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Oopsie, it’s been a while (back in London)

Oh wow, I am fully aware of the extent to which I have been slacking for the last few weeks. Well, I have and I haven’t, I can explain.

In the last few weeks we left Mancora to move in to Ecuador (which we loved, there is a lot to tell about our time there) and then we moved in to Colombia where we spent two days before getting our flight to London. Colombia was very eventful! I also need to pass on the details of border crossings, bureaucracy, a bit of bad luck and an incredible hostel in Bogota with equally as incredible owners. But, all in good time.

I guess I could give quite a few excuses for not being up to date and some of them include; the internet not being too great, there wasn’t enough time to go exploring and be on the internet so I chose the former and then lastly, getting back to London for some serious R&R at my parent’s house with weather that we could not have even imagined that we would be blessed with, selling the majority of my belongings on ebay (due to a mishap in Madrid airport that left us with a lot less cash). And this little one:

There he is, Bo the Brave.

There he is, Bo the Brave. I love his paws. 

who is the best company ever and has formed some sort of bromance with Rulo.

And now we’re currently in Belfast, Ireland where my Dad is from so we’ve been seeing family and exploring up to Giant’s Causeway and the Bushmills Distillery (the oldest whisky distillery in the world) and today we shall head down south and over to Wales tomorrow.

So here is a bit of what is to come:

  • Driving up to the border crossing in our vehicle to Ecuador with a hassle free cross
  • The amazing motorways all over Ecuador/ environmental awareness all over the country which we were very impressed with
  • Humpback whales and blue footed boobies in Puerto Lopez
  • Mompiche, a surfer town which sounded amazing but turned out to have a bit of a weird story
  • Altitude sickness and a great hostel in Quito
  • Mindo, our favourite place in our entire trip. Sorry Mancora, but it really was amazing
  • Our crossing into Colombia featuring pretty bad road standards (especially in comparison to Ecuador)
  • Momentous times in Colombia featuring breaking down 3000 metres up and being shafted by a 15 year old mechanic
  • A bit of Bogota
  • London, the sunniest place ever and that is not at all an exaggeration. Ok maybe a bit.
  • Ireland

I haven’t mentioned previously but I will also start to put up info on a trip we were lucky enough to do last year which involved buses, planes and boats from Chile up to and across Bolivia, across and down through Brazil (including the Amazon river and rainforest) and up through Argentina back to Chile. Now that was a trip! Amazing.

Have a good day everyone and I will be back soon!

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Up and down to Nazca

On Sunday morning we headed out of Cusco and over to Nazca to see the famous Nazca lines and carry on our journey to the coasts of Peru.

We assumed the drive would be nice and straightforward…we really should stop assuming things because we could not have been more wrong, it was eleven hours of bobbing between 4500 metres to 2000 metres altitude and a lot of tight curves around the mountains featuring a storm on the altiplano which kept Rulo very alert…I slept through most of it. At one point we had to hit the breaks on a tight curve because a bus came charging towards us at God knows what speed. In hindsight it all adds to the adventure (!).

4479 metres up and in the midst of a storm, I was tucked up in blankets and managed a two hour nap.

4479 metres up and in the midst of a storm, I was tucked up in blankets and managed a two hour nap.

We stopped off early on to buy some avocado from these little dolls

We stopped off early on to buy some avocados from these little dolls

Making friends when we were waiting to cross a one lane road. This little munchkin left with a satisfied tummy after being given food by nearly everyone in the queue

Making friends when we were waiting to cross a one lane road. This little munchkin left with a satisfied tummy after being given food by nearly everyone in the queue

After driving up and down and round and round, we arrived quite late in Nazca and there was one thing on our minds- food. We drove along the Panamerican Highway and found exactly what we needed: a stall selling chaufita, Peruvian style egg fried rice with a hostel and car park opposite. We got the hostel down to 40 soles/9.50 gbp for the two of us and although it was a bit noisy we had a great night’s sleep because the room was spick and span and the bed was made perfectly. Gladys, the lady in charge was a straight talker but very, very sweet.

Hospedaje Eduardo which also turned out to be a mechanics downstairs, perfect.

Hospedaje Eduardo which also turned out to be a mechanics downstairs, perfect.

The next morning we had a cheap and cheerful breakfast of juice and an avocado sandwich in the market on the street behind the hostel and then headed off to see the lines and on to Paracas. Driving through Nazca I was surprised by the amount of restaurants and building work going on. The sun was out and we were happy, after it being so cold at night in Cusco that I wouldn’t dare wash my face, we were soaking up the sunshine and on the road again.

The Nazca Lines

Nazca is named after the Nazca people who archeologists think created the lines between 200 BC and 600 AD in the Pampa Colorada, about ten minutes drive from Nazca City. The lines were created by clearing the darker surface soil to reveal the lighter soil beneath, and I have to say they are amazing. Just thinking that thousands of years ago people dedicated time to something that we can still see today, although we don’t know why they did it, is incredible. Some of the lines are up to six miles long and feature monkeys, lizards and hummingbirds.

There are three options to see the Nazca lines; climb the very visible hill on the left side as you approach them, pay 2 soles per person/0.48pence to climb the red tower which gives you a view of three of the various large drawings in the area or get a plane for 100 usd to fly for half an hour above the area and see the lines from a bird’s eye view. Not only are we on a budget, a flight from Tacna to Lima would be the same price (or cheaper) so we opted out of that. However, if you have the funds I’m sure it would be a great experience.

We climbed the red tower and could see three of the lines; a tree, hands and part of one which I couldn’t make out because the motorway is going through it.

My best attempt at capturing the tree. If you tilt your head a little bit to the right you can see the roots.

My best attempt at capturing the tree. If you tilt your head a little bit to the right you can see the roots.

Overall, if you’re on a budget and can’t make it to Nazca I wouldn’t worry, but if you have the time and money they make a nice little stop off.

Next up: A little break in Paracas and a visit to see the penguins before hitting Lima.