• Wednesday 20 January 2010
    Highlights: Spare seat on the long flight to New Zealand

    The flight was mostly uneventful; we did end up with a seat free between us as I had planned. Even better we were just in front of the entry door meaning we would get off the plane very early.

    Andrew started on the window seat but after a couple of hours said he was unwell and needed to go to the toilet on his return I gave him the aisle seat and settled down unusually in a window seat. I watched Will Ferrell’s “Your Welcome America” in which he plays George W Bush, which was fairly funny.

    The flight was good in that by leaving after midnight you wanted to sleep. Also New Zealand was about 19 hours ahead which is really 5 hours behind plus one day, which means by sleeping on the plane you don’t really have any jetlag. We did 5 overnight bus/train trips during the South America tour plus 4 overnight plane trips during this trip. Keeping in mind that the last 5 days 3 were overnight transport and only 2 in a hotel I am glad this is the last overnight trip of this holiday.

  • Tuesday 19 January 2010
    Highlights: Rodeo Drive Shopping

    After a great night sleeping in a king bed with my own room I reluctantly got up as we had planned to pick up our new friend Karen for a day of shopping. I enjoyed the provided hotel breakfast but Andrew only found time for the free juice.

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  • Monday 18 January 2010
    Highlights: Universal Studios in the Rain, Hollywood Walk of Fame, Mann’s Chinese Theatre

    The LAN flight turned out to be very good; they have a large selection of music which I enjoyed listening too. On arrival into LA we saw heavily rain and I was concerned about our planned trip to Universal Studios.

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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.

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  • 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.

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  • 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.

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  • 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.

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  • 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.

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  • 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!

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  • 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.

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