The Truck Tour

OK, so for the last four weeks I’ve been on a truck tour, with a company called Dragoman, from Quito in Ecuador to Cusco in Peru. Now, unfortunately due in most part to my own ineptitude, I don`t have many pictures of the tour, a few wrong buttons pushed on my camera and I manged to delete a good third of the pictures I had taken. When I get home ask me about my Ipod, it befell a similar fate although in more amusing circumstances!

However thanks to the fact that others on the tour weren’t as foolish as me I`ll have some pictures of the tour next year, and my parents this year.....thanks Jen, Rich.....

The first few nights were spent in the Jungle where we discovered the halucinagenic – sp - effects of Cacti and how to make bags and containers out of banana leaves.

Following some enormous journies we pitched up in Cuenca in southern Ecuador for a couple of nights where I saw my first Inca ruins. At the time it seamed quite inspiring but in relation to what I saw later on the tour pretty poor.

Alot of the time we seemed to be travelling, but saw loads of great scenery. After a couple of days travelling through Peru we arived at Hanchaca – no that isn’t how you spell it – for tours around the magnificent cities and temples of a community of people whos name I cant remember but it was very impressive. Pictures later next year. And i had my first go at surfing, great fun but very painful on the knees, something to learn in central america next year.

And off to Lima, loads of people don¡t like it but I loved it, big city, great architecture, fab shops and some particulsarly dodgy night clubs.

Next high light was the Nazcar lines, drawn in the Peruvian desert thousands of years ago and before the Incas came along. We went up in a tiny plane to get a closer look although I nearly got a closer look at my breakfast instead.

The final and top highlight was, of course, Machu Picchu. We started of in Cusco and went on a four day, three night hike across some pretty impressive, but extremely cold at night, countryside reaching nearly 5000m at one pint. The final day included a rather fun train ride to the site although the return journey and fashion show on the train was rather sureal to say the least.

We had a great day exploring the site and climbing mountains before the return to Cusco and fashion show for the continuation of the 24 hour challenge. Basically a masacistic 24 hours of staying awake from the time we got up that morning to go to Machu Picchu. We lost some good men and women along the way but most made it!!


Since then I’ve been in Cusco for another week of Spanish school with teacher Fany – jokes to usual address please - and am off tomorrow to Puno; Lake Titicacah – i spell it differently every time - and then on through Bolivia for the Death Road, Salt Flats and the opportunity to throw dynamite.
The whole tour was fantastic and i made lots of great friendships. I enjoyed it so much that I’ve booked another tour starting in Ushuaia next Jan up the Carnaval in Rio.

Talk to you all soon.

Galápagos

It was fab, spent four nights on a boat travelling from island to Island seeing great wildlife at first hand during the day. I wasn’t really into the nature stuff before I went but this trip has really opened my eyes, especially the snorkling with incredibly colouful fish and asorted sea creatures which was fab, swimming with sea lions a particular high point. I also meet from great people including the man who was the intended victim of the Breacon Bomb back in 1997, do a google search, fascinating!!

Unfortunately, due to a technical hitch with the operator of my camera – in other words my sheers stupidity- alot of my pictures of the galapagos have been deleted, this is just a small selection.

If any off you do have the opportunity to get out there do, it really is an unique experience.