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South & Central America
  • Ruth Snow
  • Ruth Snow

South & Central America

Un’avventura di 198 giorni di Ruth Leggi altro
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  • Ruth SnowSouth & Central AmericaRuth Snow

    Copacabana

    25 giugno 2015, Bolivia ⋅ 🌫 27 °C

    Copacabana is a lovely little hippy town on the edge of Lake Titicaca, which is the highest navigable lake in the world (3,800m).

    Breakfast was very impressive - for Bolivia - hot chocolate, juice, cornflakes, yoghurt, bread, fruit salad; and scrambled eggs for Anna.

    Anna was still suffering from stomach cramps so we had a chilled morning and then went for a wander around the town, which didn't take long as it's so small and then a walk along the shore of the lake.

    We went back for Anna to rest and I managed to get my blog up to date - finally WiFi good enough to upload photos.

    At 4pm we went to a restaurant with an upstairs terrace which overlooks the lake and stayed there watching the sunset. Our dinner of onion rings and nachos (Anna) and pizza (me) attracted the attention of a playful little kitten who scoffed down bits of cheese and ham. It ended up snuggled on us for quite some time before bounding off to see the other customers, then returning to us for more cuddles. We did consider attempting to smuggle it around Latin America with us!!

    Back to the hotel and we had our third coca mate tea (seems to soothe Anna's tummy) - hotel provides free tea, water, toffees and sugary puffed wheat :)    Leggi altro

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  • Ruth SnowSouth & Central AmericaRuth Snow

    Another sick day :(

    26 giugno 2015, Bolivia ⋅ 🌙 26 °C

    Anna was still unable to move far from the bathroom so we were room-bound again. We are both getting cabin fever but on the bright side I have been racing through my kindle library this past week!

    We did manage to venture out long enough to watch the sunset from another terrace bar and I had some nachos whilst Anna stuck to a liquid diet.

    I attempted to improve my Spanish in the evening watching Over the Hedge and Pirates of the Caribbean.

    As it's our last day in Bolivia, here are my thoughts of the country:

    We've stayed much longer than we expected for a relatively small country. The landscape is absolutely stunning and extremely varied and I have some amazing memories. However altitude sickness has spoilt our time a great deal and I doubt I could be persuaded to return (apart from the jungle which wasn't ridiculously high in the sky). One advantage to this has been the shedding of most of our ski season weight, however I'm not sure I'd recommend it as a weight loss programme!

    Another thing we disliked were the cold evenings and lack of sufficient heating. It effectively meant that as soon as the sun went down, we ran for hiding under our duvets and refused to move for the evening. Great for reading but it made the days feel very short.

    It is probably just as well we lost our appetites for most of our stay as portion sizes are huge. Bolivians love their food and junk food and as a result are not the smallest of people.

    The people move at snail speed and they will never give way on a pavement, apart from some young lads. I don't think this is distain for foreigners but rather they are in a world of their own. They are a very couply nation with younger couples everywhere holding hands and seeming besotted with each other. Compare this with our Spanish teacher and her friends who are divorced with kids and slate Bolivian men as old-fashioned and act like teenagers getting drunk and clubbing every weekend.

    There are also the traditional ladies everywhere who have 2 long braids tied together with tassles, the typical hat and a puffy skirt which makes their hips look as wide as a bus. They carry everything, children included, in a sling across their backs and are generally more smiley.

    Many stall holders have evidently missed their customer service training and seemed completely unfazed whether we bought anything from them or not. Whereas others are yelling and grabbing at us for our business and are very chatty. They appear less friendly than the previous two countries and rarely smile at strangers, however all the Bolivians that we spent time with were absolutely lovely.

    Bolivia wasn't as cheap as expected. It wasn't massively cheaper than the other 2 countries we've been to, apart from bus travel. The Jeep and Amazon tour were pretty pricey. The only cheap tour we found was in Copacabana for about £3 for the whole day but sadly we were too sick to go on this!

    In conclusion, I'm very glad I've been but even more glad to be moving on! Another few stops in Peru and then we will be heading away from the Andes :)    Leggi altro

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  • Ruth SnowSouth & Central AmericaRuth Snow

    Bus to Puno

    27 giugno 2015, Perù ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    NB 5S = £1 ish.

    We had booked a 9am bus to Puno but Anna was still feeling dodgy and it had no toilet onboard so I went down early this morning and they were kind enough to change it to the 1:30pm bus (Titicaca, 30B).

    We checked out and stayed in the lobby until it was time to go.

    The bus actually looked liked the picture and not a battered old imitation - a rarity in Bolivia - which is probably because the journey was mainly in Peru.

    Fifteen minutes into our journey, we all got off at Kasani to go through the border to Peru - all went smoothly. We discovered that we've gone back another hour.

    Another 3 hours of beautiful scenery (mainly farmland) driving along the lake took us to Puno which is a fairly large town (3,800m) and reportedly a dump. We only plan to stay long enough to visit the Uros islands tomorrow and then move on in search of lower lands.

    We had decided to treat ourselves to a nicer hotel to cheer ourselves up a bit. After booking our onward bus tickets, we got a taxi (6S) to Hotel Sol Plaza (42 US) as Anna wasn't feeling capable of walking. Whilst our room is lacking the towel swans and petals shown in the pictures it does have carpet, a heater we can plug in anytime (limited 6-10pm in last place) and most excitingly a bath!! Our first! It also has 2 double beds - we are nearly always given twins and are too scared to ask for a matrimonial as gaydome is frowned upon in Bolivia.

