Here's the first update from our travels. Thanks for the newsy emails from some of you - sorry it's taken a while to send my news. Will try to send regular updates, let me know if you don't want to be on the list! Can't believe it's been over 3 weeks since we left the UK - and no, I've still not relaxed properly yet!
Spent our first 4 days in Quito in the old city - comfortably away from the tourist area which was a wise choice as half an hour there (to buy plane tickets) was enough for us! The old city is busy, full of locals in hectic little cobbled streets which get steeper and steeper and eventually lead up to the tops of volcanic mountains - really felt like a city on top of the world.
Took a while to get used to the altitude so wandered around taking in a few sites like the old Spanish baroque churches with 7 tons of gold in them - built to try to impress the Inca Indians at the time that their Catholic god was the best. The Spanish really were outrageous vandals - they got rid of some amazing Inca architecture and replaced it with their own. We spent a fair bit of time relaxing in a little coffee shop run by women about 4 foot tall in little uniforms, all giggly and smiley at us 'gringos', the only tourists in that part of town. We did take heed of all the advice in the travel books though and cowardly spent the evenings in our hotel so as not to get mugged! One day there was a huge demonstration against the corrupt president (who makes Blair look like a saint, yes the politics here really are dire!) so we dipped in and out of the march until we felt it was getting too dangerous and retreated to our hotel to watch the proceedings from the safety above.
Decided that we really should visit the Galapagos so got our flight tickets and headed off to the Pacific - lovely hot weather after cold and wet Quito and much safer! Wonderful bird life and marine life. Went to a little island called Isabela with a long, long white sandy beach and little mangrove coves for snorkelling. Saw pink flamingos, grey pelicans, beach birds I don't know the names of, marine iguanas (big fat ugly lizards that not only terrify you on the beach, they can swim too!), penguins, plenty of colourful fish, little red beach crabs who busy themselves scuttling along the beach all day ducking into their holes as you approach, and really friendly sea lions who were a somewhat big surprise when they suddenly swam up to you! Also had a treat of a display of a mum sea lion with her 3 pups swimming under us as we stood on a tiny wooden bridge - once mum realised we were no danger she plonked herself on a nearby fishing boat and let them show off to us until we got bored. One thing we didn't manage to do, which we'd planned, was take a boat trip for 3 days to properly take in the marine life but Ben got really bad food poisoning so we couldn't go - think we probably saw as much from our little island anyway. ..and Ben's recovered which is a relief!
Next stop - Peru. One night near Lima airport was enough to make me never want to return, customs were worse than anything I've encountered in the US (and I've had to wait hours there before). Happily flew out to Cusco the next day. Cusco nothing like Quito which was a busy city with locals getting on with their lives. Cusco was a real tourist town where you want to punch them and tell them to leave you alone, but aside from that the town itself is amazing. Old Inca walls all slotted together in such a masterful way that no cement (or mud) was needed to keep them together. Again the Spaniards built over most of the Inca stuff with some of their own amazing buildings, and again more vulgar churches full of gold and silver nicked from the local Indians and built on top of Inca palaces.
After that, 3 days at Macchu Picchu - this really was a treat and the highlight of the trip so far. We bravely walked the path up to the ruins - 50 minutes up very steep rocky steps, those of you that have been will know what I mean unless you wimped out and got the bus?! (And we climbed the steps up two days running!) When we got into the ruins Ben made me either close my eyes or look down to the ground so that I could only feel big spaces around me and people making sounds of awe but could see nothing. It must have looked like I was some naughty school kid with my head down! Anyway, after climbing up endless steps and going away from the top of the ruins we turned around, retraced our steps and I got to see the old Inca city from the best view point - really stunning, and impossible to describe. Enjoyed spending a few days there because it meant we could properly explore the ruins without rushing, but still missed out loads that I'd love to go back and do. The best was yesterday morning, in the Inca city at 6.30am, almost empty of tourists, with absolutely stunning views of snow clad mountain tops, and jagged mountain peaks surrounding the whole of Macchu Picchu - this really was a city in the sky and not for those that are scared of heights!
Now in La Paz in Bolivia on the way to Argentina. Full of tiny little indian women wearing ill-fitting bowler hats, a mad city with locals selling their fruit, drinks, trinkets, witch's ingredients, etc. on the streets - not touristy, and stunning. It's the highest city in the world - snowy mountain peaks everywhere. Off to Santiago tomorrow and then heading to Argentina for 2 months to spend a decent amount of time in one country. I'm looking forward to the wine, steaks, safer environment and horse riding. Need exercise and have missed drinking the odd wine or two!
Hope you're all well in freezing UK/US or the warmer Hawaii/Oz. Keep in touch with any news. Off to watch the Chelsea game (yes we actually have TV in this hotel!).
Ecuador, Peru and briefly Bolivia!
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