Peru
09Sep2011 10Sep2011 |
Lima |
11Sep2011 | Pachacamac / Shanty Towns |
12Sep2011 | After flying from Lima to Cusco, we drove over the mountains to Pisac. The modern town of Pisac sits on the floor of the Sacred Valley (Urubamba Valley) and the Incan citadel of Pisac sits in the hills above the valley. |
13Sep2011 | Urubamba Valley / Ollantaytambo |
14Sep2011 | This morning, we spent some time exploring the new part of Ollantaytambo before taking the IncaRail train to Aguas Calientes. Aguas Calientes is a funky little town reachable only by train or foot and which exists primarily to serve the masses of vistors to Machu Picchu. We spent the afternoon visiting the fantastically beautiful Machu Picchu. |
15Sep2011 | This morning, we arose very early to return to Machu Picchu. Our goal waa a pair of hikes. The first was to hike up the Inca Trail to Intipunku (The Sun Gate). And the second hike was to the an Incan drawbridge. We returned to Aguas Calientes for lunch and then caught the train back to Ollantaytambo. The last leg of our journey was by bus over a 12000 foot pass back to Cusco. |
16Sep2011 | Sacsayhuaman / Cusco |
17Sep2011 | This day turned out to be a wasted day. We got up early to fly from Cusco to Lima and thence to Quito, Ecuador. The first part of the journey went off without a hitch. We left Lima a half hour late (which proved to be a fateful delay.) Fifteen minutes before we arrived, Quito was hit by a massive thunderstorm. The pilot decided it was not worthing trying to outwait the storm and flew on to make an on-time arrival in Cali, Columbia. We spent a couple of hours in the Cali airport (all during this time it was sunny and beautiful in Quito. However, by the time we got back to Quito, another storm hit. Again, the pilot decided not to bother waiting to see if the weather would clear and flew back to Lima, Peru. The airline, LAN, did not bother to notify ground personnel in either Quito or Lima of these decisions. We finally arrived at a hotel in Lima (after flying all day) at 1:30AM. |
Ecuador
18Sep2011 | Fly to Quito |
19Sep2011 | Our morning was spent flying out to the Galapagos via Guayaquil. We landed on Baltra Island which is essentially as flat as a table top. Its primary feature, apart from brush, is an airfield that was built by the US Army in WWII as a means of protecting the Panama Canal. From the airport, we went directly to our home for the next four days, the vessel Tip Top IV. After lunch, we travel south to Santa Cruz Island where we enjoyed an afternoon exploring the mangrove forest that grows along the northern edge of this island. |
20Sep2011 | In the morning, we returned to Santa Cruz Island, albeit a different location, known as Dragon Hill. We went for a walk around Dragon Hill and we were lucky enough to spot several of the land iguanas for which the hill is named. We were also able to spot a number of the other Galapagos fauna. After lunch, we landed on Rabida Island. We explored the island for part of the afternoon and then we spent the rest of the afternoon snorkeling. |
21Sep2011 | Bartolome Island was used as a backdrop and filming location for Master and Commander. We hiked to the top of the hill. Later, by boat, we stopped to see some Galapagos Penguins. In the afternoon, we travelled to Santiago Island to visit relatively recent lava fields. |
22Sep2011 | Isla Santa Fe / Isla Plazas / Puerto Ayora |
23Sep2011 | Santa Cruz / Fly to Quito |
24Sep2011 | Quito / Riobamba |
25Sep2011 | After visiting the town of Riobamba we drove to a teahouse on the flanks of Chimbarazo, Ecudor's highest mountain. From teahouse, we were able to ascend to over 16,000 feet above sea level (only 7,000 feet short of the summit...) We ended the day at Alausi |
26Sep2011 27Sep2011 |
Cuenca |
28Sep2011 | Fly Home |