Auckland/ Rotorua/ Taupo, New Zealand

My 25 days of adventure in New Zealand began with a short two day stay in Auckland, the largest city in the country. It is a very pleasant place with a relaxed atmosphere especially along the gorgeous harbour which is populated by numerous fancy restaurants and bars. Another nice area to visit is Mount Eden which offers a splendid view of the city's skyline with the 328 metre high Sky Tower, the tallest free-standing structure in the Southern Hemisphere, being the most dominant and impressive feature. From here I also got a glimpse of Eden Park, the historic rugby union venue that hosted the inaugural Rugby World Cup final in 1987 which now has been redeveloped for the 2011 edition of the sport's greatest competition. Despite my poor eyesight it certainly looked very impressive and deserving of such an honour.

However my time in Auckland was always going to be dominated by one thing and that was U2. In total the gig at Mount Smart stadium was my fifth time seeing Bono and the boys perform live but the first occasion I would witness such brilliance from outside of Ireland. As usual they did not disappoint with the set list of this 2 hour 5 minute long concert containing a nice variety of old and new material, popular and lesser known. Many of the usual classics were played, such as Sunday Bloody Sunday, With Or Without You, One, and Where the Streets Have No Name but as a die hard fan it was great to hear lesser known tunes such as Miss Sarajevo, Scarlet and One Tree Hill being performed, the last of which was played in honour of all the New Zealand miners who so tragically lost their lives just two days earlier. The only slight disappointment (besides Jay-Z's opening act performance of course!!) was the Kiwi crowd. I was told beforehand that New Zealanders are quite mute at concerts with many being the type to stand there in admiration and give the odd applause rather than give vocal appreciation to the performers. After the gig I realised how bang on the money this comment was with one couple standing in front of me even turning around on a few occasions in shock at myself screaming the words to every single song out from the top of my lungs. The crowd in Auckland doesn't even come close to that in Dublin, which still is, and always will be the best place in the World to see U2. But despite this the concert was incredible and gave me a sense of great pride as I stood there with my Irish flag in hand as a band from my own back yard proceeded to kick ass on the other side of the world!

The following day I joined up with the Magic Bus tour, which will take me around the country in about 16 days with the option to hop off for extra time at any of the destinations along the route. The first evening was spent at Rotorua where I visited a local Maori village and enjoyed a Tamaki Maori Hangi and Concert. After being welcomed into their community by the Maori people we were given the opportunity to talk to them and ask them questions about their culture. They also showed us the Hangi, their method of cooking food using heated rocks under the ground. After the food has been placed in here it is covered in dirt to prevent the heat from escaping. The result of this was a delicious feed with not one of us going home hungry. They also performed a short show for us with a variety of traditional song and dance, concluding with their own version of the intimidating Haka, something which not only the men performed but the women as well. Spine tingling stuff! The whole thing was a little bit cheesy and touristy but was very enjoyable nonetheless. It would be wrong to come to New Zealand and not admire the culture of its indigenous people.

Today we continued on southwards passing through the impressive Wai-O-Tapu geothermal wonderland with its sulphur pools and geyser which shoots out water to heights of 20 metres. While not nearly as impressive or spectacular as those that I saw in Chile and Bolivia it was still an fascinating example of the wonder of nature. From here we journeyed onwards to the beautiful Huka Falls, located on the Waikato River very close to Taupo. Iguassu it is not, but this small waterfall is remarkably powerful for its size throwing over 200,000 litres of water per second into the river below. After admiring this beautiful setting we took a spectacular walk from here to the town of Taupo with breathtaking views of the river seen along the way.

The first thing I have noticed about New Zealand is its expensive nature when compared with South America. Over the last weeks I have taken for granted all the free Internet access that hostels in Latin American countries have provided. Not only is it not free in New Zealand, but it is not cheap either. I have also seen some hostels charging for lockers as well. There is nothing too abnormal about any of this, it just takes a bit of time to adjust to this after spending so much time in a relatively cheap continent. In addition all the amazing outdoor extreme activities that New Zealand has to offer are incredibly pricey meaning that I will seriously have to prioritise what I want to do over the next few weeks or I will go bankrupt, just like my country!

New Zealand is described by many as the adventure capital of the world and I am really looking forward to experiencing some of the great outdoor activities this country has to offer. However from reading the Magic Bus brochure it would appear that most of the places on the itinerary provide almost the exact same list of attractions (Skydive, Bungee Jump, Whitewater rafting etc). While these are no doubt extremely appealing to the backpacker I cant help but think it is a bit overkill. It would be nice to see some of the towns on the trip offer a few attractions that are truly unique to their own areas. Perhaps as I move through the country I will see this. It is just an initial observation more than anything else.

