Leaving on a jet plane!



Having a pre-dinner martini to celebrate a fantastic trip!



Well the day has finally arrived for us to return back to blighty!  We spent last night having a lovely dinner in a nearby hotel and are spending this morning sorting out all our bags as when we went to Providencia we could only take 10kg each and had to leave all our cold weather gear, books etc in the hotel. 

We will be back in the UK on Wedneday and from Thursday onwards will be open to invitations for breakfast, lunch, dinner, drinks etc.  Please amuse us as we think we may be very bored!

Sun, sea, sand and SB!

Regular followers may have noticed a lapse in updates since we mentioned moving hotels to sandier beaches.  Whilst we found the sand, we unfortunately lost the wi-fi and internet access and indeed any connection with the outside world as mobiles were rendered useless,  the TV was in Spanish and RM couldn't access his Daily Telegraph on the Kindle.  So we arrive for our very final night in Bogota with lots of catching up to do.

Having said all that, there has been little to report over the last seven days which have followed a very similar pattern:

Breakfast, after a lovely lie in, consisted of wonderful fresh fruit juices, Columbian coffee, scrambled eggs with cheese and ham followed by bread and jam.  We then decamped to the white sandy beach, about 40 yards from our room, dropped our towels and had a morning constitutional along the bay where the only people we saw were those sweeping leaves off the beach.  We then got settled for the day on what was a very deserted part of the beach although there was the comings and goings of various boats and divers to keep us amused.  We saw fish being filleted with the insides tossed into the sea for the expectant gulls and other assorted birds.  There were small fish to be seen in the sea and in the afternoon horses were taken for a dip and on Saturday we had the excitement of the horse racing on the beach.   Our day was only punctuated by a walk to one of the nearby beach bars for a chilled beer or a cooling dip in the turquoise Caribbean sea.

The sunset was watched from the coolness of our balcony with a glass of chilled SB in hand (having bought up the eleven bottles from the shop next to our first hotel before we left).  Our evening dinner was spent at one of two local restaurants where we sampled a wonderful array of fish whilst the sea was lapping at our ankles.

Does it sound idyllic, yes it was – very but we are really looking forward to coming home tomorrow and catching up with you  all.

Sunset from our balcony

The deserted beach where we took our morning walk.

This is what are called Sea Horses.

Peter wasnted to send Easter Greetings to all his friends but because he didn't have wi-fi, he was a Hot Cross Bunnie!  Still at least he had a glass of SB to hand.

One of the views from our balcony to the other part of the hotel: we were obviously in a suite in the main part!

The view from the Grandstand i.e. the sea.  We've never been to the races before without a hat!  We should have bought those Panamas after all!

Some fell on stony ground

We were expecting beautiful white sand on our doorstep and this is what we got!

So having spent yesterday visiting other hotels, we are now moving to one with a lovely sandy beach - but will it have wifi?  That is the big question!

Geting our priorities right!

Good things about our current hotel (1) it has a mini market next door which sells Sauvignon Blanc (2) there were 11 bottles on the shelf (3) it has got a large mini bar which takes 5 bottles of wine (5) we have a nice balcony where we can drink our chilled SB!

However, there were also some bad things and so we are hoping to move to a different hotel tomorrow!

A mini bus with wings!

You may or may not be pleaesd to hear that we have now arrived in Providencia and do have internet access.  We flew from Cartegena to San Andreas without incident although we did have to be patted down by rubber gloved police before climbing the aircraft steps.  We then patiently waited for our 30 minute connection to Providencia but no gate was showing even though we were getting near to take off time.  Eventually the girl who had checked us in, tapped us on the shoulder and escorted us to a door in the corner whilst ushering another dozen or so passengers on to a very small aeroplane.  We turned out to be a flight of two pilots, 18 passengers and one dog!  Unfortunately 8 of the18 were from one very noisy family.  As Providencia is part of Colombia we assumed that there would be no form of immigration so we allowed all passengers to get off first.  This was not a good idea as each passenger had to produce evidence that they had paid 44,000 peso to enter the islands and passports.  The passport details were then painstakingly entered into the computer by one girl with the details being read to her by another.  Her typing skills did not extend to words per minute, she barely hit ten key strokes per minute.  We recommended a Pitmans typing course.  It took 30 minute to process the fight, with the dog taking the longest!  All our cases had to be physically searched by the police but they were so tired of waiting for us to go through, that one bag got a cursory search and the other (with the gin) was waved through. Eventually we reached our hotel, but that is another tale!  On the basis that pictures speak louder than words, we will try to post a photograph a day.   

