Two days become very quickly 10 days. It was the spot- a cul de sac just at the end of the beach- ; the sense of being part of a community- getting invited for dinner from everywhere; the huge prawns (the biggest we have ever seen!) coming fresh from the sea; the warm ocean; the flat beach; awesome waves; the sense of absolute calmness; and our beautiful "neighbours" (kayaks included!). On and all, San Jacinto is the perfect place. A paradaise, that we are not the first ones to discover as it shows by the so many expats who live here

Ecuador, August 2017

Crossing to Ecuador gave us a very different feeling. For starters it was the “captain” at the customs who not only allowed us to go without registering our car (the officer who does that was sick) but took a photo with us and gave us his personal phone number to call him while in Quito!

All we could see was green and green and more green. Bananas, plenty of them! Our first stop is the petrified forest- one of only 4 in the world. A quick walk and immediately surrounded by people who came to talk to us; telling them all what is good about their country. As it turned out we didn’t travel more than 20 km on that first week; so swamped by the hospitality of those first encounters. Dinner here and there. Our home filled with people and children who want to see more of our place. The crab festival in Naranjales attended by more than 3,000 people, the fun at the 7 Waterfalls- more like a rope course, and the thermal baths in Jesus Maria....where we ended up also being invited when in Guayaquil!

Duran/Guayaquil:

We stayed in Duran, just on the outskirts of Guayaquil and from there we did an awesome bike ride to Isla Santay; a 7 km boardwalk/bike that cross also to the city. There is a nice “Malecon” (promenade) in the city but apart from that, not much else to see. Almost two separate worlds in this city- like all the cities in south America. The very rich part- all with closed suburbs, nice shopping, clean streets...and the other part.

Bolivar & San Martin encounter in Guyaquil

The coastal way: Ruta del Sol (Spondylus)


Finally back on the ocean! Yupppyyy...I missed the sea so so much! The beaches in Ecuador strike me as so laid-back, so much nature with basic infrastructure. The weather is not coming along with us, cloudy-almost rainy- days, everyday...enough for walks sometimes and some pelota-paleta...but mostly days of cinema and eating. Montañita so very young and hippie, Olon very relaxed, Isla Salango where we took a boat and saw the whales! 6 of them, jumping and swimming in group, Puerto Lopez with a nice promenade

Received a whatsapp with the invite. Come over for “merienda” (dinner)...the whole family waiting for us to go to a restaurant. Couldn’t believe that even the grown up kids wanted to spend the Saturday night with us! And in our way back home...stopped at their parents home for a drink with cookies!

So generous in her invite. Stay in a safe place, a closed suburban with swimming pool. Ideal for these hot days in Guayaquil. All the teenagers on board to drive to the pizza place. Hecti birthday and a cake...and a promise to come back

On the road to Tarapoto.

Drying cacao

"I am exhausted, can't even write" I said. It's been 4 days since we left Lima into our new adventure: Amazonas. Deep now into the jungle, after so many windy and disastrous roads. Road with curves and curves, never 20 m flat; roads with holes as big as craters, gravel roads, roads where we had to stop for 1 hour at a time just to allow some work, roads with trucks and motorbikes and tuc tucs, mud roads, cliff narrow roads no guard rails, mosquitoes, mountains and forest, high altitude again (4,600 m), freezing conditions and then hot and humid- going from 9 to 30 degrees from one day to the other. And we haven't arrived yet!

The amazons experience

It all started in Tarapoto. We left SalSolcito and took a shared taxi up to Yurimaguas. The route, 2.5 hours of constant turning, glad that it was driven by an expert...it would have taken us 5 hours...by the end of it, the humidity and heat...we were really sick. Arrived at the port and of course the “slow boat” is leaving this afternoon! BUT it was empty and the men have barely started loading. Two days later we finally left to Iquitos. There is something mesmerising about sitting on a deck of a boat, on the river, 15 km per hour, the jungle at both sides....By this stage, the boat was packed! hundreds of people (mostly locals) sleeping on hammocks, all crunched up together; plus the chickens, fruit, vegies, a parrot, thousands of eggs, sacks of flour, sugar and salt, and even a moto-taxi on top of all!

