Yamba – A Day to Stroll                                                              5^th October 2019

Arriving last night in Yamba after an arduous mucking around day assisting my younger brother carry out his installation work; we settled in to our Cousin’s backpackers for 3 nights (Yamba Backpackers). We had enough of the traffic hassles (3.5hrs) due to the enormous Pacific Highway upgrade roadworks. It’s been going on for 2 years now and has another year to go. From Woodburn to Yamba turnoff is basically 80klms/hr the entire way of some 60klms with no passing lanes or opportunity.

We awoke to a very cloudy day; something we in Queensland has not seen for quite some time in a disastrous drought. My brother set off early today for golf to test out his back-recovery issue so I lazed around the Block Café of the backpackers until a dear friend said she is sick in bed and can’t make our coffee catchup so I decided to take a stroll out to the nearby world-famous surfing town of Angourie.

Recently the township including Yamba was severely tested with very close bushfires to the adjacent national park. It was the first time large fire retardant water bombing planes were used, along with small fixed wing and helicopters. The locals were treated to very low flying in a smoke-filled atmosphere for about 2 weeks.

After donning on my trek pants, day backpack and my feet saving Salomon X Ultra Mid 3 GTX hiking boots I started out walking through the streets and the road into Yamba to the roundabout and head south into a blustering 20knot headwind. It was a good day for the walk, being on the cool side but could have done without the wind.

The traffic was very light on the way out and the only person being active was a runner, about late 20s and running … so that left me out. He acknowledged me and then some 10mins later he had returned and headed back to Angourie. He showed a good pace too! I was trying to do the speed limit but with the headwind it had me well below it (see photo).

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Along the way there is bushland both sides of the roadway with the left-hand side being the Pacific Ocean side and the western side national park and natural bushland. Here you can see the severity of the recent fires right up to the roadway and crossing it to the ocean. There are sections where the retardant bombing has still left its mark, redness powder tinge to the tree trunks in amongst the blackened burnt bush.

Some Australian native bushes require fire to burst their seed pods for new life. Unfortunately, we have the political parties of The Greens and Labor that prevent reduction burnoffs, so the fire severity is dramatically increased and some plant life cannot propagate. Stupid ignorant government parties. Our indigenous people have been reduction burning for thousands of years.

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In the blackened landscape you can see varying stages of life with reds, oranges, greens of tree trunks, some with ribbon formations on the trunks along with the blackened souls of bushland. Coming close to the Angourie township you can see in the far distance the vast plains of burnt bushland and it is known the fire came right up to the fence lines of some homes. The Rural Fire Brigade and SES personnel, along with the support aircraft did an amazing job in preventing further tragedy and damage.

Coming into the township the first turn to the left is Spooky Beach, a prime site but I’ll leave this area to when I do my return walk and headed further in to another left hand turn off to the Blue & Green Pools and picnic area. A gravel carpark first full of cars, campers and Winnebago’s and then a pathway skirting around the Blue Pool. The fire even reached to within this miniature coastal valley. Here you can see a range of beauty in the treescape with varying colours of fire touched and not touched bushland.

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These pools of fresh water are within 50 metres (Blue Pool) & 70metres (Green Pool) of the rockwalls and pounding Pacific Ocean. They originated I believe some 70 years ago where they were quarries for the rocks required to make the breakwalls at Yamba for the entrance to the mighty Clarence River (Big River). Rocks were excavated at these sites and carted by rail carts along a miniature railway all the way to Yamba and along the Clarence River where this is a concrete path behind the Calypso Caravan Park and out to the headland. Overnight the quarries conflicted with an underground spring and workers came across their new found ponds fully filled with fresh water. All the machinery remains underwater quite some metres down. One of the photos show some small remnants of the rail tracks in the rock pathway, albeit heavily corroded from the salt environment.

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The Blue Pool is usually everyone’s favourite as it is usually pristine water whereas the Green Pool can sometimes be affected by algae. Young boys were up on the Blue Pool cliff face ready to do their constant jumping with parents looking on. I have never been one for jumping off climbs whereas my children, nephews and nieces certainly have done it here. The Green pool had no jumpers present today. It is a vertical climb up the cliff face after you swim to the other side. Therefore, it is for the more advanced ages. These areas are well loved by visiting backpackers, once my cousin Shane does his world renowned “Shane’s Tour” with them, and has most of them jumping.

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After skirting some beach houses, including Mr Billabong’s $10Million house, I proceeded to do my walk back only to venture to popular cafes on the main road and my friends of some years Barbaresco Restaurant in between them. Adrienne and Davida were just getting ready for the night trade and were quite surprised to see my face after quite some time. The restaurant is of high quality and a definite must do (you might notice the bar mirrors and extra-large wall frame mirrors mounted). My brother & I delivered these and mounted them one morning of the NRL Grand Final many years ago which is also this weekend too. They’re still there. The food is amazing.

It was time to hit the road and upon walking out of the restaurant the weather has now changed to drizzle rain, something we haven’t seen for some time back home in the Gold Coast. I set up my Black Wolf Grand Teton backpack with its own raincoat. Luckily, I brought my rain jacket too. I’m now aware the wind has now dropped to around 5knots so I have been robbed of a decent tail wind. My Spotify music is providing the beat through my phone to keep up the pace. Getting closer to Yamba my feet are starting to say hello but as a recent book I read “Can’t Hurt Me” states most people only use 40% capacity pf their mind therefore, don’t continue the hard yards and give up. Not me … I’m taking one step after another. Please read this book … it’s amazing what the author, David Goggins was able to accomplish. Everyone should read this. After some distance I remembered I was to do the Spooky Beach view but the rain took over my mind. Well, that will now be for another day.

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I decided to walk along the pathway following the Clarence River estuary I spoke of earlier (the quarry railway route) so I can venture via the Calypso Caravan Park to the main street to pick up some valuable bananas to boost my recovery and also being well past lunchtime. The caravan park is home to my brother & I during the annual Christmas holiday period (3 weeks). I have been camping there for some 24 years I think and mostly taking our Mother, Win, along too.

Returning to our room I use my magnesium spray on my feet. This is so soothing and I’m sure my feet love it. I proceeded downstairs where cousin Shane organises a sumptuous burrito while I persevere with typing this blog.

Being a mature traveller (I’d love for my family & friends to fund me for more travelling … hint) I stick to walking when I can … are you??? Have a look at my screenshot of my walk today which means anyone can do this … try it. 13.2klms

I hope you enjoyed this quick blog? Any comments are warmly received.

Valparaiso – Seaside City of Chile                                                          24^th April 2019

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After the most incredible sleep with the assistance of luxury beds and thick curtains to the windows we further enjoy perfect hot showers .. 4star luxury this is, at The Crowne Plaza. We checked out so easily having hardly unpacked our backpacks and announcing “Buenos Di’as” (Good Morning) to Reception where we find Norman again at the desk. He provides a very detailed folded city map and explains the best method on a budget to get to Valparaiso some 140klms/ 2.5hrs away travelling Nth West. He also provides a penned note explaining the steps to take (walk, train, bus, taxi in that order).

Firstly, we must walk 150m West to the nearest subway to board the train towards San Pablo (outer region suburb) but alighting from the Pajaritos station to arrive at the main bus terminal adjacent and secure a tour bus from the number of suppliers. The subway entrances are marked with a sign indicating 3 red joined triangles (photo).

After finding a satisfying brekky menu at the adjoining Starbucks and waving ciao to Norman, we head off down the street dodging a myriad of people that basically have the intent of ‘walking through you’. The congestion of people I saw yesterday (previous blog) is where we see the 3 red triangle sign; with a stairway leading under the 6-lane road for the subway. No wonder there was a lot of people about when you also have the 2 nearby universities.

The subway station was so busy and I gamble on seeing a kiosk in the centre, above the two lower train platforms. Not many English signs about, so here goes. With the young lady’s broken English & my nil Spanish I obtain a card for two passengers (1,500pesos/$3AUD per person one-way) to Pajaritos station & she points to the left platform. Using the card in the scanner I proceed through; then hand the card back to Scott who scans & then proceeds through .. so far .. so good. The trains run at such frequency and there’s no mucking about getting on & off. Such precision. Boarding the train with 2 backpacks each there is very little space left near the doors so it is a bit of a squeeze. We are comforted by the train network sign above the doors in bright colours and every station marked. We are going the right way & we will also have enough warning when to alight, marking off each station as we go.

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After about 6 stations we arrive at Pajaritos Station & heading up the long stairs to ground level we open up to numerous shops and eateries. We walk past them as per Norman’s note and find about 6 booths of bus companies under the enormous train/ bus terminal building. Here, the signs are simpler to understand and we can’t believe how many buses are in action going to various locations mainly Valparaiso and Vina Del Mar. Some leave every 15minutes to these locations. It seems the best offer is from Turbus and the lady in the booth does not speak much English … eventually, I secure two tickets @ 3,000 pesos ($6AUD) each which is not bad for 2 hrs of bus travel one-way. The ticket provides the bus #, seats and platform #s and time it arrives.

Right on time our bus enters and some 10minutes later we secure our bags in the bus and climb into our seats on the lower level. Very comfy seats that recline and with phone charges, etc fitted. Best bus I’ve travelled in. The journey takes us down the major highway (modern) and at varying times we pick up indigenous families and workers at certain locations. We also pick up a vendor selling snacks, souvenirs, etc and then he alights at another stop. The highway views remain basically the same with large hills and mountains on both sides with small under developed villages at intervals. Not much to rave about really, even though the brochures spruik about the views.

Finally, we get into some population and a city feel and eventually we click its Valparaiso … tourism signage could be entertained at the city’s boundary for an obvious suggestion. Winding through the streets, it is quite congested with vehicles and pedestrians and after a while we enter a driveway off a small street into a large carpark. We are at the Eastern end of the city. Here is the bus terminal and numerous taxis and some men making out they are taxi drivers. Not wasting any time, we alight from the bus and walk outside the terminal towards the official taxi rank. There is nothing to see around this neighbourhood so we gather at the taxi rank until we gain the driver’s attention (all smoking in a group). We show the address to one driver and a huge smile and a nod confirms he knows where to go for 1,500pesos/ $3AUD.

The taxi winds through the city towards the West, along the Pacific Ocean seaside, although can’t see the ocean as yet and then turns a hard left and proceeds to escalate rapidly into very narrow streets on a steep incline with hairpin bends and the like. Winding our way to virtually the top we notice all the art works on the sides and facades of buildings and very bright colours. Suddenly the taxi stops and the driver looks back to us and without warning he reverses at speed for about 70m and again stops suddenly. We have arrived at our hotel in a dead-end street. We alight and look around and see a row of brightly coloured buildings but no obvious hotel structure. The driver, after being paid, shows us the alley way at the dead-end to the right and from there we will see the hotel’s entrance after walking through. He waves, smiles and he’s back into his car & off.

The alley way opens up to a paved walkway overlooking the Pacific Ocean harbour in rich blue with large ships anchored off the shoreline, including navy ships and all within bright sunshine. Certainly, didn’t expect this type of expansive view. After looking out to sea for a few minutes enjoying the view, we now look behind us and there is a small board sign stating our hotel ‘Gran Hotel’ and a timber framed glass door. We are warmly greeted by a young lady from England at Reception. She provides the rules of the house, restaurant location for brekky, etc and proceeds to show us our room. The hotel is a restored family mansion of a boarding school type with corridors and timber staircases and numerous rooms proceeding down the slope of the land to about 4 levels. The hotel also goes under another name ‘Hotel Gervasoni’ and is predominately all heavily polished timber throughout so it would have cost a pretty penny in its day. Our room is large enough to be comfortable with French doors/ windows opening out to a non-entry balcony (tiny in size) & facing west to the ocean. We can also see into numerous offices and apartments in adjacent buildings … privacy is certainly not a pre-requisite here by the looks of things.

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When the lady leaves, we decide to use the toilet and head off on a walk around the neighbourhood as it is around 2pm. Scott needs food. Opening the door outwards to the bathroom I’m aghast at the smallest bathroom known to man. It contains an 800×800 shower, a toilet & a basin all within a floor space of 1400×1200. One small space to stand in .. yes, in front of the toilet … LOL!!!! Look at the photo for proof. So tiny.

Now over the shock and laughter of the bathroom we hand our room key in and proceed along the paved walkway to do our reconnaissance walk around the city neighbourhood, not venturing too far of course.  Wandering past some market tables along the walkway we find large concrete stairs leading down to the street some 60m below. At the bottom of the stairs we notice a lot of young people (university students I believe) all sitting on the steps and heavily engaged in smoking weed. The sweet smell was so strong. Looks like it is a regular haunt to avoid the parks and streets and stay out of view. The other ugly side was the amount of dog facies present and a few dogs hanging around. Not impressed on Valparaiso at the moment.

Opening out onto the street we are greeted with very heavy congested traffic in a rather tight two-way street called Esmeralda St. Looks like turning right to the East is the best option and just a little way up the street becomes one-way and joins into a roundabout of obvious landmark recognition with a statue in the centre. Here at Plaza Anibal Pinto, we have people all trying to cross the roadway, large volumes of buses are blocking the road trying to pick up people at bus stops. Police blowing whistles to force cars, buses to move but what can they do when its piled up solid. Scott & I cross the road and settle inside the roundabout under this statue called ‘Fuente de Neptuneo’ (Fountain of Neptune, erected 1892). From there we can see a row of cafes with outside eating areas facing the street and the roundabout. Looks like we are on a winner finally by selecting Restaurant Cinzano. We order a late lunch with coffee and spend a few hours taking in the day’s action and views. We notice this is the main meeting point for many tour operators, mostly undertaking the ‘Walking Tours’ of artistic buildings and graffiti art close by. Totally forgot about photos … der!!!!

Our neighbourhood is perched on the Western end of the flat land and backs up onto the high headland called Cerro Concepcion (Cerro = Hill), all covered with buildings, built into the slopes & cliffs of the headland, no space is wasted. It seems to be the historic centre of Valparaiso but you wouldn’t really know it for sure at first glance. One must question how do they paint such buildings perched on sharp slopes/ cliff faces. Painting them in ultra-bright colours must lift their courage, I guess.

With darkness nearing we walk back to the large stairs and notice it is not a nice area in the dark but we proceed with confidence, just the same. Finding our hotel easily we proceed into the alley way to the high side of the street where the taxi dropped us off (Papudo St). From here we walk the short well-lit cobblestone street to find one restaurant, ‘La Concepcion’ with a great menu amongst many other restaurants. Upstairs we are greeted so warmly and with the waiters dressed in an immaculate fashion. Very high-end look and excellent service, yet so very affordable. The tables are converted door frames and clear polyurethane coating with inset square clear glass. Very unique and quirky. Scott & I can’t go past the Vegetarian Lasagne. ’Molto bene’ (very good). Our Mango juice is also divine … should have ordered doubles. What a surprise this place is and the view at night is superb with the far lights shining and flickering on the ocean from a nearby (joined) ritzy city of Vina Del Mar & further on Renaca, known for its laidback beach. We find out later La Concepcion is a highly regarded restaurant so that confirms my opinion and recommendation. Again, forgot about photos … double der!!!!

We head back to our room to navigate having a shower. Very squeezy and a bit of a challenge. Scott first .. but he comes out several minutes later saying  .. ‘no hot water’. Reception has now closed so will have to wait till morning. Yay!!!

Morning comes .. first thing after our personal care is to report our hot water issue to Reception. We are assured it will be addressed while we have our free brekky. To shorten this section of my story our complaints were ongoing for two more days, even after the Maintenance Man assured us, as well as Reception that all was OK. “It has been tested”. Coldish showers are not our thing so my complaints were getting stronger but Sth Americans don’t seem to grasp negative comments and how to properly respond to such major complaints. My booking was pre-paid with points through my Wyndham Resorts so no compensation of course or other compensation. Very frustrating. To end this section, upon checking out days later, Reception tells us the hot water works, but you must run the taps for a minimum of 15mins first before it comes through. What!!!! Such water wastage and terrible plumbing. Good to know …. NOW!!!

We must applaud the great breakfast each morning .. really enjoyed the buffet and the room with the morning sunshine which gives us the motivation needed to step out into the city. Scott & I walked the entire length of Valparaiso (say 3-4klms one way) but saw nothing that really stood out apart from busy footpaths, traffic and plenty of small street shops. The occasional sitting areas outside the main universities. Much later we find most of the sites to see are at the start of the hill climbs where most of the colourful and art buildings are located. We did stumble at the Eastern end, near the headland a shopping mall much like a miniature Cosco where you can buy just about anything, even car tyres.

Walking back to our neighbourhood, I notice some markings on our city map showing a few Funicular lifts (Ascensors locally called) with one not far from our hotel so will do that tomorrow. We partake in our comfortable café at the roundabout again to ensure we get good food and outlook to the street before heading back to our hotel where Scott spies a bright yellow house up on the cliff face of Cerro Concepcion that is an outdoor restaurant and suggests we give that a go. Of course, the weather changes to quite cold and windy and the outdoor restaurant is copping the full brunt of it. OK .. where now?

