We did it!

Well, that was a lot harder than we were expecting to say the least!

We finally finished the Inca Trail yesterday morning in the pouring rain, soaked to the skin and extrememly tired, but I think it is fair to say that we couldn´t be happier. Neither of us are reknowned as the fitest people in the world, but we´ve managed to drag our carcases over 46Km going up over a height of 4200m - Per/Zelda your warnings of how hard it were didn´t quite do it justice!

I´ll put up a full post with pictures as soon as I get a decent Internet connection.

Quito & The Galápagos

Ok, it's been a little while since I've written an entry of any length so bear with me whilst I try and remember what we got up to.

We arrived in Quito from Cartagena without much trouble to stop at the Hostel Cartuja, a small and, by my lofty standards, somewhat basic hotel a ten minute walk from the new town of Quito. To my surprise, not only did I not spontaneously combust upon entering a lower than 5 star hotel, I actually found it rather bearable which was something of a shock and will hopefully keep the accomodation costs down going forwards.

We spent two nights and one day in Quito upon first entry, spending the first night getting rather drunk in a very trendy (something I am clearly not, as I still use such a word approaching my 30th birthday) bar, doing our best to sample all the delights of the generous cocktail menu. We were clearly good customers as we started to be given free drinks, despite us not really requiring any encouragement.

The following day was spent in the old town. Following on from the encouragement of staying in cheap accomodation, we took public transport to the old town, not at all the Matt most of you will recognise and spent a pleasant morning and afternoon (if a little damp at times) seeing yet more churches and taking another trip up a little hill to a religious monument, that we were yet again informed was not safe to walk assuming you like your stomach without extra holes.

I'm not sure why there is a correlation between religious monuments and violent robbery in South America, but it does seema rather popular comination so far as we can see so far.

The next day we headed off for the Galápagos Isles, something of a highlight of the trip we were hoping. We got the 3 hour plane from Quito and even got the seats with extra leg room, things were clearly going too well. Not to worry, reality was not far away and we soon arrived to find that the double cabin we had booked was a twin, the diving we'd been assured we could do from the boat was no longer allowed and we were to be living for the next five days in the almost exclusive company of Germans.

Now before I sound a little too jingoistic too early on in the post, I should point out the Germans were all very nice, but it does limit the conversation somewhat when you got a D at GCSE German. One of our German companions even commented he would sue, were he to be sent on a holiday with exclusive German company :)

Despite being very disappointed at not being able to dive, everything else we saw and did was spectacular. I won't bore you all by putting loads of photos in this post, anyone who is interested can see our photos here.

In summary our days in the Galápagos broke down as follows:

Day 1
The first day was spent touring a Tortoise Farm and spending our first night on the boat, which included a 12 hour over night traversal to Isabela Island which was, I think it is fair to say a little bumpy. You can see a little clip of one of the Giant Tortoises below.

Days 2 & 3
The second and third days included a splendid walk to see Marine Iguanas, Penguins, Flamingos and even Sharks hiding in sea connected pools on Isabela Island.
On the afternoon of the second day, we went on a boat ride around a lagoon, see rays and Sea Turtles, somewhat smaller that the Giant Tortoises on the first day, but none the less spectacular.

Day 4
The forth day saw us visiting one of the smaller islands of the archipelago Bartholomew to climb 200m to the top of an extinct volcano. The view was breathtaking, although the 06:00 start was a little early, even for those of us who are still haven't quite adjusted to the six hour time difference. Following the climb there was a chance to snorkel and swim, before heading off to refuel the boat and then onto Islas Plaza another of the small islands to see more sea lions and marine iguanas.

Day 5
We had an early breakfast and had a little time on San Christobal Island before heading back to the airport and back to Quito for a few more days.

The two further days we had in Quito saw us take a visit to the Center of the World, a somewhat underwhelming experience if we're completely honest, although we were rather pleased with ourselves for making the entire journey via public transport, a not inconsiderable task given the distance and our lack of Spanish and it saved us the difference between two 35 cent bus tickets each way and the $45 per person tour cost.

Unfortunately we did not manage to escape Ecudaor completely as we would have hoped either and after going for an extremely nice meal in a local Cuban restaurant on the last night, both Siobhán and I unfortunately fell to a nasty bought of food poisoning, as those following my status updates on Facebook may already be aware, which made the 05:00 start to catch our flight to Peru a little more unpleasnt and challenging that it really needed to be. Not to worry by the time we arrived in Peru we were both feeling much more like our old seleves and have so far had no adverse affects to the altitude in Cusco which is a bonus.

I'll leave the tale there as it is getting late and we have another early morning tomorrow going off on the Inca Trail, it seemed like a good idea when we booked it, but I think it's fair to say we're feeling a little more hesitant at the moment, but I will update you on the trials and tribulations of that in about a week when we should be well on our way to Peru.

Feel free to add some comments, or catch us both on Facebook, speak to you soon.

Photos coming soon . . .

