the best feed for C3,500 (US2$2) and a couple of beers. Then disaster! My first South America robbery experience was about to commence.
John and I caught the 572 bus to Ipanema. In Brazil, at least in Rio, you enter buses at the rear where you actually pay a person who sits permanently next to the rear door who will then allow you to enter the bus through a turnstile. Given that I knew I was going on a bus in Rio to Ipanema at night I decided not to take any chances. I did not take anything except enough money for some beers and bus fares, about $10. I even kept it in a money belt hidden under my shorts!
Anyway, almost immediately after we got on the bus, two bloody suspicious blokes were moving under the barrier in the bus. They stared at us as they moved up the aisle amongst the dozen or so other people on the bus at the time and sat forward of us and then looked back at us from time to time. I immediately thought to myself that it might be a good idea to get off. These blokes were no good. They were definitely going to do something, we just didn’t know what. So I said to John that we should get off at the next stop.
But it was too late.
They both got up and came back down the aisle towards us where we were sitting, which was right in front of the conductor guy taking money. They asked us if we had any money and we said no. I proved it by showing that I had a small amount of shrapnel from the change of the bus fare but he didn’t believe me. John was also not being cooperative and refused to give them anything. This pissed them off. One of them produced a knife and threatened John since he was sitting next to the aisle. They then took C55,000 from John and ripped his watch off his wrist. As for me, I guess they have ripped off gringos before as they reached for my waist and found my money belt and physically ripped it off me. Once they were satisfied that they had everything they got off the bus. I couldn’t believe it. My first reaction was shock but then anger quickly sank in. John and I got off as well at the next stop since there was no point going into Ipenema now. All I wanted to do was find these bastards but then again, for C7,000 it wasn’t worth it.
Thank God I had taken my passport and credit cards out of my money belt beforehand. But not everything. All my passports photos were in it. Also, before I left the hotel I locked up my backpack with a padlock and the key was in the money belt. A shitty end to a shitty night.
Thursday 5th Mar (Rio de Janeiro)
Day 37
Time to take my weekly malaria pill according to the diary. The things you have to remember! Made it to breakfast this time. I sat with the German guy. Donna and Tim came down later on. They told me of the AMX office address. So off I went - took the metro to Pres. Vargas and walked to the office. There was a letter from Cindy. I also changed some more money - $150. Later went to the Post Office to post some postcards. Then went back to the hotel. Bought a map. Went to Botofago to check out the Argentinean Consulate but realized then that I didn’t have a bloody photo. Those thieving bastards! So I searched everywhere for a place that took passport sized photos. Eventually I found “foto studio” where they did 6 black and white photos for C7,500. So back to the consulate to get my visa. C25,000 it cost! What a rip off. I even had to pick up my passport the next day. Back to the hotel and vegged as I was stuffed from walking around in the terrific heat. Later bought some postcards and some film. Later on I wandered down to reception to ask them if they had anything to cut padlocks open. Boltcutters was impossible to describe, even a saw or screwdriver. Finally convinced them to give me a hammer. Cornelious (German) helped me out by smashing the locks open. It worked a treat. Later we went to Santa Tereza (part of Rio) for dinner. Present were Cornelious (nice guy), Ditier (German), Vicki (Kiwi), Jack (Kiwi), and another German girl. It was a very nice dinner in a very nice restaurant, quite a change from normal. We ended up walking back to the hotel some time early in the morning.
Friday 6th Mar (Rio de Janeiro)
Day 38
A good day. Had breakfast initially with Donna and Tim and later joined by John (Canadian), Jo, Mike and Sarah (English). After breakfast I caught a bus to Copacabana to see the famous beach. When I arrived, it was very misty but was still very hot. I ended up walking the full length of the beach, from Ipanema. The wide beach boulevard mainly consisted of stalls selling all the touristy stuff like t-shirts and post cards. The beach itself is awesome with its wide strip, great surf and all the beautiful people.
One amazing aspect of the beach was the beach volleyball, although not the normal game most people, including myself knew. At the time I had never seem anything like it. And no wonder the Brazilian football (soccer) team was one of the best in the world when a bunch of guys get together and play this game as skilful as the guys that I saw. The difference? Perhaps the only difference seemed to be that hands were not allowed which in normal volleyball was an essential part of the game. So as a substitute they used their heads and feet, very much like football. I was so fascinated that I just sat and watched one game for about an hour. The crazy thing was that there was perhaps about 20-30 of these games going on all the way up the beach at the same time. The skill.
Once I walked the full length of the beach I hopped on another bus to another beach side suburb, Botofago. My destination was the cable car to Pao de Acuca (Sugar Loaf) at Urca. I alighted at a spot which I thought was the closest point to cable car and walked briskly to that point while clutching my day pack hard. I was not letting my guard down for one second and I certainly did not want to lose my camera. I finally arrived at Urca only to just miss the cable car up. I had to wait for the next one. The cost to the top was C8,000. Urca is actually the half way point on the ride to the top. From here you can go hangliding which I did not opt for. At the top of Sugar Loaf the views of Copacabana to the south and Rio to the north were breathtaking. The day was magnificently sunny but at an expense, it was very hot. There was a mini zoo up there, but a little sad as beautiful toucans were locked up in small cages. It was however a good opportunity to view the beautiful birds up close. The top has a good view of the old airport in Flamengo and is the scene of one James Bond movie as a plane takes off from the same runway. The ride back down also resembled the same movie as I remember Roger Moore and Jaws fighting together between the 2 cable cars.
Once back to sea level I walked to the Argentinean Consulate to pick up my passport. The visa for my next country to visit was ready. Caught the metro back to Gloria to the hotel. Then back to the metro into town to head for AMX to pick up any mail. Got a letter from Mum but could not change travellers cheques. Back to the hotel then out for a huge feed across the road for C3,000! Early night.
Saturday 7th Mar (Rio de Janeiro)
Day 39
A relatively early start. Had breakfast with Mike and Jo at 9.30am. Today I was to climb another famous hill, the Corcovado which holds the huge statue of Jesus Christ the Redeemer. I caught a bus to the cog railway which is the best way to get to the top. Cost of the trip was C12,000. The trip was interesting as the cogs kicked in. Without them we would not be able to make the top. At one point a group of kids came from nowhere and jumped onto the train and hung to the outside, which in itself is quite dangerous. Everyone inside the train quickly grabbed their personal items and held them for fear of being robbed by these kids. I also did the same. The kids were really wanting to hitch a ride up and nothing else so no dramas. Once at the top a few steps took us to the very top. Christ the Redeemer stood above me with his arms stretched out and looking over the best known view of Rio. The view was fantastic but unfortunately it was very hazy. The view was enjoyed by thousands of other people as well, it seemed to be a very popular spot. As a result my stay was short lived and decided to head back down. I ended up back at the hotel by 1pm. Later I went to the Rodovaria to check out the prices etc for Curitiba. The bus trip back to Gloria was not good as it was very hot, the traffic was bad and many detours. The rest of day was spent doing nothing really. At 6pm I watched another game of football (Flamengo lost again!). Read an old edition of International Tribune to catch up on the cricket results. Went to dinner with Mike and Jo. Thought there was a restaurant where you could eat all you want for C3,000 but the food stops at 3pm! So we went to another instead to have the usual…steak, rice and chips….again.
Sunday 8th Mar (Rio de Janeiro)
Day 40
Up for breakfast with Mike and Jo (Amazon) again! “I’m quite pissed at the moment (10pm 7/3)” says the diary. “I was wondering what the fuck I’m suppose to do today” it goes on. First of all I bought a ticket to Curitiba (next destination) for C41,000. Caught a bus to Copacobana. Walked around the beach front mainly looking for a bum bag or similar (moneybelt would have been ideal) but bloody nothing! Then I decided - see a movie, but everything was bloody shut. Had a bite to eat. Watched some great beach volleyball, they would beat the shit out of any team I’ve been in, they were unbelievable. Walked from Botofago to Gloria. Saw a couple of local games of soccer on the way. Then vegged out at the hotel till 5pm when I got another bite to eat. I ordered this meal and had no idea what it was. It turned out to be sausages, and was really nice, and cheap. It then pissed down with rain and I ended up getting soaked as I ran back to the hotel. Time to leave Rio (sad occasion but looking forward to the next leg of the journey). Ended up getting a cab to the Rodoviaria for C5,000. Piece of mind really as I didn’t want to go through all the shit again with the bloody buses. The bus to Curitiba left just after 7pm, and I was the only gringo aboard.
Monday 9th Mar (Curitiba - Paranagua)
Day 41
Arrive in Curitiba at 7am, so taking 12 hours. Managed to get bugger all sleep. I immediately checked into Hotel Wong across the road for C6,000 a night. It was the biggest piece of shit of a hotel, but it was comforting to know that I was no longer paying C17,000 a night. I quickly decided to go to Paranagua today rather than the next day as I had originally planned. I headed for the train station. I couldn’t believe who was there. Bloody Dave Cummins from Salvador and his brother Andrew had just flown in from Oz. Andrew was with two other Aussie girls, Libby and Sally. We were all going the same way. The train “Litoria” left at 8.30am. The trip down to the coast was spectacular, high gorges in dense rainforest passing over suspect bridges and through many tunnels. Despite the scenery I was bloody tired.
Once in Paranagua I changed some money which took so long as they could not get their shit together. Then we proceeded to what I thought to be one of the great restaurants of South America. Could not remember the name but we had the biggest seafood feast I or any of us had indulged in. We ate lobster, crab, prawns, fish, bugs, oysters, etc, etc, etc. All for only $4 each plus beers! The girls had to leave but the men stayed on, getting stuck into the Antarctica’s! Yeh. After lunch we ran to catch the 5.15 bus back to Curitiba. I made the unfortunate mistake of not relieving myself before boarding the bloody bus. It wasn't too long before the urge came on and then the crossing your legs part and ultimately into extreme pain. There was a toilet on the bus but is was broken. Ahhhhhhhhh. I even asked senor bus driver to make an emergency stop but was he refused. God. I thought I was going to piss my pants for sure. What a relief though when we arrived. We later met up with the girls in town. We went to this bar/restaurant where we unbelievably got ripped off with the beers. Everyone left at 9pm while I got a feed, then back to the really nice hotel, not.
Tuesday 10th Mar (Curitiba - Foz do Iguazu)
Day 42
What a night! One of the worst hotels I’ve stayed in ever. Permanent smell of piss with a hint of shit. The shower was leaking and someone decided to do some woodwork at 3 o’clock in the fucking morning. It was a nightmare. I got out of there as soon as possible and managed to change my ticket to Foz from 10am to 6.45pm. Cost C27,000. The trip itself started off ok. The bus was only 3/4 empty, however things started to go wrong. I lost my seat (you basically have to stay on the bus if you wanted to keep the same seat) to some arsehole. Then we must have stopped at every rodoviarias till Foz - I couldn’t believe it! I was getting so bloody pissed off. It started to piss down with rain, developing into a huge storm. We eventually arrived 12 hours later. I tried to find a place where the others were staying but was either full or no longer a place of board. Result - no amigos. This kid showed me a pousada (I thought he was taking me to the Tourist Office!). It turned out to be a great place to stay, and only for C6,000 a night. Had a bite to eat - spaghetti and a beautifully cold beer. Later changed $20 as I had no money left.
Wednesday 11th Feb (Foz do Iguacu)
Day 43
What a great day! Up very early - 6.30am. Trying to get my included breakfast was tragic. First I asked the guy for some breakfast but no, he jumps in the shower for 1/2 an hour!. The old bag who ran the place had no idea. Result - no bloody breakfast! Guess it’s the standard ploy. Bastards. So I packed my stuff and headed out to the local bus station. And on the way I saw the guys, Dave, Andrew, Libby and Sal. So today we were to see the Argentinean side of the falls. Caught a bus to Puerto Iguacu in Argentina, then another to the falls. $11 for the whole day.
The bus drove us to a point where we could literally walk out to the top of falls. We quickly got off the bus and walked over to what looked like jetties over the water but was in fact fairly dodgy catwalks. The walks led us out to the famous “Devils Throat”, the largest and most powerful fall. The catwalks took us right to the edge. It was an unbelievable sight. During the process it was impossible to stay dry and all got soaked from from the spray. We did though notice a man standing on a step-ladder with an umbrella which actually didn't work too well.
Later on we had brunch on the rocks under the catwalk - i.e. homemade sandwiches. Later on we went to a famous hotel there and walked around other falls. So beautiful. We caught a boat over to the island which was totally surrounded by the falls. We stayed here for a while just lapping up the fantastic location. Found a good spot to hang out just near an arch. Dave decided to climb up onto this rock, and once at the top he did his best Arny impersonations. Pretty funny stuff but he ended up getting stung badly on his hand. As he was climbing down he noticed a spider running away! It swelled up unbelievably. Later on we walked around again then caught the boat back to the opposite bank where we had an expensive drink. Caught the bus back to Foz. I bought my ticket to Buenos Airies. Met the others at 8pm in the all you can eat restaurant. Great feed, beers and atmosphere. Thoroughly enjoyed tonight - however I unbelievably spewed when I got home!
Thursday 12th Mar (Foz do Iguacu)
Day 44
A late start - a welcome relief! Even had breakfast with the old bag - not bad either. Met two guys, an Aussie, Kerry and a Swede I think. Eventually met up with the others a bit after 10am. We were to see the Itaipu Dam (except Andrew Cummins). We waited for the bus then said fuck it - no dam today, it was too bloody hot. Moments later it started pissing down with rain. Later we walked to the bank - a fair way and changed some money. On the way back we stopped and ate these meat pastie things - very nice. Later we sat down at the usual restaurant and had a couple of beers. The guys had to leave at 2.30 so I said goodbye. I had a great time with these guys, and wondered if I would see them ever again. Once they were gone I decided to head out to the Iguacu falls again, on the Brazilian side this time. It was raining (no pissing down) 90% of the time. In fact a huge storm enveloped the whole area resulting in getting myself totally drenched. Saw these cheeky raccoon type animals taking everything that wasn’t tied down. The views from this side were fantastic. Got the bus back cold and wet. Had dinner in the usual restaurant again and had an early night.
Friday 13th Mar (Foz do Iguacu)
Day 45
Beware, Friday the 13th! It had to be an early start as I had decided to head out to Itaipu Dam today – which was the largest single hydro power station in the world at that time. It generates so much power that it lights up and runs the whole country of Paraguay and all of Southern Brazil including Rio and Sao Paulo! I had to see this engineering marvel.
After I managed to have breakfast being so early I packed my stuff and headed off to the local Rodoviaria. I had to wait for an hour for the bloody bus which was to take me to Itaipu Dam. Once there I joined a group who were shown an interesting film on the dam (in English!) at 10am then for a free tour of the dam. Afterwards, everyone boarded the waiting buses to take us to the dam.
The dam was huge, in height but mainly in length, 8km exactly. Initially, we stopped at the side of the river where the spillway ended. It was rainy season and the spillway was turned on for us. The overflow water from the dam entered the spillway at the top and travelled down at tremendous speed in a white foamy action. At the end of the spillway (which was roughly 100-150m in length) the concrete edged up and pushed the water up into the air which forced the white foam to arc out high across the river bank and land with an almighty splash in the middle of the river. It was a brilliant sight – never seen anything like it. I guess the purpose of this was to oxygenate the water. Anyway I took some photos and we moved on to complete the tour of the dam.
At 11.30 I caught a bus back to Foz. It was now time to leave to Brazil and head to Argentina. My destination was Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina. My transport was as usual, a bus. So I bought some food and water for the trip. I wrote a letter to Dad to save time. I gabbed a bite to eat then headed off towards Argentina. Customs consisted of two stamps, an exit and an entrada. Once in Puerto Iguazu as the Argentineans call it, I changed the remainder of my cruzeiros to pesos. My next job was to find the bus that was to take me to the capital. The bus to Buenos Aires arrived at 6pm. It was the most luxurious bus I had ever been on in my life. Even better than Oz although that doesn’t take much. The bus had hostess service just like a plane, they fed us with meal and everything! Videos, drinks, air con, you name it. Wild. I was not used to this. I ended up sitting next to a bloody seppo pensioner. He was friendly at first which made a refreshing change, but in the end he gave me the shits...
ARGENTINA
Saturday 14th Mar (Buenos Aires)
Day 46
The entire morning of course was spent on the bus. Watched a video - “See No Evil, Hear No Evil” - bloody funny with Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor. Arrived in Buenos Aires (literally translated as "Good Air") about 12.30pm. I had to collect luggage from a carousel, just like an airport! I was sure that I was travelling by bus! Anyway I met an English couple, Ian and Beth who were very nice. We walked to a hotel in Ro Lavelle, Hotel O’Rei. Standard fee of $10 a night, expensive but cheap for Argentina. This place is just as expensive as Europe. The exchange rate did not help as it was pegged to the US dollar, nor did the relatively stable inflation rate do any good for my precious $$. Welcome to Argentina!
Later on I went for a walk - quite a nice place, not only was it just as expensive as Europe it looked like a city straight out of a Thompson’s European travel brochure. Everything was shut however in the middle of the day, being South America it did not surprise me. So instead I wrote a letter to Cindy. Finally at 7pm, Ian, Beth and I decided to go out. We checked out the Chinese restaurant (cheap) but it was bloody closed. So we went to a bar/restaurant almost across the road from the hotel and had a couple of beers. They brought out the biggest glasses I have not seen since Oktoberfest. We were so impressed we ended up staying here for dinner, great pizza too. At 10pm there were people everywhere, just walking. At midnight or so I went back to the hotel. It was very noisy outside as my room was right on the street. This was a nocturnal city alright. During the night though this guy on the street was shouting out every 30 seconds or so and was seriously giving me the shits. It was not a good nights sleep.
Sunday 15th Mar (Buenos Aires)
Day 47
A Sunday. A day when usually nothing happens. So I set out a rough plan on what to do and then set out to accomplish it. I did some needy washing. Caught the ‘subte’ (metro) to Palermo where there was supposed to be a huge park, zoo etc. I could not find it as I did not have a map nor did anyone else know where it was. Ended up finding another park which was quite nice. Got the subte back. Walked to Retiro train station but info was hopeless. But did make it to the bus station where buses leave for Mendoza which was my next port of call - $52! It would seem that I would not spend too much time with the Argies as my money would run out pretty quickly.
Anyway, I walked back towards the docks and came across a film set. The scene was set when I think Peron was overthrown. The crew took ages fucking around so I left. Saw a couple of nice churches then headed back to the hotel. I rang Roberto Newborn (friend of Mark’s) twice but just got the answering machine. Open Plaza Bar does not exist. Thanks for the tips Mark! Later went wandering - decided to see a movie. Was going to the soccer but had no money, so I saw “Cape Fear” with Robert DiNero - excellent movie. For dinner I bought a veal roll which was basically a roll with veal in it. When I asked for something else like maybe a bit of lettuce, it was extra. Everything extra was extra! I bought a coke then I was pesoless!
Monday 16th Mar (Buenos Aires)
Day 48
Today I fucked up. I had decided to go to Uruguay (at the last minute). So I set off early. First I had to get some more money at AMX - $200. Then I had to get my arse down to the Uruguayan Consulate which was miles away. Once there I thought to myself, do I really need to go to Uruguay? After Mum set me going about San Diego again I thought nup - fuck it. By this stage it was too late to leave the hotel today, I would have to stay another night! I checked out the train tickets to Mendoza - one was leaving the next day at 2200 hours! God another full day in Buenos Aires. The train turned out to be $20 cheaper than the bus. Got a cheap Chinese feed for $3 - all you can eat! Got to be happy with that! Later on I walked for miles to the Bolivian consulate only to be told that I did not need a bloody visa. Went to the Post Office - bought some shitty headphones for the walkman as the other ones had died.
Buenos Aires is a place where men's hair is always longer than women's! I felt like the odd man out. I bought a Herald Tribune (the costly substitute for Time mag but worth it) and read over the sporting pages. Since I had been kept in the dark regarding any world news it was disappointing to read the sport pages. Australia was not doing too well in the Cricket World Cup and had been beaten in the America's Cup. Later on I donned my stepping out gear as I was keen for a big night out on the town as it was going to be my last night in capital. Rang Mark’s so called mate, Roberto again but spoke to his persistent answering machine once again. The big night out turned out to be a complete disaster, ending up at Maccas then straight to bed - brilliant.
Tuesday 17th Mar (Buenos Aires)
Day 49
Today was a fairly boring day. It all started when I was kicked out of the hotel at 10am for Gods sake! The bloody train was not leaving till 10pm - what the hell was I supposed to do for 12 hours? The day turned out to be quite an eventful one. I went to the Tourist Office and sussed out a few things to do. Changed $50 at AMX but no fax from Mum. I ended up walking to the Cemetery of the Recoleta which was fascinating. Huge tombs as big as and resembling small churches. The place was like an old city of churches. Saw the famous tomb of Eva Peron. Took me ages to find it though. Later I walked back to Ro. Libertardor at 12.30pm. Apparently 2 hours later there was a huge bomb at the Israeli Embassy which killed 30 people. I had walked past the building only minutes before. Walked back to the docks - it was a beautiful day. Then walked back up to the centre and had some pizza (with anchovies!) and a beer! Went to the Opera House but it cost $4 for a tour - I said maybe another day. I ended up paying 50c more and saw another movie - “Thelma and Louise”. Great movie - bizarre end though. It was now only 5.30. Basically I fucked around till 7.30. Bought some food and left for the station. On the way I saw the Dragoman truck, the totally organised Contiki tour of South America, which we all bagged at some stage. I waited 1 1/2 hours for the train. Then left on cue at 10pm.
Wednesday 18th Mar (Mendoza)
Day 50
Once on the train I proceeded to my designated seat in my designated carriage. After all the nice buses that I have travelled on in this country I was disappointed to see that the trains were of lower quality. The seat I had was made of ripped tastefully green sticky vinyl. Any this was in primero class, which is one up from touristico and two down from the top. Probably the best value as it was full. No a/c just fans on the roof. There were also no lights when we set off at night, making the process of finding the allocated seat almost impossible unless you had a torch! I sat next to a Peruvian from Lima, Manuel who could speak English - really nice guy. I had dinner - ham and cheese in pita bread. Slept on and off through the night - mainly off.
In the morning we stopped for ages, right next to a mill. And it was another beautiful day. The rest of the day was quite boring really. It was getting hotter and very dusty. I was covered in the stuff. The scenery was very reminiscent of the Australian outback, the Nullarbor Plain in particular - like the trip I did with my family back in 1976. Arrived in Mendoza about 5.30pm - 19 1/2 hours after leaving Buenos Aires. Medoza was a very nice town and quite pleasantly surprised. I stayed at Hotel Espana - $7 a night. Not bad. Went for a walk later on - very pleasant. For dinner I wandered down to a place called Restaurant Nevada - $3 for a 3 course meal but $2 for 1 litre of Pepsi! As I was very tired from the trip I basically crashed and burned. But when I woke I was ready for a couple of days of organisation.
Thursday 19th Mar (Mendoza)
Day 51
A good day.
I woke up at 8am (but it was really 7am due to the time difference from Buenos Aires). After breakfast I went to the Tourist Office to check out everything that was going on. Afterwards I walked to the bus station a bought a ticket to Santiago in Chile leaving on Saturday for $18. Met a guy called Mario and ended up buying the ticket off him. Later on I walked to the other side of town to the Chilean Consulate to obtain my visa but was told that I did not need one, again. Ok good news! I kept walking west towards San Martin Park, which is stunning. It is massive with its own rowing club, golf course and football grounds.
Later on I walked to the summit of Cerro de la Gloria on the edge of Mendoza where there is a historic monument at the top. It was at this point that I got my first view of the Andes, which was not that good due to the weather. Got a few shots in then proceeded down the mountain the quick way, i.e. straight down. Walked to the other side of town again where I bought a paper - “Australia is fucked”. A quote taken from my diary, however in hindsight I am not too sure what I was referring to. Probably the cricket. For lunch I had a great hot dog.
Then the highlight of the day, I decided to go to a winery. Mendoza is known for its Argentinian wines and thought that it was appropriate to check them out. After a bit a research I ended up taking a bus to a winery called, Bodegas Giol. However when I arrived, there was absolutely no one around and I was wandering whether it was still operating! Eventually I saw signs of life, two German guys and a (very nice) French girl came into view. They were also wanting a tour around the winery and more importantly, the wine tasting! We met up with a tour guide who was keen to show us around. So off we went. It was very interesting although the tour was in Spanish and I was finding it difficult to understand anything he was saying. I found the whole set up to be very unhygienic where wine was flowing in open gutters (makes it taste better?). But casting that aside, it was time for the tasting. Time to taste the culinary delights of Western Argentinean vino. We tried all the different types of wine which generally were not too bad. At one stage I grabbed one glass and took a sip. As soon as the substance hit my pallet I got the shock of my life. It was non-alcoholic!! It was so disgusting that I almost had to reach for the bucket, but not to use it for its intended purpose. Errrr!! Anyway, after that hilarious moment passed and we all had our picture taken we were escorted to the winery’s wine outlet of course. I said I was in a hurry and left without buying anything. Actually, later on I bought four bottles of beer and headed for the park. It was a very pleasant experience. Later had dinner with someone (doesn’t actually say who in the diary and I can’t remember) and got quite drunk.
Friday 20th Mar (Mendoza)
Day 52
A shitty day to start off with as the weather was cold and cloudy. In fact I was wandering what the hell I was going to do! I even felt a bit hungover. I ended up walking to the Tourist Office again and sussing out all possible options including more bodegas and maybe a trip up into the Andes. I dismissed the latter mainly because I would do it tomorrow anyway. So I ended up catching the 160 bus again to Maipa - another bodega but I really wasn’t that keen and ended up coming straight back. Bloody waste of time really. So I spent most of the afternoon reading the Buenos Aires Herald and listening to the old faithful walkman. I was bloody bored. I was thinking that I should have left today instead of tomorrow. One thing kept me going - there was a local basketball match on at 9.30pm. After dinner I proceeded down to the basketball ball stadium. Once there I was initially disappointed. It resembled a school gym with the number of people present reflecting this. However once the game started the atmosphere changed big time. A great game ensued in the end and to a very professional standard. The game was actually being televised complete with commentators. The locals beat the visitors 105 to 80. Well worth the $5.
Saturday 21st Mar (Santiago de Chile)
Day 53
An absolute perfect day to head west across the Andes to yet another country, Chile. There was not a cloud in the sky, the God’s were kind today. The bus left at 8am. The Andes looked great once we approached them, picture card perfect complete with the snow caps. I ended up sitting right up in the front with a great view all the way however I sat next to a fairly large women which I first thought would be terrible but in fact wasn’t too bad as she was very nice. During the climb, the views just got better and better, fantastic barren rock in all the earthy colours beautifully complemented by the bluest sky I have seen in a very long time.
Breakfast time came around, which consisted of a salami roll (memories of Pamplona of the Running of Bulls days came flashing back). It was not long before we made it to Argentinean immigration which was no hassle at all. The border between the two countries is actually half way through a tunnel which burrows its way through the Andes, next to the highest mountain in South and North America, Aconcagua which peaks at 6960m above sea level. Once out of the tunnel, and now in Chile, we had to proceed through Chilean customs. This was a little bit more of a hassle but still ok. I noticed some ski lifts here as well as a bright green lake. The trip back down the Andes towards the coast was somewhat different to the trip up. Hairpin bends for miles and miles and you could see all the way down to the valley floor floor below.
We arrived in Santiago around 4pm, but did not know where exactly. We actually arrived at the south terminal and not the north as I had expected so I was a bit lost. I ended up finding Hotel Mexico at 3000 pesos a night. Unfortunately I did not know whether this was expensive or not. I worked out later that at A$9 it was expensive. Later on I caught the metro to Hotel Calibe then around the Parque de Aires. Had dinner and a beer then called it a night.
Sunday 22nd Mar (Santiago)
Day 54
A note appeared in my diary which read “Hep A shot - 1 month”. It was disregarded.
For the first time during this trip, it actually got cold at night. So on awakening I was in need of a hot shower which would also be the first since I arrived. But it is only when you really want hot water that it is never available! So I was deservedly pissed off to learn the hard way when in the shower with my trusted pink chamois that the hot water coming out was actually colder than the cold water coming out of the cold water tap (you know how this always happens). This was not to be my last experience with cold showers in cold climates. After drying off my cold water I got dressed and headed off the breakfast which turned out to be crap. That was it, I was outta there! Wanted to move hotels anyway as it was too expensive.
I ended up staying at Hotel Caribe which was ok at 1,800p (A$5) a night. They put me in a room with 4 beds. My sole room rate was an Aussie guy called Russell (who knew Dave and Jeff!). He was actually looking for a job. We spoke for a while then went out to discover Santiago. I was pleasantly surprised by the beauty of the place. It immediately noticed that it was a city of couples, kids and ice creams. Very conservative. It was here that I went to my first South American museum, fairly slack really as I should have been more into this. It featured pre-Colombian history, which was very interesting. Anyway, after my quick culture fix I ventured to Cerro Santa Lucia which is a small hill that overlooks the city. Great views but unfortunately it was a typically smoggy day. I also caught the funicular up to Cerro San Cristobal which is a much larger hill. Met a Canadian couple who saw me in Mendoza. I stayed and chatted for a while. Later on I walked back to the hotel. Russell and I went out for a bight to eat and a few beers (I consumed many more than he did). Met a Chilean born Aussie, Gabriel. Nice guy, had a great conversation with him, but he seemed quite strange. He played his guitar as well. The restaurant was buzzing.
Monday 23rd Mar (Santiago)
Day 55
Very early in the morning, Russell’s bloody alarm clock went off! I was not impressed. I had breakfast with this English guy. This guy is another one who thinks I’m also English as soon as I open my mouth! I gave him a few tips for Argentina as it was his intended destination. Later on I went for another walk. Bought stuff, basically another new set of headphones for the walkman, and other shit. By doing so I experienced the strange and somewhat cumbersome process of buying anything in a Chilean shop, especially chemists. The process went something like this. You walk into the shop and browse till you find what you want, or if you can’t find it find the right person to show you where it is. Then you tell someone else that you would actually like to purchase your chosen item or items, and in doing so he or she would right out a receipt and hand it to you. You are then required to take the receipt to the caja where you pay for the item. The caja will then issue you with another receipt. The receipt is then handed to another person at a different location in the shop where you are handed your purchased items (which are nicely wrapped) in exchange for your receipt. Say “gracious” then leave with a smile if you could work out what the hell went on. What a drama. It’s a system that apparently works for the locals but confuses the hell out of us stupid gringos who are not used to such bureaucratic behaviour when it comes to purchasing a tube of toothpaste!
Later on I changed some money at AMX. Later I saw a movie - JFK. Bloody good film, but they stuffed the projection a few times. Later I tried to see the stock exchange but it was closed. It took me ages to explain to the girl what a stock exchange was, finally reverting to my trusty Latin American Spanish for Travellers book which had the translation staring in my face, donde es el bourse por favour? Muchas gracious sinorita.
As far as the travel plans were concerned, Santiago was to be the most southern point in my trip through South America. From now on the plan was to head north along the coast through the Atacama Desert eventually to the port city of Arica. From there it would be Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and Central America. The first immediate stop after Santiago was a city called Antafagasto on the coast, 1,400km away. So as usual, I bought some food for the bus trip along with the ticket. Later went back to the hotel to pack up. I ended up meeting a German guy and then Russell turned up later. We all had a beer before I left for the bus station. Once arriving, there was a bit of a drama but it was finally resolved. I said goodbye to Russell, the bus pulling out at 8pm.
Tuesday 24th Mar (Antafagasta - Calama)
Day 56
Essentially a day of travelling contrasts. When the sun first broke through the windows of the relatively new bus, all there was to see was desert for as far as the eye could see. Sand stretching to the horizon in all directions. This did not change till I arrived in Calama later on in the day. Just sand and rock, nothing else. Welcome to the Atacama desert, the driest region on the face of the earth. It reminded me of the desert in the Sinai, Egypt. What a contrast to the Amazon which I thought which was not too far beyond the Andes on my right.
Food was sort of included on the trip - two sandwiches in 21 hours with no drinks! Luckily I took my own. Soon I was greeted by the Pacific Ocean which was the first time I had seen it in two years. A strange thought but poignant. It was great to see it again. There were many small towns scattered along the coast, merely consisting of a conglomeration of timber shacks! We also passed many shrines on the side of the road which was a bit of a worry.
I eventually arrived in Antafagasta just after 4.30pm, more than 20 hours after leaving Santiago. The place was such a hole that I decided to keep going - to Calama, another 215km NE from here. The next bus left at 5.30pm, and immediately bought a ticket. In the mean time I went for a quick walk around Antafagasta which turned out to be a very dry and boring place.
The bus to Calama was easily the best so far as it had sleeping seats, however there was no food. Given the relatively short distance I was not fussed. Having time on bus trips means that some serious planning can be done, even though it may be hard to read at times. Luckily I had a map of Calama so I knew where to get off the bus when it arrived. Once off the bus I walked back to the centre of town and ended up staying at the Resedencial Toro for 1,500p ($2) a night. Later had dinner, where I watched INXS on video. Speaking of videos, saw some classics on the buses coming here, Iron Eagle II - crap, Gods Must Be Crazy II which was unfortunately dubbed in Spanish, Big Sweat - absolute crap, and Rocky II and III - it was easier reading the Spanish subtitles than understanding what the heck Stallone was saying!
Wednesday 25th Mar (Calama)
Day 57
A cold night. Up quite early to get things sorted out. Went to the tourist office but was closed. However, there was a sign about a copper mine at Chuquicamata, i.e. how to get there, tour , etc. So I decided to catch a collectivo from Calama to Chuquicamata which was a 16km trip, uphill all the way. Once there we offloaded onto the street next to the office that was to organise any further movement from this spot, but it was also closed. Luckily I was not alone and after talking to one of them I discovered that they were all attempting to do the same thing as myself and in doing so met Swiss, many Germans, and a cute girl from Amsterdam.
After a while the office did finally open and we could book a tour of the mine. Our first stop was a film (in Spanish) about the mine which was very interesting. It is the largest open-cast copper mine in the world. When the film finished we hopped onto a bus that firstly took us to the edge of the huge open cut mine which was the biggest man-made hole in the ground I had ever seen. Later we drove around the mine passing a smelter and many pools of green substance. Once at the smelter itself we all had to don hard hats as we entered. It was very interesting. Then we drove back to the edge of the mine and waited for the moment I had been waiting for. On the hour they blew away part of the side of the mine. Great stuff. Got some good shots. Now it was all over it was back to Calama via another collectivo. Some of the guys from the tour were keen to see Chiu Chiu (a small town inland) and so was I till I found out it would cost $10 so I said no. Instead I walked to a park which had a shitty museum. Later on I had a great dinner, chicken, chips, drink and ice cream for 800 pesos ($1.20).
Thursday 26 Mar (San Pedro de Atacama)
Day 58
Time to leave. Next destination was San Pedro de Atacama, a small town 100km SE of Calama. The bus left for San Pedro de Atacama at 10.30am which was to be a 1½ hour trip along mainly dirt road. There were great views along the way, including volcanoes and strange rock formations. San Pedro is a very small and dusty oasis in the middle of the desert which lies next to Salar de Atacama, a huge dry salt lake. Its elevation is about 2,500m. I stayed at a nice and simple place called the Resedence La Florida which cost 1,500 pesos a night. The town is so isolated that there is no electricity all day, only from dusk till 10.30pm. I booked a tour for 4pm to see Valle De La Luna (2,000 pesos). During the day I visited the museum in the centre of town which was extremely interesting. Displayed were a couple of unclad mummies including the famous “Miss Chile”. Both were very graphic, hard to believe that they died thousand of years ago. As all the information was in Spanish I used my dictionary to decipher all the relevant bits I wanted to know.
At 4pm we left San Pedro for the Valley of the Moon. It started to get quite windy. We stopped at a few spots along the way to take advantage of the beautiful scenes which suddenly appeared around each bend. I met a most extraordinary women who was from Melbourne. She was 69 and has been travelling non stop for 28 years! I couldn’t believe it, it had to be a record. Good ol’ Marjorie. The Valley of the Moon was great. We walked up a huge sand dune and watched the sunset, and in doing so the colours in the scenery changed every second. It was just fantastic. However as the sun disappeared it started to get very cold. Some of the others were sculling cheap cardboard Chilean wine which looked pretty bad but in hindsight would have been perfect. We arrived back at about 8.30pm. I wanted to book another tour for tomorrow morning which involved a lot of haggling and arguments. Had a great meal in the hotel, 3 course for 800 pesos. Afterwards Bridgette (Swiss girl who works in the hotel) said there was a place on the tour - fantastic. Had a much needed shower and went to bed early, eagerly in anticipation for the 4am start.