Tomorrow we continue on to the National Parks and from there to Wellington, the nation's capital.

Bye for now

Santiago, Chile

The final chapter in my South American odyssey took me back to Chile, this time to Santiago, the nation's capital. Like many major urban areas around the world Santiago is quite unspectacular at times with numerous unattractive high rise buildings being a dominant feature. The city is more modern than other South American capitals and there are significantly fewer old buildings on show for the eager architecture loving tourist than there is in Buenos Aires and even Lima. Of course there are some nice old buildings and churches but there is nothing that makes your jaw drop in amazement. In addition the central plaza is quite drab with ancient buildings and ugly modern apartment blocks making an unfortunate mixture.

However what Santiago has got is an absolutely stunning setting, beaten possibly only by the marvellous city of Rio de Janeiro in this particular category. The Cerro San Cristobal, a reasonably high hill situated in the heart of the city centre, provides an incredible panoramic view of the entire metropolis from above and its surroundings. I was completely blown away by how stunning Santiago looks from afar with the monstrous Andes Mountains towering above and almost completely surrounding this huge endless city. There is no doubt that I was extremely fortunate in that my viewing pleasure was enhanced by a beautiful clear sunny day, something which can be a rarity at times in the capital of Chile, a place that unfortunately quite often suffers from smog problems. Everybody talks about the incredible backdrop that makes Rio de Janeiro so beautiful but after visiting Santiago I cant help but admit that the view from above here is almost as amazing and quite underrated and rarely mentioned by fellow travellers.

Santiago also provided me with an opportunity to taste the strangest alcoholic drink imaginable. The name of this beverage is Fanchop and I was introduced to this bizarre drink by a local woman who insisted that it was very popular in her country. The ingredients of this? Beer (of any variety) mixed with Fanta Orange in equal measurements. Strange I hear you say? I am in full agreement but there is no denying how delicious it is. Not a cost effective method of boozing though if in a bar or nightclub!

So after ten weeks my adventure around the magnificent continent of South America comes to an end. I have seen and experienced so much, from the buzzing large cities of Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires to the wildlife of Puerto Madryn, the vineyards of Mendoza, the outdoor adventures of Bariloche and the Inca Trail hike. Incredible scenery was witnessed at the glaciers of Patagonia, the overwhelmingly enormous Iguassu Falls and the glistening lagoons and vast salt flats of Bolivia. Cusco and Machu Picchu provided no shortage of fascinating history and the gorgeous towns of Paraty, Colonia and Valparaiso epitomised this continents amazing cultural heritage. Delicious food was gobbled with the Brazilian All You Can Eat BBQ and the Argentine steak deserving particular mention, and who can forget the Caiprinhia and Pisco Sour, beverages with the potential to turn the most staunch pioneer into an alcoholic. The last 10 weeks have provided so many great memories and stories and I have met some great people. A time that will never be forgotten.

One final thing about South America that needs to be mentioned is that the so called "danger" of this continent is grossly over hyped and often it is those who have never been here who are the people that are quick to write of this amazing land mass as being barbaric. I am delighted to say that I have not had a problem at all and almost all people that I have met throughout have been nothing but accommodating and helpful towards this delighted gringo. Obviously one has to use common sense when travelling here and it is imperative to not take any silly risks. However if you are going to go walking on your own to La Boca or to certain parts of Rio de Janeiro then you really deserve to return with absolutely nothing but your shattered dignity! You will of course always hear some horror stories with one English couple describing how their bus from Sao Paulo to Iguassu Falls was hijacked by gunmen who robbed absolutely everything they possessed. This type of thing is extremely rare however and generally speaking you are no more likely to be harmed in big cities here than in places such as Chicago or London, as long as you are sensible. Once you move to the smaller towns crime is practically unheard of. I just hope that by writing this little piece people who may be hesitant about visiting South America will be convinced to get over such unnecessary fears and experience the amazing culture and scenery this place has to offer.

Tonight it is time to fly out to Auckland in New Zealand for three and a half weeks of adventure around both the north and south islands, beginning with a U2 gig on the 26th November. Seeing Bono and the boys certainly ain't the worst way to begin the next chapter on my continuing travels. In the words of my kiwi friends, SWEET AS!

Lima, Peru

After the incredible history that Cusco and its surrounding areas had to offer it was always going to be difficult for Lima, the capital of Peru to live up to such high standards. In comparison this large metropolis of over 8 million is quite drab and has all the signs of a sprawled city; heavy traffic, crazy drivers who can't stop beeping their horn when stuck in traffic and ugly buildings.

