southamerica

The itinerary

Day 1 Fly from London via Miami to Lima.

Day 2 Fly to Cusco.

Day 3 Cusco; walking tour;

visit Sacsayhuaman fortress.

Day 4 Train to Aguas Calientes

below Machu Picchu; explore site.

Hot springs swim. Gringo Bill's Hostel.

Day 5 At Machu Picchu;

return by train and coach to Cusco.

Day 6 In Cusco; whitewater rafting

Day 7 Fly and launch to Puerto Maldonado

rainforest lodge.

Days 8 & 9 Explore rainforest and river,

meet wildlife.

Day 10 Fly to Lima; optional sightseeing.

Day 11 Fly to Guayaquil.

Day 12 Fly to Baltra Galapagos; join boat

(Lobo de Mar), sail to Isla Rabida.

Day 13 On Rabida; visit visit saltwater

lagoon; overnight sail to Bartolome.

Day 14 On Bartolome walk up Volcano to lookout point; sail to Santa Fe.

Day 15 On Santa Fe and Plazas Sur;

overnight sail to Seymour.

Day 16 On Seymour;

overnight sail to Floreana Island.

Day 17 On Floreana; visit Punta Cormorant and Post Office Bay;

overnight sail to Espanola.

Day 18 On Espanola; visit Punta Suarez blowhole and Gardner Bay;

overnight sail to Santa Cruz.

Day 19 Transfer back to Baltra. Fly Quito.

Day 20 In Quito; city tour.

Day 21 Fly London via Miami (quick visit to the bay).

Day 22 Arrive London.

Peru, Amazonian Rainforest,

Equador, Galapagos Islands

We stayed for a night in Lima on the way into Peru, and again on the way out, the hotel was very pleasant if not particularly memorable, and Ralph managed to get our laundry washed, dried and pressed overnight, Our stay really wasn't long enough to have much to tell you about Lima, so here are a few snippets, mostly from the return visit since we then had a few hours to see the town.

The city is unusual in that it never rains, the water coming from the mountains and providing much of the electricity in the process. Natural gas provides fuel for many of the cars, although the diesel truck is still all too obvious.

The seafront has a very acceptable restaurant the name of which I have forgotten, and some impressive, man made, and rather worryingly steep cliffs made of mud and round stones.

The cliffs, sooner rather than later, will inevitably slide into the sea. If they get a bit wet, a slight shake, or if several people cough at the same time, it will be soonest,

The prospect of a huge mudslide taking out a few unlucky motorists, some buildings and the main coast road, has goaded the citizens into moving the things around as fast and as gently as they can. Fortunately the Humbolt current keeps all but the hardiest swimmers out of the sea and off the beach, so they are less of a liability. The total lack of rain has saved the designer of the roads so far, but, if I lived there, I'd want him in a house at the top of the cliff.

On our bus tour of the city we caught a glimpse of the ancient, pre-Incan ruins of Huaca Pucllana. This gigantic 4th Century mud-brick pyramid was constructed a thousand years before the Incas arrived in the late 14th century only to be conquered in turn by the Spanish conquistadors in 1533. This means the Incas only had 200 years or so to do what they did.

The city has one other strange regular meteorological event which we observed, and that was a classic Edinburgh Haar when what should be a sunny day starts as a foggy damp cold one as a mist blows in from the sea, and often stays that way. Best policy is to head inland.

Lima