Izzy meets Elvis!

Ok, so its not THAT Elvis.... but still! Elvis (our guide) had a bit of an obsession for very dodgy Peruvian Ragatong music, and here Izzy is getting a serious introduction.... poor thing!

The trials of the Cordilliera Blanca

In the first photo, Izzy and I recover and celebrate reaching the top of Union Point (the highest point of our trek) after a four hour climb that felt more like four days to me... but I made it somehow! Below, on the third day it rained all morning and we managed to take a bit of a detour on some marshland thanks to our guide, but in the afternoon the sun came out and the scenery left us with smiles on our faces.

Cordilliera Blanca

Some of the stunning views we had during our four day trek through the Corilliera Blanca. Tom´s catching his breath here, whislt some lakes were so clear and still the mountains reflect perfectly in them.

Huaca de la Luna

The Huacas del Sol y de la Luna (Temples of the Sun and Moon) were built by pre-Inca people near the current town of Trujillio in northern Peru. The Moon temple is the only one that has been investigated so far, and the art-work that has been uncovered is very impressive and incredibly well preserved.

Vilcabamba.... a hidden paradise

This was the view I woke to one morning from my bed in Vilcabamba. The place we stayed here was hidden up the valley of the Rio Yamalla, and was a great place to hike for a couple of days.

Tom´s Birthday

Caroline, Tom and I celebrate Tom´s birthday in Cuenca with a great meal and five bottles of Tom´s favourite Argentinian and Chilean wine! A very good evening altogether!

Nariz del Diablo

The beautiful, and slightly scary views, from the top of the "Nariz del Diablo" train ride in central Ecuador. Its not everyday of the week you get to sit ontop of the train your riding!

Time to catch-up!

I think its been over a month since my last proper post, and a few weeks since I managed to put the photos on, so a decent update is well ovedue!

Since the last real post from Baños, I´ve ridden on top of the Nariz del Diablo train, stayed in the beautiful village of Vilcabamba (Ecuador), visited the very interesting Sun and Moon Temples in Trujillio, trekked in the stunning Cordilliera Blanca, checked out the fascinating Inca ruins of the Sacred Valley around Cusco, and been to Cañon del Colca to check out the cruising Condors (Peru). And along the way I´ve met some great friends too, who´ve added even more fun to the adventures.

I´ll sort out the Machu Picchu photos when I get a chance, but here are the best of the rest for the moment.

Photos so far

Right, there's lots of them, and I must warn you that not all of them are that interesting or make sense.... AND I haven't put titles on them.... but here are links to the albums of all my photos on the trip so far.

Hope you enjoy them all, and don't say I didn't warn you about how many there are!

Ecuador 1: Quito, Mitad del Mundo, and more Quito.

Ecuador 2: Otavalo, Cotopaxi, Quilotoa and Baños

Ecuador 3: more Baños, Nariz del Diablo train, Cuenca and Vilcabamba

Peru 1: The Andean road into Peru, Temples of the Sun and the Moon, Huaraz and the Cordilliera Blanca.

The next few weeks will revolve around Cusco, the Inca Trail, and then Arequipa I think. So hope you like these photos as there's lots more mountains to come!

And so to Peru

Well, its three weeks into the South America leg of this trip, and I've now made it to Peru. And it was quite an effort to get here too! Left Loja in southern Ecuador at 7am, and arrived here in Piura, northern Peru, at about 5pm. Yes TEN hours, and we (Tom from the USA, who I'm travelling with for a bit) are due to spend another six hours to head south to Trujillo tonight, and then... hopefully.... we'll have another eight hours tomorrow morning to Huaraz.

That trip should be worth the time though as Huaraz and the Cordilleria Blanca part of the Andes are supposed to contain some of the most beautiful and breath-taking scenery, hiking and trekking on the whole continent.

So, with three hours before our bus leaves, what do you do on a Friday night in an incredibly hectic and hot city such as Piura (which I hope to leave still having all my valuables and other bits attached to me). Head for the Internet of course!!! If anyone has any other bright ideas then please let me on a postcard to the usual address! Haha!

A volcano in action

This is the sight that welcomes you to Baños. The local volcano shooting a column of ash and dust high into the air, just as it has done for the last 6 years or so since it became active again. It took two years to be down-graded to amber than yellow alert, and for life to return as to locals reclaimed their city. (click the photo for a bigger version.. I hope.)

So now to Baños!

The scenery in the Andes is quite literally breath-taking (especially when trying to climb it!). The roads winding away from Latacunga to Quilotoa, and here arond the town of Baños provide beautiful look-out spots from which to take it all in. On our hike up the hill, we met a very friendly local, Carlos, who works for the civil defence force in monitoring the very much active volcano that currently overlooks the city. Officially no-one should be in this city, but its been on yellow alert for about 4 years now and no-one seems particularly concerned as daily life continues fairly normally.

Not again!!

Laslo and I consider the enjoyment of a hike at 4000m for the second time in two days, and also the possibilitiy of an eruption, and how much fun that could be!!

Laguna Quilotoa

Izzy considers going for a swim in the lake that's formed inside the crater of Quilotoa. Another active but largely dormant volcano in central Ecuador. At 4000m high at the tip of the rim, its another breathless hike down into, and back up the crater.

Real celebrations!

Laslo and I decided to celebrate in a slightly different way! Someone in the climbers refuge decided it would be a great idea to sell beer there... so what else could we do?! "Possibly the highest beer in the World?!" Haha!

Reward!

Here Laslo and Kate (on exchange from Germany and Belgium) relax with Izzy at reaching the refuge. Kate had brought some of her birthday cake from last week to celebrate with (which Izzy really enjoyed!)

Volcan Cotopaxi

This is from the climb up the currently dormant Volcano Cotopaxi, in central Ecuador. From the car park at 4500m to the climbers refuge at 4800m may not seem a great distance, but the altitude and soft volcanic sands make it very slow and hard going.

Mmmmmm!

Apart from steaks, South America isn't really known for its food. Well, in the market town of Otavalo, there are fantastic bakeries that happen to sell delicious slices of cakes for just 50c... perfect as dessertfor hungry "gringos" and polarbears alike. You have no idea of the will-power it took to not eat this straight away. There's only a few people who I know that make better cakes... but I won't embarrass them on here as I'm sure they already know.

...OR is THIS the Mitad del Mundo?!

Actually they all are, but strictly speaking the first one is 270m out. Yes, that's the monument that has been placed where the French explorers calculated the equator to be about 300 years ago. However, the ancient pre-Inca tribes had plotted it ontop of the hill (hopefully you can see a small mound where a semi-circle and tree mark the spot), and this line goes exactly through the equator, which has its own unofficial museum next to the "official" one.

The unofficial one that actually goes overthe equator is best, as here you get to try balancing an egg on the head of a nail (which I managed to do and got a certificate for - yeay me!!!), something which is virtually impossible off the equator apparently, watch the water go down plug-holes different ways, and loads of other cool stuff.

... Or is THIS the Mitad del Mundo?.....

(See that little mound on the top of the hill?... thats the important bit!)