Lines in the Sand

After an epic bus trip from Ecuador, to Piurna and then down the coast of Peru we finally arrived in the capital city of Lima. However, as soon as we arrived we realised that it wasn´t really worth all the effort it took to get there. There is absolutely nothing along the northern coast line... and we mean nothing. Once arriving at the outskirts we drove through slum regions for about 1.5 hours before reaching the centre of the city which is home to 7.5 million people. Apparently in the 1950`s when the rural areas of Peru initially got TV, many impoverished country folk flocked to the city in search of the lifestyle they saw for the first time on the television. As a result the slums saw an explosion of population growth. If you're heading this way, don't bother with this city!!

Homes on the outskirts of Peru's capital city of Lima

The centre of the city isn't any better... more of the same highly concentrated

Lima itself is horrible except for a very small suburb called Miraflores where it seems the only nice houses, shops and cafes are located. Every tourist we have spoken to has left Lima as soon as possible. Despite having been driving almost continually for about 4 days and being desperate to get off the bus, we disembarked in Lima and immediately went to book a ticket for the next bus out of there the very same afternoon.

Seriously, the only reasonably nice area in Lima known as Miraflores...

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Nazcar was our next destination. It is a dusty little town in the middle of the desert that was pretty much unknown to the world until someone flew over the sand dunes and noticed enormous markings in the sand, known now as the Nazca Lines. No one really knows why the ancient Nazca people spent so much time making markings that could only really be seen from the sky. There are countless lines across the sand as well as figures of animals and other things that were important to their culture. There are theories that the lines had astrological significance or led the way to water. Others think that they were used for religious ceremonies and worship to their God´s and as paths to sacred sites. The people made the images by removing the dark stones that cover the desert to reveal the light sand beneath. As there is so little rain and wind in the desert, the images have remained intact for centuries.

The image known as "the hands"... personally we think it looks like a baby chick

30m tall image on the side of a sand dune known as "the astronaut". Didn't anyone think about the fact that the ancient Nazcas wouldn't have any idea what an astronaut was?

"The Spider"

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We took a light plane ride over the lines to get the best view. Marie and Renee both were ill the whole way as the flight was almost aerobatic in nature as the pilot threw the plane around to make sure every passenger got a good view of each figure - good for the photos but not so good for the stomach! Some of the figures were huge and very easy to see whilst others were much more difficult. Apparently they are still discovering more images regularly in this vast desert.

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"Friggot Bird"

Nazca Desert

No idea what this is... but thought it was funky

The last of Ecuador....

We were teased numerous times (very enthusiastically!) by our fellow Aussie travellers on the Galapagos tour, that we were backpacker snobs and that the rest of our trip was going to be full of relative hardship in comparison to our luxury cruise... however the first place we went to after the Galapagos, Baños, was far from slumming it! It´s a gorgeous little town nestled beneath an enormous active volcano with waterfalls cascading down into the village. Why people choose to build towns beneath temporamental mountains is beyond us!! The entire town has had to be evacuated numerous times in the last few years & there are signs around indicating the best evacuation routes. One local said incredulously ¨Haven´t you ever seen a volcano erupt??¨ when we asked if he had witnessed it. Apparently you can seen the lava most nights but unfortunately the night that we took a adrenalin pumped ride to the top of a neighbouring mountain to get a glimse of the action, the clouds stopped us from seeing more than a few meters infront of us let alone any volcano activity! Sharing a drink of sugar cane syrup at the summit with our driver was a nice compensatory experience.

One of the highlights of Baños (other than Ray´s chocolate brownies & chocolate shakes at Casa Hood - which we partook of daily!!) was white water rafting with grade 4.5 rapids. It was absolutely fantastic and the scenery was magnificent with towering mountains on both sides of the river. Marie & Renee decided to scale some of these mountains so that they could justify eating more brownies.... and are sure that their shortness of breath was a result of the altitude rather than anything else!!

We also decided to brave a ¨Cajaro baño¨which was an interesting experience akin to being beheaded.... we were put in a box with two pieces of wood with holes just large enough for a neck which were then closed around our head. Firstly the box was filled with steam. Next we had to follow a washing ritual with cold water and a towel before returning to the box. After repeating this several times we were put in a shallow ¨bath¨of cold water and the attendant massaged our abdomen (a little too intimately!) and splashed us with freezing water. After warming up in the box again the bowl of cold water was poured over our heads before we were literally hosed down with a high pressure hose! The little fellow who was assisting us must love his job considering all the female tourists in bikinis (or less if you desire) he gets to work with and give a little more tactile attention to than is actually necessary!



One of the many waterfalls on the ¨Routa de las Cascadas¨from Baños



Tim submerged under a waterfall on our white water rafting expedition



After the successful descent of one of the rapids



Scenery through which we were rafting.
The river is actually dammed for a hydroelectricity plant...