We rented 2 hammocks and a “cabin”...well, more like a confined prison cell. Just a rectangle, no windows, 2 bunk beds. But it came with “privileges”. One was that our food was given to us rather than queuing and the other was being on a different floor just for us “cabin people” instead of being with all the rest. There were 3 toilets/showers and a large sink with bars to wash your teeth. At 6:00 am a huge bang on the door (a thick metal door with a huge lock) and a shout “breakfast”!!! A cup of hot soup rice? and 2 breads. It confirmed that we were in a prison! Lunch was rice and dinner was rice...For 2.5 days we were in the boat. Every so often the boat will stop in a very isolated village to unload some provisions and beer! And at the same time, loads of women would come up to the boat selling fish, fruit and even gigantic turtles! It was life, such a different life to all we know. We absolutely loved the experience!

Not very impressed with Iquitos, which is just a big city with lots and lots of motorbikes. We arranged quickly to go to the jungle the following day and that afternoon we spent a great day in a hotel with swimming pool. Luxury!

We were very certain that we did not want the “touristic” tour. The show, the animals, the tribe. It is really a pity that is not possible anymore to be in contact with an “intact culture”. I would have loved to be sitting around a fire and learn about the jibaros tribe. But is all so very commercial today that I don’t know if to feel sad or ashamed.

It took us 2.5 hours by speed boat to arrive at our camp. A very basic camp in the middle of the jungle. No electricity or hot water, shared showers outside the bungalows. And for the next 4 days we just walk and walk and also took the canoe for expeditions. And just “au natural” we had some interesting encounters: giant termites nest, a huge and scary boa, coral snake, ugly tarantulas, lazy bear, caiman, mosquitoes in quantities, huge ants, beautiful plants and yummy fruits. We walk day and night....stepping into the unknown, muddy terrain; sometimes our guide just making the way with a machete...and we even swam in the Amazonas River and fished! Perfect, just perfect.

Chachapoyas was the next region we visit. Driving now in between jungle and mountains...again those heavy routes. We like the city, all white. It was very different to the other places in the mountains. From here we took a cable car (the first one in Peru) to cross to Kuelap a pre-inca archaeological site. The view is magnificent, especially when the cable car is hanging above the canyon at 1000m above! Another day we did a trek to the Gotka waterfalls- they said the highest in South-America. My legs could feel that it has been over a month since our last walk! It was pretty intense, up and down for 4 hours; but totally worthy it when we arrived at the bottom of the waterfall. And 60 km (gravel once again!) to do another trek, the Yumbilla waterfalls. But this time, it was so pleasurable, like walking on an enchanted forest.

After 3 months in Peru we are ready to part, to explore new countries. What surprised us about Peru was the different landscapes- sea, jungle, mountains, forest-; how big it was, how tranquil and how many towns with such the very basic needs we found. We only saw big, nice and expensive houses in Lima and Arequipa...most of the country lives with just enough...we saw plenty of natural foods- fruit, vegies and fish everywhere. Plenty of little kids roaming around in roads unaware of the big trucks passing by so close. I can’t say I fallen in love with the culture. There is an air of seriousness about it, little joy. People don’t seem to move much or to do much exercise. It is very rare to see people jogging on the streets or playing football or any other game. Every time we ask for direction they will say “is so far to walk, take a mototaxi” and then found out it was only 700 m or so. And because of that; or topping that...they seem to be afraid of things, of anything adventurous and in places a bit touristic you could hear parents repeat all the time to the kids “careful with that stairs, don’t go there, etc”

Lots of bananas north of Peru and south of Ecuador

Amazons. Jungle. A bit scary for a city girl. Thanks to him, it was just a smooth experience. His knowledge, skills and nature just perfect. He is the jungle. Ready to hold my hand when the mud was too much to walk or when the tarantula came very close. Jumping out the boat when he saw a caiman and brought it to us. Funny when the boa arrive at our camp. Always smiling, eager to teach, to share his life and his environment, for us to appreciate, to have a memorable time . And we did.