    I also chose the hotel because it offers free oxygen as room service! Anna took advantage and had 5 mins free plus a further 10 mins at 2S per month which eased her chest pains temporarily.

    We wandered just around the corner of the hotel which is the main plaza, which then leads on to a strip of restaurants (mainly pizza) and then onto another plaza with a multicoloured-lit statue. So far Puno doesn't seem that dumpy...in fact we like it! Everyone is very friendly.

    We changed our Bolivianos to Sols, booked a tour for tomorrow and were lured into Ekeko's by Walter with the promise of a show...and what a show it was! We only stayed for 3 of their 4 dances, all typical Peruvian dances apparently with great costumes. The first dance involved a lot of yelling and rolling around on the floor - our interpretation was you dance with a girl, rape her, then hit her! Hopefully we're wrong! Very amusing either way. The other dances were more tame and featured spinning skirts, flashing gold pants, and the Peruvian Elvis, all chanting what sounded like 'Ruth, Ruth, Ruth'. The place was absolutely rammed, mostly with Americans, which we've never experienced before. We shared a pizza and had drinks for 28S.

    Back to the hotel, we had our much anticipated bath. I let the sick one go first and by my turn the lukewarm water was a bit on the cool side. My turn to go first tomorrow!    Leggi altro

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  • Ruth SnowSouth & Central AmericaRuth Snow

    Uros Islands

    28 giugno 2015, Perù ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    There is an advantage to lots of Americans - decent breakfasts! Sugar puffs, toasted quinoa (yum!), melon, pineapple, cheese toasties, juices and numerous hot drinks. There should have been pancakes as well but the greedy yanks must have gobbled all those!

    After a lazy morning, we were picked up in a taxi for our tour to the Uros Islands (25S) and driven to the docks. Our group of 8 boarded the boat, which had bus seats, and drove about half an hour to the islands.

    We were dropped off on an island of 4 families. The islands are made of floating reeds and are squishy as you walk - looks and smells of broken up straw.

    We had a talk about how the islands are made. There are 86 islands, all very close together so it looks like one big community. There is a school and even a football pitch! Blocks of cork-like roots are towed into place and anchored to the lake bed (~20m deep). The green parts of reeds are laid on top in layers of alternating directions. They then build small huts from reeds on a platform of more reeds. The white bases of the reeds are eaten - we tried some and didn't taste of much. The reeds slowly get mushy and disintegrate so new layers are needed every 15 days.

    The group was split up and each couple was shown around a hut. Ours consisted of a bed made from reeds and some llama blankets, a solar panel, radio and tv! Apparently it sleeps 3! Cooking is done separately outside on a large stone so as not to set the whole place alight. Then our lady dressed us up in traditional dress before trying to flog us her handicrafts - Anna relented.

    We then paid 10S each directly to the president of our island for a ride on their reed boat. They told us that the reed boats are 'romantic taxis' - couples take them behind the reeds and often 'come back as 3'. The ladies sang some local songs to bid us farewell, including row, row, row your boat. They rowed us part way across the lake and then turned around and dropped us off at another island only a short distance from where we'd started! One of the young boys 'sang' in many different languages to us (but not English) for some pennies. All the other groups we saw were much larger than ours and the boats were pushed along by a small motor boat so I think we were lucky with our tour.

    We were dropped off on another island which had lots of other tourists on it and a few small places to eat. None of us were particularly interested and soon got back on the boat and headed home.

    We got an ice cream from the place on the corner of our street (2S) which suddenly became rammed with people pushing and shoving - more desperate than me! We wandered around the local area which is pretty nice - not sure why Puno has such a bad rep.

    We had some of Anna's new favourite crisps - a mix of cheetos, doritos, plain and bacon - great idea, why don't we mix crisps in UK?? I didn't feel great so had a bath which took forever to get warmish. Anna wasn't hungry so we skipped dinner and watched whatever English progs we could find on our huge tv.    Leggi altro

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  • Ruth SnowSouth & Central AmericaRuth Snow

    Ollantaytambo

    29 giugno 2015, Perù ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    Early start: 6am alarm clock, a hurried breakfast and into a taxi to the bus stop (5S). Our bus left at 8am however we were supposed to be there an hour early - we were a bit late, turned out we could have been later. An hour seemed a bit overkill however Cruz Del Sur (55S) is quite anal! Rather than the usual chuck your bags in and climb aboard we had to check in, bags were weighed and filmed and then we were scanned and filmed. Then showed an extraordinarily long safety video. It does have a great safety record for a reason. The bus was nice though and had plenty of room, working toilets, movies and a snack.

    We got to Cusco at 2:30pm, got in a taxi to the centre of town (6S) where we had planned to get a collectivo but after being swarmed by men wanting our custom, ended up in a taxi for 50S. The first taxi driver at the bus stop had tried to charge us 150S! Our driver lived at our destination and was heading home to watch the footy so maybe we got a good deal.

    An hour and a half later of gorgeous mountain scenery and driving through the sacred valley, we arrived in Ollantaytambo, which is a tiny, beautiful place. We were dropped off in the main square where a party was taking place and wandered to Hostel Los Andenes (70S). We then had a wander around before having pizza and burger for dinner (40S) which we both struggled to finish. The football was being shown on a large screen in the square so there was a great atmosphere - it's the South American Cup semis: Peru vs Chile. People have been glued to their TV's for the whole competition everywhere we've been.