But this is not to say that Lima is a bad place and it has some noteworthy sites. While the historical centre of this city is not even close to what I witnessed in Cusco it is nonetheless an interesting place to spend a few hours walking around. The main plaza in particular is very beautiful with the Government Palace, the Cathedral and numerous yellow coloured buildings brightly decorating the central meeting point for natives of Peru's capital. Close to here is La Iglesia de San Francisco, a colonial style church which is as beautiful as any that can be seen in South America with hundreds of pigeons flying majestically around this stunning piece of architecture.

However while the Centro Historico de Lima has some very impressive buildings they are unfortunately drowned out by modern ugly structures which stand boldly beside them. Because of this I find it hard to believe that UNESCO deemed this place worthy of being declared a World Heritage Site. This sector of the city is pretty don't get me wrong, but it pales in comparison to the beautiful Gamla Stan, the old town of Stockholm, which UNESCO strangely deems to not be worthy of its prestigious title. In fact I would go as far to say that there are many parts of Dublin that are more picturesque than Lima's Centro Historico and despite its many charms I would never describe Ireland's capital as a beautiful eye-pleasing city.

One interesting experience that this city provided was when searching for a place to grab a quick bite to eat in Miraflores, the upmarket albeit unspectacular beach side suburb of Lima. As I strolled down through the main restaurant orientated street in this sector of the city I was approached by irritating employees from every establishment attempting to secure my business for the evening. What started out as an inconvenience shortly turned in my favour as one person in a desperate last throw of dice to lure me into his restaurant offered me a free beer or pisco sour. Looking unconvinced at what he had to say he proceeded to double his offer. At this moment I knew I was onto a winner and proceeded to negotiate with all further restaurant hagglers for two free drinks and not wanting to lose out to one of its nearby rivals they had no choice but to give in. It was a bit of banter as a one off experience but it must be one of the worst possible jobs the world has to offer - hassling people so that they eat in a restaurant almost identical in every way to the one beside it. And lets not get started on the amount of times I was referred to as "amigo" or "my friend". These guys must have a serious amount of mates!

There was however one crazy story which has to be documented. One evening I had arranged to meet up for dinner with a nice couple from New Zealand. About an hour and a half before we were to meet they were approached by a Peruvian man and some elderly lady who he claimed to be his cousin. Speaking in perfect English he somehow managed to convince them to join him for a drink. He proceeds to take them to some sketchy bar and before they have a chance to order a drink for themselves a large jug of pisco sour is placed in front of each of them. As it got close to the time when I was to meet the kiwis they tried to leave the bar establishment. This mysterious friendly man seemed adamant that they would not leave together and that instead he would accompany just one of them to where I was waiting. Not knowing the story at the point at which I met up with them I obviously agreed to head along to this bar where we were being given what were supposedly free pisco sours. However I felt something was up and this man seemed too nice to be genuine. As I got to the bar I started to feel very skeptical of everyone around me, and ensured that I had my hand covering my drink at all times so that nothing would be dropped in it. Some of the women in the pub were sketchy as well and bordered on being prostitutes. Known as bricheras in Lima they are not prostitues in the Amsterdam sense of the word but they are the type who expect to be bought about three expensive dinners and an enormous amount of drinks before they complete the so called transaction. Realising now that my kiwi friends had obliviously got themselves into a bit of a mess and that I stupidly went along with them I signalled to the couple that we needed to get out of this bar as quickly as possible. The "nice" man seemed concerned that we wanted to leave after just one drink. His hope was that we would have a few more rounds and after seeing the bill that was presented to us I can understand exactly why. 70 sols (about 18 euro) for each jug of low quality pisco sour was the damage to our wallets, about twice the amount that you would pay in a scam free establishment. We agreed to pay and get the hell out of this place as quickly as possible. Live and learn I guess!

I had an enjoyable few days in Lima but most of it was mainly related to meeting other people in the hostel. It is not the most exciting city I have ever seen but notwithstanding that Peru is certainly my favourite country I have visited so far with so much history that it is impossible to suffer from boredom.

As I write this latest blog entry I sit in Santiago, the capital of Chile after an overnight flight from Lima. This is the final chapter of my South American adventure. Time to go out in style!

Chau

Sacred Valley, Inca Trail & Machu Picchu, Peru

After taking in all the historical sights in and around Cusco I began a 5 day tour with GAP Adventures. The first day was spent in the Sacred Valley, located close to Cusco. Here we visited a small mountainous village inhabited almost entirely by indigenous people, with numerous women selling clothing and other products that they make on an hourly basis. Afterwards we journeyed onwards to Pisaq, a picturesque site with many old Inca ruins and an endless amount of farming terraces. Our first day concluded with a visit to Ollantaytambo, a beautiful town that preserves vividly Inca urban planning of houses, streets and waterways, safeguarded by a breathtaking fortress with temples, hillside farming terraces and walls. The only negative was that the place was crowded with people making it near impossible to get a good photo without some tourist walking past. The place should be renamed Disneyland Peru!

