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November 2016 - January 2017
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  • David Fine
    Day53

    Conclusion

     January 17, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    Wow. New Zealand, Ecuador and Peru have been amazing.
    Top 10 (in no particular order)
    -Surfing at Raglan, beautiful place and a world class wave.
    -Driving in NZ. Every bend in the road leads to another amazing Vista.
    -Catching up with friends abroad.
    -Beachfront accommodation in Montinita
    -Boat trip through the Galapogus islands
    -Surfing punta Carola in Saint cristobal
    -Making new friends in multiple locations from around the world.
    -Lobster in Santa Cruz
    -Machu Picchu
    -My traveling companion Holly Sheather. Thank you very much for all your help, support, advice and good looks.    Read more

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  • David Fine
    Day51

    Argentina airport.

     January 15, 2017 in Argentina ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    I didn't expect to write any more Posts as we were just transiting home. The connections home are terrible but the flights were substantially cheaper so obviously we booked them. The layover in Argentina was from 5am till 12am.
    Even though our bags were checked through we thought we might as well see if imigration would let us out of the airport. Worst they could do is say no and send us through transit, right? Turns out Australians and Canadians need to pay a $100US fee to leave the airport and this can only be paid online, prior to arrival. On top of this it turns out you can only be in transit for 12hrs. 😯😮
    After a couple of hours in the border security office we are now allowed to hang out in the airport under the watchful eye of two security/airport official people. We feel famous, they follow us everwhere. Technically we don't get to enter Argentina and no stamp in the passport. 😢😭
    On the up side i did get a Machu Picchu stamp in the passport.🖒🖒
    Argentinas airport is nice but it's got nothing on some of the mega airports.
    We have lots of time and will see how good they are at following us.    Read more

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  • David Fine
    Day48

    Machu Picchu

     January 12, 2017 in Peru ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    Not much to see here except for the crazy ruins of an old Inca civilization. Actually it's very impressive and I am pretty sure most people have heard about it because there were probably a few thousand people walking around the ruins today.

    We woke up reasonably early and began looking around the ruins around 8am with a reasonably priced tour guide.

    The place is amazing. The views in all directions are phenomenal with steep mountains and rivers below. If you wanted to build a community these days you would definitely choose an easier location. However when you consider the primitive tools used (rock chisel) you just can't fathom how this amazing city was built.

    We spent 2hrs with the guide before going off and having a picnic with a view! followed by some exploring (everywhere you look is impressive so you can't help but take photos). About 10am it got pretty busy and by 12 it began to rain so we bailed back to Aqua Calientes where we have managed to pick a hotel room right next to a reggae club called Big Brothers Bar(it was a sign).    Read more

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  • David Fine
    Day46

    Sacred Valley

     January 10, 2017 in Peru ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    The sacred Valley is home to many of the Inca ruins (except the big one) and we thought we would do a tour and see a few.
    We started at Moray which has a number of circular terraces. Each terrace has a slightly different micro climate which the Inca's used as a growing laboratory.
    Maras has salt mining where salt rich water from the mountain flows into pools from which the water evaporates and your left with salt.
    Ollantaytambo has very impressive Inca ruins built into the side of a mountain.
    Pisac has equally impressive ruins built on a mountain with a heap of terracing.
    Both Inca ruins would be amazing places to visit and would be big draw cards anywhere in the world but obviously Machu Picchu is why everyone comes to Cusco/Peru.
    It was great day that left me saying wow many times over the views were Spectacular and you couldn't quite comprehend how these places got built.    Read more

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  • David Fine
    Day45

    Cusco Peru

     January 9, 2017 in Peru ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    Cusco is pretty high up and i was surprised how much the elevation bothered me, this also meant that it was a lot colder than i expected. Coca leaves, Coca tea and lollies are readily available and i definitely felt better by the end of the second day.
    Cusco is a busy tourist town which still has loads of character and reminds me of Ubud in Bali. There are loads of great restaurants at a great price along with great buildings that are a blend of Inca and Spanish.    Read more