    Ollantaytambo is lower at 2,600m and noticeably milder in the evenings however it's a bit windy and still cold! Our room has no heating or carpet and it's chilly! We are missing the warmth of the last hotel.    Leggi altro

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  • Ruth SnowSouth & Central AmericaRuth Snow

    Machu Picchu

    30 giugno 2015, Perù ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    MP is arguably the biggest tourist attraction in Latin America and notoriously difficult and expensive to visit. Not liking over-hyped, crowded places, I wasn't sure if it'd be worth it - I'm glad to say it was!

    Everywhere advises that you should book train and entrance fees way in advance as there is limited capacity and it's high season. Trouble is the official website is impossible to get onto and all the American ones charge a huge fee (you can't buy on the door). We didn't as we were lazy and didn't know exact dates. We had hoped to be able to sort it in Ollantaytambo but couldn't see anywhere obvious so we spent a fretful night - do we risk the train fare if we're not guaranteed entry?? We decided to pack a toothbrush in case we needed to wait a day and wing it. Luckily it all went well.

    Anna was up at 5:30am pacing / faffing! We got up and walked down to the train station just before 7am - no queue, phew, and got our tickets for 7:20am train (Inca Rail, 60 US each way!!! and that was cheapest option!). The hour and a half train ride was beautiful, travelling along a river through a valley - my tip to anyone wanting to avoid the exorbitant train fare is to get a canoe, and watch out for the rocks!. For my complimentary drink I had a lovely ginger ale, lemon juice and star anise drink. We chatted to the family next to us and helped the girl prep for her English exam.

    Arriving in Aguas Calientes (now officially called MP pueblo / town) we legged it to the ticket office but again no queue, no worries. Entry was 126S which is less than half of what US websites charge. After waiting ages for the ATM to be loaded we got our bus tickets (24 US, really?! To be fair the bus service was extremely good and there are tons so you never wait long but someone is making a very big profit!!)

    The bus ride took 25 mins up a zigzag path - pretty hairy at times, especially when passing another bus on the very narrow roads with no / little barriers at the sides!

    On arrival, we went in and got the special MP stamp in our passports, and then started climbing the steps - there is a rough route to walk round.

    Early on we came to a fork and chose to go to the Sun Gate, thinking it was close by...it wasn't! In melting heat, and still puffing from the altitude (2,600m; nope, still not adjusted) we walked uphill on the uneven stone path, with frequent breaks in the shade. After half an hour we reached some stone structures but no that wasn't it according to a couple of kids with far too much energy. Having come this far we had to keep going so we plodded on upwards for another 25 mins and finally arrived - the view of MP from afar was well worth it but they could have done with an ice cream stand up there!!

    Walking back down was much quicker but we had drunk all our water so went out the park and shared a huge brownie and fanta at ridiculously inflated prices (28S) and picked up some more water.

    Revived, we wandered around the main site for a few hours. It is an amazing place - the stonework is fascinating but mainly it's the location as you do feel on top of the world. There is a slight sense of vertigo as the sides are so steep. It didn't feel too busy either as I'd feared - there was the odd big tour group but a lot of the time it was just us wandering around the old Incan headquarters.

    With aching legs (there are a lot of steps!) we headed back down in the bus and had a late lunch / dinner at Fortaleza, overlooking the train tracks, which run through the town, and the river. I had veg burritos and Anna had pieces of very yummy steak and huge chips - pricey, but very good (90S). We played a few games of pool on the worn out table with half the balls missing and metal sticks - Anna thrashed me.

    After, we headed to the thermal springs the town was originally named after (10S). There are about 7 small, tiled pools, which are tepid at best. However, we found out if you stand by the pipe inlet it's actually quite toasty so we shoved some young, local lads out the way who were hogging it and enjoyed the warmth for a bit before giving it back. The location up the river, in the forest makes it a lovely setting to unwind.

    Then it was time for the 7pm train - we seemed to have a free upgrade to a posher train with plusher seats and windows in the ceiling (no idea why, you couldn't see any stars). I had a lovely hot caramelised almond drink and dozed most of the way. We went to bed exhausted!    Leggi altro

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  • Ruth SnowSouth & Central AmericaRuth Snow

    Cusco

    1 luglio 2015, Perù ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    We checked out and went for breakfast. The poor old man didn't seem to have a clue and of my ordered fruit salad, granola, yoghurt and crackers, I only got a fruit salad. I gave up asking and had some rolls instead.

    We had planned to walk around some of Ollantaytambo's ruins but discovered the entry fee was 130S! Same price as MP for much smaller ruins. We decided we'd spent enough recently and hung around the main square until midday then got a taxi back to Cusco (50S).

    We checked a few prices around the bus stop which were about half of Cruz del Sur's price but decided safety and comfort is important, especially for a night bus (140S).

    Anna's tummy had suddenly gone funny with the increase in altitude so I left her in the bus terminal and had a brief wander around Cusco. The historic centre had a modern, European feel to it with many old, impressive buildings. It would have been nice to stay a day but we both just wanted to get down from the mountains!

    Our bus for Nazca left at 6pm. Comfy cama seats with own tv screen and choice of movies. The journey was a twisting, winding one through the mountains which had us swaying in our 'beds'.

    We arrived about 10am, 2 hours late, partly due to a long hold-up in the morning on a steep mountainside for an unknown reason.    Leggi altro

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  • Ruth SnowSouth & Central AmericaRuth Snow

    Nazca

    2 luglio 2015, Perù ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Not very good at slumming it, we decided we fancied a hotel with a pool! The one Anna chose was conveniently located opposite the bus depot.