The next morning we woke at 7am to begin our four day Inca Trail hike which would, all things going well, bring us to Machu Picchu. In total there were 16 of us in the group, along with our two guides, Aly (a very humorous man who enjoys his banter a lot and informed us that this was his 313th time trekking the Inca Trail) and Jesus (pronounced Hay-zues, but nobody chose that particular pronunciation of his name, thus becoming the subject of an endless amount of good natured jokes). The first day of the trail we travelled 11 kilometres through mainly undulating terrain. Starting at approximately 2700 metres above sea level this section of the journey to Machu Picchu was not particular challenging and by the end of the day we had gained just 400 metres in altitude. At our campsite that evening one of my fellow trailers, a girl from Canada, organised a bit of Yoga for everybody to help ease the muscle pain. It was very difficult to keep a straight face throughout as we must have looked like a right sight with over a dozen people lined up side by side making a very poor attempt to master these outrageous exercises. The porters and cooks who accompanied us on the trip looked on in bemusement, with one in particular remarking that he thought he had seen everything, until now! For me it was my first time engaging in Yoga, and probably my last. I was simply appalling at it.

The second day was a lot tougher with an enormous 1100m ascent up numerous large steps to Warmiwañusca, better known as the Dead Woman's Pass. While I found this hike challenging, especially considering the steepness of the terrain, at no time did I feel uncomfortable, and found myself climbing up the mountain faster than I could ever have imagined. There is no doubt that my two weeks spent at high altitude in Chile, Bolivia and Peru beforehand helped me no end and by the time I started the hike I was fully acclimatised and altitude sickness was never going to be an issue. Unfortunately the vast majority of the group didn't have this luxury, with many of them flying into Cusco just two days before this high altitude adventure, and as a result they found it very tough going at times, and understandably so, as by the time we reached the top of the climb we were at 4200m above sea level. In total 12 kilometres were covered on the second day.

The second day was also the time that my Fujifilm camera chose to end its life. It had been everywhere over the last four years, from California to Canada, from Japan to Australia, Buffalo, Norway, Sweden, Netherlands, throughout South America and countless other places, and THIS was the time it had to die on me, as I stood on a remote mountain in the middle of the high Andes with the only "shops" in sight being women standing at various points throughout the trail selling overpriced Skittles, Coca-Cola and Pringles, with one of them strangely accepting credit cards! I am still unsure as to what caused its death, however the post mortem indicates that Mr Fuji was on its last legs and the moisture in the tent overnight was enough to push him over the edge. Words can not describe the anger and sorrow I felt and for a good two hours I probably was not the best person to be around. Thankfully two people very generously offered to take photos of me whenever I wished. This is something which will be forever appreciated as without this kind gesture I would have left Machu Picchu without the blindest bit of evidence that I was ever there. I could not help at times however feeling like a bit of a nuisance as I constantly requested photos of myself with a variety of scenic backgrounds!

The third day we trailed 16 kilometres in total incorporating two shorter hikes, though no less punishing on the legs, followed by a never ending 1100m descent to our campsite. While I relished the uphill sections of the course, my descending skills were nothing to write home about and the entire time I was terrified that one mistake while climbing down almost 1500 slippy steep steps could result in one or more broken bones. Aly referred to this section of the trail as "The Gringo Killer" in honour of all those tourists who have broken a bone or two over the years. Indeed there was one lady who fell victim to this punishing landscape and had to be carried by one of the porters to the camp site as a result.

The final day involved a 3am start in an attempt to reach Machu Picchu before most other tourists. In total we trekked for just 6 kilometres, incorporating one astonishingly steep climb up to the Sun Gate, where we hoped to catch a view of the "Lost City of the Incas". However our guide Aly preferred to refer to it as the  "Cloud Gate" as visibility is more often than not very poor, and this occasion was no different with dense cloud spoiling what could have been a postcard perfect view. However thankfully by the time we reached Machu Picchu the weather improved significantly with the clouds lifting somewhat, allowing for a decent visual of this amazing ancient city. While a completely sunny day would have been welcome it was actually a very mystical experience having such low cloud cover, and even though this lost Inca site is just 2400m high in altitude it felt that we were standing high up in the sky.

