Peru no more.

So my time in Peru comes to an end, its gone by so fast! Just enough time to check my passport and see another month has passed before Im out the door and moving on to pastures new!

Before leaving Peru you need to pass through Puno so it deserves a special mention here, everyone tells you to avoid it like the plague...and I have to agree. Oh its an ok place and you need to stop there if you want to visit Lake T but I got my worst case of food poisoning here so far and on the way into Bolivia aswell. Was so close to puking on the bus that the guy I was travelling with, Will moved seats to get away. Luckily managed to keep from evacuating on the locals infront of me, who to be honest would have deserved it as they insisted in putting their chairs right back and crush my already cramped legs. South Americans as a general rule are not a tall people and buses, beds, tables and market stalls are accordingly sized! Watch your head and infact your neck and shoulders if you are anywhere near 6 feet tall!

So after the border crossing from hell and nearly becoming illegal aliens in Bolivia we reach Copacabana and to be honest its got far too many hippies lounging around playing with Diablos and Pois. Also too high a concentration of stripey pajama trousers on display for my liking! Lounge wear is for private use not for wandering around in the streets displaying your slacker tendencies for all and sundry.

So still reeling from the sheer number of stripey trousers we check into a cheap hostal and I spend the day not more than 6 feet away from a toilet which gets a great deal of use. Following day am feeling either better or just empty, not sure what yet so go sailing with Will, Paige, Mikey and Simone. Have a great day, Captn Mikey keeps us in check and we almost get some sailing done when the wind picks up...most of it is just us rowing and Mikey telling us to tack in his best salty sea dog voice!

We were also promised fishing by the owner of the boat, this turns out to be a fish hook, some line and a pot of worms, this being the case I am put in charge of washing the worms...as thats about all that we get done! In my defense they are very clean by the time we return to shore!

Head off top Isla Del Sol for a night and walk across the beautiful island to a small idyllic village on the far side, so small it has one restaurant with 2 dinner choices, yet again Vegeterians need not apply! Entertainment is provided by several packets of mini crackers, a pack of cards and a few bottles of wine as we play poker late into the night. This is followed by a walk home in the dark and yet more awe at the sheer number of stars visible. Also see some awesome shooting stars as we sit out under the wide velvety black sky wrapped in blankets for warmth...

The boat journey back is spent discussing films and who is superior English or Americans, Will puts up a particulalry sterling defence and the Brits have it!!!! Quel Suprise! Back in the land of pubs, gringos and hippies...grr and we are all up for a big night. However a death in the town means the bars cannot sell alcohol so its a few bottles of Singani and whatever else we can lay our hands on and back to the Hostal...Much drinking and singing later and Will is being carried up the stairs to bed and we have an early bus to La Paz in the morning, will we make it...

Stay tuned for the next exciting installment...same bat time, same bat channel.

Lake Titicaca

Lake Titicaca, the jewel of the Andes, my first views aren´t quite so flattering as its covered in a thick layer green weed and hundreds of plastic bottles! Additionally from the Peruvian side it means a visit to Puno, not the most beautiful of places. Most people tell you not to stay the night...its not that bad, just doesn´t fare well against the other cities in Peru.

So anyway back to the lake...Get out beyond the undulating layer of green and general flotsam and the beauty is revealed. The sun sparkles lazily off the azure blue water, hypnotically drawing you in and relaxing you, its all you can do to not jump in, which Im assuming is a bad idea given the number of people living on and around it, unless you want Choelera, Dysentry and a whole platoon of parasites invading your kidneys and brain stem.

First stop on our lake tour was Uros, the floating islands made of reeds, as is pretty much everything they have, hats, boats, toys and food. I guess theres not really much else around other than fish, and they don´t make great hats. More of a Indigena themepark than anything else, fun to visit for 5 minutes but thats about it. Oooh lets climb the rickety platform and look at the reeds from a different angle...I was over it very quickly!

Head off to the meat of the trip, the overnight stay on Armanti (named after the abundant lizards found there). Arrive to the picturesque island and are greeted by the locals, all in traditional dress where we are divided up and sent on our ways with our hosts, ours was a lovely and slightly manic young lady called Celia. After a hard walk up the hill past fields of Quinoa, potatoes and some other tuberous plant we reach our home for the night. A little farm house overlooking the bay with the smallest doorways ever. Pretty much have to crawl through to stop from breaking my spine! Feel like Alice in Wonderland all of a sudden.

Get fed a Quinoa soup which was very tasty and a bowl of fried cheese, potatoes and strange purple wrinkly tubers that we quickly coin "Earthworm Jims". I will leave the reference unexplained so those who know can feel superior! I have to apologise profusely as I have an upset stomach so can only manage a little of the soup. However it does give them the opportunity to tell me about Muña tea and how good for stomach problems it is. You find that no matter where you go in South America they always find some plant to drop into hot water that has amazing restorative qualities. Have a cup and fully expect to be better in seconds, it doesn´t happen and the toilet still beckons me at regular intervals!

So after our lunch we explore the island and walk up to the top of the hill to watch the sunset and wonder what the "traditional dread" on the menu at the cafe there is. Meet some nice American girls at the top, Paige and Simone, have tea and eat the local equivalent of donuts. Sunset happens quickly and then we head back in the dark to our home. Realise very quickly I forgot my torch so we go to the worlds emptiest shop and manage to buy two candles...the shop is now completely empty, actually thats a lie, there is a single can of Fanny tuna (its a brand in Peru) and the obligatory rolls of bright pink poor quality Papel Hygenicos which is about as effective as wiping your behind with a sheet of greaseproof paper.

Head off in the dark to the local dance, Celia reveals her truly manic side by leading the charge and not letting me sit down, constantly dragging me up for the next dance, it seems she likes the whole crazy dancing thing...not much else to do on the island I guess!