    We checked into Hotel Alegria (170S) which has a lovely pool area and felt like we were on holiday!! I showered and read outside on the balcony while Anna slept. Then I slept a bit. Then we decided to go down to the pool but it had clouded over slightly so I went to fetch water and ice creams and we sat outside updating blogs. Anna, still feeling poorly - she thinks she has an Amazon river bug now - went back to bed and stayed there for the night. I couldn't be bothered with dinner and watched an evening of Los Simpsons!Leggi altro

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  • Ruth SnowSouth & Central AmericaRuth Snow

    Chauchilla cemetery

    3 luglio 2015, Perù ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    After a nice breakfast and some lazing around we wandered around town, which didn't take long as it's small and not all that interesting.

    I went to sunbake by the pool - even managed a quick dip in the cold pool which was full of flies - while Anna went tour shopping (35S).

    At 3:30pm we walked 5 mins to the tour place, were put in a car and were driven to the minibus, which was parked outside our hotel! Odd.

    We were driven half an hour to the necropolis of Chauchilla, which is a pre-Incan cemetery. Dead people were put into the foetal position before rigor mortis set in, then dried out, then wrapped in cloth and buried in walled pits with their treasures to take with them to their next life. (Pets were sometimes killed and buried too!) Due to the arid location, the mummies are well-preserved.

    Sadly, grave robbers looted the site and protection from the government came too late. The site has been rearranged to show 13 tombs as examples for tourists.

    I wasn't overly keen on going and though it was interesting, I find gawping at dead people quite intrusive / disturbing. Still the extra 8S entrance fee helps to protect the site from further damage.

    After a quick stop off to a pottery place to see how they made ceramics, we were home by 6pm.

    For dinner I had Tatu Tatu, a veggie dish of cheesy beans and rice plus veg whilst Anna had spag bol but with chunks of steak. Neither of us could finish the portions. Anna is back on the beers though - it appears she has finally recovered from her altitude sickness now we are down at 500m.

    Peru was playing for third place in the footy and won so there was a lively atmosphere everywhere. A TV show celebrated by making (unknown?) people jump off increasingly high diving platforms!!    Leggi altro

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  • Ruth SnowSouth & Central AmericaRuth Snow

    Nazca lines

    4 luglio 2015, Perù ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    The Nasca lines are geometrical lines / shapes which have survived since Nascan times (up to 350AD) due to the arid desert. Nobody knows quite how or why they were made. Neither of us fancied the pricey trip in one of the small, shaky airplanes which don't have the greatest safety record.

    We had a lazy morning lying by the pool then had lunch at the hotel - bland veggie soup for me, tasty garlic bread and chips for Anna. An elderly guest came up to us telling us all about aliens, Machu Picchu and people walking out of Lake Titicaca. Her English was great but we had no idea what she was on about!

    A bit more lazing, then we wandered out in search of a taxi. After two quotes of 70S we found one for 30S who drove us the 22km to the Mirador observation tower (2S) and back. From the windy tower (which gave me a bit of vertigo) you can see a hand and a tree - personally I think the hand looks more like a chicken. The figures were smaller and fainter than I expected...I wasn't overly impressed; Anna absolutely loved it - spot the historian amongst us! I was more interested in being on the Pan American highway at last!

    Neither of us fancied dinner due to our sloth-like day and both feeling poorly so we picked up drinks and an ice cream for me and a customer told me my Spanish was good. Went back to the hotel to watch Miss Congeniality and Charlie's Angels in Spanish for further studying :)    Leggi altro

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  • Ruth SnowSouth & Central AmericaRuth Snow

    Huacachina

    5 luglio 2015, Perù ⋅ ☀️ 35 °C

    It was a cloudy morning so we couldn't lie by the pool as planned but just hung around until our 12:30pm bus to Ica (35S; Cruz del Sur).

    We were given an unexpected and tasty lunch on the bus...well the main bit was, the other bit had a whole egg in it and reeked and the dessert was some rubbery thing even Anna wouldn't touch. The scenery wasn't all that...far off mountains and 'rubble-like' landscape. I concentrated on the movie which was pretty dull and fell asleep.

    Two hours later we arrived; they'd put our bags to Lima so took a while to get them off. Then I had to search for an ATM which took a while but gave me a brief view of Ica - busy and noisy.

    Then we hopped into a taxi to drive us the 10 mins to Huacachina (6S), which is an amazing oasis in the middle of huge sand dunes. It's strange to know such an isolated little place is just a stones throw away from a big town.

    I guarded the bags whilst Anna went hostel shopping. She soon found one with a pool so we looked no further - Hotel Curasi (140S).

    We wandered around the lake which was packed with locals seeing as it's the weekend, then had dinner at Desert Nights (67S), a cheaper hostel - veggie noodles for me, burger and chips for Anna. Neither of us could finish the huge portions but we did have room to share an ice cream!    Leggi altro

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  • Ruth SnowSouth & Central AmericaRuth Snow

    Sand boarding

    6 luglio 2015, Perù ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    I didn't sleep well so after an uninspiring breakfast I found some Wimbledon on tv and we both promptly fell back asleep for several hours.

    We went for a wander around the lake, got ice creams and booked a tour with Hotel Salviaterra (50S). All the sun loungers were taken so we couldn't do any sunbaking :(

    At 4pm we were loaded into our sand buggy, all a bit disorganised and they'd forgotten to tell us we had to pay 3.80S tax (which we ended up paying after) so we were beginning to doubt our choice of tour, but it was great!