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Our last full day we can confirm we are sighted within the art section of the city which is the most publicised tourism attraction. It includes fashionable and trendy shops, very brightly painted buildings, houses, etc and arty graffiti. There are a few tour guides showing small groups around but in reflection I believe you can easily find these sights just by walking a few streets around this headland and taking notice where the funicular lifts are placed. An example of this is the photo of the piano stairs and a cultural centre. The walk down to the main city is quite steep and some hairpin corners and the car’s motors do rev up a bit loud. The footpaths are quite narrow as well but understandably so. We don’t mind this walk as it confirms we are somewhere different.

Using our city map we head towards the funicular lift nearest our hotel called Ascensor Reina Victoria adjacent to Calle Cumming (Calle = Street). There are a few handicrafts and tourism merchandise rooms attached to the lift and all is quite quaint. We take notice of how this lift works, with the operator doing manual door openings, gear stick movements. It has all the hallmarks of its 1902 vintage (some are even older at 1883). It all looks like it works very well .. good maintenance, so we are assured of taking the ride for just $100 pesos … $0.20 each person, each way. Obviously, I gave the driver a decent tip. The ride was quite smooth however it is when it reaches the extents that the gates and locking cable gear and handbrake gets a bit clunky. We alight to a suspended walkway overlooking a small playground towards the small shops and notice adults and children using the slippery slide from the walkway down to the playground. Smiles and laughter all around.

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Along the walkway we are enjoying the warm sun and the views to the ocean in the West and we spy the café we saw along our city walk yesterday. It is very busy and not a table to spare inside and out. Obviously, the out area is prime real estate for the view and clean air. We note, we can find a table ourselves so Scott & I slowly patrol the verandah/ balcony area and with just a few minutes we land the BEST table … what a win!!! We are near the end of the balcony with the best views. A couple inside the café are definitely giving us the evil eye as we noted they were re-sitting themselves back onto their inside table.

The service was excellent and the food even better … it came to a point where we almost felt guilty staying at the table long after our meal and juices but there were now plenty of tables vacant so the guilt went very quickly and it was a superb place to talk to my son on numerous topics. Such times are priceless. We had such a great time enjoying the view mostly overlooking Cerro Concepcion (Cerro = Hill) in the direction of our hotel where colourful buildings abound. We slipped up on not recording the cafés name. We believe it maybe the Altamira Café. Speaking of cafés, we found out some days later Valparaiso has a café called the Melbourne Café. Shame we missed this.

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As night plays out, we are in need of dinner so Scott and I branch out even more reading menus and scouring many eating places but nothing meets our eyes or our needs … after quite some time we circle back and seek out our favourite, ‘La Concepcion’ with the endless night light view and the Pacific Ocean. We were not let down by their service and the main waiter later recognises our faces and smiles accordingly. We bunker down after at our hotel, still a barely lukewarm shower and some music and Youtube madness.

Tomorrow is not a rushed day, and that goes for the last 4 days too so we will pack later and leave checkout to the last minute after their great buffet brekky, catch a taxi at the rear of the hotel and travel to the adjacent coastal city, Vina Del Mar, approximately 5klms away, hoping for more entertaining sites and culture feel.

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In reflection, Valparaiso is a port city, founded in 1536, with a population in 2017 of 295,113 making it the 2^nd largest city in Chile. It has a naval port and the largest adjoining import/ export wharf at the Sth Eastern end, no accessible beach to laze on with revetment walls along its entire coastline with buildings placed against it. Surprisingly, it is an educational precinct incorporating 7 universities and several colleges. The main part of the city is on flat land stretching some 4klms and then rises sharply to very high ground where every inch is occupied with brightly coloured buildings and houses, etc and numerous churches. There are about 16 remaining funicular elevators throughout for the very steep parts. The ‘Walking Tour’ centres around our hotel area and that is unique and colourful however the city outside of this area is a typical bustling city with very little impressive architecture or new development. The tourism part firmly focusses on the ‘Walking Tour’ area. Within the Valparaiso regional limits there are approx. 47 hills so that’s a high number I wasn’t expecting.

Once again, many thanks for reading my blogs and feel free to place a comment below. Any feedback is good. Any sharing of my blog link to your friends is certainly OK by me. Hopefully, it may provide some travel inspiration to them.

Chile – Santiago, Capital City – Overnight                                         23^rd April 2019

We completed Ecuador’s Cotopaxi – Quilotoa Volcano 2day trek tour the day prior and managed a wonderful sleep in our twin room at the Hump Day Hostel in Quito [kito], (Capital City) Historical Centre (refer to my previous blogs). We had our bags packed for international travel (our backpacks are packed differently for these flights due to scanning, etc) prior to the taking of the hostel’s free brekky downstairs in the communal lounge/ dining. The indigenous staff were very shy at first but so friendly & accommodating within seconds. We were treated so well and loved the omelettes, tea, etc. We obviously missed rush hour as most backpackers had already left or were still asleep.

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We checked out at the required time but was able to place all our backpacks into their Hold Lockers for $1USD each all day in Reception. The staff were so pleasant even after checking out. It was a great place to stay.

I must confess I did not pay too much attention to this last day in Quito as we had a 2.30pm taxi booked for the airport so just expected to walk the streets nearby to fill in the day. My eldest son, Scott, was not motivated either way as we were both coming off the high from the last 2 fantastic days. In reflection I should have organised a half day short trip to the actual equator some 48mins drive, 23klms away to the North where there is a museum, Equator Monument and many other associated landmarks. So disappointed in missing out some areas of Quito.

To fill in time, we had a quick walk up to the super impressive Basilica (pls refer to previous Quito Blog) which was sadly, still closed for Easter, took more photos and headed back in a roundabout way to our hostel. We found a fantastic arcade (closed transport street) with so many eateries and coffee shops and obviously would be the main gathering of office workers in any given work day, much like a miniature Market Place in Sydney. The arcade was quite a surprise in comparison to the other surrounding streets. After a much-loved coffee and service we took in a rather cruisey stroll, fresh air and sunshine, albeit everyone was wearing jumpers and coats, some with scarves and gloves too.

Upon reaching Reception I made the comment of the Equator trip and the response from them was it will rain heavy soon & possible hail too so it would be best not to go. Sure enough, shortly after, they were spot on! It is bewildering to see this weather type on the Equator, so obviously the altitude makes the difference. The temperature plummeted with this storm so all Scott and I could do was to find the comfy seat in the communal room and wait for the taxi that we had already booked.

After a couple of hours of chilling out, we climbed into the taxi for the 42klm journey to the airport in the pouring rain, battled through Customs, Immigration and had our last Ecuadorian coffee. Our flight eventually departed late from our 6.35pm schedule so it will be a very tight stopover at our ‘beloved’ Lima Airport in Peru (sarcasm) before our connection flight to Santiago Chile, arriving there at a wonderful 2.30am (more sarcasm). The best thing is we will be flying with our favourite Avianca Airlines for both flights. The reason for Chile in the itinerary is; it is the main departure point for Australian flights therefore it would be a shame in just seeing the Santiago airport and nothing of Chile or their people.

For most flights in South America, seats are assigned to you when booking. If you wish to choose your seats there is a very strong possibility of a seat preference charge and this could be a minimum of $100USD per seat. Obviously, this is unreasonable to many, including me. Of course, our flight from Lima has seats 12A & 12B assigned to us. They are located immediately before the wing exit doors. Never, ever have these seats, as they don’t recline. This is to enable a clear exit passageway behind in case of an emergency!! We could not recline for some 3 plus hours and the seats in front of us reclined their seats giving us so little space for our trays including the seat TV screen was too close for viewing. Worst flight ever and so uncomfortable therefore, no sleep!

Upon arrival in Chile we are directed towards Customs and Immigration as normal however, we see large Australian flag stickers proudly displayed in a cluster on a column or 2 before Customs. Australia has an agreement with Chile where we currently pay $117USD/ person for visiting Chile as a tourist and lasts for 90 days. It is called a Reciprocity Fee between certain countries. Rip off I call it but it’s a must do to gain entry!! Chile is required to pay a fee too when visiting Australia. Chile Immigration certainly check this is paid before entry and you must ensure you do not lose the stamped ticket or you will be paying other taxes and again on departure. This stamped docket is required for hotel check ins as well and is recorded at times. Surprisingly, Immigration did not wish to inspect our Yellow Fever stamped vaccination booklet presented.

Scott & I stayed within the Chilean airport, having a brekky and coffee until dawn arrived and when the airport became busier at 7am. In the meantime of some 4 hours till dawn, we spent energy trying to work out the pesos currency .. yes, it is awkward when comparing USD & AUD comparisons. Apparently, the theory is pesos divided by 640 = $USD, making our taxi ride to the Crowne Plaza Hotel some 25,000 pesos/ $39USD.  Only certain places use $USD so everything is in pesos.

The airport arrangement for getting a taxi is very awkward compared to other airports and after several attempts we are convinced by a fellow who is ultra-polite, far above anyone around. Usually, I would avoid these signs of ‘perceived false humanity’, but in reluctance I am with Scott, so I am more reassured to getting a disguised ‘Uber’ by cash. The airport is some journey away from the city centre, hence the large fee of $39USD by a taxi. Scott is not a bus person and remains unsure with anxiety of where we are going and when we would have to get off even though there is a shuttle service run by two major companies, Centropuerto & Turbus for around 3,500 pesos per person.

I usually trust my common sense & the universe but chose the private vehicle option to hasten the trip to our hotel & to obtain much needed sleep. Our ‘Uber’ driver provides plenty of English conversation which made the journey into the city in peak hour more enjoyable as we see plenty of new development, old buildings and derelict buildings along the way with great commentary. Scott & I note, the numerous religious buildings, universities, churches along the main thoroughfare of Av. Libertador Bernardo O’Higgins dissecting Santiago and what seemed quite a while our driver enters a driveway on the right which forms the carpark of our upmarket Crowne Plaza Hotel set back from the street.

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Footnote: The reason for the upmarket accommodation stems from my ‘resort ownership’ of Wyndham Resorts over many years where I’m provided a lot of accommodation points each year where I can use them throughout the world; so I thought this hiking tour would help provide some great relief being in resorts for a while and to use my points before they expire. One of the other reasons was not knowing what physical and mental conditions we would be in after such hectic and strenuous hiking and to also allow relief for my 4^th digit toe on my left foot that continues to be in a broken condition since I kicked a low tiled shower hob way back in Vietnam some 12mths ago. Ouch!!! I am so thankful for I believe the best hiking boots in the world, my Salomon 3X Ultra Mid boots. They looked after my feet perfectly. Back to my resort package you might remember I used some of my Wyndham points to recover in Wyndham Guayaquil Ecuador a week ago in a previous blog.

Despite having valets meet us in alighting the car in the carpark our driver continues to assist us to Reception where we meet a very polite gentleman, Norman, who speaks great English. By not having any pesos, our driver now will not accept $USD cash so this brings in some complications of course. Norman, being conscious of this, offers a great lifesaver by organising an IOU with the cash register and placing it on our check out bill (after checking in of course). This negates the tax rule of adding 26% to the bill and also gets the driver paid. The stamped Reciprocity Fee docket is requested for this to happen. Whew!!!

Norman changes our room to the same type so we can immediately get settled and some well-earned sleep now that it is 8.45am (we both received no sleep last night). We hardly unpack and before long Scott is sound asleep, whereas my adrenalin is still active. No real need to unpack as we venture to a nearby seaside resort at Valparaiso tomorrow for 3 nights, a few hours away from Santiago.

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While Scott is asleep (I leave him a note), I walk the main street of Av. Libertador Bernardo O’Higgins looking for food places, especially vegetarian ones in readiness for Scott’s emerging metabolism. Walking West, I come across a lot more people crowding the pavements being out from two nearby universities. The food places are predominately carne (meat) places and junk food for the younger people who look quite bulky in physicality. Obviously, junk food is applying its affect over here too. I have a sense Chile is going to be challenging, although a satisfying win with an atm for some pesos was my highlight for the afternoon.

Some main facts on Santiago are;

Founded by Spanish conqueror Pedro Valdivia on 12^th February 1541. The city is located in a very large valley base surrounded by snow-capped Andes Mountain range to the East and the Chilean Coastal Range to the West (Pacific Ocean). The population in the 7^th most populated city in the Americans is 6.544million from the 2016 census (Los Angeles has 3.971million). Chile appears to have the highest cost of living in Sth America with the most developed infrastructure and a solid middle class so will have to watch my budget here. Elevation is 570m/1,870ft and is in an earthquake zone where in 2010 it suffered an 8.8 magnitude earthquake centred about 325klm to the Sth West causing medium damage to the city.

Crowne Plaza has a Starbucks Coffee adjacent to their foyer so we use this for convenience and then settle later for a vegetarian pizza in a quaint little shop, Pizzeria Bella Italia, just up the road for dinner. What a lazy day and night; virtually achieved nothing however, we will leave Santiago tomorrow knowing we will be back in a week and a half to see its highlights.

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Hopefully, with a full night’s sleep to come we will head to the seaside of Valparaiso, some 140klm to the North West.

Thank you for reading my blogs and I would be grateful if comments are forthcoming.

Ecuador – Quilotoa Volcano Crater Lake        Day 2                         22^nd April 2019

This is the 2^nd day of our Volcano Treks so you may need to review back to the first day’s blog for more info.

The alarm shatters the silence in the morning after a well-earned sleep from yesterday. We both had a very comfortable sleep at our overnight stay at the Chuquiraqua Lodge & Spa, set into the quiet hinterlands and farmlands 8klms off the highway at 3,336m/ 10,945ft elevation and we are buoyed by the energy we have now inherited. Scott had completely destroyed his bed of course, whereas mine was like a display bed. I’d like to think I am a peaceful person at night. Worried about Scott though 😊. The facilities in our room are wonderful and the little room heater is abuzz. The morning air, we’ll say is brisk .. at best. We are warm and fresh after our hot showers and within minutes we are dressed in our trek gear and backpacks are sorted. We sneak out of the double storey multi-room unit block and walk swiftly across the carpark to the restaurant for breakfast avoiding the wind somehow.

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We are greeted by the Manager, Krystie & the European Chef however they are very busy as expected. We sit in the lounge awaiting breakfast call up. The choice of meals is above standard. We are ahead of time so all is good. The German family are already through their breakfast and about to leave as their guide has turned up and we are to place ourselves at another smaller table. We smile and say good morning but don’t intrude any further. It is Easter Sunday today and the German father greets us at our table with a boisterous “Happy Easter” and presents Scott & I with a mini chocolate Easter Egg each, and states with humour, “it’s also a German thing to provide Easter Eggs”. Such a wonderful family group .. we are able to bid farewell properly as they venture to the entrance door after their guide has packed their van. We wave a hearty good bye.

We enjoyed our breakfast and now sit in the lounge wondering when our guide will arrive. Krystie is talking to a gentleman at Reception so can’t intrude. Time is getting away now so I was about to approach Krystie when she advised the gentleman, she was speaking to is now waiting to take you back to the Chaupi Community Village to meet the tour bus. We had been sitting there for about 20mins in full view of them only metres away, so I can’t fathom the delay. We scurry to the van when Krystie calls out to me. She had forgotten to provide the bill for dinner last night. More minutes now taken to clear that up but I knew the dinner was an exclusion in the tour and totally slipped my memory to pay. Breakfast was included in the tour so all good there. What a pressured 10minutes and more time wasted! I wholeheartedly recommend Chuquiraqua Lodge & Spa.

We arrive at the Chaupi Community Village in record time from yesterday. The driver must know we are late now. The tour bus is waiting for us of course. We hurry out of the van knowing the other trekkers are now passing daggers at us. The guide says we are very late and been waiting there for some 20mins. We say “Buenos dias” (good morning) and apologies to the bus but we hear only muffles. What else could we do?

The bus starts up and we do the famous right hand turn again onto the highway .. close our eyes again. Quilotoa is approx. 2.5hrs south of Quito (capital) however we escape the first hour by staying overnight in the Chaupi village region. We now have a 90mins trip to get to Quilotoa Crater Lake but further up the highway we must turn right at the large overpass where we turned left yesterday to Cotopaxi Volcano, to peruse the guide’s home village of Pujili, set at 2,944m/ 9659ft elevation, where there is a large market today. The guide is full abuzz in excitement and passion for us to see his village. We squeeze into a large carpark full of all different size buses once we weave in & out of traffic bedlam. We alight the bus and the guide provides us more detailed instructions where to meet up as the bus will drive to that point a little later. Getting our bearings on where best to head, we are so surprised to see our Las Vegas friend from yesterday alighting from our bus. She was the only one unfortunately from yesterday. She was thrilled also we were present. So embarrassed in not remembering her name.