The dance consists of a small village hall, lots of locals and gringos sitting in foolish local attire, a band and copious amounts of beer. Every dance starts off with a ritual of trying to pull each others arms off, then running under everyone elses raised arms, finally finished by a hokey cokey style race around the hall. Its closest relative is Snake on mobile phones as you rush round in a big line trying to avoid the walls and the rest of the line. Pretty hectic and very exhausting at altitude wearing a thick heavy poncho! Everyone slinks off into the dark and I have to use the toilet (well cack encrusted hole in the ground is more like it) in the dark, which is probably a good thing that I couldn´t see what lurked beneath. Stars are awesome, some of the best I have seen in the world so far due to the complete absence of light, really do wish I had brought my torch with me as I stumble though fields back to our palacial residence!

Manage to avoid breaking my spine on the low doorway and then its into bed to worry about the parasites and bugs likely to be living in the mud brick walls, feel myself getting nauseous as I drift off to sleep...only to wake up for a beautiful sunrise over the lake, breakfast and the boat journey back to Puno...Bolivia beckons!!!

Paul Versus the Volcano

Well after swearing off the whole hiking/generally exerting myself thing I went and did what is up until this point officially the most stupid and hardest thing I have ever done, and I cant even blame it on the Larium either! Inca Trail was a cake walk in comparison! What am I talking about? I finally took the plunge and decided to climb a mountain. El Misti to be precise (5822m I think!) on the outskirts of Arequipa in Peru...never again! Well its a volcano actually but thats just nitpicking!

So we started bright and early being picked up by our guide from the hostal, decided its all pretty stupid and Im having second thoughts at this point so maybe he wont find me if I cower in the toilets until he is gone...no such luck! We head towards our date with destiny and due to what Im assuming is pollution in the air only the peak of the Mountain was visible (notice the respectful use of capital M there!), this gives the whole mountain an eerie presence as if an ancient god is peering down on us from on high. Please be merciful I mutter to the looming giant above me.

Over the next few hours we climbed to the basecamp at around 5,000m which was a difficult long slow slog, dinner of sardine pasta and coca tea at 5pm, and yep it tastes as good as it sounds! To bed at 6pm for a very bad nights sleep before being woken at 2am for the last leg. Finally at 7am and losing one of our group, he had to turn back, nothing more serious luckily we made it to the top. I had done it, fought both physical and mental barriers to reach the peak!

So my thoughts after the event...was a horrible experience but I think given a bit of hindsight an amazing one. Had the most amazing sunset ever, the sun somehow was refracted into 2 so it was a double sunset! Sunrise was also amazing and gave me the hope that I needed to finish climbing the mountain after walking so long in the dark, I never thought the sun would rise, then realised I was looking in the wrong direction! Views from the top were also awesome...wait a minute Im sure there was some horrible bits as well.

Oh yes, the altitude got me, but not too bad, was exhausted and hungry but anything I ate made me feel very sick, got to the top (one of our party had to give up as he felt so bad) and had a nice lie on the rocks for about 20 minutes before I could move! Have never felt so exhausted in my life, at various points I just wanted to lay on the rocks and freeze to death rather than carry on climbing. But somehow I carried on and made it to the top, realised its actually higher than my skydive by a considerable margin!

Funny thing is that as you climb a mountain and drain all those vital energy suplies you always forget about the return journey! Thankfully this was rather easier...if a tad scarier as we had to run helter skelter down a massive scree slope for an hour, every second wondering when that big rock would pounce and break an ankle...luckily although I came close once or twice we made it back to basecamp exhausted but unbroken!

Then came the supposed easy bit, the walk back to the car. Possibly worse than the ascent as nature had conspired to make the only path down a mixture of small ballbearing like rocks and fine silica sand...cue lots of hilarious moments as we Scooby Doo style ran on the spot before falling on our arses.

Anyway feeling much better about the whole experience after a nice long shower and a proper bed to lie in!

Thought I would include some piccies of the experience. Actually Im struggling to attach pictures for some reason so as soon as I can there will be evidence of me actually doing some excercise!

In order of appearance




1.The intrepid group begins...not knowing whats in store for them!
2.Sunset at basecamp, just kept on getting better, unfortunately was trying to get some sleep for the climb ahead
3.The volcanoes shadow, pretty awesome just watching it stretch right to the horizon kept me mesmerised for ages.
4.Very cold, looking stupid, but hey I made it!
5.View from the top and the way down. Just run for it!

After the stomach churning joys of Nasca we reached Arequipa via an overnight bus journey through the desert which proved interesting in its own right. Its pretty scary being woken at 4am in the morning by the long steady angry drone of a bus horn, not just a quick toot but the constant agressive whine that can only signal danger...a quick swerve later and we continue without further incident, most people didnt even wake for this as its pretty normal. Im just thankful everytime I make it to a destination in one piece.

Arequipa is one of those cities you instantly warm to. Feels friendly, small, bright and airy. The weather is clement, with an always blue sky and distant snow capped mountains to give you something to look at over the buildings and remind you that nature still exists, just incase you forgot. Oh and has a great multiscreen cinema complex that shows films in English...Will and I probably now own shares in it as we spent so much money there! Chicha and Manis rock!

Choose a quiet little hostal called Colonial Inn with Will and Jo an English girl we met at the bus stop out of Nasca. Seems to be the in way to meet people these days, go to your local bus stop and just start talking to people, they won´t think you are crazy at all! After the excesses of Hostal Loki the quiet easy going atmosphere of Colonial is just what is called for. The roof top terrace and great fruit salad breakfasts also make it a place to remember!

Distant mountains as viewed from the rooftop terrace


First stop in Arequipa is the Convento de Santa Catalina, a beautiful colonial era walled nunnery that takes up an entire city block and is really a self contained city meaning the nuns could go about their business without the temptations of the real world causing problems. Wouldn´t be a problem now as the biggest temptation in Arequipa now is the amazing cake and icecream shops! Try the Helado Queso (Cheese icecream) if you ever go...tastes much better than it sounds! Anyway I digress, the nunnery feels more like a labyrinthine film set than anything else.