    We had 8 in our buggy which raced off across the dunes, sending us flying up against our flimsy seat belts many times. After a few photo stops, we were dropped off at a series of small dunes to practice. Anna and I were the only ones with proper boards and boots - the others had cheaper short boards you could lie on or strap yourselves in if feeling brave. You had to wax the board and then lean back and not turn too much. Not as good as on snow but good fun.

    Then we hopped back on the buggy and went to some bigger dunes - awesome fun despite wishing we had some goggles against the blowing sand. On the last run, one of the girls refused to slide down and walked in a bit of a tantrum - another buggy gave her and us a lift to our buggy up the hill with us hanging on for dear life off the sides.

    We whizzed back to a look out over the oasis for sunset then headed home. Great fun!!

    We had dinner at the same place as last night, in fact Anna opted for the same burger. I had the 'small' pesto pasta, which was hardly small but I did manage to finish it and help with Anna's chips. Then it was home to wash out all the sand, which had gotten everywhere despite not falling over!!    Leggi altro

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  • Ruth SnowSouth & Central AmericaRuth Snow

    Lazy day by the pool

    8 luglio 2015, Perù ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C

    After a cloudy start, which seems quite common in the desert, the sun finally showed up. We immediately decamped to the pool, intending to leave upon checkout at midday...only it was too nice and we never left!

    Instead we lazed by / in the pool and Anna turned a luminous shade of pink!! She hasn't quite got the hang of rotating yet :(

    We went back to our 'regular' haunt to share some lovely nachos and brownie and ice cream, then returned to the pool - sticking Anna in the shade.

    For dinner I convinced Anna to go somewhere different so we went to the charmingly named Huaca-Fucking-China. We both had veggie burgers, which ended up being lots of vegetables in a bun - not quite what we expected! Still, was cheaper at 41S including a giant beer for the pink one!    Leggi altro

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  • Ruth SnowSouth & Central AmericaRuth Snow

    Paracas

    8 luglio 2015, Perù ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    The sun didn't come out in the morning so we watched some Wimbledon then hopped in a taxi to Ica (5S). There, we got a bus for about an hour to the highway exit for Pisco (Soyuz; 4S) and then a taxi to Paracas (20S).

    We have finally made it across the continent to the Pacific! And down to sea level!

    Paracas is a small fishing village - the stench of fish was overwhelming as we drove in but luckily the main part doesn't smell.

    We got a room at the Bamboo Lodge with a balcony overlooking the sea (180S) and went for a short wander along the promenade. Anna paid 5S to feed the pelicans some fish for a photo op and they nearly chomped her arm off. Then we retired to our balcony to watch the beautiful sunset over the multitude of fishing boats covered in birds.

    We headed out for dinner. The menus were heavily seafood based. I had a liquid diet of orange juice and hot chocolate whilst Anna had calamari (48S).    Leggi altro

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  • Ruth SnowSouth & Central AmericaRuth Snow

    Islas Ballestas

    9 luglio 2015, Perù ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    Over breakfast we watched a lady from the restaurant next door filleting fish on the beach. We wandered over to watch the waiting pelicans and she very kindly gave us the scraps which we fed to the eager masses.

    We went to the pier at 10am for our tour (25S plus 13S taxes)...it took a further hour and a quarter of faffing until we got on the boat as they wanted to fill the empty seats. We were kept amused watching the sea lions hunting and the birds dive bombing for fish. Eventually our 500 HP boat sped out to sea.

    First stop was to see the Candelabra - another geoglyph like the Nasca lines - nobody is sure of who or why.

    Then we headed to the Islas Ballestas, also called the Guano Islands due to the huge amount of bird poo that covers them. They are also known as the poor people's Galapagos as they have lots of wildlife but cost a fraction of the price.

    They reminded me of the Pembrokeshire coastline - very rugged with lots of rock arches and tunnels. There were absolutely tons of birds everywhere - gulls, boobies, pelicans, Humboldt penguins, plus a fair few sea lions lazing on the rocks. All too soon we sped back to shore. Great trip but wish it had lasted a bit longer.

    The afternoon was spent lazing on the balcony and hiding inside from the sun when it got too hot.

    We went next door for dinner and had mojitos, and ice cream for me - liquid diets aren't so bad after all, though Anna's pork and sweet potato sandwich was very tempting (44S).    Leggi altro

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  • Ruth SnowSouth & Central AmericaRuth Snow

    The last long bus ride (hopefully)

    10 luglio 2015, Perù ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    We got the 9:50am bus to Lima (75S, Oltursa) - quite pricey for 4 hours, but they only had the nicest seats left. What should have been a luxurious trip was possibly one of the worst due to the man behind us talking incessantly on his phone, the repetitive sounds of some noisy toy that was being used to keep a child quiet, and the smell of soiled nappies.

    In Peru the larger bus companies tend to have their own depots rather than a central bus station so we were dropped in Lima miles from anywhere. We didn't fancy staying in the capital and buses to half way up the coast weren't until the evening so we decided to get a bus to the north of Peru.

    We got the 3:30pm bus (120S, Oltursa) to Mancora. The seats weren't as nice as others we've had but we had front row so could stretch out.

    It took 2 hours to get to the main Lima bus station for further pick-ups due to crazy traffic and the fact that Lima is huge. From what we saw, Lima is busy, dirty and has not much of interest! And a very seedy looking street full of sex hostels! There was some of the worst driving I've ever seen - the rules of the road seem to be who dares wins! Don't give way at crossroads or roundabouts, see how many lanes you can cross at once, change lanes as many times as possible, and break at the very last minute if you really have to. Oh and honk your horn incessantly. We must have seen about a hundred very close misses.