We have made it to Cusco and have a hotel room with Internet access for the next couple of days, so we're currently in the process of uploading our photos. Keep an eye on the photos box on the right hand of the blog below the map where the new photo albums links will show up as and when they get added.

I'll try and put up a post about Quito and the Galápagos in the next day or so too, so check back for that.

Siobhán and I are both well and hope you all are too - let us know add some comments!

Columbia Unscathed . . . Almost

Well, nine days and five flights later, we’re finally approaching Quito In Ecuador. It was something of a relief to step off the plane from Cartagena in Bogota as the humidity had ensured that not a piece of clothing had escaped the first nine days unworn and in many cases more than a little the worse for wear.

Writing this entry also offers me the chance to summarise what we’ve been up to over the start of our travels, as well as escape, albeit certainly only temporarily, from Siobhán’s current favoured brand of torture, attempting to have me name which city is from which South American country. I fully accept my failure of geographical knowledge to the point that would make a toddler blush, yet this does nothing to dissuade Siobhán from unleashing the full force of her displeasure at my stupidity as I take a third or even forth stumbling guess at which country Medelin may be in (anybody?); still it keeps her amused and that is, after all, the most important thing.

So let’s get to a little break down of our time in Columbia. I have previously regaled you of our ill feted attempt to make it to Isla del Pirata, so will say no more of the event and move straight into our second day in Cartagena which was largely spent lounging by the hotel pool interspersed with only the occasional venture outside the hotels walls to find sustenance.

Having felt the first and second days were a little wasted we needed to get out and see the sights and so it was we decided to go to the Cathedral de la Popa a monestary (although they call it a convent) 150m above the town on a little hill. We packed a back pack and set off to walk through the main town. At 09:00 it already seemed like we were walking through a very humid version of hell and were extremely hot and rather damp by the time we reached the hill, about 1.5 miles away. We were reliably informed by a little old lady near the bottom of the hill that it was not safe to walk up and that we would likely be shot or stabbed . . . something of a common theme as far as we can tell with little hills in South American cities that have religious destinations on top!

Whilst the cynical amongst you may feel it is convenient she had a friend to take us to the top of the hill for a small fee, I won’t hear a word said against her and so it was that we ventured to the top of the hill with a little assistance, something I think both of us were probably glad about given the heat, even if slightly unsure as to how dangerous the trip genuinely was. The monestary provided stunning views across Cartagena and the surrounding area and following a little guided tour we made our way by taxi back to the hotel.

The following two days, as anyone who knows me well will a-test, were the highlight, as we got to walk round several churches and museums! Following my strict guidelines for ranking museums the gold museum would have to come out as my recommendation as it had air conditioning round most of it!

That being said, there were also obvious attractions to what turned out to be largely a museum of torture and the various methods employed around the times of the Spanish Inquisition. The chaps in the picture on the right appear to have been having a great time whilst all of this was going on . . . come to think of it I’m sure I’ve taken similar pictures on one or two stag do’s that the boys have been on over the last few years when they get a little over excited.

Saturday came and we had booked to go out to the islands yet again, this time just for a day, to do some diving. We woke up bright and early, ready to meet the people taking us out and lo and behold if the heavens had not opened once again!

You can get a little idea of the ferocity of the rain in the picture to the left, this amount of water had come down in only about 30 minutes. We waited hesitantly at the notably closed dive shop and were beginning to think it was fate that we should not make it, when up turned a pick up truck and we were ushered inside and whisked off to the docks.

Things seemed to be going a little too well, the rain had stopped to little more than a drizzle and the sky was brightening. In a little under half an hour the rain had stopped, the sun was out and we were speeding our way out to the islands. The journey lasted a little over an hour as we docked against a small jetty on an even smaller island that consisted of two houses, one owned by the dive company and one someone else who I am assuming the dive company did not get on overly well with, considering the rather large wall and even larger dog barking over it.

The dives themselves were somewhat unspectacular, but it was good to get a couple of dives under our belts, having been strictly land (and air) based mammals for the last two years, especially with the possibility of diving in the more challenging waters around the Galápagos rearing into the headlights of the near future.

It was whilst out diving for the day that we met Paul, an Aussie miner (not minor), of gold none the less and having hit it off with him, we continued on after diving, first for a few beers in a roadside bar (30p a bottle) and then later that evening for dinner and a quantity of mojitos capable of flooring a whale, with himself and Charles who he had met a few days prior, a fellow bank employee who has decided now is a good time to escape the toils of the city, and when we met him was currently waiting for his car to be shipped in from Panama, where he has driven from the Arctic and plans to continue south to the Antarctic!

Sunday brought with it not just the expected hangover, but also what I feel must be considered the highlight of our travels so far, that being a lie in whilst watching the Man Utd. vs Newcastle match. Considering that last seasons matching fixture left us on the unfortunate end of a 6–0 drubbing, you can understand my unadulterated joy at not only gaining a convincing 1–1 draw, but also looking like a team that may actually know how to play football, rather than simply get into fights and ultimately jail, still let’s not get too carried away, it is after all only the first game of the season.