Next stop is the Andian Museum and a date with Juanita...only she stood us up and sent her mate instead. Juanita and her buddy (her name escapes me!) are young girls who were sacrificed by the Incas to appease the mountain gods. Frozen in ice for hundreds of years until they were discovered and put in a deep freeze for us to gawp at. The museum is nice and compact and you get an english speaking guide so you dont need to do any of that pesky reading.

Market is also fab (full of potatoes and lots of crazy fruits!) and has gourmet market food at rock bottom prices! Best roast chicken I have ever eaten (thank you Pollo Real!) and amazing cake shops. Arequipa has everything you could possibly want and more, definitely my favorite city in South America so far.

Beyond Cusco...Nasca or Nazca??

Leaving Cusco...finally!! After an interesting journey to the bus station, I managed to choose the night of one of the biggest festivals in Cusco to leave. Had to fight my way through massive crowds for the festival of Senor De Los Tremblos. El Senor is the Black Jesus who protects Cusco from the earthquakes. Pretty bizarre but they obviously love the festival as everyone in Cusco turned up, or so it seemed!

Well my first stop after Cusco was Nas_ca. No one seems to know exactly how its spelt. Even the signs on the way vary! Im sure someone knows why it varies but I dont Im afraid...sorry.

Have the joys of Cusco: Ciudad Del Mundo on the bus...twice. Turns out a guy has a job lot and wants to sell them to the tourists on the bus. Slight oversight on his part is that its a local bus and every is leaving Cusco, not sure he got his demographic quite right! Met an English guy Will on the bus, not his bus mind but thats another story.

So Nasca...two reasons for going there, the lines and the mummies in the desert, the rest of the town is dusty and dry with nothing to offer other than cheap grotty hostels. Most people dont spend a night there, and neither did we, got a flight to see the lines, went and saw the mummies (more on them later) and got the hell out.
















The lines, pay your money, get a flight in a plane that has about four buttons on the dashboard...one of which is the cigarette lighter! Well this is it, our plane, looks good huh? Actually we got shunted to another plane as they wouldnt fly without having a full passenger manifest, they say its for balance but really its just money.


So we wait around for several hours for a 5th person to turn up so they can make more money, watch the oldest video in existence then finally see the lines. Interesting, not quite as obvious or dramatic as you would expect but still awesome to think that they were made so long ago. Crisscrossing lines and trapezoidal shapes cover the whole landscape and its amazing to think that they spent so long making all these lines by hand...or rather by foot!
















Can you see it? Its a Colibri...a humming bird to you and me! Out of shot is me pressed up against the glass as the pilot does another 90 degree turn so we can get some nice pictures! Lucky none of us get motion sickness as sick bags are noticable by their absence. As are any safety features on the plane which lurches around violently on the thermals.

Land and thank whomever is smiling down on us that we made it alive, return to the hostal in the biggest car ever, Im pretty sure its bigger than the plane we were just in! Then head out into the desert to see the mummies...















Well mummies is an over statement, they are more like bundles of bones wrapped up and wearing wigs...supermodels of yesteryear, or the Rolling Stones perhaps? You have to drive out of town and basically these little bundles are arranged in small holes in the ground with little roofs to protect them from the almost non existant rain.

Back into town, just enough time to have a shower which rates as one of the best three things I did in Nasca then off to the bus stop to talk to more people and head to Arequipa...

Inca Trail and more

So with my last mail (from extrememly long ago now) I left you on the cliff hanger that I was just about to begin my Inca trail...so how did it go?

So the Inca Trail, pretty much up there with the rainforest and The Galapagos as the reason that people come to South America. Had additional significance for me as I got to see the passing of my 30th birthday from Manchu Picchu itself which made it all the more awesome!

So day one didn´t start well, woke up with cronic stomach problems...great, just what you want when you are walking at altitude for 4 days!! Met my co walkers, an aussie couple called Scott and Lisa, a cool German guy called Hendrick and an Irish chap called Declan. Seem like a cool bunch and its nice to have a small group to be getting on with. Drive though beautiful countryside to Ollyantambo and pick up a comedy Llama hat and gloves combo...wont be winning any fashion awards but hey it will keep me warm! Along with that purchase a carved walking stick as apparently it takes 30 percent of the stress off your knees, and god knows my knees need all the help they can get!

From there we headed to the start of the trail. An adventure in itself as the river had washed the road away...luckily our bus was small enough to get over the indiana jones style bridge and drive through the (loosely termed) road on the other side. Nearly got stuck in a river, charged by a bull and got bogged down in mud, but at least it saved another 6km walk to the start.

Day one isn´t so difficult, just a pleasant walk along a valley by the river until we reach the campsite where the other guys in the group decide to play football...at altitude, which really isn´t a good idea! Dinner is amazing given the single gas ring that our cook prepares it over then its off to bed in preparation for the big day ahead!

Day two is to put it frankly a bastard. We start early and walk to a little known Inca Ruin a few KM´s away from the camp, very beautiful in the early mist, the walk there is also beautiful as its by a bamboo lined river. After the return to camp and breakfast our walk begins. The altitude gets you a treat and you struggle every step of the way to Dead Womans Pass which at over 4000m is nothing to be sniffed at. Light rain actually helps, wouldn´t like to do the walk in blinding sun. Reach the top after a herculean effort and find that the pass has been protecting us from the truly abysmal weather on the other side. Its a howling gale blowing ice cold rain horizontally into my aleady weak body. This continues as I walk down the 3 hours of steep steps on the other side of the pass, accompanied all the way by the constant worry that my now soaking wet Merrell shoes are going to kill me as despite all claims they don´t grip for shit once they are slightly wet...again am thankful to my 8 Soles walking stick, my new best friend!

