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South American Adventure
  • Happy Days Travel
  • Mark Wade
  • Happy Days Travel
  • Mark Wade

South American Adventure

This epic eight-month overlanding trip through South America has been a long time in the planning! We will be visiting Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile, Peru, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Brazil. Exciting times! 😊 Weiterlesen
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  • South American Adventure

    Foodie walking tour

    24. November 2024 in Peru ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    I had another broken night because of all the noise in the street outside our window! After breakfast, Mark, Trudi, and I joined the foodie walking tour from the hostel.  We retraced our route to the historic centre that we took yesterday.  Thankfully, being Sunday, it was much quieter than yesterday.

    We headed straight for Lima's main market where our guide, Wendy, explained all about the different meats (including guinea pig and baby goat (identified by their tails still being attached to the carcass)) and fish on sale.  Peruvians waste nothing from any animal that is butchered for food.  Beef heart is a delicacy, as is tripe and oxtail.

    The first thing we tried was local olives stuffed with chestnuts and spicy peppers.  I'm not an olive fan, but Mark loved them.  We bought some for him to have on the truck tomorrow.    Weiterlesen

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  • South American Adventure

    Fruit tasting and Chinatown

    24. November 2024 in Peru ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    After that, we had the opportunity to taste several different Peruvian fruits including lucuma, granadilla, tuna, chirimoya, maracuya, aguaymanto, and guanabana.  Most were delicious.  Some were more of an acquired taste!

    We also tried coca leaves, made more palatable by the addition of tocaya, a sweet minty paste.

    From the central market, we walked the short distance to Chinatown.  In the 1850s, the Peruvian government, faced with a labour shortage to build Lima, sponsored 100,000 Chinese workers to come and help out.  Today, their descendents number over 1 million, and there is a thriving foodie culture.  We tried pork dumplings and buns, neither of which were to our taste!

    Our last stop of the tour was at a churros stand where, against my better judgement, I tried a very sickly sample stuffed with hot caramel.    Weiterlesen

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  • South American Adventure

    Back to Miraflores

    24. November 2024 in Peru ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    After the tour, we made our way back to Miraflores with Wendy. Once there, we called in to the poshest supermarket in Lima to buy drinks, yoghurts, and fruit for the truck tomorrow.

    Back at the hostel, I worked on some posts in the coworking area while Mark sorted the bags out and caught up on the weekend's sport. With two races of the season still to go, Max Verstappen has secured his 4th driver's championship title. Spurs beating Man City 4-0 made up for Mark’s disappointment at the F1 result.

    Later, we ate in the hostel bar. I had a Caesar salad, and Mark had a club sandwich. We both had an affogato for dessert - definitely too much sugar in one day for me!

    We met the four new people who are joining the truck tomorrow. It won't feel crowded, though, as 3 existing group members are staying on in Lima for a few days.    Weiterlesen

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  • South American Adventure

    Drive to Paracas

    25. November 2024 in Peru ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    We were up early to pack and be outside, ready for Ritchie to bring the truck from the parking lot.  Armed with our packed breakfast from the hostel (an apple, a cereal bar, a small packet of crackers, and a bottle of water), we were soon on our way.

    It was a very foggy morning, so we couldn’t see much as we made our way out of the city and headed south along the coast road.  Eventually, the fog did lift, and we saw that we were on a long straight highway with coastal desert on both sides and a hazy ocean off to our right.  It wasn’t easy to photograph any of this.

    At around 11am, we stopped at a service station for toilets.  They turned out to be the best toilets we have seen in South America so far!  The café and shop were amazing, too!  We didn't need anything, but I found Avon 3 in 1 skincare, so I had to buy it!  I took photos of the Christmas decorations as well!  I know that everywhere in the UK will have had their decorations up for weeks, but to see them here in Peru made us realise that the festive season is soon upon us!

    After our stop, we continued to drive through the desert.    Weiterlesen

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  • South American Adventure

    Arriving in Paracas

    25. November 2024 in Peru ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    It wasn’t long before we arrived in the coastal town of Paracas.  We were staying in a private room at the Viajero Hostel.  Our rooms weren't ready, so we stowed our bags and relaxed in the bar until they were.  We made up the tuna rolls we had brought with us to have for lunch, and took some photos around the place.  We were in a lovely spot right on the beach.