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  • David Fine
    Day43

    Lima, Peru

     January 7, 2017 in Peru ⋅ 🌙 22 °C

    After searching for waves and not really finding amazing swell we decided to finish with a week in the mountains around Cusco which is where Machu picchu is. However a couple of days in Lima seemed appropriate as its on the way (also has surf).
    After a bus ride through the night we found a nice hostel near the beach in trendy Mira flores droped off the laundry and i had a surf which wasn't all that bad.
    Later that night we went out to a salsa club and finally saw a salsa band and danced the night away.
    In the morning we set off on a free walking tour of Lima. The tour was a nice change and we saw the changing of the guard (which is a weird ridiculous event that happens daily) along with cathedrals, chocolate tasting, coffee tasting and pisco sours tasting (the local coctail).
    It is the rain season but in lima it has only rained twice since records have been kept. 1979 and 2001.
    Tomorrow we fly to Cusco (buses take 22hrs!) Its rain season there but it's January average is 60ml.    Read more

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  • David Fine
    Day41

    Pacasmayo

     January 5, 2017 in Peru ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    After leaving Lobitos we are now in Pacasmayo, it just took a 7hr bus ride and a 1 and a half hour mini bus ride. As a bonus we are traveling with our new Argentinian friends which is a lot of fun. It also makes the language barrier easy and gives me someone to surf with.
    Pacasmayo is potentially the longest left in the world. Chicama which is an hour and a half away fights pacasmayo for the title but pacasmayo is usually bigger, is amazing for kitesurfing and a beautiful little town at the end which is amazing after being in Lobitos.
    Driving here from Trujillo is nothing but dry Sandy desert however when you go for a surf the shoreline is covered in loose boulders/pebbles which are extremely slippery and painful considering the state of my foot (Fractured sesmoid). The water is also really cold. Interesting that on this trip i have pretty much worn a full length wetsuit everywhere except Ecuador. Even the galapogus islands which are on 0° latitude. However now it's seriously cold.
    Sadly the waves aren't pumping despite a 3-5foot forecast and on top of that there isn't any wind.
    Tonight we bus down to Lima where we will spend a couple of nights before heading to Cusco    Read more

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  • David Fine
    Day39

    leaving is never easy.

     January 3, 2017 in Peru ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    Still hanging out in Lobitos but I now have a ticket to Trujillo on a bus that leaves tonight at 930pm. It's a great place to relax and I bet the surf pumps but I am now sick of surfing 1foot waves. As a bonus I have scored 4 kite surfing sessions and i have managed to ride a 2 foot wave in cross offshore conditions (something I don't often get on the Goldie).Read more

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  • David Fine
    Day37

    Lobitos and NYE

     January 1, 2017 in Peru ⋅ 🌙 26 °C

    Lobitos is a weird small town that seems to have a small oil industry and an epic surf spot. There are about 80 oil rigs in the distance (most are abandoned)
    The surfing consists of two left hand point breaks and a third one 15min walk away. However we were skunked with the same old story. 'You guys really missed it. You should have been here yesterday'. Not quite true but you shouldn't let the truth get in the way of a good story.
    Anyway we have surfed and kitesurfed every day and bigger waves are on the way. Last night was new years eve which was a fun little party. We hung out with some Argentinian friends and ended up dancing at a small bar on the beach playing a good selection of salsa and reggaetonk. We will head off in the next day or two.    Read more

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  • David Fine
    Day33

    Mancora

     December 28, 2016 in Peru ⋅ 🌫 0 °C

    Well we arrived around 1030pm so booked an air bnb and thee place was below par. We walked around the town and found a few bars all playing extremely loud music but nothing all that appealing. Reggaetonk is the main style but it's nothing like reggae. In the morning we decided to bail on Mancora as it felt very touristy in a b grade gold coast way.
    We will head down to Lobitos.    Read more

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