Friday 27 Mar (San Pedro de Atacama)
Day 59
A note in my diary read “2 years since I left home!”. Also Mark’s 25th birthday. Sorry, no present this time mate.
Up at 3.30am and of course there was no electricity to see what the hell you were doing – it was very dark. So I had to use my alarm clock torch which not only was bloody small, it kept on going out! It was also very cold. I looked up to see an unbelievable amount of stars in the sky. It was just fantastic. The van arrived on time. On the trip was an English couple, a German, and other women. 8 of us in all. We drove through the night into the desert for about 1 1/2 hours to Geysers Del Tatio. A faint glimpse of light appeared in the sky and it was still very cold, in fact below freezing. Due to this fact, the geysers were at full strength with hot steam shooting out the ground all over the place. Then the sun came out. We all stood facing east towards the only source of heat at that time and place and drank a much needed cup of coffee. Later we actually had a swim in a thermal pool which was great but absolutely freezing once out of the water. Next stop was Baños de Puritoma, a natural stream of thermal water. There were four guys and three girls all swimming nude by the time we got there and of course they were all German! We basically waited till they pissed off then got in. It was great. One thing I noticed was that I could really feel the altitude, as I was always a bit short of breath.
On the way back we saw some vicuñas, sort of a cross between a camel and a deer, as well as some partridge type birds. The scenery was wild, snow capped mountains surrounding us the whole way. We got back to San Pedro about 1pm and stuffed around all afternoon till 6pm when the bus left for Calama. For some reason my eyes were stinging. Once in Calama I had a chicken feast with two Norwegians I had just met from San Pedro. Knut and Kristian. We were later to meet up again and not to separate till late June, 3 months later! At 9pm I left for the bus which was to take me to Arica in far north Chile. As usual the bus was not bad, however I had to sit through yet another bad Sylvester Stallone movie, with Michael Cain about a prison escape. The worst part was watching Stallone trying to play soccer, an absolute Barry Crocker!
Saturday 28 Mar (Arica)
Day 60
Arica - finally! It was hot as well - a welcome change from the chilliness of altitude positioned Calama and San Pedro. I walked from the bus station to Resedencial El Sur on Maipu, a 15 minute walk. It was too early to book in as it was only 8am, so I walked to the train station and sussed out trains to La Paz. Bought a ticket for Tuesday for US$51 cash, an unbelievable amount of money. Later I went back to the hotel where I was shown my very ordinary room. It looked totally unsafe as there was a huge hole in the roof! Presumably it didn’t rain much around here. I stayed at this hotel because it was cheap, only P1,000 a night (about A$2.70). Later on I changed some money, bought a bun and a coke then walked up El Morro, a hill on the coast overlooking the town. Once at the top I could check out the great views of the town and coast and reckon I could see Peru from here.
While taking in the views I met a guy called Ushraf who was an Egyptian Christian missionary. He told me that that he had been sailing around around the world on board a ship liner for over two years, spreading the message. After talking for some time I got to know him better and he ended up inviting me for supper on the Monday night on board the ship that was anchored in the port. I thanked him and said I will be there. Later on I went back to my room and started organising things. At 6.30 I went for a walk to look for something to eat. In the end I decided on the old usual, pollo con papas fritas, as it always goes down a treat. After dinner I rang Dad and reversed the charges, which was nice. Also tried to ring Cindy but she wasn’t home. Bloody hell it cost me $8 to speak to an unemployed Ank!
Sunday 29 Mar (Arica)
Day 61
I was looking forward to today, a day trip to Lauca National Park. This was one tip that Mark definitely got right. I was ready and keen to go at 7am when the blue van came and picked me up, which I had organised the day before. The diver asked for the P7,000 for the trip and I was happy to hand him his takings. He asked me to board to van and then off he went. Hang on, am I the only one going on this trip? Senor mentioned that he had to pick up more from other hotels which I was happy to hear. The more the merrier. First we picked up a French guy then a couple from South Africa, Jan and Janine, a guy from South Africa, Chad, and a girl from Scotland, Gill. We introduced ourselves to each other then headed off to the National Park. Little did I know that for the next 3 months I would be travelling with the same travellers.
Lauca National Park is located about 150km east of Arica bordering Bolivia at an altitude of between 3,600 and 6,300m. So back into the Andes again but much higher than before and starting from sea level so there was a risk of altitude sickness. The park is full of wildlife such as llama, vicuna, guanaco, viscacha and condors not to mention the landscape including snow capped volcanos and the world’s highest lake.
It was boiling hot when we set off even early in the morning. Our first stop was a check-point where there was an unusual church and graveyard. Later as we drove further up the Andes into the mountains we kept telling the driver to stop so we could take photos of various things on the way, including some very unusual cacti. Later we had breakfast in a small cafe which was great. Afterwards we drove straight through to Lago Chungara, which is one of the highest lakes in the world over 4,500m above sea level. I could really feel the effects of the altitude at this point, mainly just shortness of breath, but definitely did not feel sick which is associated with altitude sickness. There were abundant wildlife up there, vicunas (cross between a deer and a camel), llamas, and a flock of flamingos. It was the first time I had seen any of these animals in the wild or even in a zoo so it was a great experience. I managed to grab some great shots. Rising above the lakes were two snow capped volcanoes, which complemented the whole scene. It was a wonderful experience and hard to believe that such a place could exist at such high altitudes. After a short period of time unfortunately our driver signaled to us that it was time to leave. We walked back to the blue van, jumped in and off we went back down mountain. I think the the driver liked this part as he managed to get the van to what seemed to be about 100 miles an hour! This part we didn't like.
We stopped in Putre for lunch which was bit of an experience. We basically waited for about an hour for our lunch to arrive which of course was already pre-organised and pre-ordered so we had no idea what to expect. It turned out to be some kind of meat, probably llama. Once the feast was consumed we were off again at breakneck speed down the mountain. As we approached Arica we noticed massive rock etchings on the side of a hill towards the coast which was quite interesting. Once at sea level again I went to grab my agua sin gas (we were told not to take fizzy water as it would probably blow up at high altitude) and noticed that it had shrunk in size and was all squashed, an amazing test that we have come from such a high altitude to sea level in just 80km. During the tour we all managed to get to know each other quite well and arranged to meet up later. After dumping my stuff and having a shower (cold) we met up again at the hotel where everyone else was staying (Resedencial Madrid) and drank a few local brews. All the other gringos staying here came out and joined us, ending up as a bit of a piss up. I ended up quite pissed myself but ended up leaving for some reason which I can’t remember. Apparently some guy told me off but I did not listen to him. I did recall however that there was a disgusting odour wafting through the hotel. It smelt like rotten fish!
Monday 30 Mar (Arica)
Day 62
I took a big risk today - I sent 9 rolls of film to Dave and Marea Hall, desperately hoping that they would arrive in London in one piece. I couldn’t care less if anything else was lost or stolen, it was my prized and valued snapshots of my travels that I couldn’t bear to lose. I did this because I would soon be in Peru which I feared at the time could possibly result in my pack being stolen or something along those lines. (In the end they did turn up safe in London).
I actually woke up with a bit of a hangover! I decided today to pack up all my stuff and move out of my roofless room and move into Resedencial Madrid for P1,700 a night. More expensive, but safer. However even more importantly - there were a lot more fellow gringos to have a proper yarn with. When I arrived to check in, the guy wasn’t impressed for some reason. He kept on saying “no ceveza”, and was basically refusing me to stay at his hotel. I thought it must have been from last night when we were making heaps of noise in his courtyard, however I couldn’t understand why he was pointing the finger at me alone. I tried reasoning with him, trying every trick in the book, even denying that I wasn’t even there last night, but when I mentioned that I was Australian, he burst out laughing! Of course he must thought. All Australians can’t help themselves when they drink beer. Wierd. I was let off and eventually shown my room. Basically did nothing all day except read my book. I also wrote a letter to Dave and Marea telling them to keep a look out for a strange parcel from Chile. I went to the Correos to send all my mail (which cost over P3,000) then changed some pesos to Bolivian Bolivianos. Then it came the time when I was to meet Ushraf on Lagos II.
I ended up being an hour late. I walked on board after telling someone that I was there to see Ushraf. I walked through many rooms before I eventually found him. He took me straight to the galley where he gave me a pretty good meal. Afterwards he showed me around the whole ship. During this time I met an Aussie, Pierre as well as many other friendly people. The whole thing was fascinating. He showed me this large room where most of the people on board were singing Christian hymns! It reminded me of the old Crusader camps I went on when I was a kid. I ended up speaking to a lot of people who were all extremely friendly. I found out that the ship was on its way north, heading towards Ecuador - what a way to see the world. I said to everyone that I’d hope to catch up with them again as I was basically heading the same way. I said goodbye to everyone then walked back to the hotel wondering where the hell the heinous fishy smell was coming from!
BOLIVIA
Tuesday 31 Mar (Arica - La Paz)
Day 63
I checked out of the hotel in Arica at 8.30am as I was to catch the 9.30am train to La Paz, the capital of Bolivia. Things were going fine till they asked me for my passport. The passport was fine but for some reason it was lacking a bloody tourist card that was apparently issued when I entered Chile! After heaps of conflicting advice and stories (pretty much a way of life for most South Americans) I tried to sort it all out. I ran back to the hotel, nothing. I even went to the tourist office/consulate to obtain a new one but was told that it was the wrong office. Most people said that it was impossible to leave the country unless I had a tourist card! I ended up saying fuck it - I’m going anyway, and just take the risk that nothing will happen at the border.
The train arrived late of course. If you could call it train that is. It’s real name was the “Ferrobus” which was quite a good name really as it resembled a bus more than a train. One carriage with a driver up front, situated just where a bus driver would normally sit. I could not wait to get on and start the trip. Actually everyone who I had met two nights ago were also on the Ferrobus. There was Gill, Chad, Janine, Jan, a Japanese girl Yoki, and her boyfriend Eric, a Dutch girl, Swiss guy, two Canadians behind me, a French guy, Xavel and even the two Norwegians I had met in San Pedro. All in all the best bunch of people you could spend a few hours on a one carriage train to the Altiplano.
We finally left Arica around 10.30am. The trip was great - fantastic scenery. To justify the huge cost of the trip, we were all served full meals. Our first was breakfast just after we had left Arica. Later we were served lunch which was also ok. It was perfect experience and we were all having a great time sharing stories and exchanging ideas. Again we would ascend from sea level to the high altitude of the Andes all in a matter of hours. The scenery was wild and virgin and I felt that we were the only ones around for miles. The ferrobus worked hard to climb the steep track but most of the times we were oblivious to this.
Then suddenly we came to a grinding halt. Curious to what was a going on we all tried to find out why we had stopped. The driver, the conductor and the cook all ran around looking for the problem. Eventually the driver came back on board and told us that there was a ‘problemo’. We had already realised this by now and the reassurance then posed the next question. What was the problemo and how long will we be here? Some of us got off the ferrobus and looked around. We then realised what the problem was, the grid used at the front of the train to knock any obstacles off the track (such as lazy cows) had broken loose. After debating what to do the decision was taken to take it right off and tie it to the roof! Brilliant. All we had to do was to ensure that we did not hit any cows, llamas, alpacas or any other unwanted objects and avoid a major derailment. A comforting thought knowing that we will have to travel in the dark.
About eight hours after leaving Arica, we started to slow down – we were approaching the border between Chile and Bolivia (altitude 4,100m). Ah, the moment of truth. I was quietly confident that I was not going to be thrown off the train and forced to spend a night at freezing cold altitude waiting for the ferrobus to make its return journey which was God knows when. No, just before we stopped at the border, this guy on the ferrobus was literally handing out spare tourist cards to anyone who did not have one. To my anger, he was the same guy who told me prior to departure in Arica that I could not leave the country unless I had a tourist card at that time! It bit my tongue, it was not worth arguing with him as he handed me a card which I promptly filled out. Once at the border we stopped where everyone got off and proceeded to have our passports checked and visas stamped. It was no hassle at all. I felt pretty relieved as the main reason was that I did not want to leave the group I was with. As the ferrobus revved up its diesel engine and rolled off towards La Paz I felt a huge sense of euphoria as I knew the next few weeks are going to be some of the best weeks of my trip.
It was cold and approaching sunset. Once in Bolivia it was downhill all the way to La Paz. Pretty amazing really since La Paz ("the Peace"), the capital of Bolivia is located at a height of 3,600m. We arrived in La Paz at 10pm. Coincidentally everyone had already decided to head straight to Hotel Torino, as recommended by fellow gringos as well as our trusty bibles. However once there we were told it was completely full! So we ended up staying at Hotel Austria - which turned out to be a great place, probably better then Torino. I ended up sharing a room with the two Norwegians, Knut and Kristian. We had an introductory tea and a great chat before turning in for a well deserved sleep.
Wednesday 1 April (La Paz)
Day 64
April Fools Day. Basically a day of organisation. I didn’t really get going till midday, although Chad, Gill and I went out and bought some bread, butter, and eggs for breakfast. Once back at the hotel we cooked all the eggs in the kitchen of the hotel. The rest stirred and we ended up in the common room to devour the googies. After breakfast (or was it lunch?) I walked to the AMX office to see if there was any mail and was happy to see that there were two letters, one from Mark and the other from Cindy. It was quite ironic that I received a letter from Mark as he had received from me when he was in La Paz. Went back to the hotel and later changed some more money.
Later on I went for a walk to check out this interesting city. I found a cafe and a place to sit and started to write a letter to Mum. It was one of those letters that I get carried away as I sometimes do when I have plenty to write about. Later, I ended up talking to these guys who had just come from Peru as well as people who were about to go. Heard some very interesting and legendary stories, deciding whether to believe them or not. In any case it was good to hear them. At 8pm or so we all went out to eat. We ended up at a restaurant down the road, Marylins (which was recommended by Mark - who incidentally spent moist of his time in La Paz drinking beers and listening to Midnight Oil on the juke box). The meal was just ok but the beers were brilliant. The old longnecks again, which went down extremely well.
Now beer and altitude have to treated with care. The bottle must first be opened slowly. Once open, and this is the trickiest part, it must be poured very slowly into the glass. If not done properly the beer will produce not only the largest head on your beer but also a nice coat of beer foam on the table. For some reasons, I ended up having the most problems with this which was very funny. After mastering the technique of beer pouring everyone left and went home except for Chad, Knut, Kristian, and myself. We were in search of another bar and eventually found one where we stayed until 2am. It was bit of a struggle but I was impressed with my effort.
Tuesday 2 April (La Paz)
Day 65
I was up early this morning as I had to get to the Peruvian Consulate as soon as possible. It was a beautiful sunny day. Before I went I decided to ring Dad which turned out to be a stupid idea as it cost me $15! I’m not sure whether it was the cost of the call or the fact that I did not speak to him. Anyway I arrived at the consulate before it opened so I just waited till it did. Once inside it was no problem at all, proving yet again that the “bibles” can grossly misinterpret the hassles of obtaining visas within South America. I was informed that had to return after 1pm today to pick up my passport. So in the mean time I walked to the AMX office where there was a bloody fax from Dad. I had to pay 6 bolivianos to receive it! He said nothing as usual, just contacts (including a few ‘useful’ ones in Austria!) as well as part of a fax that he had sent to Justine in Europe. I then returned to the hostel. At 1pm I returned to the consulate where my passport was ready to be picked up, complete with the Peruvian visa.
Now it was time for lunch. I searched the streets of La Paz for a restaurant called California Donuts (another tip from Mark). I eventually found it and checked it out. I had the best burger I have had in a long time. Afterwards I went to the witchcraft and black markets which were very interesting. During this time I heard the roar of a crowd down the street. It was a typical day in downtown La Paz, one riot after another. The Bolivian way to make a point is not to strike but to run riot in the streets throwing abuse as well as rocks and other projectiles. This time it was the teachers who were a little bit annoyed with the Bolivian bureaucrats. The typically fascist style police force stemmed the violence by using either a water cannon, tear gas or just belt the living shit of them with rubber hoses which were attached to the waist. It was of course an interesting diversion to the usual city scene. After my curiosity was satisfied, I went walking again, mainly doing a bit of shopping. I bought some gloves and a beanie (for the snow) for B10. Also on sale were dried llama foetuses!! Apparently they are considered good luck if buried beneath each pillar when a new dwelling is built. Unbelievable stuff. Later had a look at San Francisco church which was beautiful. After I bought some postcards and went back to the hostel. After writing four postcards we all went out to a cheap Chinese restaurant where the food was great. We had planned to catch a game of soccer afterwards but after walking to the stadium we realised that there was no game on - wrong ground!
Friday 3 April (La Paz)
Day 66
Knut, Kristian and I decided to see the pre Inca ruins at Tiuanaka, about two hours west of La Paz. No one else wanted to go. We initially checked out a tour at Diana Tours but was too late. It was also expensive at 64B (US$17). Instead we caught a cab to the bus stop where buses were leaving for Tiuanaka. Only 5B each! We had breakfast - meat and onion sandwich with coffee which actually wasn’t too bad. The bus was unbelievably cramped - full of native Indians. The trip was made worse by stopping every two seconds dropping off and picking up new passengers. We finally arrived at Tiuanaka at about 12 noon. We had to come up with 10B each to enter the ruins, and then hassled by senor with the change as well as the fact that he would not accept our 5B note, which is about $1.30)!
The ruins were ok - nothing spectacular but interesting nevertheless. Another of Mark’s tips actually proved to be somewhat useful this time. He warned me of a white llama wandering around the ruins. He has been known to attack gringos! Well we did see a white llama off to the side of the ruins, the temptation proving too irresistible. I approached the llama head on cautiously. I continued approaching, the llama sussing me out big time but nothing was happening. Usually it would be scared off like a sheep but it just stood there! I was inching my way, closer and closer, then just before I thought it was a waste of time and turned around to the other guys, the llama moved from his defensive post and initiated his offensive. The llama ran straight towards me which prompted me to run like crazy. He suddenly stopped as it must have realised that he was actually tied up. Still, this did not deter me from running the other way. A most amusing experience.
Later on we tried to see a museum but was closed. The guys then bought some filthy hippy shit from the locals on the side of the road, mainly alpaca gloves and those very nice beanies (which actually proved to be life savers later on). After much haggling and frustration we moved on into the shop where we bought the most expensive coke in Bolivia. While drinking the thing we noticed some boys hitting a baby snake to death. We were ready to call it a day so we waited for the next bus to arrive. We left about 2.30pm. Unfortunately we had to stand (or in my case, crouch) for most of the way. For dinner we walked for a while and found a place on Mercido. Pretty ordinary. In fact I was still hungry afterwards so we bought some food at some food market nearby which was great. We should have come here for dinner. On the way back to the hotel we bought a drink called super vitaminos! The healthiest drink I’ve probably ever had.
Saturday 4 April (La Paz/Chacaltaya)
Day 67
Up early this morning - we were going skiing!! I was waiting for this day for some time. In fact as soon as my brother Mark mentioned it to me in London before I even left for South America I was very keen and was simply a ‘must do’.
Chacaltaya is Bolivia’s only ski run and in fact is the highest ski run in the world! At 5,221m it easily surpasses the highest mountain in Australia at just over 2,000m, European resorts at 3,500m and even the highest lifted point in the US in Silverton, Colorado at 4,500m. This was serious elevation. Despite the elevation there was barely enough snow to ski on, just the length of the rope tow which is only a few hundred metres. However it is partly explainable as Bolivia runs about 15 degrees south of the equator which is the same level as top half of Queensland. The altitude does impact a lot of people here as some do not even make it up the mountain, let alone ski, given its elevation and have to descend to alleviate their altitude sickness. This was the furthest thing on my mind and the altitude did not impact me at all.
To start the day we all congregated at a small shop in La Paz, called Club Andino at 8.30am. Given the long day expected, we had stocked up on food and drink, anticipating a big one. Once at the club we noticed that we were definitely not the only ones going on this trip (there was 7 of us already). We basically “bagsed” one of the vans but we had no say in it. Nonetheless, Knut, Kristian and I muscled our way onto the van while the others had to get into taxis.
It was the most magnificent day, not a cloud in the sky. What a day to go skiing. It was not long before we cleared the bustle of La Paz and were out into the virgin Altiplano again. Chacaltaya is only 36km from the capital but had to ascend a further 1,600m from where we already were. We passed small lakes just before our final ascent up to the ski fields. The road got decidedly dodgy as we climbed the mountain but we made it in the end. The views at the top were unbelievable. It was like you could see the whole of Bolivia from up there.
We were high. Three people in the van got altitude sickness and had to be taken off the mountain. We were feeling no effects at all except for the usual shortness of breath at this altitude and the basic feeling that you were simply not fit. As we were the first at the top we immediately checked out the ski rental situation. We hired two sets of everything, skis, poles, and boots, all of which were decidedly sub standard quality and basically a big pile of shit. The skis were cracked, the poles bent, some without baskets and the boots were all different sizes.
As a security measure I was required to leave my passport for the equipment (which in hindsight was not a good idea). Apart from the standard equipment issued in ski rental shops, they also supplied each of the skiers another very interesting piece of equipment. At first we had no idea what it was or what it should be used for. When asked they told us how this indigenous piece was to be used and how we could not ski without it.
We were handed a rope. One end of the rope was tied to a piece of timber about a foot long and on the other a rather strange looking metal hook. They then tied the rope around our wastes. “Um, what do we do with this senor?” I asked. “It is so that you can get up the mountain” he said. With some inclination of its intended purpose I was now ready to “hit it”.
Well I couldn’t wait any longer and geared up straight away. My ski pants (jeans), parker (jumper), gloves and beanie (done) were donned. The boots went on (with great difficulty) then the skis. With a push of my bendy ski poles I was finally on my way. I slid down the path to the main ski area and traversed straight across. I studied the run carefully so that I wouldn’t end up in some other country or worse. When satisfied I pointed the skis down the hill and I was off. Yee ha., how good was this! Everything was going great till I decided to do my first turn. As I turned left (which is always a problem for me) the skis got tangled up in the slushy snow and I started feeling that dreaded feeling that everything was going to get bad. It did, and I went arse over tit. I regained myself quickly and went off again. After about another 2 stacks I finally ended up at the bottom of the run. Now the moment of truth that I had been dreading - the lift up!
There was no chairlift, t-bar nor even a poma. The 'lift' was not really a lift at all but basically just a cable that run up the slope to a wheel that directed the cable across the slope to a window in a “shed” then back down to the bottom of the run. I later discovered that inside the shed the cable was actually being powered by a truck. The cable was intertwined over the back wheel and controlled by this guy sitting in the driving seat! He would sit there until 5 or more out of breath skiers appeared at the bottom of the lift for that ride up. He would crank it up driving the cable through all the gears till it was possible to see skiers skiing uphill faster than downhill!
Anyway back at the lift I grabbed my rope and studied it carefully. I figured out that the metal hook part of it somehow grabbed onto the cable while the bit of wood was placed carefully between the legs. The downhill ski had to placed strategically so that it prevented the skier from sliding further down the mountain while the uphill ski was at right angles, pointing straight up the hill. The hook was placed on the stationary cable while the bit of wood was shoved into the right position. I was ready! Nothing. I waited and still nothing. I began to yell at senor driving the truck to get it going - “vamos” I screamed. Just when I least expected it to started to move! The cable ran faster and faster but I was still in the same spot. The hook was not working - the cable just kept slipping through the hook! Shit, how the hell do you do this? I thought. I experimented with the hook while being precariously balanced on my skis when BANG, it worked. The hook got a good grip of the cable. Unfortunately for me, senor in the truck was now in fifth gear. I did the old face plant on the snow with the bit of wood yanked from beneath my groin with unbelievable force. Skis, poles, clothes all over the shop. Shit! I quickly sorted myself out and assumed the stance once again. This time I had to be ready for the big grab. It did not take long before it did and after a shaky start, I was finally on the way back up the hill. Yee ha! I was now one of the skiers skiing faster uphill than downhill. I was so buggered from this whole ordeal that I wanted to ski back.
As approaching the top the hook somehow dislodged itself from the cable and I was off. Shit! There was no way that I could get back on so I decided to ski back from here. Unfortunately I was below the line of exit which meant I had to ski to the bottom and do it all over again. I skied off did a turn and did another almighty stack. This time the skis came off, one of them skiing on its own into oblivion. Shit! I couldn’t believe my luck. The ski eventually stopped thankfully, so I walked carefully down to it which took all day. I felt like I was on Everest. The altitude was killing me. Once there I realised that I had left one of my stocks back up the hill, at the spill zone. Shit!!! I was having a nightmare. So I climbed back up the mountain to retrieve my pole. After this I was definitely not skiing down again so I stayed as high as I could and traversed to the other side of the slope where I took the skis off and walked back to the lodge/whatever. That was it, I was done for the day. With that I gladly handed over my excellent equipment to the next unfortunate sole.
Everyone went skiing except for Gill. Chad was one of the last to use the skis and he ended up walking back as well. One of the skis had actually broken and was totally stuffed. I for one was not surprised as the skis were shithouse to start off with. When we returned the skis that’s when the fun started. The guy took one look at the ski and said that I will not be getting my passport back until someone paid for a new pair of skis! We must have thought he was joking but he was definitely not laughing. We reasoned with him but it was just hopeless. At one stage Chad tried to snatch the passport out of his hands which did not help at all. One of the other guys, after seeing this, stood up and threatened Chad with one of their fucked ski poles. Chad, who felt responsible for the ski, decided to swap my passport for his fake English one. I was relieved to get mine back but the ordeal was not over. Everyone went together back down the mountain, the ski in question never leaving anyone sights. The police were even called in once back in La Paz. It was such a shitty ending to a great day. Chad agreed to return to the club in the morning to discuss it further. Apparently they wanted US$350 for a new pair of skis! That was like a million dollars for us.
Chacaltaya at 5,200m in my designer ski jeans (with ventilation), not-so-wind-resistant mohair jumper and Bolivian tea cosy as a beanie. Moments later I would be on one ski with the other sliding out of control down the slope. (Notice the latest design in bendy ski poles!)
That night it didn’t get much better. We had dinner next door to the hotel. The food was great but a huge fight erupted regarding the price of the beers that we had just consumed. There was a pre-dinner price and the post dinner price, the latter one being strangely more expensive. We pissed off paying only the agreed pre-dinner price and said we will not be back!
Sunday 5 Apr (La Paz)
Day 68
In total contrast to yesterday, today was a very quiet day. I slept in till 11.30am which was a welcome change. Once changed we watched the Brazilian Grand Prix on the hotel tv (the commentary was totally useless and seemed strange that Murray Walker was not calling it!) which Nigel Mansel won. Afterwards we went out to lunch to a restaurant next door (not the same one from last night) called Marilyn’s. The set price meal for 6B (about $1.50), not bad. Cheese and salad, soup, steak and rice, and an orange. After lunch we all walked down to the football stadium - again “to see a game”. But - like the first time, there was no game. Wrong place, wrong time. So we ended up stuffing around. Kristian, Knut, Chad, Gill and I went to the market again but this time it was very quiet. We went to a flute shop which had live armadillos! I also had taken photos of some of the locals in the market but they were not impressed. They seem to be very camera shy, only to overcome this fear by offering them some dinero. Later went back to the hotel and read for awhile. Later on we saw two movies in a row, Billy Bathgate which was pretty ordinary and Last Boyscout which was great. Afterwards we grabbed a meal which ended up being yet another shit fight, same old story!
Monday 6 Apr (La Paz)
Day 69
I was up early this morning to check out visas for Colombia. I was told that the consulate opens at 8am but actually didn’t open till 9. Once inside I was overcome by the friendliness of the people working there. I met a fellow Aussie there. Once done I had to return at 11am to pick up my passport. Met up with the others at San Francisco church at 10.15. Decided to meet again at 11.15. On the way back to the consulate I picked up a letter from Dave Hope. What a letter! It was like reading an encyclopaedia!
Back at the consulate I was told to enter a room to receive my passport. I opened the door into a huge room with a stately man sitting behind a large desk. He told me to sit down in front of him. He had my passport in his hands then smiled and stated that I was Australian. He obviously liked Australians from his reaction. We had a lengthy conversation about Australia itself and he eventually asked me if I had any Australian stamps! I unbelievably had some stamps with me (I can’t remember having any) so we did a trade. He gave me a few Colombian stamps. I thanked him then left the office complete with passport with Colombian visa. Too easy.
Later on I met the others at Club Andino where we were planning another trip to the Valle de la Lunas (Moon Valley). To get there we had to catch a micro (small bus). It was not far from La Paz but the scenery was pretty interesting, very strange rick formations. We took a few pictures then wandered off again.
After trudging through the hot sands of the valley of the moon we came across a sign that read "La Paz Golf Club", which was the highest golf club in the world. The sign was located in the middle of the desert and hence was expecting some dodgy golf range. However once we climbed the hill, we noticed what seemed like an oasis, beautiful green grass, perfectly manicured to the highest standard which any golf club would be proud of. The greens were the best I have seen, all looked after by a separate person. The club house stood out like a seriously sore thumb. Huge, modern and very non-Bolivian. It could have been a country club in the States but found it hard to believe that it was in La Paz. We looked around hoping to find someone that could tell us whether it was possible to have a game. We actually found the manager and asked him. He quickly quashed any hope of us playing on his magnificent golf course that day as it was caddies day! What rotten luck. However he sensed our utter disappointment and asked if we would be interested in a tour of the clubhouse. Sure! He gave me a score card which was on 18 pages, each hole had its own page with a map! He showed us the huge function room, pool, gymnasium, etc. It was just unbelievable.
After we had had enough we walked off back down the lavish driveway towards the every day life of the desert. On the way we noticed a couple of caddies hitting a few balls up one of the fairways. I went over and asked if I could take a photo. They were so friendly that they offered me a stick and a golf ball to hit at my leisure. Great I was finally going to hit a golf ball on the highest golf course in the world. I lined up the ball then had a couple of practice swings. Then I approached the ball, brought the club back to the usual position, then drove down onto the ball and pushed it down the lush fairway. The ball, as usual, veered left and ended up lost. I thanked the caddy and walked off.
For dinner we walked up the road to a cheapish restaurant but the food was pretty good. After we went to Marilyn’s again for more beers and a bit of Midnight Oil. The jukebox then died so we left.
Tuesday 7 Apr (La Paz - Cochabamba)
Day 70
We all managed to sleep in a bit as the bus wasn’t leaving till 11am. We were leaving La Paz for Cochabamba, about 8-11 hours drive west. Chad and I walked to the bus station while the others caught a taxi. I had a seat on my own till typically the fattest women on the bus came and sat down next to me. I thought that this was going to be a nightmare however she turned out to be ok. The first three hours of the trip were fine but then disaster! There was road construction up ahead and instead of having a system of Stop-Go flags at either end, they decided to shut down the whole road till 6pm. We had to wait 4 hours while the Bolivian council workers lent against their shovels. The crowd was gradually building up, buses and trucks everywhere. As there was literally nothing to do here in the middle of nowhere we just stuffed around, reading, listening to the walkman, and smoking. At 6pm we were finally allowed to proceed. Once the gate was up there was a mass rumble, every vehicle trying to get in a better position to everyone else. The traffic after this didn’t really improve and the road itself was just unbelievable! No wonder they were working on it. These buses and trucks would hoon along these dirt roads, flying around tight bends which I considered to be pretty much blind with huge cliffs off the side. Bloody scary stuff. Only to be made worse by the fact that the bus’ brakes were playing up. After about 50 heart attacks we finally arrived in Cochabamba at 10pm. We ended up staying the night (Resedencial Florida). Later had dinner up the road at 11.30. Very cheap meal - steak, rice, eggs and tomatoes for less than $1!
Wednesday 8 Apr (Cochabamba)
Day 71
I managed to sleep in a bit but Chad, Jan, and the girls were up early. We decided to meet at 12.30pm at a restaurant with cheap food and beers. Knut, Kristian and I went for a walk. Knut had a haircut. The Norwegians noticed all the nice girls that lived here. We all met at a restaurant which didn’t exist anymore so went to another almost next door. Good music. We had a 4 course meal for 2B ($0.50)! I was keen for more beers as I was settling in very nicely but no one else would be in it. After we went to the market near the train station which was very good. I bought a bum bag for 12B. Later the Norwegians and I went back to the same restaurant where we had lunch and drank more beers, while listening to Kylie Minogue. Chad and Gill turned up later but soon left. Afterwards we went to Californian Burgers for a burger and fries. Then a quick dash for the bus station. The others weren’t there when we got there but eventually turned up. The bus to Sucre left on time at 7.15pm. No fat women this time but she did hog the seat.
Thursday 9 April (Sucre)
Day 72
We arrived in Sucre roughly 12 hours later. The road was bad, unpaved and not a straight stretch in it. Some parts were practically hairy, and as a result got very little sleep. Once in Sucre we checked into Res. Austria near the bus terminal (12B). As soon as we were shown our rooms we all fell asleep to at least 12. Afterwards we went for an exploratory walk through the new town, and ended up at some market where we had lunch. After lunch we checked out the ferrobuses at the train station and were told that there were none till Saturday. This meant another bus trip. Saw a micro on rails! Later on we went for a walk admiring all the (closed) churches. Then we somehow split up. Chad, Knut and I decided to ascend the hill to the statue of Christ which was perched at the top. The walk was considered to be too long and arduous so we jumped in a cab. The taxi drove us to the top of the hill, passing the 12 stations of the cross on the way. Once we were back down it was time to pay senor. He changed his price somehow and ripped us off! A lack of clear communication I think. Later on we met up with two Canadians and an American but most surprisingly, Dave and Andrew Cummins. Saw Dave walking down the same street but in the opposite direction with his distinctive Wallaby jersey! We ended up finding a pool hall where we drank beers, told lies and played a bit of stick with the locals, who weren’t that bad. It was one of those great experiences. Later we had a fantastic Chinese meal and beers for 11B. After dinner we had a few more beverages at a very local drinking establishment till the early hours of the morning.
Friday 10 April (Sucre - Potosi)
Day 73
Stuffed around till 10am. I ripped my bloody shirt. Checked out about 10.30 and had breakfast up the road. Knut had a problem with his guts, not a good smell! After we walked to a ‘carpet’ shop where Jan, Janine, and Kristian bought some filthy hippy stuff (actually it was pretty top shelf material). Saw a very interesting museum as well. After we walked to the bus station to check out buses to Potosi. There was only one micro at 2pm. As we had some time to kill we had a cheap (but nasty) lunch at the bus station – stomach and rice! After our unsavoury but necessary food break, we looked up to see our bus and immediately frowned. It was the biggest piece of shit and in one of the worst conditions of any transportation we had seen in a long time. It was disappointing to witness as we knew we had to spend a considerable amount of time on this machine and was not looking forward to it. But we had no choice and again we would consider it an adventure. Of course 2pm came and went with the bus still in Sucre. No one ever leaves on time and this day was no exception. Getting on to the bus was an effort in itself. I managed to push and shove my way on to gain the front seat which was by far the best seat. All seats behind had enough leg room for a pygmy! So I was happy with my acquisition, till we started moving. The luxury was however very short lived as more and more people boarded the bus and found any available space to plant their feet, butt, or whatever. I ended up with two people sitting on the ground at my feet while about 5 others were standing almost on top of me. I think the bus driver was trying to set the world record for the most number of people on a bus! The journey was long and hard. We thankfully stopped in a small village about 70kms out of Sucre to stretch our legs. But it was short lived. We eventually arrive in Potosi at 8pm. Once there we found our accommodation for the night at Residencia Samaj (B10). I met up with Dave and Andy who were also staying here. Chad, Gill and I went to dinner for the standard pollo con papas fritas…again! After dinner we crashed in anticipation for an early start the next morning.
Saturday 11 April (Potosi)
Day 74
Today was one of those days that makes travelling all worth while. It was a great day! We were all up early to meet Marco, our trusted guide who was to take us to the amazing tin mines that made Potosi so famous. Jan, Janine, Chad, Gill, Knut, Kristian and I had signed up and were eager to get moving.