    Paracas is a Peruvian port city founded in 1820.  The main attractions of this popular holiday resort are its pleasant climate, its beach, its seaside residences and hotels, and its restaurants serving typical local cuisine based on fish and seafood.

    From its fishing port, there are excursions to visit the Ballestas Islands and the Chincha Islands.  Animals such as dolphins, Humboldt penguins, sea lions or parihuanas, and many others, can be seen.  Also within its boundaries is the Paracas National Reserve with its great diversity of fauna and flora, the only protected area in the entire country.  

    Our rooms were ready at 2.30pm, so we were able to get ourselves organised before our buggy driving activity at 4pm.    Weiterlesen

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  • South American Adventure

    Buggy driving in the desert

    25. November 2024 in Peru ⋅ 🌬 23 °C

    At 4pm, the 12 of us who had booked the buggy driving were transported the short distance to the starting point in taxis.  There, we were given a rudimentary lesson in how to drive the buggy.  Basically, there's a stop pedal and a go pedal - no gears or anything complicated!  We were told to wear jackets, given helmets, and we were off!

    In the beginning, we were at the head of our convoy, just behind the guide, keeping a 5-metre distance as we'd been instructed.  We drove out of town and onto the main highway where we were soon overtaken by Sam and Megan and Greg and Britt.  We had to stop at the entrance to the national park in order to pay a fee.

    Then, we were off road and driving through the desert to our first stop at a rock formation known as The Cathedral.  This once-regal sea arch was an icon of the coastline of Paracas.  Unfortunately, it was largely destroyed in the 2007 earthquake that devastated the region, but it is still a nice spot to admire the spectacular scenery.  We spent 20 minutes there taking photos and bird spotting.    Weiterlesen

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  • South American Adventure

    The drive continues

    25. November 2024 in Peru ⋅ 🌬 21 °C

    Then, we drove on to our second stop - a stunning beach where, again, we saw plenty of seabirds.  While we were there, Megan complained to the guide that he was driving too slowly and that the trip was boring.  She begged him to go faster and asked him to introduce some excitement into proceedings.  I don’t think it's quite what she had in mind, but, before the next stop at a bay surrounded by red cliffs, her and Sam had managed to lose a backpack out of the side of their buggy, Britt and Greg had broken down, and Shonagh and Trudi and ourselves had got our buggies stuck in sandbanks!

    Our final stop was to watch the sunset, but it was a bit cold and windy by then, so we opted to return to town.  While we were discussing this, Nikki sent a message to the group chat to tell us we are having a meeting at 11am tomorrow before we leave Paracas.  This led to a flurry of speculation.  The consensus was that she wants to talk to us about recent incidents of inappropriate behaviour and heavy drinking within the group.    Weiterlesen

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  • South American Adventure

    Boat trip

    26. November 2024 in Peru ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    We had booked a boat trip to the Ballestas Islands, also known as 'the poor man's Galapagos'.  Most of the group had opted to go, apart from Greg and Britt, who recently visited the real Galapagos, and another member who didn’t want to be considered 'a poor man' 😂.

    In the event, we didn’t get to the Ballestas Islands because the authorities had closed them due to adverse weather conditions.  Instead, we went to Blanca Island, which has the same biodiversity, but is protected within the natural harbour of Paracas.

    On the way out to the island, we saw sealions frolicking in the sea and basking on a buoy.    Weiterlesen

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  • South American Adventure

    The candelabra

    26. November 2024 in Peru ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    We also paused to look at a mysterious carving on the cliff face.  This artwork, first seen in the 1860s, was named 'the candelabra', although some people think it looks more like a cactus!  Nobody knows how or when it was made.  When it was discovered, it was found to be 15cm deep, which is deeper than the much more famous Nazca Lines.  Now, it is only 7cm deep, so it is disappearing.  I feel privileged that we saw it.

    When we reached the island, we saw thousands of birds including Peruvian boobies, cormorants, Humboldt penguins, pelicans, Inca terns, and many others.  We also saw more sealions and many large red crabs clinging to the rock face.    Weiterlesen

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  • South American Adventure

    The meeting

    26. November 2024 in Peru ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    We stayed circling the island taking photos and admiring the rock formations for about 20 minutes before heading back to Paracas.  We had really enjoyed the trip.  It reminded us of our excursion to the Farne Islands last year!

