Well after a little over 6 weeks (or was it months?) away exploring places
that many men (and women and llamas) had been before, it was most definitely
with just a little sadness in my heart that I returned home a few days ago.
Now after some much needed sleep and having finally rounded up and washed
all my socks, it is time to recount to those of you who are interested the
second installment of my South American adventure. At the end of the last
episode, our intrepid explorer/dashing hero had just survived a scrape with
certain death in Bolivia. The story continues...

We departed from La Paz by the now familar rickety bus method and returned
to Puno, Peru, along the shores of Lake Titicaca, taking in the pre-Inca
ruins of Tiwanku along the way, and unfortunately what is probably the
smelliest border crossing in the world at the outlet of a gigantic sewage
plant. At Puno we visited the
Yavari, an ex-steam boat built in England at the end of the last century and
shipped over to Peru in pieces, transported over the Andes by mule and
reassembled on Lake T. It took over 6 years to make the journey over
the mountains and the ship is now being restored to its fomer glory, and
should be ready to carry passengers next year. A trip in a much smaller
faster vessel later and we were at the Uros Islands - a collection of
floating reed islands on Lake T where (save for the odd solar panel to power
the TV!) the inhabitants live almost entirely off the "land" (and of course
flogging stuff to tourists!), which is quite literally made of layers of
reeds and is like a squigy trampoline to walk on. Thanks to almost daily
reed top-ups, each island lasts a few years before it has to be abandoned
and a new one built. Quite bizarre.
Next up was the (in)famous full-day train journey from Puno to Cusco (the
old Inca capital) - a trip of around 250 miles which although scenic was far
from smooth and certainly put the much beleagured British rail
system into perspective. Still on arrival in Cusco, the locals are usually
so pleased to see the tourists that they come out and greet the train by
pelting it with stones! Which was nice.
Day one in Cusco comprised a tour of the sacred valley to view many of the
Inca ruins and hillside terracing, parts of which are (allegedly)
constructed in the shapes of Inca gods or symbols, eg the Llama, Puma,
Condor, though without those white outlines you get on the telly they're
rather hard to make out!
And then to The Inca Trail, a 3 day 40km (around 28 miles?) trek through the
sacred valley and then over three mountain passes (the highest of which was
around 4200m, or around 14000 feet) to Machu
Picchu, the legendary Inca city. Camping along the way, rising before dawn
each day, and with the most able aid of porters, a cook and a guide our lil
group completed the ordeal intact, although a rather weary,
insect-bitten and smelly bunch. It would take several emails to describe the
trail alone, but the experience was one that will never be forgotten. At
times exhausting and mentally draining (not another hill/more steps to
climb?!). Other times exhilarating and great fun. Climax was on the
afternoon of day 3 when a small group lead by yours truly went ahead to the
Sun Gate and glimpsed Machu Picchu for the first time from on high, bathed
in the late afternoon sun. And suddenly it was all worth it. Unfortunatley
for the rest of the group, the following
morning when we returned to the sun gate for the officical first view, the
city was enveloped in the early morning mist! But as we descended down to
the ruins the mist eventually cleared and we were rewarded with
a sunny morning to explore and soak up the breathtaking spectacle. Then a
much-deserved dip in the hot springs later and it was on the train back to
Cusco to toast our great achievement.And not a knee problem in
sight! Phew...
The next night in Cusco marked the official last night of the Condor journey
and the last night for half the group who were not "jungling". After a
rather fine meal, visits to several of the towns top bars and nightspots,
and an appropriately fine time had by all, the last straggler finally
staggered home from the party at around 5am, in plenty of time to rise at 7
ready for the flight to Puerto Maldonado and the Peruvian Amazon...
On arrival at the shed-like airport in P M  we were transported by thatched
bus to the Tambopata river and our motorised canoe which then took us the
two hours down river to the Posada lodge which would be our
home for the next three days. After  the first of what was to be many juice
and clothes change stops, we headed straight out for our first taste of the
jungle. As with the Inca Trail, it would take too long to give a full
account of our jungle adventure but we saw a variety of wildlife ranging
from Cayman (mini alligators), monkeys (Dusky Titti and Howler), lizards,