I suppose I should finally draw this rather extended entry to a close, it has taken so long to write that two days have passed since I first began and we are currently on our sixth flight in less than two weeks (don’t think of the carbon footprint) and soon to be landing in the Galápagos. For those of you who are paying any attention and are wandering as to the “…Almost’ in this entry’s title, rest assured foreign climbs have not taken too long to catch up with us and I shall be forever grateful to have a doctor as a sister-in-law who has provided various tonics to reduce my reliance on close proximity to a suitable convenience!

Next stop the Galápagos!

Helen & Julian's Wedding Photos Updated

I've finally been able to upload the remainder of the photo's from the wedding, you can see them here and I've included a little taster in this post for your (if not Julian's) amusement.

Will start to upload travel photo's next time we have Internet. Hope everyone is well!

It`s Alive!

I`m sure you`ve all been dreadfully concerned, but the iPhone truly is the work of the devil as it appears to have healed itself!

Five days after a soaking of truely monumental proportions and it has decided it has had enough of a rest, bursting back into life with it would appear no adverse affects, which is more than can be said for some of Siobhán`s old fashioned technology and there was no need to download the iDryOut application, but thanks for the tip Glenn ;)

Whilst this would appear to be good news, I do hope everywhere we stop from now on has a safe that it can be locked in at night, after all if it can heal itself who knows what it get`s up to when it`s not being watched!

Casualties of War

Well, it was bound to happen at some point, but this was a little sooner than I had expected . . . the first of my electronic toys has bitten the dust! The gadget in question, my iPhone :(

You may be wondering just how I Iet this unfortunate fate befall my beloved iPhone, so early into the trip, so let me fill you in . . . Siobhán and I arrived a little later and a lot more tired than anticipated in Cartagena, following a somewhat delayed flight from Bogota, meaning by the time we continued on our little adventure we had been passing the time in Bogota airport for nearly seven hours.

Arrival in Cartagena brought us no great respite, for as soon as we left the airport to (surprisingly) be met by the driver from our hotel, we soon discovered that Cartagena was in the grip of tropical storms of truly biblical proportions, with there being several feet of water on the roads we needed to pass and leaving our tired and battered minds pondering whether we had made a completely advisable selection with our choice of first holiday destination.

Such thoughts were soon put aside once we reached the hotel, a converted and extremely beautiful convent, as we swiftly went to bed safe in the knowledge we had to be up in just six hours time to get to the docks, where we would be taken to our first holiday destination proper on Isla del Pirata. The new dawn came without fanfare and whilst overcast and humid, there was nothing to suggest the day ahead would not be the first of many to be treasured. We made it to the docks for our boat on time, following a slight detour towards the airport where our taxi driver seemed to think would be a more suitable destination and awaited our hosts for the next five days.

The boat arrived and we were ushered aboard, rucksacks placed safely into the bow of the boat, we retained our zip on back packs containing our valulables such as passports and camera. No sooner had we boarded the boat than it began to rain (have I mentioned there was little more than a slight awning to cover the unexpecting passengers beneath and as Siobhán and I had carefully selected seats at the front of the boat we were not even afforded the somewhat limited protection this purported to offer).

Whilst more than a light shower, Siobhán and I were still in good spirits, knowng that in only 45 minutes we would be able to disembark and change our damp clothes, spending the remainder of the day at leisure, or so we thought. Approximately two minutes later (and out to sea) we began to appreciate how the roads had become so afflicted and we became caught, with no means of escape in a torrential downpour I am confident has not been experienced since the days of Noah himself.

Lashing and stinging rain beset the unfortunate little boat, in a thankfully calm sea, with those passengers who had maybe felt fortunate to be under the slight cover of the awning feeling no less the rains force than those of us at the front. Siobhán cowered her legs under her backpack, whilst I swiftly placed my wallet in mine and had a crew member place it in the bow in an attempt to preserve its contents. An hour later and we were still in the boat still being rained on (not that it really mattered by this juncture) and were informed we could go no further, less we incur the wrath of the coast guard and it was at this point we were ushered to a nearby island to shelter in an outdoor nightclub.

I will try and cut my little tale short, as I feel I may be failing to hold your interest (although I know how the suffering of another, particularly someone you know, can be a compulsive read). We were in due course informed we would not be able to make the trip to the island that day and eventually returned to our little boat to make back for the docks where (and I appreciate it was a long time coming) I discovered that I had failed to remember that I still had my poor unfortunate iPhone in my pocket, meaning it had undergone a drenching of monumental proportions, from which I am afraid it has failed to recover.

To ensure that I do not end on a sour note, which I feel would make those of my readers whom I used to work with feel far too smug at still sitting in the office, I should point out that in the two days since our return to the hotel of our first night, we have received nothing but glorious sunshine and eaten and drunk like kings, making our drenching little more than an amusing anecdote with which to entertain our friends upon our return and our tans are begining to come along nicely.

Come Saturday we have booked to go diving back out at the islands, so no doubt the weather will manage to take a turn for the worst by then, but in the mean time try and picture us sun drenched round a perfect pool without a care in the world :)