    Back at the hostel, we had our meeting with Nikki and Ritchie.  All the speculation had been way off the mark!  What they wanted to tell us was that there is currently industrial unrest here in Peru and that it might affect our onward travel between here and Cusco and even further south.  The miners are protesting and have set up road blocks on all major routes.  Nikki and Ritchie wanted to give us the heads up because they know we have all booked expensive nonrefundable excursions around Cusco, especially to the big bucket list destination - Machu Picchu.  They are in touch with contacts on our route ahead, as well as back in Lima.  They will update us in the morning.  In the meantime, we are leaving for our next destination, Huacachina.

    Obviously, the news set off a flurry of speculation and a certain amount of panic among some members of the group who immediately began researching buses back to Lima and flights to Cusco in order not to miss their Machu Picchu experiences.   Others, including us, vowed to 'wait and see'.    Weiterlesen

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  • South American Adventure

    Huacachina oasis

    26. November 2024 in Peru ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    The drive to Huacachina only took around 90 minutes.  The reason for coming here was for an optional Mad Max style dune buggy ride up to some high dunes, the chance to sand board down the dunes, and the opportunity to camp out in the desert overnight.  Those who weren't doing this could just chill around the pool at the hostel.

    We had upgraded from a dorm room to a glamping tent.  I wouldn't call it glamping (no bathroom), but it was a private space and would do for one night.

    While we waited for our rooms to be ready, most of us ordered lunch in the bar by the pool.  Inevitably, conversation turned to the political situation unfolding in Peru.  A couple of people have already decided to return to Lima and make their own way to Cusco.  We are loathe to do that, mainly because we are then certain to miss out on the flight over the Nazca Lines.  We will still wait and see.

    After lunch, we went for a walk around Huacachina.  It didn’t take long!  The village grew up around a desert lagoon surrounded by palm trees.  Visitors are attracted by the chance to sandboard down the dunes that circle the place, but the village itself is very run down and tired looking.  It isn't a very appealing place to get stuck, so fingers crossed we can move on tomorrow!

    We spent the evening chatting to other group members.    Weiterlesen

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  • South American Adventure

    Drive to Nazca

    27. November 2024 in Peru ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    I had a reasonably good night's sleep but was still up two hours earlier than I needed to be. Once the others got back from their desert camp, we had breakfast, and Nikki and Ritchie updated us on the road blocks situation. Although there are no guarantees, they were generally confident that we would be able to get through to Cusco before our deadline of December 4th. They couldn’t tell us how long it is likely to take or which way we will have to go. Armed with this information, most of us decided to stay with the truck. Four people chose to head back to Lima and take flights to Cusco.

    Ritchie was keen for us to get going, so we said hurried goodbyes and hit the road. We stopped at a supermarket in the first town we came to to stock up with personal supplies and food for a couple of days truck catering. No matter what was ahead, we wouldn't starve!

    We drove on towards Nazca through stunning scenery, pausing briefly to have a look at the geoglyphs known as the Palpa Lines. These lines predate the more famous Nazca Lines. The Palpa compositions usually feature human figures or creatures and are generally believed to be the handiwork of the Paracas culture, which lasted from c.800 BC to AD 1. This is before the Nazca culture, which existed from c.1 to 650 AD.    Weiterlesen

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  • South American Adventure

    Crossing a picket line to visit a museum

    27. November 2024 in Peru ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    Some lorries and buses coming towards us were sprayed with graffiti so we knew there was trouble ahead.  Before long, we saw protesters in the road holding a huge Peruvian flag across the carriageway.  We could go no further!  We pulled in to a garage forecourt.  Ritchie went to talk to the protesters to see if they would allow us to walk across the picket line to visit a museum about the Nazca Lines located just the other side.

    'Nazca Lines' refers to the ancient geometric lines that crisscross the Nazca desert and the enigmatic animal geoglyphs that accompany them.  These great etchings are thought to have been made by a pre-Inca civilisation between AD 450 and 600.  Nobody really knows how.  

    A few minutes later, Ritchie returned to say the strikers had agreed to let us walk through!  He said they were very good natured.  So, the majority of us walked the ten minutes or so through the lines of protesters and their families, across a bridge, and arrived at the museum.

    The Museo Maria Reiche is dedicated to the work of a German born mathematician who became a Peruvian citizen and spent her entire life researching and mapping the mysterious Nazca Lines.  The museum is in her former home.  She lived in one spartan room which has been left as she had it.  Her VW combi van is in the garden.  She is also buried in the grounds, alongside her sister who worked with her.