Church in the centre of Baños


From Banos we travelled to the town of Puyo to visit our sponsor child Josue (Puyo is not worth taking photos of hence the lack of pictures!!). We were the first sponsors to ever visit this project, so we were met with much enthusiasm. Poor little Josue had been waiting excitedly for over an hour by the time we arrived and apparently had been getting sadder and sadder as the time ticked by thinking that we weren't coming. He was so cute when he first came into the room holding his mums hand as he tentatively greeted us all... but within an hour he and Tim were the best of friends. Tims camera was a hit and the two of them spent most of the next two days taking photos together! 8 year old Josue thought it was hilarious when Tim accidentally asked him if he had any kids instead of asking if he had any brothers!

Josue is one of six children and his mother is separated from his father. She works for a small salary for the local church that is associated with the project that we sponsor Josue to be a part of. We took them out for dinner and to lunch the following day to a restuarant that was suggested by the project director. The restaurants were very nice by Ecuadorian standards (and were nicer than most of the restaurants we have been choosing to eat at ourselves), and we are sure that it was a special occassional that will be remembered by the family. However we did feel very uncomfortable about how much money we spent on food for them. The expressions on their faces as they looked at the prices on the menu said it all. The mother had said to me earlier that she has to spend $75 a month on food for her family and that it is a real struggle to make ends meet... and lunch cost a total of $75.




Tim and Josue at the restaurant where we took him and his Mum for dinner . Note :Tim wearing an inappropriate ¨I love Boobies T-Shirt¨





Tim and Josue in the bedroom he shares with two of his brothers.




Such a gorgeous little boy! He has so much potential & hopefully we can help him achieve it!



Balloon animals were once again a hit as were Maries bouncy balls!







Kids appearing out of nowhere at the project!!






The whole family minus one brother. Even the father dropped in for a visit (not sure if that was a good or a bad thing!). The second oldest son (14 - Luis) was so gorgeous, getting all dressed up and doing his hair specially for our visit.


Since visiting Josue it has been non stop travelling. We decided to do part of the trip to Peru on the famous Devils Nose Train. Apparently this is the steepest railway in the world (and I would suggest one of the dodgiest!!). Passengers are encouraged to travel on the roof and so at 6.30am in the freezing cold we clambered up along with all the other insane travellers (including some impressive 70+ year olds!!). The one dollar we paid to hire a cushion to sit on was one of the best dollars we ever spent! Supposedly there is a five hour trip to the town of Alausi and then a two our scenic trip down the Devils Nose. However, this seven hour trip easily turns into eleven hours when the train derails in excesse of 7 or 8 times and takes half an hour or more to¨fix¨ each time!!!


Marie and Renee ¨on board¨the Devils Nose Train (Nariz del Diablo). No one rides inside... all the fun is to be had on the roof.




The train in Riobamba station that took us on our LONG adventure...












Since the train ride it has been non stop bus trips. Alausi-Cuenca, Cuenca - Loja, Loja- Piura (which took us from Ecuador into Peru). This leg of the journey was the most dodgy as we are certain that two of the guys on our bus were smuggling things agross the border. We were pretty uneasy for a while when they seated themselves temporarily in the seat behind us as they retrieved the items that had been earlier stuffed under the back seats of the bus.

Today it will be another long bus trip from Piura to Lima, the capital of Peru. Hopefully drug smugglers (or smugglers of any type) won´t be accompanying us!!

To hell with the budget...Galapagos was worth it!

Well, quite possibly at the wrong end of our trip, but we lashed out on one of those once in a lifetime opportunituies - The Galapagos Islands. The fact that we will be sleeping on the streets and eating 2 minute noodles for the rest of the trip (...and possible when we get back too!) was worth the last weeks experience. (Its first mention in the Lonely Planet - ¨plan on spending more than you intended to!¨)

Somehow instead of the economy class, 16 passenger, old wooden sailing ship we had tentatively reserved, somehow we ended up being tempted by a good deal that saw us booked for 4 days on a luxury cruise ship.... that we just had to extend to the full 8 days after experiencing a taste of it all.

Thanks to the Isabella II and its fantastic crew (and our great fellow passengers) we had an amazing time in the most unbelievable location we have been in the world, at a level of luxury we will probably never see again!

Renee, Connie (fellow German-Aussie passenger) and Marie Zodiacing it back to the boat after walking around on one of the islands. (photos thanks to Rob, Connies´ Kiwi-Aussie husband)

Getting back onto the Isabela II after snorkeling. (Photo by Connie, Rob bottom left)

Typical sunset off the back of the boat.