insects (generally huge and very colourful), bats and probably most
importantly birds, ranging from herons and vultures to parrots, parakeets
and macaws of every size and colour imaginable. Top of the scarey scale is
difficult to place. Was it one of the TWO climbs up the 120 feet tower to
take in the views across the top of the rainforest canopy, up and down river
and all the way across to Brazil.
Or was it the nightly return to one´s room to be greeted by a collection of
large, fast, creepy crawlies everywhere you turned. Or was it when you were
inside your mosquito net at night in the pitch black trying to
get to sleep against the defeaning hub-hub of the jungle noises and the
frequent sounds and feelings of things crashing into your net?! Once again,
all an experience never to be forgotten.
After three days in the jungle we returned to Lima on the final leg of the
Condor journey.
Back to "civilisation"? With impeccable timing, it was election day in Peru
and so Lima and indeed much of urban Peru was awash with civil disturbances,
riot police, an alcohol ban and a virtual curfew.
So, after a brief sortie to see what all the fuss was about, the last
members of the group spent an unadventurous but nonetheless very good
evening in the hostal cafe drinking and playing "Sh*thead" (cards!) till
late. At least we didn´t have far to walk home!
And then it was finally time to say goodbye to Peru and time to say adios to
the Neuvo Sole (the currency), Cusqueña (fave beer) and everything else
Peruvian and say hola to Chile and a whole different world.
First of all, the bad news...NO SKIING!!!!!!!!!!
Yep, 2 to 3 weeks too early for the slopes near Santiago which I was
planning to hit, and others which were snow covered were too far away to
visit (best part of a day travelling each way). So bum, bum, bum, bum, bum.
Just as well I visited the highest ski lodge in the world in Bolivia and
threw a snowball or two there. Poor substitute though. But anyway, no skiing
meant a bit more time to do other things.
Anyway, ignorant of this bad news at the time, I did one of my trademark
whistlestop city tours on my first full day in Santiago (this generally
involves marching round the city's main sights and attractions at a quite
prodigious pace - maximum tourism in minimum time and with minimal
expense!).
Initial good impressions of Santiago from my airport taxi were soon backed
up after a few hours in the city. Much nicer than Lima and indeed most of
Peru and very European again in feel, much like Buenos Aires. Churches,
museums, hills and other sites flew past and at the end of the day I'd not
only got a good feel for the city but had also braved the metro system to
ease my tired legs. Highlight of the day was probably the trip up to the top
of San Cristobal hill (by funicular!) and the views across the city. Also
saw someone up there I'd met in Bolivia a couple of weeks earlier!! Small
world etc...
The next day in a rather down'in'the'mouth no-skiing mood I embarked on plan
B which was a trip out to the little town of Pirque, a few km outside the
city bounds, to the Concha y Torro vineyard, Chile's largest wine producer
and home to a wine that I'd actually sampled in Peru without paying any
attention to where it came from! It also turned out to be home of
undoubtedly the most beautiful vineyard guide in the world. I think it was
lurve...
Buoyed by that lil' adventure (a trip by metro and bus to a destination I
had very little info on and took some time to find!) I headed off early the
next day to the seaside, or more precisely the neighbouring towns of
Valparaiso (VP - old port) and Vina del Mar (VM - new resort) on the Pacific
coast, a couple of hours (around 80 miles) from Santiago. The two towns were
a real contrast. One an old slightly grubby and seedy ole colonial port
surrounded by a colourful maze of little hill-side towns and communities
(one of which I was to get rather worryingly lost in later!) serviced by
rickety old 'ascensors' , the other a palm-tree, McD and casino-ridden beach
playground, but with some jolly nice sand and surf. Both were given the
treatment, sampled to the fullest in the few hours available before the bus
finally got me back to Santiago after a horrifyingly M25-like traffic jam on
the outskirts of the city. A stark reminder of the home I was indeed soon to
return to!!

And so it's over. The last six weeks really has been the experience of a
lifetime and lived up to all expectations. I was sad for it to end but also
in some ways glad. Its been tiring and its been a long time away (well
certainly feels like it!). And anyway, just like Arnie, I'll damn sure that
I'll be back!
I hope all's well with you all. I'll see some of you soon I hope and the
lucky amongst you may even get to see my photos (assuming they came out ok
and I get them back from the developers!).
Till then, adios amigos,

Simon X