    It was fascinating to learn about Maria and her life and work.    Weiterlesen

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  • South American Adventure

    Stuck in a blockade

    27. November 2024 in Peru ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

    As we came out of the museum, surprisingly Ritchie was driving the truck up the road towards us!  He had played the tourist card and the protesters had let him through!

    However, a few kilometres further on, just six and a half kilometres shy of our hotel for the night, we hit our second roadblock.  This time, we were at the back of a huge queue of lorries, and it looked like we were in for a long wait.  We were OK, though.  We had plenty of food and drink and were comfortable enough on the truck. 

    After about half an hour, we struck lucky when a local car driver offered to lead us, and a Swiss family in an overlanding vehicle, on an off-road route which would allow us to bypass the blockade.  So that's what we did.  It took us almost two hours and the lack of road was a bit hairy in places, but we made it to our hotel before dark.  We probably wouldn't have had we stayed in the queue!  At one point during the detour, we drove past a huge line of stationary trucks on the wrong side of the road!  I don’t think the drivers were impressed!    Weiterlesen

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  • South American Adventure

    Flight over the Nazca Lines

    28. November 2024 in Peru ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    We had a relaxed truck breakfast at 8 this morning.  Ritchie made his delicious savoury egg muffins with bacon and did some toast, too.

    Seventeen members of the group had booked to do the light aircraft flight over the Nazca Lines this morning.  It cost $100 each.  We wouldn't have done it had it not been for the money Fiona and Mike gave us before we came away.  We will be forever grateful. 

    We were picked up at 10am in a minibus and a car for the transfer to the airport.  We had to navigate our way through the queues of trucks to get there.

    Once at the airport, we had to check in at the Aeronasca desk.  We needed to present our passports, leave all of our bags, and get on the scales to be weighed!  Many of the group said they had gained weight and put it down to too many truck snacks!  I appear to have lost a bit more despite not being able to stick to the low-carb regime. 

    We were divided into three groups for the flight so that our weight was distributed evenly!  The first group was called to the gate quite quickly.  We were in the third group and had to wait quite a while.  When our turn came, our co-pilot, Luis, came to the terminal to meet us and escort us to our plane, a 6-seater Cessna, the smallest aircraft we've ever been in.  After a group photo outside, we got into our preassigned seats (with difficulty!), and were soon taxiing to the runway.    Weiterlesen

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  • South American Adventure

    The flight

    28. November 2024 in Peru ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

    Our 35-minute flight took us over the most famous of the Nazca Lines, as well as lots of straight lines and geometric shapes.  We saw the astronaut, the spider, the condor, the hummingbird, the monkey, the dog, the cat, the tree, the hands, the heron, the parrot, the whale, and the compass.  It was mind-blowing to see them in reality.  However, it was incredibly difficult to take photos as we couldn’t see what we were doing!  I hope that, between the whole group, we have some decent shots.

    In our plane, we all felt fine for the first 15 minutes of the flight, but then all the weaving and turning got to us!  Gill, Solenne, and I felt very sick!  Fortunately, we managed not to throw up!  Back on the ground, we found out that most people felt the same way, but only one of the group had actually been ill.    Weiterlesen

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  • South American Adventure

    Lunch, shopping, and cooking

    28. November 2024 in Peru ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    Once everyone was back on the ground, we caught the minibus back to the hotel.  Those of us who are in the cook groups for the next couple of days, including me (tomorrow) and Mark (the day after), got off in town to do the shopping.  

    On the way to the market, we saw a local restaurant doing a menu del dia for 15 soles (about £3), so we decided to eat before shopping.  Inside, the restaurant was very fancy with elaborate chandeliers, heavy wooden furniture, and a very plush settee!  Unfortunately, the food didn’t quite match up to the decor, but it filled a hole!

    After lunch, we did the shopping.  I'm doing a cottage pie for tomorrow's bush camp dinner, and Mark's doing tuna and sweetcorn pasta for the day after.  It was a bit of a mission to get everything we needed - compromises had to be made!

    With the shopping done, we got a taxi back to the hotel, where I called on my team members Lena and Chrissy to help me prepare our dishes for tomorrow.  Mark and Marina also gave us a hand.  We made up a cottage pie and a vegetarian version, so we just have to reheat them and cook some broccoli in camp tomorrow.  Now I have to trust that Ritchie can get them there in one piece!