Family. That undeniable feeling. Opening the fridge with easiness, cooking for one and others, going to the supermarket, joking, taking care of the sick, driving at 3:00 am to the hospital after food poison...being taking care of with so much  love.....it was all this and much more what we got with them. A few days that become 10 days, including Gracie's birthday with a glamorous present a spa day @ Westin. She is caring and warm and calm, he is generous, passionate and curious. Together a source of open hearts, open minds... you get a sense that when they embrace people they do it for life! Cheers for so many more days to enjoy together in the future

Camana

Seeing the sea again!!! I am so alive! We quickly took our bikes for a ride. A very long promenade, beautiful waves and the beach just for us. More like a ghost town as all the houses are totally shut down. No coffee shops, or restaurants or corner stores open. No people. Absolutely love that! Sometimes I wish we could arrive just at the beginning of the season, enough to see the workers slowly opening up the shops; where still there is time to talk to each other, where the frenzies of the full season hasn't' kick on yet and where people are waiting in excitement and trepidation hoping for a great season....but the full on off season gives us the possibility to stop and sleep anywhere, to feel safer, to have the best just for us, to really enjoy.

Paracas

One night that become 5 days. A real surprise to find this bay with so many 5 start hotels! Just for us and for pure enjoyment as is off season and all deserted. Our accommodation this time on the end of the bay, at the beach. A huge parking lot that quickly become the home of many travellers

Lima

A real pity but I can't say much about Lima. Only that the traffic was as terrible as I have ever seen. Just going to the city; which we managed to do it once, would take us 2 hours each way even though we were driven by locals in a small car. It was a time to rest and recover; given that we ended up sick but in such a good company, a family affair.

Side by side. We were two and then one more and then another. It was so much fun being in a group again! A very eclectic group...a couple with 2 small kids in a bus, a french couple who just retiree in a motorhome, a young couple on a van. Choripan and vodka, cake and pisco, hair dressing, pelota paleta, veggie soup. Lazy 4 days on the beach at Paracas. The beach just for us, the pink flamingos, the kite surfers, the beautiful bay and long walks on the beach. Very interesting with so many characters and one common love: travel, moving, exploring. Easy to get along, easy to get closer, easy to say goodbye, easy to promise to meet again.

June 2017
Nazca:

Truly out of this world. We took a four seater plane for a mystery fly. Flying just over the "lines" we could see so many huge drawings- some 100 m long- on the rocks and on the sand. Perfect, geometrical figures. Difficult to explain but only can be seen from the air. The experience took us to a robust discussion about who, when, why; about beliefs, science, logic and religion. I am such a rational girl, there is no much beliefs on me; I just realised how much I have lost of the naivety and romanticism of my younger years. No more god or fantasies. These days I am just about thoughts, experiences, realities, today.

The ocean again!!!! After almost 2 months without seeing it (too long!), my body is back on the water. The sea, the waves, my life. We slept in a hidden treasure, an "almost" private beach tucked away from the road. The drive between Nazca and Arequipa was on a true ocean road! With some mystic aura :). On one side the sand dunes with enormous rocks just placed on the edge- such rare formations!, on the other side the big ocean with furious waves. How much we love these roads??? Too much! hahaha

Arequipa

After so many basic- almost ugly- towns we arrived in Arequipa. As magnificent and exquisite the historical centre was - all in white volcanic stones, sillar - as chaotic the driving. I couldn't believe the amount of taxis everywhere... it was dense, not only we couldn't park near or far from the city; it took us like 2 hours to be able even to leave the city!

We enjoyed the nice shops, the big piazza and the visit to the monastery. Eerie, sad...to hear that young girls were forced to spend 4 years here, almost in total isolation. The monastery is a city, with the beautiful gardens, the little stone houses, the church....but it was difficult to go from corridor to corridor and image the kind of life those girls did have. We managed to buy some beautiful and oh so soft baby alpaca jumpers for the kids!

And so, we were glad to leave the city and going back to nature!!! I don't know if I already wrote about this. I have become such a nature junky. I can't tolerate to be away from some peaceful mountain, to hear a river down a canyon, to be taken by the ocean, to stay still on a lake, to appreciate the variety of greens of a campsite. I feel alive, I can breath, I can hear my heart being very happy.


We drove to the Colca area, with thermal bath; small and cute little towns; valleys, terraces.... and hopefully 3 days of trekking.

First there were the beautiful surprise of sightseeing the condors. We were up very early, 7:00 am as they said the condors fly with the sun. We were not disappointed. One and half hour later we had a "show". Such magnificent birds, barely moving their wings. More like gliders going across the sky. We were very close, able to admire the colours and the size of them!