So anyway my pretty feeble (and free) poncho really does nothing and by the time I reach the bottom am soaked from head to foot down to my underwear. The rain has also turned the campsite into a bog of epic proportions so I tramp my way very feebly to my tent crawl in and get in my sleeping bag for warmth...which fails to come. Feel so ill at dinner I can´t eat, managed to force down some chicken and hot chocolate that revives me enough to crawl back into bed...why do they make the tents so small? I can´t even stretch out so have to sleep on my side in the foetal position, not good on the only bit of rocky ground on the entire campsite!

Day three sees me feeling better, the fact the sun is out really helps to lift my spirits and clothes dry out. Quite a gentle walk today any my favorite day so far, the landscape changes from very highland feeling mountains to deep jungle and we get some epic views when the sun comes out, even get to see a rainbow over Aguas Calientes whcih really makes my day. Reach the campsite and a few beers are called for..with he necessary tribute to Pacha Mama of course! So after cheering on all the other groups we finally decide to head down to our campsite...and find no one there!

Turns out a landeslide had knocked out the path to the sun gate so everyone had taken the option to walk down to Aguas Calientes and head up from there in the morning. However given our slight delay we only have 30 minutes of daylight left and a 3 hour walk ahead of us, choices, choices...

Decide to walk down in the dark along a very narrow rocky path, railway tracks and other horrors, the first of which is to be confronted by a guard with the biggest shotgun ever, who happens to think we are trespassing! Make the walk in just under two hours with my 10kg backpack in tow and am absolutely knackered! We camp on the floor of a pizza restaurant and have a few quick celebrations for my birthday. Cake, beer and happy birthday sung in 4 different languages (English, Spanish, Quetua and German), oh and comedy party hats, mine is a disney princesses hat, I feel so special!

Well our walk of horrors turns out to be a good choice in the end as it continued raining all night and a landslide took out some of the campsite we would have been staying at! Up bright and early for the first bus, yes at this point I feel I have earned the bu ride rather than walking the rest of the way up! Come on give me a break, its my birthday remember!

Looking good as we head up to Manchu Picchu, the cloud has cleared and the sky is blue above us, only 20 minutes to go until the sun comes over the mountains and the ruins are bathed in a glorious golden light...well thats what happened in my head! What really happened was clear blue skys then with 10 minutes to go a huge bank of cloud rolled up the valley and obscured everything and it began to rain, happy birthday to me! Make the most of the experience and walk around looking at exciting walls and lots and lots of terracing. Gradually the cloud clears and we get a full breathtaking view of the whole of the Inca Ruins, you can feel the magic coursing through the landscape, then the tourists arrive.

Now I know Im a tourist too but after the 4 day walk you really feel you deserve to be there and have an uncontrolled distain for all the lazy people who just got the train up, they dont deserve to be here all having the same pictures taken...guess I must just be over tired! Find a quiet corner of the ruins, hard to do now and sit and admire the view over the valley and contemplate the first 30 years of my life, its not a bad way to spend your birthday!

Back down to Aguas and a very restful day, have super cheap chicken from a restaurant without a menu, there is far more choice of drinks, its Cola, Cola or Cola...I choose cola, then its off to bed to recover from my 4 day and 30 year ordeal!!

Oh and I would love to have added some pictures of my experiences on the trail, but my camera was broken and I had to take a disposable. The pictures are on CD but blogger doesn´t like them for some reason, taste perhaps? Anyone who really wants to see me in a 3 princesses party hat or looking way more than half dead let me know and I will send you some pics!

Day 217...In the footsteps of Darwin.

Hola mis amigas/amigos, ¿Como esta?

Well its that time again, time for me to regale you all with what I have been up too since leaving the relative safety and comfort of Australia for the wild untamed dark continent of South America!

First impressions...not as dark and or scary as I was lead to believe, was almost expecting to just find lots of rainforest and small villages interpersed at regular intervals. Instead I got Quito. A magnificent old colonial town full of busy people, smog, dirt, crazy buses belching black smoke in your face and some of the most ornate and beautiful buildings I have ever seen, Quito at night is truly an awesome sight to behold. And not as dangerous as the guide books make out, well so my house mother said anyway...

Its amazing the sense of loneliness you can get in a town where you cant speak the language and everyone looks at you as you are pretty much the only stranger in town, really makes you appreciate the little acts of kindness, I will be the friendliest person to tourists when I back in England as I know how special it makes you feel not to be alone! But I am getting far too far ahead of myself!!

Flight from Sydney was uneventful if very long, stopped off in Auckland for an hour and watched the long rolling New Zealand clouds overhead, I realised at this point that my heart belongs there, its has been far and away the highlight of my trip (so far!!). Watch out New Zealand I will be back.

Back on the plane and the next 12 hours fly by as for the first time I have an in flight entertainment system and my own tv in the back of the chair in front. Play games, watch several films, get fed lots and decide to try to get deep vein thrombosis and a ruptured bladder by not moving from my seat once.

Glad to report that I was not afflicted by anything more major than a horrible dose of temporal displacement, the longhaul flight and crossing the international date line lead me to be so confused I wasn´t quite sure where, when and even had me doubting who I was. I was sure I would meet myself at some point in my missing hours. Do we leave a part of ourself behind every time we cross a time line and do we actually get older or younger, all these thoughts and more crossed my mind on the flight!

Arrived in Santiago and headed straight for a nice little area called Bellavista where there is a great little hostel with the same name (thanks for the tip Dee!). Stayed there, made some friends and was boardering on agorophobic during my stay. Everyones out to mug you that little voice would whisper in my ear, they are talking about you and you don´t know it, you're a Gringo and must be loaded, a prime target for all the muggers, as obviously everyone in South America is out to get you and take you for something...