    We cleared the kitchen by just after 5 so that Shanda and Solenne could cook tonight's dinner.  They made a vegetarian bean chilli with rice.  At dinner, Nikki and Ritchie laid out our onward plans.  At the moment, they are both confident that they can get us to Cusco by December 1st as planned, despite the ongoing industrial unrest.  Fingers crossed!    Weiterlesen

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  • South American Adventure

    A long drive over the Andes

    29. November 2024 in Peru ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    Breakfast was at 8 this morning for us to be on the road by 9.  It was sunny and hot first thing, but we were returning to altitude so we fully expected it to turn colder.  We had packed a bag for two (or possibly three!) nights bush camping accordingly!

    On the road, we were going in the opposite direction to the massive queue of trucks still trying to get into Nazca, so we hoped to have a clear run through.  We did have a short delay but managed to get out of town by 10.

    We were soon gaining attitude as we ascended a dramatic road full of hairpin bends.  We reached 4200 metres above sea level.  The scenery was stark and rocky, with very little growing apart from a few cactus.  As we climbed higher, the sun disappeared, black clouds rolled in, and we had some rain.

    There was very little traffic coming towards us, but some trucks that did had been sprayed with graffiti expressing support for the striking miners.  This suggested that they had come through some roadblocks.  We were anticipating the worst.    Weiterlesen

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  • South American Adventure

    The drive continues

    29. November 2024 in Peru ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    At the top of the mountains, we entered the Pampa Galeras National Park.  The surrounding land became a plateau, and pampas grass was growing in abundance.

    We saw vikuna and llama grazing.

    As we descended again, the landscape became much more verdant.  We were back to negotiating switchback roads.  We also began to see strange tall, thin, straight cacti with unusual curly fronds on them.Weiterlesen

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  • South American Adventure

    An epic drive

    29. November 2024 in Peru ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    We stopped for a late truck lunch.  As nice as it was, I was already worrying about dinner!  We were still at 2500 metres.  It was cold and windy so we were all adding layers and changing from shorts to trousers!

    Suitably refreshed, we pushed on.  We climbed again, up to 4500 metres this time.  We stayed at this altitude for miles.  It started to rain heavily.  None of us were relishing the prospect of bush camping (or cooking!) in the wet and cold!

    The verges of the winding roads we were travelling on all day were littered with memorials to people who have died in motor vehicle accidents, as many as 20 or 30 on particularly dangerous bends.  It was a sobering thought as darkness fell!

    We carried on through the evening as the rain continued.  We passed through villages where we thought we might have stopped to ask if we could camp in a sports field or school grounds (as we have done before when overlanding through Africa).  But we didn't stop.  We kept on driving.  Eventually, we stopped at a roadside diner.  Ritchie came in the back where Nikki was to ask what she thought we should do!  We were baffled, to be honest.  These two nights were scheduled as bush camps on the itinerary.  We hadn’t been held up by any protests, so why were we in this situation?  Surely, there must have been a plan about where we might camp?

    Anyway, it was decided we would have dinner at the diner.  My cottage pies will go another day.  The food was good, but by the time we had finished, it was 9pm and we still didn’t know where we were going to sleep!

    Ritchie asked us all to get our sleeping bags out of the locker and told us he was driving on for a few miles.  He said he would find somewhere to stop but that he wouldn't come back in the truck.  He said we should just sleep in the truck!  I said that when he found somewhere, we would assess the place, but that we would probably prefer to put our tent up.  He seemed a bit reluctant to let us, but I knew neither of us would get any sleep on the truck!  There were 4 of us in the two front seats, and I was sitting by a window that leaked like a seive!  I was cold, wet, and not best pleased! 😂

    So, we drove on.  And on.  And on.  We were thinking we would never stop!  Eventually, we did pull into a makeshift campsite that the crew had used before in transit.  Why didn’t they tell us that we were heading here?  At least then we would have known what to expect.  Anyway, we arrived, and Ritchie gave those of us who wanted to, the option to pitch our tents.  We were the only ones who did, the rest of the group opting to bed down in the truck.  It was still raining a bit, but the joy of our pop-up tent is that it is up in two minutes!  We didn’t bother pegging it or using our self-inflating mattresses.  We arrived at our stop at 10.20pm and were in bed by 10.40!

    The joys of overlanding! Today will be something we can laugh about later 😂🤣.    Weiterlesen

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