This was the only meal off the boat, at their 5+ star eco-hotel on day 4. (Also fantastic incase you were wondering!)

Cheers!

The Galapagos, (meaning ¨Tortise¨) are home to these local giants who have evolved differently on each island in a relatively short space of time. The islands with lower bushes have tortises with low protective shells, while the tortises that live on the islands with more tree-like vegetation have special cutouts or ¨hoods¨ in their shell and have longer necks to allow them to reach out and up to eat.
Unfortunately some species are now extinct and others are still in danger, due to the many pirates and whalers using the Galapagos as bases and food stops... collecting the large slow tortises in particular so they could store them upside down in their boats as a long lasting supply of fresh meat.


I´m gonna catch that hare!


A hunting we will go!... (photo-bombed by 3 crazies... (Gaby our local guide, the ships Doc (Dr Left! in spanish) and fellow aussie passenger Rob)


Some babies in the re-breeding program (a few months old and approx 10 cms long).
Unlike most animals, tortises never stop growing.... They mainly die because as they get older their inefficient digestive system fails and they die of malnutrician!.... at ages above 150 years!


A crazy couple recreating the mating ritual of 150 year old tortises, still at it. :)



E.T. ...phone home! (apparently these guys influenced Spielberg when making E.T.)



The flight off the coast of Ecuador took us approximately 1000km west into the middle of the pacific ocean where a dozen or so volcanoes have sprung out of the ocean bed to create an isolated haven for some of the most strange and friendly animals on the planet.



The lava formations took many forms, making many places look like other worlds.

(These formations looked a little like petrified rope or tree trunks.)

Lava tunnels are cave-like formations based on lava flows from the volcanoes, where the outer surface exposed to the air cools faster than the inside flow. When the inside lava flow stops and drains, it leaves these underground tunnels. When some part of the ceiling colapses, the tunnels can be accesed like caves.


More lava flows as they head out to see. Making very pretty beaches contrasting between the white sand and black rocks.


Lava formations in the tidal pool areas can make tunnels, hidden pools and blowholes (like at Albany). This formation reminded us aussies of ¨London bridge¨ near the 12 apposles in Victoria... but luckily it didnt collapse while we were there!


There is life in every crack and crevice.... (These crabs start their life black in colour to hide in the lava. They then turn red when they have grown big enough to be safe and less likely to be eaten!)


Similarly, this Lava Heron makes its nests in nicely secluded lava bubbles.



The sunsets (when it wasnt completely cloudy) were fantastic. Especially when there was a volcanoe in sight.





The pink lake is due to the pink algae.

The shrimp turn pink because they eat the pink algae, and the flamingos turn pink when they eat the shrip. The more shrimp they eat, the pinker they become! How cool is that?




Sealions (and fur sealions) are on many of the islands.
They are one of the animals that make you realise... no one is scared on the galapagos.
They lie on the beaches, totally blase when people walk past. Sometimes if they have the energy or the mood suits they will play or interact with the visitors, but usually they couldnt care less if you were there or not!


Locals ...waiting for a bus.
(This was our first greeting after leaving the airport and arriving at our port landing for transfer to our boat. )


The pups are so cute, friendly, curious and playful.
You have to be careful not to let them touch you as if your scent gets on them, their mothers can reject them.... but they are more than happy to come bounding up to you, just like a puppy dog!

This one bounded up the beach all excited, just to lay down next to Renee.

And this one travelled even further over lava rocks just to kiss Renees shoes!

And its not just on the beach they want to play.... In the water they are more than happy to show off their swimming skills. Jumping and doing barrel-rolls around you when you dive or snorkel with them.







This guy isnt swiming much any more...
Im sorry.. I cant remember which type of whale it was.
They guides we were with found it alive, washed up on the beach but I cant remember if it was sick or injured by killer whales.

We saw Brydies whales on two occasions, and a huge pack of dolphins (maybe more than 50 or 60 of them together). We never got real close to the whales but it was a very cool experience (in both senses of the word) to get up at 5 in the morning for a misty sunrise and stand at the bow (titanic style), watching these graceful creatures surface all around us... surrounded by 4 huge volcanoes sticking out of the ocean!

This lake was mistaken by Darwin and his crewmates as a sourch of freshwater. (There really isnt much if any in the Galapagos) They dived in and swallowed big mouthfuls, only to be unplesantly suprised that it was about as salty as the dead sea! Its actually more concentrated than the sea and you float quite high in the water.

10 points if you can recognise what this signifies.
I was very excited when we found this as I knew it must have been recent.


Then sure enough, 2 mins further down the beach we found this female green sea turtle returning to the sea after laying her couple of hundred eggs.


And if I wasnt excited enough by seeing one on land, by the end of the week we had snorkled with about 20 of these gorgeous creatures! (again, you could go so close you could pat them... it was so hard to resist!)