Three ami(goes) to Providencia!

Well the hectic part of our trip is now nearly over and it's time to retire to our Caribbean hideaway for 10
nights. 

Once again we've been exploring the city and thankfully have not stepped in a cathedral or museum!  As you will see from the photograph, we have been practising for our role in the Royal Wedding procession!  Our free trip last night around the old town was lovely especially seeing all the buildings light up around us.

As it's been so hot, we've had afternoon siestas and really made the most of them despite the building work going on around us.  Today they were painting  outside our window and when HJ opened the door, she found a man on a set of step ladders right outside.  But despite all his,  we've ordered a Sainbsury's delivery over the internet for our first day back, applied for tickets for the Olympics, loaded the kindle with lots of books and HJ has hopefully arranged a hair appointment via a v kind friend.  Talking of the Kindle, RM has taken advantage of 14 days free trial of the Daily Telegraph to amuse him whilst he's soaking up the rays.  HJ did want to order the FT but RMs choice won!  No Daily Mail rag for us!

Tonight's choice of restaurant was heavily influenced by last night's meal when we enjoyed sea bass cerviche.  We have really taken to cerviche as it is light, simple and summery and there are lots of variations.  Be warned, anyone visiting in the next few months, may well find a version awaiting them.  We found that the chef was actually Italian and so are returning tonight for pasta.  The service was also exellent as fhe waiter disappeared down the road and brought back a bottle of our favorite SB as he had run out!

So finally, hopefully we will be able to post photographs of our last destination in the next few days!  If not, we will see you very soon.

Third room lucky!

 We arrived in Cartegena yesterday and were immediately hit by the heat and humidity.  Our guide, John, said it was 85 degrees with 90% humidity: he said we would sweat a lot and should drink a lot (but I'm not sure he meant Sauvignon Blanc!)  On arrival at our hotel, Casa India Catalina, at 11.30am, we were told check in was 3pm. We returned after lunch to find a room ready early at 2pm.  That was the good news, the bad is that it was next to a room that was undergoing refurbishment and above the front entrance which was also being done up.  Consequently, there was lots of banging and a strong smell of varnish.  We asked to move rooms and were led to a split level room with the bathroom on the ground floor and a very precarious sets of steps and wobbly handrail leading to the bedroom, making going to the loo in the night, a bit of an obstacle course!  Having declined this room, we went for the third option, but had to wait for it to be cleaned.  Still it was on one floor and at the back, away from some of the noise!
Having unpacked at last (4pm) we enjoyed the afternoon sunshine in a more relaxed mood to enjoy what is a lovely walled city. On return we found a bottle of vino tinto by way of apology.



We have spent our first full day here wandering the narrow, cobbled streets of the old town, enjoying the sights of the many interesting buildings framed by the wonderful backdrop of the Caribbean sea and in the background the tall towers of the modern Cartegena.

A second surprise for us was the offer of an evening horse drawn carriage ride around the town.  Everyone involved in these arrangements deserves a big thank you.  

We are now sat drinking our vino tinto and find it muffles the drilling and banging very well!  Perhaps RM is lucky becuase he has put the cork in his one good ear! 

Cha cha cha in Bogota . . .

 Today we had our last full day in Bogota and for once, the sun was almost shining and the Plaza Boliva was now open after being closed for a weekend festival. As you will see from the photograph, it wasn't worth waiting for unless you're Jack Duckworth i.e. a pigeon fancier!  OK, I know that he's dead in real life but so was the square.

