World Traveller: 7 Continents, 90 Countries, 871 Days Overseas
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Sunday 17 January 2010
Highlights: Ballestas Islands (penguins & sea lions)
After a hot night in which I slept above the covers with barely anything on, we got up early to visit the Ballestas Islands home of penguins and sea lions. This 3 hour boat trip was enjoyable especially when a sea lion swam very close to the boat.
Saturday 16 January 2010
Highlights: Extreme driving in a Buggy motor, Sand boarding, Pisco Sour & Wine distillery
Today we headed off to a desert oasis of sorts to go sand boarding after a 4 hour bus ride. Now to get to the sand boarding we had to go on a buggy vehicle and drive through the desert. This alone was worth the price of the day tour; spin outs, mini jumps and just pure speed was the call of the day. Gareth lost his hat very early on and Andrew came close himself. The looks on our faces says it all about the rides.
Friday 15 January 2010
Highlights: 1,500 year old mummies, Viewing Nazca lines from small plane, bumpy flight
The night bus got us in around 7 am, this is the last overnight trip of the South American GAP tour however we have two overnight flights in the next 5 days first to Los Angeles and then to New Zealand so a few nights ahead with a bed. These trips can take a lot out of you but they save time doing overnight travel.
Thursday 14 January 2010
Highlights: Exploring Arequipa, Overnight bus to Nazca
Today was a free day to explore Arequipa. Getting up early I walked into the main square by myself, it’s been a while since I’ve tried to get my steps up. I was a very warm morning but I managed to find an ATM and hopefully withdraw money for the last time.
Wednesday 13 January 2010
Highlights: Hiking the Colca Canyon, Condors, BBQ dinner
After 12 hours of rest I found I felt a lot better but I still couldn’t really eat breakfast. I was determined not to let that get in the way of visiting the Colca Canyon today. The Canyon itself is the deepest in the world. Getting there was interesting enough with rough roads and one long tunnel without any lights or support structures.
Tuesday 12 January 2010
Highlights: Snow fights at high altitude, Colca Valley
Today we headed off to the Colca Valley and Canyon from Arequipa. The journey took us over 5 hours and we got to our highest point on the trip 4,920 metres above sea level. Andrew got to experience his first ever encounter with snow. He managed to nail Titch with one snowball!
Monday 11 January 2010
Highlights: Full body recovery massage, Flight to Arequipa
Today most people started recovering from last night’s Inca Trail / Emma & Gareth anniversary and my birthday party. For me I had a birthday gift i.e. a 1 hour full body massage to look forward to. I have to say the massage was good, especially when I extended my arms behind my back and the masseuse worked on my upper back.
Sunday 10 January 2010
Highlights: The Inca Trail landscape, The Sun Gate, Exploring the Machu Picchu Ruins
Inca Trail Day 4
A very early 4 am start to the day. Andrew got in around 11 pm last night from the local bar so he was not exactly Mr Sunshine that early in the morning. It was much more difficult backing today as we had to use our torches to see being so dark. Andrew can’t get his sleeping mat into the provided bag so I helped stuff it into our holding bag.
Saturday 9 January 2010
Highlights: The Inca Trail landscape, Runnkuraqay Pass, Sayacmarca site, Phuyupatamarca site, Winaywayna, Birthday cake
Inca Trail Day 3
Another 6 am wakeup call saw the start to my birthday hiking the Inca Trail. Yesterday had been a cardio workout but we all knew today would be hard on the knees and the longest day at 16 kms hiking. No pancakes today unfortunately to start but still a good breakfast. I found I as now slowly eating all of the meals provided so my system was restarting.
Friday 8 January 2010
Highlights: The Inca Trail landscape, Warmiwanusca (aka Dead Woman’s Pass), Paqaymayo
Inca Trail Day 2
A very tough day for the Inca Trail Hike; at least from a cardio perspective. We got up around 6 am and our ever helpful porters provided a wake up drink of coca which I declined as my system was shutdown. Now not having this drink was probably a bad thing as the coca helps you breathe at this altitude.
Nathan's Insights 