Mysterious Nasca?

After a delightful few days chilling out in the posh suburb of Miraflores in Lima, I decided to head down to Nasca to check out the mysterious Nasca Lines. I had heard many mixed opinions about the place, but decided to go and form one of my own.

As soon as I jumped off the bus in the tiny town of Nasca, the hostel and tour rep´s were all over me, trying to sell their tours and accommodations. All before I even had a chance to grab my pack from under the bus! They are a pushy lot, and after another lengthy bus trip I was definitely not in the mood. I managed to agressively push my way through, find a decent hostel, have a bite to eat and then arrange the next day´s activities.

It ended up a noisy night in the hostel (thanks to the German couple next door!) so not much sleep was had. And I had to be up at 7am for a 7.30am transfer to the airport. By 8.30am I had watched a video about the lines which was incredibly boring and not that informative overall. After the video it was time to board the tiny 5 seater plane. A sudden panic almost immediately took over me. The last time I was in a plane of this size, I was on a family holiday in the States. We jumped in an 8 seater plane for a flight over the Grand Canyon where all I did was vomit the entire trip much to my families amusement. For the flight over the lines I was seated up front next to the pilot, therefore even more panicked that I may humiliate myself and vomit all over him! Thankfully I made it through the 35minute flight relatively unscathed.

Fortunately the day was clear and still, so the views over the lines were better than I had anticipated. But...I am still not sure what I really thought of the whole thing? There are many theories as to when, how, who and why these ancient images are drawn into the sand. Quite frankly, a couple of Peruvian kids could have been out there creating these images of condors, monkeys, hands and aliens as far as I was concerned. It just didn´t appear too mysterious to me and I really couldn´t comprehend why their status so famous? Each to their own I guess?

After the flight, it was a 40minute drive out to some tombs to check out some mummies. Our guide was great and very informative, but being in the cynical frame of mind that I was about this so called mysterious and famous town, I found it all a little too late to take it all too seriously. Very uncultured of me I know, but at least the mummies gave me a laugh...

29 Peruvian´s and a 1/4 Cuy

Huaraz as expected was a perfect place to relax and get well. Unfortunately not well enough to get any hiking in, but I did set out on a tour to see a few of the sights and it turned out to be quite the day.

Firstly, I was the only Gringo on the bus. The rest of the passengers were Peruvian holiday makers. That didn´t bother me at all except for the fact they were either couples or families! Spanish speaking, middle aged, middle class Peruvians...as you can imagine I was thrilled??? The guide only spoke Spanish. Good practise I thought. A positive for the day. My cynacism WAS short lived though. And as it turned out I was quite the star attraction for the Peruvian happy travellers! The fact I was travelling alone, all the way from Australia and oh so very tall, my company was in constant demand. (FYI, at home 5"9 is not out of the ordinary, but in Sth America I am about a head taller than most men!) At one point it felt like I was in China all over again with the constant requests to join the family photo´s. I am sure I am in every photo with one particular family who took a special liking to me...probably because I entertained their 8 year old daughter all day. She was my ideal Spanish speaking teacher though! By the end of the day it was Roxy this, Roxy that, Roxy join us for lunch, Roxy come visit us in Lima. The fact they were calling me Roxy was amusing in itself. So far, all the Sth Americans I have met are quite formal and only refer to me as Roxana. But these mostly city folk were quite comfortable shortening my name without a second thought. They were great fun which made for a funny ¨Spanglish¨kind of day!

The trip itself was wonderful. The Parque Nacional Huascaran & the Cordillera Blanca is quite a magical place. With the highest peaks in Peru, and in fact some of the highest in the world, the scenery is dramatic and breathtakingly beautiful. The peaks of Huascaran are the highest at 6768m, with another 50 peaks exceeding 5700m. 29 of those exceeding 6000m! Alpamayo stands at 5947m and is considered to be the most beautiful mountain in the world by many. It´s all quite mind blowing. Magic!

We stopped at the Lagunas Llanganuco. Touristy, but by all means still a pretty site. Cordillera Blanca is filled with so many glaciers, amazing vertical walls and lakes. It was a real shame not being able to explore further and on foot...next time?

Another stop was the old town of Yungay. Yungay has a tragic history. In 1970 an earthquake hit, measuring a massive 7.8 on the richter scale. It was the most tragic earthquake in the history of the Western Hemisphere and the single worst natural disaster in the Andes. The quake loosened millions of cubic metres of granite and ice from the Nth peak of Huascaran, burying nearly all of the 18,000 inhabitants of Yungay within minutes. 70,000 deaths in total and another 250,000 casualties. I can not even begin to comprehend? Such sadness for such a beautiful part of the world. The town has slowly been rebuilt and life continues. A massive memorial stands in memory of the lives lost.