After the square we visited the Casa de Moneda (the Mint) where we learned about the development of the Colombian currency from gold tokens to the current day peso.The museum was in the original Mint and the building itself was beautiful.  We then indulged in a spot of cha cha cha.  As you will see from the photograph we have both put on rather a lot of weight from eating too many empanadas (the equivalent of a Cornish pasty). Actually, we were in the Donacion Botero an art gallery full of works by Fernando Botero who appeared to specialise in the larger examples of the human form.  There was also an excellent selection of paintings by the likes of Picasso, Matisse, Lucien Freud (who we didn't know was born in Berlin) and Henry Moore who according to the blurb lived in Munch Hadham, rather than Much Hadham.

 We had a lovely lunch in a restaurant near to our hotel which we're unable to use in the evening as most of the restaurants in the historic city centre close in the afternoon and evening.  Hence we've had to use the two restaurants in a nearby hotel every night.  The skies darkened so we brightened up our lives by having our rather grubby deck shoes polished in the square for 3000 peso or £1.

Tomorrow we fly to Cartegena for three nights which we're really looking forward to although it's the penultimate destination on our trip.  We follow this by 10 nights on a Carribean island, called Providencia, which is nominally part of Colombia.  It's said to be less developed with modest, laid back facilities and with temperatures of more than 30 degrees there is no hot water! 

So depending on the w-fi facilities in both places, this may or may not be our last posting.  But if you don't hear from us again, just think, white sandy beach, palm trees and hammock and pray that they have adquate supplies of Sauvignon Blanc!

Earth, Wind and Fire!

 Our first day in Bogota started with a money hunt for Colombian Peso.  The hotel had marked three ATMs on our map, but two were behind barriers for a concert in the Plaza and the third didn't like our cards (either that or the pension is running out!).  We returned to the hotel who changed a small amount to get us out of trouble but later that day we found cambio who would change anything!  Talking of money we visited the Museo del Oro or Gold Museum.  The highlight was a vault with a dazzling display of 8,000 piecs of pre-Colombian gold objects.  It shone like fire!

Today's trip was on the Turisten, an all day excursion on a STEAM train from Bogota to Zipaquira.  We left at 8.30am with a resident band and all sorts of local delicacies on sale.  The train is the only steam train now running in Columbia and it is only allowed out on high days and holidays which is not surprising as all traffic is brought to a halt as it slowly puffs along with its steam billowing in the wind.

The train was surprisingly very full of mainly Columbian families all intent on a good Sunday outing despite the dreadful weather.  There were also, as expected, a number of train geeks! As all the announcements were in Spanish, a very kind lady sat behind us offered to translate anything important.

Our outing took us to Zipaquira home to the salt cathedral in a working salt mine in the bowels of the earth.  The cathedral was opened in December 1995 by the Colombian President as a replacement for one that had fallen into disrepair.  

Spot which one is the dummy!

We returned to Bogota at 5.30pm after a splendid day out and then only had to dodge the down and outs as we walked back to our hotel!

You all think it's glamorous . . .

 . . . .  but here is the reality!

We arrived in Bogota, via Quito, 30 minutes late at 6pm but it might as well have been midnight as the heavens had opened and it was pitch black.  We rescued our sodden bags from the carousel and cleared immigration to be met be Fabio our rep.  He provided HJ with a broken brolly and we squelched down the road to await our limo (i.e. car).  This duly arrived with steamed up windows and what we think was his girlfriend driving.  Fabio was more of the skippy school of driving rather than L Hamilton and for the next hour we hopped along roadworks and deep puddles until he declared we had arrived at the historic centre.  Mercifully the rains had stopped and we took our sodden selves and bags to reception.  Fabio bade a fond farewell and left us in the hands of the receptionist who got us to our room (number 13)!  We discovered that their restaurant was not open in the evening but their Gourmet Express would be open for the next 20 minutes and would provide wine and sandwiches.  We managed to secure two glassses of vino blanco but the sandwiches on display looked well past their sell by.  So plan B swung into action.  A packet of pringles and the duty free gin with sprite in our room is our evening meal.  At least the wi-fi is good and HJ will be losing even more weight!  Tommorrow is another day!

PS: we didn't want to venture out in th dark and and neither would you if you'd read about what our FootPrint guide says about safety and Bogota (remember Bobby Moore and the gold bracelet!).