Anyway kind of realised that maybe I was being a little over cautious and that learning Spanish might help to ease my worries somewhat, so three days later I arrive in Quito (Ecuador) at 10pm and am due to start an Extra intensive Spanish course the next day (In case you are wondering extra intensive is 60 hours of Spanish lessons over two weeks...ouch!). Suffice to say with that many lessons and staying with a non english speaking family in Old Towm my brain went into toxic shock and I had to slow down a LOT. Seems to have helped though, its amazing how much your brain takes in when it really has to. At this point I have to say a big thank you to Manuel, without your faith in my fledgling Spanish skills I would have given up at the end of the first week.

My life hasn´t just been Spanish have been up to all sorts other things. Been to Banos, cruisy little town full of nice cafes, hot springs (full of old pervs)...yuck! Went cycling down to see the waterfall there and you have to cycle through a pitch black tunnel, pretty scary, followed by a trip on a very rickety cable car, scarier. Scariest was finding out that the previous cable car had collapsed into the ravine a few weeks earlier. Love this place, absolutely no consideration for safety. Which is refreshing after all the disclaimers you had to sign in NZ and OZ which basically said if the guide killed you on purpose it was still your fault!

Cotopaxi was my first weekend trip, 2 days in Ecuador and I decide to walk up to 4850m, my head nearly split open like an over ripe melon and my eyes only just stayed in my head. And I wanted to go back and climb to the peak which is 5850m, must be something in the air thats affected my brain, or perhaps its actually the lack of air! Unfortunately I ran out of time in Ecuador...

Been to the equator line theme park, Mitad Del Mundo, pretty cool until you realise that they put it in the wrong place and the actual equator line is 150 yards to the right, in someone elses land, so they built an excellent museum there, far better than the empty pomp and artifice of the bigger site. Balanced an egg on a nail head, got a picture and certificate to prove it. Tried a blow gun, saw a shrunken head and all sorts, well worth a visit if you are ever here!

Visited the Galapagos Islands and was there for 9 days, did loads, went and saw the Giant Tortoises (infinitely sad and looking like they want to become extinct!), walked in 2km of underground lava tunnels by myself with a crappy torch, my mind started playing very dirty tricks on me! Got a last minute cruise, swam with Penguins, marine iguanas, sea lions, sharks, turtles, rays, the list goes on and on it was awesome.

Highlight of the Galapagos was I went diving and saw a school of at least 25 reef sharks feeding on the current, we had to hold onto the rocks to stay in one place and I cut my hand on a sharp piece of rock. The first thing that popped into my mind was that sharks can smell blood from a mile away, nearly had a heart attack thinking I would be so much human chum! Was ok though they don´t usually attack humans, now if it had been the hammer heads I wanted to see I may have been screwed as they have been known to take bites out of divers!

One of the highlights of my entire trip so far was a visit to a little village called Peguche near Otovalo. Not normally the most exciting of villages I would imagine but we were invited to their harvest festival (of sorts), no sitting in a church here with a cardboard box of old tin cans of food you don´t really want, oh no something far more exicing!

Got into the village after dark and absolutely nothing was happening, no lights, no people, needless to say expectations were not that high! About to get the taxi back to the hostel when we hear the strains of distant music...then around the corner out of the dark comes the whole village, marching down the street, dancing playing musical instruments and carrying a 20 foot long wooden structure which looked something like an aeroplane!

So as you would we join the column of people and make our way to the village square where they proceed to set up the large wooden structure on a very large wooden pole...an adventure in itself as its all just so wobbly and nearly collapses on the watching audience every couple of seconds, and there are no safety barriers here everyone just crowds around and tries to help. So we have a 20ft wooden structure precariously balanced on a 20ft wooden pole and I still don´t have a clue what is going on...and to be honest my attention is somewhat lacking due to the large amounts of warm blackberry wine and Aguadiente (local firewater) they are handing round to everyone.

By now a huge crowd has gathered, far more than could possibly live in the village and the show begins...The structure is covered in fireworks and is balanced in such a way that it can revolve on the pole so as the fireworks are lit its some poor guys task to turn it so that everyone can share the joy that unfolds. Turns out hes pretty much the safest person in the crowd...but I will get to that.

The fireworks gradually go off section by section so the whole event takes quite a while, its amazing as there are images and signs built into the display, a dancing woman, a man whipping a horse, which actually looks quite rude so everyone cant help but laugh. All the while everyone is dancing round the pole getting more and more drunk on the free booze. Smoke continues to belch, filling the whole square with that special firework smell and locals are setting off home made rockets in the crowd, some of which don´t have enough lifting power so skid through the crowd bouncing off people, buildings, everything.

The fireworks reach a crescendo as the top unfolds and the watching audience are showered with rockets and sparks. A rocket passes inches from my face and all I can do is laugh and think what an amazing night I am having!!! The party then moves onto to a covered courtyard where all the village woman bring out big bowls of warming soup and chicken as the alcohol continues to flow freely. Can´t believe the generosity and friendliness of these people who live in a small run down village in the countryside. We are treated with such kindness and really are made to feel like part of the village, and not the outsiders that we are.

Such an amazing night, not just for the audio visual treat but for how generous and friendly these people were to us and wanted nothing in return. Its a very special feeling to get anywhere in the world, but in South America where the majority of people treat you as a cash machine its an extraordinarily special feeling. THE best night of my entire trip so far!!!

So jump forward to today, the 30th March. I am sitting in a great hostal in Cusco (after an amazing 6 day bus journey from Quito to Cusco, at least 72 hours of which were spent sitting on buses which was a full adventure in itself!) and preparing mentally for the challenge ahead, as tomorrow I do the Inca Trail!

So thats it from me, sorry to bore you, actually I enjoyed writing it so anyone who didn´t like it is a philestine or welcome to write a review on why they didnt like it...

Anyway I have been asked to include some interesting animal facts again as they went down so well last time...

