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  • Ruedi Meyer

South America

A 59-day adventure by Ruedi Read more
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  • Trip start
    May 31, 2016
  • Ruedi MeyerSouth AmericaRuedi Meyer
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    Madrid Barajas Airport

    June 2, 2016 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Waiting for the big haul...
    Bye bye Spain:-)

  • Ruedi MeyerSouth AmericaRuedi Meyer

    Hotel La Castellana , Lima

    June 3, 2016 in Peru ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    A wonderfully relaxing BiB (bliss in business) flight - der update bid hat sich gelohnt!
    Bild: Anden in der Abenddämmerung kurz vor Landung.
    Habe am Taxifahrer in Lima mein Spanisch ausprobiert: Kurs ist nötig;-)Read more

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  • Ruedi MeyerSouth AmericaRuedi Meyer
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    Hotel La Castellana Lima

    June 3, 2016 in Peru ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Kleine City-Tour mit Taxifahrer; erzählt viel, auch über Inkas und Qechua - interessant, verstehe aber nur die Hälfte.
    Museo Nacional de Archeologia: alles über peruanische Geschichte: umfassend, spannend.
    Taxifahrer werden nicht Keiko wählen. Morgen gilt ab 8 Uhr abends Ley Seca, damit die Wähler nüchtern entscheiden - also heute noch einen Pisco Sour oder so! ...
    The race is open again: after two pisco sours I found a taxi driver in favour of Keiko!
    By the way, Barranco strikes me as rather a hip barrio to go to in Lima.
    Peruaner sind stolz auf ihre Küche-nach den Anticuchos im Restaurante Javier I'll say: right they are! Ein Essen kostet zwischen 3 und 15 CHF - man muss sich anstrengen, wenn man mehr bezahlen will😉 oder viel trinken🍷🍷🍻    Read more

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  • Ruedi MeyerSouth AmericaRuedi Meyer

    Restaurante Javier, Barranco

    June 4, 2016 in Peru ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    Freue mich, heute abend meine Reisegruppe kennenzulernen - allein unterwegs zu sein hat aber definitiv auch Vorteile: man kommt immer wieder in Gespräche mit Locals; das ist manchmal ein bisschen tragikomisch: ich mit wenig Spanisch, Taxifahrer etc. mit weniger Englisch! Nachdem ich dem Museumsaufseher erklärt habe, dass ich wenig Spanisch verstehe, beginnt er, mir alle Beschriftungen in schönstem Spanisch vorzulesen - wahrscheinlich hält er mich für einen Analphabeten oder so☺️ Mit dem venezolanischen Kellner habe ich ein intensives Englisch-Spanisch-Brocken-Gespräch über die politische Lage in seinem Land, und er ist verzweifelter über sein Englisch als ich über mein Spanisch - immerhin!
    Von wegen Klauen und Verlieren: mein erster Verlust wäre eine peruanische Tafel Schokolade im City-Tour Taxi gewesen - sie war aber am Abend an der Rezeption: mein Taxifahrer hatte sie für mich abgegeben - Hut ab😉😊    Read more

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  • Ruedi MeyerSouth AmericaRuedi Meyer
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    Pisco

    June 5, 2016 in Peru ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    Letzter Tag in Lima vorläufig - an Mittag gehts los nach Pisco 3-4 Stunden per Bus. Our guide has been in the business for 8 years, sie ist nett und unaufgeregt. An die Aussies und Kiwis in der Gruppe kann man sich auch gewöhnen: reden schnell und mit Akzent-I'll take the challenge😉☺️. Packen für den Trip war eine weitere Herausforderung - aber wir werden ja nicht total aus der Zivilisation fallen 😏
    Lima ist eine faszinierende Stadt: chaotischer Verkehr, eindrückliche Altstadt, hippes Barranco-Viertel, Larcomar am Meer ist eine Einkaufs- und Food-Meile wie bei uns - Miraflores, wo unser Hotel ist, ist recht herausgeputzt und mit ziemlich viel Polizeipräsenz - aber es gibt auch andere Viertel: Favelas am Berg über die Brücke hinter dem Präsidentenpalast mit einer grossen San Cristobal-Statue zuoberst sind weitgehend 'no-go areas': sie füllten sich mit Landflüchtigen zu Zeiten der 'Senderos Luminoso' in den Achzigern -1/3 der Bevölkerung von Peru (30 Mio) lebt jetzt in Lima ...
    Welcome to Findpenguins, Marian and Jim - I'll keep to English more now - or would you like to practise your German😉😊
    No pics so far: I somehow can't transfer them from my handy new Canon camera to my i-Pad😥 - here they are💪👍👁
    My group turns out to be quite easy-going and fun.
    The trip to Pisco along a rather bleak and desolate coastal stretch on a local bus wasn't comfy exactly, but the guide assures me that things will improve the longer the rides take - wait and see!
    Keiko seems to be losing ...    Read more