The devil wears panama

Transfer days are usually bad as they involve hours hanging around airports.  However, in Ecuador the transfers have all been by road as the country is so small.  Yesterday our transfer from Riobamba to Cuenca involved a trip on the Nariz del Diablo or Devil's Nose Train.  We nearly didn't make it as a cycling race was taking place on the road to the station and all traffic was halted for 45 minutes as it passed us by.  Juan Carlos had to drive like Lewis Hamilton to get us there on time.  The train journey is a circular route to and from Alausi down a 800m descent using a series of tight switchbacks carved out of the mountainside.  This section has recently been restored at a cost of $5m, and was re-opened in 2009. Needless to say the views were spectuacular and the journey back served another purpose in transportng a JCB.  The rest of the journey was by road through mountains and thick, low cloud.

Today we explored Cuenca which is famous for making panama hats (the name comes from the workers building the Panama Canal wearing these very distinguishable hats).  As you will see from the phtographs we tried them on but decided they were not for us!

Not sure it suits my ears!

Could I wear this to work?

Time to quit Quito!

We thought our time in the Ecuadorian city might have been too long but the 5 nights have flowed at a good pace.  HJ has achieved her personal best of not only managing the 4 steep floors non stop, but she could even get the key into the door and open it befor subsiding.  Anyway yesterday was time to move on and our pick up was at 7.00am.  We placed bets on who and what car we would get and were both wrong when Rodrigo arrived in his own 4WD.  He gave us a full run down of our five or so hours to Riobamba, taking in the sites as well as breakfast and lunch.

The Avenue of the Volcanoes

We were again lucky with the weather as it was very bright and clear and we could see the volcano range dominated by Mt Cotopaxia in the distance as we came up out of the valley that Quito sits in.

We continued on the PanAmerican Highway that runs virtually uninterrupted from Canada to the bottom of Chile until we hit our first official stop.  This was breakfast at the home of the Lassa family, a Colonial Hacienda, now a 40  bedroomed hotel based in the remains of what had been a very large estate.  The table was laid out for the three of us and we enjoyed a regal meal whilst Rodrigo continued to provide an excellent insight in to where we were and other more cultural and personal views.  After a tour of house and grounds we moved on.

After breakfast at Hacienda Cienega

We travelled through a number of small towns, all set out in the Spanish style of a central plaza and church with administrative buildings on the flanks.  On passing one grand church high on a hill HJ asked about it, for once Rod was stumbling.  Er, er, it´s where the Ecuadorian football coach comes from he managed, and he´s not been too good lately.  The name was later remembered as we arrived at our next stop in the town of  Pujili and this being Sunday, it was their market day.  We hopped out and left Rod in charge of the car and bags and HJ snapped away at the bustling scenes of locals getting their weekly shop having queued for ages at the town banks to withdraw their government grants - this looked familiar to RM from his days on a DSS counter in London. 

The market at Pujili

Time then to travel the remaining 2 hours to a stop just outside Riobamba for lunch and then to our hacienda hotel. Here the bathroom is bigger than our bedroom and bathroom in Quito.  The only bottle of Agua Tonica had long gone flat and they only had two airline size bottles of SB.  At least the wine was chilled and Pisco Sours replaced the G&Ts.  Early to bed amidst the din of a rowdy crowd in the games room.  HJ commented to reception about the noise, hoping to prompt some action.  Yes they said and they are the owners!  As the only guests here we thought it was time to retire.

PS from HJ - RM  nearly had palpitations when Rodrigo told us at lunch time that under a recently passed law, drinking on Sundays in banned.  Apparently so many people were arriving at work on Monday with hangovers, that they abolished drinking.  However, the good news is that if you have lunch between 1pm and 3pm, you are allowed to drink with it!

On Mother's Day . . . .

. . . Peter did not forget his mum!

Toeing the line!

Yesterday we visited Ciudad Mitad del Mundo also known as Middle of the world city as it straddles the line that divides the earth's northern and southern hemispheres.  In the building shown, there was an excellent ethnographic museum which described really well all the indigenous groups of Ecuador in terms of their dress, tribal customs,k language and religous beliefs. 