With that sorted we cross the street into the mire of over active people all scurrying with their purchases of fruits, vegetables, fish, fowl, duck and some things not to mention. So many tourists are already here plus the indigenous people. Scott struggles with the live trade so we venture to the fruit, vegetables and bakery section. The indigenous people just walk through you and never smile or say “Buenos dias”. We find this is normal behaviour of Peruvian and Ecuadorians so far which is so different from my Cambodian & Vietnam experiences where they love tourists and know we bring money to help lift their living standards.

Looking over the market stalls we can see the German family from last night .. too far to get to them but their eldest son passes close by & recognises us. He smiles and says “Hello” … great to see them again. Maybe we will catch them later on. After about 30mins we are first at the meeting point, then the guide turns up. It takes another 20mins before everyone finally arrives … no apologies forthcoming now for the stragglers and you can tell the guide is frustrated. We cross the street and the bus is again underway. We have well over an hour of travel still and much higher elevation too however, it is expected the road is very modern and smooth and the weather is perfect for now.

Some 30minutes later we stop alongside the road out the front of a farmhouse. We are advised what we are about to experience is the actual farm living conditions of an indigenous family. The family greets us with cheering smiles in their indigenous farming costumes but remain silent. We note, the farm animals of alpacas, dogs, cow and sheep and an old crop of corn. Their huts were circular and made of straw thatching with earth floors. The larger hut was the main house and inside there were cages, benches, shelves, cooking utensils hanging off the walls, one very large bed and about 20 guinea pigs free ranging on the floor and taking no notice of us. For some reason they stay within the boundary of the hut which is so unusual for us. Everything is done in this hut for the family.

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Once outside, the father spoke in his indigenous language and the guide translated for us. He explains times are tough getting the crop harvested and to keep the family together, etc. He asks if photos are taken to offer a small donation.  The family get most of their income from tourism now, hence the old corn crop I suppose. Their sons follow us like puppy dogs, watching us closely, circling around us offering all types of tourist bangles, key chains and the like. The girls were more reserved and shyer. I bought some cloth bracelets for my 3 grandchildren back home and donated well to the father directly, and he smiles appreciably. The family all group together like its well-rehearsed and wave us good bye simultaneously.

All aboard again and we all enjoy the much higher mountains, some snow-capped from the view of our windows. The scenery is majestic to say the least. The bus now winds further up steeper hills for the next 45mins and then into a narrower road and under the overhead sign welcoming everyone to Quilotoa; with an elevation of 3,914m/ 12,841ft. The village is small, clean and many buildings and homes are being constructed and/ or refurbished. The walk down to the crater lake is free of charge however, the community imposes a village entrance fee of $2USD/ person that goes towards community improvements so we pass this onto our guide while hopping off the bus. The air hits hard with the icy wind chill especially when the bus was so warm. The guide shows us our restaurant and meeting place for lunch later as we stroll past the many side market shops. We are quick to see the quality of their goods are so much better than what we have seen elsewhere and well-priced.

Quilotoa (Spanish Kilo,to,a) is rare in so many ways. Firstly, Quilotoa means ‘Water Filled Caldera’. The village of the same name is located precisely on the crater rim and is now tourism based with quaint hotels and bars built in better, more modern construction than the village area. Not sure about living directly on the edge of an active volcano though. The volcano is the most western in the Andes mountain range and the Caldera itself is 3klms/ 2 miles in diameter at its widest point and now filled with emerald coloured water from minerals present some 250m / 820ft deep. The last eruption was some 739years ago in 1280AD after a dormancy period of some 14,000 years. The eruption was in a catastrophic scale and lava reached the Pacific Ocean, some 200klms away.

From Wikipedia: A Caldera is a large cauldron-like hollow that is formed when a violent eruption of magna, or lava, leaves a gigantic empty chamber underground. The land above drops into this empty chamber and in Quilotoa’s case an inland lake eventuates. A crater, however is almost always a vent for volcanic activity.

We are directed downhill towards an unassuming timber stairwell, some 2m wide between market shops and the guide talks more about being careful with our steps and to say he will talk more when we get to the viewing platform shortly.

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Coming off the 25m long timber stairwell there is a large group of people standing around blocking the area so the guide finds a spare area to the left on the viewing platform. OMG!!!!! What is before us is the most incredible view and we are blessed with a sunny day (no wind at the moment from entering the crater) however, clouds form above. Most of us have overlooked the guide was lecturing us on the crater’s history; such was the view before us. The guide understands this and now repeats his talk, much to our delight. The above historical information was in his talk however, he advises us of the timeframes and stamina needed to walk down & up the crater walk making sure we understand the protocols of sharing the trek route with donkeys and horses. For a cost of $10USD you can hire a donkey/ horse for those that find the trek too tough.

We are left to our own devices now so Scott is super keen as usual and Dad staying with him noting I am much better going downhill. The trek does need concentration with your footsteps for the awkwardness of sands, gravels and rocks with stone walls along its perimeter. Added to this is the close ‘contact’ you have with the numerous donkeys/ horses with their accompanying handlers. Believe me, there is not much room on the trek route and sometimes it is best to climb onto the 600mm high man-made rock walls or them to pass by. Surprisingly, the animals are extremely cautious and avoid the trekkers with precision and care. Really amazing to witness this. Also, when the donkeys need a breather they abruptly turn sideways and partially block the route until they are ready, or their handlers get more vocal. They certainly know when to rest.

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We take our time traversing downwards in a winding pathway of the 280m vertical descent, taking in the varying views of the crater lake. It is a view you could sit for hours soaking it in. I take note of the volumes of people obtaining the assistance of the donkeys/ horses plus the strained faces of the trekkers scrambling up the trek route. Some people are really struggling however, quite a few a far from fit. Some are obese and much older age but nonetheless, everyone is struggling.

We reach the crater lake surface quite comfortably, noting the large amount of donkeys/ horses still ready for hire. This area does allow very basic camping however, you must bring everything to do so (no shops here). One toilet exists too. Walking off the end of the trek route you come to a small sandy beach and a couple of operators hiring out kayaks to venture out to the laguna (Lagoon/ lake). Scott & I secure a kayak for 3,000 $Pesos ($6AUD) noting tourists pay higher. Our guide looks after all our backpacks while most of us head towards the kayaks.

You have the option of swimming in the laguna however it seems to be quite rare at this time of year. The water is almost freezing and I get the intense water shock when I used the paddle (water was inside the handle & leaking out) … My God!! that’s cold running down my sleeve to my upper body. Brrr!! With the shock over I carefully paddled in sync with Scott and we venture out as far as we can reminding ourselves of the timeline required. It was the most incredible feeling being on this magical water and noticing the tiny bubbles of sulphur reaching through the water surface and into the air. The bubbles are too small to notice any smells of sulphur so that’s a relief. We do the largest possible circuit, taking in the scenery and the huge crater walls totally surrounding us.

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We notice other horses & donkeys are grazing in their serenity over in the crater’s pastures oblivious to the hundred or so people exploring the crater and its lake at the beach side. Apart from the beach area there is virtually no opportunity to venture out of the kayak due to the sheer vertical walls of the crater. It seems just a few minutes and our paddle was over, and Scott couldn’t believe where the time went. He was really connected with this place, and to me, I was as well but I had other thoughts too, like, if the volcano ‘burped’ it was all over for us, in an instant. Obliteration .. to everything.

Time is upon us and we must now start the winding 280m vertical incline which probably equates to around 1klms of winding pathway, and Scott is certainly ready for food up at the top. I jumped in first and ‘allowed’ Scott to venture up on his own as it would be easy for him to see my progress following him and there are plenty of people about; plus our Guide is walking mostly with me, hence he can enjoy things on his own. Scott is off in a flash .. “see ya Dad”! Gone in a flash!! .. love you son! … as he paces away without another thought.

In adjusting my backpack and taking my first 10 or so steps towards the pathway I look up to see our Las Vegas friend, (so ashamed I can’t remember her name), taking her position on the saddle of a horse and laughing hysterically. She explained and was bewildered how I missed her first attempt just a few seconds ago. She was helped up by the horses’ handler and she rolled straight off the saddle to the other side, hit the sand and rolled down into the small swale some metres away. She dusted herself off, laughed herself silly and climbed back on. It must have hurt too, but she took it so well we all laughed profusely. Her male friend on the bus was already on his horse and he too, joined in. She said looking at the pathway there is no way she could handle the walk up, $10USD well spent she said. Totally forgetting taking photos … arrgh!!!

There is virtually no breeze within the crater and the sun is quite warm now, so it will take good management on the exertion and water replenishment to reach the top. The guide said it could take me 1hr 20mins to reach the top after I advised him of my incline history. The pathway is now quite full with people, donkeys and horses so I must look ahead and behind to avoid collision factors. Several times I had to jump up onto the side rock walls to allow the horses and mules unobstruction.  These times were a great opportunity for respite which was gratefully received. It was strenuous at times trying to gain footholds in the sand which was most of the way. The photos don’t accurately show the strength required to get to the top but of course with little steps you reach the summit in good form. Before leaving the crater, we arrive at the viewing platform again & take the last look below and beyond to create a living photo in our memory banks, such a sight to behold with different outcomes with the cloud cover and then pure sunlight in between. My phone confirmed I did the trek up in 1hr 18mins so that was a great result.

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Reaching the top of the timber staircase Scott was waiting patiently and full of congrats for his Dad completing the trek however, he was bitterly chilled as he explains they had a complete cloud come through the village which resembled a thick fog with the temperature plummeting. It lasted for some 10minutes then disappeared as quickly as it came. Being on the viewing platform at the time the cloud effect went totally unnoticed. Passing the small merchandise shops and to the restaurant we find the inside is very hot and in full occupancy so it takes us a while to gain two seats and to be served some well-earned food; soup first. Within minutes of placing our cutlery down we are ushered out to the bus for the return journey. Scott rushes out to purchase a beanie he was looking at prior and he was so pleased he found enough time to do so. It was the best quality beanie he has ever worn and I do consider him an expert on this. He has more than several.

We were unaware at the time that you can do “The Quilatoa Rim Loop Hike” also free of charge that takes you around the complete rim of the crater. Scott & I would have loved to have done this as well but obviously that would be another day we did not have.  The Rim Hike takes some 4-5hrs and is very rugged for 8-10klms and provides a continuous view of the crater, lake below and the hinterland outside of the crater. It is noted it is best to do the trek, counter clockwise so that you do the higher inclines when you are fresher. The highest rim part is at 3,915m/ 12,845ft located on the SE side. For this trek you must take a lot of water, snacks and factor in all types of weather as you can have the 4 seasons in one day. Take extreme care and let people know you are on this trek in case something goes astray. Fitness and common sense are paramount. No doubt the views would be magnificent.

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The return bus journey was much quieter with a few trekkers catching some sleep plus the guide is sitting with the driver for a while. We know we have about 2.5hrs of normal driving to get to Quito but we are advised to allow another 30-40mins for peak hour closer to the city. Looking at the weather I believe we left exactly at the right time with darkening clouds following us. The sun is now blocked out. I am not that relaxed due to the bus speed and the steep inclines of the mountain road which is wet and appears to be very slippery. Not a good feeling at all.

A little later our guide steps out of his front seat and speaks to me advising the bus driver will be dropping us off at the same place we joined the trek yesterday morning in the city. I said that is what we were told originally so all is good with only a few city blocks to walk back to our hotel, Hump Day Hostel. Within seconds of discussing this with us, the guide says “Bueons Tardes, travel safe”, the bus stops and the guide quickly hops off, now that we have reached his village of Pujili. No-one expected that sudden departure.

Getting back onto the highway the food places are all waving their flags vigorously to notify they are open and wishing travellers to stop. The only stopping we were doing was to refill the bus with diesel. The service station employs several people to do the pump operation and when it is busy, they are holding huge bundles of cash by not getting back into the office. The law here states all persons must alight from the bus while it is being fuelled so we are all ushered to the boundary some 3m from the bus. So much for full safety being that short of distance. We can’t believe how cold it had become and can’t wait to get back into our warm bus. We have at least another hour to go and crawling along.

Back onto the bus and now it starts to rain. You can almost set your watch to rain here; such is the time of the season. Darkness is well upon us and at 6.30pm we stop at a section of Quito we have not seen before. No people around but plenty of flashing signs indicating numerous bars and nightclubs. Everyone says hurried good byes and alights except Scott & myself. Several minutes transpire when the bus driver in broken English says quite roughly “get off bus!!”. I tried to enforce we are to be dropped off at our set point in the Historical Centre and not here; wherever this is. He rings someone on his mobile and hands me it to talk to someone else. The person insists we must get off the bus and it is not their problem due to being another company. Stating my obvious disgust, we depart the bus into the now pouring rain and hurry into an open area of the closest tavern.

We are immediately greeted by 2 young gorgeous ladies working the front area of the bar enticing us for drinks. Scott & I are not as angry now, seeing we have great looking company .. typical males .. I know! My phone is very low on available data so one of ladies offers me free WiFi so I can see where we are using Google Maps. We appear to be in the night party area some 10klms away from the Historical Centre and our hostel. Both of us aren’t keen to stay in this night area so it takes about 10mins or more before we see a taxi or two and I physically had to rope one down to get the driver’s attention. Upon opening the taxi door, we wave and smile at the young lady and wish her well. She reciprocates accordingly. After a bit of broken English, the taxi driver works out where have to go. Fingers crossed. Luckily, I took a phone screenshot of the map prior.

Again, the Historical Centre streets are blocked off still for Easter so we had to move swiftly for quite a few blocks in the drizzle to get to the hostel and on the way, we are wondering where we can have dinner. Everything looks deserted and no one around. With absolute huge relief our favourite eatery, next door to the hostel is open. Bonus! We enter and order food first before even considering entering the hostel. We greet the lady like a family member we have not seen for ages (operates this little shop totally on her own). With glorious food again, we depart and enter the hostel with another warm greeting and straight to our room for hot showers and well-earned sleep. No fuss; “buenas noches” .. good night.

Late tomorrow, we head to Santiago Chile, so I’ll leave that day and others to my next blog. Many thanks for your time and in reading my blogs and feel free to leave any comments below. I trust you may feel the magic of exploring the volcanoes. A whole different level of trekking that can be addictive. Reflecting upon the treks we did recently we went near the Everest Base Camp altitude of 5,380m/ 17,600ft which trekkers fly into Lukla Airport at 2,860m/ 9,412ft. Quito & Cusco airports were higher at 3,400m and Rainbow Mountain (Peru) was at 5,031m & Cotopaxi Volcano Glacier (Ecuador) height, not the top, was at 5,000m. One off the hardest thing was my missing GoPro so not enough pictures and videos taken.

My Five Days of Escape                                                                                                     10^th July 2019

It is July and well into Winter now and our house is up for sale but no one is venturing out so my brother (Kerry) & I decided to do our previous annual trip back into our homeland primarily for the Grafton July Racing Carnival (Horse Racing). It was purely an escape, as the last 2 months since arriving back from my fantastic South American treks has been a survival of being in limbo. Doing little or nothing is very hard. I had missed the previous 2 or 3 racing carnivals so this time was opportune.

I still have South American blogs to do however, I thought I would like to interject the routine and share some of my recent homeland encounters, albeit I should have taken more photos of course.

My brother and I live on the Gold Coast in Queensland Australia and our birth city is Grafton, a city in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales some 3hrs of car travel heading south along the Pacific Highway currently in a major replacement programme. Can’t wait for the highway to be fully operational where it will be dual lanes all the way to Sydney some 1,000klms away.

Grafton is a city of some 19,000 people and 33,000 if you combine the outer areas and historically the major city hub founded in 1851. The city is world renowned for having approx. 2,000 purple flowering Jacaranda trees of blooms that eventually fall to the ground creating a sea of purple. The city is divided by the mighty Clarence River, Australia’s largest east coast river system starting from Mt Lindsay in Queensland forming Grafton and South Grafton. The river has the most number & the largest inland river islands in the world plus the largest island, Woodford Island, is the only one in the world to also have a mountain range on it.

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Ferries were first used to cross the Clarence River at Grafton with one of the longest Bascule bridges constructed in the same year as the Sydney Harbour Bridge in 1932. It is heritage listed and accommodates a railway line underneath the road bridge and a section has a wind-up system to allow large yachts to pass under.  A new bridge is being constructed 70m away at a cost of $240Mil and will be completed early 2020. I am strongly against this bridge location as it will cause too many issues for Grafton. I issued 6 written submissions in the approval phase but ultimately the politicians & co already had their decision secretly decided. Wait till Grafton residents wake up.

Grafton celebrates many events throughout the year including, but not limited to:

The Jacaranda Festival in the last week of October which is the oldest flora festival in Australia dating from 1935 with some Jacarandas being first planted back in 1879.