Potosi as a city is quite unique as it sits higher than 4,000 metres (the highest city in the world for its size). But it’s the tin and silver mines that pocket the surrounding hills that made it famous. But these were no ordinary mines and we were so about to discover.
To get to the mines we had to take a micro from the plaza which brought us to a set of stalls below the mountain. The stalls were quite unique and the items for sale were definitely not the usual pieces for sale at a typical market stall. Here we could actually buy dynamite for the miners. It was made worse by the fact that they were also selling cigarettes and matches on the same pile of explosives. Other items included coco leaves for them to chew to stem the effects of altitude sickness. These guys are so poor that they cannot afford to even buy explosives to help them mine. So we ended up buying one of everything to give to the miners. We hopped back into the micro which took us up the steep hill to the mine entrance. We met some of the miners here as well as blacksmiths and other tradesmen. There was also a shrine which they worshipped and probably prayed to every day in the hope that they will make it rich or at least to make it out of the mine alive.
In order to enter the mine we were provided protective clothing such as thick rubber jackets, boots and hard hats that had a naked flame lamp attached to the top. Some were given a hand held lamp with the same lighting mechanism. Then we proceeded to the hole in the face of the mountain which looked very small. Once there we realised that it was in fact very small and that us huge lads would be struggling once inside. We could not stand in the mine and had to crouch down which was hard on the legs. It was very claustrophobic. Janine took an instant dislikeness to the mine but continued onwards nonetheless. The heat of the mine was amazingly intense given the cold temperatures outside, made worse by the fact the passages grew smaller and smaller. We finally ended up a mine face where 2 miners were working.
It was so labour intensive in there, as they chiselled and hammered away at the rock face in anticipation of finding tin or better, silver. The mine was a co-operative and all miners basically work for themselves extracting rock, carrying it out and chopping it up. These guys live hard and actually die young. The life expectancy is only 35. We saw one guy who had been mining here for most of his life and the guy looked about 70 years old where in actuality he was 35. His face was contorted from the constant chewing of coco leaves and was almost blind. We gave him some cigarettes and a stick of dynamite. He was very thankful. In doing so he asked us if we wanted to stick around to see him use the dynamite. We kindly declined his request and quickly said our goodbyes. As we scrambled our way out of that area we heard a thick sound of a boom echoing through the mine. Not a pleasant sound when your in a thin tunnel beneath the mass of the Andes. We just hoped that the miner was ok.
We continued to crouch and crawl through the mine. Marco stopped us and pointed out a small hole in the wall. He looked inside and started talking to someone. Marco explained that there was a miner in there chipping away at a new face and asked if we wanted to go in. We all had a look through the hole and thought that there was no way that anyone could get through a hole that small (about a foot square). However curiosity got to some of us including myself and had to take a look. I had to take off my day pack to get through and was literally crawling on my stomach through this tiny cranny. The realisation of crawling through an opening this small two miles underground was very daunting and actually quite scary. But once through it seemed all worth it as we were right against the mine face, face to face with the miner. Once at the face we saw first hand how the miners extract the tin. Hammer and chisel were their only tools. It would take months to go only a few feet and perhaps unsuccessfully. Such determination but I found it quite sad.
Further on we went and eventually ended up in a fairly large opening which resembled a room. Much to my relief I could actually stand up! The “room” was depicted as a shrine to a small statue resembling diablo (the devil). The miners considered it as protection to them in the mine hence they give it cigarettes (lit and in its mouth!) and other little sacrifices. At this point Janine had had enough and wanted out. Poor girl, I was surprised she lasted this long. She was led out of the mine.
Later on we came to a point where we had to actually climb as the tunnel came to an abrupt end. Huge wooden ladders stood before us. I looked up to find that the other end of the ladder was not visible, disappearing into a black void. The parts we could see looked as though they were about to collapse at any time. Marco informed us of the obvious and we all had to start climbing. I was terrified. If these ladders collapsed, especially under gringo weight, that would have meant serious injury or worse. Anyway, much to our relief we made it to the top.
After more than four hours inside the mine we had found our way back to mine entrance. Again it was a huge relief to be standing upright again and to be honest out of the mine itself. We all looked at each other and the six of us were covered in mud and were totally filthy. My back was suffering from all the crouching and I too was now glad the tour was over. It was hard but a tremendous experience and one not to be forgotten easily.
Immediately afterwards we had some lunch at a restaurant in town for some pique macho (the great dish we had in La Paz and one we called machu picchu). The food was fantastic but honestly anything would have tasted great after that mine tour. Then we went back to the hotel to get cleaned up as later on we were all invited to Marco’s place for drinks and dinner. We decided to buy some beers for the occasion so we went to this small shop and bought basically the whole shop out of beers. The guy thought it was Xmas. We also bought some vodka for the girls. We actually met Marco and Freddie (Marco’s business associate) in the plaza and he had arranged a van to take us to his house.
We met his family. He had set up some food as well as music. The food was excellent, he had bbq’d some llama meat which was delicious. After feasting on llama and finishing all the grog we decided to find the hot spots in town as we all wanted to kick on. We searched in vain for a bar with dancing but everything was closed. Chad and I were hungry again (munchies) and ended getting these great hamburgers for B1 each! Later, Dave, Andrew, Knut and Kristian went to bar with Marco and Freddie. We all got so pissed…more beers and three bottles of the local Potosi fire water. This was clear liquid but resembled pure alcohol. We played dice games with the locals who were also proceeding to get as pissed as we were. One guy had a guitar and we all started singing some of the local numbers, which was hilarious. Andrew was asked to play the guitar for the Bolivians and started belting out the Cold Chisel classic, Khe San. We all sang along the best we could and those who knew the words (of course no one except for Andrew, Dave and I). It was a great moment.
At 3am we decided to leave and head back to the hotel. When we arrived we met up with a Danish girl and an English girl from “Encounters Overland” who were also staying in the hotel. We always referred to these people as the “Overlanders” and would always bag them about it which is exactly what we did. We ended up sitting in the foyer of the hotel with them probably making a huge amount of noise. The open plan and tiled floor did not make matters any better. One person who was trying to sleep upstairs could not tolerate the disturbances and decided to throw some wine over the internal balcony down to where we were sitting, and hitting me mainly. We looked up to see a very pissed off Chad storming off. We took this as a hint and decided to move to a room where we met many of the other “Overlanders”. Dave was already in the room taking the piss out of these guys. We talked and talked for ages but eventually we had to crash. As for me I went to bed and threw up. A bad but fitting finish to a good day.
Sunday 12 April (Potosi)
Day 75
I was still drunk when I woke up! Today we all decided (less Dave and Andrew as Dave was a bit interested in the Danish girl!) to go to the thermal pool about 30km from Potosi. We took a jeep there and back (B8). Again we saw the Overlanders in their truck on the way. The water was very warm and soothing. The scenery was also great. We arrived back around 4pm. Dinner was “macchu piccu” again, but this time it took over an hour to get served. Later collected our gear and went to the bus station where the bus to La Paz was waiting. The bus left at 7pm. I ended up sitting next to this solid guy with huge shoulders who seemed to take both seats. It was a typical scenario. The trip from Potosi at night was a cold one. The road was pretty good even though it was mainly dirt, at least compared to last week. After an hour we stopped for an hour – typical. The trip was so cold that we had to drag out our sleeping bags and wrap ourselves up in them in the bus.
Monday 13 April (Coroico)
Day 76
We arrived back into La Paz around seven am, roughly twelve hours after leaving Potosi. We all had a mandatory morning coffee before saying goodbye to Dave and Andrew who were ready to take the Coroico trek. The rest of us had decided not to follow and do it the easy way. Or was it?
Coroico, while only 80 km east of La Paz is situated in the Amazon basin. This meant a 3,400m descent from La Paz. So while Dave and Andrew were looking forward to a mostly downhill trek we were also looking at a very steep descent by car. The non-trekkers grabbed a couple of taxis to take us to the bus terminal where transport to Coroico could be arranged. We booked a van to take us all the way to the small town more than three vertical kms below where we were standing for B12. Once organised we had breakfast in a street side shack before we took the arduous trip to the unknown. While we were all very excited about the trip, little was known how eventful and unforgettable this experience would become. We had read that the road is steep and narrow however we were definitely not prepared for what we were about to encounter, especially myself.
We left the bus terminal at 9am and for the first 25km it was a relaxing and uneventful trip. The road was paved and the scenery was a spectacular as expected. We were still traversing the altiplano at this stage when we came to a crossroads. We looked out the front of the van to see the road wind its way down the rocky mountainside, an awesome site. For the next 10km the road turned back and forth through a series of hairpin turns, constantly descending. Quickly the rocky cliffs gave way to thick tropical vegetation as we ventured further east. The temperature was rising and it started to rain. The road suddenly gave way to dirt and narrowed significantly. It grew foggy, creating a scene that was in total contrast to one just ten minutes earlier. At a vantage point we stopped and we all got out. From here we could see that the road wound its way further down the mountain and eventually disappearing into the mist. However along the route we could point out several huge trucks overcoming the very sharp and precarious turns along the way. It was then that we noticed and realised that this was going to be a hairy trip. The reason why we had stopped was that we had to wait for a semi-trailer coming the other way!
Once clear we jumped back into the van and continued our voyage. I was seated right at the back of the van on the left-hand side, which meant I had commanding views of the scenery, in theory. There were really no views sideways but if I looked down I could see an almost bottomless drop shearing off to the left of the road only inches from the wheel! This scenario was made worse by the fact that it was raining, the road was slippery, muddy and rocky, no rails, oncoming traffic around blind turns and a maniac driver. For what seemed like eternity, we continued down the mountain at break neck speed and I for one was very, very worried. At almost every turn there was an ominous sign that greeted us, literally. Crosses were erected where an unfortunate accident had occurred where vans, trucks, whatever sped out of control over the edge only to disappear forever. At some points the van slowed down enough to be able to distinguish the date when these accidents occurred and to find out that one occurred only a week ago was definitely not comforting.
The rule of the road was not standard, i.e. keep to the right. Transport coming down the mountain must keep to the left (i.e. closest to the edge). The reason, I thought, was that if an accident did occur between two oncoming vehicles the one descending would push the ascending back into the mountain rather than over the edge. It seemed like a good enough theory for me at the time, but I was still scared. Our driver, while it seemed like he was trying to break the La Paz – Coroico land speed record, was not reassuring us that everything would be all right. At one stage I opened my window and glanced down at the back wheel which seemed to be not touching anything and all I saw was a sheer drop of over 1000 feet, all this at an uncontrollable speed. That was it, I closed the window and took a deep breath. The rest of the group saw my concern and it was then that I yelled at the driver to f….g slow down in English, he was going to kill us all! He didn’t seem to listen or understand or perhaps want to for that matter, he was determined to get there fast. I was seriously contemplating on getting out and walking the remaining 36km to Coroico, it was just that terrifying. The others, while not totally convinced themselves, did manage to persuade me not to do such a foolish thing. So for the next hour or so I was hoping at every turn there would be a sign that said something like “Welcome to Coroico” but it was elusive. It seemed like that we would never get there. We crossed a stream and started to level out, we must have been close. Sure enough, soon after the driver proudly proclaimed that we had indeed arrived in Coroico. Thank God.
This was without doubt the worst road trip I had ever taken and swore that I was never going to do that again. I don’t think I have been as scared as that in all my life and was thinking that I was end up as a small headline in the papers that a group of gringos had been killed in a terrible road accident in Bolivia…..again. However after calming down a bit, terror instantly swept through my body again as I realised that Coroico was not on the road to anywhere and we were not continuing east. The only way out of this Gold forsaken place was to ascend the same road that we had taken getting here! What on earth was I doing here?
While we had descended over 3,000m, Coroico stood atop a valley still 1,500m above sea level. We soon discovered that it was a peaceful and relaxing place and would be a great place for some well needed chilling out. We checked into the Residencial La Casa (B10). While basic it did have a pool and clean toilets. It even had toilet paper! The views were great and it was warm enough for a swim. Later we had cheap and nasty lunch, while the afternoon was spent just lying around. Dinner was spent in a small café on the town square. I ordered chicken, two hamburgers and two beers, all for $4. Afterwards we played pool and drank more refreshing beers, trying to erase the memories of our unforgettable trip to get here.
Years later I would still be telling this story as it has remained with me. I read that apart from a road high up in the mountains in Borneo, this was the most dangerous stretch of road in the world. This was no surprise to me at all. In 1997 there was even an article in the Asian Wall Street Journal about the road and the fact that the Bolivian Government was spending a fortune on improving the important and only link to the eastern half of the country and eventually Brazil. The article also pointed out the dangers of the road and its propensity to scare the living daylights out of anyone daring to take it.
Tuesday 14 April (Coroico)
Day 77
I had a nice sleep in this morning. As usual I opened my eyes and immediately reached over to the bedside table and grabbed my packet of Marlboro Reds and pulled a cigarette out. I found a lighter and flicked my thumb over the flint wheel to draw the flame. I moved that hand to my mouth and lit the ciggie that was in it. I drew back, held it for a short while then exhaled the smoke through a narrow mouth opening. I then replaced the lighter on the bedside table, releasing it out of my grip. In the same movement I grabbed a half finished can of coke. I took the ciggie out of my mouth with the other hand and lifted the can to my lips and downed the remaining contents. Ahhh it felt really good!
I looked around the room. I recall Knut also waking up and performing the same healthy vigil as I. Janine was sick all last night. Later Kristian surprisingly announced that he hadn’t had a shit in a week before he ducked into the toilets to let nature eventually take its course. He too was not well. This proclamation became the topic of the day as we all struggled to remember our longest periods without doing a shit.
We decided to have breakfast at the same place we had lunch yesterday. Again the food was ordinary as usual. Afterwards, Gill, Chad, Knut, and I went for a trek along a dirt road to a waterfall we read about in the handbook. It was quite a long way and took over an hour and a half to get there. We came across a small village which seemed to consist entirely of very friendly kids. No adults were anywhere to be seen. The waterfall was however a bit disappointing. We stayed briefly before turning around and walked briskly back to Coroico. When we got back we saw Jan and Janine waiting for the bus to take them back to La Paz which was leaving at 2pm. We figured that Janine was still crook and wanted to be back in civilisation. After they left the rest of us went to a disco and had lunch – hamburgers and chips. Afterwards we had these great cakes. Later walked back to our residencial and vegged out. Gill turned up later and asked if we wanted to play scrabble. We of course said yes. The game was great and added some excitement to the place, plus the fact I won!
We believed that there was a convent right next door to where we were staying. We learnt that the nuns were running a shop inside where we could buy some awful but drinkable wine as well as biscuits and homemade peanut butter! We capitalised on this and had a little drinky and snacky. For dinner we had cheese fondue in a residencial’s restaurant which was excellent. We were kicking ourselves why we hadn’t done this before. After dinner we drank the rest of the wine from the ‘bad nuns’.
That night I vaguely remember having a dream. I woke in the middle of the night and thought there was someone else in our room apart from my two known co-tenants, Knut and Kristian. I sat up and actually said “hola”, determining if there was actually someone there. Once convinced there was no one there I went back to sleep. The next morning Knut while looking puzzled asked me if was speaking to him during the night. I thought for a moment then explained what happened. Once realising what had happened we both broke into hysterical laughter.
Wednesday 15 April (La Paz)
Day 78
Today was Gill’s 27th birthday. It was also the day that I was dreading, the trip back to La Paz. We were up early to catch the 7.30 bus. I made sure that I sat as close to the mountain as possible. The trip back was not as bad as the one coming down, although we did have a few close calls with some trucks coming the other way, especially one. We arrived in La Paz for our 3rd time about three hours later. We caught a taxi back to Hostal Austria and managed to get our old room back. Later changed some money then went for a walk to California Burgers for a great feed. Shit service though. Later went to the post office to post some postcards, on to AMX to check the mail (none) then back to the hostal. After went to the market where I walked for ages. Bought a wallet though. Once back at the hostal, Knut and I watched almost two ‘Arny’ films including T2. Had to leave half way through to meet the others in the restaurant next door to the hostal. Had pique machu again, now dubbed as ‘fart food’. We ended up partying on in a bar which had a live band. Played ‘drunk’ drinking games and of course by the end of the night everyone was well and truly gone.
Thursday 16 April (Copacabana)
Day 79
An early start again much to our dislike. The bus was actually early to take us to Copacabana (not the beach in Rio) on the shores of Lake Titicaca. “Diana Tours” was our trusty bus company. We had breakfast close to the office prior to leaving then we were off. The trip was great and the day was perfect. Along the route we noticed many people walking and cycling alongside of us, also on their way to Copa. It was the time of year (Easter) when pilgrimages from La Paz would take place. We took the easy option.
The scenery leading up to Copa was fantastic then we saw Lake Titicaca for the first time, an impressive sight. We arrived at the Strait of Tiquina where we had to catch a boat across as there was no bridge. Even the bus had to put onto a barge. Arrived in Copa about noon. We checked into Residencial Sucre (cost B15 per night, usually B6 but it was fiesta time and accommodation was scarce). It was here that we met Tony, a Kiwi travelling on his own. He wasn’t a bad bloke at first but soon got annoyed with him. For lunch we wanted to try the famous local trout caught in the lake at the local market. It was delicious. Chad convinced the rest of us that we could eat the whole fish, head, bones and all! As the fish are small this could actually be done without too much trouble or without choking on a fish bone. We also met a couple from Finland, Erik and Yoki (she was Japanese) who had just arrived from Cuzco, Peru. Of course we quizzed them about Cuzco and Peru as they were our next destination.
The afternoon was spent drinking beers in the sun on the rooftop of our residencial. It was just great. During the episode I mentioned to the others that I would like to climb the hill immediately behind the Copa. Chad and Knut also decided that this was good idea. So about 5pm we grabbed a couple of large bottles of beer and climbed the hill which seemed much bigger than it looked from our rooftop. We made it to the top in time to crack the beers and watch the sunset over lake Titicaca. It was a beautiful experience.
For dinner we all went to an expensive restaurant and most of us had steak which seemed a bit dodgy but still managed to eat it. We left quickly and some of us were still hungry so we went back to the market we had great food in the street stalls. Later had a coffee and admired the street view.
Friday 17 April (Copacabana)
Day 80
Good Friday.
It was not a good start to the day. Knut, my roommate, had farted badly all night long, which had led to lack of sleep due to the noxious smells keeping em awake. Then early in the morning, all I heard was kids started screaming non stop. That was it, I had to get up. Breakfast consisted of two rolls and the ‘bad nuns’ peanut butter! A solid base to start the day with for sure. This morning Chad, Gill, Kristian, Tony and I walked up the hill next to the lake. The walk is considered a bit of a pilgrimage for many Bolivians but for us we were interested in the walk itself and the views but to also see the twelve stations of the cross along its route. And of course it was Good Friday so it was a better day than normal. The walk was pleasant enough and the weather was magnificent. We counted the stations on the way up and actually counted 14, not 12 as it was stated. The inscriptions on each cross were unfortunately in Spanish but we could make out some of the meaning. Once at the top the views were great of the town itself and of especially Lake Titicaca.
Now the scene at the summit was quite interesting. Masses (no pun) of people had formed along its route and had basically congregated (no pun either!) around some sort of shrine. It was Easter and all the locals were out to seek some sort of divine inspiration and good luck. The interesting part was that as people ascended the hill, they had in their hands model cars, homes and other material objects. Once at the shrine, they would place the models onto it and then kneel and pray before it, obviously to wish for the real thing one day. There was one guy who seemed to think he was some sort of priest or God’s representative as he was splashing water over the ones praying and kneeling before the shrine. Just in case you did not have any models to present to the shrine, no worries, there were a few people selling them, including good luck travel kits. I thought at the time that this all seems too artificial and the fact that everyone was wanting luxury cars and houses was a bit over the top as well as being a bit vain. It was a bit disappointing seeing this huge display of excessive greed especially since it was a holy day plus it differed to what I had grown accustomed to as a Catholic. In any case it was certainly a spectacle.
We spent a bit of time at the top before deciding to head back down the other (steep) side of the hill, towards the beach on the lake. We just took it easy walking around for awhile. Later we went to the food market where we had the beautiful lake trout again. There was a drama with the tables as it was crowded and there was not enough room for all of us to sit together. Then the cutlery ran out and I ended up eating my fish with a spoon! Afterwards we walked back to the hotel where we had a sunbake on the roof which was very nice. Later had a quick snooze before we all met up again at 7.30.
Tonight was the candlelight procession through the streets of Copa. Once we arrived at the market we saw Eric and Yoki who were eating what looked like a very delicious sausage roll. So good in fact that we all bought one even though we had planned to go to a restaurant tonight. It was as good as it looked. The procession was interesting, led by a navy band followed by soldiers. The concept that a land locked country such as Bolivia has a navy is a bit strange but when you think that Lake Titicaca is situated in two countries then I suppose its makes sense. The procession was over and we were hungry again, so we ventured into a restaurant as originally planned. We made quite a big night out of it as we consumed many beers and were finally booted out at 1am.
Saturday 18 April (Copacabana)
Day 81
A good day! An early start as we had to be down on the beach at 7.30am. It was cold at this time of the day, in contrast to the afternoon heat. There was were seven of us, Jan, Janine, Knut, Kristian, Roy, Sophie (English couple) and myself. We organised a boat trip to Isla de Sol, The Island of the Sun, in Lake Titicaca for B130. It was another beautiful day. The trip out to the island was fine and smooth, taking two hours. Along the way we had breakfast which consisted of rolls and peanut butter – again! This was getting too monotonous, the peanut butter had to finish soon!
We arrived at the island at 10am where we had an instant welcoming committee comprising of local kids. Very nice we thought until we realised their true motive, money. They had brought down with them some llamas and alpacas which we of course could take a photo of but not before coughing up 1B. While I was against this I obliged and got Janine to take a photo of me with the kids and a not so friendly alpaca, making the kids day. After manoeuvring away from the entrepreneurial kids, we made our way uphill away from the lake. A series of Inca steps led us to the top. Once there we were again greeted with great views of the lake and the island itself. In the distance you make out the snow covered peaks of the Andes which made good photo opportunities. We walked along the hill top ridge to the other side of the island where in the distance we could see Peru. Later we walked down to an Inca ruin close to the water’s edge. Just before we left we had a swim in the lake which was a first very cold but also extremely refreshing. It took two hours to get back to Copa.
As it had been a sunny day and together with being on the water I got quite sunburnt. Once back into town we had a few cokes to even out the money that everyone had owed to each other. Then a very relaxing afternoon spent mostly in bed. Later we saw blessings of trucks and cars outside the cathedral. Monks in baseball caps and runners blessing with a plastic rose from a plastic bucket was an interesting sight. The owners of the vehicles would get very involved by throwing flower petals and beer all over them and eventually firing up bungers to make the most noise possible.
Sunday 19 April (Copacabana - Puno)
Day 82
Easter Sunday
First entry in the dairy read “Fucking kids were as obnoxious as usual!”. This meant that I was up early unexpectedly and unwillingly. No showers for the second day running and as usual all the toilets were full of horrible ‘humphreys’ staring up at you. We had breakfast down at the market today (no peanut butter rolls today!). We tried a local drink called Api. It was a very sweet, warm and pink drink, tasting a bit like cinnamon. We used this to wash down the puff pastries we also bought. The drink took a little while to get used to and even then it was just too sweet and ultimately too dodgy. Afterwards we went back to Arayamiento Sucre (our hotel) and vegged out. At 11am, all of us, except Jan, went to mass at the cathedral. It was very good, pretty much like the services in Australia. The priest spoke slowly and clearly (in Spanish) and hence could understand some of it. Afterwards, I was glad I went and felt good about it. As a reward we went back to the market again and had our favourite, trout! Our final gesture before leaving for Peru. The moment had come. I for one had a slight feeling of caution now that we were going to Peru. After a barrage of scary stories from fellow travellers, it can put you off a little.
The bus to take us out of Bolivia and into Peru left Copacabana, our home for three days, at 2pm. We arrived at the Bolivian immigration office soon after leaving where we experienced a hassle free departure to this wonderful country. Peru moments later, where again we had no hassles getting through. It was all too easy. The drive to Puno, also on Lake Titicaca, was interesting, where the majority of activity we saw was farming. The trip was not so good for one of us, Kristian. He was not feeling well at all. It all got too much for him and eventually got to the stage that he yelled to señor bus driver to stop which he immediately did. Kristian then got up, ran out and threw up all over the place. He was crook as a dog. Once composed he got back on and just held his head in his hands. The trip continued and so did his desire to be sick. He spent the rest of the trip with his head sticking out of the window. Poor bloke, we felt sorry for him, nothing we could do. At the time we thought that he was a one off as we all felt fine. Little did we know, big trouble was to come. We arrived at Puno at 5pm. When I alighted from the bus my paranoia about the place quickly faded away. Checked into Hostal Europa for 2.66 Sols (US$2.66) each a night. Once checked in we had dinner at a pizza restaurant around the corner.
PERU
Monday 20 April (Puno)
Day 83
It was not going to be a good day, and I knew this very early on. Both Knut and Kristian were up all night playing tag team for the bathroom. It was terrible. They both seemed to time their sickness well as there was only one bathroom down the hall. However on one occasion, and I vividly remember, Kristian getting out of bed, running for the door and sprinting down the hallway. The familiar sounds of running footsteps were heard together with a not so familiar sound of projectile vomit hitting the carpet as he ran. While I was cursing them both due to my lack of sleep, I thought the whole episode was quite amusing. The saga continued through the night into the early hours of the morning. It must have stopped at some stage as I did manage to get some sleep. But it was short lived as the Norwegians were up again, this time feeling healthy and keen to get moving! I asked if they were ok and after going through the motions of the previous night we all had a good laugh. However the humour was short lived as if struck by lightning, the illness that befell on my two travelling companions, came to take me out. It was like a delayed reaction. Then it was I who now sprinting to the baño. While the nausea was there it was more the case of the runs that was the most annoying. As a result I conceded defeat and forced myself to a day in bed to get rid of this nasty bug. It was unfortunate as the others had planned to spend the day at the floating reed islands of Urus on Lake Titicaca.
It was a terrible day and probably one for the records, worse than the Venezuelan experience. I ended up going to the baño 14 times and my arse was on fire! As Johnny Cash used to sing, “burn, burn, burn, this burning ring of fire”. It was very ouchy. The others came back about 4pm and then went out again to buy food for the trip tomorrow (to Cuzco). Then they all went out to dinner, again without me as I was still crook. I was determined to get better as I did not want to be sick in Cuzco (or for the rest of the trip).
Tuesday 21 April (Puno - Cuzco)
Day 84
My determination to shake the bug worked, to an extent. I felt less nauseous and my desire to run to the bathroom diminished substantially. I was ready to travel. Of course I had to be careful. At 7am we checked out of the hotel and walked to the train station. It was very cold. We had tickets in tourist class ($24 which was only $4 more than 1st class). Boarding the train was no drama and everything was going well. After all the horror stories you hear about Peru, we took no chances and chained our backpacks to the overhead luggage racks. In hindsight this seemed a bit drastic however at the time it seemed like a good idea. The train left on time and we were finally on our way to Cuzco. Our first stop was Juliaco, about two hours after we left Puno. Here we had to change carriages (unknown why) and was done in a very orderly fashion. The second carriage was not as big as the first and we proceeded to chain our backpacks up again. Later on we realised that there was really no need to chain anything up as the trip was uneventful.
The journey itself was spectacular. The scenery was typical Peru, winding its way up the Cocabamba valley. As the trip was quite long, to pass the time I played a lot of Scrabble, Euca and America with Chad, Gill, and Knut. (I cannot recall what America is!). Our games were sometimes interrupted when the train would stop at the various stations along the route. Once at the train stop, or even before, hundreds of mainly children would be trying to flog us all sorts of stuff, but mainly jumpers and fruit. Such items would be thrown at us through the windows while the vendors would be shouting out prices to us with the anticipation that we would throw money back to them. It was usually the jumpers that were thrown back.
We arrived in Cuzco on time – 7pm. Once off the train there was a scene of absolute chaos as various hotel staff would be hawking their hotels for any potential guests that were alighting from the train. In the distance we saw a group of Israelis haggling with a guy for accommodation. We joined in as we knew that typically the Israelis would get the best price no matter what. We ended up being taken to Hotel Cahuide which was just off the main square. The final price that the Israelis bargained down to was $2.67 a night each with ensuite. It was bloody good value. We dumped our gear, trusted our valuables to the hotel safe then went out to check out the town and find some dinner. We ended up in a great restaurant on ‘gringo alley’. While we were there, two local bands came in from the street and started playing in front of us, it was great and a fantastic start to our stay in Cuzco. Later I met a 7 year old kid who as usual would say…”Hello, where do you come from?” I told him that I was from Australia and he blurted out that Canberra was the nation’s capital and the real surprise, that Paul Keating was its Prime Minister (which he was).
Wednesday 22 April (Cuzco)
Day 85
Knut and I met up with Chad and Gill at La Yunta Café on the plaza, after taking a while to find it. Mark had recommended this place for a good place to go for breakfast, and he was right. The breakfast was fantastic, juice, eggs, toast and coffee. The view from the café was also great, overlooking the plaza. Later on, Knut and I walked around and then down to the main street checking out prices for flights to Arequipa, change some money and check out tour agencies. I went to Lima Tours (AMX office) to see if I had received any mail, however there was none there. We decided to book a city tour for this afternoon at 2pm.
At 2pm we left the main plaza in a mini bus and our first stop was the Cathedral which is the main attraction and focus point of the city. It was truly an amazing church, completely decorated inside with thousands of beautiful paintings. Martin Martins, our trusted bi-lingual guide, showed us the way. Afterwards we left Cuzco proper to the ancient town of Sacsayhuaman (or as we pronounced it Sexy Woman). This was a very interesting place and typical of the Inca construction that I had heard so much about. We also visited Quenco, Pucapucana and Tambomachoy. There were many great photo opportunities at these sites but of course it attracted the usual cost. After a very interesting and educational trip, we arrived back in Cuzco around 5pm.
Later on Chad and I got a haircut for $2 each! Later on we indulged ourselves by venturing into the Cross Keys Pub, the definitive meeting place for fellow gringo travellers, and having a few local brews and pisco sours during happy hour. We also played backgammon. For dinner we went to what I consider the best restaurant in South America, Chez Maggy’s Pizzeria. The food was fantastic, the best pizzas anywhere. Chad liked the food so much that he asked anyone in the restaurant if they had finished theirs! This guy just never stops eating! Apart from an incident when Chad picked up a German’s beer by mistake which almost led to a fight, it was a great night.
Thursday 23 April (Cuzco)
Day 86
Today was a good day as we spent it in the Sacred Valley, not too far from Cuzco. We had breakfast upstairs in the hotel before we boarded the bus for our day tour. After a bit of stuffing around, i.e. finding Chad and Gill, we were on our way about 9.15am. We had a full bus.
First stop, Pisaq. The trip there was great and the views along the Urubamba Valley were fantastic. The Pisaq ruins high above the town were very interesting, a classic example of Incan settlement and use of steep land for cultivation. Martin Martins (we had him again) explained everything that we wanted to know and more. After the ruins we visited the local market in the town of Pisaq which was also not bad. After walking the length of the market I had decided that there was really nothing worth buying. Later we had lunch in a ‘muy coro’ restaurant but had good food. After we visited Ollantaytombo, more Incan ruins, which was also very interesting. Later we drove back down the valley to Chuchero towards Cuzco. We had great views of the Cordillera Blanco at sunset. We stopped in the middle of nowhere where actually a small market was operating. I bought a strap for my camera here for $1.50. Later we bumped into Andrew who was keen for a beer but for some reason I was not up to it. But later on we went back to Chez Maggy’s for a chica pizza. Remember having a big ‘discussion’ about capital punishment. Wrote a letter to Dad.
Friday 24 April (Cuzco)
Day 87
Today was a day of organisation. Tomorrow was the big day, the start of the Inca Trail! After breakfast in the hotel we all walked to Pisaq Tours to hire all our camping equipment. We hired three 2-man tents (six persons in all, Knut, Kristian, Chad, Gill, Andrew and myself). We also hired one kerosene stove, two pots, bowls, cups and cutlery. We also wanted to let people know that we were about to embark on the trek and rang Australia among others. Also went to the Post Office to post a letter to Dad. I caught up with the others again and had decided to book our flights to Arequipa for Saturday week. ($42 on AMX). After we had a set course lunch for $1 we picked up our gear from Pisaq Tours and went back to the hotel. Then we had to go and buy all the food for the trek which was done at the huge food market close to the plaza. We bought fresh food such as vegetables, fruit as well as spices. Later we went to the supermarket to pick up the rest, cereal, pasta, tin foods, and luxuries such as chocolate and cigarettes. Once all the food was purchased it was hauled back to the hotel for distribution.
As we had no guides for the trek, all the gear and food had to be evenly distributed among the six of us. I ended up carrying the big pot, one of the tents and some of the food. Once completed, my pack was bloody heavy, probably close to 20kg. It was not a problem as the weight would reduce as more and more food was consumed. While packing, Jan and Janine turned up with Smokey and Sandra, a Kiwi couple. Once finished we all went back to Chez Maggy’s once again for our last proper meal for at least three days.
Saturday 25 April (Inca Trail – Day 1)
Day 88
ANZAC Day. No one gave it a thought – there was simply too much a stake and we were too eager to get started. A 5am start. Our preparation for such an arduous journey was ignored since we all returned home after midnight after a few beers at Chez Maggy’s. Hangovers miraculously wiped clean from our minds. We all got ready then grouped together in one the hotel rooms. We struggled to get our huge packs on, especially at that time of the morning. We did a final check and then we walked out of the hotel hitting the street. Our first trek was actually through Cuzco town to the train station which was actually quite a long way. Why the hell didn’t we take or bus or something? Anyway, on arriving at the station, I threw off my pack and thought, how the hell am I going to do this for 37 km over 4 days over mountainous terrain! Anyway we bought our train tickets (1st class) to km 88 for 8 soles (about $8) and boarded the train. We all settled in comfortably and waited the three hours or so it took for us to reach km 88.
Km 88 is the starting point for the Inca Trail and marked only by a tiny platform running along the tracks. The train was stopping only briefly (one minute) so we had to make sure that we were ready to get off. It was almost freezing when we left Cuzco and hence we were all rugged up in jeans and jumpers. However after three hours it was much warmer and since we had a lot of hard work to do, we all stripped off beside the track and changed into our shorts and t-shirts. Once properly geared we left the tracks and proceeded down a path to a small hut. Once there we were all asked to pay a fee of 13.50 soles to walk the trail as well as to sign a declaration that states that the person was to embark on such a journey. We gladly paid and signed up. Even at this early time of the day, we were not the only ones here, there were at least ten others wanting to get through. Once the officialdom was completed, we were allowed to enter the trail by ways of crossing an old wooden suspension bridge across a small river.
It was now 9.30am. It was a beautiful day and I remember thinking that I hoped the weather would hold up for the duration of the trek. The other trekkers soon disbursed and we were once again within in our own group of six. In the beginning the trail was relatively easy, a gentle rise along a mountain stream. We passed mainly farms and small villages. After three hours we stopped for a short break beside the stream. While in Cuzco, we had bought a small amount of chocolate for the trip as a luxury item. We did not realise how much. Even at this point we were crying out for a bit of sugar, and chocolate became a necessity. I have never tasted chocolate so good before now. It was simply heavenly. I will always remember this moment. By this stage the weather had turned for the worse and was raining slightly but nothing to deter us. Soon after the break we turned right across the stream and commenced our first big climb to the First Pass.
Along the way we passed through a small village and noticed that one of the Indians was attending to a small boy who had a bad infection on his face close to his left eye. It did not look good and we felt a bit concerned for him. Chad, being the Paramedic in his youth, offered his assistance. So Chad and Gill played the role of doctor and nurse for this little boy. Chad used one of the syringes in his medical kit to cleanse the wound and infection. Later he applied a lotion and then covered it with a bandage. The boy and his father were very grateful for the medical treatment and thanked us with a big smile. Then we were on our way again.