Frigate Birds, are possibly the least graceful birds I have ever seen, watching them try to move about on land is actually painful as they just end up caught up in trees all wings askew looking thouroughly humiliated (because of their very short legs apparently!). However once they are in the air they are just amazingly agile and watching their arial dog fights is a sight to behold...

Still on Frigate birds, they don´t have an oil gland so can´t waterproof their feathers, so they are (I´m really guessing here!) the only bird that hunts at sea that can´t actually go in the water!!

Tortugas...or tortoises, got down to a scary 16 animals left in the wild. So very close to extinction, its hard to comprehend seeing an animal that was so close to vanishing.

And finally masked Boobies look stupid! Silly big head, the waddle, just everything

Llamas have such beautiful eyelashes?!?!

My life has been relatively animal free but you can expect more amazing facts after I do a bit of junge exploration...

The Middle

I know what you are thinking, strange title, whats wrong with him, is he drunk, heat stroked or maybe hes just started taking the malaria medication a little early! Well you are all wrong its an appropriate title for the mail I'm sending as it sums up pretty well where I am heading and where I have been recently!

Since my last mail (he says quickly reading over it to see when it was and what I had done!!) I have been a busy boy! Spent my christmas with friends in Sydney and had such a good day, really was expecting christmas away from home to be a strange affair with a lot of people I didn't know very well. However it was a great day spent with some old and new acquaintances. The great aussie tradition of the bbq was upheld, however not on the beach..sorry to disappoint! And yes Shrimps were attending in abundance. I do have pictorial proof for any doubing thomases out there!

Next up came New Years Eve or NYE as all the posters were advertising it...what is it with Australians and there need to shorten or abbreviate everything? How best to sum up my NYE... Two words will do it, big and loud. Bearing in mind you are already surrounded by the awesome scenery of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge you don't really need to do much else. However adding 1 million people really adds a certain something to the whole atmosphere and I'm not just talking about the smell from the portaloos!

Drinking on the streets in Australia isn't really tolerated believe it or not but it appears an exception was made and vast amounts of alcohol must have been consumed if you take into account the empties, vomit and massive queues even for the mens toilets, which is virtually unheard of! So anyway come midnight and the fireworks were good, almost bordering on spectacular however lacked a certain je ne sai qua, as they went for volume over style in typical brash Aussie style! The bonfire night fireworks I saw in Wellington were better for my money (and I paid nothing for both displays so I can say that with some authority).

The fireworks finished and then came a truly memorable moment, one I will never forget. Watching pretty much all 1 million people stand up and walk away from the harbour up George Street, like a scene from a disaster movie. It was amazing to watch the sudden mass exodus away from Circular Quay as people desperately tried to be the first to catch a bus or get a train home. And as I have been Aussie bashing a bit (its the way Aussies show affection) I think its only fair to do a bit of Brit bashing. As normal the drunkenest, lairiest and scariest people were all Brits. It actually made me feel quite unsettled at one point, the number of unpredictable drunk brits swaying around puking and reaching for anyone of the opposite gender to kiss was pretty horrifying, felt like a scene from any zombie film you care to mention, but perhaps with less visible motor skills!

New Years day also deserves a special mention as it was around 45 degrees with an oven hot wind blowing all day, truly nasty! Thank god for aircon!

Next stop Melbourne... A beautiful city, far nicer than Sydney in so many ways, smaller, friendlier, greener, and just nicer full stop! Definitely my favourite city in Australia. Well as long as I don't think about my hostel for the first night, truly redefines the meaning of sh!thole. Had so little going for it, next to a train line, dirty, grimy, dark and cramped with tiles falling off the bathroom walls. Had a free shuttle running to it from the bus terminal though so was crammed with backpackers so met some cool people there!

At this point big thanks have to go to Shelley and Justin who looked after me so well and put me up in their beautiful house for the rest of my stay and taught me Skip-Bo. THANK YOU! Hope to see you both in September. After some sight seeing and plenty of tasty icecream (try Cold Rock Ice creamery if you are ever in Australia its the best!), attacked by the wildlife (truly worried I had rabies for a bit!) and being stood up by penguins it was time to head on to my next tour, a 10 day trip from Melbourne to Alice Springs via Uluru.

Great Ocean Road is fun with some awesome scenery, if you like limesone fomations which our guide seemed to love with an unholy passion, every 5 minutes it was get off the bus its some more bits of old rock! I jest of course it was beautiful, managed to splurge the 60 dollars on a helicopter flight over the 12 (well several less now) Apostles, one of my real highlights of this part of the trip. Also fun was the Otway Flyer, a suspended metal footbridge and tower amongst the trees some 33m up at its highest, the best bit was seeing the look on peoples faces as you rocked the footpaths...priceless!

Got my comeupance however with a walk up Hollow Mountain when I genuinely thought I was going to die as we had to clamber up and over smooth rocks with a hundred foot drop just a few feet away. It was ok though as our tiny guide Zoe said she would catch us, I felt so relieved! Funnily enough the Koreans loved it and got as close to the edge as possible to get their photos taken pretty much dangling over the edge, I had to turn around at this point as did several others! Don't know about you but it would sour a nice trip to watch someone plunge to their deaths.

Reached Adelaide and it can be summed up with one word...dull! I need say no more. The highlight was having to evacuate our hostel at 3am due to a fire (which turned out to be a burned out lightbulb!). Oh and meeting some real Aussie yobbos on the beach, blue singlets and all, drinking a mix of goon and hahn lager out of Mcdonalds cups. Nice!

The onto the next section of our tour, the red centre. Will try to keep it short as I know I have waffled on for quite a bit already. Key impressions and thoughts then...

Most abiding memory of the entire trip is the flies. I think I now know every fly in Oz personally as they are a friendly bunch and just want to say hello and invite you to meet the relatives or maybe just stamp their crap covered feet all over you for a bit. Its amazing how quickly you get used to flies crawling into your eyes, nose and mouth.