  • Ruedi MeyerSouth AmericaRuedi Meyer

    Huacachina

    June 6, 2016 in Peru ⋅ 🌙 -3 °C

    This is an action and activity-packed day, starting with a visit to Ballestas Island, a large conservation area closed to tourists. Boats take tourists close to the guano-covered island, with literally millions of birds (terns, even condors and more common species - sorry, I'm not an expert on birds😏), plus cute little Humboldt penguins, sealions - no dolphins for us, though😟
    After that a much more comfy mini bus whisks us off to a winery, where we get a quick intro into Pisco-making and a tasting session (after the the long dry election period spell😠) and then on to Huacachuna , where I first taste Ceviche, a delightful raw fish dish. This is a gem of an oasis in the midst of fine-grained sandy dunes. Then, though maybe not 100% ecologically correct, two of us decide to go on a buggy ride into the dunes - simply breathtaking with the wide swathes of sand in perfect sunshine - and sheer exciting fun (don't worry, we didn't drive ourselves). We even tried luging on a sandboard😄
    - and after it all a dip in the pool!    Read more

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    Nazca

    June 6, 2016 in Peru ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

    Sand dunes slowly change into arid rocky mountainous terrain as we wind our way towards Nazca - and lots of plastic and garbage lying around whenever you get near a village or town: Peruvians are not really into recycling and such ...
    Our timing is perfect: the sun is just setting as we reach a first lookout to give us a glimpse of the Nazca lines we'll see from a bird's eye view tomorrow.
    Then it's another decent hotel in Nazca and a palatable meal in a local restaurant before we turn in after a fabulous day.    Read more

  • Ruedi MeyerSouth AmericaRuedi Meyer

    Necropolis de Chauchilla

    June 7, 2016 in Peru ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Just a quick update: in the morning we went to visit the Nazca culture Necropolis, just the seven of us. The shamans and ritual sacrifices were buried fully covered and in a sitting position. Due to the dry climate (there is half an hour of rainfall in two years!) they're very well preserved and grin at you eerily. Then we treated ourselves to a half-hour flight to get an airborne view of the Nazca Lines - amazing!
    We had a very knowledgeable guide - more info and pictures later-we're getting ready for our 10-hour bus ride to Arequipa ...😏😜    Read more

  • Ruedi MeyerSouth AmericaRuedi Meyer

    Close to Arequipa

    June 8, 2016 in Peru ⋅ 🌙 13 °C

    It's close to midnight and we've almost made it to Arequipa😴😴 Had some great views of the setting sun while driving south along the coast.🌅
    This hotel is a beaut in Tuscan style - but now to bed ...

  • Ruedi MeyerSouth AmericaRuedi Meyer
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    Arequipa

    June 8, 2016 in Peru ⋅ 🌙 12 °C

    We have spent today in Peru's second largest city, called the 'white city' for its beautifully preserved cityscape in the centre going back to colonial times. The building material, soft 'sillas' volcanic stone, hails from the nearby volcanoes, which are still active, and it allows for intricate carvings. The softness is no problem, as there is no acid rain here👍
    The market is a unique feast of colour with all the produce from the fertile soil in this area. We've also visited one of the main attractions, the Santa Catalina Monastery, a Dominican nunnery - a huge complex amply provided for by the Catholic church ( a large and rich landowner around here and exempt from taxes, of course🤔😏). In the evening, we sample some more of the excellent Peruvian food - and I have my first Diamox pill to ward off altitude sickness in preparation for things to come ...    Read more