Machu Picchu really is an amazing site with ruins of old Inca buildings and dozens of farming terraces standing below the towering Huayna Picchu mountain. Possibly the most familiar icon of the Inca world this city was unknown to the outsiders before being brought to international attention in 1911 by the American historian Hiram Bingham. As the site was never known to the Spanish during their conquest, it is highly significant as a relatively intact cultural site. Machu Picchu was declared a Peruvian Historical Sanctuary in 1981 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983. In 2007, it was voted one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in a worldwide Internet poll. In addition the walls of these ancient buildings are incredibly strong and have survived numerous earthquakes, one being as recent as 2008. It is impossible to not be hugely impressed by this place, especially considering the effort the Incas had to go to with regards transporting the materials up to such high altitude to enable construction of such fascinating architecture. It really is true that we humans don't make buildings like we used to with the late 20th century providing the ugliest architecture the world has to offer. It's a shame that modern architecture can't be a little more eye pleasing or at the very least that these eyesores can't be kept well away from old picturesque buildings. Whoever it was that decided the Central Bank should be built in the middle of Temple Bar in Dublin deserves a deportation. Sin scéal eile I guess.

One aspect of the tour that can not be ignored are the porters. These men are simply incredible. While we mere mortals feel sorry for ourselves having to carry a tiny day pack, weighing no more than five or six kilos, these guys are lifting 30kg's worth of bags (our bags by the way), food, tents and other materials necessary for us to have the time of our lives. Not only are these men carrying these bags however but they are also walking/ running at astonishing speeds up and down the steepest of terrain with not one of us able to keep up with their relentless pace. Once they reach the campsite they then have to pitch all the tents so that we can sleep in relative comfort. What these people can do is most impressive and our tour guide informed us that the record for the Inca Trail Marathon (45km's in length) is a staggering 3 hours 45 minutes. How somebody can run that course in such a time without breaking a rib or puncturing a lung is beyond me. Despite all the physical effort these heroes (a very deserving word) exert they are paid the most offensive wages possible, just 56 US Dollars for four days of work. With this in mind it is astonishing that one couple from England felt that the porters deserved a combined tip between them of 0.00 Sols for their hard work.

With the exception of these miserable, anti-social people the rest of the group members were fantastic with a wide range of age groups represented ranging from 20 to late 50's from England, Scotland, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Canada and the United States. Everybody seemed to really enjoy themselves and there was no shortage of banter. What was particularly pleasing was the attitude of the older people in the group. After my experience with the rude French people during my tour of South-West Bolivia it was refreshing to meet older people who were willing to have fun and provide many humorous and memorable stories and jokes to the rest of the group. They were a pleasure to be around. The tour had a bit of a fairytale ending as an English man in our group proposed to his Spanish girlfriend overlooking Machu Picchu from Huayna Picchu mountain resulting in a positive outcome.

The last couple of days have been spent relaxing in Cusco, and with the exception of a short visit to the beautiful old Inca village of Chinchero I have done very little. Tomorrow I fly to Lima for four days in the nation's capital. The last week has been an amazing experience, one which will take a long time to exit the memory.

Later

Cusco, Peru

From Arequipa I took a short flight to Cusco, the oldest city in South America, the historical capital of Peru and once the capital of the Incan Empire. As a fellow backpacker put it this place is "history heaven". There is simply so much to see here and the city and its surrounding areas are steeped in so much history dating back to Incan and pre-Incan times. In addition a significant chunk of the local population are indigenous with their ancestors dating back to the Inca era.

First there is the Historical Centre with its well preserved colonial architecture and cobblestoned streets. Simply by wandering aimlessly through the numerous narrow, hilly roads you get a great feel for the history of Cusco. It is a place of immense beauty with the main square, the Plaza de Armas being a particular highlight. Here you will find the spectacular main Cathedral along with Spanish colonial buildings erected directly atop Inca walls. It is easy to understand why UNESCO deemed this place worthy of being declared a World Heritage Site, an honour it received in 1983. The only negative is that unlike Paraty, Colonia and to a lesser extent the old sector of Valparaiso, the Historical Centre of Cusco has an overwhelming amount of continuous traffic. At times it can be hard to capture the history of the city on camera when there are numerous BMV's and Ford's whizzing by.

Another highlight of Cusco is the Qosqo Centre of Native Art where I caught a live show demonstrating traditional Peruvian music and dance. Wearing an array of old colourful costumes and performing some bizarre dances, this show was organised chaos, and made for very enjoyable viewing from the front row of the auditorium. However my choice of seat was something that would come back to bite me on the rear end. For the last dance of the night one of the female Peruvian dancers came down to the crowd and pulled me up on stage. Before this could register with me I was up on a stage ten foot in height with a couple of hundred pairs of eyes staring at me in amusement. I had no choice but to give it socks, despite not having a clue what I was supposed to do and terrified of accidentally tripping up the young woman and causing an embarrassing scene. Thankfully this didn't happen as the experience was mortifying enough as it was, but good fun nonetheless.