Gruelling. Intense. Crazy. Extreme. Demanding. BUT so wonderful! This is how I can describe our trekking in the Canyon. Day 1: from Cabanaconde to San Juan de Chucho- 8.3km, downhill 1.100 m, 4 hours. Knees destroyed! The landscape so beautiful, and the sheer pleasure of finally arriving at the river with a wobbling old bridge. We slept in a Posada from 7:30 pm , waking up at 7:30 am! Still sore we embarked on day 2: from San Juan de Chucho to Oasis de Sangalle- 5 km, up and down the whole way. The oasis, perfectly apt name- five guest houses in a green patch along the river enclave in the bottom of the canyon. A pity that the sun doesn't last at all given the huge depth of the canyon... it meant that we couldn't enjoy the swimming pool! But we rest and rest the whole afternoon and as soon as dinner was over we were back in bed; this time at 8:00 pm. Up at 7:00 am for our last day, day 3: egg pancake and 6 Km all uphill, stone steps, 5 hours. The last hour did hurt a lot! Stopping every hour for a drink and small snack. The joy of arriving at the top! A huge sense of achievement. We felt so strong, and young, and beautiful. We couldn't' believe what we have accomplished. I am writing this piece seating on our home, the sun just coming to my body. I am still shaking and I am starving!!!.....An afternoon in the thermal bath at La Calera seems to be all our body needs....yeahhh

Making slowly our way back to Arequipa we spent the night just on a lake, relaxing. We are amazed that our bodies have recovered so quickly, no pain whatsoever...only a sense of tiredness that is not helped by the fact that we are still 4,700 meters above sea level

May 2017

Ollantaytambo

Absolutely loved this place! All the tiny narrow streets with canals, the stone houses, the plaza with a few restaurants and coffee shops, enclave in the mountains and....when I lifted my head and saw above....incredible archaeological ruins...a citadel on one side of the mountains and what appeared to be a fortress on the other side; very high up....ideal for another trekking day! On top of the mountain, the day after, chatting with a native (from a group that live still in the mountains) we learned that this area is actually food storage and the reason why the Incas built so high up it was because of fear of floods.

From here, all excitement, shouting and laughing we took the train to Aguas Calientes....the door to Machu Pichu!!!

Hecti said that the journey was more significant than the destination. For years we have been planning and thinking this trip with our friends...and now we are finally here. The sight of Machu is really impressive. A whole city built so high up in the mountains. There were so many tourists that it was difficult to just stay still and appreciate the environment. First, we had passes to climb to Wainapichu, a (300 meters) mountain just overlooking the whole city. It was really spectacular but yet again, as soon as we got to the top, it was all about photos rather than taking all in. It started raining so the rest of our visit had to be rushed. Talking among us, we all felt the same...yes, we loved the place..yes, it was an incredible view...yes, there is some mystical overall feeling around.... but we all wished we could have stay much longer just sitting around, meditating, reflecting...

Cuzco
The first time we were in Cuzco it was a terrible experience. We left our Sal Solcito on a square and off we went to explore the old city (spectacular!). By the time we came back, our home has "disappeared"!!! Luckily it was only towed by the transit police, so we spent the night on the police "yard" and so early in the morning after we just run away from this city.

The second time around we had the opportunity to walk the main square which is one of the niceness and biggest in south america. There are 3 churches just in this place. We explored the narrow streets and walked up to a lookout to see the whole city. As usual, we wondered through the big fresh markets, a favourite pastime....we can tell so much about a culture just looking at the food they produce and buy.

The road from cuzco to nazca was really pretty. A long way, we slept twice on the road overlooking valleys, river streams, mountains and -as is the case in all south of Peru- the terraces. These are patches of cultivated land, all in different colours, they assembled like pieces of a puzzle, their borders made of walls of stones waist high.

Peru

A less than a fortunate border crossing, unable to meet our other friends, a robbery, a credit card eaten by the ATM machine, an illness than one by one caught all of us....this isn't exactly the way we wanted to start our leg in Peru!

Uros -floating islands

I keep thinking how many different ways of living are in this world. Such unique ways of living. We took a boat just for us to explore the islands. After a while, in front of us a "city". Small islands made of ...., no more than a few meters each, with 3-4 huts . Each cabana housed a small family. Or a couple with a child. We stopped in one to learn how this islands are made and to understand how the people here live. They take up to 1.5 years to build one small island. Most of the villagers now live from the tourists but they still collect eggs from a particular bird not only for eating but also to exchange in the markets- in the city- for other food. There is one island with a school- and another with a football field. Each island has a president- rotated every year and there is a president for all the islands. We slept in a hut,  mattress made of something like straw or bamboo with 4 lama blankets. We certainly didn't feel the cold but neither could move! In the morning we went fishing or.... trying to! The day before we laid some nets and it was time for collecting. Only 5 small fish that we could trade for 5 potatoes in the town!