The trail led steeply up the mountain from the village and did not let up all afternoon. Just when you think you have reached the top being the First Pass, you would find that it is never the case, together with the realisation that you are not even close to the top. During one of these moments it started to piss down with rain, which did not help at all. Previously it was just a drizzle, this time it was monsoonal weather. So I reached into my pack and pulled out my dryzabone for only the second time in three months. While weighing a bloody tonne and usually cursing the damn thing as it’s probably the most useless item any traveller can take with them, it finally came of use.
We were on the trail for a few hours now and by this stage the pattern of order was beginning to unfold. Andrew, who had no hiking boots, only Doc Martin shoes he wore in London pubs, was usually the pace setter closely followed by Chad who was better suited to a pair of rubber thongs. At this stage I was third place while the others were close behind. My placing would slip further back in coming days. We had decided to stop at a small clearing about two thirds of the way up to the First Pass. The rain stopped briefly so we decided to have lunch here as well. When Knut and Kristian walked into camp, I couldn’t help but laugh at their unique wet weather gear. They had bought a pair of silver plastic hoods which covered both person and pack. They both looked like walking tents! They could not work out what the fuss was all about and thought their accessories were ingenious. We had lunch (can’t remember what we ate) and it was good. The final third to the top was the worst part that day. The trail became steep to the point that switchbacks were necessary to conquer it. We decided to stop for the day just below the First Pass and pitch our tents for the night. I was so relieved that the climbing was over, at least for today, but this was only the first day.
The setting at First Camp was just idyllic, overlooking the valley that we had just climbed out of to the opposite snow capped mountain range. Just fantastic. The sleeping arrangements had already been established, Andrew and I in one tent, Chad and Gill in another and the Norwegians in the third. The cooking and washing up rosters had also been decided and tonight was our turn to cook. Andrew and I cooked soup for entrée and a delicious pasta and tuna dish for main course[3]. As Andrew would say, we cooked up a storm! Later we had coffee and chocolate under the thousand of stars that appeared after the clouds dissipated. It also got very cold. After dinner we immediately called it a day and were in our sleeping bags by 8.30pm.
Sunday 26 April (Inca Trail – Day 2)
Day 89
After a great night’s sleep we were rudely woken at 6am by Fernando, a guide whom we had no association with. He was guiding another group who had also pitched tent in the middle of the night. We reluctantly emerged from our sleeping bags and braved the cold to a new day. Our first thoughts for the day were breakfast. Andrew and I bought a box of Frosties in Cuzco which we thought was smart as it had sugar in it already and saved us from carrying the sugar separately! All we needed was the milk. We made up the milk by mixing the powdered variety with the “fresh” water from the nearby stream. We popped in the iodine tablets to make sure that we were not going to catch some nasty bug which would ruin our whole adventure. As a result the milk was pretty rough but good enough. The cup of freshly brewed coffee made the day though. After breakfast we cleared up, washed the dishes in the stream, packed up our gear and headed off into our second day on the Inca Trail.
Believe it or not we spent most of the morning reaching the elusive First Pass. By late morning we finally made it. At 4,200m it was great achievement and the views were spectacular. The climb was so long and to the anticipation of reaching the First Pass was so great that I felt as though I had climbed Mount Everest! So much so that I reached into my pack and pulled out my Australian flag. As it unfurled in the wind I stood high on the pass and marvelled at my recent achievement as well as admiring the absolute beauty of the mountain scape spreading out around us. It was a tremendous occasion.
By the time we reached the First Pass we were met with other trekkers. Eventually I grouped with an English girl (Karen), a German girl (Ute) and a Canadian guy (??) to make to descent down from the pass. The descent was so much easier than the ascent as one would expect however there were troubling thoughts going through my mind. My left knee was acting up again. The last time this happened was when I was in Hong Kong staying at the mountain top Youth Hostel. The walk down the steep hill there was enough to lay me flat and eventually ending up in hospital. The injury was coming back after a lengthy two year absence. It was an ominous sign.
It did not take long to reach the valley floor only to start climbing again to the Second Pass. Half way up we stopped at a place called Runkuracay which was our first Inca ruin on route. We also had lunch here. It was only when we stopped that the real beauty of our surrounding could be fully appreciated. But time was ticking and we had a long walk ahead of us. We continued on to the Second Pass (3,800m) with ease.
Past the Second Pass the trail became more defined and started to look more like an Inca Trail that I had heard and read so much about. The trail was now paved rather than merely the plain dirt track. The classic paved trail that had been constructed by the Incas 300 years ago. I was amazed that it was still in such good condition. The steps leading down from the pass were very steep and very taxing on my left knee. By the time I reached the bottom I could almost not continue further as the pain was unbearable. Later we arrived at another site of Inca ruins, Sayajmarca (3,600m) which was very impressive. It was getting late in the day and we needed to decide whether we would camp here or continue on. The consensus was to move on. We walked mainly on a level footing but close to the mountainside for some time. Our goal was the Third Pass and it too, like the First, proved to be ever elusive. When you think you had made it, it proved to be a disappointment as the trail continued further away and upwards. By late in the day, we finally made it to the Third Pass.
We stopped, dropped and marvelled. The sun was setting and the views were unbelievable. As there was nowhere to camp we had to hurry to the next set of Inca ruins, Phuyupatamarca before it got dark. It did not take long to get there but once there we thought we had found the best campsite in the whole world. The spot was just perfect, situated on a level terrace of the ruin, high above the valley and overlooking magnificent snow capped mountains. We quickly pitched our tents and just took it all in. We watched the sun set behind the distant mountain which created an eerie purple colour over the valley below us. It was one of the most beautiful vistas I have ever seen. Even to this day (day of book print) the memories of that sight are still as vivid as that day. The fact that Andrew and I had had our turn cooking dinner, we just sat back and relaxed while Chad and Gill had their turn. We ended up sharing the site with two English guys and their guide.
Dinner was a curry Spam and rice. Sounded disgusting but was actually very good and especially after a long days trek. Later we lit up candles and lanterns to keep us out of the pitch darkness of the night. Almost immediately we noticed hundreds of moths converging on the lights and swarming us. It was now that we all first realised Gill’s hatred for these creatures which she referred to as “horrors” in her thick Scottish accent! She despised them and could not bear to be near them and ran away in fear. Meanwhile, a selection of moths had taken to the light so much that they burnt to a crisp. We called then kamikaze moths. It wasn’t long before we all got tired and headed off to our respective tents to crash after a very big day. Tomorrow would be even a bigger day, the day we would reach Machu Picchu. It would be an early start.
Monday 27 April (Inca Trail – Day 3)
Day 90
I was awoken in the middle of the night by a very loud noise and once I realised what it was my heart sank. A big storm had developed. The wind was fierce and it was literally pouring outside, realising that our trip would not be as pleasant if it continued to do so. When the day eventually broke it was still raining and miserable but thankfully the wind had died. The views were gone, it was cold and we had to move. We had breakfast in our tents obviously and decided to sit and wait for the rain to stop but it did not. It was not until midday that we finally made a call and decided to make a move. We would not be going to Machu Picchu today.
We put on all our wet weather gear again and moved off. From the campsite it was downhill all the way for at least two hours which was definitely not to my liking. I was ok going up but coming down killed me. My knee was now excruciatingly painful. It rained all the way to Winya Wayna ruins, not too far from Machu Pichu. While the ancient ruins dominated this place a small modern lodge had interrupted its character. The lodge was targeted and we made our way to it. Once inside we immediately shed all our gear which was now soaked and hung it up over poles and railings. Trekkers were allowed to use the lodge for accommodation if needed and today there were a few around. Since we were determined to rough it from the start we knew that if we stayed here we would be cheating. The rain was still pelting down so it was with great reluctance that we decided to stay for the night. The cost of lodging, 50c for a piece of floor! As long as it was dry we did not care.
Later in the afternoon the rain had stopped temporarily enough for Andrew and I to walk the short distance to Winya Wayna ruins. The ruins are only second in size and splendour to the main attraction. Perched high above the valley on a steep slope, a series of terraces defined the area. We spent so much time here that by the time we made it back to the lodge it was dark. It was now the Norwegians turn to cook dinner which was pasta and tuna again. But of course it tasted great and was hot. We met a guy who had just turned up on his own all the way from km 88. He had travelled the distance in one day that we had in three! We played Euca till it was time to hit the sack., praying that it would not rain the next day.
Tuesday 28 April (Inca Trail – Day 4)
Day 91
I came out of my sleep quite early in the morning. My first reaction was to get up and have a look out of the window to see if my prayers had been answered. There was just too much as stake. I had to be a nice day or I would not be very happy. As I pulled the curtains aside I was immediately hit with brilliant ray of light which signalled the confirmation that God was really on my side. Not only was it not raining, there was not a cloud in the sky. Oh yeah I said as I punched the air with my fist. Fantastic! I could not wait to get up and get moving.
We all left the lodge about 6.30am. I was not sure how far we were to the main attraction but I knew that it was not far at all. Our first goal was to reach the Sun Gate before the sun got too high. The walk to the Sun Gate was superb, traversing the left hand side of the mountain and listening to my Walkman at the same time. I had dreamed of doing this for so long. Although my knee was still killing me I was thoroughly enjoying myself. The moment we had all been waiting for happened only 45 minutes after we left the lodge, we reached the Sun Gate.
From the Sun Gate, the gateway to the legendary site, we had our first view of Machu Picchu and the view was just unbelievable. The sun had risen only slightly and was shining its brilliance right onto the ancient site. The view was so good that we stayed here for about an hour! Andrew and I made it even better by climbing up onto the gate and having a smoke. No a cloud in the sky, snow capped mountains in the distance, it was just a magnificent spectacle. Machu Picchu was about another couple of kilometres from the Sun Gate. Once there, my first reaction was that I could not believe that I was actually here. After some intense viewing and photo opportunities we dumped our packs for one sol and went exploring. We were the only ones here in the whole place!
Prior to departing London, my brother Mark had given me a book that he had when he was in this same spot only a year before, a book written about Machu Picchu by Peter Frost. I had travelled with it all the way till now when I finally opened it up and read snippets to get a better understanding. He came in very handy. In hindsight I should have read it before I left! We went over the whole ruins marvelling as we went along. At 11am we took the steep and dangerous climb to Wayna Picchu, directly behind and overlooking Machu Picchu. It took 40 minutes to reach the top. From here we had great views back over Macchu Picchu and the surrounding mountain scape. We took a break. Knut had carefully brought two oranges up for a tasty snack but as he pulled them from his pack, both rolled down the rock we were sitting on and over the edge of the cliff. It was bloody funny. We climbed back down about 1pm and continued to explore the magnificent ruins.
Later, Knut, Kristian and I went for a walk around the other side of Machu Picchu towards an Inca bridge which was very interesting. The patch however finished unexpectantly as it moved towards what seemed to be a bottomless drop. It was very dangerous. At 3pm we decided to depart Macchu Picchu and head back to Cuzco. To do this we had to walk down the mountainside to the train station. The walk down can be taken along the road which zig zags for miles or the most direct route could be taken which is much shorter. We opted for the shorter route but unfortunately for me it was also the steepest. My knee was now out of action and I seriously thought that I would not make it back. For some of the way I had to slide on my arse to get down the mountain to alleviate the pain in my bloody knee. I finally ended up dragging my body off the slope and onto the station platform to be ready to catch the train back to Cuzco. It was a relief to know that the only walking left was to the train and then later back to the hotel, however it was also a bit sad that we had finished the Inca Trail. The trip back to Cuzco took four hours.
Wednesday 29 April (Cuzco)
Day 92
Today was a well-deserved day for recovery after four arduous days on the trail. We were so buggered that it was 11am before we woke up. Reflections were had among all of us of the highlights of our odyssey. Later we had to take all our hired gear back to Pisaq Tours which was no problem except Knut lost his cup! Now that we were relaxed and over with formalities, we had breakfast/lunch at Yunta Café on the square. Breakfast was an absolute treat after the bare essential meals that were had on the trail. We had fresh fruit, pancakes, and hot coffee. We sat back, ate well and just admired the view.
Later, Knut and I went to the Post Office to check the mail and to buy some postcards and writing paper. We went back to the hotel where I wrote 5 postcards. At 4.30pm we went back to the Post Office to post them. Then we went to the travel agent to check the flight to Arequipa on Saturday. No problem. Back to the hotel to get changed (into wet jeans as this is all I had that was wearable) for the night out. We had not had a beer since last Friday night and we were keen to get back into it. Had a beer at Cross Keys then went to the usual – Chez Maggy – for the 5th time! It started ok but the stress of the trail had caught up to me and I started to lose it. I was so tired and exhausted that I had to leave the restaurant and go back to the hotel for some more sleep. The others stayed.
Thursday 30 April (Cuzco)
Day 93
I spent the morning writing letters, changing money ($150) and ringing home to friends in London. I met Knut, Kristian and a gay Peruvian at La Yunta for lunch. Had an almeurza for $1.50. Afterwards the Norwegians and I went for a walking tour of Cuzco (which we hadn’t done yet). We saw the cathedral, the famous 12-sided stone in the Inca wall and the old Temple of the Sun. It was very interesting, great Inca masonry – classic. Afterwards we went back to the hotel and vegged out and just read my book. Later on, typically, Chad and Gill hassled us to get moving. So we got changed and went to eat – this time Peruvian Fried Chicken! We were sick of pizzas by now. The food was great but we were ripped off on the bill. Later went to Cross Keys for a few beers. The Canadian, French guy and the gay Peruvian turned up! Played backgammon and chess (thrashed!). Quite a late night.
Friday 1 May (Cuzco)
Day 94
Our last day in Cuzco. It has now been about 10 days since we first arrived in this great little town. I had another brilliant sleep in. Knut unfortunately had the shits (literally) – so bad that he actually shat his bed! It was not a good start to the day for him! I saw Jan and Janine who had arrived back the previous night from their Inca Trail trip which they did after us. Later had breakfast from 10 to 12 which was great. I spoke to Jan and Janine as well as Snorkey and Sandra (fellow Inca Trailers for Jan and Janine). Later on I got changed and met the others at La Yunta for lunch. Had chocolate pancakes with fruit again – unreal! Spent heaps of time here as well. It was great just to do nothing but eat.
Afterwards I walked to the market and bought a grain sack for my pack (for 60 cents!), as a means of protection as well as a semi-disguise! The idea is that people may mistake it for a sack of potatoes instead of some gringo’s backpack. Spent the afternoon in bed at the hotel reading my book which was very relaxing. At 7pm we met up the others in a dingy restaurant which had warm beer! We ordered saladas and a pique macchu type dish. It was small and the chillies were very hot. We got ripped off on the beers! This was getting ridiculous, we could not trust anyone now on the bill. The debate was on as to exactly how many beers were consumed and it ended up in a big shouting match. We ended up just paying what we thought we had and left, with the proprietors raising their fists as we left. To cool down we went to the Kamikaze Club – great night! Great music, heaps of gringos and met a local girl called Daphne. She spoke very good English and was quite attractive. After probably too many beers we ended back at the hotel at 4.30am.
Saturday 2 May (Arequipa)
Day 95
We had an 8am Aero Peru flight to Arequipa so it was an early start. We were up at 5am, which meant we had about 30 minutes sleep! We had to be at the airport at 6.30am to catch our flight. We hired a taxi to take us out there which cost us only 1 sol each. We checked in and paid the tax of S6.50. We had a bit of time to wait so we had breakfast upstairs which was not bad. Everyone was suffering pretty badly from the night before and the boys, especially Chad, were farting really badly! Then we had to board. To my surprise, Daphne showed up to see us (me) off. Guess she took a liking to me. Anyway we waved goodbye to her and walked out onto the tarmac towards the AeroPeru Boeing 727.
It seemed that we were the only ones on the plane and for the first time in my life, we were told once on board that we could sit anywhere we liked. It was like boarding a bus! We were all careful not to sit next to Chad who by this stage had developed a real gastro problem. A foul smell began to creep its way over the inside of the cabin. While some of us had to move seats the hostesses were even more shocked and refused to come near us! It was terrible. Then we saw this guy walking along the tarmac towards the plane. He climbed the stairs and ventured inside. We thought he was just another passenger but had a bag looking very similar to one a pilot would usually have. This guy looked like a TV repairman with his trousers half way down his arse revealing the classic bum crack. He did not have a uniform. We were shocked to see him walk towards the cockpit but not before giving us a sort of reassuring smile as he opened up the cockpit door. He went in and was gone. Everyone started to sober up pretty quickly.
The engines started up and we were finally moving off about 8.45am. As we approached the end of the taxiway the plane was put into a very heavy turn which threw us all to one side. I remember it being similar to a hand brake turn! Anyway, as the turn was completed the ‘TV repairman’ ripped open the throttle and the plane accelerated quickly down the runway. We were all holding our armrests fairly tightly by this stage. Then as quickly as we turned onto the runway we were air-born. Thank God!
The flight was quite interesting as we flew over active volcanoes however it was short, only 25 minutes. Not bad we thought as it only cost $60 each which is better than spending a freezing 13 hours on a train or bus going overland. Once in Arequipa we got a combi to the town and stayed at Hotel America for S2.50 each. Cheap but dingy place. We decided to eat out straight away down the road. Later Knut and I went back to the hotel and slept some more. When I woke up after two hours, I had the dry horrors and immediately sculled a bottle of Coke! Later we walked around town to discover it is full of beautiful but very young girls. It was unbelievable. For dinner we walked to the plaza and sat on a veranda. Shit food! Later went to the juice stand but I had nothing. Then back to the hotel for an early night.
Sunday 3 May (Arequipa - Nazca)
Day 96
I did basically nothing all morning. But it did not start well. Arequipa is quite high in altitude (2,380m) and as already mentioned the hotel was cheap. This meant no hot water! So in the morning I had to have a shower. This was one of the toughest things I had to go through. It was about 0 degrees outside and the water was like liquid ice. It must have taken about a good 5 minutes before I had enough breath and courage to fully immerse myself under the freezing water. It was unbelievable. I could only take about 5 seconds of it. Ahhh. Then I had a shitty breakfast. Bought some food for the road trip to Nazca and was ripped off on the sliced ham. Then I couldn’t find any cheap ciggies!
Our plan today was to head to Nazca, about 500km north, which is home to the famous Nazca Lines. From the air the Nazca Lines show massive drawings in the desert that no one can properly explain. Our intention was to see them from the air if it was affordable enough. First though we had to get there which meant a 12 hour bus trip.
The bus to Nazca finally left Arequipa at 12 noon ($9). It looked like an old Greyhound bus but did not function like one. The scenery was desert for the whole way. Just before we hit the coast we ran into thick fog which is apparently very typical at this time of year. The trip suddenly became very scary. In normal driving conditions this was usually not a problem when overtaking, however when a thick fog comes into play it suddenly becomes a different story. The bus driver it seemed did not notice the near zero visibility and continued to pursue his attempt of breaking the land speed record to Nazca. At one point we were overtaking a truck in the thick of the fog and it was anyone’s guess that nothing was coming the other way. But half way through the overtake someone noticed a dark object in front of us that was getting bigger and bigger. It was a truck heading straight for us emerging out of the fog like Jaws! The first sign of panic came from the co-driver who just got up from his seat and ran down the back of the bus. We were equally worried. The bus driver was now playing chicken with the ghost like truck. The two vehicles got closer and closer while I (and the rest of us) was by this stage starting to yell out in panic and fear. My heart sank, as it seemed as though we were not going to make it. But by some act of God the bus missed the truck, at least head on, but not without some damage. Half way through the take the bus actually clipped the truck and wiped out its side mirror. This was definitely the scariest moment of my life (except the trip to Coroico in Bolivia). We were lucky to be alive.
While still recovering from the shock of our near accident, the Peruvian coast appeared into view. The fog lifted to reveal a spectacular rugged coastline, complete with excellent surfing beaches. The surf was big today. We stopped in a place called Chala for dinner. The congregation headed to “Cholera Cafe” and we just said, no thanks! Finally arrived in Nazca after 11pm. We walked to Hotel Nazca where accommodation was S2.50 a night. Once checked in we immediately checked out the flights over the Nazca lines - $45 each! We all said “muy caro” (too expensive) and decided to wait until tomorrow. So back to the hotel for some beers (no food) and ended up watching the end of this great karate movie. Met an Australian guy, Ross, who looked like Jimmy Barnes – very pissed and a bit stupid. Got to bed at 1.30am
Monday 4 May (Nazca)
Day 97
Another early start – 5am! We were still very keen to see the Nazca Lines from the air but knew it would be expensive. We haggled with señor to get cheap flights for almost three hours! Best price he could do was $42 each. In the end we said no, it was just too much to pay. So on to plan B. We jumped into the hotel beast (50’s American yank tank) and headed to the airport to see if we could get a better deal. Their cheapest flight was $45 – not subject to discount/haggling whatever. We just couldn’t believe it. These guys were so stupid. All they had to do was drop the price and they had a full plane. We all reluctantly decided not to pay their price, on principal! We were not going to see the lines from the air.[4]
Since we were not going to see the lines from the air (which was really the only way to see them!) our only option was to see them from a height of 6 feet. Plan C. Land tours were being offered so we decided to take the cheaper option. We changed beasts to a big V8 ford. Our tour guide was a great guy, very friendly and spoke no English. We drove to the Nazca Lines while señor explained everything about them. The Lines were actually lines drawn in the desert that represent different drawings of animals or straight lines as far as the eye can see. Their origin is still a mystery. Anyway, señor took us to a small hill where he said we could get a reasonable good view of some of the lines. The lines we saw were dead straight leading right into the desert and over the horizon which was pretty amazing. Later he drove us to an observation tower. We climbed up the stairs to reveal a couple of images in the desert in front of us. This was about as good as it was going to get. Deep down I was thinking I really wish I had taken the flight. But the tour was good. Later he showed us a cemetery where bodies were literally placed on the sand and left there. The desert was literally covered with boxes and mummies. As it does not rain (at least in the last 200 years) the bodies are quite well preserved. Señor was explaining something about a ‘mini’ but I had no idea what he was talking about.
In the afternoon, we did nothing and vegged out. Later on we bought bus tickets to Lima ($7) for tomorrow and then celebrated with a beer. At 4.30pm we all went to the Hotel Turistas for a lecture on the Nazca Lines by Maria Riche’s sister. Maria Riche, a German, has spent the last 40 years studying the Nazca Lines and she maintains that they represent some sort of vast astronomical pre-Inca calendar. It was quite interesting hearing about her theories and more about the Lines. After the lecture we went to dinner (Rosco came along) together with a few more beers.
Tuesday 5 May (Nazca - Lima)
Day 98
We were due to get up at 7am but I was rudely woken earlier by a bloody non-stop barking dog! Had breakfast in the hotel and later paid our bill. Walked to the bus station where our bus was waiting. It left at 9.15am. Well, just when we thought that our bus trips could not get any worse, we ended up with another maniac bus driver! This country is full of them. And typically we stopped so many times on the way. We stopped in Ica and Pisco (not even long enough to buy a hot dog). We did however stop later for 30 minutes to have lunch in the middle of nowhere. I bought four rolls and an avocado for 60c. Only just had enough time to eat it! We drove along the coast through harsh desert all the way to Lima. When we first arrived in Lima I quickly summed up my first impressions of the place. It was a hole, an absolute dump. The traffic was also really bad. We finally made it to the bus terminal about 5pm. We organised two taxis to Hostel Espana for 1 sol each. We left everything in our room and went out, with a Kiwi couple. Found a Chinese restaurant, which had great food for $2 each. Later went for a beer close to the hotel.
Wednesday 6 May (Lima)
Day 99
We all had breakfast down the road at Café Machu Picchu. Later on we desperately changed some money at Banco de Credito. Because of the current dodgy situation in Lima we dropped all our stuff off at the hotel. Later we walked through Plaza de Armas to the Post Office when we noticed that there was something going on at the Presidential Palace. Many soldiers had lined up outside to form some sort of guard of honour. It was for the President, the Japanese born (or at least born to Japanese parents) Peruvian President, Fujimori. He had stridden out of the palace in full military regalia. Later on we walked the pedestrian mall to Plaza San Martin. This place is renowned for the girls who frequent this place in search for the foreign husband. We were disappointed not to see many girls as we had expected. After our run of bad luck, we kept on walking, ending up down at the South American Explorers Club (SAEC). This place is great and I managed to get some very good tips on exploring the Cordillera Blanca. I also bought the Central American Handbook ($20) as I had decided to go travelling through this region. I decided not to become a member of the club as it cost $30!
After our visit to SAEC we decided where we were going next. We all wanted to go on another trek. The trek planned was to walk up to the base of a glacier while traversing the base of Mt Huascaran, the highest mountain in Peru at 6,768m. We were so excited about our new adventure that we immediately bought our bus tickets to Huaraz ($9), the base town in the region for tomorrow. In the mean time Chad, Gill, Knut, Kristian and I jumped on a collectivo (30c) to Miraflores, a beach side suburb of Lima in search for a “Mac Attack”. But it was all in vain as we could not find those golden arches. Anyway we had found a pretty nice beach and ended up having a late lunch in a local. I also noted that the beach was great for windsurfing. Afterwards we went back to the hotel where I read my Newsweek. For dinner we went out for some pollo and a couple of cervezas.
Thursday 7 May (Lima - Huaraz)
Day 100
Day 100! Despite the small milestone it was actually one of the most memorable days of my trip. Day 100 and I wasn’t even half way yet (at least to when I eventually left North America). The day began as usual when travelling distances were concerned, up at 5.30am. The bus was due to leave at 7am. We were all on time but of course the bus left late. Worse was yet to come, as it was a complete shit fight to get out of Lima. We stopped for 30 minutes for no reason at all and tempers flared. Finally we made it out of the huge Lima metropolis and entered the already characteristic scenery of sandy desert as we headed north along the Pacific Coast. There were though some excellent beaches and again the surf was good. The trip north was interrupted by a right turn, which signalled the start of our trip back into the Andes. A trip that was truly remarkable. The weather at the coast was typical, hot and humid. It remained hot for some time and as we stopped for lunch around noon. My lunch consisted of 4 bananas (20c). After lunch we gradually gained more and more altitude and the weather was changing as expected. In only less than an hour the hot and humid weather we left behind suddenly became rainy and cold. Then it started sleeting and before we knew it, it started to snow! The trip was again frustratingly interrupted by many frequent stops, which was really pissing me off. I just wanted to GET THERE.
Now the region we were heading for was not frequented by many foreigners and for a pretty good reason. It was Shining Path country. Just one year ago, a British traveller was pulled from his hotel in Huaraz and executed in the Plaza. It was assumed that he was a spy and since the Shining Path guerrillas did not take to any Westerners, he was not so lucky. We knew we were taking a risk by coming up here but we thought the terrorism had died down (which it had) plus the expected scenery was just too much to miss. Like any other gringo travelling in the region we had also heard of stories of guerrillas stopping buses and pulling travellers off and executing them!
So when our bus came around a bend and was pulled up by a band of men in literally the middle of nowhere we were a bit concerned. With my dark hair and now dark skin I thought that maybe they would overlook me while hoping that they did not ask me any questions that required my response in Spanish. But in any case, I was truly scared and thought this may be it! As for our Norwegian friends, they had no chance. I was hoping that the bus would not stop but as it slowed down we all gave each other that “oh fuck” look. For some reason we all dropped lower in our seats in hoping that once on board they would not see us but this was ridiculous. I was so scared as the first of the men walked up the steps and down the aisle of the bus towards six very scared gringos. He looked at me and I looked away as I did not want to make any eye contact to intimidate them. One by one the men got onto the bus looking around to see who was on the bus. By now my heart was racing, as I truly did not know what would happen next. Once all the men were on board the bus driver closed the door and drew away from the side of the road.
Now something was not right (or right for that matter) as none of the men seemed to be making any demands, gestures, etc towards us. They just stood in the aisle. I quietly asked the gentleman next to me who the men we just picked up were. “Oh, they’re road workers who need a lift into town”. My God, what a bloody relief. It’s amazing how fellow traveller stories can conjure up images of brutal senseless killings of innocent travellers. Of course most of the stories we hear are not first hand so of course they are either totally made up or at least exaggerated so much that it becomes ‘scary’. Whether true or not, we were just relieved to be alive.
Anyway we finally arrived into Huaraz about 4pm. We walked to a place called Edwards Inn, which was to be our base for the mountainous region. At $4 a night it was a little more expensive than what we had being paying in the rest of Peru. Edwards Inn as actually owned by a guy called Edward who at one stage in his life had lived in Melbourne! Later we grabbed something to eat, half a chicken and a couple of warm local beers (they don’t drink cold beers around here, guess its because of the weather). Once our immediate appetite was quelled, we had to address the requirements for our trek the next day. This included the essential food supplies and a $2 bottle of rum.
Friday 8 May 2000 (Cordillera Blanca Trek – Huaraz)
Day 101
An early start again – 5am! Got our shit together and moved out at 6.30am. Our first part of the leg was to catch the bus onto Yungay, about 60km north of Huaraz. The bus (micro) left at 7am. I bought some pan (bread) for the trip. The trip to Yungay took just over 1 ½ hours. Only 22 years ago, the town of Yungay was completely buried under a huge landslide that was caused by a massive earthquake. 20,000 people were killed.
Once in Yungay we set out to complete our purchases for the necessary supplies, i.e. veggies, benzine for the stove, fruit, chocolate, etc. Our starting point for the trek was still some distance away and the only way to get there was by truck. So Knut, Kristian, Chad, Gill, Andrew and myself climbed on the back of the truck and so begun our trip higher into the Andes.
The six of us had planned a one night trek which was to take us around the base of Mt Huascarin and to continue higher in altitude towards 5,500m where a hut was supposed to be. The hut was our destination and the hut was to be our accommodation for the night.
After a lot of stuffing around including the cost of the trip which ended up being 1 sol each, we finally got under way at 10.30. The weather was great, the sky perfectly clear. The truck however was expectedly slow in its quest for higher altitude. It was very uncomfortable as there were many people jammed into the back of the truck as well as the fact that the roads were not conducive for human transportation. We spent a lot of the time telling everyone that the chickens also on board were crazy or loco. The truck took us through a beautiful valley between two huge mountains. The one on our right had obviously been altered only recently as I recalled the terrible tragedy that occurred here a couple of decades ago. It looked like the whole side of the mountain came crashing down in huge boulders only to smother a town directly in its destructive path.
Once over the first ridge we came upon the most amazing lake. The colour of Lake Orkoncocha was a pure turquoise. It was like it was filled with a greeny blue paint. Shortly after we passed the equally impressive Lake Chinancocha. Both lakes were referred to as Lake Llanganuco. The lakes marked the end of the road and we were now on our own from here. I could not wait to get off the cramped truck and just sit down and do nothing. We discussed the route and the general direction we were to take. Basically, we would follow the valley further into the mountains then traversing across the side of a large mountain to our left up to the glacier and the ‘hut’. So once we were all ready to go we started our second trek and I was very much looking forward to it. We only walked a short pace to a nice spot in the pasture and had lunch. The views even from here were amazing and we were totally alone except for the grazing cows.
We commenced our trek proper at 1pm. The barely recognisable path led us only slightly upwards past the expected stream. The scenery was breathtaking. We were travelling along the valley floor between ranges of snow-capped peaks. We were already at a reasonable altitude (3,000m) and knew we had a long way to go. Chad, who probably considered himself the trek leader given that he was always first, somehow lost the path and ultimately we all concluded that we were now lost. We did have some idea where we were heading so we decided to just head that way in the hope that we would venture onto the trail again. A mountain did stand in our way though and would have to pass over it somehow.
After about an hour we were delighted to find the “path” again. At this point the trail began its steep ascent, traversing up the mountain. It was now becoming a huge effort instead of a relaxing afternoon stroll. The six of us were now interspersed greatly as each one of us found our fitness levels and climbing capabilities. I estimated that at least 1km separated the first with the last. Once at the first pass we took a rest, and waited for everyone to be as one again. Another small lake greeted us here which made the rest even more relaxing. We were only now 2 1/2 km from our destination – Glacier Boggi.
After a short rest we continued. The scenery totally changed from this point on. We were above the tree line and surrounded by even bigger mountains. We were also closer to the snow line and could easily see surrounding glaciers. The trail took a straight path up a not too steep hill. Since we were so close to the finish I thought that we would come across the hut in no time. However it seemed to elude us. Again I was experiencing this horrible feeling of thinking that the end was in sight but it was far from so. Anyway after quite some time we finally came over a hill and much to my delight I saw some sort of hut. Sure enough, it was the small hut that we were targeting, sitting quietly next to another glacial lake.
We descended upon this hut that was to be our accommodation for the night. As we drew closer we realised that it was going to be tougher than we thought. The main occupants of the hut were cows who used it as a place as a cow toilet, probably to get out of the cold. It was literally full of shit! This did not phase us though as the compensating magnificent scenery around us plus the thought that it was getting cold erased all thoughts of sleeping in dried cow pats. There was a lake right next the hut which marked the end of Glacier Boggi. We were camping at the same altitude as glaciers! To compensate for the expected cold night that lay ahead, I carried up basically all my clothes that were remotely warm. I had no warm weather gear and very much unprepared for this type of trek. In fact we were all not prepared. None of us had any parkers or wet weather gear (although I did have my dryzabone). As I soon would realise, carrying up all my clothes to keep me warm was not going to be good enough.
By now we were very hungry and keen to get dinner on the way. We had brought and kerosene stove, a huge pot and plenty of tuna and pasta to cook in it. First job was to light the stove. This proved to be our first big problem. The damn thing refused to stay lit. Because of the altitude (4,500m) there was not enough oxygen to keep the stove alive no matter what we did. We tried for ages but to no avail. The only option left was to make a fire however this too was also going to be a problem as we were far above the tree line and there was absolutely nothing to burn. We had to something quick as it was starting to get dark.
We decided that the boys would temporarily abandon camp and walk back down the mountain to find some decent wood to burn for our fire. The girls in the mean time prepared the dinner as much as possible. We were surviving like our long lost ancestors with the men going back to their hunters and collectors realm while the women were gathering and preparing.
After some time, we (the boys) discovered that finding decent wood was difficult and all we could muster was some stringy sticks and bits of scrub. Not really enough for a roaring fire. Anyway, we dumped all the wood onto a pile close to the hut, out of the wind. Initially we used toilet paper to start the fire which worked however the timber did not catch on. We were now fearing that we were not going to eat well tonight plus no fire to keep us warm.
Chad decided that the best way to keep the fire going was to pour kerosene straight onto the small fire. It was not a very intelligent idea. As soon as he poured it onto the flames it lit up the kerosene, all the way up to the canister, forcing him to throw the can away. In doing so he split fuel on his feet and ended up burning them. So we now had no kerosene left! Fortunately Chad had thrown enough on the fire to keep it going. We filled the huge pot full of water and waited for it to boil. We waited and waited but the the bloody thing refused to boil. Again because of the altitude, water takes longer to boil and because of the huge volume we were going to here all bloody night! After an hour we could wait no longer, we plunged the pasta into the water. The tuna was added later. Unfortunately we did not bring any spices, sauces, nor salt and pepper. After another hour it was sort of ready and of course we were all starving and could eat just about anything.
The food was dished out to all of us and I must admit that it was one of the worst meals I have ever had. It turned out into a thick gluggy pasty substance with no taste. It was truly disgusting but it was hot and much appreciated. After dinner we boiled some more water for coffee of which copious amounts of cheap and nasty rum was added (hence the $2 spent on the rum was well spent). This was supposed to keep us warmer. The temperature outside was probably well below freezing and I was not properly kitted out. I was so cold. The best bet was to get to sleep in my sleeping bag,
Now, I had bought a fancy new sleeping bag in Oxford Street, London prior to my departure which they told me was very warm, high tech and lightweight. The time had come to really test it. Since I was very cold anyway I put on a t-shirt, long sleeve t-shirt, 2 shirts, jumper, and my dryzabone and climbed into the sleeping bag. Yes I even had my coat on inside the bag. As I lay my head down on the cold cement floor looking directly into a nice shaped pile of manure I simply wished that I could get through the night without too many problems.
Well, my wish was not granted. I had one of the worst nights sleep ever. I really think that I got no sleep at all. It was just far too cold. The high tech sleeping bag was a heap of shit! It had well and truly failed my expectations. After waiting all night I was very relieved to see light from the morning. My immediate and sudden desire was unfortunately to relieve myself in the number two way. My urge was so strong that I had no time to tie up my shoelaces. I ran out of the hut to a huge rock about 50m away. At peace again.