And then there are the numerous Inca ruins located outside the city. First I visited Saqsaywaman (which every tourist incorrectly pronounces as "Sexy Woman"), the remains and foundations of a colossal structure which took 77 years to build. After that I took a short walk to Q'Enqo, a sacred sanctuary of worship to fertility. Next was Tambomachay, a place where the Inca lodged regularly containing an old house, a ritual fountain and three farming terraces. Close by was the impressive Puka Pukara, an area which used to be a road control and administrative centre, a military headquarter and food warehouse. The next day I journeyed even further away from the city to take in the breathtaking spectacle that is Tipon, a wonderful complex of hillside farming terraces, long staircases, and water channels carved in bare stone, one of the royal gardens built under Inca Wiracocha. Unable to find a taxi back from here and faced with a painful ninety minute walk, a nice Peruvian lady and her South African husband, along with his mother adopted me for the journey onwards to Pikillaqta, a pre-Incan city built with stone slabs and mud mortar. The size of this town is enormous with ruins stretching well into the distance providing a picturesque sight. Before heading back to Cusco the generous family brought me to a tiny village called Lucre where we sampled many delicious homemade deserts.

On my last blog entry I touched briefly about the locals of Arequipa trying to sell tourists their homemade goods. However after my experience in Cusco I feel that I have to explain further. The amount of people on the streets hassling you to buy absolute rubbish is astonishing. You cannot walk through the Historical Centre for more than 30 seconds without being approached by a local to buy sock puppets, sunglasses, paintings, jewelery and countless other things that I have zero interest in. There are also a staggering amount of people offering massages. At times it is rather funny, and on other occasions very irritating, all depending on what mood you are in. On one occasion during my first day in the city when catching up for a beer with a fellow backpacker who I met earlier in my trip we were hassled no end. Sitting on the outdoor seating of a nice bar establishment our conversation was interrupted every 1-2 minutes by these annoying people. I must have said the words "No gracias" on about thirty occasions in the space of one hour. What makes this worse is that some of these "entrepreneurs" were nine year old children, one of whom wasn't impressed with my standard response and demanded an explanation as to why I didn't want to buy anything.

Tomorrow I begin a five day tour with Gap Adventures, starting with the Sacred Valley where I will take in more amazing Inca ruins before undertaking the four day Inca trail hike to Machu Picchu.

Bye for now

Arequipa, Peru

After a couple of relaxing days in San Pedro I set off on the final marathon bus journey of my South American odyssey to Arequipa, the second largest city in Peru. The journey consisted of a nine hour bus from San Pedro to Arica on the Chile/ Peru border. In order to cross the border into Tacna it was necessary to take a colectivo (shared taxi) with four other random people. Finally a six hour bus brought me from Tacna to Arequipa. During the final part of the journey I noticed something unusual. Every time the bus stopped for a short break the sound of numerous women screaming at the top of their voices reverberated around the inside of the vehicle. Curious as to what all the fuss was about I ventured downstairs to the main door of the bus and there was about a dozen women tripping over each other trying to sell Coca-Cola and Sandwiches (probably of the jamon and queso variety) to the passengers. This is something I hadn't witnessed so far during my travels and is a stark reminder of how much more difficult life must be for the Peruvian people than in the comparatively rich nations of Brazil, Chile, Argentina and Uruguay.

While not in the same league as Paraty, Colonia and Valparaiso, Arequipa is nonetheless quite a picturesque city with numerous old buildings (mainly churches) and cobblestoned streets decorating the historical centre with numerous volcanoes such as El Misti towering above it. The Plaza de Armas, the city's main square is surrounded by buildings made of sillar, a white volcanic stone and is without doubt the most beautiful plaza I have seen to date in South America. Another interesting attraction Arequipa has to offer is the Museo Santuarios Andinos, the home of Juanita, the frozen body of an Inca girl, discovered in 1995 high in the nearby Andes. She lived to be approximately 11–15 years old, and is estimated to have died sometime between 1450 and 1480. The body is remarkably well preserved after 500 years and this discovery was chosen by Time Magazine in 1995, as one of the world's top ten discoveries. Juanita was sacrificed by the Incas to please their gods, something which was considered an honour, not a punishment. Strange times those folk lived in!

Another place of interest is the Convento de Santa Catalina, a place where women from diverse social backgrounds entered to serve as cloistered nuns, never again to return to their homes and families. This large establishment has the feel of a small city within a city with its many brightly coloured colonial buildings, flowers and narrow streets giving one the sense of being back in time.

Over the last couple of days I have discovered some unique Peruvian traits:

1) The amount of people trying to sell you useless irrelevant goods is far higher here than in other countries I have visited. While I was relaxing at the main square an old woman, probably in her 70's, approached me and tried to sell me a variety of goods. After I showed my disinterest in one of her products she would attempt to sell me something else. Still not getting the hint, she continued to try persuade me to change my mind, getting more desperate by the second. While I understand how poor some people are in Peru, at the very least these people should try to sell something of value, then maybe tourists like myself can help. A fake beeny baby is really of no use to me!