Rainbow mountain (7 colours)

So hungry for real adventure and challenge. Hecti back on deck. We are ready. Started the day very early but after a mishap with Sal Solcito, where we lost our satellite dish (I wish, it just an antenna), we are ready for the hike. And what a hike it was! 8 hours, 5200 meters of altitude. Exhausted but incredible excited to arrive at the peak, to share this experience. 7 colors that was really more than 100....different ways to see the mountains and the valleys. Some horses to help us our way back, a bit into the late afternoon. Love it, love it, love it!

The "valle sagrado" journey is really beautiful and insightful at the same time. We took the time and crossed small towns so rich in archeological sense, so inspired by this landscape: Rachi, Sicuani and the great lake where we cook a full leg of ham!.I am so glad we took the time to explore all this area, in preparation for Machu Pichu

April 2017

Uyuni

Absolutely stunning. Difficult to describe...magnificent...12.000 square kilometres of salt. White until it gets lost in the horizon, we travelled in a 4x4 at 100 km per hour, crossing the "salar". Then, as if this view wasn't crazy enough we stepped into Incahuasi island. An island in the middle of the "salar", covered in vegetation...cactus of 10 mts! To finish the excursion, an incredible sunset reflecting on the "water"...that is 5 cm of water that covers the "salar" as leftovers from the rain. The colors we saw here...full of reds and pinks...and the few cars and the mountains reflecting like mirrors on the water. After a full day we were tired but wanting more!

And so, the day after, we took our bikes and off we went to the "salar" again! The noise of the bike in the salar is something I would never forget. It was as if we were riding on thin ice and it was about to crack open at every second! Something amazing is the shapes of hexagons that forms the salar. It looks like mosaics! We ended up again in the hostel of salt, and then we searched for the "water". During the day it look like ocean!. Decided to take a shortcut, we ended in tons of mud and the last 10 km was heavy going. We got into our home after 6 hours of riding, no lunch, bit of water, covered in salt, desperate for food and rest....what a unique experience!!!!!!!!!!!

Arrived in Tiahuanacu, a place Hector wanted to visit because of the important archaeological site. About 70 km of La Paz. After a full day of visit and half day trying (almost in vain) to cook a BBQ (the lack of oxygen at such a high altitude!) we heard a knock on the door and soon enough we found ourselves talking with this native family who needed some help to bring about a community project; that is showing tourist how their ancestors and still they live today.

La Paz

There is no better way to learn and to experience a place like doing it with the locals! Such a great opportunity. We took a minibus and we started our “tour” on the San Francisco church, walking up and down all the hills to the main square, the government house and the courts; spend some light time in the Bolivian musical instrument museum and walked though the Jaen street, a street very similar to a cute European place. A stop to eat some “saltenias” (empanadas) and off to the biggest street market in south America! And how do you reach 4,500 mts altitude? By cable cars! The cable cars here are used like the buses. Such a great way to see La Paz!!! All the houses against the side of the mountains, all of bare brick colors- you have to pay more taxes if you paint the houses!- The markets are such a crazy place! You can find from cars to toothpicks and everything you could ever need! By the time we finish seeing just a tiny bit of the market we are exhausted! Thanks to our hosts- uni graduates in turism that we met in Tiahuanaco!!!!

Copacabana, Lake Titicaca

I am writing this overlooking the magnificent lake from the edge of a mountain and the snowy mountains further down. Reflecting on the incredible few days we just experienced.

So eager to see/be in the water again; I just keep my breath in suspense when I see the big promenade in front of me. Huge disappointment as the rubbish around is difficult to avoid. But it is a great spot to just relax and if we move a few hundred meters away from the main street then it is a bit better. And the main attraction is to catch a boat and cross to Isla del Sol. Which we did. I said "we" as our friends are back! And "we" minus Hecti who has flown to BsAs for a week to be with his mum who is sick :(

There is such a beautiful view from Isla del Sol and we slept just on the cliff overlooking the bay. We ventured into a walk up to the other side of the island; always moving just a tad slow given the altitude. At this stage, after more than a month in high altitudes I am wondering when we will get back to "normal".