Saturday 9th May (Cordillera Blanc Trek)
Day 102
The sunrise was spectacular this morning. It was still very cold. We had to get the fire going again to warm us up and to make some tea mixed with our bottle of $2 rum. As there we no cups I drank mine from a bowl. We were so disorganised. Anyway we had to pack up soon as our transportation back from the lake was leaving at 11am. We bid farewell to the hut at 9am. We were so lucky with the weather as it was another clear day.
Anyway, it was still very cold when we departed and I had to don my alpaca wool beanie and gloves. Chad on the other hand wore shorts, t-shirt and thongs! Who is this guy? We chose a slightly different route on our descent and the views again were spectacular. Great views of the lakes as we were coming down. We made it just in time for the truck to take us back to Yungay which cost 1 sol each.
It was nice to be back in a warmer climate however it was close to the other extreme in Yungay. We had timed the trip well. As soon as we arrived back in Yungay we boarded a bus to Huaraz. Once back in civilisation again, our first job was to have a beer. Then we did some much needed washing and for me sleeping. Later on we went out to dinner to a Chinese restaurant (no beers though). In this part of Peru it was very disconcerting to know that the locals do not believe that beer is best served cold. We decided not to drink it warm again. Anyway I was keen to get back to the hotel to catch up on some sleep.
Sunday 10th May (Huaraz – Trujillo)
Day 103
The alarm went off three times and I did not hear it! Hence I was rushing around like a madman. We were traveling today to Trujillo, further north along the Peruvian coast. I managed to get ready in time however I still had to buy food for the bust trip. I quickly went out and bought some bread, tomatoes, salt and pepper. The bus left late at 9.30am (6 Sols).
Once on the move we were informed that the scenic route was closed as there had been a lot of rain which had washed the road away. The only reasonable alternative was to take a dirt track straight to the coast. As we were in the middle of the Andes we had to cross a couple of mountain passes before we could make it to the hot and steamy coast. So off we went into the unknown again. We immediately started to ascend into the adjacent mountain range and kept ascending for about two hours. Then it was all downhill into another valley. We crossed the valley then up again over the next mountain and so on. The road was unbelievable. The trip was an absolute nightmare, very, very slow, rough and quite scary. At almost every corner I thought the bus would plunge off the road and straight down into a bottomless valley. We stopped for lunch in the middle of nowhere and were keen to get to Trujillo.
After lunch we were slowly motoring along when the bus came to a sudden halt. I gazed out the window to notice that the road in front of us had collapsed, but worse a truck had just passed over this spot and had fallen down the embankment into the river. The truck had miraculously landed on its wheels and looked as though it could have been driven off. But this wasn’t our problem. Our problem was that we were stranded and the only reasonable solution was to go back the way we came. However the bus driver thought otherwise. He seriously thought that he could take the bus over what remained of the road! So while all the passengers were still on the bus he drove forward towards the gap where there used to be road. I could not believe that he was going to attempt such an impossible feat. We were bound to end up in the river just like the truck before us.
I decided that I was not going to end up in the river and asked to be let off. All other passengers concurred and also alighted. While most of the road was washed away, there was still a very small piece of dirt that the bus driver thought was wide enough to allow the bus to traverse. Slowly but surely the front wheels inched across the strip of dirt. As the rear of the bus came to the same point I thought that there was no way he would make it. The rear left tyres only just had a grip on the dirt. The outside tyre was overhanging the edge. Anyway, much to the bus driver’s credit and our delight he made it across unscathed. Cheers all round for the maniac bus driver. This was a relief for us as we could now continue our journey. We jumped back on the bus and as we drove off we watched the men scratching their heads wondering how on earth they were to get their truck back on the road.
We eventually arrived in Trujillo about 11 hours after we left Huaraz, around 8.30pm. We walked the few blocks to Hostal Americana which was a huge old place (4 sols each). Later we went to look for a place to eat but there was not much open. Typically we had the standard South American meal, ¼ pollo con papas fritas con ensalada, which in this case cost 2 sols. Good value but beers were expensive. After dinner we went straight back to the hotel.
Monday 11th May (Trujillo, Chan Chan, Huanchaco - Chiclayo)
Day 104
I spent most of the morning listening to Knut coughing his guts up. He was having a shocker. I woke up properly at 7:30 as we had to be out of the hotel by 9am. Knut, Kristian and I had a cheap breakfast then booked our bus tickets to Chiclayo (5 sols). Our plan was to meet Chad and everyone else at 10am so we could all go together. However at 10.30 no one had appeared so we left without them. We caught a bus to Chan Chan, which is the largest mud city in the world. Once at the site we had to walk 500m to the actual ruins.
I was a little disappointed with Chan Chan for two reasons. Firstly, much of the city had been reconstructured and had looked like it was built yesterday. There was no real evidence of an ancient city here. And secondly, the charge was 3 sols each to have a look! Having said that it was still interesting and we were the only ones there! After a quick hit, we caught a bus to Huanchaco, which is on the coast. It is here that they construct surf skis made from reeds! Disappointingly, we had just missed a surfing carnival. The town was dull dull. No one around and the weather was ordinary. So we decided to indulge ourselves and splash out on an expensive seafood lunch right on the beach. After lunch we caught a bus back to Trujillo. Saw the Plaza de Armas. We left the hotel at 3.30pm and said goodbye to Chad, Gill and Andrew. The bus to Chiclayo took just over three hours. Chiclayo was a happening place! Hotel cost S4. Had bad pollo for dinner. Later drank rum and played euca to the Commitments.
Tuesday 12th May (Chiclayo)
Day 105
I had a relatively long sleep in this morning. It was a major hassle to get some bloody water – this place was a real dump. We packed up our stuff and headed off for breakfast at a cake shop down the road. I was pretty hungry and decided to go for yoghurt. Later I changed some money ($20) then bought a ticket to Tumbes, the border town to Ecuador, for $6.
Afterwards we caught a collectivo to Lambayeque and visited the archaeological museum there. It was very hot. The museum was very interesting, full of mummies, models, maps etc – all dating back to the Stone Age. Later we were kindly ushered to the bus stop to take us to Tumuce where there were more pre- Inca ruins. Very much like Chan Chan however these were not reconstructed. The city used to consist of mud pyramids, but now all that remained were hills. It’s amazing that they could construct pyramids out of mud and not expect them to be washed away. Out here it rarely rains so I guess it was logical however as I looked at these structures, I just wondered how difficult it must have been to live in such a place. The thing that got me was the heat, it was so damn hot! The only reason we came here was to possibly meet the ‘famous’ Norwegian explorer who made this place famous. However he was not in on this day.
We walked around the huge site, taking photos and for me, wondering how much it looked like Egypt. One part of the site was fenced up, possibly where current excavations were happening. We were not allowed to enter. Later we walked back to the small town and found a bar where we had a few very refreshing cold beers. Once done we caught a collectivo back to Chiclayo where we went for a meal. I was so hungry that I had two lomo saladas (not too sure what this is!). We had more beers then decided it was time to go. Tonight we would head for Tumbes where we would cross over into Ecuador, my 7th country this trip. We grabbed our packs and headed for the bus station. The bus left on time at 8.15pm, after being hassled by a little girl asking for money. The bus trip was ok as I managed to get some sleep although it was not much.
Wednesday 13th May (Tumbes - Quito)
Day 106
We arrived in Tumbes at 6am, making it a 10-hour bus ride. There was nothing open in this inhospitable place, and even the immigration office did not open till 8am. So we sat around, ate eggs and played euca. Immigration was no problem on both sides although a Peruvian policeman did ask me for some money however I did not appease him with any of my sols. Once in Ecuador we booked a bus straight to its capital, Quito for 5,900 sucres ($4) leaving at 10am. This place was an absolute hole and was hot was well. So I was pretty pleased when the bus finally left, which of course was late. Little did I know that I was about to embark on another bus ride to hell.
Initially the curiosity of seeing the coastal desert plains of Peru slide away to lush tropical rainforest was comforting and refreshing and seeing rain for the first time in days was also a welcome change but this is where the fascination ended. We drove through small towns which were even worse than the one at the border and I was beginning to wonder how good this country was going to be. Admittedly my first impression of Ecuador was not good. As Quito is situated high in the Andes, we had to leave the coastal plains and to begin our ascent once again of this non-ending mountain range. We stopped for a meal just prior to our ascent. The rest of the trip was a blur. We finally ended up in Quito at 1.30am the next morning, 29 hours after leaving the Chiclayo in Peru!!
ECUADOR
Thursday 14th May (Quito)
Day 107
In the middle of the night we checked into Hotel Grand in the Old City for 3,000 sucres. The bed was Godsend! I slept in beautifully to 10am. I consumed a huge breakfast down the road for 1,300 sucres, which is less than $1. Afterwards I walked to the tourist office and then to the post office to leave a message for Chad and to buy envelopes and stamps. Then we had time to explore this new and wonderful city. Initially we walked down to the New City which is actually a separate part to the original part of the city called the Old City. When down there we checked out flights to the Galapagos Islands. Also checked out the AMX office which had four letters waiting for me! I was thrilled and really made my day.
Later we had a beer at Tony’s, a street side café in the New City. Met this crazy guy, Manuel who bought us beers! We didn’t argue. After a couple of beers, we checked out the TAME (airline) office, South American Explorers Club, Eliza (she wasn’t there), British Council (read some Mirrors), then back to AMX. I bought a student card for $16, no questions asked - fantastic. This was a big scoop as I was to soon find out. Eventually went back to the hotel where we saw Chad and Gill. We had dinner at the hotel (pizza) with Dion and Alex then we hit the Papillon Bar – what a night! Got quite drunk and listened to great music. I met a few people including a girl called Lisa, a local girl from Quito. Knut and Chad met girls as well. Eventually got home around 4am.
Friday 15th May (Quito)
Day 108
Today marked the first day of three in which no one could buy a beer because of the pending elections to be held on Sunday[5]. Chad, Gill, Knut, Kristian and I had breakfast in the same place as ayer (yesterday). Later walked back to the New City to Adventure Tours, a travel agent to check on flights and trips to the Galapagos. We also went back to TAME where we were told that there were no flights until 20th and returning on 29th and even so there were only 4 seats. The cost of the return flight - US$312 including 20% student discount! If we decided to go this would easily be the largest single cost of any item on my trip so far.
Later on we walked up Amazonas and met Kristian at Tony’s near the “extremely popular meeting place”[6]. We sat there contemplating life, wondering if the cost to the Galapagos will be worth it. Moved next door to have a sneaky beer. Knut and I then walked back to the Old City via King Chicken and had a burger. Later we had a haircut for 2,000 sucres. A very nice gay boy cut my hair. Afterwards I wrote a letter to Mum. For dinner we ate downstairs again, although I wasn’t that hungry considering the burger we had not so long ago. None of us drank beers as we were all still suffering from the night before. Before hitting the sack I packed up my stuff ready for the next morning – we were moving but only temporarily.
Saturday 16th May (Otavalo)
Day 109
Up early once again, this time at 5.30. Since we were coming back to Quito the next day I left most of my stuff at the hotel. We left about 7am and headed for the bus station just down the hill. Just missed one bus so had to wait for the next which luckily was not that long. We pulled out of Quito at 8am. We were not impressed with the transportation at all. The bus was made for midgets and for big blokes such as myself, it turned out to be agonising trip. The trip to Otavalo took a gruelling 2 ½ hours.
Otavalo is considered one of the best markets in South America and one that Mark had also been to and recommended so we had to go. Our initial impressions of Otavalo went along the same lines as our expectations. Once in Otavalo our first objective was to find a hotel for the night. I doing so we saw Jan & Janine attempting the same. We found a place called the Riviera y Sucre Hotel (4,000 sucres each). Once booked in we now had a chance to explore the huge Saturday market. Saw a lot of good stuff including shirts, jumpers, waistcoats, rugs, etc[7]. I ended up buying 2 shirts (which I never wore after the trip) in total for 9,000 sucres (about US$6). For lunch, Knut, Kristian and I went to a Mexican restaurant. Saw the fat Swedish girl from Papillon bar. She was pissed off with us for some reason!!? Had a great nachos though. After lunch we walked around the market again but I was done. It started to rain anyway so we went back to the hotel.
At 3pm we got bored so we went out again and decided to see a cock fight, my first (and probably last). We were told that it all started at 3pm and managed to get there on time. However we waited and waited for ages for it to start! It wasn’t until 4.30 that it actually started. While waiting we noticed the tremendous amount of blood splatter stains around the perimeter of the cock ring. This was going to get messy. Eventually two prized cocks were brought out by their caring owners into the small arena before us. By 4.30 the crowd had built up considerably and there seemed to be some serious betting going on. The cocks are naturally aggressive towards each other and to make it worse (or better for some) steel beaks were wound on the real beaks while metal spikes were attached to their feet. With these weapons, each one is comfortably able to do some serious damage to the other or worse, to kill. Just to get the cocks to be even more aggressive they are teased by pushing the cocks together while being held by their owners. After a couple of minutes it was time to let them loose.
The fighting action began immediately as both cocks jumped up into the air only to meet each other in mid air and drop to the ground. There was furious pecking, clawing and wing flapping going on, so fast that it was difficult to see exactly what was happening. Occasionally blood would spurt out from the melee, delighting the raucous crowd. It wasn’t long before one of the cocks looked decidedly worse than the other which was the cue for the stronger cock to finish the job. At that point the fight was stopped and the near dead cock would be scooped up and taken away.
Unbelievable stuff I thought. I had never seen anything like it. It was totally gruesome and on par with bull fights. This was a serious pastime among the local Otavalans and not to be taken lightly. Not long after the first fight, another two cockerels were brought into the ring. This time the fight was much quicker as the weaker of the two was immediately slashed across the throat from the razor sharp claw attached to foot of the other cock. It didn’t look good. Think someone would be eating chicken for dinner!
As for us we had had enough. We weren’t in the mood for chicken at least so we stopped at a bakery on the plaza and had great pies and a few beers. Later on we had dinner at Chifa Chinese down the road from the hotel. Had a great chop suey for just over $1. No chicken though.
Sunday 17th May (Otavalo-Quito)
Day 110
Slept in this morning as we were not in any hurry to go anywhere today. We had breakfast in the hotel which was not that bad. After breakfast we decided to go back to the market one last time to see if we had missed anything and of course to buy those things that others had picked up that I had missed. The market, being a Sunday, was much smaller than yesterday. I unbelievably bought another shirt for $3. While in the market I met an interesting American guy who was in the Peace Corps. Later we went back to the pie shop where we ate more pies and drank more beers while listening to Bob Marley over and over again. We were having such a good time that we took out the cards and played euca for the rest of the afternoon. Whilst playing I met a cute English girl, Saphron. She left and we left soon after. Met a guy who said he could take us back to Quito in his truck so we agreed. We grabbed our gear and later found him. But when we saw him he had changed his mind and decided not to take us. The bastard. So we had to get the bus but time was running out. It was a bloody hassle to get the tickets made worse by an annoying old bag trying to push in. The bus was as equally cramped as the one that brought us here but the trip took only 2 hours.
It was raining when we arrived back in Quito. Once back we realised that nearly everyone else had come back before us. We were the last. Andrew also turned up. The Norwegians and I decided to have dinner in the restaurant in the hotel. The others later turned up. Later we went downstairs for copious amounts of beers. At one stage Chad picked a fight with Knut. We finally went to bed at 3am, ending a long day.
Monday 18th May (Quito)
Day 111
Today was an interesting day. Knut, Kristian and I left the hotel about 11am and headed for the Post Office. Afterwards we had breakfast at King Chicken again for some greasy hamburgers as I felt pretty dodgy from the night before - I needed some stodge. After our grease fix we went back to the TAME office to sort out our potential flights. When we got there we were told to leave again, to go down the road with our student cards and to get photocopies before we could do anything. Things were not looking good and the frustration took hold. During our conversations with the women in the TAME office, the frustration came out and one of us said “fuck” which she unfortunately understood and ultimately reacted adversely. In any case we left the office and headed off down the street to get the requested photocopies. When we arrived back the women was gone, probably too distressed from our so called rudeness, and instead was confronted by the assistant manger of the TAME office. When he began speaking to us we immediately realised that he was not going to be very helpful and I’m sure he just wanted us to get out and never see us again. However someone had to authorise our photocopies otherwise we were not going anywhere. I literally wrote in my journal “this dickhead poofter was pissed off and refused to authorise our copies.” We were then told to come back at 3pm. Given our options we had no choice but to do so. We went for a walk to calm down and to complain to the others about our new gay friend in the TAME office. I sent a fax to Dad.
Anyway 3pm finally rolled around and it was time to confront our new friend. We walked in with big smiles and looking as innocent as possible but immediately knew that something was wrong. The arsehole was still refusing to sign our copies! This was now getting serious. There was nothing we could do but leave…and in a total rage! We had to meet and collect our thoughts for plan B.
Later on I changed some money then rang Dave & Marea in London. I went to AMX where I met Marjorie (Chile) from Melbourne again! Afterwards I walked to Hotel Colon then back to our hotel. For dinner we went to the Columbian Steak House where I had the rarest steak in my life. Chad had to have his steak well done and told the waiters accordingly. When the steak came back it was blue and still mooing! He sent it back. It came back rare. He sent it back again. It came back medium rare. He sent it back once again. It came back medium rare (that’s as far as they go it seems). Anyway Chad had no choice but to eat it. As for mine it was quite good. Later had beers at the hotel, everyone was there. Said goodbye to Smokey, Sandra, Dion and Alex. (In hindsight I have no idea who these people are).
Tuesday 19th May (Quito)
Day 112
Well here we go again. Another trip to the TAME office for our last ditch attempt to get cheap airfares to the Galapagos Islands. We were there by 9am for an early start. We even caught the bus there this time. We were a bit worried that our photocopies were not going to be authorised. We were met by another person (our gay nemesis was thankfully not around) who was very nice and eventually granted us the authorisation that we needed. We were very grateful and said our friendly goodbyes. When we walked out we saw our man and as written in the journal “wanted to tell him to fuck off!” But of course we didn’t.
So now we could buy the tickets, all we needed was the cash (we were not allowed to pay by credit card). We went to the ATM and withdrew what we needed then back to the TAME office to pay for the tickets. We did it, we were going to the Galapagos! There was still one problem. Some of us only had standby flights back from the Galapagos. Theoretically we could be stranded on the Galapagos for ages waiting for an empty seat! We didn’t care at this point and were just relieved that we were finally going and to have got such a good deal on the price! That student card came in very handy.
Afterwards we had a bite to eat next door before walking back up to Amazonas. Picked up a fax from Dad. After had a coffee at Tony’s. I also checked out flights to Costa Rica. After I changed $400 travellers checks and bought $400 more at the AMX office. Later we bought masks and snorkels for 12,000 sucres. We then walked back to the Old City where I bought four rolls of film and had a shitty lunch at King Chicken. After a while I went back to the New City. I rang Dad and he rang me back. We had a great talk, it was great to speak to him. I then bought some cigarettes and two bottles of rum before catching the bus back to the Old City. Stuffed around for ages then eventually had dinner at Pappy’s Chicken this time. For a change. Same old burgers though.
Wednesday 20th May (Galapagos Islands – Day 1)
Day 113
This was it, the day we were to fly 1,000kms due east to the exotic Galapagos Islands. This was very exciting for me. Knut, Kristian, Chad, Gill, Jan, Janine and I were all packed, ready to go and out the door by 7.30am. We decided to get taxis to the airport since the buses were too crowded. It however took forever to get to the airport. Once there we checked in our bags and had a welcome coffee. We were disappointed to find out that it was not a direct flight and had one stop in Guayaguil.
We boarded our TAME flight at 9.30am. Again it was one of those flights where you could sit anywhere. The flight to Guayaquil took about 30 minutes. Guayaquil is closer to the coast and much lower in altitude than Quito so we instantly felt the heat and humidity. We had to change planes here for our trip across the Pacific to a much larger Boeing 727. The flight to Galapagos took about 90 minutes. I could not wait to see the island below us. Coming in to land was spectacular, watching the beautiful scenery glide beneath us. We landed at Baltra on the small island off the main island of Santa Cruz at 11.30am. It was hot and sunny with a nice sea breeze coming in. Perfect conditions. We were informed that a Park entrance fee of $40 was required however instead we only paid 3,200 sucres ($3). Once off the plane we caught a bus to the ferry (without the others). On the bus I met an Aussie couple, John and Frances DeZwart. John worked for Price Waterhouse in Sydney and knew Jack (Mark Forrest)! I also met two girls, one Dutch and the other from Finland. Caught the ferry across to Santa Cruz. Once across the other side we stuffed around for ages waiting for the others to show up. We had to get another bus to the main town of Puerto Ayora which took much longer than I thought…2 ½ hours.
Once in the town we immediately went to work to find a boat that would take 11 people (the seven of us, the Australian couple, and the Scandi girls). The people that we just met were keen to join us. More the merrier. Initially we could not find one that met our tight budget. So instead we looked for a place to stay. We all went off to find the most suitable accommodation and ended up deciding on recommended Residencial Flamengo which actually was a real hole. Guess this was not my decision. Had a cenna up the road and later had drinks followed by a disco, which was full of school kids!
Thursday 21st May (Galapagos Islands – Day 2)
Day 114
I ended up sleeping on the bloody floor as there was no room left for me. Guess I was trying to be a nice guy. It was a bad night’s sleep made worse by the fact that Knut and Kristian were shitting (pissing) through their arse again all night. We finally got moving around 10am. We all checked out possible boats this morning. We learnt that there was only one boat in the harbour that could accommodate 11 people, the “Cormorante” which coincidently we saw yesterday. We also saw a boat called “Lobo de Mar” but it was a huge hassle to see it and talk to the owner. So we went down to the house where the owner of the “Cormorante” resided to discuss the price. After a lengthy discussion we managed to get it down to $40 per person (for a total of 11 people even though the boat could sleep 12). We waited, procrastinated and argued for awhile before finally deciding to agree to his conditions and sign the contract. This meant we had to pay half now and half when we return. This was no problem – at first!
So it was on. We were to meet the captain at 9pm on the dock for the intention to set sail at 2am. We had a quick meal and beers before heading to the supermarket to stock up on our seven day adventure. We made it just in time before closing. We bought water, OJ, chocolate, beers, and coke for the rum! We waited on the dock until 10.30pm till they finally picked us up in their launch to take us out to the “Cormorante”. The boat we hired was fully equipped for our voyage. It had five rooms, each with two bunks with the bow room having four bunks. Out the back was a large table where all our meals would be served. We had a crew of two men and were introduced to our guide for the trip, Sarah. We sat around till 11.30 before deciding to call it a day and hit the sack. I was lucky on the bed situation, I had my own cabin!
Friday 22nd May (Galapagos Islands – Day 3)
Day 115
We left Puerto Ayora on time at 2am. We would be doing all our travelling at night. It made perfect sense as it meant that we could see as much as possible during the day while at night we would be travelling between islands when there is nothing to see. We had previously arranged with our captain exactly where we would be heading. The trip would take us initially due south to Floreana Island then due east to Espenola Island, north again to Sante Fe (Barrington), then around the main island of Santa Cruz Plaza to Bartolome Island and Santiago Island and then back to Puerto Ayora via Daphne and North Seymour Islands.
I slept quite well on our first night crossing the Pacific. The captain and his first mate arrived at Floreana Island around 6am. I woke up and had a look outside. It was a beautiful day and what a place to be in. We had moored just off a red lava sand beach and there was no one else to be seen as far as the eye could see. We were alone in this tropical paradise. I had to go for a swim, my first in the Pacific since leaving Australia more than 2 years ago. I swam to the beach and straight away encountered my first seal. It was just fantastic. After a while I swam back to the boat and joined the others for breakfast which was very good.
After breakfast we took the dingy with Sarah to the same beach to have a look around. Saw the famous Sally crabs along the rocky shoreline. We walked through the bushes behind the beach to a lake where we saw flamingos and a lave heron. We kept walking past the lake and eventually found our way to the other side of the island which had a beautiful untouched white sand beach. It was here that we saw lava gulls, huge black evil looking birds. The beach was also used by turtles to lay their eggs. We saw pelicans as well. On the way back it started to piss down with rain and we all got soaked. We went for another swim at the red lava beach before the dingy came back to pick us up. Once back and dry we had lunch (chicken) which again was great. The crew were great cooks.
After lunch we pulled up the anchor and set sail for another part of the island. On the way we stopped at a rocky outcrop which was the remains of a small underwater volcano, known as Devils Rock! We grabbed our cheap masks and snorkels and headed for the water. Once in we realised that we were surrounded by hundreds of playful seals. It was one of the most amazing experiences I have ever encountered. The water was crystal clear and the seals were just as curious as we were. They would come right up to your mask and take a good look at you. Any movements in our bodies would be mimicked by the seals, it was fantastic. Later we moved on to a different beach where there were more seals and these were even tamer than the last lot! This was truly a great day. Later we went back to the original spot and had dinner, meat this time. After dinner we drank some of the cheap rum and played canasta with John, Knut and Kristian, a game that I had introduced to them. In bed by 11pm.
Saturday 23rd May (Galapagos Islands – Day 4)
Day 116
It seemed like a bad dream but it was reality as the engines roared to life around midnight. The noise was loud but not enough to keep me awake for too long. It was a bit rougher tonight as we trekked across the Pacific towards our new and unknown destination. When I woke up I hurriedly got up and run up the stairs to the awaiting day. It was another beautiful morning and even better location that the previous day. I was greeted with a clear blue sky and wonderful clear blue water. Immediately we had a magnificent breakfast whilst admiring the view. We were moored just off a white sandy beach on Español Island.
After breakfast we took the dingy and set off towards the beach. We had to contend with small breakers and eventually ended up on the rocks but not dangerously so. Immediately we saw hundreds of marine iguanas, the only place in the world that these creatures exist! My first impression was that they were quite big, much larger than I thought them to be. After studying our new friends for some time we decided to go off on another trek to find other indigenous wildlife. Almost straight away we saw the equally famous blue footed booby, like a large sea gull with bright blue webbed feet. Also saw swallow tail seagulls and more seals. We kept walking. Then we came across a couple of nesting albatrosses, one of nature’s largest flying birds and certainly one of the most magnificent creatures.
After taking some good nature shots we moved on and came across a huge nest of marine iguanas. There were hundreds of them lying on the rocks in the sun. Situated just along side the nest was a blowhole where sea water was being pushed through a small hole in the solidified lava and blown about 50 feet in the air. A bunch of seals were lying around the blowhole obviously enjoying the occasional splash of sea water every minute or so. We were also getting quite wet. While sitting and watching the water spray all over us, a small bird flew up to me and sat on the tip of my boot. This is how tame the animals are here and another reason why the Galapagos is so famous. There is really no other place in the world where man can be among wildlife without the animals feeling threatened. They are not used the man’s presence. It was great to be able to really get close to these exotic creatures. Soon after we walked back along the same trail to the same beach where the boat was moored off. We all got back into the dingy and had lunch on the boat which of course was fantastic.
Once lunch was finished we moved to the other side of island to a huge white sand beach which was just magnificent. We stayed here all day. We went snorkelling among the seals again and later John and I threw a tennis ball to each other in the water. Later we went for a walk along the beach. Saw a Galapagos eagle sitting on a piece of driftwood on the beach. While all this was going on, the skipper and his first mate were out trawling for tuna. They caught some and we ate them for dinner. Absolutely delicious! After dinner we played canasta again, this time we all played. It was a beautiful night and we all drank a lot.
Sunday 24th May (Galapagos Islands – Day 5)
Day 117
Woke to a brilliant day again! We were moored in a little cove protected by rocks off Barrington Island. Had breakfast as soon as we woke up. Afterwards we took the dingy to the beach which was full of seals. As we walked up the beach we saw a huge land iguana, differentiated with its marine cousin by its colour (land iguanas tend to be yellow in colour while marine iguanas are dark grey with a reddish tinge), its size (much larger than marines) and its tail (marine iguanas have actually adapted to the water by using their fanned tail to swim, land iguanas do not have this feature). Later we saw many others. We walked along yet another trail and noticed how dry the island was. This was made more apparent by the number of prickly cacti along our route. We didn’t really see much else. We ended up at another beach where our boat was there to meet us. Later went snorkelling with some very curious and friendly seals. We could touch them without any problems.
Later on we pulled the anchor and set off for the Plaza Islands. We ended up mooring between North and South Plaza. We went to South. It was here that resided the mightiest seal on the whole of the Galapagos, a huge bull seal. He is renowned for causing a bit of havoc to other unwanted seals and even unwanted humans. He took offence to us and came up to our boat. He was curious in the dingy which was attached to the boat by a 30 foot tether. Unbelievably he managed to climb into the dingy! It was an amazing sight. I ran to grab my camera but just as I was ready to take a shot he took off and was gone.
After lunch we went back to the Island and climbed up a cliff where we saw birds, including frigate birds. Then back to the water for more snorkelling where we saw more seals. Some of the guys saw a moray eel. Once back on the boat we left Plaza and headed for Bartoleme Island which is near Santiago (James) Island. We travelled for three hours and eventually arriving in darkness. It also got quite rough and I was feeling a bit sea sick. Later had dinner and played canasta. Got to bed around midnight. It was a shame to go to sleep as it was a beautiful evening.
Monday 25th May (Galapagos Islands – Day 6)
Day 118
I woke up to a new and brilliant setting this morning. We were now moored just off Santiago Island. Had our usual excellent breakfast to start the day. After breakfast we took the dingy to the island, to visit a recent lava flow. In fact this was the most recent lava flow on the whole Galapagos archipelago, i.e. within the last 100 years. It was very interesting. Apparently during this period it was too hot to come close to the island and the water was boiling. The lava was black compared to the older red lava underneath. We trekked over the lava flow for some time before coming to a small beach. Here we saw some penguins, my first in the wild. Later on we went back to the boat to have lunch.
After lunch we took the dingy this time to Bartoleme Island. Atop of this small island is a lookout where perhaps the most famous shot of the Galapagos is taken. We climbed to the top in the searing heat and realised that the torturous climb was worth it. The view was breathtaking and worth every bit of the climb. From here you could clearly see the recent lava flows on adjoining Santiago Island. Once back down from the volcano Chad and I decided to swim back to the boat which was at least 1km offshore. It took about 15 minutes to reach the boat. Soon after we went to the beach near the Pinnacle Rock (a sharp and slanted protrusion rising from the sea, phallic like). From here we walked to the beach on the other side of the island, which is known for its many turtles who lay its eggs here. I can’t recall if we saw any though. Later walked back along the same path to the original beach where we went snorkelling. Saw thousands of fish on the bottom, thought it was seaweed at first. Then as we were marvelled by this sight out of the corner of my eye came a small black object, swiftly chasing these small fish. It was a fairy penguin. My first impression was that it could move a lot faster than I thought.
Eventually we would have to pack up our stuff and head back to the boat. We were off to Puerto Argos on Santiago Island. We had dinner while under way and one ship mate took the opportunity to go trawling. He used a simple lure tied to a thick rope and thought that there was no way he was going to land a fish with that rig. Anyway, he threw it out and then retreated to cooking the dinner. I was very curious and constantly watched the lure splashing around about 50 metres behind the boat. Then there was a much bigger splash. I waited for a few seconds before jumping up and shouting “I think you have hooked a fish!” As no one came (probably in the middle of a crucial stage of cooking our dinner) I grabbed the rope and started pulling it in. There was a fish on it alright as it fought furiously on the hook. I reeled it in as fast as I could and then I saw it. It was the most amazing fish I have ever seen. It was gleaming green and silver under the water just off the stern and was ready to pull him in. But just as I got him out of the water, the fish twisted and flicked itself off the lure. Ahh, I couldn’t believe it. And no one else could either. For a moment our dinner menu was going to change for the better but it was always going to be chicken and rice. I was quite upset about my loss and drowned my sorrows by playing canasta and drinking cheap rum till very late.
Tuesday 26th May (Galapagos Islands – Day 7)
Day 119
Woke up to find ourselves moored just off Santiago Island near a lava flow. After breakfast we took the dingy to the beach as usual. Once there we walked up to see a deserted house that was once used by salt miners. Later our trusty guide Sarah led us through thick bush to literally nowhere. Basically she had no idea where we were going so we decided to head back through the same thick bush. After our exhausting trek to nowhere we were in desperate need of a swim once back at the beach.
Later we walked to a fur seal (not sea lions) grotto. It was a small protected pool in the lava connected to the sea by an underwater entrance. They seemed so friendly so we all decided to join them for a swim. It was magnificent to swim with these creatures in the wild like this and I managed to get quite close to them. I think that some of them were actually showing off. Eventually we had to say good bye to our new friends and head back to the boat for lunch.
After lunch we motored to another beach on the other side of the lava flow. Here we saw these birds called oystercatchers. Behind the beach there was a lagoon, however there were no flamingos. Someone brought a tennis ball so we threw that around then someone found a piece of wood that was not a bad excuse for a cricket bat and hence we played beach cricket. Unfortunately the piece of driftwood was so waterlogged that after 2 hits of a soggy tennis ball, it disintegrated. Nothing left to do except head back to the boat. Once back we weighed anchor and headed for Rabida Island. We had dinner on the way that was very good as usual. I was feeling very tired so I decided to crash early. However I woke again for a nightcap.
It was at this time that something extraordinary happened. Almost every night on our journey we had uninvited dinner guests, being hundreds of moths! Gill, who can not stand moths, was terrified at the sight of them and had to get as far away as possible. She said they were just “horrible”. Anyway on this particular night we were all playing canasta (again) when Kristian suddenly went crazy. He stood up and began thrashing his hands around his head. What the hell was he doing? When we realised that a one of these horrid moths had flown into his left ear we all burst out laughing much to his disapproval. We stopped laughing when he became quite vocal and really looked like he was going mad. The more he tried to get the damn thing out the more it went in. It must have been a terrible and very audible experience.
Anyway, as expected Gill panicked simply by the thought of such an act but it was Kristian who was really in trouble. Gill will now have moth nightmares for a long time. Initial and unplanned efforts to get the bugger out were all in vain. He kept on saying he can hear and feel it flapping its wings deep inside his ear. God, what a terrible thing to go through. Anyway we all stopped for a second to decide on the best way to get the moth out of his ear.
The first method was proposed by “Dr Chad”, given his previous experience on the Inca Trail plus he had apparently done this sort of thing before. We questioned his suggestion as it was considered too dangerous, i.e. extracting the moth with a pair of sharp tweezers. After initial hesitation from Kristian he eventually decided to accept the fate as it was just too much to bear. We all looked on and cringed as Chad inserted the tweezers deep into his ear canal. After what seemed like forever that Chad was stuffing around in his ear, Kristian shouted that he had had enough, it was not going to work. The moth was simply too far in!
The next interesting plan was to shine a torch in his ear hoping that the moth would be attracted to the light. This seemed to work but now it seemed that the moth was stuck. By this stage Kristian was getting quite worried, not knowing when the terrible flapping would let up. The moth had to die so the flapping would at least stop. Then someone had a great idea, fill his ear with water. This would drown the moth and maybe bring him to the surface. So with that we tipped his head to the side while I poured water into his ear. Almost immediately, a moth could be seen in the light of the torch and with a quick grab with the tweezers, he was out! We all cheered with delight, not the least being Kristian who was totally relieved. In the end it took all three plans to get the bugger out. Oh it was all too much for most of us so we decided to hit the sack to be ready for the next big day.
Wednesday 27th May (Galapagos Islands – Day 8)
Day 120
Woke up to a red sand beach on Rabida Island. And guess what, we took the dingy to the beach for a wet landing! We walked behind the beach to another lagoon where we saw hundreds of flamingos, where I took some good shots. Later we went for a walk to one side of the island to a place where seals are supposed to go to die (we did not see any). Afterwards we walked back to the red sand beach which was scattered with sea lions and had a swim. Sarah got pissed off with us for some reason and there were a few heated words exchanged later (authors note – do not remember why this happened). Later we left Rabida Island and headed for Chinese Hat, just off Santiago Island. The water here was absolutely beautiful and clear. Went walking around the rocks and then went snorkelling on the beach where I saw another penguin!