Caraz is another quaint little town in this region. It was here we stopped for lunch and where I feasted on my very first Cuy (pronounced koowee), also known to some as guinee pig! It was the popular choice with my newfound Peruvian friends, so when in Rome? It´s true, it tastes like chicken and is not as meaty, although much tastier! I have come across quite a few Americans and British who flat out refuse to eat this Andean delicacy given they have/had a guinee pig or two as pets. I for one won´t munch on a kangaroo, but give me a cuy anyday...mmmm!!!

High's and Low's

Goodbye Ecuador, hello Peru...

After almost 2 months in the lovely Ecuador, I have now crossed the border into Peru. When, I am not entirely sure? Somtime in the last week? It's all a blur really as I have been sick as a dog since arriving. All I know is that in the past week I have been on 5 buses and on the road for a total of 28 hours. That may be just the reason I feel so miserable? And the altitude? I do know I crossed the border at 3am and had to go through all the formalities in Spanish. It wasn't pretty.

My first stop in Peru was Trujillo, northern Peru's largest city. It was quite a pleasant city, colonial feel and all. I stayed in an interesting hostal owned and run by an English man, Michael and his Peruvian wife, Clara. Michael did not move far from the couch or television during my 3 days there. Futbol was on you see. Priorities obviously! Clara on the other hand worked her little tush off with the other two staff members. She was a feisty one and absolutely hilarious. She would charge you for anything and everything that she could possibly get away with. Even the "free" tea and coffee! Well those guests she did not take a liking to and to which she made no secret of! Thankfully I did not fall into that category and had the priviledge of free hot chocolate, strawberries and cream and herbal tea....she made it quite clear I was not paying because I was nice, but my Israeli roommate was paying because he was tight! Too funny.

I didn't do any tourist activities at all during my stay in Trujillo. I did however, come across some very lovely locals while I roamed the city. Two who took it upon themselves to help me out when I was seriously lost. I must have looked quite distressed for them to approach me? I also sat in one of the plaza's for 2 hours with a young man who wanted to practise his English. Joze was 35 and at uni learning English. He wanted to leave Peru for a while to work in the Carribean and earn some $USD. I also got to practise my Spanish which was great. He spoke nice and slow for me! I also met Julio, a local tour guide who walked with me for ages advising of the dangers, must see's, don't bothers of Peru. He was great fun and a real laugh. Made my day!

Then last night after 11 hours of bus riding and still feeling ill, I arrived in the beautiful Huaraz. I have treated myself to a very nice hotel rather than a hostel. I couldn't bare sharing a dorm and the risk of cold showers while I feel so miserable. So now I have my own wonderful and immaculately clean room with private bathroom and endless hot water. Heaven! Huaraz is surrounded by the magnificent Andes with the highest peaks in Peru and some of the highest in the world. Spectacular! A nice place to stop and recover for now...

31 countries, 13% of the world....so far!

My travels to date...



Check out your own travels at http://www.world66.com/myworld66

Thrills, spills and altitude sickness

Well, it´s been a busy and adventurous couple of weeks in my little Sth American world!

Two days after returning from the Galapagos, I spent almost a week in the remote indigenous village of Chugchilan, population somewhere between 100 - 200. The village is nestled in amongst the Ecuadorian Andes, so the views and scenery are absolutely spectacular. I stayed in a fantastic vegetarian eco-lodge, The Black Sheep Inn which is about 2km´s out of the tiny village. The food, people, animals, scenery, bunkhouse and even the compost toilets were all fabulous! It was the perfect destination after spending approximately 8 hours on 3 buses, with one particular bus driver fancying himself as the next Michael Schumacher! Aside from a few hair raising moments, it really was a beautiful, scenic trip pretty much from start to finish.