The July Racing Carnival, the richest non-metropolitan carnival in Australia originating in 1910 with race days of Thursday, Sunday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday. The main race days are The Ramornie Cup on Wednesday & The Grafton Cup the next day on Thursday.

The Bridge to Bridge water skiing powerboat race in October. A fast trip downriver to Maclean and the finish line back in Grafton.

The Big Trucking Weekend Parade also in October

The Grafton Show in April/ May

By the time we decided to go to the July Racing Carnival every motel and pub was fully booked out (there are a lot of motels & pubs) so our Plan B was to book an ensuite unit at our cousin’s backpackers’ resort at Yamba some 40klms from Grafton (YHA Yamba Backpacking Resort). Yamba is located on the mouth of the Clarence River and it such a great location we very rarely tell anyone about it. More on Yamba later just for you but don’t tell anyone.

We awake on Wednesday pre-dawn, pack the van and head to Yamba stopping at the Chindera BP Service Station for a pitstop breakfast. We note all the new Pacific Highway roadworks and bridgeworks along the way. Alas, not much of it has been opened yet so it remains a rough drive on the old road and lots of 60 and 80klm/hour speed limits. Ultimately, and with road patience, we approach the completed but not yet opened giant Harwood Bridge over a wide span of the Clarence River. The construction of this bridge was amazing. Immediately, at the end of the old bridge still in service we turn left & then right (under the giant new bridge land spans) to Yamba Road. Some 15mins later, we enter the village of Yamba and check into the Backpackers. Rapid “Hello’s” to all and we dress into our suits and head into Grafton in time before the first race on Ramornie Day.

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Due to further roadworks towards Grafton and the new Grafton bridge construction debacle we cleverly decide to travel the back road through the village of Lawrence and take the ferry over the Clarence River thereby enabling us to avoid the construction areas and enter from the northside and straight to the race course. A very wise decision. The ferry was an added bonus and so many miss out on this unique form of transport. The ferry is large enough for semi-trailers and buses and still room for cars and it runs 24/7.

We arrive with plenty of time before the first race. Met up with plenty of cousins including a very dear cousin and her husband who have the naming rights sponsor of the Grafton Cup (G McMullan Contracting) who generously provided ticket bands to the Member’s Stand and bar area which includes entry fees for the next day too. We’ve won already and not a race started yet. This day is a perfect winter’s day .. more like Spring actually. We have been at the races previously with rain, freezing 20knot Westerly winds and it becomes freezing conditions. The poor jockeys in silks too.

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My brother is in betting form however, I’m more the socialising person seeking out cousins and friends and possibly lose my voice at night’s end. By the time a race is won and the return to the back behind the stands for the sun and more socialising it’s time for another race and so it goes. All of a sudden, the last race is over and we find ourselves in the Member’s bar and too late to venture back down to the public area to say good-byes as the authorities shut the bars almost simultaneously to the last race conclusion. Ridiculous Liquor Laws in place. The Member’s Bar is allowed to continue for another hour or 2, hence more socialising and last beers for the population. I’m driving back to Yamba so my alcohol intake is minimal and legal, of course.

We originally planned to have dinner at a pub before heading back to Yamba however, with the famous State of Origin Rugby League series decider on TV at 8pm, we travelled back and arrived 5mins before the start of the game. Such precision; and our cousin, Shane was able to get a great dinner for us from their in-house restaurant. Another win on top of the New South Wales team winning the decider against Queensland. Another win!! What a day. Now to see the World Cup Cricket Semi-Final between England and Australia. OK .. we can’t keep winning … Australia failed miserably and England now off to the final.

Thursday; and the alarm awakes us and with urgency we both get ready and have our breakfasts with backpackers from all parts of the globe. It can be a bit trying to back up again the next day after a huge race day; but someone has to do it. We both check our suits and ties are up to standard and order two coffees to go and hit the road again towards the Lawrence Ferry and to Grafton racecourse for another full day.

The weather again is stunning but there is a southerly coming up and lasts for about 2 hours thank you. Freezing breeze at best. Again, plenty of cousins and friends to catchup with and loads more people arriving, as this is Cup Day. The track is rated a “Soft 9” so a lot of punters finding it hard to gain winners on Ramornie Day however, they rock up again to try out their new found wisdom and form analysis. The day fly’s past at a rate of knots and the 2^nd last race (R7) of the day is the Grafton Cup at 2350m.

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The crowd fills the two grandstands plus the front lawn areas and the announcer informs us of our National Anthem is now due. A local singer (singing between races) is now called upon but wants a choir behind him to make it authentic. For the thousands of voices at the ready the anthem is sung with loud gusto!!! What a great feeling and result and ultimate love of our great country; the horses are loaded into the barrier ready for the race.  With the race set at 2,350m the horses start down the straight in front of the huge roar of the crowd and then continue to do a full lap of the circuit and finish in front of the grandstands again. Sacred Day, a New Zealand horse is the winner with finally a local jockey, Ben Looker, on board. My cousin, Mr & Mrs G McMullan are involved in the presentation held out the front of the winning post in full view of everyone. Such a great occasion.

The winning jockey, Ben Looker accepts his trophy and when the ceremony is finished; like a racehorse he races towards the mounting yard, changes his silk shirt & cap and immediately mounts another horse and sets out to the barriers just in time. How do these jockeys do such work? After the last race we are back into the Member’s Bar meeting another cousin (more like a sister), Annette and her friends where we join them later at a reserved table in the Grafton Hotel in Fitzroy St for a fabulous dinner. One of the friends at the dinner was a lady I last saw in school a very long time ago. Kerry was later at the bar catching up with a school friend of his who is such a character. An indigenous soul who plays a lot of local music and also a relative of Troy Casser Daley. We finally arrive back safely at Yamba at 10.45pm. What a day!!!

We have 3 full days of recovery now at Yamba thanks to Annette’s upcoming 60^th birthday on Sunday for lunch at Ulmarra near Grafton to celebrate with more friends and cousins. The weather is starting to turn cloudy and a lower temperature, so I use the recovery day and walk some 4klms around parts of the lovely beachside of Yamba while Kerry is at the local Golf Club with another cousin and his friends. Kerry, not bringing his golf clubs due to an ongoing back injury.

Yamba is one of those special places where we try not to promote it as it is becoming more popular and housing a lot more expensive. Terrible place we say. Walking around Yamba is quite simple if you stay on the level ground where the main street (Yamba St), Clarence River and Turner’s Beach is. The walk to Main Beach and headland, well that’s a different story. Very steep hills leading off the main street, that on your first attempt causes some major lung activity and cardio work. These streets are High St, Coldstream St, Convent Ln, Beach St and coming from the west is Clarence St. Once you navigate these streets to reach Clarence St the views at the ‘summit’ are well worth the walk.

There is a large park area including tennis courts, restaurants and further down a carpark & access road to Main Beach. This area of sloping grass is where my cousins set up the giant slide for the backpackers every Xmas Day to show how Aussies go “nuts”. They use a product from the Harwood Sugar Mill & the speed they get on that slippery plastic film is insane. Heading down to Main Beach you will find one of the oldest surf clubhouses’ in the world (Yamba Surf Club), plus an ocean swimming pool nearby, both located directly on the sands of Main Beach. The clubhouse now occupies a fabulous kiosk run by the immortal Andre’, a former backpacker who fell in love with the place. The Kiosk Yamba is perfect on any day really but especially a Winter’s day being protected from the cold westerly winds. It’s a bit of a walk down there but well worth it and Andre’s food is sensational.

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Back to the headland you will find the Pacific Hotel built in 1934. It is possibly the best located pub in Australia with magnificent views of the Pacific Ocean, Main Beach and the mouth of the Clarence River along with the lighthouse. The pub is upgrading their accommodation rooms there too plus they have an excellent restaurant. In the main drinking and eating area there is a wall of large B&W photos of yesteryear that are truly amazing of days past.

Walking North along Pilot St you will find the Lighthouse Captain’s residence and Pilot Station with a scaled down replica of the original lighthouse behind it (originally built 1866 and later demolished) plus walking out to the headland you can see the current operational lighthouse built in 1955 replacing another poorly located lighthouse built in 1880 and manned till 1920. From the lighthouse you have magnificent views of the mighty Clarence River mouth and its two outreach bar walls. The Yamba side one is now fully bitumen sealed to provide a great walk or cycle ride out into the ocean. Near the lighthouse is a frequent spot used for weddings. A friend had their wedding there and 2 whales came right up close to the shore. What a sight!! Once the visit of the lighthouse is completed you can find a short walking trail down to Turner’s Beach which offers great surfing and family beach activities along with bbq areas and a rocky outlook to climb. At dusk most days a pod of dolphins come in to show friendship.

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Away from Turner’s Beach you can see more carparks where the weekly Farmer’s Markets are held on a Wednesday and out from there is Whiting Beach which is formed from the Clarence River, not the ocean. Great for boat mooring, paddle boarding & sailing. Venturing further on to the south you can see the Old Gorman’s Seafood Restaurant which is derelict now until the local indigenous group decide what to do with it. Directly behind Gorman’s is the estuary from the Clarence River plus the Calypso Caravan Park where I have camped there at Christmas holidays for some 22 years or so. This caravan park is entered via the main street, Yamba St. There is a wide concrete pathway between this park and the estuary which was originally the tram lines for the quarry trucks when building the river walls out to the ocean from Angourie back in the 1890s. The caravan park area used to be the estuary until it was filled in after the quarry/ rock wall works were completed early 1900s.

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I continue along the walkway for about a kilometre passing the caravan park, sailing boats and Coast Guard vessels, Iluka Ferry wharf where it is a meandering journey to the other side of the river to Iluka (another sleepy village with a famous historical pub). Adjacent to the wharf is another large park where the monthly markets are held and then up to Kay Cottee’s Marina (She sailed around the world solo, non-stop & unassisted in 1988) where I stumble upon a huge fishing vessel moored and about to depart. The size is unbelievable looking at its twin hulls and twin exhaust pipes. Apparently, a family own it out of Port Macquarie some 200klms away.

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To avoid suburbia, I do a u turn at the roundabout that can also take you to another famous beachside village called Angourie some 4klms away. It is a famous surf beach with the best right-hand point break in Australia according to world best surfers. The owner of Billabong has a very elaborate house there. Also, at Angourie, are the famous rock pools some 50m from the crashing Pacific Ocean. They were the quarries for the headwall construction in Yamba and overnight the quarry had punctured an underground spring and they both filled up with fresh water leaving all the mining equipment at the bottom (a long way down). They are called the Blue Pool & Green Pool (slight algae colour). Here, almost everyone would scale the surrounding cliff faces and jump into them (25m+ high). Not, & never me. Friends of mine own and operate a beautiful restaurant close by called Barbaresco at Angourie and must not be missed. Absolutely superb!

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From this roundabout I walk along the incoming Yamba Road passing the large bowls club and then turning right to enter the Golf Club on the other side of the cricket/ rugby ground and skate park. Called into to see Kerry and all is good so I continue to walk the streets past the Yamba Museum (Not to be missed) and then return back to my cousins’ Yamba Backpackers and chill out in their public café space and review the photos I took. Again, should have taken more so I may use some of my previous photos with this blog.

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This backpacker resort has already won several awards and is quite unique having multiple room options on Level 1, separate backpacker kitchen, lounge and outdoor area on Level 2, Manager’s residence on Level 2, in house commercial laundry, carpark at the rear, public restaurant and a convention area on Level 3. It is also unique in that it is owned and operated by my cousin and his wife plus the 2 sons & their wives. The 3^rd son is married and live in England. A real family affair that the backpackers truly love, hence they stay as long as possible. The backpacker resort really started getting Yamba kicking and becoming more vibrant. The Greyhound buses now venture in for travellers since then. Shane, the eldest son conducts a surfing school plus Shane’s Tour which is world famous and a must do.

Saturday came and was much the same .. another walk (to keep some fitness), talk to cousins and friends, write some blog material .. all low key of course.

Sunday comes; and in speaking to Andre’ the other day I said I would come down for a coffee to experience the added warmth of Main Beach in Winter time around 10am. Kerry is keen too, and he was confident of walking up the steepest hill (Coldstream St, past the movie theatre) to the Yamba Pub and walk down the cranked pathway adjacent that takes you down to the surf club at Main Beach. Andre’ was right; it was warmer and lots of happy people all enjoying their breakfasts and coffee. Even Shane & his family were there (a bit of a rare outing for them) and it was a surprise for us to catchup with them. Andre’ looked after us as per usual however, he didn’t organise the whales too well. There were none to be seen from sea level. Maybe from the outlook above at the pub you could see them.

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We stayed for as long as possible soaking up the warm sun and watching the keen swimmers out in the ocean and the ocean pool in front of us. More people than I imagined but Shane said the water temp was a nice 22°C. We had to start the walk back to the backpackers and then drive back onto the highway heading south towards Grafton to the small historical village called Ulmarra for Annette’s birthday lunch at the Ulmarra Pub built 1906. Ulmarra has a ferry as well but we will not be needing this today.

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We arrive right on time at 12.30pm. Cousins, Aunts and friends abound but of course Annette has the record for always being late. She is one of a few that has the least amount of travelling to do, coming from Grafton. The pub caters well for the weekend trade with outdoor seating and food/ liquor handy and it is in full swing with so many customers. The outdoor area abuts the river shoreline and the river was calm and of mirror glass which to me is quite unusual as I’ve never seen it this way in this part of the river. Down further towards Maclean, yes where they do row boat training and races but not here. It is a great afternoon and the time surely flies. Good byes are soon upon us and we return back to Yamba. On the way, I said to Kerry I think we just broke the law? We had been at the pub for 5+hrs and not one drink was had. Surely, that’s a law not to be broken!

Monday, is now here and we find ourselves kicking and screaming leaving Yamba, knowing we have to return home however, remembering a conversation yesterday I make a phone call to our Aunty & Uncle in Alstonville whether they are up for a visit knowing Uncle is not too well. I had hoped they would have been there at the lunch. All is good for a visit so we do the detour about 1hr up the highway near Ballina. Aunty has a wonderful soup on the table (food always present there) and some 5hrs later after talking ourselves silly, we are on the road again.

We note, the people we know along the highway and commented if we called into everyone, we wouldn’t be home till late tomorrow. Another time then. We arrive home at 7.30pm after some pickups of groceries at a local store to find the house hadn’t missed us. Darkness and a cold house.

All in all, we managed to have a great 5 days away in paradise so now we buckle down until our house sells then we can return to paradise permanently … soonish I hope.

Footnote:

Photo 1 Onboard the Lawrence Ferry adjacent to a semi trailer

Photo 2 Grafton’s Bascule Bridge with railway under. Far end is the lifting area for yachts to pass through. The new bridge is 70m on the other side and the same height as the railway so no yachts can access this part of the river now.

Photo 3 Jacaranda Festival street photo

Photo 4 The new giant Harwood Bridge next to the existing one dwarfing it which has a lifting panel for yachts so the new bridge is set at that height.

Photo 5 Race 1 parade. Note, sign at rear for G McMullan Contracting sponsor

Photo 6 Grafton Cup presentation with my cousin, her husband and daughter with jockey, Ben Looker.

Photo 7 Grandstand Photo around the anthem just before the Grafton Cup. Photo from local Federal Member Kevin Hogan MP. Note; Kerry & I at right-hand side.

Photo 8 Backpackers slippery slide at Xmas

Photo 9 Current lighthouse on the headland

Photo 10 Yamba side headwall with new bitumen seal

Photo 11 The Estuary behind ex-Gorman’s restaurant building

Photo 12 Pelicans awaiting their friends for supper on Calypso’s marina

Photo 13 Coast Guard vessels. Note, fisherman in between trying to get the big fish under

Photo 14 Huge fishing vessel from Port Macquarie

Photo 15 The estuary looking back towards the Calypso & Gorman’s building

Photo 16 Turner’s Beach with headwall behind

Photo 17 Turner’s Quarry area with surf behind this natural wall. Sometimes huge waves splash over.

Photo 18 The two headwalls stretching out to the ocean from the Clarence River mouth

Photo 19 Mangroves in a small estuary near the roundabout at Yamba Road

Photo 20 Information sign at the Iluka Ferry wharf

Photo 21 Pelicans having dinner now their friends have arrived

Photo 22 Pilot’s Captain’s residence, with water tank and lighthouse repca behind located near the current lighthouse on the headland

Photo 23 View of Main Beach with surf club almost visible. Wedding being setup

Photo 24 Photo taken from the balcony of the Pacific Hotel with surf club under & ocean pool in background.

Photo 25 Halfway down Coldstream St looking towards the backpackers on the left (3 storeys) after crossing the main street. I can stand at this roundabout and literally walk to 5 beaches including a river beach (Whiting Beach) plus Golf course, Bowling Club, shops, pub and parks. Don’t use my car virtually.