We spent the afternoon in the City Museum, a former hospital which has been converted into a very good exhibition hall.  RM also had another shearing for the cut price of 2 US dollars (their currency).

Today HJ was keen to visit the Weekly Saturday market at Otavalo, 90 km from Quito as it is said to be one of the very best in South America. Following our less than favourable experience in the Cloud Forest, we decided not to spend $122 per person on a private tour.  Instead we took a taxi to the bus terminal for $8, spent $2 each on the 2 hour bus ride, $9 for lunch and then the same fares back.  Excellent value and no one told HJ that she sounded like a German!  The market was smaller than anticipated and surprisingly very quite, but at least it made browsing easy.  Again, we were very lucky with the weather which remained sunny despite massive thunderstorms last night.  The local ladies were all decked out in their best clothes with elaborately embroidered white blouses, black skirts and strings of golden beads around their neck, often topped off with seemed liked  folded piece of material on their head.

RM thought this headdress might go with his new suit!

  

Why is it called the Cloud Forest?

The honest answer is we still don't know!  We'd read lots of good things about it and so decided to hire a personal guide and driver for the two hour trip to Mindo.  We'd been told that the birds were at their best beween 6am and 10am.  When we were picked up at 4am we found that the driver had decided to bring his small son along.  Said son was sat in the front of the 4WD which meant that HJ, RM and the guide, Diana, were cramped up in the back!  We protested and son was dropped off at home: we think he should have been at school anyway!  After a slightly frosty journey, we arrived at Mindo just before 6am to find that the breakfast that should have been available wasn't.  Diana spent the next 30 minutes trying to find a place in the darkness that would open to provde us with coffee and tostada. During this time it became apparent that no itinerary had been set and we were continuously been asked about what we wanted to do next.  We eventually arranged to be driven up the mountain to see the birds and find the promised cable car.  Unfortunately neiether appeared and our reward was a 60 minute hike down a steep and muddy track and back up again. When we asked about what type of birds we could possibly see, she said she would be able to tell us when she saw their colours. She also said that HJ spoke English like a German!  We then walked down the mountain with the promise of birds, but only caught a glimpse of one which was pointed out by twitchers walking up the mountain!  Refreshed by a rather good fruit smoothie, we then visited a butterfly farm where we managed to see masses of the owl butterfly when we had spent 30 minutes trying to see one in the Peruvian Rain Forest!  We also visited a place with orchids and hummingbirds.  Our trip was concluded with an excellent lunch where RM had baked trout and HJ talapia fish.  We arrived back in Quito around 2.30pm poorer, full but still none the wiser about the Cloud Forest.

From the top of the world to the middle of the world

 Yesterday we transferred from Cusco in Peru to Quito in Ecuador (via Lima).  We were both amused at the number of people having their photograph taken in Cusco airport in front of a huge picture of Macchu Piccu - they had obviously never been but wanted to impress family and friends!                

We arrived in Quito late afternoon slightly conerned about safety after reading our guide books.  Our transfer guide soon dispelled our worries by telling us about the initiatives over the last few years to address such problems.  Our hotel is called the El Relicario del Carmen right in the centre of the old town.

The hotel is a 17th century colonial mansion that opened in 2006.  There are only 18 rooms over 4 floors with no lift.  We had a choice of either the 2nd or 4th floor, but as HJ is still on a fitness kick, we chose the 4th even though we have to take rests on each foor as Quito is still high (over 2500 m).  As you will see from the photograph, it is like being in a stately home with beautiful furnishings and fabrics.  We have claimed the area with the telescope which is just outside our room for pre dinner drinks as we watch the lights come on over the city.  Our breakfast this morning was beautifully served by a white gloved waiter and our hot breakfast was individually prepared for us which makes a change from the usual buffet of bread, ham and cheese!  Having said all this, our room is very small: when HJ steps out of bed, she is virtually in the batheroom and when RM shaves he has to stand in the shower.

 Today we have spent time exploring the old town, visiting the cathedral and a house very similar to our hotel, which is still as it was 200 years ago, the only difference being you could swing a large cat in their bathroom!