    The movie choice was poor and dinner was cold (I wasn't eating anyway) but we did play bingo!! Great practice for our numbers.

    We arrived in Mancora about midday the next day.    Leggi altro

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  • Ruth SnowSouth & Central AmericaRuth Snow

    Mancora

    11 luglio 2015, Perù ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    After our long bus ride, we were accosted by the masses trying to sell us hostels. They said the one we wanted was miles away and we hadn't been able to download a map so we got in one of the motortaxi tuktuk things for 5S. In fact we could have walked it in 15 mins but nice not to with bags in the heat.

    We are staying at Kimba's Bungalows which have are a set of wooden indonesian-themed huts. They didn't seem to know if they had any availability but eventually found gave us an upgraded room for 120S.

    We went for a wander around the little surfy town which is lovely and has tons of cheap food. We both had coconuts, our first in so so long (3S). Anna found a huge plate of street seafood for 6S and had an ice cream and a cremolada (iced fruit slushie) for 3S each. We sat on the beach for a while so the alcoholic could indulge her habit with some dark beer.

    My liquid diet seems to have been no help at all so I gave up and had some chocotejas we had bought in Paracas - chocolate caramels with nuts, yum yum.

    For dinner we grabbed some more street food - veggie burrito for me and Mexican burger for Anna plus drinks for 24S - my kind of prices!    Leggi altro

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  • Ruth SnowSouth & Central AmericaRuth Snow

    Time to call in the doctors

    12 luglio 2015, Perù ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    We had a lovely breakfast of fruit salad, sugar puffs and yoghurt, plus rolls, then watched the Wimbledon final.

    We then headed to the medical centre as Anna had convinced me it was time to deal with the continuous pain that I've been in.

    It took us a while and a tuktuk to find the clinic, then the doctor saw us straight away (70S). We did quite well with our Spanish but luckily the doctor spoke some English as well. After an examination I was told I needed surgery, was given a pain shot in the bum and prescriptions for lots of drugs (60S) - yey!

    After some street food for lunch we headed to the beach (and had yummy caramel-filled churros for 1S) but it had clouded over and got a bit chilly so we retreated to the sheltered pool. An English couple joined us and promptly dropped their room key through the decking. Anna gamely volunteered to climb under, through the dirt and cobwebs to retrieve it in scenes reminiscent of the crystal maze. Several scratches and possible spider bites later, she emerged victorious and jumped straight in the pool, earning herself a huge beer.

    We had dinner at a popular Asian place called Tao (80S) which was lovely with beautifully presented dishes. To start, they gave us plantain chips with tamarind and passion fruit dips, then another portion as we said how nice it was. Then our starter of spring rolls turned up which was huge and we struggled to eat them all! But we powered through our mains of pad thai which was more noodle curry but very nice. Anna also had the hugest glass of red wine - third drink of the day, I may have to check her into rehab soon! My drugs had kicked in and I was actually able to sit at dinner without mountains of pain which was as pleasant relief :) And on a wooden chair no less - we have been selecting our restaurants for the last few weeks based primarily on chair comfort!    Leggi altro

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  • Ruth SnowSouth & Central AmericaRuth Snow

    More tests

    13 luglio 2015, Perù ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    We grabbed a tuktuk to take us to the doctors (2S) for a load of tests at 8am. The testing man spoke no English and spoke at a dozen miles an hour so we had no clue what was going on for most of it. I'm not a great fan of needles but survived the blood sample with no problems. However when he started poking a needle in my ear I went all dizzy and faint and had to be brought round with some smelly stuff. We googled it and think he was doing a coagulation test!

    Then a nurse gave me an ECG which consisted of clamps around my ankles and wrists and a load of suckers on my chest - I looked like I'd been attacked by an octopus afterwards!!

    We headed back for breakfast and an hour or so later went back for the test results. I was sent off with another prescription for yet more drugs - which were hard to find and expensive - £40 for 4! We got them home and realised they were vials that needed to be injected! We had no idea if we were expected to inject them so rang Anna's mum (ex-midwife) to be talked through it... then wussed out and went back to the doctors for the third time and they stabbed me in the bum for 2S (40p) leaving a nice bruise.

    We sat outside our hut reading for a while. Hummingbirds came to feed on the cactus flowers out the front and huge birds circled overhead - I think they were vultures eyeing me up!

    Late afternoon, when the sun had cooled slightly, we lay on the beach and then watched the sunset.

    We went to Angela's, a veggie restaurant for dinner (50S). I had falafel (no wrap but strangely filling) and real ginger tea whilst Anna had a spinach and cheese pastry. I was impressed, she wasn't!    Leggi altro

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  • Ruth SnowSouth & Central AmericaRuth Snow

    Anna learns to surf

    14 luglio 2015, Perù ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    We had to switch rooms after breakfast to a slightly less posh hut (no tv or fridge) as we'd been given a free upgrade when we first got here but now that room is booked up.

    We headed down to the beach for some sunbaking but it was absolutely roasting. We stayed less than an hour then came back to lie in the shade by the pool and I dozed off for a while. I think the mix of drugs may be affecting my ability to sunbathe as my skin was tingling as if it was on fire for the rest of the day.

    We got a tuktuk to the doctors and they jabbed me again - other side this time due to the bruising from yesterday, not sure where they will jab me tomorrow!