Photo 26 Looking south along Main Beach from Andre’s kiosk showing ocean pool in background

Photo 27 Looking north along Main Beach from Andre’s kiosk showing lighthouse in background

Photo 28 Rear of Ulmarra Pub with Annette’s party under the pergola

Photo 29 Clarence River view from rear of Ulmarra Pub

Photo 30 Inside the Yamba Backpackers showing the video slide of previous backpacking highlights at Yamba. Definitely worth a watch.

Ecuador Volcano Trekking – Day 1                                                    20^th April 2019

Please click onto the photos to get the true scenery landscape. COTOPAXI VOLCANO

I booked this trek back in October 2018 as my eldest son Scott was seeking out the high adventure thrills and pushing the envelope. Suffice to say, he offered far more extreme adventures that was high above normality. He has always wanted to experience a volcano plus an earthquake. Considering my safer side and within my capabilities I sought out a reasonable volcano trek, leaving any earthquakes up to Mother Nature. Back in 1973 I experienced a tremor, so no thanks to any earthquakes let alone a volcano ‘burp’.

There are 92 volcanoes in Ecuador so there is no way in seeing every one of these. Ecuador, I believe is rather awkward for travelling around especially when you leave the larger cities. In addition, anywhere along its land borders there are lots of warnings of uprisings, kidnappings and more serious crimes. This is confirmed through a valuable and informative safety friend www.smarttraveller.com.au an Australian Government website where you can also register your trips and each traveller.

I believe I found the most popular and best for access and sightseeing for volcanoes are 2 of the most active volcanoes in the world. Yikes!!! Looking at a few tours I decided to use a “2day – Andes Adventure Tour” from Ecuatraveling www.ecuatrave[inq.com at a cost of $140/ person USD. This includes, pickup from nearest designated spot to our hotel, full bus transportation to all tour locations and return back to your pickup location, prescribed tours, bilingual guide, breakfast and lunch at Chaupi Community Village, mountain bikes & helmets for the optional bike ride down from Cotopaxi carpark, overnight farm lodge stay and breakfast plus lunch at Quilotoa Village. Dinners are excluded on both days. Additional snacks and drinks are excluded also. Cotopaxi has its own micro-climate and the weather in the area is very unpredictable, so make sure your clothing attire is correct. In addition, Cotopaxi last erupted in 2015 (medium eruption). We leave our large backpacks overnight in our room at Hump Day Hostel and just cater for the overnight farm resort stay using our daypacks.

With all the above now sorted and confirmation from the tour operator all is a go!!! Hang on!! Now they have changed the pickup location at the last minute. Our reception worked it out and then did their best to describe the location. Apparently, it is a park heading South & East to Guayaquil St (another main arterial road) about 1.5klms away from the hostel. It is early dawn and we follow the rough directions given and stumble across a paved area with some landscaping .. is this the park? .. or is it the landscaping trees type that looks like is up the hill some 150m away? Signage is very average too, however we spot a couple of ‘suspicious’ looking trekkers and they too are confused. I approach them but no English even though they were trekking by their paperwork from a different company. We are approached by a trekker, but again, a different company so I pointed towards the young girls on his same trek. Are you getting the feeling of frustration now? We have it Big Time! Another young lady arrives and asks us in English “is this where we get picked up for the volcano tour”? Her paperwork matches ours however she has a building name for the location spot. I look up to see the smallest of all signs stating the required building name. Yay!!! All is good.

A mini bus pulls up with bikes on board .. this looks like us. The guide checks the log book .. we are not on it, a different company … arghh!!!!  He makes a phone call and finds out our bus is 5 mins away .. which proves to be true. Such a relief to be on board at 7.40am and getting the commentary from the guide in 3 languages. We are on our way!!! The bus only waited 3mins and two people did not arrive in time so they will miss out and not receive a refund. So wrong with this attitude and no customer focus. Otherwise, we would have had a completely full bus of some 20 trekkers.

We wind out around several streets, much like departing Cusco and participating into a bit of peak hour traffic. The guide quickly tells a little about himself, skates over his name and shows his excitement and passion to the passengers then by pointing we each take a turn in identifying ourselves to the rest of the bus. As soon as I mentioned we were Australians there was a bit of a cheer that took us by surprise. Not long after the introductions we find ourselves on the Southern highway which is really a motorway with toll charges. It is 3 lanes in both directions and is only a year or two old. One of the frequent sites we see along the motorway are people waving all types of flags from the road gutters. The guide informs us the cafes and restaurants of all sizes are advertising to motorists they are open for business and trying to wave down customers. The other sites noted were various groups of men waiting for day work pickups. Not everyone has vehicles and work is tight and on both sides of the motorway we are bordered by the huge Andes mountain range, some with snow caps, others not.

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An hour down the motorway we take a risky right hand turn off to the community of Chaupi to a dirt bumpy road some 50m long. It is a very unassuming single storey garage type building. Outside there is an alpaca grazing, so Scott is already hooked but food to him was the huge priority now. We enter the building to very welcoming staff and a well fitted out restaurant and the food is quickly placed before us … timed to perfection. Our table is full of trekkers and the conversations quickly start (complete opposite to our Rainbow Trek experience in Peru). An American lady from Las Vegas admitted to cheering the loudest when I stated Australians as she wanted to converse with us and just loved our accents … confirms us Aussies have accents .. Haha!!! Everyone is happy with the food, juices and hot drinks and before long we are on the road once more. Time to cross the motorway again .. close your eyes & pray.

After another 30mins we come to a very large overpass and take the road to the West and some 30mins further again we enter the carpark, tourist centre and control point check at the altitude of 3,800mts to the Cotopaxi National Park. The guide insists we stay within the bus while he shows his list to the control point and to pay the entrance fees applicable. The carpark is quite full of cars and people however only 10mins have passed and we now proceed through the entrance gates of the Cotopaxi National Park.

Soon the bitumen road ceases and the volcanic rubble now forms the road passing the Limpiopungo Lagoon and winding up the ash-laden rutting roadway for about 20mins to the hillside carpark to an altitude of 4,600mts/ 15,091ft. The landscape bears its ashen looking appearance & baron to any heavy vegetation. Boulders the size of cars can be found, obviously spurted out far from the volcano. I think we could be on another planet such is the difference in outlook. We finally find a space for the bus and the guide says we have an option of traversing the volcano. Either the winding way or the more direct steeper way. Without even a blink he confirms we will take the winding way. No democracy here, I guess.

Cotopaxi Volcano at 5,897 meters (19,347 feet) makes the Cotopaxi one of the highest active volcanoes in the world! We cannot proceed to this maximum height as we would require snow/ ice boots, chains and Everest type equipment so we will conquer what we can, remembering the climate can change in a blink. Now everyone is accounted for and ready, we begin our climb. Scott is keen and starts directing our way to the winding path, leaving the guide at the rear of the group. It does not seem much now we are already at the carpark at 4,600mts and we are to climb to the Refuge above (Information and café post) at 4,800mts/ 15,748ft however, it is harder than what appears normal. You have to manage your breathing and the physical strain. I am forced to take regular but brief respites. Bloody inclines!!! Scott proceeds without even a gasp or raise a sweat. Wished he would at least show some sign of normality. I reckon he could run up this slope! The brochures and websites state it is a pleasurable climb to experience great views. ‘Pleasurable’ is a bit of a stretch. The pathway is a lot of zig-zags, so we walk possibly 3klms to obtain the 200mts vertical height. When I look upwards I see Scott some lanes above me .. I trust he looks down to make sure this ‘old’ man is still moving upwards. Haha!!

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The landscape is a dead mass of ash and rock of all different colours, greys, black, red and orange. It appears to be a lunar landscape .. and one that makes you always thirsty .. such is the mind taking in the dry/ dusty outlook. Cotopaxi means “Moon’s Throne” and this certainly becomes obvious.

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After possibly 90mins we reach the Information and café post at 4,800mts with not much space for the added trekkers. The platform has a few level places for outdoor seating and viewing. The view is outstanding when you can look for several kilometres to more Andes Mountains, grassed areas below, the carpark some hundreds of metres below and then further on to the lagoon. It is stated that on a perfectly clear day you can see Cotopaxi from parts of Quito. For us to see Quito I guess you need to reach the summit at 5,897 meters (19,347 feet) and that’s not happening. Inside the cafe is very warm and completely full of humans, no seating available so Scott & I look more closely at the panoramic photos on the walls along with the advisory and statistical posters while squeezing through the masses.

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We finally get a juice and some vegetarian food and just as we took our last mouthful we are required outside by our guide. The air outside is now like entering a blast freezer in reference to the temperature inside the café. Our guide addresses the group to see who wishes to now venture to the Cotopaxi glacier some 200mts higher. He confirms this trek is much harder than what we have encountered so far. Half the group now retreat back to the café knowing they have done enough. Scott & I are motivated … whilst I take another gasp … in disguise. Scott is on the move in a blink and I’m on his heels. I’ve had enough of being left behind.

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The ‘pathway’ is just about navigable in showing the way around to the other side of the mountain. Twists and turns and small gullies for about 20mins, slush from the high above ice cap; and with a sudden steeper climb we are perched on a small ‘ridge’ with limited foothold and no room for seating, no rocks close by for comfort, just soil/ ash. Across the larger gully before us, stands the head of the glacier … the temperature drops slightly .. we can’t venture further, stopped by a sheer gully face. To be so close, yet so far in being able to physically touch this natural phenomenon. Just above us is the start of the ice caps at this altitude of 5,000mts/ 16,404ft. The sheer size of the ice thickness is astounding. Scott and I take in this special place for as long as possible and struggle to get good photos with clear vision. The guide is adamant we must return to the carpark however, we can now do this totally on our own; so without much ado we hit the pathway, now negotiating the next group of trekkers coming along this narrow ‘pathway’ making sure everyone is concentrating on their footsteps.

Returning to the café, the remainder of our group are seeking information of what we encountered … they were so pleased for us and I’m sure some of them made the correct decision to stay behind. Scott & I head back down to the carpark below, this time we tried the direct method in places and not doing the zig zag pathway. Our boots slightly sink into the loose ash … there is not much of a foothold obtained and without undue care you could gain some speed going down this steep slope and forced into a run. We make sure we do not cause erosion or slippage to the landscape and eventually retire back to the pathway when it straightens to the carpark.

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We are one of the first trekkers back (I can do the declines like a greyhound remember?) thinking we could get straight onto the bikes for the downhill run. Another 20mins later the rest of the group and guide arrive and he now commences a very detailed ‘over the top’ safety lecture on bike riding before getting the mountain bikes off the bus’s roof with the driver. I think the safety lecture put a few of our group off so there were a number staying with the bus. Picking out our helmets the guide selects our bikes as the seats were set at different heights. We adjusted our seats anyway, and once we were given the go ahead it was all systems a go!

The brochure said we would be riding mountain bikes down the terrain of the volcano when in fact we were just riding on the ashen road back down to the lagoon some 800mts below. Oh well, it is South America and a different experience to the bus. Despite the numerous small cross ruts in the road I managed to get up quite a speed which forced me to use the brakes wisely and in the correct fashion (back one first). Looking back, I have left Scott & others in my wake, so I stopped for them to arrive. Now I have finally found a weakness in Scott! He had a wrist injury some time back and with the constant jarring of the roadway and the use of the brakes he was really feeling it. Mind you, Scott does incredible fitness bar work, chin ups, levers, etc at his local gym which are mind blowing, yet this jarring is setting the old pain off again.

We have a fellow rider with us from Norway catching up to us, a young lady in her late twenties and she was quite friendly, eventually. Her name was a bit complicated to retain in my memory, which really disappoints me in my failure. She had a R2D2 (Star Wars) phone case which Scott found very pleasing. He thought he was the only Star Wars nerd. She is in Ecuador for a min 3 months community service volunteer which is almost concluded and she will soon visit Columbia. Upon her arrival at Quito she fainted at Customs and they put it down to High Altitude sickness. It is highly unusual to suffer at this altitude so there may be other influences for persons afflicted to look into. She is now in great health and to do this volcano is a real credit to her. She is a good bike rider also. Unfortunately, we could not be seated together on the return bus to expand the conversation.

The group and the bus now join us at Limpiopungo Lagoon for the loading of the bikes back onto the bus. We all converse into the experiences we had today and what lies ahead in our journey’s and within 15mins we are heading back to the Chaupi Community Village for a very late lunch. Stepping out of the bus we find a German Shepherd dog playing like a pup at the alpaca we saw this morning. It was so funny to watch as the alpaca showed no interaction at all but the soon-to-be mum dog was all over it. Such a comedy.

Inside the food was on time and delicious, we had the same USA lady at our table along with other trekkers now. So much to discuss and again time was limited. I had enough time though to see the craft table and bought a very well-priced Alpaca beanie. Such great things to buy but my backpack can only take so much. I was about to step onto the bus when Scott & I were taken aside. The guide advised us the van in the parking lot is to now take us to the nearby farm lodge for our overnight stay. Without any warning the bus starts up and we could only manage a polite wave to our fellow trekkers. This is not how I wanted to say good bye and future safe travels to our group.

A local villager shows us the van. His English matches our Spanish so it now becomes a silent ‘chat’. We follow the village road to the East and it goes on for say, 8klms. We are truly into the paddocks of farming and cabins and narrow roads. We have no idea what to expect. A right-hand turn through a flooded intersection, amongst the paddocks and then several buildings in the same colour of a dark cream form a community type arrangement on the left. It is soon realised this is our farm resort named Chuquiraqua Lodge & Spa, set into the hinterlands. Our original farm resort is currently in renovation so the tour operators secured this one for us and based upon appearances this seems to be an upgrade. A great blessing.

We are welcomed by a very friendly lady, Krystie, who manages the resort. She could not do anything more for us. She shows us our twin bed room to settle in and it is very cosy with the smallest of electric fan heater blaring away and the explains to us to meet back into the carpark to the large building for the restaurant and reception when we are ready. We check in with our passports and get ready for the dinner about 90mins away.

Scott & I use the Lounge WiFi, read the magazines and take in the pristine atmosphere such is the quality of this resort. Krystie calls us up to sit at the long table even though we were heading for the setting for two people. She says .. no worries using the big long table. Sitting down we notice a large family entering the restaurant who had checked in previously. They ask if they could sit with us and they insisted we stay at this table. They were from Germany and not everyone could speak English. Mother, Father, 2 sons with the boy’s grandmother and Aunt made up the family. The eldest son (about 19) had been in Quito for 6 months doing community volunteering and the family came out to see him before he headed to Columbia.  We had so much fun and laughter talking about each other’s experiences and dinner was over in a flash. They recluse to their unit straight after as they had an early wake up call for their tour the next day. We stayed, talking to the Swedish chef who is working at the resort for an extended time and he loves it here with all the fresh produce and ways of cooking. He offers us a special tea and dessert with pure honey and it was truly amazing. We note the time and reluctantly say good night and went to our unit ready for our early wakeup for the next day’s volcano tour. The night air becomes extremely cold so we didn’t waste time entering our unit.

My next blog outlines our 2^nd day trekking another special volcano. Stay tuned and many thanks for reading.

Exploring Quito – Ecuador Capital                                                        19^th April 2019

The alarm awakes us at 5.30am for an 8.06am flight with Avianca Airlines. Scott slumbers out but soon is in his stride and we are both ready to vacate precisely on time. Our resort, Wyndham Guayaquil have organised their free shuttle service for us although the driver is stuck in traffic so they procure a taxi for us free of charge. What a win! The airport is only a 10minute drive though along the nearby motorway but seems a lot shorter now we are conversing with the driver in English. When he’s talking there is a slight wish for him to watch the road ahead, his head turn to look at us in the back seat … there is less traffic now, so that’s a blessing.

The airport is abuzz with both interstate and international passengers and when checkout is done one must be vigilant in making sure you venture through the right areas, much like a cattle run. We are now leaving Guayaquil at sea level in Ecuador to Quito, the capital city of Ecuador at 2850m 9350ft and is the 2nd highest official capital city in the world & closest to the equator. Being at this elevation the weather is quite cool and still jacket and beanie climate. The capital city was previously called San Francisco de Quito in the current location of Colta, some 230klms South of present Quito.  A new capital city of Quito was later relocated to its current location & was refounded on Dec 6 1534 by 204 settlers and proclaimed a city on March 28th 1541. It now possesses approximately 3.1 million people. Since 1541 Quito has suffered many civil unrests right up to the early 1900s.