2) Peruvians don't understand the concept of a meal it seems. Today for lunch in a nice restaurant I ordered fried eggs and chips (with the chips being of huge importance as they are needed to dip into the yolk obviously!). Now in most countries this would mean that both the eggs and the chips are presented to you together at the same time. Not in Peru. No, here as soon as an element of your meal is cooked it is handed to you immediately. Words can't describe the shock I felt as I waited ten minutes for my chips to arrive while my fried eggs sat in front of me getting colder and colder by the minute.

3) In a restaurant it is very important to clarify the price of something BEFORE you have ordered it. Yesterday I paid 5 sol for a delicious freshly made lemon and orange juice. Today I come back and I am charged 7 sol for the exact same drink. To be honest I didn't really care as the difference is about 50 cent in the Euro currency, but an elderly Peruvian woman with broken English who was sitting at my table refused to let them get away with ripping me off and proceeded to order me to put my wallet back in my pocket and not pay any more than 5 sol. Eventually a compromise was reached between the lady and the waiter and 6 sol was handed over by myself. Supposedly those sort of price hikes are rampant throughout the country as local businesses try to make a fast buck off vulnerable tourists and the nice woman urged me to be "vehhhry careful" for the rest of my time in Peru.

4) During heavy traffic around the main square in Arequipa the vast majority of drivers feel the need to beep the horn in a hopeless attempt to speed things up. I'm sorry lads but making that annoying racket is not going to make the traffic go away. Live with it!

Tomorrow morning I board a flight to Cusco at the ungodly hour of 6.15 am where I will take a few days to enjoy the capital of the ancient Inca empire.

Later

Salar de Uyuni tour, Bolivia

Some Brazilians claim that when making the world God spent six days on Rio de Janeiro and left just one day for the rest. However after the last few days I believe that such a statement would be more appropriate for South-West Bolivia. It is without doubt the most otherworldly place I have ever experienced and at times you would be forgiven for thinking you were not on planet Earth.

The tour however didn't get off to a glittering start. After booking my place on this Bolivian adventure with a operator called Cordillera I was informed that I would be picked up at my hostel at 7.50am. However by 8.30am there is absolutely no sign of my tour bus at which time I rush down to the main square of San Pedro de Atacama to their head office. No joy, the office is shut. At this point I'm getting quite anxious and angry. Fifteen minutes later the woman who I booked the tour with passes by on a bike with her young daughter. She hadn't planned on opening the office until 9.30am but when she spotted me she asked what was going on. Not impressed one bit I proceed to absolutely bite the head off her, when all of a sudden she realises her error - she had forgotten to inform the bus driver that I was to be picked up from my hostel! She frantically rings the bus driver and tells him to come back from the Chilean customs to collect me, and begs for my forgiveness! Eventually it all worked out but if I had continued to wait in the hostel or indeed if she hadn't seen me with the corner of her eye while cycling past then there would have been no tour for me!

My first taste of Bolivia was the border with Chile, located 4500m high in the Andes. Now when i think of a border crossing usually the USA/ Canada entry point near Buffalo, NY comes to mind, a highly monitored operation with massive state of the art buildings. Well this particular crossing into Bolivia is a far cry from that. It is merely a tiny shack in the middle of nowhere!

Upon crossing the border the first thing I noticed was the rapid deterioration in the quality of the roads. On the Chilean side all roads are nicely paved with barriers at each cliff edge that we past while ascending up to 4500m. Once you enter Bolivia these roads transform into a variety of dust tracks, dirt trails, occasionally combined with numerous rocks making the journey one of the bumpiest imaginable. However it gets even worse. At times there aren't even any roads at all, with a previous vehicle's tyre tracks making a sort of makeshift lane way through the barren landscape. Luke Kelly once sang about the Rocky Road to Dublin, but after the last few days I am convinced he was really referring to this landlocked South American country!

After entering Bolivia our bus of twelve people was split into two groups of six (more about that below) and the remainder of the trip was completed in a four-wheel-drive. Firstly we visited Laguna Blanca, a white lake filled with borax followed by Laguna Verde, a lagoon coloured green by Arsenic, Lead, Copper and other heavy metals. After taking some time to admire the picturesque surroundings we continued onwards to the Termes de Polques hot springs located adjacent to the Salar de Chalviri, a small salt lake. Here I took a quick dip in water 36 degrees warm. However getting out of the hot spring wasn't quite as enjoyable with the freezing cold high altitude winds chilling my wet body. Next we checked out the Solar de Manaña geyser basin, a collection of bubbling sulfur pools and a geyser located at a nauseating 4800m above sea level. From there we travelled to our first night's accommodation, a basic hostel with no heating or showers, located close to Laguna Colorada at 4250m high. This is when mild altitude sickness started to kick in with a dose of Panadol required to lift a reasonably sore headache. I found it hard to sleep properly and woke approximately ten times throughout the night.