    Then it was time for Anna's first surfing lesson (50S). Roberto, from our hostel, gave her a wetsuit with a huge hole in the bum. She struggled to get it on and as they were stretching on the beach you could hear it ripping even further!

    She did really well and caught several waves and stood up. There were no spectacular wipe outs and more surprisingly, no injuries!!

    Dinner was a quick burger and burrito plus brownies at our 'regular' street food joint (21S).    Leggi altro

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  • Ruth SnowSouth & Central AmericaRuth Snow

    Hiding from the sun

    17 luglio 2015, Perù ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    The next few days were spent hiding from the sun as some of my skin, especially my feet, was really pink and hurt every time I went outside / got warm. I had to sleep with my feet under a wet cloth :(

    So we did little except hang out in the room or in the deck chairs or in the shade by the pool. For a sun worshipper such as myself this was quite torturous but the hostel is so pretty and full of dragonflies and hummingbirds it wasn't so bad.

    Anna had another surf lesson with Roberto, this time with a wetsuit that didn't expose her bum to the entire beach!

    We went to the clinic every afternoon so they could stab me in the bum - they alternated sides but soon ran out of options and turned me black and blue and unable to lie on either side!

    Anna had her regular street seafood fix for lunch plus we had numerous coconuts, plantain chips, ice creams and cremoladas.

    We had some of the loveliest and poshest dinners so far on our travels...pasta at Mosca en la Sopa (fly in the soup) and mexican at El Aji.    Leggi altro

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  • Ruth SnowSouth & Central AmericaRuth Snow

    Surgery - eek!!!!

    18 luglio 2015, Perù ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    We got to the clinic for 8am and I was sent up to my own ensuite room - nicer than some hostels we've stayed in! They put me in a gown, wrapped my legs in compression bandages and put me on a drip. Anna was sent away and came back a couple of hours later to find me bored senseless, still waiting.

    Just before midday they sent Anna away again, gave me a fetching hair net and plastic slippers and led me to the operating room - bum hanging out for all to see!

    The anaesthesiologist starting talking about how he was going to stab me in the back which made me nervous but then they injected a sedative into the cannula and I went all woozy and don't remember much else.

    I came round in my room, not being able to feel or move my lower body. It felt like twitchy leg syndrome without being able to shake your legs for relief - very uncomfortable. I fell asleep and when I woke up the horrible sensation was gone thankfully.

    I needed the loo but couldn't get to the bathroom; the nurse didn't know what to do but eventually sent Anna out to buy me a giant nappy!! However, my bladder muscles must have been asleep so I couldn't go anyway. Anna went off to get some dinner and the nurse didn't check on me again.

    After a while the pain from needing to pee was unbearable so I decided to see if I could walk as I had some feeling in my legs. Turns out I couldn't! I fell over and smacked my face on the floor! Luckily I hadn't pulled my cannula out, but couldn't get back up and fell over again. Due to the numbness I bounced well and didn't feel much. It did make me laugh (possibly somewhat hysterically) trying to get my floppy legs to work. Eventually I managed to pull myself back onto my bed and lay there feeling sorry for myself waiting for Anna to come back and rescue me.

    When my knight in shining armour returned, my legs were just about back to normal and she helped me to the loo. After a long time, my bladder eventually woke up and the intense pain went away, only to be replaced by the pain in my bum as the anaesthetic wore off.

    They gave me more drugs at 10pm but they didn't seem to help. I insisted Anna went home and lay in pain for ages. At midnight I asked for more drugs but the night nurse said I couldn't have anything else. I turned on the waterworks so he phoned the surgeon who said I could have some more so eventually the pain went down a little.

    I didn't manage to get much sleep though. In the morning they inspected me, cleaned me up and then sent me home about 11am.

    There was a bit of a welcoming committee back at the bungalows as we'd got to know a lot of people. One very lovely couple had gone searching high and low for flowers but couldn't find any so brought us a bag of fruit - she said she hadn't slept from worrying! (she also said she could feel my pain in her intestine as she was a healer!!).    Leggi altro

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  • Ruth SnowSouth & Central AmericaRuth Snow

    Recovery

    21 luglio 2015, Perù ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    The first few days after surgery were very painful and spent doing little but lying in bed. The staff were kind enough to bring me breakfast in bed and Anna fetched me takeaway in the evening from various restaurants.

    After a few days I decided to supplement my prescribed tramadol with ibuprofen and felt a lot better and managed a few short walks to the beach / shops.

    By Friday I felt a lot better and managed a long walk along the beach to the marina and beyond. We saw lots of wildlife - a sea lion, a blue-footed booby, and some fish - all sadly dead and washed up!

    There are many cats and dogs at the bungalows, all of whom, Anna is obsessed with. One stripy cat befriended us when Anna brought home some fish for her lunch. There are also lots of the typical Peruvian dogs on the streets - skinny, hairless, ugly things with tufts of coarse hair on their heads and tails.

    The rest of the week was spent reading, sunbathing in the cooler late afternoons on the beach, watching sunsets and eating too many times at the lovely Mexican.

    We moved rooms a third time...to next door which looked exactly the same but nicer bedding!