Later on we left for Turtle Cove Bay on Santa Cruz Island. Once there we moored the boat but we quite a long way out given the depth of the water. We took the dingy to have a look around and ended up in the mangroves. Normally not much going in mangroves however these were no ordinary mangroves. We immediately spotted large turtles and then beautiful black and white spotted eagle rays gliding just beneath the surface. It was amazing. However just at that point, Chad ruined everything by announcing that he was busting for a piss. We told him to wait and all sorts of other things however being Chad he was desperate and had to do what he just stated. So he stood up in the boat and with a horrified Gill looking on, he relieved himself off the side. Just great, all the creatures that we saw earlier had now gone. It also started to rain so that was it - we headed back to the boat. When we arrived back at the boat it was still raining. Because it was still very hot some of us decided to take a shower in the rain. It was pouring and the water running off from the top desk provided an excellent shower. It was very refreshing and natural. We had to be nice and clean as tonight was our last night on the boat and a big party was planned.
For our final night our two shipmates provided an excellent sit down dinner capped off with a wonderful cake baked onboard. We had to drink all the remaining grog and softies (so that we didn’t have to carry it off!). As a result we got very drunk and had the usual heated and always contentious discussions. Things also got a little crazy. It got to the point that everyone was talking or shouting at the same time, it was simply too difficult to get a point across. Something had to be done. We decided that only one person could talk at once and the authorisation to talk was provide by a certain object, a red cigarette lighter. That person must be holding it to be allowed to talk. So you can imagine how that went down. The night continued on and gradually spiralled out of control. Even at night it was still hot and hence all the males had their shirts off. All I had on were my undies. Knut got so pissed that he ended up snogging Sarah. There were many controversial photos taken this night. The night ended for me when I fell down the stairs when going to bed.
Thursday 28th May (Galapagos Islands – Day 9)
Day 121
This morning only greeted me with only bad feelings as it was our last day on the boat and I had the worst hangover. I was also developing a pretty bad ear infection from all the swimming. The motor was running and not anchored as usual as we had arrived at Daphne Island where it is forbidden to drop anchor. We eventually took to the dingy and motored off to the Island. Once there we walked up to the extinct crater where we saw many blue footed boobies and frigate birds with their red pouches extended, on the ground as well as in the air. I sat there just admiring these marvellous birds for ages.
Our next destination was North Seymour Island, near Baltra Island. This time a dry landing. We walked along a trail to a beach where we saw nesting frigate birds, land iguanas and a snake, plus many others animals that we had seen before. Next we motored towards Santa Cruz for Puerto Ayora, our departure point six days ago. It got very rough as we came in.
On the way the crew decided to go trawling again with the same line as before. Almost straight away the line went taught and sure enough a fish was on the end. Everyone shouted at me to sit down and leave this one alone. This was fine with me. One of the crew members ran over and quickly pulled in the line. About three metres from the boat, I could see the most impressive fish I have ever seen, it was a bluey green colour and quite big. With one huge lunge señor hauled the fish onto the deck. We all looked at it flapping around like crazy. It was a fish I had never seen before, not even in a book. It was beautiful but ugly. It was a dorado or a dolphin fish which is a very good game fish. It was also a decent weight at 10kg. With a few wacks to the head and with quite a lot of blood, an indication that it was a game fish, it came to its demise.
John and Gill were sick from the rough water and I think some of us were glad that the trip was over. To kill some time, I read a lot of my book. We eventually arrived back into Puerto Ayora harbour around 6pm. With a switch of the engine key our maritime adventure was now over. It was now time to settle the amounts owing to the captain and crew which was gladly paid ($100 cash plus 75,000 sucres). We thanked the crew for the most enjoyable trip and said our goodbyes. Once back on dry land we returned the empty beer bottles and found some accommodation, Los Amigos for 3,300 sucres a night. We had dinner at the usual but I left early because of my ear. It had become very sore and was blocked. John gave me some of his supply of antibiotics.
Friday 29th May (Galapagos Islands – Day 10)
Day 122
Chad, Gill, John, Frances, Jose and Luisa decided to leave the Galapagos this morning while the rest of us stayed. Jan, Janine and Kristian went scuba diving while Knut and I did nothing. The weather had turned for the worse and we were not in the mood for anything. We did however decide to go down to the Charles Darwin Station but it was shut because of this strike that was going on. So we ended up buying some postcards and going back to the room where we vegged out for a while. Kristian came back from only one dive – he said the visibility was not good and hence was not that enjoyable. Later on Knut and Kristian left to find Jan and Janine but I decided to stay behind. It was now pissing down with rain. Eventually everyone turned up and after a while we left again for our local hangout. I had lunch while the rest of us played 500. Later we asked for some beers but they did not have any. I went next door to buy a t-shirt. Later on I had dinner two doors up where I had more lomo saltada which was not bad.
Once back at our room we all basically crashed. As I hit my bed, I realised that my right ear was really quite bad now and got the point that I could not hear anything. It was so bad that the fluid in my ear was oozing out onto the pillow. No matter what I did I could not make it feel better. The pain was also getting worse. I decided that I had to do something and there was no time to waste, it could not wait until the morning. I had to get up and find a doctor or clinic that could help me immediately.
Now, each night after 7pm, the electricity is shut down across the town. So when I got out of bed I really could not see anything, it was almost pitch black. It was so dark that I couldn’t find my shoes anywhere so I ended up walking out of the hotel and up the street, literally feeling my way around in my bare feet. I ended up on the main road which was extremely hazardous to naked feet and crept my way along. In the distance I could see a light on (must have had its own power) and headed for it. Once I got closer I realised to my absolute amazement and delight that it was a small hospital! I walked over to it and opened up the front door. I must have looked like a mess when a nurse saw me standing there with no shoes on. Anyway I explained my situation to her in my best Spanish and she led me to another room where there was a doctor. I explained again what was wrong and with a few nods and words the doctor agreed to fix me up.
I was told to sit down on a stool and hold a kidney bowl close to my ear. The doctor obtained the largest syringe he could find and filled it with warm saline. He then took the syringe to my right ear and stuck it in at the same time pumping the complete contents into it. The sensation was horrible. The fluid ran out of my ear and into the kidney bowl. He tried it again and on this attempt the main blockage was dislodged and fell down the side of my my face and into the bowl. It was disgusting. At that point I immediately felt some relief and could actually hear again! The doctor then had to clear up the infection which he did by giving me a shot in the arse as well as giving me some drugs to take. I thanked him for saving me and left thinking how lucky I was to find this place.
Saturday 30th May (Galapagos Islands – Day 11)
Day 123
Today was not a good day, and as quoted in my dairy “having a mare!” Knut and I decided to leave the Islands today while the others decided to stay. The problem was that we were having a few issues with our flights. The thing was that our return flights back to the mainland were never confirmed. The travel agent mentioned that we could get a flight by simply showing up at the airport. The problem was that the airport was miles away and took two buses and a boat to get there! So we had to get seats on the flight. We bought our bus tickets (S2,000) and left at 8.30am. Luckily for us it was a quick trip even though it took an hour. We took the ferry across to the island where the airport was (S500) then waited for the last bus to take us on the final leg. It didn’t arrive after we waited for some time so we decided to walk a km or so to where the bus actually was. We paid S1,000 for the bus ticket.
After a short while we finally arrived at the airport. Once there we couldn’t believe our eyes. Sitting in the “terminal” or actually just a slab of concrete with a corrugated roof, were all the others who had left the previous day! They had never left the Galapagos Islands. We found out that their plane was cancelled because of the weather. Most of the passengers had to spend the night camped out in the airport “terminal”. Since the plane was cancelled, two were to leave today instead of the usual one daily flight. Knut and I waited in line with them so that we could sneak on to the plane with them.
Well everything was going ok until everyone was issued with boarding passes. Basically everyone who was due to fly out the previous day was issued with one except Knut and me. We were very pissed off made worse by the fact that we had to take the long and arduous journey back to Puerto Ayora. We had waited four hours for nothing! So we said goodbye then Knut and I boarded the bus back to the ferry with all the other new arrivals. We took the ferry across as we did before but then we encountered more problems, there were no buses to Puerto Ayora only to Santa Rosa. So we waited here for another 45 minutes before another bus came along. As expected, it was a tight squeeze. The bus was packed so much that Knut had to sit on the roof while I had to hang on for dear life on the back. We finally got back at 5.30pm. The others couldn’t believe it when they saw us walking back to the hotel. What a complete waste of a day. We had dinner with the others and then went for a beer at Booby’s. Stayed at Hotel Darwin for S4,000 a night.
Sunday 31st May (Galapagos Islands – Day 12)
Day 124
Another disaster! Believe it or not the previous day’s wasted effort was repeated again today. The five of us this time, left for the airport in the early morning. We were determined to be the first in the queue so there was a good chance to get on that plane. We made it to the airport ok but to our shock we were not the first in line – well the proper line anyway, which we didn’t know about. Same story as yesterday. Unfortunately for us we picked a bad day to attempt to fly back to the mainland as many locals were also trying to get on the flight who hadn’t reservations (just like us). This made it much more difficult – and of course locals are chosen before gringos. Some gringos made it but we didn’t. Now I was really pissed off. We waited until the last possible moment but nothing. You can imagine how frustrating this whole episode was turning. After calming down a bit we just decided to stay put and even sadly watched the plane take off and disappear into the cloudless sky. However eventually we had no choice but to get the bus/ferry/bus back to Puerto Ayora….again!
The bus on Santa Cruz was small and Knut had to sit on the roof again – I think he liked it better up there. Then if things could not get any worse, in the middle of nowhere, we got a bloody puncture. We heard this huge bang followed by the bus screeching to a stop. This was all we needed. Once back at Puerto Ayora (I was getting sick of coming back to this place by now) we all split up although Knut and I ended up staying at Hotel Darwin again. We had an early dinner at the usual then took beers and played cards next door.
Monday 1st June (Galapagos Islands – Day 13)
Day 125
Right, we were determined to get out of this place. The last two days made us realise that it was simply too risky to travel the distance to the airport and hope that a seat becomes available. The only way we were ever going to leave this island was to make a reservation. Knut and I arrived at the TAME office at 8am on the dot. We spoke to señora about booking a flight and informed that the next available flight was not until next Sunday, 6 days away! God another week! However we were told to come back later in the afternoon just in case something came up. Knut and I left the TAME office and changed some more dollars into sucres since we were going to stick around a little longer. Knut had some problems changing his money. Another option we considered was to leave for the island of San Cristobal which also had an airport. SAN, another airline flew from that island so we checked out the SAN office in Puerto Ayora however this proved to be a dead end.
Jan, Janine and Kristian decided to go scuba diving while Knut and I stayed behind. I had not learnt how to scuba dive yet and would be another three years before I would earn my open water certificate. I exchanged my book for another then headed back to my room where I stayed until 2pm. Then Knut and I went back to TAME again and asked about flights that left sooner than next Sunday. We were in luck and with a couple of key stokes we had a booking at last – for Wednesday, which was only two days away! After leaving the office Knut and I celebrated with a coke and rice at the usual. We met an Australian couple from Armidale (in their late 50s). They had a very strong accent which threw me a little. We later went back to the hotel and wrote some postcards. It was then that the others returned from diving. They were glad to hear that we were now finally leaving on the Wednesday. This made them feel better after they have another ordinary dive. Later on we all went out together to a restaurant for dinner where we met an American couple. Gabriel, the scuba dive master joined us. I drank cokes all night as I was still on medication (antibiotics) for my ear infection. We finished the evening by paying pool just down the road.
Tuesday 2nd June (Galapagos Islands – Day 14)
Day 126
A day of being really lazy and basically doing nothing. I woke up very early to make a phone call to Cindy in London. I had to wait half an hour to finally get through. It was great to speak to her but I needed her address (in the States where she going to work for a few months) and she did not have it. We spoke for 11 minutes (costing me S61,600). Once done I walked back to the hotel. I had breakfast with the others then afterwards we decided to walk to Tortuga Bay which was about 40 minutes away.
Tortuga is Spanish for turtle so we figured that we might see some. It rained along the way but the scenery made up for it. Once at the beach it luckily cleared up. Tortuga Bay was a beautiful idyllic spot. The sand was white and the beach stretched for miles. The surf too was also coming in which looked very inviting. Knut and Kristian decided to go for a swim and I too would have joined if not for my annoying ear infection. Later we walked along the beach to a sheltered cove which was very nice. We ended up staying here for a while. Kristian went off to talk to his German friend while I buried myself in the sand. It was here that the shot was taken of me in the sand with my hand wrapped around a column of sand that represented a part of my anatomy. I saw this guy feeding the frigate birds with small fish. It was now getting late so we decided to head back to Puerto Ayora. For dinner we went to the restaurant next door to the hotel. I ended up having a few beers, which tasted good after a lengthy period of going without. Later showered and went back to the same restaurant for more drinks and food. Sarah joined us as well.
Wednesday 3rd June (Galapagos Islands – Quito)
Day 127
Finally, the day had arrived, the day we were to fly out. I had now been on the Galapagos Islands for 15 days and was determined that whilst we had an unbelievable time here it was going to be my last. As usual, as we had done twice before, we packed up our gear and headed for the bus to take us out to the airport. The only difference this time was that it was going to be a one way trip.
The bus arrived and we were ready to go, except Jan and Janine. Unbelievably, they had not shown up. We persuaded the bus driver to wait however he was insistent and we left without them. He could they miss the bus? The trip out there was so boring as Knut and I had done it so many times before. Once at the airport we headed for the ‘terminal’ and queued as usual. As we edged closer and closer to the ticket counter it brought us further encouragement. Once at the counter we handed over our plane tickets as requested. After a few tense moments it all concluded when the clerk reached over to a metal object on the desk, picked it up and brought it down on the tickets. They were stamped – we were ON! We couldn’t believe it, finally after more than two weeks on the Galapagos Islands, we were on our way again. We watched our 727-200 land with great anticipation. It was soon followed by another plane, a Lear jet. Also much to our pleasant surprise and relief, Jan and Janine turned up and also got seats on the flight. After a short while it was time to board which meant a walk across the tarmac. When I walked out of the ‘terminal’ I couldn’t resist taking a photo of the plane, it just didn’t seem real.
The flight back to the mainland was fine and so was the food. We landed again in Guayaquil and once there we were herded into the transit lounge where we watched CNN and shit cartoons. After about an hour we boarded a second flight back to Quito, flight time only 30 minutes. Once in Quito we took a taxi back to the same place, Grand Hotel. We had hoped that Chad and Gill would still be there but they had gone. Obviously they waited long enough and decided to go. John and Frances however were still there. Kristian got a fax from home saying that his mother was sick. He rang and was told to go home ASAP! It was a huge blow for him. We had dinner downstairs with a few beers a while watching a game of football.
Thursday 4th June (Quito)
Day 128
I woke up this morning with bit of a hangover and decided not to have any breakfast. I had some postcards to post so I walked down to the post office to post them. I was now ready to start planning my onward journey from here. My first job was to get to the Costa Rican embassy to check out if I needed a visa. After Ecuador the plan was to head further north into Colombia and given the lack of road through the Darien Gap which links South America with Central America, flights were necessary and the country of choice was Costa Rica. It was also easier to fly out of Colombia into Costa Rica.
Once at the embassy I was informed that a visa was not required however I did need an onward ticket. Later I walked to the Guatemalan embassy and checked out the situation there. When I got there I bumped into Jan and Janine who were also planning to go to Guatemala. Janine obtained her visa however I decided not to get mine as the visa must be used within the next 30 days and it was unlikely that I would make it to Guatemala within that time. Then, I went to the DHL office to get a quote on how much it would cost to send my rolls of film back to London - $43 was quoted and so I decided not to it.
One of the contacts given to me before I left for this trip was a friend of my father’s, a guy called Luis Andrade who lived and worked in Quito. I decided to call him not really knowing what he will say or do. Anyway he was delighted to hear from me and asked me if I wanted to come over to his office to meet him. I of course said yes and caught the next bus to Amazonas. I found his office and introduced myself. He was glad to meet me. He showed me around his office and ended up inviting me to lunch at his place tomorrow. He even had a parcel for me from my mother! I thanked him for his time and looked forward to our meeting tomorrow.
Friday 5th June (Quito)
Day 129
We were up early (6am) as John and Frances decided to leave this morning to Miami. Kristian was up next to receive a call from home. He was also due to leave South America today at 5.30 for Norway. I really felt for him since his mother was ill and he had to abandon his trip. Flying back to Norway from here sounded really strange. Anyway Kristian had to start packing. He kindly agreed to take 15 rolls of my film back to Oslo and later send them to London. I also took the opportunity and packed a cardboard box with my dryzabone, jumper, t-shirts, shirts, books etc and took it back to the post office to be sealed and posted to Luther in San Diego. My pack was just too full and the old trusty dryzabone was just not needed anymore given that I was moving north. It was also a complete waste of valuable space and weight. The package came to 4.9kg and cost S22,300. I also wrote a postcard to Luther to let him know about the incoming parcel.
Later on I caught a bus to Amazonas where I met Knut and Kristian and managed to sit down and have a couple of beers before saying goodbye to Kristian. It was a pretty sad moment for all of us but we all laughed in the end by telling each other the classic stories we have shared over the past two and half months of travelling together. After a few beers it was time for me to leave as I had to meet Luis again.
I ended walking to Luis’ office. Once there he introduced me to his niece Nilda as well as another girl and a guy. We all went to lunch near Amazonas. Afterwards, Nilda and I went to change some money then I had to buy my Avianca air ticket to San Andres from Cartegena in Colombia. Later we went to Luis’ house where I met Nilda’s mother who was very nice. Nilda showed me her six husky dogs which were amazing, some had different coloured eyes, i.e. one brown and one blue, apparently quite common among huskies. Later we went for a walk then back to the house where Nilda and I watched TV and had afternoon tea. I even stayed for a Chinese dinner. They were very nice hosts.
Saturday 6th June (Quito (Kumbaya))
Day 130
I decided to stay in Quito a little while longer while Knut, Jan and Janine left for Colombia in the morning. They were gone by 8.30a.m. I packed up my stuff and when I got ready I realised that it was time to throw out my prized blue shirt which was very sad. I rang Nilda at home and I told her that I was staying so she asked me to come over and stay with them. I gladly accepted her kind offer I caught a taxi to Luis’ house but when I got there they had been locked in and I locked out. I sat there for over an hour and during this time I was contemplating whether I did the right thing in staying. Luis and his nephew Victor and his girlfriend Joanne finally arrived. I was introduced. I was glad to see the huskies again who were more lethargic today.
Soon we all left for Kumbaya where Luis had another house. The father and mother of the husky puppies were living here and Nilda was eager to see them. Luis also had a pool and it looked very inviting given it was such a beautiful day. Lunch was very late, around 3.30pm but was worth it – cervicha, soup and a meat dish. I was so hungry that I ate Victor’s as well. We left soon after to head back to Luis’s house in Quito. The rest of the day was spent vegging out, watching cable TV and reading my book. Dinner didn’t eventuate because everyone was stuffed from lunch. I did though stay up until 1.30am watching a crap movie and watching Jim Courier winning the French Open.
Sunday 7th June (Quito)
Day 131
I slept very well. It was however a bit weird staying here as it was like coming back into the real world. I got out of the best bed I have slept in for weeks. I walked to the nicest bathroom and cleanest toilet I have been in since commencing this trip. I then stepped into the kitchen where I saw Theresa and Nilda as well as Victor and Joanne cooking a wonderful breakfast. I was given real coffee, real toast and some jam. I stuffed myself again. I must have looked like a poor man who they had found on the streets and had not eaten properly in months.
Anyway it was time to move on to the day. Luis and Nilda thought that a trip to the equator would be nice. I could not agree more, I was thrilled. Actually my immediate thought at the time was to see if the water really did go down the drain without swirling! We jumped into the red Range Rover and headed off. Once there I noticed a monument looking structure which must have been right on the equator. There was also a purpose built tourist village. Nilda and I went to have a look at the monument, where we noticed a long line running along the ground from it. It marked the actual equator so Nilda and I took turns taking photos of each other straddling the line just to prove that we had been in both the northern and southern hemispheres at the same time. There was also a museum inside the monument. Afterwards we had lunch in a nice restaurant nearby where we saw a traditional band playing. After lunch we drove back to Quito. For dinner, Nilda, Victor, Joanne and I went to a very trendy pizza restaurant and I paid. After dinner we went home to watch TV. Everything was just great until Theresa had to come and check up on her 28 year old daughter. It was time for bed for the young lady. I couldn’t believe it! This is a catholic country after all.
COLOMBIA
Monday 8th June (Quito – Pasto)
Day 132
I had to wake up early as I wanted to get an early bus. Today I was going to Colombia. I had breakfast and then said goodbye to everyone. I thanked Luis for having me and for being a gracious host. It was so nice to have hosts that I did not know take me in like that. It was really appreciated.
I caught a taxi to the bus station (S1,500) then immediately bought a ticket to Tuclan, a border town with Colombia (S2,500). The bus was completely empty when it left Quito. We took the same route as the one to Otavalo except we kept on going. I finally arrived in Tuclan at 2pm. Tuclan was not exactly on the border, a further short trip was required to a town called Rumichaco. Once there I checked out the situation with the buses to Rumichaco on the border but there were none to be found, so I had to get a taxi in the end which was a complete rip off! Once at the border I got my exit stamp from Ecuador, walked across the bridge to Colombia and had my entry stamp printed. No hassles at all! I thought they would at least ask for my airline ticket (as sometimes an onward ticket is needed to get into that country) but they just whisked me through without any questions.
Ok, now I was in Colombia, the land of drug cartels and the worldwide fear of drug related terrorism. But for me it was just another South American country that I wanted to explore. I caught a collectivo to Ipiales then a bus to Pasto, another two hours north. The scenery was great but the driver was a maniac. My first impressions of Colombia were the high yet tropical mountains and passes with breathtaking views, made all that more exciting by our radical bus driver. It was a definite experience. He drove around those corners like he had done it a thousand times before (and probably had) however the bus could not keep up the pace and we ended up with a flat tyre[8]. We finally arrived in Pasto around 6.30pm. I found a place to stay, Resedencial Aica for 1,500 pesos (US$2) a night. For dinner I went down to the bus plaza and had some steak and a warm beer. God another place which sold warm beer! Lonely stuff.
Tuesday 9th June (Pasto - Popayan)
Day 133
I woke up before the alarm went off at 6am. Went to brush my teeth, etc but there was no water. I asked señor where I could get some water but all places were occupied. There was also no electricity. Then I noticed to my horror that it was now 8am. The bus to Popayan had left half an hour ago! I did not realise that Colombia was 1 hour ahead of Ecuador. So without a shit, shower and shave, I grabbed my stuff and headed to the bus station. Of course by the time I got there the bus had long gone. I had my ticket changed to the 10.45am departure. Since I had some time to kill I sat in a café having breakfast and wrote a letter. The bus left on time and the trip to Popayan was great as far as the scenery was concerned. Up and down mountains all day. We stopped somewhere for lunch where I had a cake and a coke. It was also very hot. Arrived in Popayan about 6pm. As usual I got off the bus too bloody early, always too keen to get a move on. As a result I had to walk 15 blocks to the bus terminal. Found a cheap resedencial for 1,300 pesos a night. Later walked back to the bus station then back to the town centre. I also noticed a lot of damage to the town which resulted from a devastating earthquake in 1983. Ended the day with a senna in a restaurant next door to the hotel, then wrote a letter to Dad.
Wednesday 10th June (Popayan – San Augustin)
Day 134
Made an early start this morning. Had a freezing shower (Popayan is at 1,760m). Went straight to the bank but no one changed travellers cheques. So I had to get the dreaded Visa card cash withdrawal, which ended up taking a while. Afterwards I went to the bus station to buy my ticket to San Augustin (4,850p). Once done, I walked back to the town centre and had another look around. It was a beautiful old town. I had some breakfast which included a very nice pineapple juice. Later on I got a haircut (1,200p), shortest it’s been for a long time. Then I went back to the resedencial and headed for the bus station. The bus was supposed to leave at 1pm but did not leave until 2pm (because there is old time and new time). It was here that I met Ute, the German girl from the Inca Trail in Peru. She was on the same bus! The trip was ok, the bus was a piece of shit but the scenery was great. We arrived around 6pm. Checked into Mi Terruno which was the meeting point for my friends that I saw last in Quito. There was a message for me from the guys. I had dinner in Brahama Restaurant. Met heaps of gringos here, including Sam, a Swiss who was a nice guy. Drank a lot of beers until quite late.
Thursday 11th June (San Augustin)
Day 135
Quite a good day. Ute and I organised a tour of the statue sites on horseback. Met Jerry who arranged the horses at Restaurant Brahama (scene of the crime) and he had also organised two others to join us, an English couple. Jerry met us again at the resedencial with all the horses. I had to wait for Ute for ages.
The five of us left San Augustin about 10.30am. First stop was El Tablon where there were two statues. Then we trotted to La Chaquira which was a beautiful spot overlooking the Magdalena River. Nice waterfalls too. Jerry took photos of me on my horse here. Next stop, Cerro de la Pelato, not much here and then Purutal where there were recently discovered statues (painted) and groves. Then Jerry took us to Parque Arqueologico. The whole trip cost 6,250p each which included a raspberry juice! When we arrived at the Park all these people came up to us, all pissing themselves laughing! I could not understand it and thought they were all on drugs! It was strange but nice. Went to the museum (2,000p) then walked around the park which was very interesting. Later we walked back to San Augustin and crashed. For dinner Ute and I went to the same restaurant where we saw all the others from the previous night. I crashed and burned not too soon after.
Friday 12th June (San Augustin - Bogota)
Day 136
Had to be another early start as we had to be at the bus stop by 10am. Not really that early but I wanted to sleep in. There was no electricity again and hence no hot water. Bought a ticket to Neiva for 3,400p. There was no one on the bus. The trip was ok. As we descended in altitude from the Andes it became very hot again. We arrived in Neiva about 4pm. At this point we both decided to keep going all the way to Bogota, the capital.
A bus to Bogota was leaving 15 minutes later. I bought a couple of empanados for the trip. There was no time for anything else. The trip to Bogota was fine as we drove into the night. Since Bogota is at 2,650m, we started to climb again and did not stop until we reached the capital around 10pm. The bus terminal here was huge. We had to line up for a ticket for a taxi to Centro – no problems. Took one to Hotel Condelonia in a dodgy part of town (4,500p a night). It was here that I finally met up with Knut and Jan. We celebrated our reunion with a beer. They were leaving tomorrow for the salt mines. Ute and I went for some food down the road. Shitty chicken and a coke.
Saturday 13th June (Bogota)
Day 137
Slept in beautifully. I thought Knut was going to wake us up but he didn’t. So ended up surfacing around 10am. I had a great shower for the first time in ages. Later I met Ute downstairs and we decided to check out and find a cheaper hotel. Found one just around the corner called Resedencial Aragon for 1,600 pesos a night. Once we checked in we decided to walk to Plaza Boliva. Not much here and the Tourist Office was shut. I decided to get something to eat and unfortunately ended up at Wimpy’s, which is typically bad and expensive.
Once my craving for a bit a bit of hamburger was fulfilled, we walked to the bull ring to see if there was a fight on. Not today but there was one the next day at 3pm. I walked back to the Gold Museum where I met up with Ute again. The museum was very interesting, so much gold and so much detail. Later I walked to a posh hotel near the bull ring (not sure why!). No luck on the info about the salt mines but we did end up buying tickets for the bull fight for tomorrow. Afterwards we walked back to Plaza Boliva again. We were just a little too late to catch the changing of the guard. I met two Germans we met in San Augustin. I went back to the hotel to read Newsweek. Ute turned up later. Went out later to a restaurant where I had an 80c meal and beers. Afterwards we found a bar where we carried on drinking beers.
Sunday 14th June (Bogota)
Day 138
An early start – again! Had a freezing shower – here we go again (the price you pay for a cheap room) and the water was just a trickle. Our plan today was to visit the salt mines at Zipaquira and then the bull fight in the afternoon, a busy day. Ute and I left the resedencial at 8.30am. Met up with Olivier and Barbs (German couple) at their hotel. We all had breakfast across the road from that hotel before walking to Avendreda Caracus to catch the right bus. We waited for the right bus to come along but it never came so we took another and ended up waiting for another right bus which eventually did come. We arrived in Zipaquira about an hour later. Getting off the bus I tripped on the step and landed on my face.
Zipaquira is famous for its rock salt mine which has enough salt to last the whole world for 100 years. However it has not been mined to its true potential. We walked up the mine entrance which took 15 minutes and paid the entrance fee. By far the biggest attraction here was not the fact that it was a salt mine but the fact that a massive cavern had been dug and was so big that it was called the Catedral de Sal. It was a real Cathedral literally carved out of salt! It was very impressive. Took some interesting time exposure photos which surprisingly came out ok.
Afterwards we walked around the town including the plaza and church. Since we had to be back in Bogota for the bull fight Ute and I caught the bus back without the others. On the way back the bloody thing broke down and our bull fight was not looking good. We had to get another bus which eventually did make it back. We rushed to the Plaza de Torros and made it by 3.30pm. We ended up buying general seats, and obviously the cheapest, i.e. in the “sun”. We ended up seeing four bull fights, all very good. The crowd was very boisterous. The bulls injured two of the matadors but as usual the bull always comes in second best as we saw four of them dragged away after the customary dagger to the forehead. Surprisingly, Ute was not upset by the whole experience. After the fights, the entertainment was not over. Local bands came onto the arena and played to the rapacious crowd. All of them were extremely popular and I wondered if everyone was there because of the music while the blood thirsty scenario preceding the concert was just an interlude. It then started to rain. Later on I bought a bottle of wine and went back to the hotel to drink it. After this was done we went out to a Chinese dinner followed by more drinks in a local bar.
Monday 15th June (Bogota)
Day 139
I could sleep in as I knew the bus to Santa Marta wasn’t leaving until 3pm. This was going to be a long trip and will mean seeing the Caribbean Sea again. Last time I saw it was on Feb 1 (4 ½ months ago). Ute had to leave early as she had to get some info on flights back to Germany. When she left I had a disayuno (breakfast) down the road (same as yesterday!) which was great. I went back to the hotel where I met up with Ute again. She had no luck on her side, could not get a cheap flight I guess. She decided to call London to see if she can book the flight from there for less, but she could not get through. So we decided to go up to Monserrat by cable car.
We caught a bus to the cable car station and within 10 minutes we were on our way up. Unfortunately there was not much up there, a church and a reconstructured Bogota street. The views of the city however were great. It was also cold and windy up there so we didn’t stay long. Once back at the resedencial I packed my stuff, checked out and walked to the local bus stop. I said goodbye to Ute and thanked her for being such a good travelling companion. (We ended up communicating with each other for a few years afterwards and she ended up marrying a Brazilian and is now living in Rio de Janeiro).
After 30 minutes or so I made it to the main bus terminal. I booked a ticket to Santa Marta straight away then bought some food for the trip (normally a 22 hour journey). I ended up on the back seat which was great, I could possibly get some sleep, however the air conditioning was very cold and blasting straight at me. I thought it was going to be warm. Later had dinner which was great value at 900 pesos. Later on, typically the bus stopped as it had a bloody flat tyre. Why does it happen to me?
Tuesday 16th June (Santa Marta)
Day 140
Well it was all wishful thinking about getting a decent nights sleep. In the end I hardly got any sleep at all. The problem was that we kept stopping during the night. I remember stopping at one place which looked like a huge bus station, but was hard to tell since there was no electricity. In fact all stops were made at places powered by candlelight. Even when we were travelling, the road was very bumpy and full of bends, sleep was simply out of the question. When it grew light I noticed the road was now long and straight while the surrounding terrain was equally flat. The Andes were far off in the distance to my right. Then as we went further north, the Andes disappeared over the horizon, never to be seen again on this trip. Whilst it was not completely disappointing since we came across an entirely new mountain range called the Sierras. It also got very hot. I had breakfast somewhere which was cheap at 700 pesos. Finally arrived in Santa Marta about 11.30am, hence taking 21 hours from Bogota.
Once in Santa Marta I immediately noticed how hot it was. I decided to find a hotel and ended up foolishly walking 24 blocks in the heat to a hotel called Hotel Miramar! Unfortunately this is where everyone was staying so I had to get there somehow and after 21 hours in a bus I felt like a walk. Once at the hotel I found a note from the others. Unbelievably they had moved to another hotel – Resedencial Granada (2,500p). So I ended up walking to this place where I met the others in the restaurant. Good to see everyone again. Had a beer and some lunch. Later on I did some much needed washing before heading out to explore this town. We walked to a nice beach but was closed off by the military for some reason. So instead we found a beach side bar and ended up having a few relaxing beers. Afterwards we walked along the beach promenade to another restaurant where we drank more beers and ate. We met a guy called Alborro who could organise the Lost City trek. Later Knut and I played pool and drank more beers. We met a local guy, Raphael who was a good bloke and continued to drink more beers.
Wednesday 17th June (Santa Marta)
Day 141
God it’s so hot! Slept in till 11am. We were going to move today to another resedencial but couldn’t be bothered. Just lying around doing nothing. At 1pm one of us decided maybe we should get something to eat. What a great idea! So we found a place down the road and had an almerza (lunch). As usual the soup was full of surprises, but no chicken feet this time. Afterwards I went to the Tourist Office to get some info and then later went to the Avianca office to change my flights which was not a problem. Also went to the Telecom office to enquire about calls to Australia. No reverse calls were permitted. So I went back to the hotel to veg out again. Chad and Gill had just turned up and Jan and Janine were there to greet them who had just come back from the Lost City trek. They had a great time and encouraged me to get going as soon as possible. Knut and I later went out for a beer or two. Later on picked up Chad and continued on. Had heaps of beers at various places and ended up having a cenna at the usual spot. We organised our trek starting on Saturday morning. Later we met the others who did the trek with Chad and Gill. Nice French girl! Then we searched for a bar that was showing a movie but had no luck. Knut, Jan, Janine and I played pool instead.
Thursday 18th June (Tairona National Park)
Day 142
A bit of a delayed start today, it was just too hot to motivate ourselves properly. Today, we were going to Tairona National Park, a beautiful jungle wilderness on the Caribbean coast which lies 35km east of Santa Marta. Our first job was to get some money which took ages then we went to get our park tickets. Saw Chad and Gill who were ready to go. So we quickly packed up our packs and headed for the bus which was to take us directly to the park. In the end I didn’t have time to buy anything for the trip. The bus was full. There were no doors, just open on the sides with the luggage as usual thrown onto the roof. Janine and I sat in the front. The trip took about an hour. It was another hot but clear day, perfect for palm fringe beaches that awaited us. We did stop along the way to buy some mangoes and bananas by the side of the road (12c for 6 mangoes!).
Once at the park we immediately bought a hellado followed by a trek to the beach. Unfortunately the beach was not close and took a good 40 minutes to reach it. Ahhh. However it was well worth the effort. The beach and the surrounding areas were just magnificent and even better than I thought. Palm trees, white sand and beautiful blue/green water, a perfect setting. Once there we organised our hammocks which we had to rent for 800 pesos each and then set them up in a shack that was near the beach. Later we walked along the beach to another even more fantastic beach and went for a swim. It was just great and there was even a decent surf rolling in which was perfect for body surfing. I had not done this since leaving Australia over two years ago.
Late on we went for a walk to a small island (just accessible at low tide) and had a look around. Great views from the top. Unfortunately I lost my lens cap to my camera. Jan tripped and had a bad fall, grazing his leg. By this stage it was getting too hot so we decided to head back and cool down with a few cold quiet beers. It was pretty close to heaven just lying in our hammocks on the beach and reading away. After a while a few of us ended up playing beach volleyball as there was a court already set up on the beach. We played for a little while before the weather turned and started to piss down with rain. It didn’t let up for a long time. My hammock ended up getting so wet that I had to sleep on a bed. Dinner was excellent, washed down with a few stunning Venezuelan beers. After dinner I read some more of my book and crashed.
Friday 19th June (Tairona National Park – Santa Marta)
Day 143
I was eager to get up very early and watch the sunrise but unfortunately it was still very overcast, basically a shithouse day. Casually strolled out of bed and did my customary morning piss. Afterwards I grabbed my book and started reading in my hammock which was now (nearly) dry. Later on we had a cup of coffee and ate our fruit discussing life in general. Then Chad and I went for another body bash at the same spot as yesterday. We had to be quick though as we had to get the bus back to Santa Marta. Things were ok when we were joined by Janine and Knut in the surf. After the swim we walked back to the main beach, packed our gear and said goodbye to Chad, Gill and Maxima (Swiss guy). Then it was back through the jungle for the 3km or so to the bus stop. Unfortunately we had to wait for almost an hour for the bus to leave. Once back in Santa Marta we went back to Resedencial Granada. Vegged out all arvo. I then phoned Mum but she was not home. Had dinner with Omar (our guide) and company. Afterwards we paid half our money for the Lost City Trek! That was our next big adventure.