  • Ruedi MeyerSouth AmericaRuedi Meyer

    Chivay

    June 9, 2016 in Peru ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Just a short update: after a bus ride of 5 hours through impressive Andean landscapes including the highest point on our trip (4910 meters a.s.l.), we've made it to Chivay (3600 m.a.s.l) - nap time, then hot springs and some folklore later. The altitude gets to you, but I'm feeling fine for now.
    We saw some of the wild vicunas- most graceful creatures- plus llamas and alpacas: they are domesticated and especially alpaca wool allows the locals a decent living as far as it goes. Alpaca meat is excellent, by the way!
    After taking a diamox pill last night, altitude sickness wasn't an issue really, but of course we just left the bus to take in the breathtaking scenery and take some pics at the highest point. We'll see what it does to us on the trail😏 The coca tea was really tasty and heartening, too.    Read more

  • Ruedi MeyerSouth AmericaRuedi Meyer

    Chivay

    June 10, 2016 in Peru ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    We're up really early today to see the condors, if possible - let's keep our fingers crossed. Then our first homestay will come up, so see you later😉
    ... and we are lucky: plenty of them soaring into the sky and majestically gliding past - and all of this against the background of Colca Canyon, the second deepest in the world. We must have hit the right weather and thermic conditions👍🍀
    In the afternoon it is off to Aguas Calientes for a pleasant soak before we start our first homestay. A nice elderly couple greets us in Manakota, a village nearby. The place is nowhere as rustic as I expected, but still pretty basic - I am grateful for the decent loo because it is my turn to get the runs during the night🙃😞 Days are pleasantly warm, but nights get freezing cold in this winter season-three layers of clothing plus woollen blankets do the trick, however.
    Our hosts take us to do some field work digging potatoes, back-breaking work, which they still do at their age for 13 hours for 6+ days a week    Read more

  • Ruedi MeyerSouth AmericaRuedi Meyer

    Puno

    June 13, 2016 in Peru ⋅ ⛅ 7 °C

    We're back in Puno after a two-day boat trip on Lake Titicaca, six times the size of Lake Geneva and the highest navigable lake on earth. Our trip took us to three islands: Uros islands, man-made out of reeds, Amantani, where we had our homestay, and Taquile.
    Tourism is obviously a mainstay of the island economy, but on balance, I feel it is a good example of sustainable and responsible tourism. Tourist groups are taken to the different villages or communities on a rotation basis, so that, for the homestay on Amantani for example, families host guests every 21/2 months. Supported by the community, families build simple but functional adobe houses, where they also house their guests. Guests are requested not to give tips but maybe consider buying their handicraft, which is often of really high quality. There is always some interaction with your hosts - and due to the fact that you do not get any ensuite toilets, you get to see the most amazing starry night sky with the milky way in clear view😉🌟
    Our guide gave us a real insight into the local culture and the unique mix of natural and Christian religion.
    The communities offer primary and secondary education, there is always a - rather basic - health care centre - which locals frequent when natural cures and the shamans couldn't help.
    Still, adolescents and young adults tend to to live away from their island homes...
    The pics show Cantuta, the national flower of Peru (and sacred to the Inkas), our delicious lunch on Amantani with the most awesome view and the sunset seen from Pachatata, the sacred mountain we climbed as a first mini taster of things to come ...    Read more

  • Ruedi MeyerSouth AmericaRuedi Meyer
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    Cuzco

    June 15, 2016 in Peru ⋅ 🌙 13 °C

    What a magic and vibrant city!
    Our explorations today of Cuzco, the heart of the (Inkan) universe, started at the Coca Museum. We learned about the benign effects of these leaves since ancient times ( see pic of Inkan chewing coca - note the cheeks!) as anesthetic, restorative, for ritual purposes etc. and bought plenty of products for the trail and as presents. It is only legal in Peru and Bolivia - yes, an extract of one of its ingredients is used in the complicated chemical process of producing cocaine: it takes 300 kilos of coca leaves to produce 1 kilo of cocaine ...
    Locals use coca leaves regularly to increase their stamina - certainly needed when I think of the 13-hour workday of our hosts near Chivay😏💪
    Then on to the Plaza de Armas, the main square, where there was a folkloric dance competition of students from all over the province in celebration of the Cuzco anniversary - we watched the lively, colourful presentations under the brightest sunny sky from a restaurant terrace on the plaza.
    The Cathedral, built on the foundation of an Inkan temple, is simply breathtaking in its scale and grandeur - you begin to understand the effect of Spanish Catholicism on the mindset of the locals in the 16th/17th Century. The cui (guinea pig) on the table in the depiction of the last supper, however, is one sign of how indigenous rituals fused with and changed the newly dominant religion.
    And finally, the Archeological museum gave us a sense of historical perspective by allowing ample space to the rich pre-Incan cultures reaching back to 1000BC (first cultural artifacts: 5000BC).
    Resting on the Plaza de Armas soaked in sunlight, wandering through the narrow alleyways - a relaxing way to gear up for our Machu Picchu hike. It's goodbye to Cuzco and findpenguins for the time being at 5:40 tomorrow ...    Read more