Avianca Airlines continues to be our favourite airline with no hassles and friendly service … plus price of course. Apparently, South America is renowned for delayed or cancelled flights. Arriving at Mariscal Sucre International Airport at Quito after a 1hour flight we organise and pre-pay (25K Pesos = $46AUD) a taxi inside the terminal which is by far the best and safest method of transfers in Sth America (buses and shuttle buses included). Our taxi is the dearest option however, I felt the need for a good service. Scott is not one for taking the backpacking shuttle buses, especially when the taxi trip will be 45mins for a 42klm journey to Quito. We encounter 3 issues, one being a touch of wonderful peak hour, 2^nd; very winding streets within Quito, 3^rd; it is Easter; Good Friday in fact, and a lot of the roads close to the historical square (Independence Square) are closed off so we are forced to skirt the barricaded streets to get close enough to our hotel, Hump Day Hostel located in Calle Venezuela St which runs past the square. The journey exceeded 1 hour however, the driver was most obliging and calm.

The people were out in force in the streets and so are the police and security personnel. Our taxi driver finally concedes this is the closest he can get us to our hotel so he lets us out in a narrow street and points to the direction we must take (North) and states 2 long blocks and it’s on the right. With the rain cascading onto the pavement and our twin backpacks fully loaded we scuttle through the crowds and keeping a close eye not slipping and on any signage. We cross the last set of barricades and walk down the hill. Using a keen eye and checking Google Maps we notice the small signage above the doorway. The entrance is a typical steel gate in front of a large timber door. Pressing the doorbell, the lock clicks and we enter into a sea of activity and colour and a loud confident welcome by Reception staff. It was a typical, quirky hostel where everyone is alive, carefree and happy.

Our room type (twin room with ensuite) is not used much so we are able to square away our backpacks early and to meet Reception again within 10 mins. No time to waste. One of the Reception staff/ guide is very welcoming, speaks English and has allowed everyone willing to come to his unit further up in the same street, Calle Venezuela St, to see the Quito Easter March; but we must hurry. Talk about a sprint South up into the crowds, turn right, then left, then left again, then right, down a hundred metres of Calle Venezuela St again through a small door, up a flight of stairs and out to a choice of 2 balconies.

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Here we met a lot of other backpackers from the hostel, all younger than Scott & I however, very friendly from different parts of the globe. We all share the balconies and see the swarm of people, mostly in purple sheet clothing ready for the march from Independence Square going South and doing the streets where the major churches are (several churches involved). Being quite limited on religions I was trying to get my head around the purple costumes as per the photos and no-one could supply the answer to it. Glad to see I was not the only one questioning their attire. To me they were in the exact shape of the White Ku Klux Klan of the late 1800s to the mid-1900s but in varying shades of purple.  People are lined along the narrow footpaths below our balcony and across the road. There is not much space left now for anyone. The view is like a road of purple.

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Eventually, the drumming music starts from a band up from the front line of marchers and the procession gets underway with different notifications of banners with Christian emblems and the like. They stroll through with a strong Police line leading the way. Amongst the marchers you can see in the distance large floats with statues and flowers and other decorations. As the slow walk continues there are an ever-increasing number of Jesus actors in dress, coloured in blood wounds and crown of thorns all carrying different sizes of crosses; some quite heavy too; practically far too heavy. Apparently, the more strenuous the effort, the more cleansed you become. We note each number of municipal and school drumming and brass bands at staged intervals within the marching groups provide similar versions of the same song for the entire march. A favourite song of mine ‘Sounds of Silence’ by Simon & Garfunkel however, no singing is forthcoming.

As we look to the right (South) the march is already 2 long blocks in length and as far as we can see to the North there is still purple in the distance. I think this will be one long march and now there are long pauses happening as similar road peak hour congestions happen. The floats come into view just when it starts raining; Jesus is not providing any sunshine and several women come out in droves loudly selling umbrellas and ponchos for sale. Talk about quick enterprise. No-one leaves the march, nor seems to be upset over it. Someone says Jesus is crying after seeing so many people showing their faith in this single event. Some of the floats are massive, all with elements of Jesus, the cross or the Virgin Mary in glass cabinets or carried by human bearers like the Romans or Egyptians did. There are portrayals of the Roman soldiers in full costumes whipping the Jesus characters, some of the marchers are whipping themselves with heavy red marks shown on their skin. All seems very full on.

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After about 1.5hrs the purple marchers cease and plain clothed marchers appear making the slow march just over 2hrs long. Due to the march length we were able to converse a little with some of the backpackers and share some stories but we are cut short now that we all can leave the apartment and venture out around the city.

Scott and I stroll back slowly to the hostel North down Calle Venezuela St and stop at the Independence Square. We can’t take good photos due to the park area being fenced by temporary fencing and shadecloth. Such a shame this is required on such a beautiful area but can see the area must be protected from the volume of people present for Easter and also being a Government precinct. The park is formally called Plaza Grande and is the centre of Government with surrounding buildings including Carondelet Palace where the Government resides as well as the residence of the Ecuadorean President. In the square’s corner is the large Cathedral of Quito where it began its construction in 1562. Construction finally completed in 1806. It has a Spanish architectural feel and in brilliant white. Another ancient church within the historical centre is called The Church of El Sagrario.

In serious need for food we are told about the café next door to the Hump Day Hostel. There’s no signage; however, a woman runs this smallest of cafés totally on her own. The food is tremendous, along with the fresh juices. I think we have found our oasis. You cannot imagine how small this café is and with the smallest of tables and chairs. It offers so much character far beyond its size.

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Back to the street, the most domineering of all churches is the Basilica del Voto Nacional and is a longer walk up Calle Venezuela St to the South of the Independence Square located on a higher hill. It fills the view to the South (rear of the marching photos). This cathedral is huge at 140m (460ft) long x 35m (115ft) wide. Its dual spire height is 115m (377ft) so it certainly commands the scenic view. We went to this cathedral twice over Easter and it was closed the entire time. Inside this church up on the Sanctuary level is a very popular café and 14 large bronze images representing 11 apostles and 3 evangelists. In the crypt, there is a pantheon containing the remains of several heads of state. Visitors can pay a small fee and climb the stairs to the top of the towers for a beautiful view of Quito. That still leaves me bewildered as to why it is closed on its most sacred of weeks when everything else is basically open. The Basilica is still not finished in its completion; and in addition to this, has had some, say colourful history where on Good Friday 30th March 1877 Bishop of Quito, Jose’ Ignacio Checa y Barba was murdered with strychnine dissolved in the consecrated wine. Apparently, it was sanctioned by the start of The Freemasons against the Catholic religion. Politics would be my thoughts in not being too far away in this event.

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Looking to the North along Calle Venezuela St again, the other domineering sight is El Panecillo.  A hill in the middle west of Quito with an altitude of 3,016m/ 9,895ft and a huge white statue of the Virgin Mary where it can be seen in just about every location in Quito.

The historic centre of Quito has one of the largest, least-altered & best-preserved historic centres in the Americas. Quito & Krakow (Poland) were the world firsts to be declared World Cultural Heritage Sites by UNESCO. The central square is 25klms Sth of the equator (Ecuador is Spanish for Equator). The monument & museum marking the equator is known locally as La Mitad del Mundo (The middle of the world). The nearby Solar Museum is actually more accurate to the equator siting using the latest technology than the equator monument which is actually 240mts south of the real equator.

Quito covers an area approx. 40klms long & 3.1klms at its widest & is a majority in a North to South arrangement. The main arterial streets are called Calle Venezuela, Chile, Garcia Moreno & Guayaquil.

It was my preference to reside within the Historical Square precinct rather than the La Mariscal precinct which is considered the main city’s entertainment & night time precinct some 10minutes away by taxi from the square. Usually these area types have more issues with social issues and I can see these areas basically anywhere in the world if it was to my liking. I much prefer to see and touch the ancient history, not so much the social ‘history’.

Quito has some of the largest city parks in the Americas. Parque Metropolitano Guanguiltagua is the largest at 1,376 acres whereas in comparison, New York’s Central Park is 843 acres. Bicentenario is the 2^nd largest at 200 acres & occupies the old Quito airport site. They even use the old runway for walkways and cyclists, etc. La Carolina Park is where Pope John Paul 11 headed a Great Mass in 1985 & a giant cross was erected in that honour. El Ejido forms the other remaining major park.

TeleferiQo is Quito’s aerial tramway station, visitor centre, amusement park, restaurants, go karts, paint ball, shopping mall, located at Cruz Loma and commissioned in 2005. The ride takes you to 4,100mtrs and the weather can be quite cold with added winds too. There are hiking areas and viewing platforms for the views of Quito.

We require a short break from Quito for a 2day volcano overnight trek and arrive back for a one-night stay at Hump Day Hostel for the last day before heading off to Santiago Chile so stay tuned for the next blog on the volcanoes and then onto Chile.

Arriving back at Hump Day Hostel was again, so welcoming and we quickly get settled after a random taxi ride from the entertainment area, La Mariscal precinct where the tour bus made us evacuate. They were completely in the wrong and dropped us off at the incorrect location in solid rain at night. Luckily, a local bar gave us WiFi to gain our location and organise a taxi. Again, barricades were in place so we had to skate quickly down the road to avoid being soaked as we have to pack for the flight the next day. We were so thrilled to find the neighbouring café open as it is now 7.30pm on Easter Sunday. I could have given her a huge hug in being able to fill our stomachs. Scott, with a higher metabolism rate was more thrilled than me of course.

After having the best hot shower and packing our bags differently for international travel we gain the best of sleeps, after tenants stopped using the stairs immediately above my bed from 10pm (house rules).

The next morning, we have a great breakfast from the 2 lovely indigenous ladies (omelettes are my preference mostly). We had a quick walk up to the Basillica, took more photos and headed back to check out in time and place all our backpacks into their lockers for $1USD until our taxi arrives at dusk. I was contemplating a quick taxi to visit the Equator Monument however, Reception stated it will rain on time today (early afternoon) and it sure does. You can bank on it actually and it even hailed for a few minutes too. The temperature plummeted so all Scott and I could do was to find the comfy seat in the communal room and wait for the taxi that we had already booked. After a couple of hours, we climbed into the taxi for the 42klm journey, battled through Customs, Immigration and had our last Ecuadorian coffee. Our flight departed late from our 6.35pm schedule so it will be a tight stopover at our beloved Lima Airport (sarcasm) before our next flight to Santiago Chile.

Stay tuned for the 2day Ecuador Active Volcano trek in my next blog.

Footnote 1:

With Quito at 2,850m 9.350ft it is unlikely High-Altitude Sickness becomes effective. It is at the lower end of the scale. However, we met a young lady from Norway on The Cotopaxi volcano trek and she stated she collapsed and fainted within the Quito airport upon arrival and they put it down to altitude sickness. She spent some time recovering but managed her 3 months of teaching and working as a community volunteer within Quito and is in great health now with no issues. It is highly unusual to suffer at this altitude so there may be other influences for persons afflicted to look into.

Footnote 2:

I didn’t realise when I booked Guayaquil that being there for more than 3 days at sea level after Cusco can readjust your body back to normal situations therefore, you should, or may need to re-acclimatize all over again if going back to high altitude.

Ecuador – An Amazing Country                                                            13^th April 2019

With only a few hours’ sleep the dreaded alarm awakes us in Cusco Peru. Somehow, making sure we have everything and scurrying down the 3 flights of timber staircase (quietly, of course) as it is 5.50am. We meet our taxi within minutes and we venture into the darkness for our interwoven street route to the Cusco airport bound for the Lima airport stopover, then Guayaquil, Ecuador.

Our main airline now is Avianca Airlines. They are superb, well priced and highly recommended as they surpass Latam & the nasty Viva Air we have tried (Viva Air cost us $32US to print our 2 boarding passes in 40seconds .. robbers). The Avianca website is also easy to use and very professional.

Lima Airport leaves us uninspired as it usually does … and so glad when our boarding call is raised. A lot of the passengers waiting are so rude and inconsiderate. It is only a short flight of 3hrs to Guayaquil. We have no problems getting through Immigration and Customs. Scott & I both have our Accredited Yellow Fever Immunisation Booklet for presentation; however, we are gobsmacked they did not ask for it. They were more interested in how many days we were staying in Ecuador.

I am considered an Owner within the Wyndham Resort Group and with my awarded annual points I was able to secure a weeks’ accommodation (7 days) at the Luxury Wyndham Guayaquil Resort, right on the river’s edge not far from the airport. The taxi cost 6,000 Chileon Pesos .. $11AUD). Here, Scott & I agreed to just chill out in the luxury Twin Queen bed room and recover for the week using the pool, gym & sauna on Level 13. Quite a luxurious stay after walking and climbing over many weeks.

When we conveyed from the airport by taxi, we branched off the highway into a precinct that seemed to be only one way in and one way out bordered by the Babahayo River. From all accounts the only way for travel was by taxi and nothing really stood out close enough to venture to. I think I dropped the ball then by accepting reclusiveness and staying within the resort precinct. Mind you, the precinct is filled with other apartment and hotel skyscrapers, all with restaurants and cafes at ground level overlooking the river frontage.

After checking in we took our first stroll of many along the boardwalk to see a sign outlining the foundation of the City of Guayaquil which I feel I must convey to you.

“The city was founded in Riobamba under the name of Santiago de Quito by Diego de Almagro on August 15 1534 later, between October and November 1535 it was transferred by Sebastian de Benalcazar to the bank of the Amay River along the coast between the Yaguachi River and what is today Babahoyo. Due to the uprising of the natives protesting against the abuses of the Spanish, the conquerors, on several occasions, relocated Guayaquil until its final settlement on the Little Green Hill (The Santa Ana Hill) in 1547”.

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Immediately behind the Wyndham Guayaquil resort and precinct there are small colourful homes on top of a little hill with a light house. This is Santa Ana Hill but it seems untouchable from where we are.

Our first day I needed urgent attention to my reading glasses with a hinge screw almost falling out so Scott & I secured a taxi and ventured to the nearest shopping mall. Again, following the geographics we both agreed of the convoluting directions required in order to arrive at the mall wasn’t conducive to venturing anywhere in particular. I followed Google Maps and confirmed the taxi driver was being truthful in going the most ‘direct’ way. So many backtracks, crossing the main highway and one-way streets which took quite some time to travel some 3klms directly. The streets were quite clean but run-down shops with bars and grilles to their entire frontage and low standard graffiti there was absolutely nothing inviting to see or stroll through. This is typical suburbia.

Approaching closer to the mall; the scenery changed a little bit including the appearance of an increased development to the road network and building/ scenery landscape. The mall entrance had a specific taxi drop off & pick up facility which was handy and a look similar to something out of Las Vegas with a valet. Scouring the large mall and 4 levels of shops I finally had great success with a glass wear shop. The technician was wonderful and spoke the smallest amount of English, fixed my glasses with a smile and would not take any money off me. Someone speaking English was like winning the lottery and evenmoreso when ordering coffee, seeking vegetarian food and paying the correct amount. Nothing has been easy but that’s primarily our fault for knowing too little Spanish. When it came to leaving via taxi the young valet organising the taxis surprisingly spoke English and was great comfort knowing he was sending us to our correct location at the resort precinct.

All lunches and dinners over the days within the precinct were taken at various restaurants along the boardwalk all with different versions of their vegetarian food. One took off the meat on their skewer meal and replaced it with the best mushrooms ever, to go with the other vegies served that same way. Quite unique and superb. Breakfasts, however was rather difficult and it was about the 3^rd day when we ventured further & found a little health food shop called Nutra. Here we ordered acacia bowls and the best fresh combined juices. This café was very new and extremely clean & fresh and hanging chairs and swing seats mounted from the ceiling. Scott & I chose the high table & bar stools just to be clear. It was a goldmine and we ventured there often. It was near Nutra where we found a great wash & fold laundry service and they too, was a godsend and with great service and far cheaper of course than what the resort offered.

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After spending too much lazy times in the sauna, pool, pool deck & gym I found a city tour offer through Tripadvisor. I convinced Scott to take this offer available on our last day. Our guide, Thomas arrived punctually at 9am and took us into the city CBD not far from the mall we ventured to. Here, we noticed the city was absolutely clean and graffiti free and loads of people walking about in a leisurely fashion. Thomas was very pleased to confirm the city officials have clamped down on the CBD for tourism over the years. There is very little crime, no loud noise pollution, no aggressiveness with police very active in keeping the peace. It certainly provided a welcoming feel and comfort.

We find Thomas is extremely religious of the Catholic faith. Scott struggled on this tour I think with his non-religious views. I’m Ok with it and respect Thomas’ views. Scott does too, but prefers to be distant wherever possible for he finds very few people will accept his views or debate them.

Coincidently, our first stop was the viewing of the Catholic religion museum. Somehow Thomas gained us entry despite not having our passports for viewing. The museum was on 2 levels and filled with amazing oil paintings of different vintages and at least a hundred versions of Jesus on a cross along with sculptures, relics, etc. I could feel Scott wanting to start a jog out of there and really, you can only see so much of the same thing. Thomas was so embraced with this museum and visits frequently and so must others as there were a few all praying below certain paintings and sculptures.