Just for something different... we visited the original post office at (supprisingly enough) Post Office Bay.

This was used by sailors and whalers before the islands had regular mail services. Letters would be posted here and anyone leaving the Galapagos would stop off at P.O Bay and check if there were any letter addressed to the country or areas they were heading back to. If so, they would deliver them by hand or post them in the relevant countries. This tradition is continued through tourists.... so look out for our post cards! (maybe in a few years! there has to be more Perthies visiting P.O Bay first!) (I highly recommend you go collect them yourself! It will be worth it!)

Renee caught crabs on the Galapagos. (huh? whaaa ohh.... no)
This guy despite his perfect appearance is not home. He has moved on to grow a bigger shell, but when they feel they need to expand, they somehow tuck up their legs, open the hatch in the bottom of their shell and get out... leaving a perfect looking crab thats actually empty!




One of the most popular locals... the Bluefooted Boobie .
Partly because they are so cute/dorky/friendly and partly because you can giggle at their name.
Unfortunately I didnt have my new shirt on this day for to make the shot perfect. (look out for it in other photos!)


A boobie, starting their famous dance. Part 1, waddle on the spot showing off your pretty feet

Part 2, look like this and honk/whistle at the sky. (then repeat from part 1 until some chick seems to like your moves!)


There are also red footed boobies... That changed because they couldnt find an outfit to match with the blue. They also are the only boobie who decided to change their feet to be able to grip branches and hence nest in trees!


Here I managed to get a shot of 3 red boobies!

And there is also a 3rd type on the Galapagos.
The Nazca or Masked boobie. (who I reckon are influences for Sesame Streets Big Bird!)

It was nesting season, but they werent that upset with us hanging about.

Boobie chicks arent quite so cute!


These albatros were so graceful. I can see now why they are often called the worlds best glider pilots. Traveling thousands of kilometres without flapping, these guys come to the Galapagos to court and nest. The kissing coples were so cute... and didnt mind showing off their dating rituals as we wandered past on the marked paths.

Marie, Renee and I hanging out at the Albatros Airport. These guys jump off the cliffs for takeoff and land at the paddock next to it. (We decided not to jump.)

Galapagos hawks are apparently very curious. This one almost landed on our guides hat as he was hovering about 30cms above him, just taking a look at the new arrivals to the island (us , bemused travellers!)


And Galapagos Pinguins. (everything called galapagos *whatevers* are endemic(unique) to the Galapagos Islands. These guys are quite small (a little bigger than our Oz penguins that are apparently the smallest in the world) but rocket along in the water like torpedoes, reaching speeds greater than 35kph.


The only nocturnal gull in the world lives on a few of the islands. They were ¨surfing¨the winds caused by our boat when we cruised between islands at night. Was amazing to see them ¨hover¨next to the boat for hours in the otherwise pitch black as you looked out to see.


Friggate birds. Another famous local.
These guys puff up their red throat sacks to attract the girls. Then give it to them as comfy pillows.


Mocking birds are one of the inspirations for Charles Darwin conclusions in ¨Origion of the Species¨ about evolution. Every island has a slightly different variety that has adapted to suit the type of food or terrain found on that island. There are many finch species that differ on each island in a similar way. (as well as the tortises and boobies etc etc )



I think what helped make this experience seem so surreal was the Iguanas.
These dragon like creatures looked like nothing else I had seen and there were thousands of them, sometimes piled three or four deep, trying to keep warm huddled together on the rocks.
These guys were hanging about on the docks of one of the inhabited islands, but there were many more on the unihabited islands.



Again, there were different forms or colours on different islands.
This is big male land iguana. (probably measuring a little under a metre and a half from head to tail)


These even stranger looking creatures are Marine Iguanas which hang out on the rocks just long enough to get warm (being cold blooded reptiles) before jumping into the sea and diving to eat algae and plants on the rocks and ocean beds. Apparently these amazing guys can hold their breaths for an hour, dive 50 metres down, and re-route their blood supply to just the crucial parts like the brain, to conserve their breath and energy while underwater!


Another sleepy land iguana, bathing in the sun.

Just to finish this magic trip, as we were waiting for the zodiacs on the last morning to transport us back to land to fly out, a school of about 20 Galapagos Sharks (black tip sharks?) decided to silently circle our ship! A little eerie/ominous, yet exciting at the same time. Some of them reached lengths up to about 2.5m, and the local guides said they wouldnt swim with this species! (despite them happy for us to swim with hammerheads, stingrays and white tip reef sharks earlier in the week!)

There plenty more for show and tell, but people are demanding photos now, so if you want more, you will have to wait until our epic length slideshow when we get home to see the other 3000+ photos I took in the Galapagos! :D