This afternoon, we took the teleferico up to one of the best viewing points of the city and the live volcano which towers over it.

RM in the Plaza Independcia

We will be having an early night tonight as tomorrow we are visiting the cloud forest which necessitates a 4am start!  We also hope to straddle the Equator as this is what gives the country its name.

A typical British Peruvian Sunday

We awoke on Sunday morning to hear the rain at the window and so decided to have a lie in followed by a breakfast of bacon rolls and coffee.  After catching up on a few chores, we ventured out with umbrellas and goves to check out the local theatre for the evening's entertainment. 

The sun had now come out and in the main Plaza de Armas a huge parade of children´s dancing groups was beginning.  There were about 20 groups, all dressed in various traditional costumes performing typical Peruvian dances.The sun by now was really hot and RM had to nip back to the nearby hotel for sun cream and drop off jackets and gloves. 

The weather then took a turn for the worse again, and so it was then time for Sunday lunch.  We headed to Paddy Flaherty´s for shepherds pie and roast chicken, stuffing, veg, mash and gravy! 

Our evening involved yet more dancing at the theatre where we were entertained again with typical Peruvian dancing.

Having then being danced out we headed to the Norton Rats Tavern for happy hour night caps!



It is now Monday and our last day in Cusco and so we have spent a very leisurely day.  We visited the local market which sold everything you could want for.  We splashed out on a large bag for 10 Soles (two pounds) as we are worried that our new suitcase with the 5 year guarantee is not going to make it.  We also bought coco sweets for you all to try on return and had our shoes shined for 5 soles each.  The visit was complete with HJ getting weighed for 1 soles - she was very pleased to find that the altitude gastric band effect had resulted in a 3 kg weight loss!  We then used our Cusco Tourist Ticket to visit a couple of final museums before having a light lunch.

Tomorrow we move onto Ecuador where we will be spending our first 5 nights in the captial Quito.

It was hard on the Inca trail(n) - now with photos!

RM was confident that he'd booked us on the Inca trail - four days of very hard treking, with three nights sleeping rough in basic tents  We then discovered there had been a typo in the booking and we were not on the trail, but on the first class, luxurious train!  Imagine our disappointment!

Trainspotters - please note the steam from this train!

Our day started with a 4.30am call and a transfer to the Cusco bus station where we boarded another bus to Ollantaytambo Station where we had an hours wait for the 8.40am train to Machu Picchu.  The vistadome train (i.e. with a glass roof) was very new and luxurious with cream leather seats and lots of leg room.  We were served breakfast of fresh Andean fruit salad, smoked trout sandwich, spinach and bacon pie followed by cookies covered by bitter chocolate.  We then sat back and enjoyed the scenery.  The track follows the River Urumbamba as it crashed and meandered through a narrow mountain valley all the way to MP.  We were then met and boarded yet another bus, which took us up the steep and winding track to the MP entrance, a journey of 30 minutes.  We eventually arrived 6 hours after setting off - we hoped it would be worth it.

As we were waiting for our guide, the constant rain stopped and the sun came out and stayed with us all day until boarding the train home when it started raining again.  How lucky can you be!

Augustin or guide first took us up to the view point that provides the classic view where many photos were taken. It was a steep climb but we kept stopping to admire the scenery and at least it got the hard work out of the way at the beginning when our legs were fresh.  We took a different track down into the MP city stopping to admire the different temples, walkways and all the marvels of Inca stonework and how it incorporated various aspects of the sun such as the summer solstice coming through wndows perfectly on time for the relevant ceremonies. 

The two and a half hour round trek brought us back to the beginning and the comforting sight of the Temple of the Lunch - sadly no photos allowed!

Aftewards it was time for the journey back, where we enjoyed afternoon tea on the train plus a display of Peruvian dancing and fashion show of alpacca jumpers etc, all down the aisle.

RM contemplates the breakfast menu!

We finally arrived back at our hotel at 8.30pm after a fantastic but exhausting day.  We adjourned to the Norton Rats Tavern for a bottle of SB before retiring for the night.