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We continue to walk a few metres to see the most architecturally magnificent historical City Council building with several statues surrounding in the expanded street walkway. What a beautiful focal point for all to see. Such a building masterpiece not to mention the detailed sculptures. The university shares some of this building and so many young people all enjoying the serenity of this area.

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Our 2^nd stop was the visit to ‘Parque de las Iguanas’ (Iguana Park) where you will come quite close to their native iguanas in all sizes basking in the sun or viewing the people ready to feed them food pellets for sale. These iguanas stay permanently within the park boundary willingly and are extremely tame to having people continually around them. They also share the park and pond with a couple of species of turtles (too many turtles I believe for the area available). You must remember to not stand under the trees in this park as the iguanas are known the urinate without reservation. Thomas called these Lizzie Showers.

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Crossing the road, we could hear church hymns being sung quite loudly. There is a cathedral service underway and it is fully packed to the seams before lunchtime. This church is called the Arquidiocesis de Guayaquil Metropolitan Church on Clemente Ballen 501 street. It is magnificent and taking a photo inside is near impossible with the volume of people present. It was overflowing with believers. The structure is huge and magnificent. Even the entrance doors are full steel and amazing in their presence and stature. The church also shares the street with another amazing church called the Iglesia Cathedral but not on our tour schedule.

From there we walk back through the iguanas and turtles and into the riverside redevelopment called

Malecon 2000 – Riverside in La Bahia precinct. This is a riverside development that goes on for a few kilometres and incorporates everything from an amusement area, a large viewing ferris wheel, a naval sailing school with a large 3 mast schooner, landscape botanical gardens, timber boardwalk, cafes, drinking bars, pop up shops, etc. There is a large crew attending to the botanical gardens keeping it all pristine and lush. This Malecon 2000 area continues to be in redevelopment with a huge gondola chairlift being constructed. It is obviously a major construction however its route is currently unknown to us visitors and Google is not much help either. It is expected to be in operation next year (2020).

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We continue to walk along the entire boardwalk and at the end we have a quick glimpse of La Planchada Castle even though there is not much left of it (not a tall structure). You can see the remnants clearly and the cannons mounted behind the walls and with the museum enclosed it shows a lot of military history. From there we are being led up to the historical village housing of Santa Ana Hill which is now undergone some forms of renovation, painted in bright colours and a few of these terraced houses are now small business spaces from architects, clothing, art galleries to small bakeries and coffee shops, etc. The original cobblestone one-way road, now closed to the general public’s vehicles remains intact. The road only allows small delivery trucks and vans. Thomas asks about my health and whether I can handle steps. I laughed back and said we just finished the Machu Picchu Trek & Rainbow Mountain so with that, he was relieved, smiled and continued to walk towards the ‘hill with steps’.

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We start our climb of steps (photo shows each step is numbered and it goes to #444 .. yes .. there are a lot of well-constructed steps) taking note of the deliveries by hand to cafes and bars above, that require human lifting of kegs and boxes of alcohol by worker teams sweating profusely. When you get to step #444 your body is gaining heat and there is little breeze in the alley ways and we finally get some respite when we reach the top of Santa Ana Hill where we peruse Fuerte La Polvorosa; a historical fort with different sized cannons pointing in different directions with the largest ones still aiming out to the river beyond. There are some remnants of the brick walls of the fort albeit only about 600mm high. Next to the fort there are bronze name plates with sculptures of famous sailors and Government leaders. A few more steps and we reach the plateau called Faro Las Penas (Viewpoint 360) sometimes called Mirador 360°. From this viewpoint you can overlook parts of the city and CBD as well as the river and Malecon 2000 precinct and from the other side the resort precinct with Wyndham Guayaquil and new highrise constructions underway. The quaint Cerro Santa Ana lighthouse within this area has an inner circular staircase for extra viewing however, this area was in heavy maintenance and cordoned off to the public for a few weeks.

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Thomas continues to show the steps and walkways on the other side of the hill and within a few minutes we find we have come into the far end of our resort boardwalk area heading towards Wyndham Guayaquil and other resorts. It now dawns on me that if we had walked a bit further on our first day, we would have seen this walkway and then only a short stroll back into the city & CBD. In my defence, this far end area gave the impression of a dead end and with no-one walking this area and we would have had to go behind the last resort building to find the walkway. Thomas advises this boardwalk precinct used to be an old port and wharf arrangement until it was redeveloped. At the rear of the precinct and adjacent to the road leading to the resort frontages Thomas shows us 3 large concrete silos that have now been converted to apartment buildings. We couldn’t go in to see this arrangement but certainly looked great externally. Apparently, after the wharf the silos formed part of a brewery. It’s amazing our history changes in an area, especially when it abuts a major river.

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Thomas now departs after returning us to our resort. He was quite okay with walking us back and now he willingly sets off back the same way through Santa Ana Hill and to the CBD to recover his car. He loves walking this route. It was rather enjoyable for a 3hour tour and we learnt so much.

Again, many thanks for reading my blogs and any comments below will be well received. Stay tuned for Quito and 2 very active volcanoes.

Completion and Post Machu Picchu Trek                                          11^th April 2019

From my previous blog on completing the Machu Picchu trek (Day 4) and alighting from the tourist bus system we all met up again at the nominated restaurant in Aguas Calientes, a city at the bottom of the valley to do the formal completion with our trek guides. There is a political push to re-name this city to ‘Machu Picchu City’. Ronny, our main guide, handed out our individual ‘trek congratulations’ certificates, train and bus tickets to all and after a late lunch and with plenty of conversations covered it came time to depart our separate ways. We all took our time to go to the first floor to retrieve our backpacks to further extend our conversations and make it a longer good bye.

With the celebratory good byes completed, Scott & I departed to walk the main street for another café or restaurant to relax before the train trip some hours away. When David and Sue (England) left earlier (Train at 2pm); we all agreed to meet up again at Paddy’s Irish Pub in Cusco the following night at 7pm. Everyone seemed certain to comply and voiced our excitement on that.

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The main street of Aguas Calientes has a mixture of a main road that branches off to the East but primarily there is the train line that penetrates the city in full, completely dissecting it. The main street is called Av Imperio de los Incas. You step out of the shops and to the street footpath leading directly onto the tracks at the same level. Children play on these tracks and it is open slather to walk across to the other side. Surprisingly, the trains run quite often too and everyone takes it in their stride. The main street is certainly a buzz with buskers, shoppers and sightseers and waiters convincing you to enter their coffee shops and restaurants.

Scott and I found a really nice restaurant slightly further up the tracks; Mapacho Craft Beer & Peruvian Cuisine 614 Av Imperio de los Incas. It was very welcoming and at the rear through large glass panes you have a direct view of the raging Urubamba River behind. Wild rafting would be a real test here. The volume and power of the river is truly amazing and only about 5 metres below us running parallel to the main street. Scott & I powered down a coffee each (first one in 4 days and it was superb), talked a lot about everything that came to mind and then hit the pure juices again before asking the waiter the location of the train station. So glad we did. It was another challenge and maze involving the large city markets and crossing the tracks and rising to the street level above to the East. It took us a few attempts to find it and pleased we allowed sufficient time.

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Finally, we found the train station through a security gate and a very rare vacant bench seat in its park full of flowers and grass which is a real change to a normal train station we are accustomed to. The railway office had a frequent and repetitive broadcast in several languages which was annoying; after about an hour or so I could rip off a speaker. Bryce and Eliza (Melbourne/ Australia) arrive not long before our train is called however, they are unfortunately in the next carriage behind us. The railway station operates much like an airport terminal and reasonably effective and efficient. Mind you, getting to your carriage seat was a challenge though, and the people on the carriage show they are not very friendly. Of course, we don’t speak Spanish either which partly explains it, I guess. Our seats face the way we are going but there is an elderly couple facing us who take a lot of the leg room and don’t even acknowledge us despite saying ‘Hola’ and smiling. The train trip is about 2hours long so a bit of phone music with ear pieces is required and a cat nap of course to give us sanity and avoid the non-smiling staring. Scott is using his headphones and with eyes closed too. 

Only a few minutes had passed when I couldn’t concentrate on the music. My eyes remained closed but my mind was on recall by reliving the trek over the 4 days and 3 nights, including the unbelievable Rainbow Mountain trek a week prior.

We all face extra-over challenges in life; both mental and physical and with very few, or if you’re lucky several support mechanisms to get you through them. For me, I have had plenty in my years; like having 2 children on their death beds aged 1 (Matt) & 3yrs (Scott) at the same time with different issues, my wife having open heart surgery and one child with super glue to both eyes, again at the same time but at different hospitals whilst also moving house the day after, shock divorce, being within 20metres of 4 separate lightning strikes over the years (don’t need a fifth one), being involved in about 4-5 miscarriages before high potency fertility drugs (pre-IVF) provided 4 beautiful babies (sadly losing a twin pre-birth – Scott’s twin), just to name a few. The Machu Picchu & Rainbow Mountain trek was also up onto this list (physically & mentally). It ticked a lot of boxes and took me to my physical and mental depths; or so I believed at the time.

Scott was my wing man throughout the treks, not recognising my age at all but reinforcing the messages from a book he was currently reading called “Can’t Hurt Me” by a highly decorated Navy SEAL, David Goggins. Mr Goggins life message was that almost everyone applies the ‘40% Rule’ to themselves in whatever they do in life. The remaining 60% never surfaces and in taking the governor off your mind people can achieve so much more. I wished I had read this book prior to the treks even though Scott provided great commentary on it. It is a book I strongly recommend everyone to read; for his achievements and obstacles in front of him are so far off the charts and superhuman; and he gives you methods to apply to yourself to achieve more than 40%.

High Altitude reacts differently to everyone and I found leg muscle strength very limited along with my breathing, thus ‘causing’ me to frequently stop and seek the 1- 2 minutes respite before heading off for another 20 or so metres on the inclines. I think my oxygen intake was limited and maybe to do with my red blood cell count which ultimately limits my body strength (may need to get some research done on this). In reading the book now, my mind was a huge stumbling block, not so much my body. I routinely went into my comfort zone, taking in the precautions of not having to be medically evacuated for an issue (massive undertaking), protecting my heart, seeing I tragically lost my youngest brother at 54 just 2 years prior out of the blue with a rare cardiac arrest even though my doctor relayed my very healthy condition and to not matching my age. With this review of the book I will now be applying my life to the ABOVE 40% Rule. In those quiet and serene times walking the trek totally on my own, my mind was talking to me; I later found that “The most important conversations you’ll ever have are the ones you’ll have with yourself”.

In replaying all the above paragraphs; the time went so fast, as the train pulled into another siding. There are a few stoppages along the way due to being a one- track system.  The timing is rather precise so it equates to just a few minutes each time. Nothing like an efficient train service. The train finally reaches Ollantaytambo at around 8pm and it’s a free for all in getting out to find another guide with our names for the connecting bus. It feels like ages till Bryce & Eliza climb aboard and an impromptu singalong by two young village girls looking for money. They are quite unnerved and very well-rehearsed in their singing operation and they depart when more people climb aboard and now, finally we are on our way.

What a bus ride! Us Australians being first aboard are in command of the entire front seats and we all get a full view of the road ahead. Not good planning on our part. The driver certainly needed a kick to some parts of his body. He was so aggressive and very reluctant to lower his high beam lights down when cars, trucks and buses approached. Hence, they would hit their lights which blinded us each time. For 2.5 hours we copped this and so relieved when we could depart the bus in Cusco, albeit, we were quite some blocks away from our hotel. Eliza and Bryce went looking for a coffee/ pastry place while Scott and I for our hotel, a hot shower and a great bed!

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We walked to our hotel and not once did we stop to catch our breath although there was an enormous celebration in the main square. It was Peru’s Independence Day but we had another priority. We seemed to be quite fit now without the need for stopping .. maybe the hot shower and bed was the ‘chocolate prize’ we were seeking, more than celebrating? We were greeted warmly by Reception at our hotel, Casa De Mayte. Reception had already placed our large backpacks into another room on Level 3 again awaiting our return. Such a great service and well appreciated in avoiding lugging the heavy bags up 3 flights. Unfortunately, the room was a lot smaller and a different layout but we didn’t mind. What we did mind was the just lukewarm shower. Not happy Jan!!!! It was still lukewarm (too cold) in the morning so they heard about it (by nightfall we finally had a hot shower).

The next day was recovery day … just chilled out walking the street, enjoying the street and the square celebrations of Independence Day. Everyone was out and about. There was an ongoing group dance competition, all with fancy and authentic dress and of course very loud music. Moving on, Scott & I found this authentic and quirky gift shop called ‘Ceremonias Ayahuasca San Pedro’ inside an arcade off Calle Triunfo street near N® 368 of other shops and up from Paddy’s Irish Pub (on the corner). The exact address stated is where Scott met an authentic flute maker previously and was able to buy one of his much sought-after bamboo flutes, handcrafted to a perfect pitch. Scott has several flutes and guitars. You can also book tours there (we booked Sacred Valley Tour & bus to Ollayantambo) and exchange currency. The quirky shop is just up from there in an arcade and has so many things to see and probably the only shop to do so in Cusco. The shop manager was extremely helpful and spoke good English which was a real bonus. We found quite a few items for my grandchildren plus Scott found his items and was very happy with his shopping. I indulged into some special wrist bands, an indigenous lady in an outside village produces, and these will serve as a strong daily reminder of finding and completing Machu Picchu. With everything we bought he gave us a discount as well so that was an added bonus. Fabulous service.s

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We returned to the local market shop in the same arcade where Scott bought his first alpaca jumper. In the end I bought a jumper and 2 beanies and Scott had to bring back a jumper for his friend George back home. The indigenous woman manager was thrilled we bought more than one item. As we ventured back onto the street, I noticed Ronny (our Trek Guide) on the other side of the street. We caught up and he was so happy to see us again. We advised him of the 7pm catchup at Paddy’s Irish Pub later tonight. He said he should be able to make it. He will also enquire through his office about my GoPro that was ‘lost’ too.

Another visit to Starbucks for coffee. Starbucks outside of Australia are so much better than Australian Starbucks for their coffee and service. Starbucks is on Level 1 near Paddy’s Irish Pub and after securing a much valued table we can view the celebrations on the main square. Such a shame there are no balconies for the greatest of views to the main historical square. After some hours of reliving the past week we seek out our other favourite eating place; Jack’s café near the famous Inca wall in a narrow laneway at a ‘T’ intersection up from the same street as the pub and arcade. They serve great vegetarian meals and juices. Shame they only deal in cash though. Obviously, they are well known through the Tripadvisor website based upon its popularity.

We manage to get back to our hotel to drop off our purchased goods and leave straight away for the Trek Group reunion at 7pm. We don’t have far to walk and we have been to Paddy’s Irish Pub before the trek. This Irish Pub is the highest authentic Irish Pub in the world at 11,156ft, 3,400m elevation. Surprisingly, when you drink there all is good with high altitude. Just kidding!! It is a great place to be; but bring your cash as no credit cards are welcomed.

Walking up the stairs you could hear the pub is busier than normal. Everyone had arrived early. Astrid (Norway) was the only one who couldn’t make it as she had a flight to get to, so it was a good turn up to have the remaining 10 attend. Everyone was buzzing with huge smiles. So much to recap on and to talk about more personal things of each other’s homeland, etc. Mingling was difficult due to the cramped area of the pub (only 2 medium sized rooms) however; we all didn’t mind and Sue was wonderful company. Not long after, Ronny arrives; and we all reach another level of excitement. Not much time for drinking and talking and before long we all had to leave; for most of us leave tomorrow or have another tour to do. Several were doing the Sacred Valley Tour Scott & I did before the trek. Can’t believe where the time went and unfortunately you meet such great people and can’t again catchup freely for a coffee or drink at another time due to the geographical challenges. We trust social media will contact us. Such life memories of wonderful people.

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Scott and I were the last to leave and arrived back at the hotel to repack our bags for international travel and to organise a taxi to the airport at 5am for a 7.30am flight to Guayaquil Ecuador via Lima airport. It was a difficult night to get proper sleep with all that had transpired in the last few hours and the upcoming flight to a totally new destination.

My upcoming blogs will be based on Guayaquil and Ecuador’s capital city, Quito and 2 volcanoes. Stay tuned.

Thank you for reading my blogs 😊 Very much appreciated.

Machu Picchu Found – Day 4                                                                 11^th April 2019

Over my last few blogs on Machu Picchu have you been saying out loud “Machu Picchu” the way it sounds? LOL!!! I bet you have!! I have purposely waited now till this Day 4 to advise the correct and absolute truth to how you say Machu Picchu in the official language.

