Posts for October, 2009

We arrived in Peuto Ayora late last night after a lengthy navigation. Some of the group were leaving today so they were up and away early for a quick visit to Darwin Station before catching their plane out.

Isla Espanola today, the southern most island in the Galapagos group and the place where we hope to see Albatrosses, and a new variety of marine Iguana.

This morning when we woke the boat was anchored just off Santa Fe Island and the plans for the day were in the same pattern as the previous days. First a walk on the island to look at the local animals and then some snorkeling in the bay. Our walk found the now common colonies of sea lions snoozing on the beach and rocks, an assortment of birds, a new variety of land Iguana, and a number of Galapagos Hawks. Another interesting morning. The Snorkeling was good today, the water a bit warmer than some of the earlier days and a number of sea lions were prepared to keep us company. I also saw a couple of small sharks, not the man eating variety.

We were out in the dingy this morning by 6:00 am to ensure that even the last few hours of our visit got in some animal watching. And we were not disappointed. We cruised around a mangrove cove for an hour and saw a number of sea turtles, some small sharks, an eagle ray, and the most amazing sight of all - a flock of perhaps a thousand Blue Footed Boobies hunting and feeding in a pack. The flock would circle over the cove until a school of fish was spotted and then the entire flock would dive to feed. Just an amazing sight. After hitting the water the flock would surface and take to the air again - on some occasions almost running over us in our small dingy.

I am back from the US with the various parts for the Tiger, oil filters, fuel filters, oil seal, and assorted other things. I was worried about how Ecuadorian Customs would react to a bag full of car parts and after I saw the dire warnings on the declaration form I was even more worried; so I listed the parts on the form as instructed. Need not have bothered; the customs man did not even look at the form. But he did notice the strange shapes on his x-ray machine; not to worry - when I told him I was going to Peru he waved me on.

We hung around the hostel most of the morning before making our way back to the Tiger at the parquedero and getting underway.

What a day!!.

We had a few emotional moments in Tumbes this morning as Nina thought she had lost her ATM card, and then for a few moments feared the ATM had eaten the card she borrowed from me. While all finished up ok it was not a encouraging start to the day, but .. things improved from there.

We had a very pleasant night, temperature in the mid 60°F's and no insects. Not what we had expected from a desert.

Today was a quiet day. In the morning we drove the few miles to the archeological site of Chan Chan. It is the remnants of a city built by the Chimu culture who occupied this area for about 600 years from 850 AD. From the remnants archeologists think the city was 28km square and supported 60,000 people. The Chimu were conquered by the Incas before the arrival of the Spanish. The site is not spectacular, just a huge expanse of adobe walls, corridors and burial chambers. But the scale of the site is impressive. You are left with the impression that this was a powerful and well resourced culture.

We were away early this morning heading for the mountain town of Caraz in the valley that lies between the Cordillera Blanco (snow covered) and the more westerly Cordillera Negro (not snow covered) mountain ranges. The route we chose travelled down the coast to Chimbote, then headed inland along "highway 12" through Huallaca, and the Canon Del Pato.

We continued on the rough dirt road this morning to the village of Huallanca looking forward to the sealed road south to Caraz as described in the guide book. But alas the book lied, at least a little. After Caraz the road continued to be gravel but of a better quality as it climbed up into the Canon Del Pato. This was yet another amazing road. Built about 1913, presumably to put in the hydro power plant, it winds along the side of the canyon for maybe 6 miles and passes through 30 rough rock tunnels. At places the canyon (like the one yesterday) is less than 50 yards wide (about a 1/2 wedge shot).

Before heading out of Caraz this morning we had a challenging and somewhat unusual chore to perform. Nina receives a pension from her time as a teacher in Australia. Every year the pension organization requires proof that she is still alive (I know it sounds like the Russell Crowe movie Proof of Life). She must fill in a form and get it witnessed. So this morning we set off to find a notario, the Latin equivalent of a US notary or Australian JP. That accomplished, with lots of laughs, we went to a post office to send the letter certificardo. It's amazing what a few words of Spanish, lots of miming, and some intelligent locals can accomplish.

So what are giant Puya Raimondii?

Words are going to fail me today.

When we left the camping ground at De Lachay this morning we had no intention of stopping in Lima; in fact we had spent most of the previous evening planning to get up early to try and miss the worst of Lima's notorious traffic.

This morning we decided to try and find an Acogas place we had read about where other travelers had purchased an adapter that allowed US fixed propane tanks to be filled at gas station GPL pumps (location details in the camping section below). This proved to be a challenging driving experience as it took us on some of Lima's busiest streets at rush hour. Also took us through some of the up market shopping areas. But it was successful; we got the fitting and a couple of hours later at a gas station filled our fixed tank with no trouble.

There was never any doubt that we would take a scenic flight to look at those famous Nazca lines and figures, so that was the first item on the days "to do" list. I must admit that they are less impressive than I expected. The photos I have seen in places like National Geographic make them look bigger than they are in real life. Also there are lots of marks made by modern man that cut across the ancient lines and figures. But I am still pleased we took the flight, and the lines and figures are worth seeing. Even if smaller than expected you still can't help but ask yourself - why; why would a group of people make these figures ??

What an arduous day. We were on the road for over 12 hours (6:00am to 6:30pm) and covered 550kms over yet another amazing road. The scenery was simply awesome, and the road surface generally excellent. But the topography - has to be seen to be believed. The high point on the road before the town of Puquio was just on 15,000 feet, but altitude alone does not give the full picture. At least three times the road descended to 6,500 ft before climbing back to 13,-14,000 and each time both the climb and descent was achieved by what seemed like never ending switch backs. The climb out of Abancay was perhaps the most impressive of all. The town was at 6,500ft and within 30 km of road travel and no more than 10 kms of actual distance we were back at 14,000ft.

There is not much to say about today; we stayed at the camping ground doing the washing and catching up on other chores.

A couple of days back the Tigers engine computer started telling me it was time to change the fuel filter. This was a bit of a surprise as at the start of that day I am sure the same computer said we had 40% life remaining. Guess we picked up some dirty fuel along the Cusco road. So this morning we went off to the local Volvo/Mitsubishi dealer to get it changed - luckily I have a number of spares. I was a bit anxious about this because the vehicle is sometimes difficult to prime and start after a fuel filter change. But I should not have worried. The guys at the local Volvo dealer had it changed and the vehicle running again in 40 minutes from the time I walked into the showroom. Also only cost us $13.00.

The day started with a bit of a mad rush. We got a taxi to Cusco's San Pedro station only to discover that our train departed from a different station 15 kms out of Cusco and that we had to be there is 20 minutes. So another taxi and a bit of hair raising driving; but we made it.

Everyone is told that you have to get to the ruins to watch the sunrise. Also one part of the ruins, Waynapicchu mountain, is restricted to 400 people per day. So by 5:15 am there is a huge crowd in the main street waiting to catch the first bus (5:30).

We spent the morning doing some more washing and other chores - boring.