Saturday 20th June (Trek to Ciudad Perdida (Lost City) – Day 1)
Day 144
I was up at 5.30am. Since it was still dark and given the fact that there is no electricity at this time, it was quite difficult to see and to know what I was wearing. We were to meet Omar and Jose out the front at 6.30am. But as usual they were not there so we decided to get some breakfast down the road. It was here that we finally met them. We quickly devoured our meals and went for a short walk down the main drag where we caught a collectivo to the market area. It was here that we met up with the jeep that was to take us to the start of the trek. The guys bought all the food for the trip and then it was onto the jeep. We finally left Santa Marta at 9am. It took about 2 ½ gruelling hours to reach the start of the trail high up in the mountains. Most of the last part of the trip was the worst as the dirt track was extremely rough. Once there we met Kevin and Kim (Kiwis we met previously in Lima) who had just finished. We looked great and eager to get moving while they looked totally exhausted and sort of glad that it was all over. This did not phase me although we did wonder if we would also end up like them (we did!).
Ciudad Perdida or the Lost City is an ancient city perched on the side of a steep and thickly vegetated slopes of Cerro Corea which lies in the northern part of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. Discovered only in 1975 it is thought to have been built between 500 and 700AD and was the most important centre of the Tairona culture. It was something that had to be seen. The only way to see it (without paying huge bucks for a helicopter) was to walk to it. So this is what we did and we knew that it could take up to four days to reach the city.
It was a fairly shitty day, a bit of rain and overcast. This was ok as it cooled things down a bit. It meant though that we had to cover our packs with wet weather gear. So with the Lost City in mind we took our first step around noon. Our guides Omar and Jose showed us the way and it was not too difficult on a well-trodden path. We walked for about 30 minutes before we stopped for lunch on a large rock perched over a creek. Lunch consisted of a bread roll, cheese and chocolate. After lunch the trail cut across the creek a number of times. Although not deep it was still quite treacherous with a heavy pack on your back. Janine found the going tough and on a number of occasions looked very close to falling into the creek. Eventually the slippery rocks won over and she ended up in the creek.
Now the fun part started. We left the creek and started to climb. The hill was a monster and it seemed not to end. About half way up I was so buggered that I could not even drink a coke. Further we climbed and the more I grew tired. Then to my absolute delight we reached the top. Sweat was pouring off me and I was totally saturated in it. My shirt was off and all I had on was a pair of soaked shorts. We stopped for a short while before heading off again but this time the terrain was quite flat. After 2 ½ hours we stopped at a small farmhouse in the middle of nowhere. This was to be our stop for the night. Although the trek up the hill was agony I thought that I could keep going further today but our guides decided to call it a day.
Señor’s farmhouse was really just a shack made of sticks and mud perched on the top of a small hill. When we arrived, we all basically collapsed on the mud ground. It was getting close to dinner and the plan was to take the food from the donkey (who was also hired to carry all our food) and cook it up. However for some unbelievable reason, the donkey and its guide were lost! No worries we thought we can wait for it as it mustn’t be too far behind. So to kill time we played 500. Things were getting ridiculous now as the bloody donkey still had not showed up. We were going to starve. So I jokingly said to Omar, why don’t we eat one of señor’s?! Well that was his thought before mine as he proceeded to chase one of the fat ones around. It did not take long to grab one but then what? I had always wanted to see if a chicken run around with its head cut off and asked him if he could do it. Instead he grabbed the chicken’s neck and twisted it like he was unscrewing a cork in a wine bottle. We heard the crack and knew that’s all it took to kill it.
Ok, next job was to pluck it and then cook it. This was Omar’s job and we went back to our 500. The dinner bell was rung and we were ordered to sit at the long table. We realised that this one chicken had to feed 6 people! Once served up I noticed something quite unusual, the chicken meat was pink. I thought they hadn’t cooked it properly but it was due to the fact that its head was not cut off. Normally the head is cut off so the blood is pumped from its body (that probably happens when its running around with its head cut off) and in doing so ridding the body of redness. Since our friend’s head was still attached the blood remained and the meat went pink. Having analysed this carefully I proceeded to take my knife and fork and went to cut a small piece of chicken. As I drew it to my mouth I heard this strange sound (no it wasn’t the chicken). It was the fucking donkey! As it eee-oored its way up to the farmhouse all of were rolling around the ground laughing while at the same time cursing the guide who had got lost. No love lost and we ended up having a very nice pink chicken dinner. Bloody funny night. It was here that I saw my first firefly and there were thousands of them. When in the trees it looked like it was Christmas. During dinner Omar and Jose set up our hammocks under the roof which was nice as after dinner and its festivities were done we immediately moved into them. We were so tired after a long day. We said goodnight and fell into a deep sleep. It was 8pm.
Sunday 21st June (Trek to Ciudad Perdida (Lost City) – Day 2)
Day 145
I was encouraged to notice first thing in the morning that the the rain and the generally overcast weather had disappeared into a bright and sunny day. Although this meant it was very hot. Our breakfast was excellent, actually just fried things with tuna and coffee (no pink chicken). After this simple feast we packed our gear and at 9am we set off for our second day.
The beautiful day as it was was beginning to turn bad as only after a few minutes we were sweating like pigs, even worse than yesterday. This has to be the hottest and most humid place I have ever been in. But there was a mission and I was excited about its goal. The morning's trek through the jungle was fairly standard until we reached a a creek crossing. It was here that I started to hear a lot shouting going on up ahead, a heated commotion. I also heard what sounded like someone was banging a stick against something hard. I ran up ahead to see what all the fuss was about. When I reached the spot I realised that Omar had just killed an extremely venomous snake with his big stick. Actually Jan did most of the hitting and probably felt right at home doing this. Omar held the snake up with his stick for everyone to see that it was indeed dead. After that comforting thought we moved on. My eyes were now focused on the path much more than when I first set off.
Despite the snake experience the scenery was in fact very beautiful at this point. We started to walk down from the top of a very large hill dreading the thought that that I would have to walk back up another. We hit the river and walked beside it for an hour or so. Finally we stopped for lunch by the river in a great spot below a wooden bridge. We went swimming while the lads made us all hot soup (actually great on a day that is approaching 40 degrees). After waiting for ages we were finally ‘served’. The soup was excellent. We left soon after and immediately began to ascend once again. Bloody exhausting. Once at the top we were told that it was not far to the next camp. “Not far” ended up being a fucking conservative estimate. It took bloody ages.
We all took turns in leading the pack. At one stage I was leading the pack, beating the overgrown path. During the march I heard some rustling in the tall grass next to me. When I looked down I got the shock of my life. There was a massive green snake right at my feet sliding across the path! Shit!! I did the right thing and just stood still despite my other equal reaction to run like hell. I warned the others but unfortunately no one else saw it. So of course no one believed me. (Why doesn't anyone believe me when I say I saw I snake?). Soon after we came across an Indian village which thankfully was to be our stop for the day. It was quite an open expanse here which was fine but was hotter than normal. One problem though was that the place was full of mozzies.
I also saw these strange yet beautiful birds whose nests were perched high up in the surrounding trees. Dinner took a while and we were all starving. We all sat in a small thatched hat, huddling around the fire/stove. Dinner was rice, lentils and salad. Beautiful. We went to sleep soon after that. During the night, Omar found Chagas beetles which apparently are very dangerous (God even the beetles here are dangerous!). They say if you are bitten by a Chagas beetle you will die by heart attack! He was right, the bug can cause Chagas disease which causes flu like symptoms which can progress to heart failure. The beetle is known as the "kissing bug" or "assassin bug". I wasn’t too fussed, I was just too buggered.
Monday 22nd June (Trek to Ciudad Perdida (Lost City) – Day 3)
Day 146
Today was my 27th birthday. A planned toga party in Cartegena was definitely not going to happen. It was a beautiful morning again. Quickly had breakfast which was just as good as yesterday. Once done we moved out. We trekked back to the river (not sure if same one) and had to cross it four times. It was much harder this time as you had to get in and wade across, sometimes up to your arse. Janine managed her usual trick by falling in again. Then as we crossed the river for the last time, we saw our first unmistakable signs of the Lost City.
At the bank of the river we were greeted by a series of many very old steps. These were going to take us up to the Lost City, all 1,250 of them, equivalent to a 60 storey building! So up we went. Obviously it took some time to get to the top but when we got there our three day effort was truly rewarded. The remains of the city were set in the most beautiful location and setting. It was like the Garden of Eden (not that I’ve been there). Green terraces cascading down the steep slopes surrounded by lush tropical forest. Since we were going to stay the night we had to find a place to camp. We ended up in a tin and timber shack which we shared with two other groups, 16 in all (we were not the only ones there by a long shot and actually wondered how everyone else got there).
Once the packs came off we had lunch straight away. The chocolate was great as usual after a long day’s trek. Afterwards we went for a tour around the sight with Jose which was very interesting. Later on we saw a military helicopter land on one of the terraces. We went up to have a look. Apparently they were on a search mission for a lost plane that had gone down around the area. They were also looking for drug distillers who operate in these mountains. Later I went back to my hammock and read my book till it got too dark to read. Then had dinner which was rice and spaghetti. I was so bloody hungry. Later just socialised in the ‘kitchen’ till quite late.
Tuesday 23rd June (Trek to Ciudad Perdida (Lost City) – Day 4)
Day 147
I woke up this morning with about ten mozzies inside my net. This was an ominous sign. My first reaction was how bloody useless these nets were and then realised that I was covered in mozzie bites. Excellent. Once I had scratched them all I tore myself out of bed and through the net and into the morning. We all decided to head back to civilization this morning. Actually most people staying at Ciudad Perdida tend to stay for at least two days. We had decided yesterday to head back today and was the reason why we were up at 7am. We quickly packed up and headed along the exact same path as we took to get here. We had breakfast a little along the way actually still in the Lost City. Then once done we were properly off. This was going to be the longest and toughest day of the whole trek.
Our first hurdle was to descend the 1,250 steps back down to the river which was not too bad although there were times when I thought I would slip and end up down the bottom like Michael Douglas in the movie, Romancing the Stone. We crossed the river four times, each time taking my shoes off (it was too uncomfortable to walk in wet boots). Along the way I saw another green snake and then later, a dead coral snake (which was beaten and killed by Jose) on the trail. It was a fantastic red, black and yellow colour but also extremely poisonous. One bite of this fella and you probably would not have made it out alive. We walked passed the Indian village where we had spent our second night. Then back down the hill which two days ago was a gruelling uphill climb. We picked some bananas along the way and ate them. We also saw huge toads.
We stopped for lunch at the same spot as before and again had great soup. As it was a beautiful day I decided to lye on a rock in the river and do a bit of sunbaking. This was a huge mistake as the sun totally drained all my remaining energy. So after lunch it was absolute torture. I struggled the whole way back to the 4th camp. It was unbelievably difficult and towards the end I could hardly walk. Climbing back up the last hill or as I wrote in the journal “huge mountain” was murder. Then once at the top we seemed to walk forever and the camp became more and more elusive. I slowed right down and the others powered on relentlessly. Then around one corner I saw my finish line, the farmhouse that we stayed at on the first night. Once I stubbled in I collapsed on the ground and just laid there. Thank God that was over. We had just walked in one day the same distance we took in two getting there. I don’t think I have been as exhausted as this ever. We met another group of nine who were also staying here. We played 500 till dinner which was rice and spaghetti – again. Then a coffee, chocky and a chat with a couple of Israelis. Afterwards we went straight to bed.
Wednesday 24th June (Trek to Ciudad Perdida (Lost City) – Day 5)
Day 148
I was having a mare! The same old routine with breakfast and all that. We left the farmhouse for the last time about 9am. Firstly uphill then flat then a final downhill stretch. It was bloody hot and we were all drenched in sweat once again. It took about 2½ hours to reach the end – Thank God! Well I was wrong when I said that I should have no problems doing this trek, it was truly arduous and the state of that Kiwi couple we met before the trek was pretty spot on. We thanked Omar (who had lost his soap in the creek) and waited for the jeep to take us back to Santa Marta. We waited and waited and realised that the jeep was never coming (don’t know why). We were stuck.
Eventually a truck came along and stopped. The back of the truck was full of goods and a lot of people as well, in fact it was fairly packed. Could we get a ride? Si, si, said senor. So we walked over to the truck, happy that we now had transport but pissed off that we would have to stand the whole way back squashed against the locals. I was already rooted from the trek and now I had to stand for another three hours in the back of a hot and stinking truck. The dirt road down the mountain was torture. Anyway we finally made it back to Santa Marta in the late afternoon. We checked back into Resedencial Granada for the third time. Knut and I even got our old room back (#9) – I missed it. And so did Jan and Janine. I washed my filthy clothes then crashed. Later I woke up and read my book. At 8pm we met up with Omar, Jose and the other dickhead from Miramar as we had to pay the rest of the money. Had a few welcoming beers the headed straight for the sack.
Thursday 25th June (Santa Marta - Cartegena)
Day 149
What a day! My first job was to change some more dollars into Colombian pesos then I confirmed my flights to Costa Rica via San Andres. Since I was not going to Venezuela like some of the others there was no way to go further north without flying (or catching a boat). The Darian Gap is a stretch of land between Colombia and Panama and cannot be crossed by land. Soon I would be leaving South America and heading for Central America. Later we picked up our packs and got a taxi to the bus station, it was just too hot to walk it and just a little too far. We managed to score a bus straight away to Barranquilla, taking about 1½ hours. A bloody hot trip.
Barranquilla, the larger of the northerly cities was basically a hole, absolutely nothing here. It was hot and we were keen to move on to Cartegena. We booked another bus straight away. It had air-con which was great but the movies were crap as usual. We even had hostess service! We arrived in Cartegena about 5.30pm. Got a taxi to Hotel Doral (2,000 pesos) where we saw Chad and Gill. As soon as I walked in there was a telephone call for me! It was Ute. She had also left a note for me at the hotel. She had been here in Cartegena while I was in Santa Marta. She was a bit pissed off since I must have told her that I was going to be here and not in Santa Marta. No worries.
Later we all sat around the courtyard drinking beers and sharing stories. It was just great to be with everyone again. Later on we went out to dinner and had a typical comedo corriente. Not bad and we had more beers. Chad, Gill, Knut and myself went out to a pub which had great music. Drank heaps of beers here as well. Chad and Gill ended up leaving while the boys, Knut and I continued on. Met the French girl and a pommie. Later went to the beach at Bocogrande. We sat in deck chairs and drank more beers. Then, without warning, I had a sudden urge to do a huge shit. I ran up the beach and looked everywhere for a toilet but there was none. I was now panicking and the real threat of shitting my pants became very real. I continued running and panicking. I ran back to the beach and then it happened. My body overruled my ability to hold everything back and I shat my pants. Oh my God, how could this happen? How embarrassing. I ran towards a row of shops and found a restaurant. I barged straight in saying it’s an emergency and headed straight for the banos where I cleaned myself up. After a best effort under the circumstances I walked out and found the others who asked where I had been. Anyway it was time to go and we unfortunately called a cab and all piled in. Oh what’s that smell? It was a very bad ending to a great day.
Friday 26th June (Cartegena)
Day 150
Today was my last day on the mainland South America and I was sick. I spewed all night and had the shits as well. Looks like last night was the start of something rotten. I wasn’t well at all. Took me ages to get up. Knut was also hungover. At noon I managed to motivate myself to get out of bed. I went to the SAM office but was closed so decided to go to the AMX office in Bocogrande. It was a long hot walk. I felt like throwing up the whole way. I drank a lot of jugos along the way. Then to my horror the AMX office was also bloody closed. I had to wait for over an hour but once inside I received two letters, one from mum and the other from dad - yeah!
Afterwards I caught a bus back to El Centro. Now that the SAM office was open I went there to confirm my ticket. Then I went back to the hotel to read my letters where I saw the others. After a while we got changed (took ages) and went next door to get some food. I couldn’t drink much beer or eat much food – I was still crook. Afterwards I thought I could cheer myself up with a few rum and cokes. This seemed to work as eventually we went out and ended up at the same bar we went to the night before. Gorgeous women everywhere! I met a Colombian and Canadian, both stunners. Two English girls and guy came along as well. I left early but Chad and Knut stayed on.
Saturday 27th June (San Andres)
Day 151
I felt a bit better but still not 100%. Chad, Gill, Janine, Tony (English guy) and I took a taxi to the airport about 8am. No hassles once there. This was it, my last day in South America. What memories, but I was looking forward to next adventure. Our flight to San Andres left on time at 9.30am. Breakfast was served but I did not feel like eating any. It was only a short flight of just over an hour to the Caribbean island. We had magnificent views of the clear blue water as we came in to land. Gill and Janine went to Res. Ristrepo to book a room while Chad and I carried their packs. 2,000 pesos a night. The hotel was basically right next to the airport or more specifically right next to the runway so it was going to be noisy. But it was the only cheap place on the island.
Once organised, we went for a walk along the beautiful beach which was right next to the hotel. We stopped at the SAM office for a while to check out onward flights. We had a coke then went back to the beach. It was such a beautiful day. Chad and I found this shop that sold these huge bottles of Miller draught so we bought one each and drank them while sitting in the water on the beach! It was great and we ended up having three each! The girls left, probably sick of seeing us drinking so much beer then we left shortly after. We walked back to the hotel slightly pissed. Later on we went out to dinner at a cheap restaurant then walked back to the beach. There were a lot of people standing around and eventually we witnessed a pretty good fireworks display on the beach, and dangerous as well. I ended up with two holes in my t-shirt from the sparks. That was my cue to call it a night.
CENTRAL AMERICA
Sunday 28th June (San Andres)
Day 152
I slept in wonderfully until the first plane of the day took off! So I decided to get up and go for a walk, firstly to the supermarket to buy some lunch (biscuits and water) then to have some breakfast, which no one had. I wanted to rent mopeds for a couple of hours and see the island but the girls had no interest. So instead we caught a bus to a great snorkelling spot near San Luis. It was pretty good. We had planned to buy some beers and enjoy it further but ended up leaving.
We caught another school bus to a beach where Chad and I went windsurfing. Chad and I paid 8,000 pesos each for one hour. The wind was not too bad and we had some good runs. After nearly an hour I had to go back to the beach. On the way in the wind suddenly died and I ended up falling on the sail. When I got back onto the board I realised to my horror that the sail had ripped, there was a fucking big hole in the sail! I couldn’t believe it! I thought that no one would notice and played real coy when I walked up the beach. However the guy drew me aside and mentioned that I had put a rip in his sail. Shit, does this guy have bionic vision!! I knew that things were going to get ugly as he wasn’t going to let me go. To finalise the issue I had to pay another 30,000 pesos!! Shit this is 15 nights accommodation worth! I was not happy and reckon it was probably a scam.
After that unfortunate and expensive incident we ended up walking back to town. Had dinner at another cheap restaurant then walked to beach as we did last night. We sat on the sand watching a game of beach volleyball. Later walked back to the hotel to get changed then back to the beach to drinks some beers. The girls ended up leaving while Chad and I went to a bar and got pissed on rum and cokes. We tried to get into a casino but couldn’t because Chad only had one thong.
COSTA RICA
Monday 29th June (San Jose)
Day 153
Chad was up early this morning in the hope of changing his ticket to fly with me to San Jose. He came back unsuccessful. I said goodbye to Gill and Janine for probably the last time then walked to the airport. Bit of a shit fight there as usual. I queued then nothing. The another queue for the airport tax (11,400 pesos or $17!!). The I had to get another bit of paper but that was after I queued again for my boarding pass. I handed the paper to senora and everything was done. Except get my exit stamp which ended up being no problem. I boarded the special half cargo, half passengers 727 pretty much on time. It was now pissing down with rain. As a result we ended up leaving a little bit later than the scheduled noon departure time. I was now on my own for the first time in many weeks.
It was another quick flight to San Jose, Costa Rica. I had the tiniest lunch and a beer. Customs at San Jose was a breeze, no questions. I caught a bus to San Jose then ended up getting lost walking to Ticalinda on Av 2, 5-7 (400colons). Ended up sharing a room with a Japanese guy and an English couple. Decided to indulge a bit and went to Maccas for lunch. What a Godsend! After I walked around the city for a while, just exploring. Later on I went back to the hotel and vegged out. Tonight I thought I’d go and see a movie since I am alone once again. Saw Basic Instinct with Sharon Stone – fantastic! After the movie I went to Maccas again for dinner! God how non-adventurous is that. After my healthy dinner I went back to the hotel to read my book.
Tuesday 30th June (San Jose)
Day 154
First job this morning was to get to the Tourist Office. When I got there it was closed bit did not have to wait long before it was open. I needed to find out where the Guatemalan embassy was. They showed me the way. I figured out roughly where I needed to go and proceeded to carry it out. So I caught 'bus' to God knows where, not in the direction I wanted to go so I got off. Now I was really lost. It took me ages to get back to where I started so at least I knew where I was. So I walked in the direction I thought I needed to go then caught another bus but it stopped too short! So I walked some more through a park and eventually found the embassy. Luckily the visa did not take long. Once back on the street I caught a bus back to Coca Cola bus station. Had some lunch here and changed some money which took ages.
Afterwards I went back to the Tourist Office to suss out a few more things. Then back to the hotel to write four postcards which were immediately posted. I rang Mum which was so easy compared to the dramas in South America. Later on I tried on a few pairs of jeans. Bought some writing paper then started a letter to Mum. For dinner I went next door to a Chinese restaurant for a good feed. After I walked to a bar but was empty so I just walked around the city at night. I walked past the theatre, glams everywhere! After I tried to see a band next door to the hotel but too much standing around so I called it a night.
Wednesday 1st July (San Jose – Puerto Viejo)
Day 155
I was up early this morning to catch the 9am bus to Puerto Limon. Got there in plenty of time but had to wait a bloody hour. So I had breakfast of eggs, beans, rice and horrible coffee. A bit odd since Costa Rica is known for its coffee, yeah known for its shit coffee! The bus was terribly uncomfortable but the scenery along the way was worth the trip. The trip took about three hours to reach the Caribbean beach side town of Puerto Limon. Once there I checked out the buses to Cahuita, further down the coast near the Panama border. One was leaving at 1pm. This dickhead came up to me and scabbed a cig but didn’t thank me. I wanted to smack him. The bus came and waited for ages, and it was so hot. Finally it left. Met a Canadian girl, Lora and an American couple, Doug and Jeanie on the bus.
The road from that point on was pretty bad. Apparently there was a huge storm not too long ago that washed away a lot of the road. It was so bad that we had to stop where the road ended as the only bridge for miles was uncrossable. So we had to walk across the river on a makeshift suspension bridge next to a new bridge which was being built. Once on the other side we had to wait in the searing heat for another bus to complete the trip. There were a lot of people standing around and hoped that they were not waiting for the same bus. One bus came along and there was a free for all. I ended up on the bus much to my delight but that feeling was short-lived as it broke down before we even started. I quickly changed buses but even this bus didn’t go very far. So I changed buses again and this was one was packed to the brim. Eventually made it to a town called Puerto Viejo.
Once off the bus there was only myself and the Canadian and Americans who were not native. There was a real shortage of any accommodation here so Lora and I ended up finding a shack which was this guy’s house. He rented a room which was actually very nice. The house belonged to a couple, a German (Ulmet) and her husband Aston, a Costa Rican. They were very nice and accommodative. Once we dumped our stuff Lora and I went for some beers at a bar called Stanfords. We ended up having dinner here as well – excellent fish dish. Afterwards Lora and I went to another bar for more beers. Ended up being a big night. We ended up getting lost on the way home.
Thursday 2nd July (Puerto Viejo)
Day 156
A bit hungover this morning, basically felt like shit. It was a beautiful day though. I had breakfast up the road which was great but still did not feel well afterwards. After went back to the house to pick up some things for the beach. Then we went for a long walk south along the beach almost all the way to the border with Panama. It was very nice. We saw Doug and Jeanie sitting in a shack made of driftwood and palm leaves on the beach. Actually there was a tremendous amount of driftwood everywhere either from the earthquake or the result of a huge storm. Large tree trunks lined the beach as far as the eye could see. We kept walking along eventually coming to a hotel where I had a very nice and refreshing coke. Later on we sat by the sea and just watched.
The I did my 'survive in the wilderness' impression for Lora. I found a coconut and spent half an hour opening it with my penknife. She was impressed. Afterwards we walked along the road and then to the beach to a deserted lodge. It was so hot that I decided to go for a swim where the water was very warm. Kept walking back to Puerto Viejo and back to the house. Later we met up with Doug and Jeanie at Stanfords. They had dinner and we drank Imperials. Then they left. We said goodbye. Lora and I ended up going to Rest. Bambu for dinner. Excellent food and more beers to wash it down. Later it pissed down with rain and got caught in huge thunderstorm.
Friday 3rd July (Puerto Viejo)
Day 157
The good weather we had was now gone and was overcast and raining occasionally. We had breakfast at a different restaurant which served up great omelettes. Later I called San Jose to confirm my flight to Guatemala City. Lora an I decided to hire two bikes for two hours. We rode to Hone Creek, about 8km up a very bumpy (and painful) road. My arse was killing me. We passed along a beautiful black sand beach along the way. Lora tried to find some person but wasn’t there. We had a drink then went back to Puerto Viejo. After we went to Stanfords and drank more beers – all afternoon. Got quite pissed really. After went back home to crash and ended up sleeping like a log. Eventually I woke up and we ended up going out again. We walked to a restaurant but was closed so we went next door for a beer. It was now that I realised that my gut was playing up again. So finally we went to Bambu for a meal and after to Stanfords again. Disco was dead and so was I. As I wasn’t feeling well I went back to the house and crashed again.
Saturday 4th July (Puerto Viejo – San Jose)
Day 158
Another shitty day. Because of all the rain, all my clothes were wet and stank to high heaven! I had been in the jungle for too long. We both decided to leave Puerto Viejo today and head for San Jose. We took a while to get motivated but eventually we moved out. We paid Astin his money and he offered us some coffee which we of course we took up. After jabbering for a while we left to grab some breakfast – at the same place as yesterday. Once done we went back to the house to pick up our stuff. We said goodbye to our great hosts and headed for the beach. We sat on one of the many tree trunks on the beach and watched the surfers plying some of the best waves I have ever seen, clean and big. We sat there until it started raining then walked to the bus stop. We left Puerto Viejo at 1pm. Changed buses at the river where the road had been washed away. We arrived in San Jose about 6.30pm – dark and raining. We jumped into a taxi and headed for a hotel, a different one than last time. We showered then headed out on the town. We ended up firstly at a Mexican bar with shitty live music then to a jungle bar then walked for ages to another bar. I was still feeling crook but still managed a tequila slammer. Got home at 1am.
Sunday 5th July (La Fortuna)
Day 159
Up early to catch the bus to Fortuna near Volcan Arenal. Lora and I had breakfast in the bus station then I boarded the bus at 8am. Lora wanted to stay in San Jose but we agreed to meet up when I got back. Typically it didn’t leave till 9am. The scenery along the way was great but was a cloudy. Went through San Carlos, where I bought some chips and a coke, which made me sick. Arrived in Fortuna about 12.30. It was very hot. Booked into Hotel la Central with a German guy – nice guy but forgot his name. The attraction in this town is the volcano on its outskirts which is still very active. In fact the first thing you see here is the volcano so it wasn’t surprising that the first thing to do was to check out how to get there. I checked out some tours but they were not cheap. I decided to think about it over a nap back at the hotel. Afterwards I went downstairs to have a couple of beers with my new roommate. I changed some money and ended up parting some of it for a tour ticket to the volcano….tonight. It was going to be a night trip! Later I did some reading then at six pm or so I had dinner downstairs. At 7.30 we left Fortuna for the volcano.
I was very excited since I had not been close to an active volcano plus the fact that it was at night made it more mysterious. Just as we arrived at the base of the volcano it started to rain! We climbed out of the van where the road ended and I immediately noticed how dark it was. We started walking up the side of the active volcano and eventually stopped and sat on a rock. Saw fuck all but heard a lot of the explosions. After much disappointment as the clouds and rain stayed we left. On the way back we went swimming in the thermal springs. Met some Americans here. Later I went back to the hotel and I crashed.
GUATEMALA
Monday 6th July (San Jose - Guatemala City)
Day 160
Woke up early again (5.30) to get the 6am bus to San Carlos. It was late of course. I was so tired again that I kept nodding off. Arrived in San Carlos about 90 minutes later. Waited for the bus to San Jose which did come quickly. That trip took about three hours. I arrived in San Jose about 11.30am. I walked to the hotel but Lora was not there. I waited for a while but eventually went out. Was going to change some money but typically it took ages and decided against it. Had a cheap chop suey and that was it. Still had to wait for Lora and she eventually turned up. She decided (after much procrastinating) to come to Guatemala with me. So we quickly went up to buy her flight ticket and then grabbed our packs and caught the first bus to the airport or so we thought.
We inexplicably went right past the airport to some other place so we had to get another back to the airport. Luckily the flight was running late. We waited by spending the time drinking two beers. I met an American guy called Dillon who was also flying to Guatemala City. In all there was only the three of us boarding the plane! We left at 7am or so, the trip taking about 1 ½ hours. Once in Guatemala City, we took a taxi ($7 expensive) to Pension Meza. When we got there we were told that there were no rooms! So we walked in the rain to Hotel Balboa (27 quetzals for a double). Crashed.
Tuesday 7th July (Guatemala City)
Day 161
First thing to do today was to change some money at Banco de Guatemala. Took ages as usual. Afterwards we went to the Tourist Office and got some very helpful info. Later we had breakfast then booked our bus tickets to Santa Elena at 5pm. Later on we took a bus to Zone 10 south. Here I wanted to get a Mexican and Honduran visa. It took ages to find the Mexican embassy and once we did it was the wrong place anyway. So we walked to the Honduran embassy. Met an Aussie couple from Albury. Got my visa $5. Then we walked to the Mexican consulate (not embassy). I applied but had to return in an hour to pick it up. While we waited we went for a beer in a café. Once I got my passport back we caught the bus back to Zone 1. Bought some film.
Later on I went to the food market and bought some food for the trip tonight. We also had lunch here. Lora lost her cap. Bought some bread and OJ. Later we went back to the hotel, picked up our stuff and walked to the bus station. The bus left on time at 5pm. It got dark about 1 ½ hours later. We stopped at a café for awhile then moved on into the night. Then it started to piss down with rain. Apart from the rain everything seemed fine. Then the road got worse and worse until it was nothing but a rain washed dirt track. It was nightmare stuff. Along the way we picked up all these God damn Americans. It was going to be a very long night.
Wednesday 8th July (Santa Elena)
Day 162
We arrived in Santa Elena about 6.30am, so the trip taking 13 ½ hours. The Americans got a bus to Tikal and left us behind, thank God. It was still raining and miserable. So we went for a coffee then found a place to stay. Found a dirty hotel (with no water) for seven quetzels. After we just sat in the room and ended up sleeping since we had none the night before. Later we met a guy called Carlos whom we spoke to for ages. At 4pm we went for a walk, over to Flores. It was so bloody muddy! We looked around Flores for a while which turned out to be a very nice town. Many flooded buildings. Found a restaurant right on the lake and had a few beers as well as some Mexican food. It was great. In the restaurant there we two tame toucans hopping around on the floor around us. It was such a beautiful setting on the lake as we watched the sunset. Later we walked back to Santa Elena for a cheap and nasty comida (7Q) and another beer. Later we went back to the hotel where we saw Carlos again. After he left we both crashed.
Thursday 9th July (Tikal)
Day 163
Up at 5am so as to get the 6am bus to Tikal, our long awaited destination in this part of Guatemala. Tikal hosts some of the best Mayan ruins in Central America. It was here that part of the closing scenes in “Star Wars (Episode IV)” was filmed. They are situated in the middle of the jungle and I was very keen to get up close with it. Before we set off on the bus, Lora and I bought some water and bread to keep ourselves going. We also bought a coffee to go but didn’t have time to finish it. The road to Tikal is only 63km but the guidebook says it can take 2½ to 3 hours! Well it was right and I knew why. We must have driven down every bloody street in Santa Elena before heading out. Anyway eventually we arrived in Tikal about 8.30am. It was a beautiful day and had no issues with paying the entrance fee of 30Q. I mentioned that it would be a great day and I was right!
Tikal was fantastic – excellent ruins. I climbed many of the pyramid style temples. These ruins were much better than I had anticipated. While sitting atop one ruin looking down over the Tikal and out beyond into the jungle, I met some friendly Americans, two from California and Larry from San Francisco. Later bought a coke (the race was on) (authors note – not sure what this means). Saw three spider monkeys in the wild, the first I have seen on the whole trip! We explored some more and eventually decide to leave the ruins at 1pm when we caught the bus back to Santa Elena.
Now that Tikal was done, we had to work our way back west to all the other great places in Guatemala. We were unsure which way was the best way back but I was not keen on going back the same way. So we checked out buses to Coban, which is large town north of Guatemala City. Later we went for a walk and had a coke and comida with some very pissed locals. Afterwards we found Carlos again (authors note – cannot remember Carlos) and went for some litro galas y bocas (?) then to get something to eat. Lora went to the toilet and got bloody lost! When she eventually turned up, I told her how angry/worried/everything I was with her. Anyway after I cooled down we eventually left for the bus station and left Santa Elena at 9pm on a bus with a final destination of El Rancho, the same way that we came!
Friday 10th July (Coban)
Day 164
The first half of the journey was fucked. The road was so bad and there was fuck all leg room. Got no sleep at first but gradually nodded off. I was now becoming a real expert in sleeping on buses when the road is full of potholes as big as craters. The sun rose as we were on the Guatemalan highway. I felt like shit and I was tired and dirty. At 8am (11 hours after leaving Santa Elena) we arrived in El Rancho. We had a great breakfast then waited for the bus to Coban and while waiting we were entertained by fascinating young girls. Things were looking up only to be dampened by the fact that I was being bitten alive by sand flies.
We caught the bus to Coban at 9.30am and arrived three hours later. We booked into the Pension Familiar, of course. Once checked in we cleaned ourselves up and headed out. Lora changed some money then we had a look at a closed church and later sussed out the buses to Huehuetenango. Were there any buses? No. I couldn’t believe it! This was the planned route and we had a hiccup. So we decided to go anyway, by trying to hitch – we’ll give it a go. We tried but it was hopeless, we would have to take another route. Meanwhile I took some time out to write a letter to mum, read up on my books and considered all options. At 7.30 or so I suggested we go out and eat. Nearly everything was shut! We eventually found a good (but pricey) restaurant. The food was good but the meals were tiny and I was bloody starving. After a couple of beers we left to get some coffee but everything was shut, so we called it a night.
Saturday 11th July (Coban – Guatemala City - Chichicastenango)
Day 165
Up at 4am and it was still dark. We were hoping to get a bus to San Cristobal at 5am but of course there were none until 6am. We took that bus and arrived in San Cristobal about 30 minutes later. Once we arrived we immediately checked out a way to get to Huehuetenango (pronounced 'way way tenango') or Sacapulas. The general response after asking many people was that there were no buses or trucks until at least 11am. So now what? In our thought process we decided to get something to eat. We had some disgusting sweet coffee and cake for breakfast which did not help matters. We decided to ditch the idea to get a bus so we tried to hitch to Sacapulas. Almost nothing came by so eventually at 8.15 we cut our losses and decided to head back to Guatemala City, which we really didn’t want to do. We were just not destined to travel off the gringo trail.