  • Ruedi MeyerSouth AmericaRuedi Meyer
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    Quarry Trail, Ollantaytambo

    June 17, 2016 in Peru ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    The quarry trail, offered as an alternative to the Inka Trail when this is 'full', is certainly a great alternative to the genuine article: it takes you higher than the Inka Trail, you meet next to no other hikers, there are some interesting Inkan and pre-Inkan sites to explore - and the landscape is simply breathtaking: when you get to the second-highest point (4400m), Puccaqasa Pass, a splendid range of mountains opens up in front of you, which makes up for all the hardship and possible breathing problems on this second and hardest part of the trail (8 hours of walking not including the breaks in high altitude terrain - I was 'lucky' as I didn't feel any serious effects). I immediately fell in love with Veronica, an absolute beauty of a snow-covered mountain, which accompanied us for the rest of our journey.
    Another hit was the wind gate, a sacred place up in the mountain, which you saw from afar and where the sun started to set when we got there. We only had to carry day packs - horses brought along the rest. There was a team of 4 horsemen and two cooks to accompany us - the food the cooks conjured up from a simple field kitchen was simply fabulous: it even included a birthday cake on the last morning of our trip!
    Still, it was not glamping exactly, as the nights were bitterly cold and we were glad to get a shower and a warm hotel bed before we climbed up to Machu Picchu on Sunday.
    This was another advantage over the Inka Trail, as that didn't afford an extra night to relax before Machu Picchu.    Read more

  • Ruedi MeyerSouth AmericaRuedi Meyer

    Machu Picchu

    June 19, 2016 in Peru ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    After a short night's sleep, 6 of us got up at 4:30 (you get used to getting up early on this trip😉) and, to the surprise of our guides, decided to climb up to Machu Picchu instead of waiting for the bus for ages. We got there after an hour of covering 500 meters of altitude climbing up uneven stairs predominantly, which was definitely a good feeling - we realized why most tourists preferred the bus ride, though😜😅
    We took a tour of this fascinating site shrouded in mist (no sunrise for us) - later, however, when we reached the famous Sun Gate, Machu Picchu lay below us in brilliant sunshine, the crowds disappeared in the distance and we experienced the sheer magic of this sacred Inka shrine.
    In the late afternoon it was back to Cuzco.    Read more

  • Ruedi MeyerSouth AmericaRuedi Meyer

    Puerto Maldonado - Cayman Lodge

    June 22, 2016 in Peru ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    The last stage of our 'Peru Encompassed' tour took us to the jungle - a very short but most impressive final leg of our splendid Peru tour.
    Cayman Lodge, situated in the Tambopata Nature Reserve near the Bolivian border,and on the shore of a tributary to the Amazon ( 200km further up this river you would still find tribes untouched by civilization...) fully deserves its name, as on our night boat trip, we discovered a whole family of caymans on the shore😊
    Other highlights included a night trail where we discovered all kinds of creepy crawlies - and I got a nice shot of a tarantula (see pics)!
    The 5-hour day trip (starting at 6:30 - but we got used to early hours on this trip😏) with our experienced guide gave us insights into the typical features and uses of trees and plants (the walking tree, Parapara etc.) and included a boat trip where we spotted a baby anaconda - we were actually quite lucky with the numbers of live creatures we came to see...    Read more

  • Ruedi MeyerSouth AmericaRuedi Meyer

    Lima II

    June 24, 2016 in Peru ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    ... and then we were whisked back from Puerto Maldonado to Lima - via Cuzco, where Cris, our delightful guide, a native Cuzcenian, left us.
    On Thursday night, it was goodbye to some of our travel companions - and on Friday morning, Trudy and I took in a heavy dose of Catholic Spanish colonial architecture: the Cathedral (almost as impressive as the one in Cuzco) and the archbiscopal palace - the riches on display are simply mind-boggling. -see pics!
    As if this were not enough, I took a tour of the Franciscan Monastery and its famous ossiary - and then relaxed during a stroll through the Mercado Central, bustling with people and life.    Read more