Day two began with the short drive to Laguna Colorada, a very shallow lake coloured red by the algae that live in it, with many flamingos habiting this stunning setting. Our next port of call was the Arbol de Piedra, a bizarrely shaped stone tree located in the middle of a barren desert carved out by the howling sandy winds. Following this we explored a variety of fluorescent-colored lagoons: Laguna Canapas, Laguna Hedionda, Laguna Chiarcota and Laguna Honda, each one with numerous flamingos prancing around the shallow waters. The setting is extremely colourful with a combination of salt, various rough vegetation and bright blue shallow water. Afterwards we caught a glimpse from afar of the Volcan Ollague an active Volcano, before checking into our second night`s accommodation, a salt hotel in the tiny backward village of San Juan. Everything was made out of salt, the chairs, tables, beds, you name it, and to be honest I found the whole thing a bit tacky.

We awoke at the unearthly hour of 4am the following morning in order to reach the Salar de Uyuni in time for sunrise. I have every respect for our driver after safely negotiating the shocking road conditions in pitch darkness, an admirable achievement in my books. The Salar de Uyuni is the world's largest salt flat at 10,582 square kilometers located at 3600m above sea level with the salt being 10 metres deep. I was fortunate to get the opportunity to visit this spectacular vast landscape during the dry season, giving me the chance to walk along the salt flat. In wet season it is covered in a thin layer of water making it harder to fully explore this geographical phenomenon. The sunrise was worth the early wake-up call and the bitterly cold conditions as it provided a beautiful sight with the sun literally climbing above the endless white landscape. Afterwards we visited the Isla de Pescado, a small hilly island of fossilised coral covered in 1000-year-old cacti in the middle of the Salar providing spectacular photo opportunities from the top. After breakfast on the island we drove out to the centre of the salt flat to spend a bit of time taking ridiculous perceptional photos (see below) before checking out the Salt-Mining Area on the edge of the Salar, an area where salt is dug from the flat into piles weighing a ton each, and left to dry in the sun before transport to a refinery. Next was a short stop in Colchani, a tiny village that survives off the processing of salt, with numerous souvenirs available and a tiny unremarkable salt museum that has carvings of animals created with salt. The tour ended with a visit to an abandoned train, known as the Train Graveyard before finishing in the town of Uyuni, a place where there is literally nothing to do.

One of the great discoveries of this tour is the baño Boliviano (Bolivian toilet). Whenever one gets the urge to urinate all that is required is to simply say to the driver (who doesn't have a lick of English by the way) the words "baño Boliviano " and he will immediately stop at the side of the road in the middle of nowhere so that you can pee away until your heart's content.

There was however one negative with regards this trip which cannot be ignored, and that was the people in my group. With the exception of a nice English couple the rest of the people were instantly forgettable with two 60 year old French couples, three German guys and two Swiss girls making up the numbers. At the very beginning of the trip when all twelve of us were in the one bus one of the moody French men turned around and told me to stop talking so loudly. I'm sorry monsieur but if you are going to sign up to a tour with 95% of its clientele being young people then you can accept the consequences! To make matters worse when we were split into two groups of six I was landed with the three Germans and two Swiss. Even though the five of them have a perfect command of the English language and that they knew I had literally two words of German they still spent the entire journey speaking in their native language therefore cutting me off from roughly 95% of the discussion. The only time English would be spoken was when I initiated a conversation and even then it would quickly revert back to German. This is something I found incredibly rude and after awhile I stopped bothering to talk to them and pretty much kept to myself. This is most disappointing considering the last time I went on a multi-day tour, through the Australian Outback last year, I travelled with a fantastic group of people, a few of whom I am still in touch with. I guess that raised my expectations. You win some, you lose some I suppose. Needless to say I will not be keeping in touch with these people. Possibly five of the most boring human beings I have ever had the displeasure of meeting.

Thankfully as it was just a 3 day tour it was merely a minor inconvenience and didn't spoil my enjoyment of the most immense scenery I have ever witnessed. In addition after the initial howler the tour company Cordillera did little wrong. The vehicles were in good order, the food was adequate and the driver appeared to be sober (something which is not a guarantee in Bolivia!). After a few hours in Uyuni I took a long trip back to San Pedro stopping in Villa Mar, another poor backward village, for the night. Yesterday and today is being dedicated to chill time in San Pedro before I undertake a long bus journey tonight to Arequipa in Peru.

Until later, take it easy