So the fun began again - we waited for a bus at Santa Cruz for almost an hour. Once it came it was packed and I ended up standing for most of the way. When we finally arrived in Guatemala City we immediately checked out buses to Huehuetenango. The message we got from everyone we asked was that either the buses were full or we simply could just not make of anything anyone was saying. Ok a moment of contemplation was sought. We had lunch and discussed our next move. Since Huehuetenango had always been a place that no buses or anyone was going to, we finally decided to change destination – we are now going to Chichicastenango. Yes, a new plan. To get there we had to walk to another bus station. Once there we found a bus alright but it was a micro, i.e. pissy little bus with fuck all leg room again and three to a seat! They built these things for midgets, seriously! Anyway we had no choice and took it. As expected the trip was so uncomfortable for me. Anyway we eventually arrived at 6.30pm. Found Pension Belen which was a nice place. I met a Swedish girl, Marie and later had dinner in the street market which was very good and so cheap! I think I will like this place.
Sunday 12th July (Chichicastenango)
Day 166
Chichicastenango is one of the best places to visit in Central America. It has what I consider one of the best markets in the world, plenty of things to buy and the colours are just amazing. The town, at 2,000m is mainly inhabited by Indians who produce the wares that are sold at the market. The food too is outstanding. Today was going to be a market day in Chichi.
Lora and I slept in relatively late but was still up at 8am. I was keen to get out into the town. Marie left early for the market and we never saw her again. We decided to have breakfast in the market since dinner was so good. Had scrambled eggs, rice, beans, tortillas (which was great) and bloody sweet coffee again (which I hate). Afterwards we explored the huge and wildly colourful market. This was much better than Otavalo in Ecuador which is considered best in South America. There was so much stuff here to buy. Given my very limited budget and necessities, I bought a bum bag, a larger bag and a tape. Lora bought another bag and some hippy bands. We rested by taking in a coke (for me) and coffee (for Lora). Then we were at it again. We had a look at the church in the middle of the market which was very interesting then I sat on its steps and watched the locals go by. It was a great vantage to get some excellent shots with my 200mm lens. Later Lora desperately wanted a waist coat but didn’t get one after a huge amount of time. Eventually I said I’m off for a beer and found a great little bar. Later on we walked back to the hotel and vegged out. I was keen to listen to my new tape by Juan Luis Guerra but the batteries had run out! Later went to the market again for dinner which was great again. Heading back to the hotel I bought some Quetzalteca (a local rum type drink) and some bottles of coke. It really knocked me out and I was soon very asleep.
Monday 13th July (Huehuetenango)
Day 167
Up early again. We had a new mission. Since Huehuetenango had defeated us early on I was determined to seek revenge and make an all efforts push to the elusive town, no matter what. First task of the day though was an important one, i.e. take the empty coke bottles back to the shop to get our deposit back. To our horror the shop was closed so we had no choice but to leave them (authors note - must have cost me a fortune not to get that deposit back!). Once that was done we walked up to where the buses left the town. We ended up getting one straight away, to Los Encuentros. We had a good breakfast here, being the same as usual. Later, and to our amazement, along came a bus which had a destination of Huehuetenango! Yes we were now on our way. The bus was another shocker but one that I had not taken before. For the passengers that were not lucky enough to push and shove their way on the bus and get a very comfortable three seater with fuck all leg room, the standing passengers were offered a tiny fold out chair which was placed in the aisle. This was actually worse than a seat. After a while I did eventually get a seat but I had to endure the whole trip with a very smelly cat in a box at my feet. We finally arrived in Huehuetenango about 2 ½ hours later.
What is at Huehuetenango? Actually not that much. It has a good market and is close to the nearby Mayan ruins of Zacaleu. Anyway once there, we found Pension Familiar (7.5Q) and later walked around. I noted that it is a pretty dead place. Later we caught a bus to Zacaleu ruins, starting to rain along the way. Once we got there we were told that the ruins were closed due to a strike! Great. Actually they did not look that good anyway, especially coming from Tikal. So we just hopped straight back onto the bus and went back to Huehuetenango. Maybe the fact that we struggled to get to this place was a sign that we did not need to go there at all.
Later Lora and I had a good lunch at Restaurant Ebony which had great sandwiches. Afterwards we walked to the market but noticed that there was really nothing worthy there. So we ended up going back to the hotel and played cribbage with Lora teaching me. It was too much for me so we played fish instead. Then it was relaxing time with my walkman. I was looking forward to replacing the batteries with new ones (which I had) and drifting away. However when I put the batteries in it still did not work – shit, my walkman was rooted! I finished my letter to Mum then I crashed. We both woke again at 11pm. So we went out for a chicken dinner and a beer only to realise when we came back that we were locked out of the hotel. After much shouting we were able to get in. It was a close call. Huehuetenango had defeated us again!
Tuesday 14th July (Panajachel)
Day 168
Early the next morning I was definitely woken by a freezing cold shower. We left the hotel and walked to the main road out of Hue. We must have walked about 2km before stopping and saying “what the hell are we doing?” We tried hitching as the buses were expensive. About 15 minutes later we got a ride. Lora and I introduced ourselves to our new hosts who then introduced themselves as Lionel and Dora who were very nice. They ended up driving us to Quatro Caminos. We thanked them for the lift and said goodbye. From here we caught a bus to Los Encuentros (5Q). Nearly straight away we got a chicken bus to Panajachel via Solana (3Q).
Solana was a happening place and it was a big market day. The men in costume were very interesting. The trip to Panajachel was also great as we had excellent views of Lake Atitlan and surrounding volcanoes. Once in Panajachel we looked at a few places to stay before deciding on the first – Santa Elena Rooms (10Q). It had a nice garden. Panajachel is the main town on Lake Atitlan, which is one of the most picturesque lakes I have seen. It is literally surrounded by volcanoes. Once we checked in we changed some money and went exploring. There is a huge market here and heaps of gringos. Its nickname is “Gringotenango”. Later we walked to the beach on the lake and had lunch down there. Great meal for 7Q. Afterwards we walked back through the market. Pretty much the same stuff as Chichi. I posted my letter to Mum then celebrated by drinking four tequila shots while watching CNN, cartoons and Jim Morrison! After we met a couple of Swiss girls and joined them for a comida and a few beers. After we went to the Circus Bar which had live music and was not bad. Free drinks if you rolled a double. Later we went next door to a disco – it was a late night.
Wednesday 15th July (Panajachel)
Day 169
We both didn’t feel that well this morning, especially Lora who was really suffering – she wanted to throw up but couldn’t. It wasn’t until 11-12 o’clock that we finally got moving. We had breakfast in the restaurant on the main street. Later we caught a bus to Solala and walked around the town for a while. We saw the market, church and an interesting cemetery. The coffins are placed in tombs that are stacked up on top of each other, like a big filing cabinet. Later we walked the 8km all downhill back to Panajachel. There were great views along the way as we stopped at two lookouts. Once back in Panajachel we walked around some more then vegged out. My back was very sore, probably from the shitty beds.
For dinner we decided to go to the same restaurant as last night and I even ordered the same meal. After dinner we checked out to see if there were any movies showing. There were none until 10.30pm. So instead we went in search of a good bar but ended up at Circus Bar again. We got a table and ordered two beers. I threw a double! Lora and I then played backgammon for most of the night where I won every game except for one. Good live music again – not that bloody Yank (authors note – not sure what this means).
Thursday 16th July (Panajachel)
Day 170
An absolute beauty of a morning. Perfect sunshine with not a cloud in the sky. We walked down to the beach about 7.30 and had breakfast – toast and jam! Since it was such a nice day we decided to take a boat to Santiago Atitlan which was a small town on the other side of the lake. We left at 8.30am. It was a beautiful trip across the lake, perfectly calm water, no wind and fantastic scenery. We could easily note the three large volcanoes bordering the lake, Atitlan, Tolimon and San Pedro lurking in front of us. One hour after we left Panajechel we arrived in Santiago Atitlan. Lora and I walked up through the small town eventually to the church which we discovered to be very unique. We walked around the town some more but there was really not much else to see or do. The local Indian men wore these great shorts and I was keen to get some until I was astonished at the cost - $50!! Later we saw some of the local women singing in the streets which was nice. Later we saw many locals watching a video on themselves which to them was very amusing. Lora and I sat and watched the locals enjoying themselves. Later I bought some regular shorts for $4.
We caught the boat back to Panajachel at 12 noon. It was a very relaxing trip back – lying down on these reed mats. Once back we had lunch at the same comedor then went shopping. I typically bought nothing. Saw Barbara the nimpho again, ah! (authors note – not sure who she is). At 7pm we grabbed a beer then at 8 we watched a video in the Tequila Video Bar – “Taxi Driver” with Robert De Niro. Later went on to the Circus Bar, again where Lora and I played backgammon again. Lora won a free drink this time.
Friday 17th July (Antigua)
Day 171
A shitty morning but it later cleared up a bit. We had omelettes for breakfast then we grabbed our stuff and tried to get a bus to Antigua (Chimaltenango). We waited for over an hour. I met a girl from California and her mother who lives in Guatemala. Since the bus had not arrived we were eventually offered a ride in a taxi, straight to Antigua for 15Q. We took it. A change from the chicken bus at least.
Antigua was the old capital before Guatemala City before a massive earthquake in the 18th century. It is a beautiful old colonial town that has not seemed to change from 100 years ago. There is clear evidence of earthquakes as many buildings are just a big pile of rubble but it’s the old cobble streets, shop houses and the piece and quiet that make Antigua special. It is also magnificently positioned under the perfect conical shaped Agua volcano. I was keen to stay a while.
Once we arrived in Antigua, Lora and I found Pension Pasaji (10Q). Now the main reason why I was here was to learn a bit more Spanish. In fact ever since long before I left London, I wanted to learn to speak Spanish. Apart from a few self instruction tapes in London where I learnt to say “el pero come encema de la mesa” (which funny enough is still clear in my mind many years later) which translates to “the dog is eating on the table” (which obviously is an essential travelling phrase and comes in handy everywhere I go), I had no other lessons. Now I was almost six months into my sojourn and after having already visited seven other Spanish speaking countries (obviously not including Brazil) it was a bit funny that I was to learn Spanish now. Anyway I still wished to learn some more and to experience a language school in this great town. So I set out on an arduous quest to find a decent Spanish school.
The taxi driver recommended one, Don Pedro de Alvarado. So I checked it out. I met this kid who showed me through the school. I saw its set-up, met a student and even met two families (where I could possibly stay!). Normally if you go to Spanish school, you stayed with a local family who would put you up, feed you and look after you as part of the tuition fee. Since this was the first school I looked at I had to check out a few others but at the end of the day I decided to choose this school. What was the deal? Six days, six hours a day with seven days living with a family for $110. They showed me the place where I was to stay and looked very nice. I was to start next Monday. So I was set now. Lora was not interested in doing the same thing and said she was going to leave Guatemala. Time to relax and celebrate. Lora and I went to the Picasso Bar which was ok but ended up getting pissed off with the locals. So we went to Latino Bar which had a great reggae band.
Saturday 18th July (Antigua)
Day 172
I woke with a big hangover but worse also complaining of stomach pains. Had a great shower and left to explore the beautiful town of Antigua. I was feeling the pain all morning – really bad stomach cramps. Found a great café on the Parque Central which is the old Plaza Real and had breakfast – Corn Flakes, pineapple juice and cheese and ham toastie! Excellent. Saw Sidonia and Cornellia (two Swiss girls I met in Panajachel) there as well. But all the euphoria was short lived as I had to rush to the toilet for the 5th time this morning. Later I walked to the bank to change some money. This was a struggle as it took almost an hour and I thought I would not last. I had to lye down straight afterwards. I went back to the hotel, after buying four litres of water. I ended up staying in bed all afternoon feeling like shit. Memories of my nightmare experience in Santa Elena in Venezuela were coming back!!
At 8pm, Lora managed to convince me to get up and see some live music in the plaza. Once there we saw a band playing in front of the church. They were good but the sound was terrible. A prominent huge can of Coke also spoiled the atmosphere. We also saw two more bands and each time they played a lantern attached to a balloon would be set off into the night sky. Some of them caught fire and disappeared. Later on we saw a typical Peruvian pipe band then eventually managed to eat some Chinese.
Sunday 19th July (Antigua)
Day 173
In the morning I knew why Lora was so keen to get me out last night, it was her last night in Antigua. Lora packed up and left the hotel at 4.30am to catch a bus back to Guatemala City airport. I said goodbye and thanked her for being such a great travel companion and that was it. Lora and I never met again. I went back to bed and ended up waking up around 10am. I was feeling a little better but still not 100%. It was another fine day so I decided to spend the whole day walking around Antigua.
First I walked to the plaza and had breakfast at Café Jordin again. Afterwards I saw the Cathedral then a couple of museums on the plaza. Later I walked to the Convento de Santa Clara which was very impressive, the Church of San Francisco, San Jose then back to the hotel for some badly needed water. Once recovered I set out again for the Coegio y Hermita de San Jeronimo, La Recoleccion, La Merced and Convento de las Capuchinas. Later I walked up to Cerro de la Cruz which had good views of Antigua. Later El Carmen then back to the hotel to crash. At 7pm I met up with Steve (an American) and three others, Justin, Clark and Bob – all from Texas. Because it was Steve’s 27th birthday, we had an expensive dinner then went to Picasso Bar which was ok. Had a few tequila shots then back to my room. Steve was out of it and I was slightly gone.
Monday 20th July (Antigua)
Day 174
Today was my first day at school, Spanish school. The hours were 8am to 12noon then 2pm to 4pm. I left the hotel at 7.45am and arrived with my backpack at the school just before 8am. Met a Canadian couple straight away. I was introduced to my teacher, Blanca, a very nice girl. The teaching method was one-on-one which I prefered. The other students also had the same teaching technique but in the same room, which was situated on a verandah on the first floor. Blanca showed me the way upstairs and sat me down at a small table. She sat down, got comfortable, smiled at me and then launched into Spanish immediately. Ok, I thought this is pretty deep end type stuff but I had to ask her if she spoke English. Unbelievably she said no. It was just as well that I could speak a little Spanish already. But I was soon to learn that was the best situation since it forced me to really try and speak Spanish to her and it worked.
In the morning I had actually learnt quite a bit, mainly verbs and all their forms. At 10am we had a coffee break where we were encouraged to speak Spanish to all the other students (English was not really allowed). So it was here that I was introducing myself to other fellow students (who were mainly backpackers) in Spanish! After the break it was full on lessons till 12 noon. I really enjoyed my first lesson and Blanca was very nice.
Now was the time that I was to move to my new family at casa de la familia, Maria and company. I was introduced to their maid, Connie. I was shown my room which was not bad (it even had a small fridge for beers!) and then asked to sit down for lunch which Connie had prepared. Lunch was typical, beans and rice and heaps of tortillas, not bad. Once done I had to find an electronic shop to get my walkman fixed. I found one but it was closed.
So it was now back to school to attend my afternoon classes. I arrived at 2pm but had to wait 30 minutes for no real reason. Then eventually this guy sits down at my table who introduces himself as my new teacher! What happened to Blanca? I asked but couldn’t understand. He was really hard to understand anyway and I was getting pissed off with the whole thing. He told me that 24 Mexicans had died in a bus crash on their way to Antigua for a big fiesta this week. It started to rain. I finished my first day and ran back to my room where I vegged out. Connie cooked me dinner which was the same as lunch. I hope it doesn’t last.
Tuesday 21st July (Antigua)
Day 175
Maria, my one person family it turns out, woke me up just after 7am. “Desayuno es en la mesa, Andres!” she said. I hoped that it wouldn’t be beans and rice again. Maria wanted me to get up and eat my eggs as it turns out while they were still hot. Of course she wasn’t there when I ate them and ended up eating on my own again. It wasn’t a bad breakfast.
I started my second day at 8am as usual. Blanca was back. She explained that she is my morning teacher now. She went through a few more things today and we had a couple of very good conversations. We had our normal coffee break at 10 followed by more lessons until 12. I walked back home wondering what culinary delights were in store for me today. Connie whipped up a slightly different variation and was good. After lunch I spent the whole time washing my clothes in the sink. Back at 2.15pm where Manuel, my afternoon teacher, was waiting. We went through the form of verbs in most cases, very interesting but so much to learn. We also had a conversation but he spoke too much.
School was out at 4. I went to the bank to change some money but it was shut. So I went to the electronic shop to pick up my walkman which was fixed for 5Q. I was very happy to have it working again. In happiness, I bought a case of beers (12 longnecks) for 50Q plus 18Q deposit for the bottles. Later had dinner where I met one of Maria’s friends. It was with this person that I had my first conversation in Maria’s house. After dinner I studied some Spanish like a good schoolboy doing his homework and finally drifted off to sleep.
Wednesday 22nd July (Antigua)
Day 176
Woke up to “Andres, desayuno en la meeesssaaaa” again and that was it, she was off. Corn Flakes this time! Started my lessons with Blanca as usual at 8am. I very much liked to have conversations with her where she and I spoke about our lives. At 10 I spoke with Doug, Brad and others about life as well. At 12 I went home as usual where Connie had my almerza there for me. I scoffed it down. Later I went to the bank and received some money out from my visa card which took awhile. Bought some film then I went back home. The afternoon session with Manuel was as usual. Spoke to Steve and the others about going out tonight.
First thing though was to ring Luther, my uncle who lives in San Diego. I had to let him know when I was coming since my days in Latin America were coming to an end. I went to the Guatel office to try and call him but unfortunately he was not home so I left a message. The cost - $13! Afterwards I went home and drank some beers. Did a bit of study. Had to cook my own bloody dinner as Maria and Connie were not there. Maria came back as I was eating it. So later I met Steve at Mistrals, had two beers then went to Bar Chimonia where we met Doug, Sidonia and Cornellia (the Swiss girls again). Great night. Later on we went to Latinos where I had a long talk with Cornellia.
Thursday 23rd July (Antigua)
Day 177
It was like a recurring nightmare – always a sense of deja-vous. What’s the point of staying with a family if they’re never there and in my case, only one person who refuses to talk to me! So if she’s not willing to make an effort neither will I. I have tried with her, in fact she’s a nobody as far as I am concerned. My fourth day’s lesson began as usual at 8am. Blanca and I mainly spoke to each other for the session. She’s really nice and very helpful. At 12 I went back to have lunch, as usual. It was a beautiful day. After lunch I just sat in the sun and relaxed – perfecto. At 2pm I went back to school. Learning with Manuel is more difficult as he speaks the whole time and way too fast. Discussing the difference between prentenito and imperfecta was a bloody nightmare. I was glad when the day ended. Afterwards I went to the travel agent to check out flights in Mexico. Later I went back home and couldn’t believe it – the same note stuck on my door as last night – “Andres, cena en la cochina, lluego tarde”. I had to cook my dinner again! Fuck this for a joke. I stayed home all night studying.
Friday 24th July (Antigua)
Day 178
Today was the same as any other day in Antigua. Had my breakfast then my lessons from 8 to 12 with Blanca then lunch back home, sat in the sun again as it was such a nice day, and then afternoon session with Manuel from 2 to 4 which was really boring.
At 4pm I went home and had a couple of beers sitting in the sun again listening to “doble esser” on the radio. At 6pm I cooked my own dinner again including the tortillas which was a great feed (it was a normal day). At 7pm I went to Mistrals and met with the Canadian couple who are biking though South America. Later Steve turned up and the others left. I joined Steve later, he was with these two girls I had met before, an Aussie and a German who were very nice. Forgot their names. Later we walked to Bar Chimonia. Saw Brad. Didn’t stay long as we left for the Picasso Bar. It was a good night. Bar was packed. Met a few people including one crazy American girl. Justin was there was well. After we went to another bar till 1am where we drank tequila slammers and I was well a truly stuffed.
Saturday 25th July (Antigua)
Day 179
The 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games started today. It was also the day of the big fiesta in Antigua. It was a beautiful day. Today was my last day at school. My last lesson with Blanca was good, we did no work just spoke to each other. Instead of sitting at the table, Blanca and I went to the plaza and saw a parade, mainly of school children – all dressed up. Later we walked to a stadium and saw them again. We were still speaking in Spanish with a few written examples. After we walked back to school and continued there. At 12 I thanked her for being such a great teacher and friend and said goodbye. Later went home for lunch where I had it for the first time with Maria. After lunch I went back to the parade and saw Maria there.
The parade was a bit solemn and there was no fiesta given the bus crash. At 2pm I went back to school but no one was there. This other guy took me for the 2 hours – nice guy. After this lesson I saw Blanca again. She invited me to a wedding of a friend of hers which of course I accepted. We went to the mass – I even went to communion. After the mass we walked to the house where the reception was. I was a guest and felt honoured to be able to party with the others where there was plenty of drink and food as well as great music. The music was live and best of all – no Americans! I ended up getting quite pissed. After Blanca left I left the party and went to the usual bar again. Saw Cornellia and later Sidonia. Great night. Went to some place and drank and smoked. The girls took an hour to get in. Home by 4.30am
Sunday 26th July (Antigua)
Day 180
After just three hours sleep I was up again. One of my first thoughts was that I did not have to go to school today, which was good. But in any case, I still had a few things to do today. I had breakfast then washed some of my clothes again. Once done, I went out for a walk and after a while, eventually ended up in a vegetarian restaurant called Suenos Del Quetzal, just off the square. Saw Doug and Carlo (Italian with blonde hair!). Watched a bit of the Olympics and was cheering on an Aussie in the swimming – he won the bronze. In all the excitement I noticed a chalk board on the wall. On the board was an inscription that really didn’t seem right. But I studied it hard and couldn’t believe my eyes! There it was it white chalk - “Pan tostados con Vegemite”. I couldn’t believe that it would be THE vegemite all Australians know and love so I asked. The guy behind the counter pulled out the yellow and red jar and my eyes lit up – I had to have some! What an absolute treat it was to have vegemite again – more than six months since the last time.
Later on in the day I walked up to Dona Luisas to check out the Pacaya trip. It seemed to be full. I met a girl from Houston Texas, Tracey, a nice girl, not the typical loud type. Later got ready for my trip out of Antigua. At 2pm, I went back to DLs but I couldn’t fit on the bus – pissed off. “Fucking lying dickhead”. So basically vegged out all arvo. Bought a book and two rugs (one for Luther and Toni and one for me). Later went for a walk – nothing happening, not even a good movie on, so it was a really early night.
Monday 27th July (Antigua – Huehuetenengo)
Day 181
Theoretically today was to be my last day of travelling in Latin America. The next four days were planned as a series of bus trips from Guatemala to San Diego in the US. I had no intention of travelling through Mexico apart from using its territory to get to the US as soon as possible.
I left my casa, “Espernza” about 6am and said adios to Maria, thanking her for her hospitality over the past week. The first leg of journey saw me catching a bus to Chimaltenango (about 20km north west of Antigua), departing Antigua soon after 6am. Took about 45 minutes. Once there I waited for half an hour or so for a bus to Huehuetenango which is close to the southern Mexican border. There was a bus which was to take me directly there (Q15). That trip took 4 hours. Now I was back in Huehuetenango again. Once there I walked to Hotel Maya (Q13 a night). Later I had to get some Mexican pesos to buy upcoming bus tickets, food and accommodation. I tried all the banks but none of them would change any quetzals for pesos. So eventually I had to change some travellers cheques for quetzals then changing the quetzals for pesos with a man on the street. Next job was to check out buses to La Mesilla which is the border town.
That afternoon was busy. I bought a pineapple and ate it. I bought some food for the trip but could not get water anywhere. Got a haircut (Q5). Saw a great band playing in a bank of all places. Watched the Olympics and saw Spain beat Brazil in basketball by one point! Later changed some USD for more pesos in a barber shop. Had dinner at Ebony’s again. Great milkshakes and food. Then it was time to head back to the hotel and get myself organised for the big trip ahead of me. The plan was to go straight through to the US border without stopping – a big call.
MEXICO
Tuesday 28th July (Huehuetenengo – San Cristobal De Los Casas)
Day 182
Well the plan was well thought out however it was unfortunately cut short.
I was up at 4.30am to catch the bus to La Mesilla at 5.30am. It was very cold this morning. The trip to La Mesilla was good as far as the scenery was concerned. Eventually I arrived at the border town at 8am. I scrambled off the bus only to be immediately hounded by a bunch of money changes (now they come), which I didn’t need. To get to the Mexican border, I had to walk about a kilometre past a foray of touristy shops and more money changers. I arrived at the border and demanded my exit stamp which cost me 5 quetzals. Once done, I walked into Mexico and immediately confronted by Mexican immigration. Once there I realised I had lost my blank tourist card but the officer graciously let me have another one. Immigration was easy and so was getting a ride further north.
The only bus available was one to a place called Comitan, not too further north along the Pan American highway. The trip took about 1½ hours. Once in Comitan, I was shuffled onto another bus to San Cristobal De Los Casas which took another 1½ hours. I arrived in San Cristobal about 11.45am. Once there I had to walk to another bus station for buses to Mexico City (Cristobal Colon). On arrival I was told that all the buses leaving today were full and would have to wait until tomorrow. So I bought my bus ticket to Mexico City and headed back into town to find a place to stay. I ended up at a place called posado Casablanca (15,000 pesos). Later I went for a walk to look around town. During a stroll through a market, I noticed that a lot of people were glued to the tv – it was a football match between Mexico and Australia! I stayed, had a few beers and bit of comida and watched it with them. Australia did very well by forcing a draw with Mexico (one all). Later on I wrote a letter to Dad then went to El Bazaar restaurant for dinner – live music, good food and great service.
Wednesday 29th July (San Cristobal De Los Casas – Mexico City)
Day 183
The pension was nice and the room was as quoted, very nice to sleep in. First job this morning was to get to the Post Office to post the letter to Dad. Once done I walked around and found a great place to have breakfast. I had Mexican scrambled eggs and coffee. After a tremendous feed I found a nice park and sat in the sun for a while. Later I walked around the market again. I met this drunken guy (who walked into a pole) but later pissed him off. Once I got rid of him I left the market and had a look around – found two churches. Later walked to the interesting food market. I stopped at a meat stall which had a tv showing the Olympics. Watched the 200m breaststroke men’s final – and saw the Aussie guy win! It was very exciting for me at least. I bought some bread and water for the trip – then grabbed my gear and headed to the bus station. Once there I was told that the bus was not leaving for another two hours so I just waited and read my book.
The bus finally left at 2.15pm. We would not be getting into Mexico City until early the next morning. Whilst the bus was piece of shit, I was glad to get out of San Cristobal and recommence my journey north. The trip to Mexico City was great, excellent scenery high up in the mountains, however it did rain a lot. We stopped a few times, once in the middle of nowhere. It was also very hot and unbelievably no one wanted to open any of the windows on the bus – it was so hot!
Thursday 30th July (Mexico City)
Day 184
I slept fairly well on the bus considering the conditions. I was glad to wake up as the sun was peeping over the eastern horizon on my right. I started talking to the girl next to me who was 18 and in her first year at university in Mexico City. As we talked I vividly remember the trip into Mexico City from the mountains. We descended from a higher altitude into the city, which was obscured by a thick blanket of smog. It was like flying in a plane and coming through the clouds except the clouds were a dirty brown. It took a while before I could even see the city. Anyway we arrived in Mexico City at 9am at the Eastern Terminal. Since the city is so huge I had to get to another bus terminal, the Northern Terminal to find my next bus north. My best bet was to get a taxi which was worthwhile.
I was not interested in staying in Mexico City. I was on a mission – to get to the US asap. The trip across town in my VW beetle taxi was an eye opener and immediately noticed the size and chaos of the city. I arrived at the Northern terminal as instructed and immediately went to join the queue to buy a bus ticket to Tijuana. Now Tijuana is the border town to the US and is about a 2,000km trip taking 46 hours. I had just done a 19 hour trip – was I crazy? Talk about on a mission! Anyway while I was waiting to buy a ticket, I looked over and who did I see? Gill – who I hadn’t seen since San Andres! Janine was also with her. It was so good to see them again and what a coincidence. It seemed that Chad as well as Jan had been dumped as they were not with them, although they had hooked up with a Belgian guy. We chatted for a while, talking about what we had done in the last three weeks or so. We had some lunch then it was time for me to go. I said goodbye and hoping that we could catch up again in London.
The bus to Tijuana (Transporto de la Pacifico) left at 12 noon. It was a very nice bus and had air con!! The trip cost me $85 – probably the most expensive bus fair to date. But then again it was long and now I was closer to the US. This would mean that I would arrive in Tijuana about 10am two days later! Two nights on the bus! Man this was going to be a hell trip. On the way out of Mexico City, the traffic was unbelievably bad. A while later I realised why, another bus had turned over on a freeway and was blocking most of the road. Once passed that the traffic was fine. We stopped many times along the way, all bus stations which really had no restaurants. Luckily I had some bread and biscuits. And with this wholesome meal I entered into the first night.
Friday 31st July (Mexico City - Tijuana)
Day 185
It was a long night. Almost one of those nights when you think it well never end. I did get some sleep although not as well as the night before. The day as it turns out was fairly boring – read my book, listened to my walkman, looked out the window – not much. Breakfast was a stick or bread washed down with water. But I did treat myself with a coffee though. Lunch was a couple of tacos in a bloody hot place in the middle of nowhere. Luckily we had air con otherwise I would have died. During the trip a woman and her family asked me where I was from and to my astonishment she gave me a hymn book – in Spanish. I don’t know why – she just did. The day dragged on until it started getting darker as the sun retreated. I noticed that it was now getting quite cool. Dinner comprised of another classic Mexican dish, nachos which was actually awful.
When the sun finally departed and set the air con was still on full blast. I was curious to see that the bus was slowing down and eventually stopped. The bus was full and immediately thought that someone might be getting off. But the opposite happened as two more people boarded. I thought, where were these people going to sit? There is no way they would stand all the way to Tijuana which was still more than 12 hours away. Then, after wondering why empty buckets had been placed in the aisle for the whole journey, I realised what they were going to be used for. I just hoped that they would not be used anywhere near me. The new passengers made their way down the bus and to my surprise but more to my displeasure one guy pulled up a bucket and sat on it right next to me. But this was not my immediate concern at this point. There was something more serious.
For the whole day I had been complaining about the heat. Now I was freezing to death. The air con was still on Arctic setting and there was nothing I could do about it. Unless I did something I would end up at the border as a frozen package. I had no choice but to get up and inform the driver to turn it off or at least down. Nothing really happened. My only reprieve at this point was that every time the bus stopped I bolted off to thaw out. Only after the air con was turned down (the driver must have got cold as well) I was finally able to get to sleep.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Saturday 1st August (Tijuana – San Diego)
Day 186
As the sun was rising I noticed that we were in the typical Mexican desert, personified in the Hollywood Western movies. As usual as the sun rose the temperature rose till it got very hot outside but the air con, which was my enemy last night, was now my friend again. We stopped for breakfast again in the middle of nowhere and had a coffee. We reached Mexicali in the early morning. The trip to Tijuana was then a short trip due west along the US/Mexican border. This short trip was the highlight of the whole nightmare bus journey. The last leg brought us over a spectacular mountain range in the desert. Apart from the scenic beauty it was also a surreal scene. There were hundreds of cars dumped over the side of the road down into the valleys. This must be the place where all the old cars end up.
It took two hours for the trip from Mexicali to finally reach the final destination, Tijuana. We arrived around 11am ending a 47 hour bus trip, by far the longest single journey bus ride I had taken. This also meant 66 hours of non-stop bus travelling and nights in a row on a bus. Even after spending that amount of time on the bus I was keen to get onto another. This time taking a short trip to the US border. Once there I understood that I could simply walk across into the US. I tried one line but was then told to go elsewhere. I queued again and then the final moment of truth, all I had to do was get past US customs and then I would leave Latin America after spending the last six months travelling through it.
It should have been a breeze. An Australian with very little to show with all the necessary documentation ready to cross into the US where my uncle was waiting for me San Diego. I think the only thing against me was the fact that I had not taken a shower in 3 days so I must have not looked and smelt so good. I was wearing my Peru t-shirt and perhaps this was also not such a smart idea.
Well, what I thought would be a breeze turned into a hurricane. One US Customs official must have been having a bad day and it was my turn for him to turn nasty on. He was a complete arsehole. He began by asking many (stupid I thought) questions and I think I must have pissed him off. Not only was he to refuse me entry into the US he was threatening to cancel my visa for no reason and banish me back to Mexico! He was serious! I protested that I had done nothing wrong which seemed to make matters worse. I just stood there in disbelief as he moved onto the next person. It was then I thought what the hell I was going to do. I just couldn’t believe it. After travelling an estimated 35,000km, crossing 11 borders, over 186 days and now crossing into known Western world territory it would come to this! The irony.
My saviour finally came when my not so nice US Custom official left the room. He was replaced by a red haired chap. I remember the hair as I was always looking towards him to set me ‘free’. I ended up speaking with him. He told me why his colleague was not so keen on letting me in. I had apparently sighed when he was asking me questions and I guess he was not too happy about that. Talking about showing some respect or something. I apologised and had not meant any disrespect and had explained that I had spent the three two days on a bus and I was very tired. After a while he finally agreed, validated my visa and I was free to the enter the US of A.
Ok, now I was in the US. What an instant transformation the US was compared to Mexico. Fast food outlets everywhere I looked, new cars, freeways, cleanliness and efficiency. It was a real culture shock. My first goal was to reach my Uncle Luther’s house in San Diego. I took the “trolley” to downtown San Diego. Once I got there I rang Toni and told her that I had ‘arrived’. She told me to get a train to Del Mar where she would pick me up. I walked to the station, bought a ticket ($6!) and headed out to Del Mar.
Toni was waiting for me as promised and it was great to see her. I was also relieved to be in her company after such a harrowing trip and ordeal at the border. She drove me back to their very nice house which was situated on a golf course. It was such a luxury compared to what I had been living in for the past six months. Oh what a joy. I must have looked like a wreck. I had not showered, slept in a bed nor eaten a proper meal for a long time and I was desperate to do something about it. I could not imagine how blissful this event was going to be.
The very first thing I had to do for my sake, and I’m sure probably Toni’s, was to have a shower. Not just a shower but a long, strong and hot shower!! I could not even remember the last time I had a hot shower1. The only recollection were the shitty electric showers in Peru where if the pressure was anything more than dribble, there was basically no hot water. Anyway I stripped, and after I figured out how to use the complex knobery of the American shower system, I immersed myself into the thundering pressure of constant flow of blissful hot water. Oh my God. I have never had a better shower in my life. I was in there for ages and I think I washed parts of my body which had not seen soap for a very long time. I washed my hair at least three times. After what seemed to be about half an hour but I’m sure it was less I finally decided to get out. What was to come next was equally as joyous. For six months I had used nothing more than a pink swimming chamois to dry myself after all the cold showers I had. Now I had one item that all of us take for granted, a towel! And not just any old towel, a huge fluffy American one. It was so nice. This was followed up with a clean shave. I felt like a new man.
Later on Toni and I picked up Luther from the airport who was coming in from Fort Worth where he spends a bit of time. It was great to see him again. That night I was treated to a wonderful dinner with Toni and Luther as generous hosts and I was very appreciative. Again it was great to be having a meal again, an all American dinner with a lovely Californian wine. After dinner it was time to hit the sack. And oh, what a joy that was. The bed and associated linen was like a huge marshmellow, like floating on a cloud. I felt like I had won the lottery! That night I had the best night’s sleep in a very long time.
All I could think about was that I made had made it. Done it. I had done what I had achieved out to do after leaving London six months earlier. What a success. The times I had, the wonderful people I met, and the fantastic cultures I got acquainted with, it was one of the best times of my life. It was truly one of the best experiences of my life.
I slept on that thought for a very long time.
Buenos nachos mi amigos
[1] Written in Oct 2005
[2] Before leaving London, I packed a bag of syringes and needles just in case I found myself in a situation such as this.
[3] Pasta and tuna was a staple meal for me in London at the time!
[4] In retrospect (2000) I can’t believe that I would forgo such a unique opportunity for just $45. But at the time $45 was a lot of money (2-3 days living) and could not justify spending it on a 30 minute flight – oh well!.
[5] Whilst a very strange custom, only a few years later the same experience was felt again when we lived in Bangkok
[6] In hindsight I believe this was a reference made a gringo who had actually thought this. We were so enthralled by this comment that it stuck!
[7] In hindsight it really wasn’t that great with a market full of hippy shit, but at the time it was fitting and of course had to buy many things
[8] As I am typing this nearly 10 years since this day, I remember seeing a Russell Crowe movie which involved an American expatriate living in Colombia being kidnapped on a road very similar to the place where we had this flat tyre.
1 I am writing this in 2005, more than 12 years after this event took place. It is hard to believe at this time that I could go without a hot shower for so long but at the time it was very normal.