  • Ruedi MeyerSouth AmericaRuedi Meyer

    Quito

    June 27, 2016 in Ecuador ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

    Spanish colonial times have left their indelible stamp on the houses and the grand religious buildings in Quito's centre - and indeed, on a Saturday night, churches are packed during mass: after all, more than 80% of the population are practising Catholics...
    But then, of course, there is another side to this, as impressively demonstrated in the Casa del Alabado Museum, whose displays of Pre-Colombian artefacts, combined with succinct comments on their importance in the spiritual pre-colonial world, are simply superb ...
    ... and in addition, I came to admire the works of Alfredo Guayasamin as displayed in his museum and the aptly called 'Capilla del Hombre', a shrine for his large-scale paintings of human suffering in the 20th Century, of human diversity, conveying a powerful humanistic message beyond religious faiths - just to think that I had never heard of this great agnostic artist before!
    Now it's back to school - with a sprightly, vivacious Afro-Ecuadorian called Vanessa, who will take me on a 'Travelling Classroom' tour of Ecuador during the next two weeks...    Read more

  • Ruedi MeyerSouth AmericaRuedi Meyer

    Otavalo

    June 27, 2016 in Ecuador ⋅ 🌙 13 °C

    My Spanish teacher is passionate - and somewhat opinionated - about her subject and Ecuador: she keeps me on my toes: 2 to 5 hours of lessons a day, some homework, and full immersion into Spanish during meals and excursions. She is widely travelled in South America, fiercely independent (after some tough experiences in the past) and patriotic, highlighting the very hands-on achievements of the Correa government: great strides in public education, a free public health system, a decent minimum wage, regular payment of salaries, improved public transport ...
    In the Otavalo region, I get to see the market, of course, and the Peguche waterfall in one of the nature reserves which are free to the public.    Read more

  • Ruedi MeyerSouth AmericaRuedi Meyer

    Chucchilan

    July 1, 2016 in Ecuador ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    Riding (!) at an altitude of above 4000m a.s.l. along the ridge on a narrow path above Lake Quilotoa, an impressive defunct volcano, is a unique experience. It's my first time on horseback, though, and the beginning of my ride isn't very promising, as I'm rather overwhelmed and paralyzed by the whole thing at first. My guide, Bernardo, does a good job, however, and I start to relax after a while - but I still shudder at the memory of the narrow, uneven pathways we trod. The overwhelming beauty and the peace and quiet easily made up for that - and for the sores I felt after the 5-hour ride.
    'Cloud Forest' Hostal is one of the more basic accommodations on this trip. Their breakfast, however, is delightfully rich and, also thanks to Vanessa, my bubbly and sociable teacher, we have some animated conversations with backpackers from all over - meeting so many different people is one of the beauties of this trip as a whole, I'm sure.    Read more

  • Ruedi MeyerSouth AmericaRuedi Meyer

    Banos

    July 2, 2016 in Ecuador ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    The first pic shows the view from a cafe halfway up the mountain near Banos. It is owned by a Swiss, who actually worked as a kindergarden teacher in Davos Glaris at some stage in her former life☺️
    I had an animated conversation with her about life in Ecuador - until my stomach 'caught up with me'😟😝. Time out, back to hotel, lie very low for a while🙃
    There's also a pic of the kind of 'bus stops' (this is the exit of a motorway actually) where you wait for overland coaches. They are comfy enough, you can travel all day for about $5 - and very often I was the only 'gringo' on the bus.    Read more

  • Ruedi MeyerSouth AmericaRuedi Meyer
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    Banos II

    July 4, 2016 in Ecuador ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    It's all rice, bananas, water, Bioflorin today - but in the afternoon I decide to venture out a bit and get a taxi. Pedro, the taxi driver, takes me up to the swing at Casa Arbol - and then he suggests going up the other side of Banos, too. We are rewarded with some rather splendid views of Banos, the valley leading towards the Amazon - and yes, of Tungurahua, the volcano, appearing above the clouds🍀🗻For the last few years, it has been active again. You can see the lava and for a few months a year, you can observe smoke at least at the top.Read more

  • Ruedi MeyerSouth AmericaRuedi Meyer

    Riobamba, Hostal Oasis

    July 6, 2016 in Ecuador ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    Didn't see much of this place - the pics are mostly from the bus ride Riobamba - Cuencas ( 51/2 hours after waiting for the bus for an hour - I seem to spend a lot of this Ecuador trip on public buses 😏🚌 ).Read more

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