Heat, even on an air conditioned bus you will sweat and profusely at that. As soon as you get off the bus its a million times worse and you are eternally grateful when anywhere you are staying has a pool, even if the water is luke warm! I think its probably the only place in the world where the water is hotter from the cold tap! Coober Pedy (meaning burrowing white folk) is also worth a mention as the majority of the population live underground in burrows to escape the heat. A fun first for me.

Space, I thought Norfolk was flat and empty but the Outback really does make it feel like a small village hall on fete day. The sense of space is phenomenal and its hard not to feel depressed at the constant monotany of seeing the same scenery whiz past you day after day. Having said that however its an amazingly beaufiful sight when the sky is full of clouds and the amount of stars you see is breathtaking. Still I can't imagine what it must be like to drive across the country, it got to mess with your mind something cronic.

Red, I didn't really appreciate how red the Red Centre was until I got there, yes Uluru looks orange but the soil in some places is almost scarlet, its so strong that the underside of the clouds take on a pink hue form the reflected colour.

Uluru, Yeah its ok I guess, but its just a big rock really and not that exciting. The Olgas are far more interesting and make a far more satisfying visit, make sure you don't miss them. It was so awesome that I had a real moment on the way round when I realised why the aboriginals thought it was such a holy place. Was going to climb Uluru (its against the Aboriginals wishes but they can't stop you) but had an guilt trip laid on my by the visitor centre so decided not to out of respect. Then in the night we got raided by a group of them trying to break into our bus to find booze at 3am. Well sod respect I thought I'm off to do a tap dance on Uluru. My cunning plan was foiled with it being too hot and too windy to climb though. Next time Uluru...next time! Just you watch your back, I know where you live.

Final impression was just how many wonderful beautifoool crazy people I met on this trip, hey you know who you are, I need mention no names (well maybe just cgg & ccc!). Suffice to say I love you all and it was great to meet you! You are all welcome to visit me when I get home, just not at the same time, it might get a tad crowded.

So to the dual reason for the mail title...Its my 6 month anniversary! Six whole months on the road and I'm not bored yet, still more than happy living out of a small bag and washing my socks and pants in the sink, although someone stole my travel plug (grr) and my shoes and travel towel are begining to stink to high heaven! Its got me feeling a bit retrospective and looking back over my travels so far and all the adventures I have had, I can't believe all the crazy things I have done and great people I have met on the way. Everyone has been so special and I hope to keep in regular contact with you all.

So having said that I have 5 days to go before flying to South America and am feeling a little apprehensive about the next 6 months, as its going to be a really different experience to all those that have gone before (or perhaps I am just thinking about it too much!).

A few strange facts I have accumulated...

Animal fact number one, Kolalas have very interesting reproductive systems, I don't want to say more as it will ruin the suprise, go look it up, its worth it! I'm also pretty sure that Koalas are extinct and all the ones you see are stuffed and have been planted by the government to spy on the tourists. I have never seen a Koala in the wild move, never, they just hang there in the tree.

Number two. Not sure if its just me but I didn't see a single snake, scorpion or anything particularly hazardous to my health (bar a hungry possum). For a country jam packed with dangerous creatures they aren't half hard to see! I'm a bit disappointed (will probably leave the internet cafe in a minute and get struck down by a herd of angry redbacks to make up for it)

Number three. The Giant squid has eyes as big as dinner plates and the emus brain is the same size as its eye, pretty dumb animals, they will run infront of a car if they get startled and won't stop til they keel over dead from exhaustion! And thats the Emus not the Squids.

Four. Camel and Emu taste ok, Kangaroo is good but has a slight livery taste to it. And green ants bums are yummy! Didn't try any grubs, woms or bugs unfortunately so can't report on them. And as a general rule bush tucker tastes disgusting, but hey it will keep you alive!

Five, there is a fly plague in Victoria this year, with something like 80% more flies than last year. I pity the poor scientist whos job it was to work it out. Actually anyone with any thoughts how they now how many more flies there are please let me know, it baffles me!

Final fact, the grass tree has an interesting defence mechanism for when its set on fire, to protect itself it explodes! Seems a tad self defeating to me but apparently it works, and hey its been around for millions of years longer than humans so it must know what its doing!

New Zealand

Well scary fact for you, a few days ago it was my 2 month travelling anniversary, its funny as part of me can't believe that it has only been two months as I have just experienced so much and another feels that it has flown by so quickly.

So anyway following the theme of my previous mails I'm going to share my impressions of New Zealand so far. Its very easy to make the quick comparison that its just like the uk, and it is. So much of the landscape and flora are the same as in the UK, just bunched together in a much smaller surface area. One minute you are walking through alpine forest, then across moors and then you stumble upon another mountain or waterfall (or more usually both at the same time) which just takes your breath away, I'm suprised I have managed to draw breath at all.

But then you start to look a little deeper and you realise that the reason it looks like the UK is because we made it that way with the introduction of non native species. If you actually find a bit of native forest it really is like walking into a prehistoric jungle, the first time I was expecting half a dozen velociraptors to jump me. Luckily for me my imagination is far more vivid than the reality ofthe situation and it was just a few Tui's and Weta's that mugged me so its all good (and if you want to know what they are look them up nature fans, who said learning wasn't fun?).

It truly is a beautiful place and so diverse, around every corner is a new epic and wonderful sight, a particular favorite place of mine was Rotorua which is quite literally a hotbed of thermal activity. The whole town is enveloped in a sulphurous smog that smells somewhere betwen boiled eggs and baked beans, and not too bad once you get used to it. Even the local park has steam vents, sulphur lakes and bubbling mud which I have a real soft spot for, if anyone can invent a tabletop bubbling mud pool I would never ever leave the house again.