    Kokopelli, a party hostel about 400m away played horrendous bassy music late into the night, especially at weekends, which drove Anna mad. One night, she reached the end of her short tether: our neighbours, 2 young lads, were playing some music on their balcony at midnight, not overly loudly, but enough to annoy Anna and she stormed out there, ranted at them (impressively in Spanish) and slammed the door, waking me up. The poor boys apparently looked terrified and all went silent! She did apologise the next day but they left soon after!!    Leggi altro

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  • Ruth SnowSouth & Central AmericaRuth Snow

    Ecuador! (sung as per Sash)

    27 luglio 2015, Ecuador ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    Currency = US dollars (£1 = $1.5).

    We bid our sad farewells to the bungalow staff who have been so lovely to us. Martina drove us to the bus stop for 9:40am and luckily we were there the requisite 20 mins early as we were bundled on and left immediately - presumably to get a head start on the nightmare border crossing (supposedly the worst in S America).

    We chose Cruz del Sur (112P) as it was the only daytime bus and we had heard dodgy stories about night crossings. Despite booking a few days in advance they didn't have 2 seats together but my neighbour didn't show up so we were fine.

    After a short drive along the coast we came to a checkpoint, waited on the hot stuffy bus, then all got off the bus, showed our passports and got back on the bus. No idea what this was about - checking numbers one lady told us.

    Another hour down the coast and we got to the border, which took 2 hours for 2 stamps. There weren't many people, it was just really slow for no real reason. The official asked if it was our first visit to Ecuador and promptly gave us a safety leaflet which made us feel good! The cities don't have the best reputation for safety, but then neither does London.

    As soon as we entered Ecuador the landscape suddenly changed from dry deserty hills to lush greenery and then millions of banana plantations.

    We hadn't been on the road long when we were stopped and all had to get off while the bus drove very slowly through this giant machine which we think must have been an xray as it had radiation warning signs. Shortly after this stop, we were stopped again and a police lady came aboard to check all of our immigration stamps. They are uber keen here!

    Then we drove the rest of the way, through more banana fields, which were damp with rain - a sight we haven't seen for some time!

    We arrived in Guayaquil at 7:30pm, the largest Ecuadorian city and entered the bus terminal which is ginormous!! Most bus terminals are big here but this was on another level. More like a shopping centre, super clean and massive! We felt like we have reentered civilisation! It is very Americanised - no incessant horn beepings, modern cars and fast food outlets everywhere. Anna's extensive? research had told me to expect more of a backward country, but apparently medical care is free here so I should have waited for my operation!

    We got a yellow cab ($5) to Hotel Jira ($35) which is far nicer than expected - there are few budget hotels in the city center and most have scathing reviews so I hadn't hoped for much.

    Then we went for an evening stroll along the Malecon (boardwalk along the river) which again was very modern, clean and nice. The few blocks between our hotel and the river are a bit dodgy but seem ok.

    We came across a McDonald's and much to my disgust Anna decided to go there for dinner. We'd been fed good food on the bus for lunch so weren't overly hungry but she had a cheeseburger, we shared some fries and I had an Oreo mcflurry which was lovely ($5).    Leggi altro

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  • Ruth SnowSouth & Central AmericaRuth Snow
    2

    Tour shopping

    28 luglio 2015, Ecuador ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    Breakfast was a disappointing 2 slices of white bread, soft cheese, jam, fresh oj and hot chocolate or instant coffee - to Anna's disgust...the reception man said something about ringing us earlier for coffee so maybe there was fresh coffee at some point but we didn't have a phone call?!

    Guayaquil is not supposed to be very nice or with much worth seeing so we had hoped to get in and out as quickly as possible but after spending a short time here we totally disagree.

    Whilst last night was pretty much deserted and the walk to the malecon involved a dodgy walk through a virtually deserted market, today was heaving with people and cars.

    First stop (after finding truffle magnums!) was the iguana park, a small park in the middle of the city full of hundreds of iguanas that are fed daily. There is also a pond full of fish and tortoises, plus another pit full of hundreds of tortoises piled on top of each other. There were iguanas everywhere including over 50 up one tree - whilst trying to count them I looked down and said there's a lot of poop on the floor here and moved back a step, just as one of them sprayed us from above...lucky escape!

    We wandered up the main street (9 Octobre) away from the river and got Anna some proper coffee and me a dunkin donut. We visited a few travel agencies looking for our Galapagos tour but they were only selling land tours and spoke little English, so we looked in the LP and it was actually of some use. We ended up at Hostal Suites Madrid, a hostel which also does tours and after 2 hours and 2 trips to the cashpoint we were all sorted. Unfortunately it's high season so there wasn't a ton of last minute deals available but we are lucky that we have a few weeks to play with as we have a few stops to make but need to come back this way before heading to Quito. We got some flights, a 5 day cruise with 50% off and extra days on the islands either side for a small fortune!! An added bonus is that the flight back takes is to Quito so we don't need to do another long bus trip through the mountains. Luckily we could pay for most of it by credit card with no extra charges which is unusual here.

    Then we continued down the road, stopping at Ali Baba (another LP recommendation) for some lovely falafel wraps for dinner ($10).

    Afterwards we continued on the street until we reached the Estero Salado malecon, a much smaller boardwalk which had an unexpected beautiful coloured water fountain display from a barge, set to classical music. We also walked along a beautifully lit path by the river.

    On the way back we stopped for frozen yogurt - Anna had a huge one with fruit, I had a much smaller one with chocolate toppings ($3.50) and got a cab back to the hotel ($3).

    We both love Guayaquil...plenty of food choices, very clean, very modern, tons of statues and nice buildings, the people walk at almost normal speed (though do stare at us a fair bit - the older men seem to love trying to chat to us!) and don't understand why it's so overlooked.    Leggi altro

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