During my stay at the Black Sheep I did a couple of day hikes (always in fear of potential dog attacks), a 5 hour horse riding trip to the nearby Cloud Forest (a beautiful day after the initial nerves of jumping on a horse subsided...it has been a few years) and a gruelling 15km hike from the Laguna Quilotoa back to Chugchilan. Seven of us set out for the challenging 5 hour hike. After travelling an hour in the back of a truck to actually reach the lake, we were already windswept and covered in dust, but the view over the Laguna Quilotoa was well worth it. The hike was relatively easy for the first hour or so. Then there were ALOT of steep and narrow descents as we slowly headed down into a canyon. We had to contend with a small landslide half way down...a tad scary when you feel your head being hit by sand, dirt and small rocks! But that was the least of my worries...we still had the long, long climb out of the canyon. The last hour was all up hill and steep! Definitely the hardest part of the hike. The altitude doesn´t help. Chugchilan is about 3400metres above sea level and the Quilotoa lake is just under 4000m. I´d already had a day experiencing the affects of altitude. Let me tell you, the feeling your head is about to explode is not a pleasant one! Still, some people experience alot worse. Fortunately I did not have a repeat performance during the hike. We finished the hike relatively unscathed, just windswept, sweaty and covered in multiple layers of dirt. Once we arrived "home" we celebrated our achievement over a few cold beers and one of our many great vege dinners.

Local Niña

View from the Black Sheep

The lovely Nosi in the Cloud Forest

Laguna Quilotoa

On the wrong side of the landslide

Me, birthday boy Joe & Elli mid-hike

Next stop was the beautiful Baños. Myself and Elli, a great American girl I met at the Black Sheep, spent the better part of a day on trucks and buses to reach Baños from Chugchilan. Chugchilan was beautiful but Baños was even better. Maybe better is a bit harsh... just different? The mountains appeared higher, dwarfing the quaint town. And it´s also much greener whereas Chugchilan was very dry and dusty. My time in Baños was a nice balance of adventure and chilling out. The chilling out consisted of wandering around the colourful little town, reading, writing, card games and red wine. Throw in a very cheap but glorious herbal facial and I couldn´t have been more relaxed! Adventure consisted of a 50km bike ride. The scenery so dramatic with loads of little waterfalls and lookout spots along the way. About 22km´s from Baños is the spectacular cascada, Pailon del Diablo. It´s about a 40minute hike to reach the falls, walking through gorgeous rainforest. You cross a rickety suspension bridge for a fantastic view of the falls or take the winding steps down to the base of the falls to fully appreciate it´s power. After an hour and a half spent admiring the falls and refuelling with some lunch, 7 of the 9 bike riders continued the ride south. About 40km´s along, 2 more riders dropped out. Five of us girls powered on though, cursing the endless hills on what was supposedly a downhill ride. At 50km´s it was getting late so we decided a good time to stop riding. A cold drink, a bus back to Baños with bikes on the roof, we were exhausted but feeling good!

From Baños it was another bus trip, this time an hour and a half south to Riobamba. A bit of a nothing town overall, however the downhill mountain biking was a treat! Yes, less than 72 hours after our 50km bike ride, three of us girls were back in the saddle for a very different kind of ride. 38km´s, mostly downhill, riding across paved, rocky and sandy terrain. We started the ride at 5000m above sea level and it was bloody scary when we first took off. I love adrenaline filled activities, but riding downhill in sand and over rocks is rather daunting I have to admit. The constant sliding of my tyres because I kept braking out of fear, which in turn put even more fear into me! But as I slowly accepted that not braking too much, particularly in the sand, made for sturdier riding, the fun and adrenaline kicked in big time and the rest was a hoot! We started our ride at the base of Volcan Chimborazo, Ecuadors highest peak at 6310m. Before our mountain biking began, we walked up to the second climbers refuge on Chimborazo which is at 5000m. My highest altitude to date! Overall I didn´t feel too bad aside from being a little spacey and feeling the first stages of another headache, but all that disappeared once the riding commenced!

Altitude 5000m

Volcan Chimborazo

Day two in Riobamba and we were up at the ungodly hour of 5.30am to be on board a 7.00am departing train for the ride down the Nariz del Diablo, translating to The Devils Nose. It´s a 5-6 hour round trip with the last hour or so heading down the sometimes hair raising switchbacks. Hair raising, but not due to the fact there are quite steep drops either side of the tracks or the fact that your riding on the roof. More so because the train derailed! Yes, as we were chugging along back up the switchbacks the first carriage derailed. In turn, so did the following two carriages! It only took about 40minutes to get the train "back on track" though. With the 3-4 train staff using a few simple rocks to fix the problem believe it or not? I have no idea how rocks actually fix a derailment, but after a few failed attempts it was no problema! Apparently it´s quite common for the train to derail so the staff have the fix mastered. A bunch of people jumped off in fear of the train actually rolling, but most of us just hung out on top enjoying the sun and the little piece of drama of the day. We are in Sth America after all!

local kids love a train chase