My camera has been in overdrive for the entire trip and I think that I wore it out as it broke a few day ago so back on the good old camera and film. Sorry but I'm going to talk some more about the scenery, we stayed in the National Park in Whakapapa (and in Maori you pronounce WH as F so do the math!). There were some amazing walks there and it was within the shadow of Mount Doom so I kept an eye out for hobbits but sadly missed them I think they have all left for the grey shores now : -(

I don't know if its the LOTR connection but the whole place feels so ancient and magical, walking along by yourself and just taking in the sheer beauty of the place is really just mind blowing. Anyway thats enough of scenery what have I been up to...

Well lets see, seeing as its the Extreme Sports Capital of the World(tm) I had to try my hand at a few life threatening/affirming challenges. My big three so far are Zorbing, for those of you who don\'t know what it is, its rolling down a hill in a giant hamsterball. Short but sweet, it only lasts around a minute but is the most fun you can have in a big wet hamsterball (that I know anyway!).

Then came the Skydive, strangely enough I wasn't that worried about it and really enjoyed the experience. The feeling is just amazing...well what I can remember of it anyway. It was a whole 60 seconds of freefall (15,000ft) but I can only remember fragments of seconds of it. I think your mind is literally blown the first time you do it. And my biggest achievement so far...a bungy jump.Far far far harder than the skydive. Even paying for the thing I nearly had a panic attack and spend about 10 minutes looking at the form mentally wrestling with my sense of impending doom/selfpreservation!

Managed to win out over that little voice and paid for the jump and then started to hyperventilate and felt my face start to tingle...which is never a good sign! Several visits to the toilet later and I felt pretty calm and even started to look forward to it. I was even ok as they wrapped the towel round my legs and connected the rope, althought I was a bit dubious about the makeshift nature of the equipement! It wasn't until the girl in front of me jumped that the reality came crashing in and if I hadn't been trussled up like a chicken would have sprinted as fast as I could into the sunset, if I had tried it would have been more of very slow waddle!

Then it was my turn and as I walked out onto the plank and he counteddown from 5 my mind was just paralysed with fear and I though I can never do this...but he reached one and I just went for it with the worst dive ever. I look like that little green man from the Mousetrapgame, real praying man stylee! Strange the things that go through your head as you plummet towards a river below, mine was "Come on bladder,don't fail me now!", which funnily enough was exactly the same thought I had on my skydive.

So ywill be pleased to know my dignity remained intact on both occassions. Now with my biggest fear overcome, thats heights and not peeing myself I wonder whats next, perhaps I have peaked too early and the rest of my life is going to be one long steady descent into more and more extreme sports! Jackass beckons...If anyone has any suggstions of what I should try next to let me know and I will try to make it happen, kind of like Jim\'ll fix it inreverse!

Yes I know I have been rambling on for ages now but I have had so manyamazing experiences in NZ and there is so much more I could tell youabout, a quick rundown being Knife making in Barrytown, Caving in Waitomo, Abel Tasmin, Sailing with Dolphins, Wellingtons Embassy Cinema, Sandboarding at Cape Reinga, watching the sunrise up MountVictoria, Possum pies, Glacier walking. The list could go on and on. Its just been a whole life time of experiences in a month. Finally I must mention all the wonderful people I have met, I have made so many really good friends while I have been away and its just amazing how friendly and generous everyone I have met is, both locals and travellers. So many happy memories to take with me through life.

p.s. Fact for you Possum fans out there, there is currently estimatedto be around 75 million possums in NZ, thats a whole lot of tastypies!

Tokyo

How fab is Tokyo???? AMAZING, its that good it gets full capitals!!!!

Not at all like in Lost in Translation where its all alienation and navel gazing. Bill should have got out more and actually taken alook around and seen how amazing it all is. A very sad Star Trek analogy but Tokyoites are like the borg, they take the best bits of whatever cultures they find and incorporate it into their daily life. They are not afraid of new things, where else could you find the fusion of a hot dog in a naan covered in curry, or even a curry donut (Both actually very nice!) Well I had to try them!! And yet they manage to retain their own culture just under the surface, pretty much anywhere in Tokyo if you got off the main streets you see little winding roads with local houses and little teabars/restaurants on them.

The first night I went to a tiny family run restaurant, literally 10ft wide and consisting of a long narrow counter with a table on one side and the kitchen on the other. I was the only person in there and as I was eating my noodles his family came down and started raiding the fridge and watching the television in the corner. I was worried I had walked into someones living room and demanded they cook my food! Have been and done about every tourist thing I could think of but the hightlights are the 52nd floor of Mori tower at night, looking outover the whole of Tokyo and truly understanding the idea that a city can be a living breathing thing! Kabuki was really funny even though I didn't bother to pay for the english headset (thought it would ruin the experience). Its grand farce really with lots of bluff and double bluffs, kind of like the film Whats up Doc? played out by a cast ofoveracting Frankie Howerds (if you can imagine such a thing!).

Also top was the fish market, you really do risk your life walking around there as there are these crazy little trucks that just fly about with no regard for pedestrians. I could go on for ages about all the wonderful things I have seen but I will leave you with my last expereience, the capsule hotel!

Capsule hotels (for those of you that don't know or I haven't toldyou) are basically cheap accomodation for businessmen who miss the last train home (they all stop at 12 and you are b*ggered if you miss it as the taxis are so expensive!). They are like little dog kennels two high that you climb into to sleep. Pretty basic really you get your little pod, which is 1m high by 1m wide by about 2m long, it has a tv and radio and thats it.

The cool thing is that they come with a spa linked to them, in this case my pod was on the 6th floor and the spa was on the 9th. They provide all the services you would expect, streamroom, sauna, hot & cool pool, jacuzzi (which was bright purple for some reason...perhaps it was grape flavour, I was too afraid to find out!!). Plus all the little extras, disposable toothbrush, razor, hairbrushes, even scales and body fat checker. Everything you could possibly want is provided for about 25quid. The only downsidewas the random snuffling drunk businessmen crawling into their pods at various points of the night so I will remember my earplugs next time!