If you have been sounding it the way it is spelt, then you need to read the following sentences. The true pronunciation is “Machu Piktchu”. The word meaning of Machu is “old or ancient”. Picchu (Piktchu) means “mountain”. Therefore “Old Mountain” which is the true acknowledgement. If you say “Picchu” as it sounds then the sound meaning is “penis” … yes … penis. LOL!!!! So, whenever I hear people call it as it sounds then I recall “Old Penis”. So funny!!! Will you be now correcting people? Best of luck!!!

The Huge Day 4

3 full days of trekking, 3 nights of little sleep and now OMG!!!! A 3.30am wakeup call!! As it is still nightfall we still receive our “buenos dias” .. “Good Morning” greeting from the porters plus our hot cup of tea. However, a strong brew of coffee may help more with our sleep deprived eyes. Toilets remain a huge challenge and to be back in time too. The same routine is required but with more urgency as there is a race now to the Control Point to beat everyone else. Today will be our shortest trek of 7klms but very clearly will be our longest day!

The chef has provided us all with a paper bag breakfast with a juice pack to eat along the way or to when we get to the Control Point some 150mtres away from the tents. Surprise!! .. with our best effort we still find ourselves behind some 50 trekkers or so to the entrance gate, but at least we are not the last ones.

It seems like ages till the line starts moving. Everyone starts chatting and the excitement builds. Ronny takes care of all our passes and it’s a go for the pathway. Some over zealous trekkers do the scramble and take silly risks in overtaking others in the darkness. There’s a few that are quite rude and careless. Ronny warned us of this and to not do this type of trekking. You can get injured and totally miss the final day and Machu Picchu. That would be a complete travesty after slogging 37klms to the Control Point, etc with only 7klms to go.

As the trekking line thins out and the curtain of night darkness is abating to the light; we can see the clouds/ fog-like drifting in and out and the mountains coming out in the background with form. To walk in the pre-dawn and sunrise light is truly a magical experience as we make our way around the side of mountains of such elevation.

The pathway stairs elevate and become steeper and really slows us down but we remain calm with our progress and every now and then the Inca Flats come to light. The inclines still affect my speed and stamina however, much lighter than the previous days. Scott has gone ahead with the younger trekkers and our seasoned Utah trekkers. Obviously; boring with the slower “old man” even though Scott never refers to any limits concerning age. I’m OK with that as everyone must walk in getting the most out of the experience. Our walking in the early daylight makes us shed our clothing layers and to take a quick break. The air and scenery is a picture to behold .. the mountains more magical with the clouds drifting about and we know we are getting closer. Another brief chat with William, our guide, is an added bonus.

Coming around the bend with William by my side we meet up with a clump of trekkers. Great to hear other voices churning out some comments and with varying levels of excitement. Ronny, Sue, David and others catchup at this point. We now get to see what lays ahead; it is a right hand 90®bend. Ronny starts taking our walking poles and has this huge smile. We have arrived at the Monkey Stairs … stairs to an elevation of some 25m at an incline say at 60® and some 2metres wide. This we did not expect and goes to show the Inca Trek provides everything … and we are now using all fours to escalate to the top. Our muscles are doing things now we have not done over the 4 previous days. Despite its awkwardness we are all smiling doing this novelty and it is was an enjoyable experience being a monkey for a little while. I thank my friend David for the photo of these stairs. Now with our walking poles back in hand we venture off for just a little longer until we are greeted by the rest of the group with cheering and congratulations; for now we have entered the grounds of the Sun Gate or it’s Inca name of Intipunku  where its purpose was the guardhouse/ fortress for the entrance to Machu Picchu.

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The excitement of all the trekkers along with the celebratory voices and Scott’s beaming smiling face convinced me we had arrived at this monumental and sacred site; for behold as I walked to the outer walls to a ledge crowded with trekkers my eyes catch the magical landscape of the GREAT Machu Picchu. No photo can ever replace the vision I now keep within my brain files. Clouds like mist come in and out secretly showing off its glory. Machu Picchu stands some 600m in elevation below me and approx. 3klms straight ahead but it comes crystal clear of its magnificence for I have FOUND Machu Picchu in brilliant life with its famous mountains behind!

The sheer size of the stone walls of mass and mazes continue to test my comprehension to the wonders of the Incas. Such construction appears to be super human in every context as it winds and spreads over the mountain slope overlooking the Urubamba River some 450m below in the tight valley.

To be critical, I found the very winding road from Machu Picchu down to the river disappointing to my view and seeing the streams of buses navigating this road. Such a modern infrastructure in a magical scenery. I had to hasten in using my new camera and changing the lenses seeing I had arrived a little later than the others. I later found out I had misjudged the camera settings and my photos were in low quality. Arrrghh!!!!!!

Being now hurried to re-join our group was disturbing. Can’t I just sit a bit longer and take this all in? Even the clouds drifting in more did not deter my enthusiasm in keeping this view. At least 4 of us were given less time than the others so with “kicking and screaming” … not really of course .. I re-joined the group after securing my backpack and grasping my walking poles and stepped through the stone gateway to the lower and more cobblestoned pathway. I was annoyed for awhile as I had only 15 minutes at such an important site as the Sun Gate.

As we walked along a much easier pathway, we were now experiencing people in all sorts of better day casual clothing and strained faces walking towards us for they were seeking the Sun Gate view. Obviously, they were from the tourist buses below, all on a day trip departing from the township of Aguas Calientes. I believe these tourists were missing the real feeling of seeking out Machu Picchu; much like just visiting a theme park. Surely, you must have a disconnection.

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Some 30-40mins of the descending pathway we find ourselves surrounded by trekkers, tourists and numerous guides on terraces now described as viewing points. So many people, all wandering around this amazing site. Time for another group photo to complete our journey before we decant our backpacks for a more relaxed visitation of the site. Ronny offered us all another side trek to do immediately, that will take a few hours to complete and is slightly strenuous. Everyone declined except for our more experienced trekkers from Utah. The remainder were all in a relief phase and looked forward to viewing the site in a more leisurely fashion. The Utah group (Windi, Eric, Lynn & Kirsten) must complete the journey and meet the group in the township of Aguas Calientes for a late lunch and a formal good bye to all; including our guides. The timeframe would be tight.

Once the photos were completed at the viewing platform, we ventured through the path mazes towards the main tourist entrance at Machu Picchu’s lowest point. Here there is a restaurant, Café, Tourist Centre, Toilets and Storage complex … & yes … lots of tourists and cycling of buses. It was hard to find clear space to be as a group and find what is our next action. Eventually we discover the lines. One for the toilet and one to log your backpack into the storage facility. Finally get to the storage counter and then found out we had to be in the toilet line to pay the fee of 5,000 Pesos/ bag. There is also a similar fee for the toilets. Gotchya!!!

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In the following frustration of paying the fee and trying to get back to the group, Scott & I finally got our backpacks into the bulk storage facility. Showing your passport, you get a ticket and they stick the other copy onto your backpack. Several workers carrying backpacks into the backroom. With all this convoluting bedlam I totally forgot and didn’t see my GoPro was still attached to my backpack externally (to make the situation worse I didn’t realise this until I was on the train back to Ollantaytambo after 6.30pm). Standing back from the counter I then noticed a gathering around a bench near the fence next to our group. Here you could self-stamp your passport with an official Machu Picchu attendance stamp. Wasn’t going to miss this opportunity.

Ronny now guides us back along the same pathway back to Machu Picchu. He provides commentary on certain aspects and history which in hindsight would have been wise to record it. The Utah Group has already continued onto their trek to Wayna Picchu Mountain; called the short trail of the Huayna Pichu trek. Thanks to Windi for the photo overlooking Machu Picchu and confirmation of the too many stairs on this trek (an extra 260mtrs higher).

No matter where you look; the platforms of different elevations, the stone walls, the accuracy of set out and the marriage of rocks is outstanding. Not sure of the purposes of most rooms and areas however, you accept they are all monumental to the university of this temple of habitation. The drainage viaducts, the staircases all in rock forms and the list goes on. There is some recorded evidence from previous earthquakes where some rock wall sections vibrated and bounced and then returned to their exact position with no gaps present. Machu Picchu is apparently built on 2 fault lines but I’m not sure where they could be in relation to the site.

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There are a number of special rocks and rock walls in different locations to suit special purposes. We find one on the top platform on its own in the middle area at the Eastern side .. it takes a comment from Ronny to highlight it from obscurity. It is shaped to form a compass point and it points directly North towards the much higher peaks behind. The other formations nearby include windows in the walls where the sun rises and shines onto the temple room’s floor & wall of each morning. Some indentations in the walls resemble the windows and these are where sacred ornaments were placed. This area is roped off to eliminate human interference and it is advised it was a holy area.

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The main sacred stones are underneath an extraordinary large stone forming a cave room or temple area. The first stone fronts the entrance and was carved to the shape of the 3 steps (like the drawing Ronny did on my cheek in Blog – Day 1) symbolising the 3 classes: Snake (Lower class or lower crop fields), then Puma (Middle class or middle crop fields) with the highest one, The Condor (Highest class or highest crop fields). Behind this stair rock is a smooth sloping curved table top rock. Here the Inca King or Religious Leader would undertake sacrifices for the good of the colony. The main or common celebration was held on the Winter Solstice 22^nd June each year. The Incas would pick an Alpaca to sacrifice on the stone but they would only pick the ‘imperfect’ one. Even in their day .. you could remark it was racism back then … for they chose only black alpacas for sacrificing.

If the colony was experiencing bad times through extended years, they would carry out an extra special sacrifice. These types maybe, say, once every 20 or 30 years depending upon the type and length of the travesty. Here the families would offer up their eldest daughters to the Inca King, of at least 13 years of age who would select his preference. The family would be extremely honoured to have their daughter chosen. Competition was strong between families to ensure the colony would flourish soon after.

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Whilst at the centre rear of the site on the upper level, next to the “Compass Rock”, David, Sue, Scott & I take a well-earned respite on a sitting rock at the Western side. Photo courtesy of David again. Behind our backs is a small ledge then a massive drop to the valley below (don’t look down). In order to not look down we note the huge mountains in the near distance and some much higher in the far distance with snow/ ice caps. On the nearest mountain behind us there is a modernised Hydro Electricity system with pipes and pump stations on a major scale running down its slope. Obviously providing electricity to several townships or even Cusco to some extent. There is so much water off the peaks to capture and there still remains lots of water chasing down from these mountains not into the system. In enjoying this respite, we chat about what we have seen today and at the same time looking back up to the Sun Gate and to the elevation we had travelled and over to the alpacas peacefully grazing at locations away from the numerous tourists on the different terrace levels. Such an amazing place.

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Respite is over and we continue to a tight width rock staircase to a higher peak possibly for the Inca Sun worship and some sacred stones placed there. This small peak some 25m in elevation provides a great view to most of Machu Picchu however, you cannot stay there long and then directed down by Govt Guides to another staircase to a separate area to the rear of the site. It will take a while to journey back to this location if you wish to view this area again.

Following on from this other staircase we find ourselves at the full rear of the site to a few buildings where the Peruvian Government has restored the roof structures with tree poles and straw thatched roofs to show the full structure intact. The straw thatched roof coverings have to be replaced every 2-3 years due to the severe annual environment. The tree poles form the rafter system and they are tied by vine ropes to stones penetrating the walls at the wall corners and at varying heights towards the centre of walls.

We wind along narrow pathways and follow the signs that will lead us to the exit. It still remains a bit of a maze of walls and stairs. The sheer size of the entire complex provides a rough indication as to how many Incas resided here and it is such a credit to a civilisation so many centuries ago. Reluctantly, we continue to the pathways leading us back into the tourism complex and along the way you can notice the day tourists have a sense of being at a theme park such with their attitude and their movements. Very depressing in seeing some of this form as it shows a disconnect and a throw away sense of the magnificence somewhat discarded. A bit harsh .. but after enduring 4 long days we have an added attachment and deeper respect I suppose.

Stepping through the small exit gate the crowd is certainly noisier than before and with that, much more crowded. Here, there is a strong sense of a theme park; especially when the line up for the shuttle buses is getting longer by the minute and the restaurant and café are still doing an enormous trade. First, we must recover our backpacks which does take a while. I’d love to see behind the wall as to how they incorporate a system of storing bags .. or is there one? Again, I omit to remember my GoPro.

We form the populated line and it appears there is approx. 40mins turnaround for each shuttle bus, hence there is a large number of buses winding through the road network to the city below and back. The queue becomes slower and then we notice people who have come for the day trip are now buying their return tickets at the booth and that’s where the line goes into the cattle style barriers to the buses. They are jumping ahead of about 100 people unnoticed however upon noticing this a security guard now places a member at the booth to redirect them.

Finally, we are on the bus, albeit, we are saddened to leave Machu Picchu so early with plenty of daylight left as it is 12.30pm. We must be at a nominated restaurant in Aguas Calientes asap to order lunch and to meet the group and the guides for the last time. The bus trip takes approx. 18 minutes and drops us off at the junction of the main street. With no knowledge of the address of the restaurant we were gratefully greeted by Bryce and Eliza who was wondering where we were.

Everyone was there except the Utah group so we started to order food and catchup with today’s conversation. It was quite difficult as were sharing the space with a much larger and much more vocal group. Ronny tried to quiet them down but that failed. They were so inconsiderate. As our food arrived the Utah group arrived with their excited trek details but confirmed it was very tiring but well worth it for the views. Eliza wanted to be a local so she ordered a Guinea Pig meal. It came out whole and that enabled us to swerve in our seats so as not to witness it or even to take a photo. Eliza was not happy with the meal as well. Very tough and not palatable. Totally intact with hair still on the paws, etc. I couldn’t bear to investigate further, along with Scott. We stuck to our Vegetarian Pizzas.

With great happiness we all exchanged our names, emails, etc and then provided our tip amount to our Guides to share 3 ways. It was difficult to express our speeches due to the very noisy group close by.

David and Sue waved goodbye first as they had the luck and good planning of the earlier train back to Ollantaytambo, then bus to Cusco, arriving about 6pm. Our train didn’t leave here until 6pm so we are expecting a 10.45pm arrival in Cusco. The Utah group were staying overnight so there was no hurry from them. We all thanked Ronny, William and Edizon and proceeded separately to find another place to relax and then ultimately, the train station. Sadness is always felt when good byes are in order. No doubt social media will prevail to reconnect and relive this wonderful life experience. We carry great memories with each of us. Unfortunately, videos and photos from my GoPro are lost forever.

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Next blog will be Post Machu Picchu & then onto massive volcanoes

Footnote 1

Machu Picchu was rediscovered by an indigenous farmer, Melchor Arteaga, well before the American historian, Hiram Bingham came across it in 1909 or thereabouts. The farmer had previously advised 2 or 3 other families years before that there was a structure where they could live and survive. It was a tough time then for families to survive and grow crops. The farmer was later approached by accident by Bingham and with a few hands made their way towards this stone complex using machetes as it was firmly into the Amazon Jungle now. Here he was met by one of those farmers residing in a hut nearby who sent his son with Bingham to discover magnificent stone walls overtaken by vines, bamboo & the like. The Spanish invaders NEVER found Machu Pichu and spent years and resources scouring the countryside as they believed no-one could survive living at the high altitudes and concentrated primarily around the Urubamba River regions.

Bingham later returned in 1911 after advising the archaeological world for funding then it was officially proclaimed found on 24^th July 1911. Trains linking to Cusco are called the Hiram Bingham Train and signed as such as he is much loved for making this area and Machu Picchu famous. UNESCO officially proclaimed this special site in 1983 and covers the site area of 32,592 hectares but also encovers an extended buffer zone.

Footnote 2

For 2019, Machu Picchu is set to change forever. There is a push to rename the city, Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu City. Secondly, the Peruvian Government is set to cordon off more sections of Machu Picchu to preserve these areas from the public and maybe further limit the daily numbers of visitors.

The most significant change is the construction now started on the 2^nd regional airport at the nearby township of Chinchero with bulldozers underway clearing the required land. Cusco International Airport will not cope much further into the future with only one runway and limited space so it was decided to place another airport closer to Machu Picchu near Chinchero.

The airport will bring all different types of aircraft (small & large) flying the flight path at varying height levels especially over the very quiet township of Ollantaytambo and the Sacred Valley. With the Andes Mountains the flight path will be restrictive so the now quiet areas of these townships and Machu Picchu will be severely affected plus the predicted high volumes of tourists treating the area as an enormous theme park. The decision of the airport was made over a few years however, the world is now starting to protest. How the airport passes the UNESCO criteria is still a mystery. The airport is expected to be operational sometime in 2023.

Currently, most intercontinental flights require entry to Santiago Chile then onto Lima Peru then onto Cusco however some airlines can now fly from Santiago direct to Cusco.

I’m thankful for undertaking the trek in the situation now found, rather than what is predicted and even more pleased by doing the 4 long days and 3 nights to fully encounter the stamina, beauty and magnificence of the great Machu Picchu. We were so blessed with the weather too and with a wonderful group and great guides/ porters.